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How to Fix GM
Solutions for the struggling American car industry
Justin Hartfield Believe it or not, General Motors was once a shining example of American engineering superiority. Really, it's true. Long before its current throes of massive financial losses and impending bankruptcy, GM actually made good cars. Exhibit A: The 1957 - 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was a 345 hp luxury sedan 30 years before the BMW E39 M5. It was a no-compromise luxury auto, intended only for the most affluent customers. For example, Marilyn Monroe had one special ordered in pink. Options included: air ride suspension, automatic transmission, power windows, power doors, six-way power seats, power breaks, air condition, radio, cruise control, memory seats, and electric clocks in the back seats. Its industry-first quad headlights were capable of automatically dimming so they wouldn't blind passerbys on a mountain incline as well as automatically turning on at night. The 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was priced at $13,075, several thousand less than what it actually cost to make the car. The car was used to enhance the image of the company and to get people in the showroom. When's the last time GM put out a car like this?
Exhibit B: The 1984-1987 Buick Grand National It has been said that the only fear a Twin Turbo Supra driver has on the street is a stock looking Turbo Buick Regal. The Buick Grand National gets a lot of respect, and rightly so. Its ability go fast is legendary. Equipped with a 3.8L V6, the stock Buick Regal is so mind-numblingly sluggish you'll want to execute yourself before you reach third gear. But GM slapped a turbo on that big V6 along with a high performance suspension and good gearing, and they made a car running high 13s from the factory. In 1984. Add a couple of minor modifications and they'll be telling you to come back with a roll cage the next time you go to the track. But the Buick wasn't just a raw engine. It had a host of luxury options, including Bose Concert Sound II, heated seats, and power everything. The period in which these cars were produced, not surprisingly, found GM actually making money and being respected as a maker of quality vehicles. As soon as they stopped selling these quality products, however, their market share went down. Not all is lost, though... Exhibit C: The 2006 Corvette Z06 Despite the enjoyment I get from a powerful vehicle, I think that the new Corvette Z06 is too much for even the great me to handle. It has a 7.0L (427 cu in) V8, producing 505 hp at the wheels. Car and Driver tested the car on the strip and recorded a 0 to 60 time of 3.4 seconds and a quarter mile time of 11.8 seconds at 125 mph. It's even more impressive considering the car avoids the gas guzzler tax and is rated at 28 mph highway. Oh yeah, it's also the best handling car in the world, at any price. Sticker is $70,000, but they are currently being sold for $20,000 more than that because of escalating demand. The General makes the best sports car in the world, and they are selling so many there's a waiting list for the next shipment. For some reason in some time in the last quarter-century, however, GM decided that making high quality automobiles was somehow not something they should do anymore. They embraced quantity instead of quality. They decided that instead of producing great cars, period, they should make cars strategically aimed toward specific buyer demographic groups, specifically low-income groups. Instead of making cars for those who wanted luxury and performance, they made cars for people who wanted cheap, crappy vehicles. Not surprisingly, their cheap, crappy vehicles have failed to sell. Now they find themselves facing massive financial losses, a blood-thirsty union, and a prolix lineup of nearly all worthless vehicles. The solution? Scrap every single worthless vehicle and vehicle line, and produce quality vehicles only. In other words, they should stop making Scion/Neon/Corolla-equivalents and start making 335i/GS430/G35-equivalents. GM has tried new marketing schemes and sales pitches, but they are slowly realizing that no business scheme can make people want to buy their crappy cars. Even though Michael Moore will be devastated, the smartest move for the General is to start fulfilling "An American Revolution" in Mexico and to discontinue the ineffective models and brands from the company completely. The solution that General Motors is desperately seeking is the very thing that made them successful in the first place: manufacture the highest quality autos on the market, period. A quick guide for GM Lines to be scrapped, entirely: Buick. If Buick cars weren't ugly and slow, they are also hobbled by the perception of being old people cars. Except the old people who bought Buicks when they were quality won't even buy the inferior modern versions. Tiger Woods advertising them doesn't help. No one really thinks that Tiger Woods would be caught dead in a Buick. Saturn. No self-respecting automobile company should make plastic cars, period. It doesn't matter how many college girls buy these things - they are a brand embarrassment. Saab. Overpriced Swedish Subarus have no place in an American car company trying to go places. Vehicles to be preserved, only: The Cadillac line. The only brand that is doing something right - making nice cars. Amazing. Chevrolet/GMC Trucks/SUVs. 50 million soccer moms and 500 rappers can't be wrong... Hummer H1. The original and the best - the only Hummer worthy of the name. Unless you can scale a 90 degree rock face or drive through a garage wall, you do not own a Real Hummer. (Yes, H2 and H3 owners, I'm talking to you.) Pontiac GTO. The only Pontiac that may be deemed worthy...maybe. Chevrolet Corvette. The greatest GM car, period. Note to GM: Make more cars like this, please. Final note to GM: If you choose to bring back classic Chevy models (e.g. Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo), here is a good rule of thumb. If the new version of the car completely embarrasses the fans of the classic model because of its utter gutlessness and hideous design (e.g. Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo), please do not release the new vehicle. Alienating the fans of your few quality vehicles is not an effective business strategy.
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As for making quality cars, GM made good quality cars for the 1950s, but that 1950s quality would not cut it now. What happened is they sat still while the Japanese, that made horrible cars in the 70s, passed them by in the 90s.
Cadillacs were never aimed at the lower class, and had terrible reliability, even in the 50s.