An Open Letter to America From GM Dealers Sonic Automotive Jeff Rachor UnitedAuto Group Roger Penske, Sr. AutoNation Mike Maroone GM National Dealer Council Paul Rubin—Chairman White Bear Lake Superstore Frank Bellavia Bellavia Buick Mike Bowsher Carl Black Buick-Pontiac-GMC Tommy Brasher Brasher Motor Co. of Weimar William Bridges Capital Cadillac Tom Carpenter Saturn/North Greg Cole Athens Chevrolet Howard Drake Saab of Sherman Oaks Richard Flick Banner Chevrolet George Gee George Gee Pontiac-GMC Lynn Kimmel Lockhart Auto Group Harry Larson Larson Motors, Inc. Ted Linhart Dominion Chevrolet Marc Lockhart Lockhart Cadillac Randy Marion Randy Marion Chevrolet Frank McElwain McElwain Motor Car Co. Roger Moody Friendly Chevrolet, Inc. Martin NeSmith NeSmith Chevy-Buick-Pontiac-GMC Duane Paddock Paddock Chevrolet, Inc. Joe Serra Al Serra Buick-GMC-HUMMER GM Dealer Advisory Council Jim Ball Jim Ball Pontiac-Buick-GMC John Bergstrom Bergstrom Chevrolet-Buick-Cadillac Christopher MacConnell Thomson-MacConnell Cadillac Wally McCarthy Wally McCarthy’s Cadillac-HUMMER Harold Meek Three-Way Chevrolet-Cadillac-HUMMER Edward Nimnicht Nimnicht Cadillac-Saab Glenn Ritchey Jon Hall Chevrolet Pam Rodgers Rodgers Chevrolet Wes Rydell Rydell GM Auto Center Gerald Seiner Jerry Seiner Chevrolet Joe Serra Al Serra Chevrolet Carl Sewell Sewell Village Cadillac Lynn Thompson Thompson Sales Company General Motors is getting better every day. Our products are the best ever. If you doubt, then drive a Pontiac Solstice or G6, Chevrolet Impala or Tahoe, Buick Lucerne, HUMMER H3, Saab 9-3 convertible, Saturn Sky, GMC Sierra, Envoy or Yukon Denali, a Cadillac STS or any of the new GM products. Check the J.D. Power and Associates APEAL rankings. Mistakes have been made and lessons have been learned. Today our CEO Rick Wagoner is leading the best management team at GM since Alfred Sloan. It is a diffi cult job that requires balancing the needs of customers, employees, retirees, shareholders and dealership employees. Given the hand that exists, it appears that Rick Wagoner and GM are taking very bold steps and they are making a difference. We believe that Rick is a man of excellent integrity. His values are that of the best of America. He is an excellent leader, father, husband and human being. He needs and deserves support for the enormous job he is doing. America loves a good comeback story, and GM is going to be one of the best. There will always be the naysayers who will revel in the diffi culties of General Motors. But let’s be clear: GM is important to America. Ford is important to America. For the good of everyone, they must succeed and they need our help. We pledge ours. We hope you will do the same.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 10 2006, 06:43 PM) [snapback]237794[/snapback]</div> I'm not sure if that is sad or funny. "Sob sniff sniff please buy our products we don't suck as bad as we used to." The only way GM will be able to offer a decent small car is to bring one in from the Opel subdivision. GM always whines they can't produce a decent small car, yet they have a subsidiary in Europe that can hold its own.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Apr 10 2006, 06:52 PM) [snapback]237797[/snapback]</div> It is interesting that the worlds largest Toyota dealer signed on.
Has anyone noticed the new malibu resembles the corolla? Has anyone noticed the new malibu resembles the corolla?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 10 2006, 06:43 PM) [snapback]237794[/snapback]</div> An open letter to GM from one American The cost of gas is rising every day. Your products still have worse fuel economy than I want. If you doubt, then check out fueleconomy.gov average consumer or combined mpg results: Pontiac Solstice - 23.1, or G6 - 25.4, Chevrolet Impala - 26.1 or Tahoe - 17, Buick Lucerne - 21.8, HUMMER H3 - 19.3, Saab 9-3 convertible - 21, Saturn Sky - ?, GMC Sierra - 18, Envoy -18 or Yukon Denali - 16, a Cadillac STS - 20. (Compare to my Prius that gets 50. ) Although your J.D. Power ratings may reflect improved quality, Consumer Reports shows that the number of problems with your cars increase more rapidly with age than Honda or Toyota. As many people, myself included, look at these results before purchasing a car, please consider ways to improve them as a way of regaining customers. Although some lessons have, perhaps, been learned, those of the '70s have apparently been forgotten. I am glad to hear that Rick Wagoner is a man of excellent integrity and values - and I hope that this will be enough to lead GM's comeback, but fear it will not suffice. I do not revel in GM's difficulties, but neither will I buy a car that I don't want for the sake of supporting them. America's economy is based upon competition, and as painful as that may be in the short term for any given company, in the long term I believe it is for the best.
I was just about to buy a Cadillac CTS (neat little car) when I happened to read an article about the Prius coming out. Bad timing for GM. What ever happened to their electric Cadillac EV1? http://home.earthlink.net/~bdewey/bdsev.html
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 10 2006, 04:43 PM) [snapback]237794[/snapback]</div> "Mistakes have been made." Hmmm. I honestly thought this was something the Onion made up. There isn't a sentence in the entire paragraph that isn't a self-parody. If this really appeared in the WSJ, and was PAID for by all those people, they really do "need our help." Desperately. Psychiatric help. Mark Baird Alameda CA
I just watched a recorded Oprah dealing with increased drop-out rates in American schools and how American students are dropping in international educational ratings. Then I read the open letter from GM. I think they've found their demographic.
Sheesh.... Talk about resistance to change... IMO, let's see what happens, IF they're right, the results will speak for themselves. If I were car shopping, I would most certainly not exclude GM.... (hey imntacrook, I was looking at one back in December myself, that, and a two year old Escalade, sweet, sweet, vehicles!)
Sorry for GM but they had a chance to sell me a car. One reason I held onto my old diesel for 17 years was they kept promising me the EV1 would be available in MA. I was forced into buying a Prius when they decided to crush all the EV1's. Now if they made a good hybrid that plugs in before Toyota Prius comes out with one I would at least look at that! Currently they make nothing but 100 year old car designs.
After reading this post I seriously doubted the authenticity of the ad. Regardless, here is my reply to GM: Hey GM: I was in Florida a few weeks ago and rented your new and improved Chevy Impala. Besides the tacky shelf paper wood applique, it wasn't a bad car. It was very quiet, powerful (V6) and had a comfortable ride. There were no squeeks and rattles, but at 4,000 miles I expect a car to be tight. I was however shocked at the end of my rental period when I computed my gas mileage. I drove a mix of 70% highway and 30% suburban driving. My mileage was 16.9 mpg. Thanks GM for continuing to make gas guzzling vehicles.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mini2prius @ Apr 10 2006, 07:56 PM) [snapback]237822[/snapback]</div> What are the competing Toyota's gas mileage ratings? Maybe you should check it out before making blanket statements not based in fact. How many Priuses did Toyota sell vs how many vehicles in total? Or do only the mpg rankings of the Prius, Echo and corolla count? What about the tundra, highlander, camry, avalon, 4runner, etc? And i haven't even started on Lexus and mpg, ads for the Lexus hybrid suv's don't even mention gas mileage.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 12 2006, 04:18 PM) [snapback]238691[/snapback]</div> At least Toyota is giving consumers a choice with their hybrid offerings. GM sucks... plain and simple.
my parents had a 2002 Cadillac DHS. it was a nice car with a good Bose Audio system. You could say the numbers to dial, and it was the actual car phone. But... i convinced them to buy the 400h, and they did. They love it now. Better gas mileage and it does off roading like a horse ( or so i'm told ) While Cadillac's audio system sounds like a full surround sound. Lexus sounds like a concert on your dash. Hands down lexus wins. I'm not afraid to turn the lexus system up.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 12 2006, 03:18 PM) [snapback]238691[/snapback]</div> I don't believe I stated anything that isn't "factual." I didn't state that _all_ Toyota cars get great mileage - only that I get 50 mpg in my prius and that GM doesn't make a car that gets as high. The first "fact" (my prius gets 50 mpg) is ... well, factual (current tank is actually 52, but I rounded down.) The second "fact" (GM doesn't make a car that gets as good mpg as I want - i.e. 50 mpg or better) I'm pretty sure about - let me know if I missed something there. The mpgs I specified for each GM vehicle were taken from fueleconomy.gov - either combined mpg or average consumer mpg, although I could've made a typo - again, let me know if I made an error (I tried to choose a middle of the road version where both large and small engine options were available - if I were trying to trash GM I would've just stated the city mpg for each vehicle, which would put many of them in the 'teens.) GM's open letter was pointing out certain vehicles that, I assume, they feel would apeal to the masses. I was trying to point out that this may be a false assumption. As far as the quality issue - again I believe that what I said was completely factual. Get a copy of the April '06 Consumer Reports. Turn to page 83 and start looking at the results of actual owners. Toyota/Lexus/Scion and Honda/Acura have a much higher percentage of red marks (good) than any other manufacturer. If you look at some of the models GM mentioned in their letter, you'll see that although the first year ('05 models in this issue) may (may!) be okay, problems with older models increase rapidly.
Hey, GM Dealers. Take your case to GM, not to me. Tell them your customers are tired of the same cars coming in 4 different flavors. Ask them where they were when they should have been designing fuel efficient and low emission "future cars". Try to convince them that the world needs more cars like the Prius and less like the concept Camero that's got Detroit so "excited". We're dealing with a finite supply of fossil fuels and an infinite supply of technology and all GM can do is produce more Detroit Iron.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'll buy an EV1 TODAY if they'll sell me one. GM refuses to see the future. I have now convinced THREE people at work to buy Toyota Hybrids. There are now FOUR Prii on a lot of about 100 cars (and one Highlander Hybrid). One of the guys came in today after lunch with his new Prius. I had yet to see the backup camera, so I went and checked it out. As we walked back to the building, he turned to me, and said, "I have one thought as I drive this car. Where the **** is GM?" I was a bit taken aback, but I told him about the EV1 and how I wished they would sell me one. GM is trying to sell dinosaurs. Toyota sells them, too, but hybrid powertrains are the future, and Toyota's future. Would you buy a car from a company that's in danger of going under? Or one that will be there to stand behind the warranty? Nate
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mini2prius @ Apr 12 2006, 08:07 PM) [snapback]238838[/snapback]</div> As hard as it is for you all to believe GM and Ford are not losing market share because of the Prius sales. They are losing market share because most consumers assume that all toyota vehicles get great mileage. You inferred in your original statement that GM was building gas-guzzlers relative to what Toyota is building. In fact head to head GM is as good or better in mpg in segments where Gm and Toyota compete head-to-head. Using CR to gauge the quality of vehicles is similar to gauging the quality of vehicles by sampling the the folks here on Prius chat. Do you think a sample of the PC would give you a fair sample of quality, or would it be slanted in favor of Toyota? Think about it? As far as the health of GM and Ford, Toyota may be backing itself into a corner, if GM and Ford would fail, the US economy would collapse as would toyota sales and probably the world economy. Remember Toyota reaps the vast majority of its world-wide profit from NA sales. I guess the silver lining in a GM and Ford collapse would be gas prices would fall under a dollar a gallon. You could bank on that. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Apr 12 2006, 11:17 PM) [snapback]238945[/snapback]</div> Nate can you let me know what the total Toyota sales volume was in March? What percentage were hybrids? Remember Toyota just reduced Highlander Hybrid production by 1/3. So what percentage of Toyota's total sales were hybrids and what percentage were Dinosaurs? How different are they really than GM? What is the mpg on that new truck coming out? Remember the one that is the "biggest, Badass truck on the market". I guess the key is your convinced Toyota is not building "dinosaurs", only GM and Ford.
Toyota sells all kinds of cars. They can, and do, build and sell anything they want at a profit, no need to circumvent CAFE. GM has been cheating CAFE for years, building vehicles that are so heavy they aren't classified as passenger vehicles. They rely upon these vehicles for profit. That's a huge mistake. I guess I'll say it again, if GM brings the EV1 to market, I would buy one right now. GM feels this doesn't fit their image of gigantic SUVs. I agree. Toyota has the highest mpg of any car company that builds large trucks. They have committed to adding HSD to every model. They don't push larger vehicles upon customers who really don't want or need them. And, they have consistently higher quality as they age than GM. (90 days isn't even a factor for me, I usually keep my cars a lot longer than 90 days). A 10-year old GM car is junk. My 13 year old Camry is still nice. It's going to take 15 years of behavior changes from GM to convince me that they are worthy of my money. Either that or an EV1. Nate
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Apr 13 2006, 09:18 AM) [snapback]239071[/snapback]</div> Toyota does not build heavy duty trucks yet. They have publicly stated that with the 3rd generation Tundra they will eventually build heavy duty trucks. Again you are inferring that Toyota stays out of that market because of some altruistic beliefs on their part. You don't really believe that do you? As far as Toyota having the highest mpg of any vehicle building large trucks, that is very selective. No full-line automakers CAFE has dropped faster than Toyotas has over the last 6 years. GM does market suvs and full-size suv's. Do they market them any harder than Toyota does relative to their model mix? Are there no Sequioia ads, highlander ads, 4runner ads etc? As far as GM cars being junk at 10 years old, nothing could be further from the truth. A 13 years old lumina given the same relative level of maintenance given your Camry would be in just as good of shape and I would be willing to bet, be less rusty.
