While that is an unavoidable truth and, unfortunately, a reality now, there is one area where this collapse should come as no surprise and should shock just about nobody. American automakers, with all their history and, seemingly, endless amounts of arrogance had failed to accept the inevitability that was staring them in the faces for the last 15 years and refused to make any concessions regarding their business plans and how their companies were to be run and their products produced. While all 3 of the major US car makers are equally to blame for the fall of the US-made automobile, GM (for all of its “parts”) is set to make the largest contribution to the unemployment pool. Chevrolet, Pontiac, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Hummer, Saab (unfortunately, due to a recent purchase), and Saturn are all under the collective umbrella of the GM label and all stand to lose significant workforce numbers and revenue. Recently, Saturn (really the only forward-thinking brand in the “stable”) was purchased by Penske Automotive Group in a move to cut costs and should continue to succeed in their own niche after a time of transition. However, the remaining names in that list are in big trouble and are staring down the barrel of some monumental failures.
Although it's nearly impossible to really pinpoint when this fall began, the separation between Japanese and European cars and those made here in the US has grown exponentially in recent years and become more and more glaring. As foreign automakers were diligently spending their R&D efforts on developing new, more fuel-efficient engines and exhaust systems that will release far less carcinogens into the atmosphere, GM was worried about developing a “nostalgic” car to capture a part of the Challenger/ Charger/Mustang niche regardless of the hefty “gas guzzler” tag and charge that is slapped on the Maroney label of every one of them (and regardless of how poorly those other companies were also doing while following the same plan). Now, the Camaro does come with a V6 option, but that's kind of like getting talked into that genuine “Tag Leuer” watch from the guy on the corner just outside your office. Sure, it's pretty, but it's not really the real thing, and you know it (as does anyone that spends more than 3 minutes with you).
For the longest time, it seemed that US car makers were determined to tell the public what we wanted to buy and ignore all of the data and history that made it awfully clear how irresponsible we had been with all of the large, polluting monster cars in the past. While Subaru now has a 300+ horsepower, 4-cylinder car that still gets 25 mpg, and Nissan's own super car, the GTR, still only carries a V6 (that meets ULEV-II ratings by the way), GM was convinced that the only way to appeal to the masses would be to create beefy V8 engines with similar horsepower specs that seem to produce twice as much pollution and consume a hell of a lot more gas to do such. The decision makers in Detroit turned a semi-blind eye to the environmental concerns of the consumer and trudged on in their own blissful ignorance as they continued to pump out more and more Escalade ESV and Hummer H-2 models for the soccer moms and athletes/entertainers. Admittedly, there has been the recent addition of the Hybrid models to the GM lineup, but as few as 4 years ago, while Toyota was succeeding with the Prius and Honda's Insight was near production, GM executive Bob Lutz publicly noted them as a marketing success but a failures of business, only serving to show how they were prepared to accept the inevitability of change. Just another day in being behind the curve, I suppose.
Honda has built its success on the idea that their cars will run forever. Toyota and Nissan (recently) can also lay stake to that claim, as their products have improved steadily over the years. Even Hyundai can claim the least amount of reliability complaints per 1,000 units sold. When the majority of people purchase a car, quality is typically “top 3” in their minds about what car to choose. They want something that will get them from point A to point B with as few hiccups and problems as possible. The piece of mind knowing that a car will not give someone headaches every time the temperature dips or spikes is typically worth a few extra dollars and has not been overlooked by many other manufacturers. Recently, GM has gotten close to “caught up” in the quality category, but too many people have been burned by a broken down Cavalier or an overheated Bonneville to give their lineup another chance. Lately, it seems that the promise of a longer, more comprehensive warranty is the en-vogue way to push a car’s reliability. But, while the piece of mind from free maintenance and repair is a great motivator to buy, what good does it really do the owner when the car is always in the shop, free or not? It seems to be an uphill climb for the US automakers to get back into the favor of their consumers after so many years of unreliability and faults have soured people on the prospect of buying another. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, blah blah blah.
Design creativity (or lack thereof) has been a problem that seems to have plagued the artistic side of GM over the last decade as well. It’s true, the Cadillac line and the new Camaro have met favorable reviews from consumers on looks, but compared to other major brands worldwide (Italian exotics not included because, well, that's just not fair), the foreign automakers have seemed to be one or two model years ahead of the Americans aesthetics wise. In 2005, BMW was heralded for the new look of their lineup and how sculpted it seemed to be. Last week, my fiancée asked me why Pontiac thought it would be a good idea to put a BMW in one of their commercials. I don't mean to bring this up to make fun, believe me. It was an easy mistake, considering that the new G8 looks an awful lot like the scalloped Bavarian 3 Series. Not that I would take anything away from someone trying to get in on something that's obviously working and grab a good share of the market that is interested in such, but when is the last time you can remember an American car really being at the cutting edge of design and fashion? Does anyone remember the Pontiac Aztec? The Chevy Aveo? When your money is being spent on producing the Quasimodos of the automotive world, it eats away at the budget for other design ideas that may have actually appealed to people and worked. And, only being an 8-year-old model, it's almost as rare to see an Aztec on the road as it is to catch a glimpse of an '86 Fiero. There's a reason for that. Recently, Detroit has enjoyed the most success with the cars that visually hearken back to the ‘60s and ‘70s, proving that, while the designs of yesterday were innovative and creative, the lack of creative American designers has made it necessary to fall back on something that was hot 25-30 years ago. Maybe it's all the TV they watch today rotting their brains and robbing them of their creativity, I don't know—that's what my grandmother says. Whatever the problem is, if the US is to stay competitive in the automotive market, we're going to need to start looking forward for ideas, not backwards.
And let’s not forget: Whenever you find yourself in the market for a new car/truck/SUV/whatever, how confusing and daunting of a task does it seem to be to pick out the right car for “you”? Gas mileage? I can point you to about 25 different models that get around 28-30 mpg. Interior room? Check out these SUVs, wagons, mid-sized sedans, and full-sized sedans. Functionality? All 10 of these minivans have stow-and-go seating of some sort or another. Color? Well, I think you get my point. It's a difficult process and can make the best of us seem unsure and like we have absolutely no idea of what's going on out there. Of the approximately 20 different car companies with dealerships nationwide, 15 of them will probably have similar cars that meet your specific needs. It all just depends on what you want.
GM, in all its wisdom, has decided to throw a little curve into this mess with their tried-and-true history of inter-exchangeable parts and platforms in most of their cars, giving you a choice of 2-4 almost identical models that have just been accessorized differently. If stripped of all badging and chrome accents, how many of us would really be able to tell the Pontiac Solstice from the Saturn Sky? It's been a longstanding tradition in GM automobiles to use interchangeable parts on their different brands. Years ago, it made more sense, as some lines were just seen as upgraded versions of others (kind of like Infiniti to Nissan and Lexus to Toyota). If you were in the market for a new Cadillac, but couldn't afford all of the extra bells and whistles, all wasn't lost. You still had Buick and Oldsmobile models to choose from, depending on your budget. Today, especially with competition at an all-time high, such an archaic thought process has only doomed GM further, pushing GM companies with the same product to compete against each other as well as with the other manufacturers. There can only be so many reasons to purchase an SUV, but, for example, GM has seen it fit to produce 26 different SUV models for your perusal/confusion. What is the real difference between the GMC Envoy and the Chevrolet Trailblazer? Or the Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon for that matter? In such desperate times, the GM-branded dealerships have been forced to compete to stay afloat as opposed to working cooperatively in hopes of bettering the brand. With all that cannibalism and undercutting, the prices of American autos have fallen through the basement in order to keep units moving off the lots and production going, only slapping the bottom line a little further into the dirt.
With all of these factors piling up against the GM brand, it is becoming more and more difficult to move their product in any consistent manner and with the bankruptcy proceedings going on, it will only get tougher. The competition has not only caught up with the formerly American-dominated realm of automaking, they've surpassed us. It is a sad day for the American workforce and economy and is probably going to take quite a long time to recover from the bottom falling out. While this is all, indeed, depressing, it was in no way unavoidable given the circumstances and thought processes in play. Perhaps, moving forward, Detroit will begin to think forward and learn from this that it's actually necessary to change with the times and not let them just pass you by.
Article originally posted on the VM Blog.
Corey Babel, having been raised to question most things regularly considered the “norm,” has always been able to see issues from a different point of view than most people and has always enjoyed the opportunity to engage in discussions about such opinions. He has also always been intrigued by both automobiles and sports, so it was only natural for Corey to eventually wind up putting his thoughts on paper & sharing them with The Vigilant Monkey readers. For more ramblings and random thoughts, feel free to check out his website at www.upstairsgears.com.