Perceptions | GM Authority

Advert: ‘Baseball’ Perfectly Sums Up Chevy Silverado’s True American Spirit
by Alex Luft
Posted March 2nd, 2010 at 11:54 pm

Click the image to watch the video

Here’s a recently-released commercial for the Silverado. This ad – in my opinion – outlines exactly what Chevy’s pickup truck is made of and who it’s made for.

The ad starts off with a 2010 Silverado owner discovering an abandoned grassy area where he finds an old baseball. He then remembers – envisioning back to when he was a kid – playing baseball on (what appears to be) the same field, with (what looks like a) trusty 1980s Silverado. So the man gets with his buddies, also Silverado drivers, who team up and clean up the neglected land to turn it into a baseball field.

The ad sums up the Silverado soul and the American free spirit to a tee, all to the tune of John Mellencamp’s Our Country. So click past the break to watch the Chevy’s Baseball ad, awesome Silverado work scenes (such as destroying an old tractor) included! I think you’ll agree that there is much more here than just a commercial to sell a vehicle. (more…)

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GM Management: What’s With That Heap You’re Not Driving?
by Hylton Jorssen
Posted February 10th, 2010 at 11:58 pm

In the past, GM management got to drive the shiny new car models home as it was seen as a perk or job benefit. But in the car business, is that really wise? Looking at this old practice a bit closer brings a question to mind – how is a company supposed to understand what it is up against if management is always driving the newest cars in their fleet?

I am happy to hear that management has changed its ways to some degree, as it is driving the competition at least once a week. Fridays are usually “drive day” at GM and many spend that afternoon driving a competitor’s vehicle. This is important because you obviously need to know your competition if you want to compete. But is GM management driving old high mileage cars from the competition? No. Are they driving high mileage GM cars? Again – no – but why should they?

It’s the small stuff I wonder about - rattles, creaks and long term wear. Not only will they not show up when management is driving a new car but they will also not show up in a J.D. Power and Associates Quality survey – something that measures vehicle quality after only 90 days of ownership. 90 days! Heck – even a brand new Trabant should score high marks after 90 days. The only way true quality can really be measured is to evaluate a vehicle after years, not months, of ownership. (more…)

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Department 180: Chevrolet Launching New Internet Series
by Alex Luft
Posted February 8th, 2010 at 8:00 am

Last week, a mysterious video appeared on Chevy’s YouTube channel. It wasn’t an ad and it wasn’t a video from a recent auto show. No, it was something much, much better: a brand new web series by the folks at Chevrolet featuring quality control engineers from Department 180.

The short clip (available after the break) features a group of real engineers putting Chevys through the paces – freezing, heating,

crashing, and performance testing their products, all while having a great time. The technicians even threw in a few fake tests just for fun!

There’s no word on when to expect the first (next) episode, but the video ends with a (barely noticeable) blurb (1:18 mark)

that asks the viewer to scan the beetagg code that may result in more information. (Note: I tried to scan the code with the Beetagg Pro app on the iPhone but was presented with an error message that told me that the beetagg couldn’t be found).

The GM Authority Take

While very few of us have to worry about the summer roasting our cars into a pair of baked potatoes, or the winter freezing them Mr. Freeze style, it’s good to know that the engineers over at the bow-tie brand put Chevys through those kinds of tests in an effort to increase the final quality of the vehicles!

Moreover, it’s great to see what has been known as a monolithic corporate giant like GM harness the power of social media. While

Beetagg code

many auto critics and enthusiasts may not see this as a marketing move worthy of discussion, nothing could be further from the truth. Social media, also known as new media, is an emerging (if not yet established) new-age marketing practice that’s very powerful and cost effective. And it usually speaks to

a completely different audience compared to traditional advertising. Not only will Chevrolet reap the benefits of reaching that market through this series, but the brand will also be able to prove itself given GM’s recent trouble such as the infamous bankruptcy and bailout proceedings.

But this isn’t the first time Chevy provides us with some juicy content. Just last month, we got our hands on two Volt videos – one showing the upcoming EV get a 1000-Fahrenheit cookin’ and the other showing the Volt go through the fabled 100,000 mile durability test – all part of Chevy’s quality testing procedures. These cheap, short, yet interesting videos give us a glimpse of the internal goings-on of Chevrolet, something that’s unprecedented in an industry where marketing is usually a multi million-dollar expense. The Department 180 series looks to continue on this path, adding some production quality along the way.

We’ll undoubtedly keep you up to date on the latest developments in the Department 180 web series right on this here website. In the meantime, watch the video for yourself after the jump and subscribe to Chevy’s YouTube Channel.

(more…)

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Toyota Loses Consumer Reports Recommendation
by Wilson Nunnari
Posted February 1st, 2010 at 7:02 pm

Many a dog owner will tell you that their pups are very reliable, loyal creatures. Some may even say they’re a man’s best friend. And while their dogs may be faithful, owners can sometimes be even more loyal to their pets than vice-versa. This kind of relationship is mirrored between Consumer Reports and the publication’s readers, who are devoted to the magazine, and the magazine, conversely, to them.

No matter what you think of CR (it does err on occasion – remember the Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe reviews?), the mag is perceived to have a reliable reputation. Most recently, Consumer Reports removed its “Recommended” status of any Toyota vehicle under the current recall. According to the publication’s parent company, the removal is temporary since Toyota is hard at work on righting its wrong, recalling and fixing the effected products. CR claims that the danger of unintended acceleration and lack of known repair for this problem is the reason for dropping the recommended status of the Toyota vehicles in question.

General Motors is already kicking Toyota while it’s down and Consumer Reports has begun the process of swinging its leg. All this should assist General Motors’ already-increasing market share and provide another reason for buyers to take advantage of The General’s zero percent financing with a Toyota trade.

Since the recall is temporary, the magazine will re-recommend Toyota models once everything is fixed up and the vehicles are deemed safe again. Will it then be too late for Toyota? Only time will tell…

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Study: 45% Of America Still Skeptical About GM’s Recovery
by Manoli Katakis
Posted January 22nd, 2010 at 10:46 pm

GM recently entered 2010 feeling that its darkest and most embarrassing year is behind. However, many Americans find the case to be otherwise, as a recent poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports claims that 45 percent of the country believes that GM will turn to Uncle Sam for additional loans in the near future, while an additional 26 percent is unsure of the situation. Only 29 percent believe GM is turning around and will become profitable once again, never looking back to bankruptcy or government loans.

Despite the grim opinion, the results are still an uptick from when Rasmussen surveyed America last September, asking the same question. The results pointed to a woeful 57 percent of participating Americans who felt GM was going to need more taxpayer money. At the moment, the majority of opinions have been proven wrong.

The GM Authority Take:

America has the right to be ignorant skeptical. Yes, GM really did a number on its corporate reputation when it crawled to Congress and reasoned with hypocritical politicians for why it needed the money. It was undoubtedly a bad time and made even the hardest GM fan uncomfortable. But as the months go by, so will most of the negative opinions. GM has been going strong with its new product line, which will only be fortified in the coming months. Along with the billions of debt erased thanks to bankruptcy, pension costs fading out and fewer employee headcount: GM can only go up.

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Setting Focus: The Basics
by Wilson Nunnari
Posted January 21st, 2010 at 1:29 am

This post is part of the Setting Focus series where we outline the steps GM needs to take to become a leader in the automotive space once again. This is a place where criticism and praise can – finally – stand side-by-side.

When Bob Lutz speaks, he says things people don’t want to hear. But he says them anyways; he says everything. And after he speaks… GM’s PR decides whether he’s right or not (and whether to subsequently do damage control). This is what domestic automakers need: someone who says something no one wants to hear.

Short-Term Profits vs. Long-Term Sustainability & Growth

Bob recently endorsed incrementally increasing the gas tax. Tomorrow he might change his mind, but acknowledging what automakers need to be successful is the first step of recovery towards prosperity. Short-term thinking and yesterday’s business practices mean GM would not be in business if it weren’t for bankruptcy (and TARP funds). Luckily, most of GM is still kicking. And while size was arguably a factor working against the old GM, there is still potential for regrowth. This potential can only be realized through advanced enterprising with long-term plans. (more…)

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GM To Offer Test Drives At 2010 NAIAS And Other Shows, Make Biggest Push On East And West Coasts
by Alex Luft
Posted January 1st, 2010 at 8:36 pm

Over the last few years, GM has been hard at work making its product line-up more competitive. In fact, its latest goal is to be the leader in every segment that its products compete. So it would only make sense that The General would want to show the pubic the fruits of its efforts and convince consumers that they should indeed buy GM’s vehicles rather than those from the competition. And that’s exactly what it’s planning on doing at the upcoming North American International Auto Show: The Detroit News is reporting that The General is working with COBO hall officials and the city of Detroit on setting up an area for consumers to test drive its vehicles.

The test drive course is reportedly part of GM’s completely revamped 85,000 square-foot floor space that contains a plethora of interactive display areas to show off GM’s latest technology (such as the Voltec powertrain) and vehicles. Since Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and Saab are no longer part of GM’s brand stable, the General will need to make some major changes to its exhibit for the upcoming show come January 2010.

Expect GM to only make the best (and most-recent) vehicles available for the test-drive. We’re thinking of products from its four core brands, such the LaCrosse, Enclave, and Regal from Buick, the entire CTS range and the SRX from Caddy, the Terrain and Acadia from GMC, and – last but definitely not least – Chevrolet’s Malibu, Camaro, Cruze, Spark, Aveo, Equinox, and Traverse. At the 2009 NAIAS, GM was giving consumers rides in certain vehicles such as the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid. By giving consumers the reigns to its vehicles would be a huge step up from that in terms of the experience as well as responsibility.

GM first began allowing customers to test drive its vehicles at the New England Auto Show earlier in 2009 – where it put over 1,400 people behind the wheel of various Cadillac models. The drive at the 2010 NAIAS is The General’s most wide-scale effort so far, but the automaker won’t be stopping there, as it’s planning to set up similar drives at several other major shows, including Chicago in February 2010.

The GM Authority Take

Barring the aging Impala and the absence of the ATS and XTS from Cadillac’s line-up, GM already has the product it needs to compete in the marketplace. Its biggest task now is to change consumer perception of its brands and products. Giving people wheel time is the best way to show the car-buying public exactly how great its products are. And what better venue to do it than an auto show filled with people who are truly interested in automotive products and who have already payed a $12 admission fee to get in?

Lastly, GM will make the biggest test-drive push in major metropolitan areas where its product consideration is weakest. We applaud this effort and say put ‘em behind the wheel and let word-of-mouth do the rest!

[Source: The Detroit News]

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Smart Marketing: Buick Looking To (Further) Decrease Average Age Of Buyers
by Alex Luft
Posted December 29th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

It’s no secret that for the last few years, the average age of a Buick buyer has been 70 years old. Compare that to 52 – the median age of a new car buyer in the U.S. – and the problem Buick is facing becomes crystal clear (no offense to any seventy year-olds out there).

But all is not lost, as Buick has been making great strides in bringing in younger buyers. For example, the average age of a 2010 Buick LaCrosse buyer is 55. Even though a full three years above the median age of a new car buyer, it’s important to note that the LaCrosse may be purchased as a replacement vehicle for previous owners of Buick’s Lucerne boat barge sedan.

Brian Sweeney, the 42 year-old head of Buick-GMC, who took over from the famous 9-day exec Michael Richards – is looking to further decrease the average age of Buick buyers. Simply put, the plan involves the Buick Regal – the brand’s newest sedan that’s due to go on sale in the first quarter of 2011. The European-derived sedan will take advantage “experimental marketing” when pitched to the car buyer at large.

While we’re not sure what that will exactly entail, the folks at Buick feel that the drop in the median age of new LaCrosse customers was helped by making appearances at “coffee shops, art fairs, and wine festivals.” So perhaps you’ll see the upcoming Regal at gyms, hair salons, and downhill ski resorts, or maybe it will just follow the LaCrosse – its bigger brother – all over town. Whatever it may be, I feel it’s well worth it!

And even though GM is still hard at work designing all-new vehicles for Buick, the current line-up is at least on par with competing brands. In other words, Buick has the product to compete; what it needs now is to change market perception – something that can’t be accomplished with a set of commercials. As common sense would dictate, this will take time and grandiose effort on the part of Buick and GM, but – in the long run – I think it’s well worth it.

Most recently, the all-new LaCrosse has been nominated for the North American Car of The Year Award. It has also seen an increase in demand, prompting GM to run the Kansas City manufacturing facility (the birth place of the LaCrosse) 24/7.

Check out our high-res gallery of the all-new Buick Regal after the break. (more…)

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Report: Only 193 Vehicles Returned Under GM’s Satisfaction Guarantee Program
by Alex Luft
Posted November 26th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Back in September, General Motors surprised many when it announced its 60-day Satisfaction Guarantee program that gives customers the ability to drive a GM car and return it if they didn’t like it with absolutely no very little financial burden. The first month of the program saw only one return (count ‘em, folks!) – and that was because the customer traded in his manual-transmission ‘Vette for a slushbox automatic. Today, a little more than two months into the promotion, GM had a total of 193 vehicles returned under the program (out of a total 220,000 sales) .

Now there is a bit of a “number -fudging” going on here, mainly in the way the Satisfaction Guarantee program works: the customer is given a choice – either sign onto the Satisfaction Guarantee program (which gives the customer the ability to return the vehicle) or get a $500 instant discount. So now that we have the basics down, let’s get on with the number-crunching: out of the 220,000 vehicles sold:
- 653 customers opted for the Satisfaction Guarantee program and
- Out of those 653, 193 people returned their vehicles.
So that makes for 193 out of 653 – meaning that (roughly) 30% of vehicles were returned under the program. While that sounds bad on the surface, it’s really not – and here’s why:
- Those who took advantage of the Satisfaction Guarantee program were unsure with their vehicle purchase to begin with, so it would seem that they were more likely to return the car. As such, it’s not entirely obvious whether the return resulted because of product concerns or general purchase conditions (such as whether the customer could afford the vehicle in the first place).
- On top of that, how many customers visited a Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, or GMC dealer because of the Satisfaction Guarantee program, liked what they saw, made a vehicle purchase, and – in the process – felt that the Satisfaction Guarantee program was unnecessary? In other words, they liked the GM vehicle so much, they opted for the $500 rebate instead and forgot all about the 60-day take-back program.
- Moreover, Mark Reuss, GM Vice President of Global Product Engineering, said that some customers who returned their vehicles traded up to another GM vehicle with more features than the one they originally purchased.
That said, some customers who returned their GM vehicle within the 60-day timeframe may have truly been unsatisfied with the purchase. Fortunately, GM is looking to find out what the reasons for returning the vehicles were – so it can learn from those unsatisfied customers. Reuss said that he and other GM executives plan to call customers who returned vehicles under the program and get feedback as to why they made the decision. “This is about the best unfiltered consumer feedback we’ve had,” said Reuss.

The GM Authority Take

The Satisfaction Guarantee program is a very good marketing and promotional tool designed to show consumers that their perceptions of General Motors’ products being inferior in quality are outdated. By calling the 193 customers who returned its products during the promotion, GM will be capitalizing on the opportunity even further by learning the reasons for the returns. That being said, we think GM should extend the program indefinitely just to prove how competitive its products are.

Most recently, the Satisfaction Guarantee program was extended by another 60 days and is now scheduled to end January 4, 2010. Just in case you were wondering: the idea to call customers who returned the vehicles came from GM’s Chairman Ed Whitacre.

[Source: The Associated Press]
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GM’s Biggest Problem: Perception
by Alex Luft
Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 6:08 pm

Let’s face it, GM has been through some rough times over the last few years. The good news, however, is that our favorite automaker is getting a lot more confident! And it deserves to: today, The General’s product line-up is more competitive than it has been in decades and the company isn’t even close to having completed its turn-around (global platform and model integration is still ongoing). So how is GM getting more assertive?

Probably the biggest evidence of true boldness at GM is the recently-launched Satisfaction Guarantee program (aka May The Best Car Win). It’s not every day that we experience a chairman of a multi-billion dollar car company come out and tell the public, “Car for car, when compared to the competition, we win, simple as that.” But GM took that statement a step further, giving buyers 60 days to buy any GM vehicle and in the case they don’t like it – take it right back to the dealer and get their money back! If those aren’t fightin’ actions, I don’t know what are.

But the battle doesn’t end there: GM released an onslaught of advertisements over the weekend aimed squarely at the competition. Here’s another ad pitting the line-ups of Chevrolet and Toyota:

The Satisfaction Guarantee program as well as the series of accompanying ads waste no time and get right to the point, comparing GM’s products with those offered by the competition. In fact, the commercials seem very similar to Apple’s belligerent Mac ads (that pit the Mac to the PC). (more…)

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The GM Authority Take

The GM Authority Take:

Short-Term Profits vs. Long-Term Sustainability & Growth

The GM Authority Take

The GM Authority Take