Tesla is lauded for its advanced electric powertrains, energy-dense battery packs, and tech-forward interiors, but has been consistently dragged in the automotive press over its large body panel gaps and overall build quality.
The American company seems to have improved its production processes in recent months, however, and the industry is beginning to take notice. Longtime General Motors executive Bob Lutz recently told an anecdote in his occasional Road & Track column in which he stumbled across a Tesla Model 3 in a parking lot in Michigan and was extremely impressed with the vehicle’s apparent build quality.
This encounter reminded Lutz of how he got GM’s production department to improve its body panel gaps when he rejoined the company as vice president of product development in 2001. As he explains, the Detroit Three “routinely delivered cars and trucks with appalling gaps, often as wide as 8mm on one side, 2mm on the other,” at this time, forcing him to whip GM into shape under his leadership.
“I had assembled most of the GM products at the proving ground and flanked them with role models from Germany (surprisingly not the best), Japan (better, but second) and Korea (the world’s best),” Lutz explained. “I lead the cluster of proud GM execs from car to car until the enormous, Harley-jacketed Joe Spielman—then president of assembly—literally grabbed me by the collar and said ‘Enough of this crap! Just show me what you want, and I’ll get it for you, guaranteed!”‘
Lutz then went on to explain how within a few months, GM vehicles “were within striking distance of the world’s best (and still are today).” He never did get the request for capital for new equipment from the production department, and years later, he finally found out why.
“I asked Spielman how that had happened,” Lutz wrote. “Well, when we discussed it with the lower-level operating supervisors and the skilled-trade hourly folks, they told us they could do (better panel gaps)… it’s just nobody has ever asked for it before, so they didn’t think it mattered.”
We encourage you to read Lutz’s full column at this link.
Source: Road & Track
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM production news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
The little worker motivation is caused by the administration lack of care. If all the assembly workers were recognized, motivated, and received attention, they will do a better job. This is like the story of two bricklayers, and one person asks what that were doing:
First bricklayer who was taking his time “I’m just building a wall”
Second bricklayer who was happy, fast, and careful ” I’m building a church!”.
Exactly! Seems GM never learned from the Japanese competition. Japanese manufacturers incentivise worker participation and ideas for continuous product improvements on the assembly line.
Yes, responsible in great part by the American farsighted industrialist /teacher/lecturer
William Deming. But still it’s hard to believe they didn’t think it made any difference.
Actually Deming was brought in by GM in the early 80’s to Pontiac to help. He was on the Fiero program advising on how to make a quality build.
The problem was the issues were much deeper than the assembly line only.
GM was failing back in the early 80’s and looking to cut many lines and models. The Bonneville on the Lemans body was a great example. It was also the time when they deemed everything had to be FWD on only a couple platforms that are now forgettable.
Pontiac was on the verge of being cut till the Grand AM sales took off and put Olds on the bubble.
Then the Saturn deal? What was that all about other than flushing money away?
Actually this story is from the Lutz book Bean Counters vs Car Guys he wrote a few years ago. It is a very good read and tells of the condition and things going on at GM when Bob arrived.
It points out many cases like this where it was just a damage culture.
The real example here is you have two bricklayers and it goes like this.
Bricklayer #1 This wall is leaning. Should we fix it?
Bricklayer #2 No we are not permitted to fix it unless someone higher up tells us to so we just need to keep building it leaning.
The GM culture was so damaged in many ways and while they have fixed much there is still some lingering.
Lutz also has a story on how they had a sedan with no chrome trim around the windows. Lutz asked the designer would that not look better with trim and he replied yes but it would put me over budget and I would get in trouble.
Lutz replied would it be better to be in trouble to be a couple dollars over budget for the chrome being a sales success vs selling thousands of less cars with out the trim to be in budget and being a sales failure?
Lutz said add the trim and it was a success.
I highly recommend this book and all the other Lutz books as they teach much about the auto industry that many on the web fail to always consider or understand.
Didn’t matter!!!? Do these people live under a rock or what. I don’t get it, don’t they have the internet in Detroit? Do they ever check out the competition? :>0
A lot of this was because of Union Mindset from generation of family employees. Managers also at the plants are to blame for not motivating people to do better. I’m sure a lot it was because the Union Boss wouldn’t allow it. Seems they finally are changing and realizing some that if you do a better job your job might last. Not that this would be a guarantee but I bet in the long run it will make a difference.
It has nothing to do with unions, and everything to do with a company that didn’t value it’s employees. You get out what you put in. Treat them as if they are just another piece of capital and you will get apathy, involve them and empower them to do a great job and more often than not they will rise to the occasion.
Going back a ways (late 80’s to early 90’s), I was brand new in the car business and green behind the ears. I grew up in a GM family and thought all GM (at the time Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, GMC and Cadillac) were the same no matter what. I didn’t understand how a Pontiac and Buick version of the same car could have better quality and/or reviews. This was even more strange to me when the cars came out of the same factories in some cases.
What I learned over the years was the attitude and requirements for Buick was higher than the Pontiac for example. Just different standards in most cases, but it has helped Buick over the years as they ranked higher than most GM’s for a long time. Today, all GM brands seem to rank quite well.
Dan Berning,
I never understood that. I attributed it to different standards of acceptability by the customers. I assumed that a Buick which was routinely rated much higher in customer satisfaction surveys in the 1990s got the higher score because their older clientele had lower standards than a younger, Pontiac buyer. After all the Pontiac and Buick would use the same platform, same engine, and many other shared parts and they were built at the same plant with the same workforce.
It was the only thing that made sense but if there were divisional standards imposed in those days that were different, that’s interesting. Also a little nonsensical though. If a GM plant could build a LeSabre that would top JD Power’s quality assessment ratings, why wouldn’t they also want to build the Pontiac Bonneville to the same standard. It was always interesting to me that Buicks from years ago would score so much higher than other GM products.
Look this deal was not union, not checking out the competition etc.
This was pure failure of leadership in GM at that time.
The workers knew they could do better but they were not permitted to say anything to management. Management on the other hand would not talk to the workers. It was a pure cultural stale mate due to the lack of communication going two wYs.
Read the book and learn the truth. It is eye opening and a crurate vs web speculation. It was written by the man who worked to destroy that damaging culture.
Seems little has really changed at GM even today. They talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. They use their workers rather than embrace their workers.
This is the reason they are and will continue to loose market share..
They have chased Toyota rather being the inovator. Forcing them to accept second place at best.
Failed policies with failed ideas
Remember, Toyota and Honda among other Asian brands are all employees of the respective company, even on the assembly lines. Domestics (GM, Ford and FCA are all UAW union workers at the assembly plants, so there is much disconnect for sure. Not as much pride as the Asian company assembly employees for the most part as they don’t work directly for GM, they report to the union bosses who report to GM Corp. bosses at the Ren. Cen.
Why am I still “waiting moderation” on this comment? It’s been over a week. I’ve been a GMA subscriber for years.
I just had to light a fire to get approval I guess ?
This is what happens in any company world wide when upper management gets too distant from the product. They get too comfortable and what they have done in the past got them to their position, so people get complacent. Very few can can see that changes must alway be made and nothing stays the same. Bob Lutz and maybe Lee Iacocca were visionaries that can see weakness and where improvements must be made all the time. I worked in a corporate culture and there was nothing better than when the big bosses (those that run the company) come down to the floor lever and even if it is a chit chat. Some would rather have lunch with you than in the boardroom. It is every important that what you the worker does, you have a bigger impact than you may ever realize.