Quote:
Originally Posted by fbodfather
well -- as you know, my family has owned a few Chevy dealerships over the years -- and my cousin still runs one......
I can tell you that I've not slept in a couple of weeks -- this is a gut wrenching thing to watch -- believe me -- it's been HORRIBLE.............
Here's the problem:
In 1970 (when Honda built motorcycles, Datsun was Nissan, Toyotas sold cars in California and that was about it, (and foreign cars' interiors would deteriorate right on the lots...)...the Big Three were Chevy, Ford, and Plymouth, --and Americans still bought American cars and were proud to do so........we had the right number of dealers in the right locations.
Then the world changed.
I can think of one area in the country where there are 20+ Chevy dealers -- and 7 Toyota Dealers -- and Toyota outsells Chevy 3 to one.
That means the Toyota dealer is probably making some serious money....and it also means that most of the Chevy dealers are either losing money -- and have for some time - or are making very little money.........
That's a bad thing.
I remember a dealer saying to me one time: "If you have 50 head of cattle and enough food for 30 -- do you try to feed all 50 and watch them all get diseased and die? -- OR -- do you slaughter 20 and keep 30 healthy ones?"
.........see where this is going?
The really sad part? (and this is going to get a few people going.....)
WHEN did it become fashionable for Americans to hate America? And when did it become fashionable for Americans to buy from countries that would not lift a finger to help us in bad times? And where did the thought come from that a service industry can create untold wealth? (.......there is less and less industry and production in this country and it scares the HELL out of me...)
Sorry guys and gals -- but the past few months have been a living hell for a lot of people -- and I guess I look back at how America pulled together during the first world war and the second world war - and people made HUGE sacrifices so that we would be victorious -- and let's face it -- we've become all about "Me-me-me" rather than 'We-we-we" -- and what you see happening to GM and Chrysler and Ford is only the beginning if we don't soon wake up!
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Now Scott, you've even admitted this yourself....... GM (and Ford, and Chrysler) made some serious management and product mistakes in the 1970's and 1980's that soured even the most patriotic Americans.
It is unfortunate but true...... American car companies are now paying for mistakes that they made 30 years ago that should have been taken care of 30 years ago. The state they are in today is not just a factor of the economy. You cannot blame people who swore of American cars forever after their one time experience with a Chevy Vega or Citation or (in my personal case) a 1990 Chevy Beretta with that great paint job.
Only because I pay attention to the details of how GM products are made now am I buying a Camaro, but if I didn't pay attention, you better believe my next car would be another Honda. GM still does a horrible - ABSOLUTELY horrible - job of marketing their cars. Their ads and salesmen still insist on touting price instead of product refinement and technology. I have yet to see Bob Lutz make an ad admitting to the garbage GM made in the 1970's and the great stuff they make today. Seriously, get the PR department's heads out of their collective asses and advertise the PRODUCT!!!!! I've been screaming for years that GM needs to take a page out of Lee Iacocca's book and have Lutz do some personal ads showing the product and talking about ONLY the product and not price. Get personal with the American car buyer. Appeal to their emotions. Hell, get Fritz to go on the air and Americans where their allegience lies if they have a Honda or Toyota in the driveway right now. It's not enough to have great scores on JD Powers and whatnot..... your average car buyer thinks GM = junk without even walking into a showroom.
Only GM can change this public perception. And I do not see near enough of the right amount of PR. The average American car buyer does not visit websites like this one. They aren't enthusiasts. They couldn't tell you the difference between a radio and a cam shaft. It is GM's responsibility to get into their head that their stuff is just as good or BETTER than Toyota and Honda.
You can have the funniest joke in the world, but if you tell it wrong it won't get a single laugh.
You can make the best products in the world, but if you don't market them correctly, you won't sell.