AN OPEN LETTER TO GM - And in the end....

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by alrox

You give a lot of complaints but no reasonable possible solution to sate your desires that result from the anxiety and panic that exists only in your mind.

I'm sure buying this car is a major expense to you and you want to have OCD levels of detail on your order and the creation/shipping process, but your post only makes you madder with no possible resolution.

Be calm and wait. You will get what you want.

Moving to amber light .....

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by alrox

You give a lot of complaints but no reasonable possible solution to sate your desires that result from the anxiety and panic that exists only in your mind.

I'm sure buying this car is a major expense to you and you want to have OCD levels of detail on your order and the creation/shipping process, but your post only makes you madder with no possible resolution.

Be calm and wait. You will get what you want.

DaYuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuM!

[Vole182]

I would rather have the right car built proper and wait then have the wrong car handed to me now.

Give it time all of our patience will be rewarded... I believe EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and I am willing to wait for this car until it shows up at the right time in my life.
Even though I would die to have it today, I can wait its not the end of the world.

If you dont like how you were treated you can go somewhere else. I've waited since 2002(when they killed it off) for this car. I can wait a few months more.

[prasutagus]

Threads like these make me glad I bought my C6 when I did. I really almost pre-ordered. I've owned Camaro and GM products my entire life, and am disappointed with GM more than anything. A lot of people will remember this experience when they go to buy their next car.

I've said it before, but GM should have only released hints and small bits of info about the car--they should have killed all the hype much earlier on (like 2007) and worked on an ad and marketing campaign to support the car after quietly dropping it into showrooms this spring.

By the time the Camaro actually is delivered, it will be so over-hyped and expectations will be so high that it better be successful or it will go down in history as one of GM's most spectacular failures

[JJ2010]

Originally Posted by SandiCandi

All of the negativity that’s been posted on this forum and other threads are down to two simple things that companies somehow never seem to quite understand no matter how many MBAs and management consultants they employ. It comes down to a lack of communication and an understanding of how customers expect to be treated.

Those who were the "Early Oderers" of the 2010 Camaro expected that they would be the first to:
1) Have a realistic methodology of finding out, up to the minute, the status of their cars. There is so much distain for the 800 number that it has become the joke of the Camaro forums.
2) Expected that their cars were going to be among the first built.
3) Expected that their cars were going to be among the first to be delivered to them.
4) Expected that they would be given some special consideration because they were the first to put their hard earned money down on a car that they never actually saw, never sat in or drove, in an economy that has been the worst in 60 years, and are hearing almost daily the possibility of bankrupcy.
Instead, only some have received a letter and a picture, the infamous “Welcome Kit”. There are many more who ordered in October who are still waiting.
Yes, no one said the world is fair, but there hasn't been an attempt by GM to try to make it a bit fairer for those who are trying to back them - their CUSTOMERS!
So yes, the “early orderers” are 100% right for feeling they are not being treated fairly.
You can argue technicalities such as they didn't "buy a car" it’s just a place holder in the ordering process; that they were unrealistic in thinking their cars would be the first to be built, delivered, etc. But honestly, what percent of us are knowledgeable about the whole automobile ordering, manufacturing and delivery process. And because only a tiny fraction might know, then at the very least GM had a responsibility to send out communications to make it clear to the best of their ability what we were to expect. And they didn't. Not knocking “fbodfather”, but it is unfair that he could only offer hints at what was going on. GM employs people that are supposedly experts in Communications - what happened?
And yes we understand there is probably a significant amount of turmoil going on in GM, but this is just one car and probably one of the most significant one that is coming out in a decade, and it was GMs golden opportunity to show how they can get it right with their customers. They did not.
Perhaps the whole fiasco with the "launch" of the Camaro will be a business school study of what went wrong and how to avoid doing it again, or in another car company.
So GM, you have lost a lot of respect from your most loyal followers and customers, created some bad blood and rather than making the end of what would seem like Christmas Eve for the most forgiving among your customers, it’s been more like a bad bar fight amongst us.
I seriously hope that this thread makes it way to GM brass and soon. You owe us an explanation. We deserve nothing less. Perhaps the press will want to take notice and raise the issue to a higher tenor.

You said what I've been wanting to say for months...
I throw down $35,000.00 and don't feel much love from the big GM.
I throw down $35,000.00 @ Hendrick Chevrolet of Cary NC and can't even get a return e-mail about changing my order for 2 1/2 months.I get some attention when I go to cancel my order and get my $1000.00 dollar deposit back.
It's pretty sad that you got to show your tail and get mad before getting any attention.
You go.... Maybe someone will stop acting like they've got a pentagon top secret over at GM and stop treating us like a bunch of red headed step
kids...
People do crazy things when they are kept in the dark......

[MerlinZero]

Originally Posted by CamaroScotty

I'll take the blame. I provided too much information the last 9 months. I will not post here anymore. I promise. I want to make this right.

I hope you're joking...


Scott you have provided a lot to this community....


I must say some people that have joined...and ordered recently have gotten things very ansy around here...

Will you all please chill out. you can not expect GM to be pandering to every whim of everyone... yes we preordered. but do you want them to have 14,000 employees calling the 14,000 preorders daily just to make sure they are happy? that unrealistic... yes i understand im being rediculous but its basically what everyone is complaining about...

People like Hylton, Camaro Scotty, Fbodfather, RPO, the others that work there.... And even the moderators that have GREAT ties with GM... They've provided MORE information about this car then anyone has ever seen....

Dont get angry at them because you have had more of an open book then anyone knows... Fbod wrote on here probably a month ago how this was a risky experiment and that they might never do this again.

Hell if you hadnt had this exposure to the car. Do you really think we'd all be here drooling like rabid dogs waiting for fresh meat? No. you'd be reading the little Tid-bits that fall through in MotorTrend and Autoweek. There wouldnt have been Hylton and the cameras there are the factory on the 16th. There wouldnt have been Number 3, his great wife. Cheryl and Fbod that have allowed us to see the CTF's working their magic all over the country...


PEOPLE CHILL THE HELL OUT...


"Keep The Faith"


- Chris

[bolteon593]

you guys are rediculous.

[2010 SS RS]

The fact remains that we all have learned way more about the ordering process than we ever really should have. I clearly understood that my dealer had an allocation for cars and that they would be given out slowly over a period of time. If what you are saying is that all the people that ordered on Oct 15th thought that their order was going to be processed first then that was something that they assumed but was not what was written in the initial pre-order information from GM. If that was the case then why were there not lines of buyers camped out waiting for the dealers to open. And then would it not have been the East Coast dealers getting all the orders in first because of time zones. Dont get me wrong. I agree that this should be a learning experience for GM and it already has been for us the customers. And yes GM should be reacting to the feedback generated on this and other Camaro forums. However, under the circumstances GM executives are focused on other issues deemed far more important than 14,000 pre-order customers and our feelings. I think we have all identified problems with the delivery system, the pre-order process, and the customer service and information sources. As GM moves toward revamping and reinventing itself I would expect them to use our feedback at that point to better figure out how it will do business. Will we still see thousands of dealers with hundreds of cars and tens of models? Or will we see Corporate Showrooms with a few models and a few levels to choose from and then order the car to be built? I would suggest the latter is a much more profitable business plan. Cars would or could be held at the plant or regional distribution centers for quick (7 to 10 day) delivery for most trim levels. Custom options could be installed prior to customer pick up. It is 2009 and there is no reason not to have a better order tracking system. For Gods sake, Amazon does better. As a Camaro buyer you bet I am upset over some of these issues. As a Camaro buyer I am however extremely impressed with car that they have designed, the people like Fbodfather, Number 3 and others that have worked on this project, and the workers at the plant building these cars. I will wait and wait for my new Camaro and when it finally arrives, I will enjoy what might be the last run of the American Muscle Car. We all need to relax, follow the process and pray for the success of GM because I dont want to have to drive a Ford or Kia the rest of my life. In the words of Forrest Gump, " Thats all I have to say about that"

[PQ]

Originally Posted by CamaroScotty

I'll take the blame. I provided too much information the last 9 months. I will not post here anymore. I promise. I want to make this right.

Dude! Why punish all of us for a few opinions?

People, this is a brand new car. To the guy who ordered a mustang and got it in three weeks, you ordered a car that was currently in mass production.

I don't know what is going on for GM to not have these cars shipped yet. I can only assume it's legit.

[TAG UR IT]

You owe us an explanation. We deserve nothing less. Perhaps the press will want to take notice and raise the issue to a higher tenor.

No one OWES me anything.

I have not paid a DIME to GM nor given any money to any dealer.

I have chosen to spend MY time here talking about this car.

GM has not paid ME anything for doing that.

....................

I ordered my car like everyone else. So far, to my understanding, only one person has gotten their car....and that's because 350k can get that for you!


We are enthusiasts....and have been treated VERY well. We were given pictures a YEAR b before the car came out....given information here and there....tid bits...ALL, when GM employees are forbidden to talk about this unless authorized to do so!

We are fortunate to have been given the info we have.

We are MORE knowledgeable than our own dealers...

Why? Because we get info. from many facets right here on sites like these.




-----------------


What is it that you seek? Do you want to know when you are getting you car? As soon as it is finished.. 6 to 8 weeks... Has it been 6 to 8 weeks after beginning of production yet?! NOPE! No one owes us an explanation of why it takes 6 to 8 weeks. There's no one here making monthly payments on anything yet. No one here has paid cash for their car yet. GM IS making our car. GM HAS given us info.

Don't worry....GM has gone through a lot lately. They are building our cars. You and everyone else have seen hundreds of cars sitting in their plant lots.

They will be here. Just because you see them made but they haven't gotten here yet doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

[bolteon593]

amen.

[PQ]

I'll bet this is the LAST time GM keeps us this well informed.

I know if I owned a car company I would keep everything secret. This is turning into a bad deal for GM.

[Hylton]

When they told us by the end of Q3, I just figured anything sooner is a God send. BTW - I am still at 1100 for anyone who cares.

[CommandoSS]

Originally Posted by alrox

You give a lot of complaints but no reasonable possible solution to sate your desires that result from the anxiety and panic that exists only in your mind.

I'm sure buying this car is a major expense to you and you want to have OCD levels of detail on your order and the creation/shipping process, but your post only makes you madder with no possible resolution.

Be calm and wait. You will get what you want.

There it is!

To the OP: Not sure if you know how business works but American auto companies pride themselves in building good cars in a very fast, efficient, cost-effective manner. If GM were to implement some of the policies that you proposed in your post, their costs would go way up. And guess who they would pass the costs on to? Yup, YOU!

The Camaro is a unique vehicle because people have already developed a passion for it and have fallen in love with the car. Just remember, it's still a CAR and most importantly, a CHEAP car but yet still provides loads of value. If you want a custom order/build process, go buy a custom/hand-built Lambo and be happy. When you plop down that kind of coin, then yes, I agree with your demands. However, when buying a car that is less than $40k, it's just not practical.