GM - A History Of Botched Breakthroughs And Innovation Avoided

[hatrack]

"It was probably fitting that the assembly lines at the General Motors Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., were shut down last week when GM's top management announced the company was likely to post an operating loss of $850 million. After all, the failure to exploit Saturn's initial success has to go down in history as General Motors' biggest failure in the years since the management upheaval in 1992.

EDIT

However, all through the 1990s, there were plenty of signs that pointed toward the need for cleaner and more efficient vehicles. For example, major urban areas, such as Mexico City, began to limit motor vehicle access to help curb pollution, and the debate about global warming steadily gained momentum. GM's management, pulled by the huge boom in truck and sport utility vehicle sales, moved in another direction, and GM's leadership in environmentally friendly vehicles gradually melted away. Make no mistake about it, the EV1 was an enormous technological achievement that helped open the door to the current generation of hybrid vehicles.

It also showcased the talent inside GM. To his credit, Smith didn't kill the EV1 outright and stood behind it. Again GM wound up spending a lot of money, but, like a lot of discouraged tech investors, sold out before ever realizing any return on its investment. For GM, the consequences have gone beyond financial losses. GM surrendered a critical market opportunity to its Japanese rivals, Toyota and Honda. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Chrysler Group, said in a speech last week that domestic carmakers have now allowed the Japanese to seize the "moral high ground" on the environment with their new hybrids.

Clearly, GM's retreat from the EV1 helped reinforce the unfortunate perception in the media, particularly the elite media if not the entire automotive press and on Wall Street, that the domestic auto industry was backward-looking while their Asian rivals had their eyes on the prize. Auto companies pay dearly for negative public perceptions. The whole industry is ultimately based on perception, and GM is now paying twice; first out in the showroom and then in the debt market, where its credit rating is being steadily downgraded, making it far more expensive for the automaker to execute routine transactions."

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http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/032005/bus_20050320009.shtml

[RPM]

1. pretty much sums them up

god i hate GM

[4morewars]

2. Once again.....

the dinosaurs in Detroit drop the ball. Anyone remember the oil embargo of the 70s ? Not these clowns.