Turning The Titanic
They say that memory is highly subjective. Mine is not only subjective, it can be quite flexible depending on whatever point I’m trying to make. I believe it was way back in January of ’04, I saw the ’05 Mustang at the Detroit International Auto Show. For me it was instant lust. Those boys at Ford had really knocked themselves out with their new, but very retro ponycar. Once again, just like in 1964, Ford had gotten the jump on GM.
Lo and behold, at the ’06 auto show, there was a new Camaro concept on display. It wasn’t as retro-ish as the new Mustang, but it was gorgeous. It looked mean, like a muscle car on steroids, with a bad attitude to boot. Once again, my eyes were filled with lust. So when is it coming out? Spring of 2009? You’re bringing it out more than 3 years after you introduce it and more than 5 years after the intro of the new Mustang? In today’s world, that’s an eternity.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, when the new Mustang was introduced in January 2004, the price of crude oil was $33.73 per barrel. The average price per gallon of gas was $1.63.
A lot can happen in 5 years. As of this writing the price of crude is $128.26 per barrel. The price of gas has already climbed over $4.00 per gallon. By the spring of 2009 the price of gas at the pump could be considerably higher.
The point here is that the window of opportunity for the new Camaro may have already opened ……and closed. The new Mustang has already stolen all the thunder over the last 3 years and bringing out a new Chevy ponycar next year with a 400 horsepower V8 just doesn’t make much sense. This is especially disappointing to me because I have always loved both cars and was hoping to see them go head-to-head in the marketplace again.
For all the organizational shakeups General Motors has been through over the last few decades, the old culture of “we know best” is still deeply entrenched. It isn’t that they don’t want to listen to the buying public, they just don’t know how. By the time the message gets from the street to the boardroom, it has mutated into something that agrees with the status quo.
Considering the staggering amount of market share that GM has lost over the last twenty-five or so years and the escalating price of fuel today, you’d think alarm bells would be going off all over the RenCen. They are not exactly awash in small fuel-efficient vehicles right now. Two of their five domestic divisions (Cadillac and Buick) don’t even have any.
When Toyota came ashore back in the late ‘50s, they were considered somewhat of a joke by Detroit standards. They were small and funny looking. Even the name Toyota suggested to many that they were just “toy cars”. Since then Toyota has grown exponentially. They are now neck-n-neck with GM for the title of world’s largest automaker.
GM, wake up! Iceberg dead ahead!
They say that memory is highly subjective. Mine is not only subjective, it can be quite flexible depending on whatever point I’m trying to make. I believe it was way back in January of ’04, I saw the ’05 Mustang at the Detroit International Auto Show. For me it was instant lust. Those boys at Ford had really knocked themselves out with their new, but very retro ponycar. Once again, just like in 1964, Ford had gotten the jump on GM.
Lo and behold, at the ’06 auto show, there was a new Camaro concept on display. It wasn’t as retro-ish as the new Mustang, but it was gorgeous. It looked mean, like a muscle car on steroids, with a bad attitude to boot. Once again, my eyes were filled with lust. So when is it coming out? Spring of 2009? You’re bringing it out more than 3 years after you introduce it and more than 5 years after the intro of the new Mustang? In today’s world, that’s an eternity.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, when the new Mustang was introduced in January 2004, the price of crude oil was $33.73 per barrel. The average price per gallon of gas was $1.63.
A lot can happen in 5 years. As of this writing the price of crude is $128.26 per barrel. The price of gas has already climbed over $4.00 per gallon. By the spring of 2009 the price of gas at the pump could be considerably higher.
The point here is that the window of opportunity for the new Camaro may have already opened ……and closed. The new Mustang has already stolen all the thunder over the last 3 years and bringing out a new Chevy ponycar next year with a 400 horsepower V8 just doesn’t make much sense. This is especially disappointing to me because I have always loved both cars and was hoping to see them go head-to-head in the marketplace again.
For all the organizational shakeups General Motors has been through over the last few decades, the old culture of “we know best” is still deeply entrenched. It isn’t that they don’t want to listen to the buying public, they just don’t know how. By the time the message gets from the street to the boardroom, it has mutated into something that agrees with the status quo.
Considering the staggering amount of market share that GM has lost over the last twenty-five or so years and the escalating price of fuel today, you’d think alarm bells would be going off all over the RenCen. They are not exactly awash in small fuel-efficient vehicles right now. Two of their five domestic divisions (Cadillac and Buick) don’t even have any.
When Toyota came ashore back in the late ‘50s, they were considered somewhat of a joke by Detroit standards. They were small and funny looking. Even the name Toyota suggested to many that they were just “toy cars”. Since then Toyota has grown exponentially. They are now neck-n-neck with GM for the title of world’s largest automaker.
GM, wake up! Iceberg dead ahead!
1 comment:
Good post. I think GM is wide awake and more than aware of what's ahead. Unfortunately for them, I think redirecting GM is way more difficult than the Titanic avoiding the iceberg...not impossible...just harder. Good luck GM (and Ford and Chrysler).
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