What’s remarkable to me about Wagoner’s response is
that GM has been making ugly cars for more than
30 years. Even the cars that made the Motor Trend list as candidates for Car of the Year were disappointing.
Part of GM’s problem is its expansive distribution network
with nine brands.
It’s hard to come up with five variations of an SUV (ten if you count
Isuzu), make each one worthwhile, and get the next one out in four
years, which is the lifecycle of Japanese and Korean products.
Toyota has had at most five distribution channels in Japan, and continues to revamp and consolidate
them. It took GM four years and millions of dollars to buyout
Oldsmobile dealers, two decades after the indistinguishable cars became
known as “Oldsmobuick.”
Ugly
cars that stick around on the market for a long time and mostly get
sold to fleets will mean a short life for a welfare agency that depends
on profits from vehicle sales to fund its obligations.
