Disney World – GM "Test Track" Ride RIP?

Last Thanksgiving, I took my step-daughter to the GM “Test Track” at Disney World. When we walked up to the heavy steel door, the ride was “temporarily closed” for “technical reasons.” We waited. The ride reopened twenty minutes later. We were cattle herded through a chain link channel, passing various displays designed to educate guests about automotive development: air bags, door longevity, etc. The ten-year-old displays were worn, dated and dusty. There was no branding anywhere; no mention of Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Saturn, Saab, Cadillac or HUMMER. When we got to the acoustic chamber, the ride broke. Not good: the chamber lacked ventilation. People started leaving the line after 20 minutes. Just before the ride, a short video (on a small TV) extolled the joys of ABS—for a Chevy Trailblazer.

The cars themselves were generic in a nostalgic sort of way (when was the last time you rode three across in the front of a vehicle?). The best part of the ride: the high speed outdoor run. The cars pulled some serious G’s. At the end of the ride, participants blew through the new car showroom as if it didn’t exist. The new plug-in electric gas hybrid Chevy Volt, which doesn’t yet exist, didn’t exist there. As a ride, my 11-year-old Rock and Roller Coaster-loving stepdaughter gave GM Test Track a 4. During the post ride comprehension test, she scored an F.

Automotive News [sub] reports that GM and Disney might close the ride. It’s certainly not the first time GM has had trouble with Test Track. The original opening was rescheduled twice, delayed by a total of 22 months. For its part, Disney now has the Cars movie franchise upon which to build auto-related entertainment. And GM has something of a cash flow/political problem . . .

Can GM walk away from Test Track, which attracts more than 7 million people a year? GM is damned if it renews its sponsorship and damned it if doesn’t. If GM renews, critics may call it a waste of taxpayer money. After all, the automaker is borrowing billions of dollars from the federal government to stay afloat.

Should GM walk away from Test Track, another automaker, possibly an import, may snatch the opportunity and sign with Disney for years, maybe decades.

For an automaker, Test Track is the perfect venue to build a positive image and woo car buyers. But for GM, those days may be over.

As one of GM’s newest investors, I’ve got nothing against GM offering a kick-ass corporate PR ride that educates consumers as to the value of the engineering underlying its products. Test Track, however, needs to be hauled over a berm and shot.