GM touts their new Chevrolet Malibu as "The car you can't ignore." I've driven the new ‘Bu. It's a handsome, well-built, thoroughly competent machine. As good as it is, Chevrolet's mid-size sedan will only remain psychologically inescapable as long as GM sustains the car's $150m ad campaign. To suggest otherwise ignores the quality and strength of the ‘Bu's competition. It's yet another example of GM's mindless arrogance. In fact, Chevy's first hit in years is already in deep trouble, as I discovered down at the dealership.
Sitting in the salesman's cubicle, waiting for the Malibu demonstrator to return, I watched a customer vent his ire. "I am NOT satisfied," he yelled at a manager sheltering behind the reception desk. "It's a new car. I've been back here FIVE TIMES and I am NOT satisfied."
This confrontation could have happened at any dealership. J.D. Powers, Consumer Reports and TrueDelta have documented GM products' increased quality and reliability. But the way the dealer's staff glanced at each other during the customer's diatribe told me that the distraught buyer's remorse was neither unexpected nor unfamiliar. Worse, I observed a frisson of fear spread across my fellow customers, as they contemplated what could- maybe even has- occurred to them.
Even if we assume that the new ‘Bu represents a new dawn for the brand, Chevy's past is a recurring nightmare that will not fade away. Call it import bigotry or sensible self-protection, but GM's marketing campaign should have addressed this problem head-on. Instead, they sent a subliminal message that their latest next big thing is good enough to convince customers to ignore Chevy's ignoble legacy of customer alienations. It's an intellectual leap that GM's marketing maven are making on their own.
A minute later, I asked the middle-aged Mom emerging from her Malibu test drive what she thought about the car. She was all smiles. "We came down to look at an Impala," she said, pointing to a picture in a discarded ad resting on the salesman's desk. "But this is one sharp car."
Cannibalization is one of GM's less-discussed afflictions. For example, the domestic automaker basks in the success of its Lambda-platformed crossovers. Yet many if not most of these sales came straight out of the hide of their more profitable SUV business.
If the Impala intender above clicked over to TrueDelta to compare base vs. base, she'd find that the new 'Bu is $1568 cheaper than the Impala. With incentives, it could soon be a wash. She'd also discover that the new 'Bu is just $807 more than its sister-under-the-skin, the Saturn Aura, and $364 LESS than Pontiac's platform sib, the slow-selling G6. Clearly, the new, better-built, sharper-looking Malibu will steal sales from other corners of the GM empire.
Model and brand overlap is a luxury the Malibu's maker can't afford. If GM is to prosper/recover from its dramatic downsizing, it must attract NEW players to the table. Reshuffling the deck for the same old diehards won't do it- especially if the old cards were better stacked in GM's favor (i.e. more profitable) than the new ones.
Let's face it: the buyers most able to ignore the new Malibu- contented Accord, Camry and Altima buyers- are the ones GM needs the most. To be fair, the new Malibu is a highly credible alternative in a highly competitive genre. But…
GM didn't make enough Malibus. The dealer I visited had one Malibu. They'd sold another. Only two more were due this month. Next month, they MIGHT get four. Hell, even their own ad agency seems to be having trouble getting them; all the spots I've seen use computer-generated cars.
This is the Mother of All Screw-Ups. Imagine you're a transplant-type who suddenly decided to shop for a mid-size car. You stop by the Chevy dealer for the first time in a decade- or ever- to clock the new ‘Bu. No demo car. No cars on the lot. All (and by that I mean a handful) of the cars coming are pre-sold. What are the chances you'll wait?
The competition won't. Not only do Honda, Toyota and Nissan (not to mention Ford and Chrysler) already have plenty of stock at all trim levels and colors in this class (duh), but they aren't about to be caught flat-footed by GM's nifty newbie. Look for them to amp-up their marketing campaigns and/or offer discounts– as Chevy dealers charge full sticker (just because they can). And then, soon, the 'Bu's foes will counter-attack with even better cars.
You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Chevy's blown it. Given the aforementioned bad vibes dogging both GM and Chevy, this is an irrecoverable mistake. The Malibu hype will die down. The new Chevy will be a solid seller when supplies ease, but it will have lost the chance to capitalize on GM's $150m marketing mitzvah to build the momentum it needed to provide The General with a breakout success.
So, GM finally built a commercially viable car, yet failed to make a meaningful marketing campaign, sort out its model lineup or assure adequate supplies. The new ‘Bu reveals the fundamental problem plaguing GM, the deficiency we've highlighted since this series began: a bloated, unfocused and incompetent bureaucratic structure. Until and unless GM corrects this fault, they're doomed.
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Fixing 2.8’s ills aren’t rocket science….one just needs to read this site, its columns and comments.
But then again no one’s paying anyone here $500/hr for their opinions. Too bad….as the collective wisdom here is just as good as any consulting firm (looking at you JD Power)
Want GM to succeed, but I’ll let my neighbor be the car buying guinea pig.
I was a GM dealer for 30 years. This is typical of every big launch. They are too damn dumb to recover. thanks
It’s been reported again and again how the 2.8 are mismanaging their factory capabilities, especially toward the latter end of a vehicle’s life when they can’t scale down production.
The scarcity of vehicles at a launch seems like a different face of the same problem. Lack of reliable data on factory output, lack of flexible production, and thus loss of customers despite a competitive vehicle.
Production delays aside, GM’s marketing bozos make the same mistake over and over again by launching the campaign before there’s supply at the dealership.
If GM can’t figure out how to fix this (duh), then how much confidence should one have in the same IQ’s building the product?
I’m excited about the Malibu, as it has genuine potential to put some fizz back in the brand. But with marketing like this, the thing goes stale, once again.
I’m not convinced the Malibu can’t be ignored. Personally, I’d rather spend the extra $1500 and get an Impala. Actually, that’s kind of what I recently did – had a choice between an 01 Impala or an 01 Malibu (I know, different generations of cars, but still…) The Impala won hands down. I’ve also driven the new Impala and Malibu. And as far as I’m concerned, the Impala still is the better vehicle.
If I were GM, I’d be trying to lure people into the larger Impala, from their smaller Hondas and Toyotas. The Malibu is extremely similar to other mid-size sedans, the Impala has little competition (Charger, 300, Grand Marquis) and can actually say it offers something different (namely more space and less boring looks) than the mid-size competition.
I really like the ads – they’re self-depreciating and fit the “give us another chance” theme. Better than the ‘This is our country’/'American Revolution’ theme they have for the trucks.
Still won’t buy the car, but nice ads.
This Death Watch makes some good points.The official launch should have been delayed until the pipeline was full.
G.M. IS a slow learner.Having said that,at the production level,if you crank up the speed at this crucial time,you risk quality problems.I’d rather hear about supply problems than quality issues.Does the Toyota Tundra come to mind?
Toyota spends years building a quality reputation.Too fast of a production ramp up,all of a sudden Toyota quality takes a hit.Bad news travels fast eh?
Can you imagine G.M. with its less than stellar reputation taking a Quality hit on the BU?The last launch I was involved in was the Silverado,we sweated every detail on that truck,and production numbers suffered.If you objectivly take a good look at the full size G.M.truck, you will see the best all around truck on the market,bar none.The market for mid size cars has got some wicked competition,a lot tougher than the pick ups had to face.So the Malibus are coming,and like good food, it takes time to prepare.
The next point, is the Bu gonna eat Impala sales?If past experience is any indication,I figure 10- 15 % = 150-200+cars a day,ouch.
The latest model Grand Prix was itself a victim of the Impalas cannibilization.The G.P.is done production in 3 weeks.I’m hoping the better looking,and more wide appealing Malibu take the G.P. sales.
I,m impressed with T.T.A.C.s treatment of the Malibu so far,fair and objective comes to mind.
Keep up the good work.
Call me cynical or lazy (or both), but I think the cannibalisation could be good for GM in the short term.
If it cannibalises sales from other lines and other models, the it would add further justification for GM to cut some lines and brands. If GM can concentrate all family sedan sales into one model line, then it would build brand loyalty and make it more of a contender against the Camcord mob. The more people buy the ‘Bu, the more people who’ll be interested in it, c’est non?
As for the reliability problems, that’s GM’s millstone which they need to get rid of. I’ve said before that, they need to follow Hyundai’s model, but I’m sure they know what they’re doing (yeah, right!).
The dealer problem is a knotty one. From what I understand, under US law, the dealers can pretty much do whatever they want under the GM banner and GM can’t do a thing about it. They can’t even close down shoddy dealers because they are protected? In the UK, if a manufacturer so much as gets a whiff that a dealership is giving dodgy service, they are threatened and then, if it happens again, their licence is revoked. Trouble is, there are so many third party brokers in the UK, then dealers are always kept on their toes.
Such a shame, because I’d really like to give this car a whirl…..
Robert,
TTAC is obviously completely biased against GM Marketing!
How are they supposed to know how to launch a successful car? They haven’t had one since Nixon was in office.
How should they know you need to have stock on hand for consumers to buy your product? Selling to Avis was never this complicated.
It’s funny because i was that guy screaming at a dealer, specifically Kerbeck Pontiac in Pleasantville NJ, about returning my new car to him 6 times in 3 months. My only consolation was that I did talk (after calming down and waiting for my POS loaner) a couple out of buying a brand new $50K Yukon, steering them across the street to the Nissan dealership to look at Armada’s.
GM’s actually done a pretty good job in terms of advertising and the car itself. A very good friend of mine (I used to work at his auto auction back in the day) has a Chevy dealership and I really do think they’ll do well with the Malibu… even if they have to do the traditional slow launch.
Overall, I think that GM’s problem has been too many dealers while Toyota suffers from very uneven dealer quality. We have two Toyota dealers in my neck of the woods who invested less in their service waiting areas than any other place I’ve seen, and the place is packed with unhappy customers. The Tundra, Avalon and Camry V6 aren’t providing the quality that they should, and it appeared that about 80+% of the vehicles in the service bays were one of those three models.
Both Toyota dealerships are in desperate need of renovation, while he’s invested several millions of dollars in his place. His is more like a Marriott, the Toyota dealerships are more like Best Westerns (cheap and generic), but that says more about the dealer than it does the manufacturer.
Robert—you hit the nail on the head with this one. As I commented in Michael’s Malibu review—for all the reason’s you listed..lack of supply and selection could really damage this launch. I am a domestic bigot with the best of them but this is pretty frustrating.
GM had an inkling of this “oh s–t” months back when they started to pave the way for their Michigan Fairfax plant (currently builds the G6) to start building the new Malibu. Apparently they knew the Kansas City plant does not have the requisite capacity to build both the Malibu and the slow selling Saturn Aura. They friggin knew they had a product winner on their hands 1.5 years ago when they unvieled the new Malibu to the press—but couldn’t rally around getting the supply chain right. I do not buy the excuse that they were doing a slow roll-out to ensure they got quality right. if this was the case—-do not turn on the marketing juice until you know you got the product quality right! If Ford was able to execute this plan with the Fusion and the Edge—why not GM ?
On top of this—they are having problems with the Enclave supply chain. This vehicle has a 4-6 month wait for orders and they cannot keep them on the lot. I know they do not want the market flooded with Enclaves but I got to think that the supply is a victim bad forecast and production planning at the Lansing plant. The Enclave shares that facility with the—you guessed it—slow selling Saturn Outlook.
Net—-the decision to try and infuse life into a dead idea (Saturn) is having big implications from a marketing standpoint—-these implication roll down the food chain to supply.
“I am NOT satisfied,” he yelled at a manager sheltering behind the reception desk. “It’s a new car. I’ve been back here FIVE TIMES and I am NOT satisfied.”
Regrettably, yelling within earshot of prospective buyers was the only to get attention at the Benz dealership I used to frequent far too often. That and simply sitting in one of the SL or CLK convertibles and falling asleep.
morbo, I am not sure that you did that couple any favours steering them toward the Armada, it’s reliability has been less than stellar.
In any event, I’d believe any story about a GM dealer. My last (last in every sense of the word) visit to a dealer prompted me to call GM directly and complain. I honestly don’t think I’ve dealt with a ruder individual in any retail environment. GM called me back to say the dealer would call and apologize, which they never did. GM called me again to ask if I had heard from the dealer yet, and GM said they’d call them again. I told the lady (who actually was nice) not to bother, I wasn’t interested in hearing from them.
This debacle could be worse than the Oprah/G6 miscalculation, except this time GM wasn’t working on Oprah’s timetable.
After all the hard work GM’s R&D departments did with the new ‘bu, its getting stunted by a marketing mishap. Shame.
The marketing gaffe isn’t the greatest thing, I’ll admit. But 90-120 days from now, that will all be forgotten about as the inventories start piling up.
The points about cannibalization are more pertinent here. Those who will be most attracted most will be those who would have already been inclined to buy a domestic. Shifting buyers from Saturns to Chevys won’t do much for the corporate bottom line.
In any case, I believe that the most important question is whether the Malibu will be able to win over many conquest sales from other brands, particularly the Asians. My guess is that it isn’t — it’s not unique enough from the competition for many among the Toyota and Honda faithful to switch.
To me, the soon-to-be failure of this car lies in the fact that it isn’t different enough to warrant a purchase, or even a look, from most buyers. If the car is as stylish as a Camry or Accord but not as reliable (which it won’t be — look to the shared bits with the Aura, G6 and Cobalt for a glimpse of what’s to come), then there will have been no point.
Nobody wants a Chevy Accord. Those who want one will just buy the real deal. They should have followed somewhat in the footsteps of the Chrysler 300 by making a styling statement that was different, so that the Malibu would be able to offer a unique value proposition that can’t be obtained from the rival products. That, and put a better drivetrain in it so that it doesn’t sound and feel like all of the other GM products that are gathering dust and incentives as we speak.
Pch101:
But 90-120 days from now, that will all be forgotten about as the inventories start piling up.
If a week is a long time in politics, 120 days is forever– at least between national TV ad campaign (or talk show host giveaway) and metal on the lots.
By then, the the phrase “piling up on the lots” may be more prophetic than you intended.
Also, the prospect of ‘Bu’s arriving in force 120 days out reminds me of the Solstice situation. Finally getting inventory on a hot new car in the middle of winter? How much sense does THAT make?
Beside, what’s the bet that ADD-afflicted GM moves on to the next Next Big Thing by then?
From what I can see (and my view is limited), the only guys that seem to be able to launch a vehicle flawlessly is Honda. The last few launches I have observed ensure that every dealer has good supply of a new model (for example, the dealer I do business with had eight new Accords on the ground of all trim levels on the September launch date).
I also wonder if GM has ratcheted back production to not only ensure good quality but also to not overproduce in case of insufficient demand.
The only thing worse than too few cars on a lot it too many on it for too long!
GM’s marketing has gone off prematurely. How embarrassing.
Clearly anxiety in upper management is to blame, but who greenlights a campaign for non-existent product these days? Perhaps someone is looking to depart the company?
Beside, what’s the bet that ADD-afflicted GM moves on to the next Next Big Thing by then?
That should make it right in time for them to focus on the G8 and forget all about the Malibu. Doesn’t that lauch in the dead of winter, RWD snow in the north, hmm I don’t see a problem here.
I still can’t find one of these Malibu’s to even look at, the closest one is 80 miles away and I’m not wasting gas on that. I saw one on the road when I drove up to Atlanta this weekend but my wife was not about the stop for a test drive, she hates GM more then me and she came from a must buy American family.
Does anyone know who is buying the car right now? Are they getting import buyers or just the GM faithful excited about a new product. Seams like a waste of $150 million to sell to people who would have bought the new product regardless, 6 months from now who is going to buy?
Here's an interesting, not entirely irrelevant factoid…
Automotive News just released last month's inventory numbers (Frank's blogging). Pontiac dealers have a 211 day supply (8600 units) of Solstii on their lots.
Anyone remember when Pontiac dealers were charging a premium for this vehicle?
” … the Impala has little competition (Charger, 300, Grand Marquis) and can actually say it offers something different …. ”
Actually the best competitor to the Impala is the Five Hundred/New Taurus. They are far more refined driving cars than is the Impala and are more spacious as well. I’ve driven both.
GM seems to still have the functional silos problem. I can imagine a year ago when the roll out program was being planned that the marketing launch date and dealer stocking programs probably were well aligned. Then as often happens, various supply and engineering hitches delayed the production ramp up. Marketing was “locked in” to a launch program and tells operations tough luck, we did our job and are going full speed ahead. Marketing has it’s butt covered because they are executing to plan while operations is behind. Guess what, it is a whole lot easier to hit an advertising schedule than it is to hit a production ramp up schedule. Once the ‘Bu is available in quantity the marketing programs will have moved on to the next 15 minutes of glory.
The right thing to do would have been to soft launch the new ‘Bu and then do the big advertising push after sufficient quantities were built to put at least 10 units on every lot.
How is it that Honda was able to launch the 2008 Accord with synchronized marketing and production while GM couldn’t shoot straight on the ‘Bu launch. Are Honda’s engineering, production and marketing people smarter and harder working than their counterparts at GM? The task each group faced was essentially the same. In fact, GM had a head start because the ‘Bu is built on the same platform as the already launched Aura while the 2008 Accord is the first of Honda’s next generation platform in it’s size class.
The author makes some decent points. However, I would say that GM’s marketing blitz is not all that ill timed as many people begin shopping for cars months in advance of a purchase. Dealers just started receiving Malibus about 2 weeks ago. Generally speaking dealerships regardless of manufacturer are not fully stocked the day the car is launched. Also, isnt a superior product a significant enough commitment to the customer that your company has changed for the better.
The customer confrontation, if it actually happended, could have happened anywhere, and the customer could have nothing to legitimately complain about.
The brand and vehicle cannibalization is going to happen. GM has made a commitment to better compete with the imports. Every new car they come out with recently has made other offerings that have been on sale for a while look bad. Eventually, as old models are replaced, this will not be such a problem.
I guess what I dont understand is that the Author would have GM spend 150 million reminding everyone of the low quality vehicles of the past, then take content and quality out of the Malibu so it doesnt cannibalize sales from other GM vehicles and stop building crossovers (a very hot and growing segment) becuase they steal sales of SUVs (a struggling segment). Sounds like a winner??????.
Surprise! The folks who couldn’t run a car company still can’t.
The one thing Nardelli has going for him is that he has not yet been proven to be a failure at running a car company.
GM is kinda screwing this one up it looks like. They compete like a hacker in golf; sometimes they drive good but putt bad, other times they drive and putt pretty good but chipping blows…etc. They never seem to bring a complete game to a match, and you never know which part will be good and which will be bad. The ‘Bu I see as maybe a real deal in six months or so, when they put cash on the dash after chasing all the early adopters to Rice-in-Ohio Nation over the winter with no inventory and the dealership experience issues.
It seems like one of the two usual suspects in screwing up (managers or the union) is really putting in some overtime of ineptitude to spoil good product so thoroughly. Maybe the suits were busy losing oxygen ‘cause the ties were tight after “losing” 38 billion dollars last week. I live in Idaho; pretty red state, actually see a lot of Buick LaCrosses (non-Hertz LaCrosses even!) and such here. I’ve only seen one Enclave and was always surprised why they aren’t all over my SUV-happy/Buick-loving neck of the woods and now I know why, GM doesn’t have the stuff you want to buy from them. I can get a Rendezvous (still on the local Buick lot, the incentives must be tremendous) today but not an Enclave (full price) next month. GM, how do you do it?
When you think about it, GM’s North American outfit has cranked out consistently positive stuff over the last twelve months like they haven’t been in years. Cadillac is actually breathing again (no more crash cart paddles needed), the Aura is pretty nice little car, they have a pair of nifty roadsters, the GMT-900’s are quality goodies if fighting for a shrinking market-space, the Lambda boxes are very competitive entries in a growing market-space, and the current generation ‘Vette is a modern classic. How can they screw this up and not make any money AND lose more market-space this year? If they can’t notch up even a tick more market share this year with all that good iron, GM is going to be taken out behind the barn before too long…I guess that’s why the column is called “Deathwatch!” With management like this, GM could invent a Ferrari-looking AWD drive ride that stuffs’em in like a clown car and is fusion-powered, and still muck it up.
Anyone remember when Pontiac dealers were charging a premium for this vehicle?
I can’t speak for everyone but the Pontiac Stores I deal with were still taking deposits and getting MSRP on the GXP Solstii back in the Summer.
Currently, they’ve got about 8 or 9 Solstii on the ground but it is November and we’ve got six more months of darkness before its sports car season again. While they would agree the Solstice market has dried up, they are bullish on the car’s potential in the Spring again.
I would like to disagree with everyone that says this car is somehow bad and a disgrace to automotivedom. I have read several positive reviews and seen a couple of video tests by Japanese auto journalists that say the Solstice is a worthy competitor to the Miata. It is a matter of preference. Is the car a useless conveyance for more than one… yes but if you’re looking for utility in a two-seater buy a Ranger.
I was surprised to read that GM was “limiting” production of the Enclave to maintain their rarity and support prices.
I am surprised the new Malibu is hard to find while it is “hot news”.
Most car buyers that are sophisticated will NOT wait for, nor play games to acquire a GM vehicle.
This is not good.
dougw :
I was surprised to read that GM was “limiting” production of the Enclave to maintain their rarity and support prices.
I would take that claim with a large grain of salt.
Enclave scarcity may have more to do with the failure of the Saturn Outlook and the inflexibility of GM’s plants than any clever plan to maintain buzz or protect residuals.
Occam’s razor suggested they blew that one too. I mean, why wouldn’t Buick– poor, moth-eaten Buick– make hay while the sun shines?
My dad was in town this weekend, and we went out on Friday afternoon to look at the new Malibu. I should say, though, that we ended up having to LOOK FOR the new Malibu…
Two of the Chevy dealers in suburban St. Paul, MN did not have any in stock. The third dealer had two, both loaded out LTZs, one of which was sold. We were allowed to sit in, but not drive the unsold car, even though we will both be buying new cars in the next 3 months. This bothered us, especially my dad who is a GM loyalist bar none.
The thing I noticed at all of these dealerships was that none of the Chevy passenger cars were visible from the road. The lot was lined with many, many Tahoes, Suburbans, Silverados, and even Equinoxes…but all of the actual cars were hidden away from street view. Driving by, there is no way an interested customer could see a new Malibu. A real shame considering how lovely, at least to my eyes, the new Malibu is in person, especially in a lighter paint shade. How are they going to get people onto the lot if they can’t see the product?
My dad, who bought a new Corvette this past spring, was not surprised. As we were driving away he said “you really can’t expect much from a Chevy dealer…nice cars, but you about have to beg them to buy one”. If you give someone enough rope, they’ll eventually hang themselves.
was surprised to read that GM was “limiting” production of the Enclave to maintain their rarity and support prices.
I would take that claim with a large grain of salt.
Enclave scarcity may have more to do with the failure of the Saturn Outlook and the inflexibility of GM’s plants than any clever plan to maintain buzz or protect residuals.
Occam’s razor suggested they blew that one too. I mean, why wouldn’t Buick– poor, moth-eaten Buick– make hay while the sun shines?
It might also have to do with the parts supply chain. Unlike the GMC and the Saturn units many panels and trim pieces of the Buick are unique. If there is some issue with quality or quantity of those pieces, then the Enclave doesn’t get built. We all know how much the suppliers love GM these days too.
“J.D. Powers, Consumer Reports and TrueDelta have documented GM products’ increased quality and reliability.”
LOOK AT THE RECENT DATA AGAIN
CR-GM should thank God every day that Toyota grabbed the CR headlines. Only bad dog Rover kept them from sweeping the “Bottom 5″. Of the 18 vehicles below the -80% line half were GM. 51% of their machines failed to make the average range (-20 to 20% of mean) and very few exceeded the average range (4, I think, and the best? The Vibe. A Toyota. Ouch.) The GMT900 launch was a disaster (pickups excepted).
Every GM division except Buick and Saturn had a bigger drop than Toyota!
This is improvement?
JDP-VDS, 2005 was their high point. Since then they have had far fewer category winners and the bulk of their brands are below the industry average.
True Delta- the scores of GM’s vehicles barely overlaps Toyota’s range on the low end and doesn’t touch Honda’s. Not impressed.
RF-The automotive press has basically given them a free pass in recent years. How about a “Truth about GM Reliability” analysis. The data says “below average” with some vehicles that are as bad as any sold in the USA.
BTW-Ford looks way better in all three, hope they make it.
Other wise the article had some good points. I think cannibalism will run rampant.
Cheerio,
Bunter
jthorner:
“GM seems to still have the functional silos problem. I can imagine a year ago when the roll out program was being planned that the marketing launch date and dealer stocking programs probably were well aligned. Then as often happens, various supply and engineering hitches delayed the production ramp up. Marketing was “locked in” to a launch program and tells operations tough luck, we did our job and are going full speed ahead. Marketing has it’s butt covered because they are executing to plan while operations is behind. Guess what, it is a whole lot easier to hit an advertising schedule than it is to hit a production ramp up schedule. Once the ‘Bu is available in quantity the marketing programs will have moved on to the next 15 minutes of glory.”
Hopefully this is not true, but I don’t know anything about the inside workings of GM.
I do know that back when Chrysler was a good car company they learned from Honda that every aspect of the corp that touches the car – design, engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, finance, and of course marketing work under the platform manager. Everything is kept in sync and the lines of communication are kept open. So there are no gotcha’s or one department working alone as an island.
I’ve got to echo some of the other comments here. I was at a Honda dealership the day of the launch of the new Accord and they already had more than a dozen of them on the lot in a variety of option levels. In contrast, I’ve seen Malibu ads plastered all over print and the web for at least the last two months, and I still didn’t know the car had finally launched until I read the review on this site last week.
There is a well-respected (no, really!) Chevy dealership next door to my office and I’ve made friends with one of the salespeople who has worked there for a number of years. A week and a half ago I asked him when they would have the new Malibus in stock. (I check out their lot every day and have yet to see a single one on the lot.) He said he only expected a random delivery of the cars to their lot here or there, 2 or 4 at a time, until sometime around the beginning of the new year, when they reach “full supply.” He spoke as though this is how GM always does product launches–nothing new to him (nor apparently anything new to the experienced commenters on this site). After seeing how smoothly the Accord rolled out in September, I couldn’t believe his response. At least in the meantime the dealership has an abundance of Lucernes and Impalas, both new and used, though the year-old used models are already marked 40% off original MSRP…
There are only a couple of domestic cars in this neighborhood. The owners are not pleased.
I would like to see GM regain its financial health. but I have been burned by specious promises too many times. I will not buy until Consumer Reports has several years reliability history and recommends it.
GM talks the talk, but will not walk the walk. It lacks confidence in its products else it would match Hyundai’s warranty. Why should I underwrite GM’s risk?
Typical GM.
the Impala has little competition (Charger, 300, Grand Marquis) and can actually say it offers something different (namely more space and less boring looks) than the mid-size competition
Add the Taurus in the equation and the Impala is handily beaten, especially in room, overall sophistication, and rear seat comfort. The Charger and 300 beat the Impala down in the looks department. I don’t think I’ve seen a car take such a huge step backwards in the inoffensive looks department (ala last-gen Camry and Accord).
The Malibu seems a sure winner, but just of the GM sweepstakes…..
There are a few ‘08 Malibus on ebay, being sold by dealers, at LIST, the LTZ’s for $28k.
Who, in their right mind, would buy a $28k Malibu?!?
That’s within spitting distance of a year or two old certified 3-series BMW!
(which care would you bet on!)
Pete
GM is the equivalent of a sickly 45 year old man addicted to 3 packs of cigarettes a day. The man refuses to try the patch, even though he says he wants to quit. He refuses to try gum, counseling or any other proven method due to his stubbornness, and then gets defensive when those who care about him and want him to get better encourage him to quit.
He just wants quitting to be easy.
This is GM. They appear to have the will, but just can’t get themselves to go all the way with a project they say they’re committed to winning.
It’s rare to see a corporate culture committed to or resigned to failure the way GM is.
Just heard that reason for shortage of Enclave is becuase the supplier who sells portholes for Buick went out business thanks to GM’s price squeezing. There is no shortage of Saturn and GMC clones.
I will say this for GM, which is that the tenor of the discussion has certainly changed. We now talk about marketing failures, rather than product failures, which are much more serious. Two years ago, (Corvette excluded) it was hard to point to a GM vehicle which was competitive, let alone best in class.
But the recent major introductions: the Silverado, Tahoe, Acadia/Enclave, CTS and Malibu have all been widely received as competitive and, depending on the buyer’s specific needs, best in class. I don’t think anyone driving these vehicles should be embarrassed by their choice.
OK, not all GM product is up to snuff yet, witness the 5 vehicles on the Ten Worst list. But the trend is comforting.
On the other hand look at Chrysler. The Caliber/ComPatriot, Sebring/Avenger, Nitro/Liberty and Aspen are essentially losers. The minivans — their bread and butter — bring new features to the table, but are not superior to Ody/Sienna, and for most buyers are inferior.
You can fix marketing problems if you have good product. But if the vehicles are lousy, and your strategy is to cheapen the mechanicals further, then it’s hard to imagine you’ll outrun the Bear.
Granted the production problems are largely responsible, but some of the supply limitations probably have a lot to do with too many Chevy dealers serving a shrinking pool of prospective buyers.
If Chevy’s (and GM in general) had a right-sized dealer network, they wouldn’t have to spread what little they have so thin. Less dealers would mean a better chance of keeping at least one around as a tester, also.
Now that they’ve finished (for now) with the union, time to find a way to trim dealers, at least for each make.
drifter : “Just heard that reason for shortage of Enclave is becuase the supplier who sells portholes for Buick went out business thanks to GM’s price squeezing. There is no shortage of Saturn and GMC clones”
I believe this is a joke…….but would not be surprised if it wasn’t.
Whatever the reason—dealers cannot get more than 1-2 Enclaves at a time. A pity and a shame for Buick…but in the big picture not a deal breaker for a low volume product.
Now….the new high volume Malibu…that’s another case..every dealer needs adequate product like now !
I wonder if the slow launch is to give dealers a chance to get rid of the ’07s? Kinda dumb in regards to Camcordima buyers – Chevy dealers are lucky these folks took the time to try to see the car. But it’s not so stupid as regards the traditional Chevy customer. Hook ‘em with the new ‘Bu but then offer them a deeply discounted ‘07. Lots of those in stock.
Anyway, I think PCH was right, in a few months, there will be no problem being able to see the car.
My own experience was different than many, the dealer called when the ‘Bu was in. I went intending only to look. They absolutely insisted I test drive it.
There won’t be many conquest sales, but I’m giving GM enough credit to know that wasn’t in the cards anyway. What they do have is a car that won’t loose them customers – and that’s a big improvement.
It’s the long term that matters here. If GM is now going to make a habit of benchmarking the leaders when building a new vehicle, they will improve. If we’re going to start seeing GM build competitive vehicles in several segments, then we may see a real turn around.
AS a long time GM dealer there has always been a diconnect at new car time. GM wants to start advertising to get ahead of supply because it takes time to get a message out. Dealers have always wanted lots of merchandise on the lot before advertising begins. I think you will see Chevy advertising this one alot! they have budgeted a huge program.
The new ‘Bu and the new Accord get launched about the same time. Let’s see how long it takes for the replacement for these two models. . . .5 years from now, a heavily revised Accord will arrive like clockwork, raising the bar yet again. Will GM be able to do the same to keep the Malibu competitive?
Vance—I like the new Accord but there is a question as to whether Honda really raised the bar with this edition or simply made it larger….bangle butt and all. Also, If GM follows second edition of the new Malibu with the same attention to detail and raising the bar as the second edition of the CTS…they will be OK.
In any event—both the new Malibu and the Accord beat the Camry.
$150 million ad campaign? I don’t know how many Malibus GM intends to move this MY, but let’s say it’s 200K. That’s $750 in marketing per car. But we all know that they won’t move 200K, the number will be lucky to hit 50K…or $3000 in marketing per car.
Yikes.
andyinsdca “$150 million ad campaign? I don’t know how many Malibus GM intends to move this MY, but let’s say it’s 200K. That’s $750 in marketing per car. But we all know that they won’t move 200K, the number will be lucky to hit 50K…or $3000 in marketing per car”
I’d place a sizable bet that the number is much closer to 200k than your 50K.
Also, according to your quick analysis even if it’s a grand a car, that’s better than a grand of variable marketing on the hood. A clever ad campaign doesn’t destroy residual, a rebate does. I would guess that is GM’s plan with the big budget marketing. Spend more upfront to put less on the hood.
So if I read the numbers right, GM is planning to spend $150 million to launch/market the new Malibu. Another poster guestimated its first year sales number to be 150,000ish. So that’s $1,000 per car…hmmmmm.
(Sorry, I hadn’t read the 2 prior posts)
I can’t help but wonder how many 1955 Chevys were on the dealers lots circa October 1954? Methinks tons, because they sold sumpin like 1.4 million of ‘em.
Toyota now has $500 back on Camrys, including the hybrid. At the local one-price dealer here, that comes out to almost $1000 below invoice = approx $20 million per month in incentives. Whatever it takes the loyalists to stay in the fold…
Given that the big T’s projected to earn $20 billion this year, that’s a drop in the bucket.