Freep: "There's Been a Dramatic Turnaround at GM"
In a strident rebuttal of yesterday's GM Death Watch 157, the Detroit Free Press' Mark Phalen is singing GM's praises. The Motown scribe proclaims that GM supporters "can be reasonably confident the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train." Phalen bases this assessment on the fact that four of the six finalists for this year's 2008 North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACOTY) awards are from GM (Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, Buick Enclave, and Chevy Tahoe Hybrid). Forty-six journalists from the US and Canada (isn't Mexico still part of North America too?) will vote later this month on the continent's top car. The winner will be announced at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) next month, the annual PR-fest sponsored by the Detroit Area Dealer's Association, to which TTAC has been denied access.
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I can see why the owners of the Detroit Motor Show would not like to have TTAC there, such a shame too, its would do them no harm to have a rebutal from time to time, I seem to think that Detroit papers are all biased dont you think? Open Minds are not in there line of sight either!
On my scorecard the Toyota Camry Hybrid scores far higher than the Chevy Malibu or Saturn Aura. So, are we detecting pro-Detroit bias in the car of the year election?
I definitely thought the Edmunds article was rigged as well, or at least VERY poorly thought out. The Camry XLE makes absolutely pretense of sporty driving dynamics--it's a comfortable appliance car. They should have tested the SE if sporty was what they were looking for. I'm surprised because I usually look to Edmunds for good articles, but this is a rather ridiculous oversight and reduces their credibility in my mind.
GM can well declare victory with the introduction of new models, and declare quality parity with the leading imports. After all, they've been declaring such for over 30 years. The real problems- long term reliability, retained resale value- will take years to prove out. GM, let's talk again in 5 years, and then again in 10. We'll see where we are then. Until then, I've heard the same old promises- this time I'm really going straight, judge, I really promise. I really learned my lesson and am turning over a new leaf. Don't tell us- we no longer believe you. Show us.