Now while we may give General Motors a lot of trouble about its products, there's one thing that seems to be an ongoing trend at the huge automaker. Its products tend to be substandard.
Rarely does one of its new products come out and blow folks away. This even includes the pro-Detroit press that are already "in the bag." Though it seems there's been a BIG step of improvement with all-new products like the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Impala — both of which got some great feedback from independent authority, Consumer Reports — it seems that mediocre cars are still being made. Cue the next-gen Escalade with its carryover powertrain and Chevrolet Malibu that was a disaster from the start.
If you've driven the Chevrolet Malibu then go get behind the wheel of a Ford Fusion, there's no doubt you'll be riding home in the Fusion and Ford will be getting your hard-earned dollars.
In a recent interview the potential CEO candidate, Mary Barra, notes that she's wanted to drive a "cultural change" within GM and even has a directive for her employees post bankruptcy: "No more crappy cars."
So, has it delivered?
Post bankruptcy has GM been producing products that are an indication of a culture change or, in reality, has it just been masking subpar products with better packaging? What say you, Spies?
Mary Barra has one directive for her employees: "The simple thing I say to them is, No more crappy cars, and that resonates."
The phrase is part of a broader approach GM's EVP of global product development and global purchasing and supply chain has taken in empowering her employees. Before "boundaries were put on them, and we didn't give them the recipe for success," she said during Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit on Wednesday. "Now we're saying no excuses." The results, she says, are visible on the road today for GM.
Barra, who is a top contender to eventually run the company, is considered to have one of the hardest jobs in the global auto industry. "You have to slash development costs and still build exciting cars," noted interviewer Becky Quick, co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk Box.
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