Three Questions GM Should Answer

There is more chaff ejected from GM's media department than from an airplane under missile attack. Sifting through the chaff, one finds a message that is the same as it was for decades: Things will be great real soon now, promise. Leave it to Fortune to present three questions GM should ask and answer (don't hold your breath) : Question 1: " What is our corporate competitive advantage?" Fortune: GM is a huge company, but both Ford and Volkswagen make better use of their enormous scale with platform efficiencies. GM builds well-made vehicles, but its reputation for quality and reliability can't touch Toyota's or Honda's. Nor, when customers go looking for the leader in safety, technology, or fuel economy, do they make a GM dealer their first stop. TTAC adds: I like to listen to questions asked by journalists. They show what's on their minds. These days, they more and more ask how a car company compares to Volkswagen. Nobody ever asks to benchmark GM. Both Volkswagen and Toyota treat GM as if it does not exist. Volkswagen wants to beat Toyota. Toyota rarely if ever mentions a competitor in public. In private, they mention Volkswagen a lot, and Hyundai on occasion. Question 2: "Where are we the world's best?" Fortune: Probably only in niche categories like large crossovers (Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave) and full-size SUVs (Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade). Cadillac is a rising star in the luxury passenger car segment but still can't touch the Germans, and Ford remains the pickup truck leader until proven otherwise. Everywhere else, GM is an also-ran. TTAC adds: I think Fortune is too kind. Question 3: "Who are we going to pick to succeed chairman and CEO Dan Akerson?" Fortune: Akerson, 64, has signaled that he plans to leave within three years, but GM's bankruptcy and downsizing wiped out a whole generation of executives who might logically have followed him. As a result, the leading inside contenders are relative youngsters: vice-chairman Steve Girsky, 51, product development chief Mary Barra, also 51, North American boss Mark Reuss, 49, and CFO Dan Ammann, 41.   TTAC adds: Picture any of them next to Ferdinand Piech, and Akio Toyoda. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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