Troy, Michigan -- For GM North America, 2006 will end with negative sales results. However, you won't see company executives shed any tears.
Because, "being profitable sometimes means selling less," explains Stew Low, public relations manager at GM Canada.
A near earthquake
Back in summer 2005, GM announced that it wanted to reduce its dependence on commercial fleet sales.
The automaker also aimed to break free from financial incentives. "Rather than emphasizing the 'deal', we want to focus on the product itself, the quality, the increasing resale value as well as the new 5-year powertrain warranty," says Mr. Low.
Abandoning commercial fleets and reducing sales incentives? These moves made a near earthquake in the North American auto industry.
"We are disciplined"
Today, GM is still experiencing tough times: 8 percent sales decrease in Canada and the United States. However, "we're the only major
manufacturer to have reduced its financial incentives this year," says Mark LaNeve, vice-president of GM North America. "All the others have increased theirs."
As for Bob Lutz, vice-president of GM, he told us: "True, we don't have the market shares we would like, but we managed to stay disciplined in a very competitive market."
(Note: GM owned 25.7 percent of the Canadian market at the end of November, down one percent from last year.)
Full of optimism
It has been a long time since we, journalists, have come back from Detroit full of optimism. Far too often, our notepads were filled with quotes from
executives accusing us of being more critical of them than with Japanese automakers or blaming us for not talking enough about their quality progress.
There were no bad comments this time around. Last Thursday night, at the Heritage Center, Rick Wagoner (the big boss of GM) as well as his vice-president Bob Lutz were far from being on the defensive. On the contrary, they gave us a glimpse of the future technologies that will soon be introduced.
GM targets electric vehicles
GM has made its nest: "The better part of our investments now goes to technologies susceptible of improving fuel economy," declared Mr. Wagoner.
"In fact, we plan to produce more vehicles that are powered by alternative fuels, such as ethanol. Also, we're accelerating our commitment towards electric vehicles."
Bob Lutz concluded by saying: "With all the experience we have gained through the years, we find ourselves in the unique position of contributing more than any other manufacturer. All of our efforts are aimed at fuel cell vehicles, which are nothing less than electric cars that produce their own electricity."
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| The Impala received the 2006 Fleet Car of the Year Award - sponsored by Automotive Fleet and Business Fleet magazines. (Photo: General Motors) |
A near earthquake
Back in summer 2005, GM announced that it wanted to reduce its dependence on commercial fleet sales.
The automaker also aimed to break free from financial incentives. "Rather than emphasizing the 'deal', we want to focus on the product itself, the quality, the increasing resale value as well as the new 5-year powertrain warranty," says Mr. Low.
Abandoning commercial fleets and reducing sales incentives? These moves made a near earthquake in the North American auto industry.
"We are disciplined"
Today, GM is still experiencing tough times: 8 percent sales decrease in Canada and the United States. However, "we're the only major
 |
| Mark LaNeve (Photo: General Motors) |
As for Bob Lutz, vice-president of GM, he told us: "True, we don't have the market shares we would like, but we managed to stay disciplined in a very competitive market."
(Note: GM owned 25.7 percent of the Canadian market at the end of November, down one percent from last year.)
Full of optimism
It has been a long time since we, journalists, have come back from Detroit full of optimism. Far too often, our notepads were filled with quotes from
 |
| Rick Wagoner (Photo: General Motors) |
There were no bad comments this time around. Last Thursday night, at the Heritage Center, Rick Wagoner (the big boss of GM) as well as his vice-president Bob Lutz were far from being on the defensive. On the contrary, they gave us a glimpse of the future technologies that will soon be introduced.
GM targets electric vehicles
GM has made its nest: "The better part of our investments now goes to technologies susceptible of improving fuel economy," declared Mr. Wagoner.
 |
| Bob Lutz (Photo: General Motors) |
Bob Lutz concluded by saying: "With all the experience we have gained through the years, we find ourselves in the unique position of contributing more than any other manufacturer. All of our efforts are aimed at fuel cell vehicles, which are nothing less than electric cars that produce their own electricity."