I’ve been seeing an ad campaign (in print, at least) running in Car & Driver, Motor Trend and AutoWeek lately for GMC Trucks, specifically the new Terrain.  I’ve tried to find it online, but for the life of me, I can’t find it right now (and honestly, I’m too lazy to scan it…).  Anyway, it says (in essence): We gave it more, because more is what we do.

That ad campaign really hit me, but fore the wrong reasons.  Given that GMC Truck is still (via the parent company of General Motors) owned in large part by the United States government, maybe they should rethink that approach.  After all, everyone can pretty much agree that doing “more” is what caused them to go bankrupt in the first place.

My suggestion to General Motors would be not that they focus on doing more, but focus on doing BETTER.  GM’s car quality has been steadily falling over the past 20 years, to the point that many of their current vehicles are a sad punchline.  I have personally owned only one GM car myself (see the previous post), specifically, a 1993 Pontiac Bonneville, that after only 10 years suffered from an interior leak, brittle plastics that broke, and a 3.6L V6 engine that was ANYTHING but inspiring.  After I disposed of it, my friend that I cast it off on had recurring issues with the intake manifold gasket, largely due to the fact that the intake manifold was a composite piece, before they really figured out how to do composites in engines correctly.

Their current line-up, with the notable exception of the halo cars like the Corvette ZR-1 and the Cadillac CTS-V, is not inspiring to me either.  Maybe I’m not their target demographic, but as a 34 year old male, I would think I should be.  They tried to target me with the Camaro, but it’s a sad, also-ran, far-too-late attempt to cash in on the success of the retro Mustang and Challenger.  Saturn, the line that actually appealed to me, due to a wealth of European Opels rebadged, is dead.  Pontiac, who at least had a little excitement, is dead.  (Oldsmobile, well, good riddance…)  Buick has absolutely, positively nothing in their range that speaks even a little bit to me.  Chevrolet has piqued my interest with the Cobalt SS, but my understanding about that car is that while it’s a blast to drive, it’s not particularly well made.  The Impala honestly looks look a good car, and a good value, but at this point, I’m kinda skittish about the quality.

Perhaps I’ve been watching too much Top Gear; okay, I’ve always been watching too much Top Gear, but this ad campaign is, to me, a microcosm of why GM and Chrysler are both in so much financial trouble, and what is wrong with the typical American psyche.  Our country’s motto could well be “because more is what we do,” especially when it comes to our vehicles.  Bigger is better, right? 

There are some pundits in the automotive media forecasting that we will soon follow the Japanese and Europeans in desiring smaller cars.  That certainly happened when gas prices hit the roof last summer, but as soon as gas dropped back below $3/gallon, SUVs got gobbled up again.  I think it will take gas getting back up to near atmospheric levels for a sustained time to see that reality happen.  I’m not a hybrid fan, at least as far as it is used in the Prius or Insight, but at least they are smaller cars. 

So, my open letter to GM is this.  The Volt is a great PR attraction, but the skeptic in me says you’ll find a way to screw it up.  Ford has already gotten the clue and has started putting smaller turbocharged motors in their cars, and is getting ready to introduce the Fiesta to America.  Chrysler, thanks to Fiat, will have the 500 here in two years.  Those are two examples of well-made fun little cars that could be the leading edge of a change.  The Aveo/Lacetti just is NOT going to cut it compared with those vehicles.  The small cars you showed last year and teased everybody with are what you need to start building for America.  Put a 1.3-1.5L Turbo motor in it, make around 140hp, keep it light and make it fun, and you’ll attract more young people.  And in case you hadn’t noticed, your Buick demographic is dying, literally.  I hope you can figure it out and turn it around, because for one thing, I’m footing the bill for your screw-ups.  The first step is to figure out that MORE shouldn’t be your calling card.  BETTER should be.