I was listening to the radio earlier and a university marketing professor was talking about the problems GM is having, and it was very interesting.
To sum it up...
She was discussing how GM was having problems in the 1980s (she actually pointed out that all of the big three were). Mostly these problems were due to quality issues.
She then went on to discuss, how GM basically dealt with these issues and was fine during the 1990s, but now seems to have the same problems again.
What I found really interesting were three recent problems that she pointed out. Now I should point out that what I am about to write, here is what I was able to recall from the radio from hearing it earlier, so the figures might not be exact, but the general idea should be correct.
The first example was where 800,000 pickup trucks had to be recalled, because of weak tailgate support cables (I think that is what they are called). 84 people were injured because of this (if I remember correctly). If I recall correctly as well, she said these were 1999 and/or 2000 models, and GM knew about the problem since 1995.
The second example was something to do with windshield wipers, but she didn't go into much detail about it, and I don't really pay attention to this one because it sound trivial to me.
The third example that she gave, and the reason that I am posting, was the intake manifold gasket problems with certain GM engines.
In terms of all three of the above examples that she pointed out, she said that these aren't expensive things to do properly the first time, and simply avoid problems later down the road. She did admit that she's not an engineer (neither am I for that matter), but she said an intake manifold gasket is a gasket and how much could it possibly cost to do it properly?
Now to the point of this post...
Near the end of her interview on the radio, she mentioned that a movement is growing (I would imagine in the USA) to file a class action lawsuit against GM over the intake manifold gasket problems with some of their engines.
I found that particularly interesting, because we have two GM cars at present and both of them have been great, and we have had GM cars in the past that haven't given us any trouble either. What I am concerned about is this intake manifold gasket issue. The first car is a 1994 Buick LeSable, and as far as I know it doesn't suffer from the intake manifold gasket issue. The second car, however, is a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and that one I am not so sure about. I have read in some places that it does, and in others that it doesn't. So am I a bit confused about the issue.
Will all this bad news about GM stop us from getting another GM car? Honestly I am not sure. Right now I am looking at Honda, and am starting to like what I see. Whereas in the past I wasn't too interested in Japanese cars. The Japanese cars, however, have come a long way in terms of style, so now its a harder choice to make.
In any case, no one knows what the future holds.
To sum it up...
She was discussing how GM was having problems in the 1980s (she actually pointed out that all of the big three were). Mostly these problems were due to quality issues.
She then went on to discuss, how GM basically dealt with these issues and was fine during the 1990s, but now seems to have the same problems again.
What I found really interesting were three recent problems that she pointed out. Now I should point out that what I am about to write, here is what I was able to recall from the radio from hearing it earlier, so the figures might not be exact, but the general idea should be correct.
The first example was where 800,000 pickup trucks had to be recalled, because of weak tailgate support cables (I think that is what they are called). 84 people were injured because of this (if I remember correctly). If I recall correctly as well, she said these were 1999 and/or 2000 models, and GM knew about the problem since 1995.
The second example was something to do with windshield wipers, but she didn't go into much detail about it, and I don't really pay attention to this one because it sound trivial to me.
The third example that she gave, and the reason that I am posting, was the intake manifold gasket problems with certain GM engines.
In terms of all three of the above examples that she pointed out, she said that these aren't expensive things to do properly the first time, and simply avoid problems later down the road. She did admit that she's not an engineer (neither am I for that matter), but she said an intake manifold gasket is a gasket and how much could it possibly cost to do it properly?
Now to the point of this post...
Near the end of her interview on the radio, she mentioned that a movement is growing (I would imagine in the USA) to file a class action lawsuit against GM over the intake manifold gasket problems with some of their engines.
I found that particularly interesting, because we have two GM cars at present and both of them have been great, and we have had GM cars in the past that haven't given us any trouble either. What I am concerned about is this intake manifold gasket issue. The first car is a 1994 Buick LeSable, and as far as I know it doesn't suffer from the intake manifold gasket issue. The second car, however, is a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and that one I am not so sure about. I have read in some places that it does, and in others that it doesn't. So am I a bit confused about the issue.
Will all this bad news about GM stop us from getting another GM car? Honestly I am not sure. Right now I am looking at Honda, and am starting to like what I see. Whereas in the past I wasn't too interested in Japanese cars. The Japanese cars, however, have come a long way in terms of style, so now its a harder choice to make.
In any case, no one knows what the future holds.