Bob Lutz: More Power(train) To The People

Wow! Two posts in five days for Bob Lutz at the GM Fastlane Blog.

Today's unexpected announcement from Lutz on GM's behalf: as of the 2007 models, a five-year, 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain of all GM vehicles.

Pardon me for being unimpressed. Like I wrote yesterday, quality is the cost of entry into the competitive game today. It's only a differentiator if it's a negative. No bonus points for delivering reliable quality.

So, what does GM do? Well, they provide an extended benefit for their customer, one the customer's been waiting for...but they diminish the impact by going half-way. Yes, the GM warranty is better than Toyota's 60,000 mile powertrain deal. But, not enough to make a splash.

Want to make a splash, GM? You know what that would take: 10 year or 100,000 mile, bumper-to-bumper, best-in-the-industry warranty. That would make GM a leader, not a "me-too" company.

I know I'm speaking without the benefit of cost-based facts here. But I am talking with the benefit of an understanding of the kind of announcement that really gets the public's attention and changes people's minds about the cars they trust and want to buy.

How can you make the kind of turnaround GM's trying to make without making the kind of really big move signaled by an overall warranty?

"Because we can" was the slogan Lutz used to describe this change.

What else can you guys do to show your confidence in your product?

Comments

[getalifeagain]

GM could offer a 200,000 mile 20 year warranty and I don't think it would effect buyers. They've been brought up on Toyotas and Hondas, and that's what their buying.

So as far as it goes, the warranty GM came out with is more than adequate. Anyway the dealers have to be placated by offering the bumper-to-bumper warranties.