To: Alighieri who wrote (437662 ) 12/2/2008 8:30:00 PM From: i-node Read Replies (2) | Respond to Let's be fair ...Nissan never came to the edge of the abyss as the big 3 have now. Point #2...the Nissan brand was intact, unlike that of GM and Chrysler, Ford too but to a lesser degree. When the typical urban dweller thinks of a chevy, the mind share drifts to visions of stodgy uncool cars, with engines that, despite the same displacement, are typically less powerful than their Japanese counterparts. When I travel and end up renting a Chevy, i usually get this sensation that I am traveling in a Hoover vacuum cleaner...gun the engine and you get an underwhelming mix of Hoover suction through a tin can. The finish inside the cars is boring and uninteresting...add a reputation of inferior quality and you get the picture. Look at a Maxima or an infinity G series or an Avalon and you get the looks of an exotic, an engine to match it, and the drive of a european sports sedan. That's what it will take for "GM" to win. Unions part of the solution? sure. But a lot more to do with designing a business model that will turn around mind_share ....that involves world class cars, warranties that stand behind their quality, press campaigns, top notch ads, and so on. In November, 2008 GM sold 153,453 vehicles, a 20.6% market share. Toyota sold 130,307, a 17.5% market share. And Nissan sold 46,608 vehicles, a 6.3 share. While it constitutes a marketing problem that GM lost share to Toyota GM STILL has a 3 point market share lead over Toyota. Yet, Toyota made money and GM didn't.
