Ed Whitacre Taking Over as Head of GM Product Planning

Well, as I've said before, it's not like the "car guys" at Daimler-Benz made great decisions for Chrysler or previous GM "car guys" made better ones. Automotive journalists tend to hate it, but I've observed that the cars most beloved by journalists are rarely the biggest sellers with the public, and GM needs to make cars that resonate with the buying public. And while Whitacre may have previously been head of AT&T, he is an industrial engineer by training, and he has the ultimate say over what gets done anyway, so getting his input at an earlier stage--if this isn't just a titular shift--won't necessarily make a tremendous difference.

So, the guy who admitted, "I don't anything about cars." less than one year ago will now head product development?
Brilliant.

I thought the Buick Regal would be a sweet ride until Lutz confirmed they ditched AWD.

The G8, possibly the only GM car I would buy, was discontinued.

Chevrolet (not Buick and Cadillac) has below industry average dependability according to the 2010 JD Power study.

What else can Whitacre do?

@inlinesix: last I heard, Lutz suggested AWD might not be on the Regal. I don't think that's the same thing as "confirmed" unless I missed something. IL is the only news outlet that is reporting that AWD is not a possibility.

Stovt: I read it from a couple new sources outside of Edmunds. They quoted Lutz "confirming".
You're right though, Lutz has said things that didn't happen before.

Whitacre is not Alan Mulally from Ford that is for sure. Old GM = New GM. I wonder what new lies he will begin to tell after the "we paid all the money back early" crap he tried to pull.

They're toast.

ENDGAME for GM!

P.S. -> bc1960: you obviously don't know much about cars either. I agree with you that 'cars most beloved by journalists are rarely the biggest sellers with the public', but the reason the cars bought by the public are bought in the first place are because of other products that journalists find 'good' within the stable. People buy Accords today because Honda once made great cars like the Prelude. Its a trickle down effect - what car guys find right comes about 5 years before the general public tunes into the 'trend'. Same with how car guys switched to Audi from BMW a few years ago while the general public will still tout the latter and only now has begun shifting.

Which is why the Pontiac G8 was too late and the example of Chrysler doesn't apply here because there weren't really ANY car guys deputed from Benz to Chrysler.

On the surface this is not a good move but the results will ultimately determine if this was a wise decision or not.

If (a really BIG if) Whitcare does not allow ego to dictate decisions and he actually listens to those around him with valuable experience it could work to GM's favor; think how many times it has been said they need someone from the outside the ranks to shake things up and introduce new ideas?

I want to see GM suceed so yes I am being "cautiously optimistic" here and no; he would not be my choice for this position if the decision was mine but I'm not ready to put the nail in GM's coffin either.

very good point, bc1960.

The cars we pick on the most here are some of the best selling. And the cars we drool over are some of the slowest selling.

The majority of the population is not into 'enthusiast' driving. They just want cup holders and the car to drive itself while they do other more important tasks.

Although it is classic corporate thinking: "Hey, things are on the right track. Now what can we do differently?"

This flies in the face of the "story" several weeks back where Whitacre was hailed as a genius for canceling some meetings with the head product planners with the attitude of "you guys know what you're doing." Why the sudden change then? This really doesn't bode well.

A car is a big seller for one of two reasons.

1 - It's a great car and everyone wants one even at full price.

2 - It's a good enough car and there are big discounts on it.

In case number 1 the company makes a lot of money and gains a loyal customer base that will be shopping there again.

Case number 2 the company makes little or no money on each car and will lose the next sale to anyone who beats them by $100.

Honda and Toyota built their companies on case number 1 and GM almost went out of business selling vast numbers of cars by case number 2.

The market is changing now. Honda and Toyota aren't the legends they used to be and GM could go either way.

Bad time for Ed to be in charge IMHO.

I heard Ed thought that trailing throttle oversteer was a band that used to open for Kansas.

Oh good, another bean-counter in charge of product develpment at GM. Maybe ol' Ed will decide to bring back the Chevy Celebrity!!!

It's probably best for a non-car guy to be in charge of product development.

Enthusiasts want wagons, AWD sedans, diesels, lightweight sports cars, and RWD V8 sedans from Australia... cars they "would" buy, but actually don't once they're available. Non-enthusiasts know what they want, and they actually pay for it.

Folks, you are greatly underestimating Mr. Whitacre, while giving too much credit to Mulally, who inherited future planning for much of what Ford has on the road today.

Give Ed a chance. Of course if you'd like the old GM back it'll last no more than a year should Ed go away.

@tmanz
You mean the majority of the AMERICAN population? How else to explain the Camry being the perennial favorite here?

I consider myself a car guy. I've replaced clutches and rebuilt engines. I know what heal and toe and trailing throttle oversteer mean.

But so what? That doesn't mean that I would be a good car designer. The original Caravan wasn't a brilliant handing vehicle. It was better than a traditional van, but that's not saying much. But what it was a brilliantly functional with adequate performance. The kind of car that the typical buyer wants.

My 1996 Taurus SHO was a case study in great ideas and poor execution. A brilliant engine (an amazing sound screaming to redline) in one of the worst interior designs ever. Cup holders so large and so shallow that any size cup at all would fall out as soon as you touched the brakes or turned the wheel at any speed. The niche at the bottom of the console had curved sides and hard plastic, guarantying that anything inside became guided missile when you hit the gas. A center console arm rest that would be an illegal torture device under the Geneva conventions.

Flowing forms that offered zero function.

Whiteacre as product guy may be a huge disaster. But if he is smart enough to ask the right questions. ie "It looks great, but how does it work?" or "It works great, but can you make it do the same thing with one fewer step, or one less button?" Maybe he will turn out to be great.

As Ford strives for the future, it looks like GM just took a giant leap back.

bankerdanny,

Ford interior design suffered horribly when Trevor Creed departed for Chrysler in 1985. His interior designs were elegant, functional, and simple. His 1987 refresh of the Mustang's interior, the IP of the Granada(AKA Scorpio), and the dash of the Wrangler TJ are textbook example of his style- easy to read gauges, simple HVAC controls, and a minimum of visible panel seams. Not at all flashy- but they worked well.

Not a fan of Whitacre.

It's probably best for a non-car guy to be in charge of product development.

Enthusiasts want wagons, AWD sedans, diesels, lightweight sports cars, and RWD V8 sedans from Australia... cars they "would" buy, but actually don't once they're available. Non-enthusiasts know what they want, and they actually pay for it.

It sounded strange when I first read it but I think the above is correct.

I think you buy few RWD cars Cadillac CTS, Corevette C6 Chevrolet Camaro and expect Cadillac STS will serious collection future. I will see Chevrolet Caprice will based of Holden Statement for non police marked. it will more new performance from mix Pontiac G8 GT. it will customs and new thing like Pimped My Rides and Chip Foose.

i love reading kingon's posts, they almost make sense sometimes

top level people don't necessarily have to be enthusiasts of the companies or divisions they run, they just need good leadership skills and be able to recognize a good idea or strategy when they hear it.

The brand managers make proposals as to what they want to add to, or subtract from, their product portfolios. They can choose designs that are domestically generated, or from any of GM's overseas design studios. Committees, that include Ed, then decide if the vehicle fills a profitable slot in the market, and whether it can be produced efficiently for the US. Ed alone will not decide that Chevy needs a minivan or that Buick needs a coupe. His influence on this process is being somewhat overstated. It's possible that the new CAFE regulations will influence GM's portfolio more that Ed will.

@lostboyz
I enjoy kingon's posts too. Sometimes it's hard to tell what he or she is saying, though

"i love reading kingon's posts, they almost make sense sometimes"

Do you think he meant "klingon" and miss-spelled it? :)

I agree completely with whatever kingon said.

I wish I lived in Europe...