One Former GM Engineer and Dealer's Thoughts on Post-WWII GM Success Stories

Notable GM “successes”, 1949 – 1974.

1949 Cadillac:  Agreed, the ’49 Cadillac was a pacesetter style-wise.

1949 Buick-Olds-Cadillac two-door Hardtop body styles:  Even though Chrysler may have been first with this body style, GM enhanced them and they became the most popular body style for the next several decades.  GM sales successes!

1950 Oldsmobile”Rocket 88”:  did this car start the trend of performance engines in lightweight body styles?   Ref. popularity in Stock Car Races and this car “made a name” for Oldsmobile.

1953 Chevrolet Corvette:  although not a “real” sports car right out of the chute, it evolved into “the great one”, a true sports car at an affordable price (relative to its competition).   Through the years, Corvette has obviously had some real “car guy” supporters in the GM hierarchy, as during tough times there many advocates to discontinue Corvette in favor of the mass-market carlines.

1955 Chevrolet:   a very well-proportioned car that even today is pleasing to look at. Also this car spawned the equally “perfect” 1956 & 1957 Chevrolets.

1962 Pontiac Grand Prix:  “a cleaned –up Catalina two door hardtop with bucket seats and special trim – would help define the personal luxury field” that GM was a strong player in (Ref. Monte Carlo, Cutlass Supreme, Regal, Starfire, Riviera).

1963 Buick Riviera:   “a stunning hardtop coupe artfully blending American and British style”.   Still a classic today!

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado:   “a landmark automobile”, a good example of the Divisional autonomy that existed in GM at that time.   “Divisional autonomy” being a strong part of GM’s success in garnering 50% plus market share for so many years.

1979 – 1985 Buick Riviera:  a recognized classic then and a classic now. 

As we move forward to the malaise of the industry in the 1980’s, I cannot think of any more notable GM styling achievements. This “malaise” likely caused by the industry being overwhelmed with government standards mandated by NHTSA, EPA, DOT, IIHS, and a plethora of influential “special interest” lobbying groups! 

A Few Not-So-Notable GM Ventures:

1958 All General Motors carlines:  the 1958 GM cars were a total departure style-wise from 1957 and the all-new 1959 GM cars were a total departure from 1958.  This leaves the 1958 model year as a glaring anomaly!  I recall 1958 as being a recession year for the auto industry.  Was this self-induced, due to these gaudy, heavy, chrome-laden monstrosities?

Hard to visualize such a departure in styling taking place in General Motors Design Studios in only one model year. 

1960 – 1969 Corvair:   the “makings” were there for this to be a very competent car. However, seems Chevrolet just wasn’t paying attention.  My parents purchased a new 1969 Corvair, the last year in production.  They lived on the west side of the state, we lived in Lansing.  Whenever they visited us in winter, they walked in the house smelling like exhaust! Amazing, that after being in production for nine years, Chevrolet still hadn’t figured out how to seal the engines good enough to prevent exhaust gasses from creeping into the passenger heating system!    Were their “cost targets” in play here?

1971 - ????  Chevrolet Vega:  a nicely styled car that sold well and buyers liked.  However, it soon started to self-destruct.  To me, this car most represents the ascendency of GM Financials influence on the product.  The Engineers knew how to make it right, but were constrained by GM Financial Cost Targets (strictly enforced, by the way).

1978 Oldsmobile 350 c.i.d. V8:   another victim of the aforementioned GM Financials Cost Targets, as during development, Engineers were told “no more cost increases”. We are going to market “as is”!   And now you know “… the rest of the story”.

1978 – 1979 Olds Cutlass and Buick Century Aero Coupes and Sedans:  these “aero” models did not clinic well.  In spite of this, GM moved forward with these.  They did not sell well, and were discontinued after two dismal sales years (in favor of the more conventional “notch back” body style).

1988 - ???? Corsica/Beretta:  introduced with much fanfare in 1988, these two slowly drifted into oblivion, victims of GM’s mandated “No changes to the carryover carlines except cost reduction”.  With annual improvements these could have lived a longer life.  Instead they were relegated to constant cost reductions and content deletions.   Quite naturally, they fell out of favor with the public.  And the Phd’s and MBA’s in GM Marketing just couldn’t figure out why!

1990 – 1996 Chev-Pontiac-Olds “Dust Buster” minivans:  GM’s initial foray into the FWD mini-van market did not go well with these strange looking, rather unorthodox vehicles.   Further, General Motors (and Ford) never did become serious players in the popular mini-van market that Chrysler dominated for decades.   Again, apparently GM simply was not paying attention! Difficult to understand why, with all its resources, GM never did get seriously involved in the lucrative mini-van market!

1991 – 2008 Saturn:  Another failed GM experiment, as later on the Division was starved for product and Saturn eventually drifted away from “A different kind of car, a different kind of company” or some similar nonsense!  Turns out, they weren’t so different after all!    Same old, same old.

 I lay much of the blame for GM’s demise to the influence of the Financial people with their constant demands for product cost reductions, via their never ending “Deep Dives”, “Thrifting Sessions”, “Cost Carnivals”, etc.  Plus their mandated “No changes to the carryover carlines except cost reduction” (of course, changes to meet government regulations excepted).

This mandate was a total departure from the GM in the past that always enhanced their carryover carlines and “freshened” them to keep the public interested as the vehicle aged.

To this day, at GM the Financial people reign supreme, as opposed to the old days of divisional autonomy when the Divisional General Managers and Divisional Chief Engineers reigned supreme.   And GM had product differentiation and 50% market share!!!

However, in GM’s defense, with the advent of government regulations (DOT, NHTSA, EPA, IIHS, etc.) this product differentiation became very costly, too great a burden for even GM to carry!    And thus we moved into commonality, badge engineering, shared powertrains, and so on.

Regarding shared powertrains, to help with the cost situations, manufacturers are even now sharing transmissions, and so on.