Word: gm
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...GM senior executives now openly admit what was stonewalled at the time, that the giant company's steady roll toward the precipice finally came to a halt only a few feet from the edge. Says vice chairman Harry Pearce, then GM's general counsel: "We came perilously close to declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We were almost too far down the hill. The first act was simply to survive...
...GM survived until this year by giving away the store--lightly restyling and updating its 12- and 15-year-old workhorses such as Buick Centurys and Chevrolet Corsicas and underpricing the competition. The company also went on a brutal cost-cutting crusade throughout its production system, beating up suppliers for price rebates and consolidating 27 separate purchasing organizations into one worldwide group that "commonized" such once disparate auto components as braking, air-conditioning and radio systems. Under the new purchasing program, for example, instead of buying 123 different steering columns, GM will stock 50. The company can still produce totally...
...wave of new vehicles this year reflects the company's efforts to reposition or reclaim many of GM's 49 car and truck brands by updating Sloan's book of marketing. Sloan demanded distinctly different styles for almost every demographic position and taste, a strategy that eventually gave way to identical cars bearing different nameplates. But segmentation is back in vogue, and for GM that means re-emphasizing traditional middle-American, mainstream strengths at Chevrolet while almost totally overhauling the customer base and appeal at Oldsmobile. Image makers at Olds are seeking to shed the stodgy, budget-priced profile that...
...before first daylight. Chevrolet needs to get its [sales] volume base back. Pontiac is our sports segment, but the challenge is to take that image and convert it into more volume units. Oldsmobile needs to reposition itself to sophisticated, refined midsize-car buyers who will be new purchasers to GM. Buick's great focus will remain on premium American road cars, but it needs to recapture that traditional element from a younger customer base. Cadillac really needs to make its breakthrough as a global player. Saturn's image is just perfect. All they need to do is execute product growth...
...management teams in charge of each of GM's brands are being granted almost unheard-of powers of autonomy and responsibility, making marketing and budget choices that are unprecedented within GM. These zealots insist that only by focusing relentlessly on customer needs (as opposed to production requirements, say) can GM avoid the mistakes of the past...