far2000

Ford, GM target import buyers
Buffalo News
- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER8 hours ago. When Ford Motor Co. did research to compare the Fusion midsized car with its Japanese competitors, it uncovered something scary.

Although many who drove the Fusion and other cars in hood-to-hood tests liked the Fusion's styling, performance and handling better, they still wouldn't buy one because they had such good experiences with their Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys.

General Motors found similar results in its research. Both automakers are responding with far more aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns to pull import buyers back into their showrooms.

"We've really got to fight hard," said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of North American sales, service and marketing. "If you see a more aggressive tone, we just want to shake people's consciousness a little bit."

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Curb Zone

 

Merc1

The unfair part is that GM is actually and finally making some really good cars now. The Saturn Aura, Sky and Outlook for example. The return of rwd cars like the Pontiac G8 and Camro hold great promise for GM. They just have the excute right because the (solid) basics are there.

M

Imhotep Evil

The problem (one of them) with the american operations is that they're banging themselves in the image/perception wall.

For decades they left foreigners get the advantage and replied with arogance and poor products.

This shows now.

Plus GM has to many models, divisions, dealers. If they would have had the Camry marketing budget and Toyota-I'm-good-can-do-no-wrong image/perception the Aura would sell like hot cakes.

Fundamental Rule of Brand Management and Marketing:
The better product doesn't win, the better perecepted one does.

ateekt

I don't think, they'll make it with Aura ...!

Ubermensch

I agree with you and lets not forget the fullsize truck line including the Escalade, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon. But all in all most of my cars have been Nissans. Those cars have been nothing but SUPER DEPENDABLE for me. So I am tempted to buy a 350Z in a few years, but time will tell.

But I think things will look up for GM, just as long as they build quality products and stand behind their products like the Japanese automakers do.

Curb Zone