Hey gang - just heard this story from my brother in law, a quality manager at GM. Thought it would be of interest here...
In 2004, one of the VP's at GM (can't remember his name) offered his mother free use of a Cadillac DeVille to see if she liked it. She has been a die-hard Toyota buyer for 25 years, her last car being a Camry, which she was ready to trade in after driving over 200k of relatively trouble free miles.
The deal was she could drive the DeVille for six months, and at the end of that time she could either buy the Caddy as a GM program car, or turn it back in to GM and buy a new Camry - the price would have been about the same either way.
She drove the SDV, loved it, and at the end of six months, turned it back in and bought the Toyota. Her son was incredulous. She explained that although the Cadillac rode and handled perfectly, was supremely comfortable, and the build quality was as good or better than any car she had ever seen, she just wasn't sure it would go 200,000+ miles like her beloved Camry.
This could be the biggest hurdle American car manufacturers face: In the mind of the buyers, perception is reality.
In 2004, one of the VP's at GM (can't remember his name) offered his mother free use of a Cadillac DeVille to see if she liked it. She has been a die-hard Toyota buyer for 25 years, her last car being a Camry, which she was ready to trade in after driving over 200k of relatively trouble free miles.
The deal was she could drive the DeVille for six months, and at the end of that time she could either buy the Caddy as a GM program car, or turn it back in to GM and buy a new Camry - the price would have been about the same either way.
She drove the SDV, loved it, and at the end of six months, turned it back in and bought the Toyota. Her son was incredulous. She explained that although the Cadillac rode and handled perfectly, was supremely comfortable, and the build quality was as good or better than any car she had ever seen, she just wasn't sure it would go 200,000+ miles like her beloved Camry.
This could be the biggest hurdle American car manufacturers face: In the mind of the buyers, perception is reality.