The tide goes back out…
In a 2011 interview, Bob Lutz summed up the product philosophy that guided the product turnaround GM had hired him to lead as follows:
The product development guys, whether at Ford, BMW, Chrysler or GM, liked my leadership because I insist on good rather than cheap. And it’s definitely paid off. The average transaction prices of GM cars are up so much it more than offsets, way more than offsets, the maybe thousand bucks I put into the vehicle.
Lutz’s argument, that it is better to buy market share by investing in quality than by discounting, is unassailable in the abstract and absolute catnip for car writers (myself included, at the time). And given the profound mediocrity of GM’s products before Lutz joined GM in 2001, it’s impossible to argue that his philosophy hasn’t had some kind of positive effect. As Lutz pointed out, GM had seen transaction prices rise throughout his tenure… but that trend appears to have turned.
