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GM program about content or discontent?
GM program about content or discontent?
September 16, 2002
BY JIM MATEJA
CHICAGO TRIBUNE (KRT)
If one more General Motors executive tells us the automaker decontented some of its machines for 2003 "to give consumers the choice to order a vehicle as they want it equipped and as they want it priced," we're gonna hurl.
"Excluding fleet and rental sales, the percentage of consumers who order a car as they want it equipped is about 8 percent; the rest buy off the lot," said Art Spinella, general manager of CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore., which specializes in why consumers buy what they do.
"People just don't want to wait for a new car; they want it now," Spinella said. "While automakers have made much out of trying to close the gap between order and delivery time, order to delivery for the year, is at 53 days, up from 47 days a year ago."
GM admits decontenting lets it offer lower advertised prices, but insists that making standard equipment optional, such as anti-lock brakes in several '03 models, allows folks to personalize their cars to their budget.
"If GM believes that, they have their head up their armpit," Spinella said.
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2008 C6 M6 Z51 NPP /2008 CTS AWD 3.6 DI FE2
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