What are they thinking in Detroit? I recently saw an episode of Charlie Rose that originally aired on August 19, 2008. It featured a discussion with GM’s Vice Chairman of Global Product Development Bob Lutz about the Chevy Volt (pictures of which, like the one above, have leaked out). Two things struck me. The first was that Mr. Lutz was so emphatic about the fact that the design of the production Volt had received over 80% approval in focus groups. If you think that’s great news, you’re wrong.
Why? Because we are talking about a car for the model year 2011. If you are getting such high customer approval ratings for a design that is almost three years away, you’ve got trouble. Unless you are only surveying very early adopters and innovators, which I am confident GM did not. It means that your customers are comfortable with the design NOW. It means that it fits well with their perceptions TODAY. Not tomorrow. It would be better to have less than 20% approval of the design from focus groups. Then you are likely to be ahead of the curve. Then they may be ready for it in three years. Because you don’t realize what transformations are going to occur in the market in the next three years. Chances are high that an 80% approval three years ago warrants a yawn today.
What struck me next was when Mr. Lutz pulled back the cover of the pre-production model to reveal the front right portion of the car from the wheel to just beyond the headlamp. From what little I could see I thought the car looked like an Acura (TL & TSX – pictured below) with a little Toyota Camry Audi A4 (headlamp). It certainly did not look fresh, provocative or exciting. Now that the photos have leaked, I think I was close. Of course, by 2011 Acura and Toyota will have evolved their designs further and Detroit will still be playing catch up.
What are they thinking in Detroit? They’re not. They’re asking today’s consumers to think for them while they are busy looking sideways and backwards, instead of ahead.
