The Democratic Party Has Become General Motors Circa 1999

[friendly_iconoclast]

As evidence, I offer...the Pontiac Aztek:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Aztek

In case you're wondering if I've totally gone off the beam-after seeing the recent election debacle, I remembered this interview last month in Road and Track with auto industry bigwig Bob Lutz

I found the parallels striking...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/voices/columnists/bob-lutz/bob-lutz-tells-the-inside-story-of-the-pontiac-aztek-debacle

How Bad Cars Happen: The Pontiac Aztek debacle

Bob Lutz on the dangers of totalitarian management.
By Bob Lutz October 10, 2014

The guy in charge of product development was Don Hackworth, an old-school guy from the tradition of shouts, browbeating, and by-God-I-want-it-done. He said, "Look. We've all made up our minds that the Aztek is gonna be a winner. It's gonna astound the world. I don't want any negative comments about this vehicle. None. Anybody who has bad opinions about it, I want them off the team." As if the public is gonna give a sh** about team spirit.

Blaming the (non)voters/buyers? Yep, there's some of that too...

Early on, the Aztek obviously failed the market research. But in those days, GM went ahead with quite a few vehicles that failed product clinics. The Aztek didn't just fail—it scored dead last. Rock bottom. Respondents said, "Can they possibly be serious with this thing? I wouldn't take it as a gift." And the GM machine was in such denial that it rejected the research and just said, "What do those a**holes know?"...

The danger with the totalitarian management style is that people won't speak up when there's a problem. They'll get their heads cut off or the messenger gets shot...

That last line sound familiar to anyone else?

One guy I informally interviewed about how the Aztek happened was one of the top guys on the project. And this guy, he looks at me and he says, "I'm proud of it." Proud of the Aztek? "Yup. That was the best program we ever did at GM. We made all our internal goals, we made the timing, and I'm really proud of the part I played in it." He had tears in his eyes. It was almost tragic. Everybody wanted to will this thing to succeed, and it didn't work. All the emotional commitment and pride in the program was that it achieved all its internal objectives. And it was probably one of the great defeats in his life, or in his career.

Process over results...

[KT2000]

1. don't get the Aztek thing

I know someone who has one and it has tons of really cool features that make it very versatile for moving things, carrying passengers and securing things in the back. It's great for moving. It is roomy in the back seat too.

I also thought it was strange that Cadillac and Mercedes copied the body style for their SUVs back then.

Febreze was marketed many years ago and it did not take off so they took it off the market. They reintroduced it years later and now it is a huge seller.
(Personally I hate the stuff as it is full of chemicals - some toxic and they all smell horrible)

[friendly_iconoclast]

3. Google "False Consensus Effect"...

[KT2000]

4. so how does this apply?

GM assumed they were correct and therefore assumed everyone else would feel as they did?

My point was - I just don't understand why is was unpopular. My friend takes a lot of garbage from others for driving that car.

[friendly_iconoclast]

5. For GM, substitute the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

There's a lot of what Lutz mentions: Groupthink, fossilized internal politics, hostility
towards dissenting voices, the 'them-vs-us' mentality.

As for the Aztek, I think what killed it was its looks- the Buick Rendezvous (which was
the same vehicle under the skin) sold well, but not enough to keep the joint Aztek-Rendezvous
assembly plant going.

BTW, more than a few people have mentioned that the Aztek was actually not bad
(aside from the unfortunate looks). The crack I remember most was "At least while
you're driving it, you don't have to look at it."

[KT2000]

6. Ha! - thanks!

[Odin2005]

2. Yep, Dems = a business blaming the customers for not buying crappy products.