Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragoneye
You mean like the Camaro(risk, fun)?...like the Volt(innovate)?...the Malibu(invest)?
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I have a feeling the Camaro is the last we'll see of its kind. A rare, final explosion of creativity, optimism, and gung-ho enthusiasm that will soon be suppressed by the same old passionless corporate mindset. I've been there before - as you probably know (look at my sig) I'm also a big Disney fan. Disney parks, and in particular Disneyland, went through decades of "dark ages" just like GM. It looked very similar - cost cutting, risk aversion, cookie-cutter products, corporate sterility, repression of creativity. Disney's California Adventure park is the perfect example of this problem, and Disney is now spending about as much as it cost to build it in the first place to fix it, which is much more than they would have spent to just do it to the original, properly Disney plans in the first place. Then along came Matt Ouimet, who replaced the loathed Pressler and Harriss as president, and he changed everything for Disneyland's 50th anniversary. New attractions were added and a huge year-long celebration event was planned, but most importantly the original emphasis on being a high-quality, clean, friendly alternative to a traditional theme park was restored. Things were great for years, just like in the golden age, but then Matt left. The president who took his place isn't bad, but you can see it slipping back to the bad old ways. Good product has been replaced with mindless marketing campaigns that absolutely ruin the whole atmosphere of the park. Cost cutting is back, and quality has slipped. New mechanical enhancements, like new monorails, a new dragon for fantasmic, new audio-animatronics, and a new "dream house" all have broken or otherwise failed due to design screw-ups.
Now look at that story, replace "Matt Oiumet" with "Bob Lutz" and theme park references with car references, and you have GM's story.