[GM Kid]

Don't recall whether anyone's already mentioned it, but there's a nice Q&A with Bob Lutz in the summer edition of Pontiac Performance, that little GM-produced magazine we all get as Pontiac owners. Here's a great excerpt:

Q: You have said fun is a lost art in the automotive business. Can you explain what you meant by that?

A: . . . Let's just say that I believe enjoying a car or truck used to be a guilt-free experience. More and more people are being swayed by sentiments of social guilt and environmental awareness into not admitting to themselves that motor vehicles that are dynamically excellent and have a good driver-machine relationship are one of life's greatest pleasures.

The man totally GETS it, doesn't he?

 

[StocktonRaider]

Totally gets it?

Wait until you have a problem with your Goat, then talk to me about how Bob "gets it!"

I hope you get to experience the service side of gm, If you work for them you might have a little bit better luck then I have had, but how many of us work for gm.

 

[GM Kid]

I've likely had as many service nightmares as the next guy, what with having owned nothing but GM brands over my 20-plus years of car ownership, but that's not what I'm talking about. Bob Lutz doesn't run Pontiac dealerships; he's an executive in charge of bringing cars to market. What he "gets" is exactly what he spoke of in that quote: that people crave cars with a great driver-machine interface.

If Bubba can't rotate my tires or cross-threads my oil filter, that's not Lutz's problem. But if GM doesn't bring fun, interesting, powerful cars to market, well, that's different.

 

[StocktonRaider]

I get your point, I love the GTO too, I just feel that GM should change their approach to customer service... I feel that they should have it and they do not.

 

[StocktonRaider]

I like that light blue color, I think I might have to add that to my list of choices, especially w/o the spoiler.... Good Form!

 

[RiceEater]

It's really more of Pontiac really bites with their service. GM itself is too busy managing every other company they own to worry much about actually servicing cars.

Anyway, Lutz is a good man. He knows cars, and he knows what the enthusiasts want. I kind of disagree though that we need to be somewhat conscious of the enviroment with the cars... but GM's systems are top class and their emissions are very low - so no one can complain about GM for that.

 

[Tom]

Exactly what is GM customer service? GM does not have a customer service department.

GM does have people (and i use that term very loosely as it applies to Rueben Martinez and Paul Nagy) that work for an outside firm that answer the phone and call themselves customer service representatives. They are not on GMs payroll. They don't care about your safety or satisfaction.

Before I sign off, let me give you a file number. I am supposed to call you but probably wont...

 

[StocktonRaider]

Id like to talk to my gm rep in person but I can't pay for the plane ticket to india

 

[StangStalker]

Id like to talk to my gm rep in person but I can't pay for the plane ticket to india

:agree
Ain't that the damn truth!

 

[b_a_betterperson]

Agree with Tom. Those customer service representatives stink. They give you case numbers and call back windows and make pleasant noises -- but they don't get anything done.

Domestic car quality is every bit as good as Asia's now -- and better than Europe's -- but until GM and Ford somehow figure out how to get their dealers to act like human beings -- and realize what customer service is -- people are just going to keep flocking to the imports.

 

[GM Kid]

I like that light blue color, I think I might have to add that to my list of choices, especially w/o the spoiler.... Good Form!

Your post made me take a closer look at the photo in my avatar. Geez, it really does look like I took off the spoiler! But I have to confess that it's still there, in all its enormous, rear-view mirror-consuming glory.

Regarding the service experience, I've been happy thus far. My service writer at Henry Brown Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Mesa, Arizona is an amiable guy who knows how terrified I am to take cars to dealers for service. He's let me walk back into the garage to talk to the techs, or to let me see the areas they're working on. This dealership also has windows in their customer lounge that look right into the garage. I stand there the whole time and watch.

But that's the good news and the bad news, isn't it? Your dealership service experience is only as good as your service writer.