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Auto news; Is GM’s Biggest Problem Too Much Emphasis On Profit? Were you aware that GM started development on the minivan a decade before Chrysler introduced that concept to the marketplace in the 1980s? Or that GM had invested considerable money into research and development of hybrid vehicles in the 1970s? The company also stopped development of a rotary engine it was to sell to AMC for ..Auto news; Enlarge Photo

Were you aware that GM started development on the minivan a decade before Chrysler introduced that concept to the marketplace in the 1980s? Or that GM had invested considerable money into research and development of hybrid vehicles in the 1970s? The company also stopped development of a rotary engine it was to sell to AMC for use in the Pacer; the lightweight engine would have lent the porky Pacer the low curb weight it needed for good efficiency. And you all know the story about the GM’s all-electric vehicle, the EV1, destroyed in front of distraught owners before the vehicle even had a chance in the market.

Even former GM CEO Robert Stempel (who green-lighted the EV1 program) admits to being furious about GM’s failure to continue hybrid vehicle development in the 70s. He said in a 2003 interview: “G.M. had the technology. The lead was there. I know it.”

The New York Times’ Autos section recently wrote a comprehensive look at GM’s decades of too-little, too-late mentality when it comes to product innovation. The Times feels this has led them to the door of their current economic crisis. Says the Times: “G.M.’s biggest failing, reflected in a clear pattern over recent decades, has been its inability to strike a balance between those inside the company who pushed for innovation ahead of the curve, and the finance executives who worried more about returns on investment.” The paper cites industry analyst John Casesa of the Casesa Shapiro Group, who feels that GM has been impatient for a return on its investment with experimental technology due to the fact that a disproportionate number of its highest-ranking executives have been financial experts, not engineers. That helps to explain why the company aborted so many promising technologies such as hybrids, minivans, electric vehicles, and even let the entire Saturn division flounder without further nurturing after a promising start.

GM has made it to the impressive age of 100-years-old, having lived through a host of decisions and products both brilliant and abysmal. Will reorganization, elimination of unneeded brands and vehicles, and governmental mandates for efficient vehicles finally balance the overzealous beancounters who’ve had too strong a voice in the company for far too long?–Colin Mathews
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