Actions Speak Louder Than Words
JERRY FLINT Ward's AutoWorld, Jul 1, 2003 12:00 PM

A few years ago General Motors entered the 24-Hours of LeMans. Alas, arrogance alone doesn't win races.

The people who run GM just didn't understand that if you enter a race like that, you stay until you win. Otherwise you don't go at all. GM lost, took its toys and went home.

No guts, no glory.

More recently, GM bragged that Buick would become another Lexus. First, GM has treated Buick like an ugly stepchild for too long to remember. The cars are dated, and the SUVs are hand-me-downs. Now we're supposed to believe it's going to lavish attention on the brand?

What's more, GM still hasn't shown us it even knows how to build a Lexus.

When executives say Buick will be a Lexus, will they show us Job 1 of a car with quality as good as Lexus, with an engine as good, with the same fit and finish?

The new advertising campaign about “the Road to Redemption” reminds me of those old “on the road” songs by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

“We're off on the Road to Redemption,
We don't have to change a gosh darn thing,
We'll just tell everyone that we're much better.
It doesn't cost at all for us to sing.”

Action speaks louder than words. After decades of promises, pledges and vows about quality, the leaders of General Motors should know this.

What do I mean?

The Road to Redemption is one of those standard approaches: We've been bad, but don't worry. It's all fixed. How many times have we heard this?

If GM really wants to make an impression, it should say: “We're putting our money where our mouth is and every GM car and truck gets a 100,000-mile (161,000 km) warranty top to bottom.”

Hyundai did. It knew it had to do something dramatic to make folks believe its words.

If it wants to be taken seriously, GM should appoint an executive vice president with the power to override anyone on a quality issue, the power to tell the purchasing vice president that he will have to buy the more expensive part because it's better.

And he should have the power to tell the purchasing boss that if any of his cheap parts fail, he, the purchasing executive — and not just the supplier — will be held responsible.

Having said that, GM definitely is a better company than it used to be.

For one thing, its executives now say — and this really is new — that product is the most important thing.

That's good. But it's not enough.

It still seems to take forever and a day to make a product decision over there.

And it still releases mediocre products, like the Saturn LS and Ion.

Some good things are happening at GM, and good people are moving up. But too many still confuse talk with action, words with deeds, and promise with achievement. I'll say it just once more: Action speaks louder than words.

Jerry Flint is a columnist for, and a former senior editor of, Forbes magazine.