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Tone · 01-31-2004, 02:38 PM

I think the General felt like the days when it reached with technology (i.e. the days of Ed Cole) it never really got a big payback for all the effort. GM spends millions developing a radical new small car (the Corvair) only to find itself up against two very conventional competitors (the Valiant and the Falcon) ... and the public not really caring about the differences.

GM develops an all aluminum engine without cylinder liners (the Vega) only to have a whole bunch of problems in the field. Yet, the technology itself went on to become proven by companies like Porche and Mercedes Benz. The concept was quite sound. GM's execution was lacking.

I think from the "GM culture" perspective, the last big innovation that made them any money - and gave them a competitive advantage - was the automatic transmission.

But, I think GMs problem isn't creating new (and exciting) technology. It seems their engineers and R&D people are among the best in the world. Where it seems to fall down is in the manufacturing and marketing. GM seems to be too big a company to get a radical new idea to market successfully.

Other big technology companies with this problem often spin off their engineering divisions or create smaller companies designed to be agile enough (and with the right team) to find ways to commercialize their best ideas. Xerox through it's PARC research centre created a whole bunch of innovations (the computer mouse, the concept of the desktop) that Xerox ended up licensing to other companies. Palm (as in the Palm Pilot) was spun out of a larger comany called 3Com when it recognized the company was more likely to be a success if it was on its own and focusing on what it did best.

Maybe that's what GM should do. I've advocated for SAAB to function this way as it is closest to this anyway. SAAB could be the GM arm that brings new technology to market - hybrids, fuel cells, advanced materials, telematics, etc. Produced in smaller numbers to a market that wants the next thing, such a division would give GM the chance to see what these technologies has more widespred potential before "trickling" them down to other divisions.

01-31-2004, 02:38 PM	#10 (permalink)
Tone 2.8 Liter Turbocharged V6 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Great White North Posts: 958	I think the General felt like the days when it reached with technology (i.e. the days of Ed Cole) it never really got a big payback for all the effort. GM spends millions developing a radical new small car (the Corvair) only to find itself up against two very conventional competitors (the Valiant and the Falcon) ... and the public not really caring about the differences. GM develops an all aluminum engine without cylinder liners (the Vega) only to have a whole bunch of problems in the field. Yet, the technology itself went on to become proven by companies like Porche and Mercedes Benz. The concept was quite sound. GM's execution was lacking. I think from the "GM culture" perspective, the last big innovation that made them any money - and gave them a competitive advantage - was the automatic transmission. But, I think GMs problem isn't creating new (and exciting) technology. It seems their engineers and R&D people are among the best in the world. Where it seems to fall down is in the manufacturing and marketing. GM seems to be too big a company to get a radical new idea to market successfully. Other big technology companies with this problem often spin off their engineering divisions or create smaller companies designed to be agile enough (and with the right team) to find ways to commercialize their best ideas. Xerox through it's PARC research centre created a whole bunch of innovations (the computer mouse, the concept of the desktop) that Xerox ended up licensing to other companies. Palm (as in the Palm Pilot) was spun out of a larger comany called 3Com when it recognized the company was more likely to be a success if it was on its own and focusing on what it did best. Maybe that's what GM should do. I've advocated for SAAB to function this way as it is closest to this anyway. SAAB could be the GM arm that brings new technology to market - hybrids, fuel cells, advanced materials, telematics, etc. Produced in smaller numbers to a market that wants the next thing, such a division would give GM the chance to see what these technologies has more widespred potential before "trickling" them down to other divisions.