A week ago, the head of car mega-dealer AutoNation, called on Detroit to build cars configured the way that customers want them. The big dealer’s concern is that American car companies design vehicles for mass production and then use incentives to sell them. This builds inventories of unpopular models which sit on dealer lots.
AutoNation says it is already addressing the problem, if only Detroit will listen. According to the WSJ, AutoNation began sifting through its trove of data to identify the best-selling configurations of every vehicle on the market. He wants GM, Ford and Chrysler to join the effort and use the information to produce vehicles customers actually want.
And, the premier auto journalist in America seems to agree that moving production to popular cars is the way to go. Jerry Flint of Forbes points out that the Chevy Impala sells almost as many units as the No.1 selling Honda Accord. But, Flint is concerned that because the Impala is not a "global" car GM has little interest in it. The model was designed in Detroit and it is not sold abroad. Flint believes that GM will try to engineer a car line to compete with the Japanese instead of relying on what already works.
As he writes: "Impala proves that Detroit can still build a car that appeals to what Americans prefer. Too bad that General Motors does not recognize that it has a winner."
Too bad management at GM, Ford and Chrysler would rather flame out than be practical.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies the he writes about.
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