There was nothing wrong with relying heavily on pick-ups and SUVs for the bulk of GM’s (GM) sales. That is what CEO Rick Wagoner told the FT. The fact that "light trucks made up 52 per cent of GM’s US vehicle sales last month, compared with 34 per cent for Toyota." should be ignored.
Wagoner believes that the Japanese went after the light truck market just as much as his company did, but that they were late to the game. That is good for Toyota (TM). By the time it got close to being a contender for SUV sales, the market collapsed. It had only one foot in the door when the house fell in. GM was not so lucky.
GM wants history to recall that it did what was necessary to make money, catering to the American buyer who wanted the big truck with the bigger engine and the sports car which got 10 miles per gallon but went zero to sixty in under six seconds.
But, the claim of past intelligence is false. Toyota spread its bets widely across the board. It and its Japanese counterparts stayed in the small sedan business. GM and Ford (F) nearly exited that end of the market.
No matter what Wagoner wants to remember, his memory is convenient.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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