

Inside GM: Mystery of Crap Interiors Solved - replicatorblog
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/inside-gm-mystery-of-crap-interiors-solved/

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tdm911
I'm not at all surprised that the GM executives are too tightly wrapped up in
their cocoons to drive their own products (with the exception of heavily
tweaked versions). Given their inability to recognise the shift in the auto
industry over the last 30 years, it's obvious they aren't in touch with
reality.

I think the article has a good message for developers, especially that the old
rule of 'Eat your own dog food' is of utmost importance. If you don't use your
product, how can you know what your customers experience is like?

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kaitnieks
This is complete opposite of what I saw in Germany in Wolfsburg where VW
plants are located. We were practically the only ones not driving VW there
with exception of few Audis.

I think in car industry there are more benefits for using your own product
than just being your own tester. It's also advertising (even such VW hater as
me could not shake off a feeling that it has to be a good car after seeing a
whole city is FULL of them) and increased product volume.

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protomyth
I get the feeling that the folks at VW don't maintain or pay for repairs of
their vehicles. A bunch of former co-workers of mine had Beetles and Jettas
and the price of maintenance / repairs was obscene. The broken door handle and
the non-customer replaceable $300+ headlight swore me off buying the diesel
Jetta I wanted.

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jballanc
I don't think it's that unusual that the executives would only be presented
with the best sample for demonstration. You have to remember that each car
represents the hard work of many people, and I know that if I was the last
person in that chain responsible for preparing the demo model for the CEO, I'd
certainly take the time to make sure everything was perfect!

In fact, I think the author buried the lead in the last paragraph. I've never
been turned off of a car because of a loose fitting joint on the dash, or a
persistent rattle (my current car has both). Rather, the real problem is that
they've removed the human element from the design process. I can't find the
exact quote at the moment, but I recall Jonathan Ive once said something to
the effect that he could pin-point when each car manufacturer moved from clay
model prototypes to CAD design, because that's precisely when the cars lost
their "soul".

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quizbiz
Am I the only one that thinks executives should focus on making their company
more efficient? Making calls from the back of a car is fine with me. Leave the
test drives to people that know what to look for, media people, car
enthusiasts, passionate buyers.

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protomyth
I pretty much agree with you. A trained Evaluation Team would have been a
better use of resources, especially if they had the ability to send changes to
design / manufacturing and could make sure a bad design is not produced.

