Ultimately, it is management’s responsibility. The problem with what’s going on now with GM is that they won’t learn from their defeats. They’ll just ask for more taxpayer money. It’s much easier to get taxpayer money than it is to compete with Volkswagen and Toyota. The sad part is that GM could once again become the biggest car company with tremendous products. They have to fight with Volkswagen and Toyota and the environmentalists and the unions and the media and the Democrats. Too much fighting.
Toyota, Honda and others fundamentally changed the auto industry about 20 years ago. Build quality and owner satisfaction became more important than ever-changing styling and gadgetry. To some extent cars became transportation appliances. It took Ford 10 years to adapt to the changes, GM and Chrysler have yet to evolve. GM is dead, we are just waiting for the funeral.