Enough Is Enough: Should Automakers Give Up On Being Number One And Just Concentrate On Making Good Cars?

A casual observer could be excused for thinking that volume is the only thing that matters to the auto industry:

"The annual global industry sales leader for 76 years."

"Toyota ends GM’s reign as leader in global sales”

"VW Group has declared its intention to become the global leader, overtaking Toyota by 2018”

GM may have been the leader for 76 years, but we all know how that worked out.  The quest to be the global leader in sales drove Toyota to the breaking point where it lost its legendary focus on quality and reliability.  The result?  The biggest series of product recalls in history, allegations of unintended acceleration, thousands of lawsuits, and a decline in brand perception that will take years to recover.  Now Volkswagen has set its sights on the global sales crown and some are questioning the wisdom of the company’s leadership.




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AgentOrange - 11/1/2010 3:34:35 PM

+7 Boost

Being #1 should mean building the best cars (handling, performance, reliability, quality, etc) in a segment, not being the #1 in sales volume in a segmant.

mpwr - 11/1/2010 3:45:35 PM

+6 Boost

exactly, these two points are not mutually exclusive

B7FAN - 11/1/2010 4:58:53 PM

+3 Boost

I have too agree because once you have the handling, performance, reliability, quality down to a science then I can see focusing on quantity. Alot of these companies will give you 2 outta the 3 or 3 outta the 4 and at this point in time people know more and more about the type of car they want and how they want it made.

Steve - 11/1/2010 8:08:15 PM

+1 Boost

The issue with making "good cars" is trying to determine what each prospective buyer think is "good", and how they weight that goodness against their willingess to open their wallet.

tango - 11/1/2010 9:42:49 PM

+1 Boost

If VW sold ten times the number of cars GM and Toyota combined sold I still wouldn't buy one. Total garbage. I just feel sorry for the poor saps that put down money to own one of them.

tattedtwice - 11/1/2010 10:15:01 PM

+3 Boost

I never understood why being number one was such a big deal, unless youre number one AND loved/copied/respected/benchmarked/heralded, etc.

Look at toyota, with their dumb "still number one" ads playing every 3 minutes; big f'n deal, your cars are STILL the most boring, STILL the least respected, benchmarked by no other company, and pretty much the laughing stock of the auto world. They sell on their name and reputation ONLY, so I see nothing to be proud of.

t_bone - 11/1/2010 11:45:48 PM

+3 Boost

Finally an Autospies headline I can agree with.

uaw_lax - 11/2/2010 12:31:51 AM

+2 Boost

Well WE all may not care about who is number one but the Share holders do.

internationalmanofmystery - 11/2/2010 10:33:55 AM

+1 Boost

And shareholders cry when facing Chapter 11, too. We all win when the two are not mutually exclusive, but the emphasis should always be on building quality. I think we are all in agreement here that that gets you to number 1 and keeps you there.