Just finished a week of business travel, with one of the worst rental cars I've ever gotten. No big surprise here, it's a GM vehicle. Now it's not all GM's fault, but then in this world of blame it never is right? I chose to take the cheapest compact available from Hertz. I know that Hertz doesn't have the best cars (I like Avis's much better fleet), but I do love Hertz gold service. I've rented compacts at Avis, and never gotten anything as basic as this one.
I was given a GM Cobalt. A nice little car. I'd say this competes with the Ford Focus. Peppy too - GM definitely knows how to build a car that drives.
But what a surprise when I go to start the car and realize there is no fob. Manual door locks, and of course Hertz had to leave all the doors unlocked, so here I am climbing in the back to secure the vehicle. And then there are the manual windows. WHAT? I haven't had manual windows in fifteen years. Wait, it gets even better, the side mirrors are manual TOO! Now I am fully aware that Hertz paid the least amount possible for this car, but the impression it leaves me with the Chevy Cobalt is there is no way in h*ll I'd ever even think of buying one of these.
But lets get back to the price of the vehicle. GM probably thinks they are saving money by offering Hertz this stripped down vehicle. I beg to differ, they would have been better off cutting the price of the standard consumer version of the cobalt, and here is my reasoning. This is the low end of their offering, which means they should be optimizing price across the entire Cobalt line. Instead, they are ordering 4x special door panels, 4x special armrests, 4x manual window parts, 4x different locks, 2x manual mirror parts, 2x different plastic trim pieces for the mirrors.
Just my quick observations, that's 20 extra parts to carry. Now add on top of that the 20 different times they had to enter that into their inventory system, or the guy on the docks doing part inspection, or the warehouse team that has to track and manage those parts. How about the training of the line workers to install those pieces. Lets add on top of that the effort it took to quote and manage the Hertz order for these stripped cars. Even further, what about extra parts and labor for maintenance?
I don't know if this is a GM thing or not, but I can say that Avis' smallest Toyota or Hyundai still had power door locks and mirrors. So much for GM being able to make a first impression in their Cobalt.
(In full disclosure, I've owned GM vehicles, and they were great. I really wish GM could break this latest lack of foresight and dig themselves out of this hole they are in.)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Does GM Get It?
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5 comments:
Oh, methinks it's Hertz that does not get it.
I'd be willing to bet that Hertz wanted to cut it's costs and still charge as much as they could for a rental and essentially required GM to equip these vehicles this way.
and the next time you rent... you'll probably rent a GM again but only after you make sure it's not a stripped model and Hertz will gladly accommodate you - at a price.
So.. in the end.. you decide whether or not you want to rent a "cheap' stripper or not.... no matter the brand...
Does Hertz provide other brands at the bottom class?
Are they also poorly equipped?
No doubt Hertz put out a bid saying they were willing to pay X to get the cheapest car avail. My point is that if ALL costs were figured, including impressions of the model for future buyers (lets admit, renting a car is how a lot of people get exposed to different models and brands), if all these things are figured in - GM might have considered discounting their standard base Cobalt to meet the price point.
I wish I could get ahold of some actual numbers to see how far off this idea is.
I'm sure that both Hertz and GM knew and agreed to the equipment to be provided (and not) for the price agreed to.
My point is that GM .. AND Hertz did know.. they did this on purpose...
Hertz did it - to convince YOU that the next time you rented a car that you would not take their cheapest rate....
GM probably did not care because they know..that you know..that if you want a Cobalt with a fob... and electric windows.. that you can specify it... also at a price...
GM's attitude .. perhaps is ..that if you liked the Cobalt but wanted a FOB/electric windows.. that they'd be happy to add that equipment also....
Way back (perhaps before you can remember)... the ads would say something like "Own a Chevrolet Belair for as low as $xxx) and sure enough... you could get one like that.. but so spartan that most folks wanted the add-ons... and would pay more...
I have to say.. I'm a bit surprised that any manufacturer these days does not provide a fob or other stuff that most of us no longer consider add-ons.. but in a way.. it's refreshing... to see that for those folks who want a REALLY cheap car.. you can get it - even with a GM logo on it!!!!
;-)
I'd be curious to see on the Chevrolet web site.. if one could actually buy a Cobalt "stripper" like you had...
The return guy at Hertz may have given away the answer to the version of the car. His oppinion was that this was a version popular in Mexico where it's produced. So maybe I jumped the gun thinking they cobbled together some special 'low-end' version for fleet vehicles.
Yeah, I now consider electric door locks a minimum.
You gotta admit. The next time you rent a car.. you're gonna ask what comes with the lowest price car...right?
;-)
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