“Human beings on the whole are resistant to change — an irony when you consider that change has always been one of the most consistent features of life. As a corporation, GM developed a finely tuned behavior of self-protection. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, it maintained a conviction that the cars that made it great were the cars that would continue to keep it great. There was, from the 1950s on, an almost pathological resistance to the glaring shifts in American life and values — and how these changes might translate into automobile purchases. Serious market research and long-range planning were practically nonexistent, although it was not for lack of committees. ‘The worst news you could hear was that a task force had been assigned to study the problem. Task forces were the black hole at GM.'”
— Maryann Keller, Collision (1993)
RE:SOURCES
- Keller, Maryann; 1993. Collision: GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and the Race to Own the 21st Century. Doubleday, New York, NY: p. 116.
Also see ‘1965-68 GM big cars: The end of different strokes’
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