Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

MARKET DYNAMICS IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY 113
from player to player, but it boils down to investment priorities
and strategic vision for their fi rms.
During the 1980s, under the fi nance - oriented CEO Roger
Smith and his predecessors, GM was focused on cost reduction
and high technology. 10 The bulk of the some $ 80 billion
invested during the 1980s went to robots, most of which did
not work or were actually destructive (one robot reportedly
destroyed windshields while installing them), as a route to lower
costs and smaller union payrolls. Another investment direction
was into ill - advised technology fi rms, including $ 6.5 billion
for Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Ross Perot ’ s computer systems
company, and some $ 5 billion for Hughes Aircraft. GM
did invest in vehicles. There was a $ 7.5 billion effort to create
a new midsize car that was needed but ultimately unsuccessful,
the $ 5 billion invested in Saturn, investments in the truck and
SUV markets, and efforts to increase the commonality across
models to decrease costs. In addition, station wagons, competitors
to minivans, were profi table — its business was a cash
cow for GM.
Because of the GM strategy in the 1980s, there was no
energy or vision directed at the minivan market created by
Chrysler and no way to provide a vehicle that would be a competitor.
The 1990s were a catch - up period for all GM models
and processes given the mistakes of the 1980s that left no
resources available to attack the minivan market, especially during
the recession that began the decade.
In the 1980s and 1990s Ford prioritized three areas. First was
the design project that resulted in the wildly successful Taurus
(and Sable) car that was introduced in 1985 and became the
largest - selling car until well into the 1990s. Second was
the F - series truck, the largest - selling vehicle from 1978 into the
1990s. Third was the SUV - class vehicles built on the truck
foundation. The Ford Explorer, introduced in 1990 as an SUV
that provided extra comfort and amenities, led the category
for many years. It was followed by a larger Ford Expedition in