EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. I had to take a step back and remind myself that people don’t come here to get what they can get on other sites, or from the myriad imitators out there whom I have influenced. No, they want the raw, unfiltered Autoextremist. And today is as good a day as any to remind everyone out there what you come here for.

Let’s face it - the swirling maelstrom that defines this business is ever churning. Designing, engineering, manufacturing, cost management, supplier relationships, marketing strategies, advertising, dealers and of course the product - always the product – determine the success or failure of these huge automotive enterprises.

But that barely scratches the surface of it all. That’s only from the outside looking in and that’s just what the auto company PR minions want conveyed to the beat reporters covering their companies so that the people “out there” in Reality Land – aka anyone not in the industry - can get their orchestrated, pre-packaged auto pabulum the “right” way.

This “information” is of course sanitized and pasteurized to the nth degree so that it adheres to the rigidly controlled company line, but fortunately, life doesn’t work that way, especially in the auto biz. And even though there are still some naïve executives at work today who think they – or their PR minions - can control the ebb and flow of information, it’s never the case, thank goodness.

It’s a good time to be reminded of three unassailable High-Octane Truths about this business. 1. It’s one giant ego trip, especially for the people making the decisions at the top. That’s certainly not news by any stretch and the auto biz isn’t even close to being the only outpost of it in corporate America, but it’s certainly right in there with Hollywood, Washington, D.C., Wall Street and Silicon Valley. 2. The auto biz is a hot house for egomaniacally fueled, flat-out delusional thinking. Not big news either, but it helps to remember just how virulent and unbridled the egomaniacal behavior truly is. There are silos upon fiefdoms throughout these organizations, and that doesn’t even begin to cover the jousting and territorial wars that are rife at the very top layers of these companies. And 3. Fundamental accountability is in short supply. In fact it’s nonexistent. The bottom line? Everyone wants in on the credit, but no one wants to get caught up in the blame.

And even though you would think that the demarcation between success and failure in this business should be crystal clear, often times it’s not, because the nuances and subtleties involved don’t always come to the surface. On that note, some quick hits and bits…

Anyone who thinks that the VW “thing” will blow over is kidding themselves. This company and its dealers may weather this storm eventually, but not before the size of VW’s footprint in this country is drastically reduced and its dealer count is reduced by one third, if not more. And it will get far worse before there’s even a hint of light at the end of that dismal tunnel.

The sales game is just that – a game. Every single manufacturer in the world wants to be a star in the $35,000 - $60,000 sweet spot in the market. Execs make endless promises and countless predictions about the market share they’re going to capture, in fact it’s a rite of every auto show. But much to these execs’ chagrin, the auto sales “pie” doesn’t expand with the hot air generated by their predictions and inevitably they overpromise, only to underdeliver a few months later.

Just so you know, 99 percent of these sales prognostications are wishful thinking and the rest are pure, unmitigated bullshit. If a vehicle is a hit, everyone will take credit for it throughout the organization. If it's dead in the water and piling up like cords of wood on dealer lots all over the country, then the finger-pointing is only eclipsed by the “dog ate my homework” excuses generated.

“It was a tepid design.”

“It was overpriced for the segment” (and now we’re having to give ‘em away).

“It was the piss-poor marketing.”

And if all else fails, there’s the time honored, “It’s the advertising’s fault.”

(Blaming the advertising and of course the ad agency is a cottage industry in this business.)

But my personal all-time favorite excuse for a bad quarter? “Sunspots!”

Shifting gears now, I’ve been criticized for making my commentaries “too personal.” In fact it was Rick Wagoner who let it be known through his PR minions that it was his take on AE. Well, there’s a reason (among many) that “The Rick” isn’t around the business anymore, because anyone who doesn’t understand that this business is personal, or dismisses it as something that should be reduced to the cold hard numbers only, doesn’t get this business at all.

When you have such rampant egomaniacal behavior running roughshod over every inch of this business, believe me it’s all personal. This is a business that’s brimming with resentment, rivalries, old scores to settle and swingin’ dick-ism. And part of the reason for launching AE way back when was to name names and hold people accountable for their dimwit plays and blatant mistakes, while at the same time giving credit and doling out accolades when they were richly deserved. And I have done both over the years. (I won’t say in equal measure because let’s face it - the wimps, twerps and spineless weasels far outnumber the True Believers in this business. Always have, in fact.)

It’s no secret that I find much of today’s automobile business to be relentlessly boring, a rolling monument to tedium. The passion is either muted, or so “packaged” with an obligatory set of “authentic” cues to indicate that true passion exists when it really doesn’t that it has become an embarrassment.

I keep hearing that times have changed and it’s a different world now but that’s just a piss-poor excuse. Without true passion for what’s going on in this business then I have some advice for you: please feel free to drift away and do something else. If you don’t get jacked-up by an emotionally compelling design or the endless possibilities for the future of personal mobility then you need to go affix your torso to a pod car and let it autonomously drive you off a cliff.

And I have some news for those touchy-feely “mobility” zealots out there too. Look-alike pods that blend in together will only suffice until somebody comes out with a pod that has an actual design point of view, one that stands out from the crowd. And once that happens then this business will be reenergized all over again. Personal mobility and targeted, “mass” individuality doesn’t mean an absence of style, please remember that.

I’m not talking about the True Believers now (obviously) but I’m certainly calling out everybody else. Playing it safe in this business used to be anathema, now it has become a new, digitized religion. The bold visionaries who once propelled this business to greatness are now distant memories, and the current executives who qualify as such are so few and far between that it’s shocking (and no, Sergio doesn’t cut it, in case you’re wondering).

Today, this business has become overrun with cover-your-ass practitioners, detached “it doesn’t affect me so why should I care?” drones, seedy financial robots, woefully underqualified marketing “experts,” mindless order takers and malicious, carpetbagging interlopers who are only out for themselves (now I am talking about you know who).

And it’s a giant, stinkin’ bowl of Not Good.

As I’ve said many times before, everything matters in this business. Every nuance, every subtle design stroke, every product strategy, every suspension tweak, every marketing initiative, every ad, every last detail. In short, everything is everything in this business and it all matters.

Those who take that to heart will go far. The rest will be left like a house by the side of the road, wondering what happened.

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.