GM: "Dare to compare*" (* - but only when we stack the deck)

Blind_Io

Blind_Io

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http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/26/...autoblog+(Autoblog)&utm_content=Google+Reader

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/01/26/cruze-vs-elantra.jpg

General Motors is using the phrase "Dare to Compare" as part of a campaign pitting its vehicles directly against competitors. In a new video you'll find after the break, the Chevrolet Cruze lines up against the Hyundai Elantra... the now-outdated 2010 Hyundai Elantra.

While the Cruze 1LT (why not the base LS?) indeed performs quite well against the previous-generation, base-model Hyundai sedan, we would prefer to see it go wheel-to-wheel with the 2011 Elantra. Apples to apples and all that, right? As it stands, Chevrolet has dared to compare itself to an older version of a car that has since improved greatly. Hardly seems like a fair fight...

For those wondering about the dollars and cents, the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT starts at $18,175 (the base Cruze LS starts at $16,275). By way of comparison, the base 2011 Hyundai Elantra GLS starts at $14,830 and the 2010 model started at $14,145.

It's not that the Cruze isn't a fine car... but ya know, the new 2011 Cruze is quite a bit better than a lot of older cars... including the Cobalt this Elantra once competed with. Click past the jump for the clip.
Click to expand...

You know what? I'd probably still take the Hyundai.
 
Spectre in 3...2...1...:p

Seriously though, GM has given up....disappointing really.And yeah I'd take the Hyundai.
 
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New Elantras look like that and only cost $14k? I might be in the market for a new car soon....
 
The new ones are a bit more and are on-par with the Chevy in terms of price, so it's a much better comparison than the cheaper, older model.

I sat in both the 2011 Hyundai and 2011 Cruze at the auto show and there is really no comparison, the Hyundai is better in every possible way. That's why Chevy has to stack the deck and compare their car to a model-year that is out of production, they just can't compete against the contemporary challengers.
 
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Yeah I just spec'ed the Elantra I would want and it ended up at 17k, but if the quality is as good as everyone is saying it is that's still a good deal. And that interior... my goodness.
 
Of all the cars at the auto show this year, the Elantra had the best use of space. Other makes (even premium brands) went with a much less appealing and more cluttered look. Hyundai got everything in to less space and with greater simplicity of design. The climate control stacks the two knobs for temperature and fan on top of each other in tiers, so they are easy to read and set without moving your hand. The center of the top tier is the A/C button, so they have put three controls in the space of one and made it very intuitive and easy to use without ever looking at the console.
 
You mean GM stacked the odds in a promotion for their own car? No. Freakin'. Way.
 
I feel sorry for the girl presenting that commercial. I'd want to shoot myself if I did that.
 
Aside from already made points, there is this.

GM powertrain warranty: 5 years, 100,000 miles.
Hyundai powertrain warranty: 10 years, 100,000 miles.

That tells me everything I need to know. GM upped their warranty from 5/50 to 5/100 instead of matching or trying to come close to Hyundai's time limit. That tells me they know their crap is going to fall apart after 5 years and they don't want to get nailed with warranty charges.

BlaRo said:
You mean GM stacked the odds in a promotion for their own car? No. Freakin'. Way.
Click to expand...

Most other comparison tests are at least honest enough to use actual contemporaries as the competition. This one, not so much.
 
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I'd rather wait and get the next gen Focus for the US than either of those. I've looked at the Cruze, seems ok, but if you want stuff in it, then it starts getting pricey quick. I do kind of want to test drive the 1.4L turbo model but it seems like the mpg is not as good as it could be.
 
Come to think of it, this is how GM managed to completely blow Saturn when it first came out, too - they used the soon-to-be-replaced cars as benchmarks instead of designing to the potential next generation. And IIRC, they tried much the same gag with the commercials when the first Saturns came out, too.
 
So hang on a second...they pitch a Cruze LT vs. Elantra Base, but when they do the mileage comparison, they used the figures for the LS? Hah!

And also - comparing them based on styling - that's just personal opinion.
 
Oh look, GM is doing what GM does best. Too bad people still buy their cars (reinforcing that behavior). The fact is, most car-buyers are horrendously misinformed. My own family member, for instance, test drove a '09 Malibu and '09 Aura, and bought the Aura because it seemed "less tinny". I told them that those are the same car (same drive-train), and they didn't believe me.
 
They could have at least made an effort of make it look less biased... Never in the entire video did they compare the MSRPs of the two vehicles. I'm pretty sure the Chevy is a good couple grand dearer. Imagine if they compared the Cruze to the Corolla

"The Corolla is known to suffer from unintended acceleration. The Cruze probably won't."
 
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Remember that Top Gear news segment with the Lada that was benchmarked against cars that aren't made anymore?

I suddenly thought of it for some reason. Crazy, huh?
 
Well, this certainly explains a lot about GM products of the past... but honestly the current Cruze isn't that bad of a car, why couldn't they just had the balls to compare it with the 2011 model? It wouldn't have been as good if it were unbiased, but I'm sure they could have found a few things to twist around.
 
Could be done by students. There's a competition every year where marketing students create an ad campaign for a company, and I know it was Chevy this fall because they did it on our campus too ( http://www.pittdaretobe.com/ ). The Dare To... thing is what made me recognize the similarity...and the girl in the video is pretty college aged. Ish. (I'm terrible at judging ages, so let it pass if she's like 70.)

No matter who it's done by though, it's a pretty terribe comparison. Chevy should never have let that video go under its name, and if it was actually produced in house, someone needs to be executed fired.
 
As a HUGE GM fan, I can honestly say this does not surprise me 1 bit. I mean, every car commercial bends the truth a little and uses the obvious bias to gain a little advantage...but this is well beyond anything anyone has done thus far. Granted, they are still trying to find the image of what is "New GM" but they still have too much of "Old GM" there. As a marketing student, it disgusts me. The consumer is not that stupid. If you cannot compare yourself to the current competition, why try making the comparison at all? It leaves the door open for Hyundai to come back at them, though I doubt they will.

Whoever said the warranties tell all hit the nail on the head. They have definitely stepped up their game at GM, but they don't trust themselves enough to really go head to head. They need to give it their all, making an excellent product and quit worrying about getting every last drop of profit margin possible. Chevy hasn't gotten the treatment that Cadillac and Buick have had. They are better looking and better built cars, but still just a hair under their competitions (at least in the family/econo car market).

Give it time, we will see whether they revert back to old ways (which they are slipping into now) or really try to make this a "New GM."
 
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