How Car Manufacturers Can Regain the Trust of the American People

A tough job is ahead for American automakers as they have worked diligently to get the bailout loans paid back and now much regain the trust of the American people. There was a time that Americans put all of their trust in the American Auto Industry. Things didn't stay that way though and it was devastating to the economy in the United States and devastating to the thousands of people who eventually lost their jobs because of it. These carmakers had to regroup and decide how to best approach the cars they would design and manufacture in the future. That isn't the only job ahead of them. In fact, that is probably the easiest part of the job. The hardest part of the job is to convince people that we can trust them and to purchase the vehicles. The two main car manufacturers that will have to work hard at this are Chrysler and General Motors.

How American Automakers can regain the Trust of the American Consumer:

Honesty about Loans Repayment- One of the main issues that taxpayers want to know is if the loans are truly paid back and if not, how far have the car manufacturers come in paying off the loans. The bailout loans were a major issue with many of the American people. Many people felt that the loans shouldn't have been given. There were several reasons that people felt that way, but it is something that the carmakers have to remember when addressing the issue with the public. Appearing dishonest , as some claim General Motors has been, will only further public mistrust. If you aren't going to be honest or if you are going to try to gloss it over, the American public will see through it and the trust goes further down the tubes.

Make Quality Products- One problem that the American car companies have had is the fact that people feel they aren't getting the best quality products for their money. They certainly spent enough money to purchase the cars but the cars didn't seem to stand up well next to the foreign models. People slowly but surely started purchasing the less expensive foreign models because they seemed to excel in places that American cars didn't seem to bother with. It is extremely important for American automakers to gain American trust by building vehicles that are affordable, economical and safe in order to compete with foreign carmakers. Ford seemed to get this idea better than the other two car companies.

Focus on the Future- One of the main problems with the American car companies is that they didn't focus enough on the future and didn't predict well enough what the trend would eventually be. For instance, there weren't enough fuel efficient vehicles in the American vehicles so people got rid of their gas guzzlers during the rise in gas prices that took us well over the $4.00 mark. In some areas, it even went to $5.00 per gallon of gasoline. Foreign carmakers made out like bandits and couldn't keep the fuel efficient vehicles in stock for more than a few hours at a time. GM and Chrysler need to focus more in predicting what might happen in future trends rather than sticking with the same old same old in order to earn the American trust again.

Back up the Product- It is extremely important that American Automakers back up their products with promises that the car companies see through to the end. American car companies talk people into purchasing extra warranties at very high prices only for the customer to later find out that it doesn't mean a thing because not everything is covered. In fact, a lot of times, there is very little covered in the extended warranties sometimes and that leaves customers hot and mistrusting of the manufacturers. This is another area where car manufacturers need to make sure that they are honest. Without honesty in this area, the same thing will happen again in the future and the American public will be even less likely to stand behind the car companies when they go belly up.

Attitude- It would appear, at times, that the car manufacturers of the United States have gotten an attitude that isn't very appealing. This happens with a number of companies when they get so big that they feel nothing can touch them. That is the last thing that the American car companies should think of now and in the future. No matter how big you get, you can always take a fall and it is hopeful that these manufacturers have realized this. Attitude that says they don't care about the customer because it doesn't matter is the wrong attitude. The attitude should always be to think of the customer first. There is always someplace else to go when you are shopping for a vehicle. American people stood strong for American products for a long time, but when the car companies tended to behave as though they didn't care how bad the product was, the people started realizing it was time to let them know it. Listen to your customers instead of shutting them out. That is the most important step in the entire reorganization of the car manufacturers in the United States.

If the car companies in the United States take the time to do the above steps to ensure the American people that they are trustworthy again, they stand a chance. Americans get upset at times, but we are also a forgiving people. Understand where all the problems are or it won't do you any good to fix any of them.