Yesterday, I wanted to take a pulse of the American car/truck owner. I asked a simple question: Are you giving up on GM? Why or why not? Granted, this is a highly non-scientific poll, but the answers were intriguing.
Brian is standing behind the automaker saying:
"The Media never gives GM a fair review it's always negative even though they build some of the best vehicles in the world. "
To Brian and all others buying into the "media is the problem" idea, remember that the press didn't create the negative impressions some have of GM, we've simply reported those feelings.
Dana doubts GM can rebound. She wrote:
"GM must build cars that will generate waiting lists of buyers! Otherwise they will go the way of the dodo bird!"
David is also skeptical, writing:
"while I'm not giving up on GM, they don't have a radical product that matches Toyota's Prius for MPG. In this economic climate, that's a disaster. In conclusion, I haven't given up on GM but am not going near their stock or their showrooms until after 2010."
Finally, Dave told me that he thinks GM can come back if it focuses on giving buyers the fuel efficient and green cars they crave. He wrote:
"shifts due to the current energy crisis could work to GM's advantage if they are able to leverage their impressive hybrid and possibly diesel experience in the developing market."
Did I draw any conclusions from your e-mails? Perhaps the biggest is that many of you, even the GM fans, think the company has too many dealers, and that some of those dealers are a problem.
Unfortunately, that won't change very quickly, thanks to the franchise laws in many states. It's too bad because the good GM dealers, and the vast majority are good, are weighed down by the few who run their shops like a kid's lemonade stand.
Auto sales start at noon. See you then.
Questions? Comments? BehindTheWheel@cnbc.com
