A Tale of Two GMs

General Motors expanded under Alfred Sloan's leadership in the 1930’s.
Sloan was a visionary who created the “Ladder of Success” pricing structure - Consumers move up the product ladder as aspiration and wealth increases from Chevrolet to Pontiac to Oldsmobile to Buick and ultimately Cadillac.
Sloan also introduced planned obsolescence with annual styling changes driving consumers to aspire to the latest and greatest styling and gadgets.
Ford resisted and kept the same styling for years, propelling GM to industry leadership for 7 decades.

In contrast, Rick Wagoner (1998-2009) focused on controlling costs. He consolidated engineering organizations w/o cutting headcount. Individual brand and model identities were homogenized by combining design divisions across shared platforms. Chevrolets, Pontiacs, and Buicks were essentially the same cars with minor trim and color differences between them. GMC and Chevy trucks differed solely in name. GM's brand strategy and the "Ladder of Success" that took seven decades to build was undermined in just one decade. This time around it was Ford that was introducing new models with innovative styling and the latest gadgets. General Motors filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Ford didn't and continues to regain market share.