Automakers live and die by product reputation. Too many recalls and the brand becomes tarnished in the minds of consumers. Balancing the scales again can be done but it does take time and usually a large financial expenditure to settle law suits as well as to launch ad campaigns to help recover consumer confidence.
Americans view vehicles in various ways which illicit emotions from peaceful comfort to—safe ride for the family–to gut-stirring-sports-car-worthy-horsepower, but the one way Americans do not see a vehicle is a machine that can not be controlled. The Toyota vehicle problem of unintended acceleration created massive recalls and ‘understandable customer panic’. A press shy Toyoda, new CEO of Toyota, found himself faced with a brand damaging debacle. While Toyota faced one PR nightmare after another automakers from other brands took notice realizing of course that the best policy relating to vehicles and recalls is avoidance of the initial problem. GM adheres to that philosophy and is erring on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of its customers and the reputation of its brands.
GM will, by the end of 2012, have an ‘enhanced smart pedal” feature installed in all vehicles that fall under their umbrella. This technology will, when the driver ‘depresses the brake and accelerator pedals simultaneously, grant the brake’s command and thereby bring down power to engine. With the recent problems recounted in the news, GM feels that even though this problem is not common within their brands that instilling a comfort level within their customer base about this frightening problem is the way to go.
As with any upgrade GM’s engineers are giving themselves enough time to incorporate this feature seamlessly within each model. Keeping customers safe on the roads is a point of pride for GM and the enhanced smart pedal is another way to ensure their customer base feels safe and secure when hitting the road.