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The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
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Automakers Now Want to Share Their Design Concepts with Consumers - VIDEO FEATURE


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DETROIT - In the past, before TheAutoChannel's official sign-on in January 1996, what very little automotive information that there was online was subject to subscription fees. Then, even after our launch, automakers, car price guides and the traditional magazines wanted to charge fees and went to great lengths to hide information from their competitors and the public, often leading to disappointing results. In fact, automakers tried to keep information away from us, and tried to disqualify us as an accredited news outlet.

Fortunately, because our automotive broadcasting and news-dissemination history went back to the 1980's they couldn't keep us out. Finally, public and trade awareness of what we were doing forced everyone else to follow us (although there's still one or two goofball old-hack print publishers that insist on trying to figure out ways to screw Internet users.

Incidentally, Pennzoil played a major role in making automotive information free and accessible. As our initial key sponsor, they understood our vision and provided significant funds to permit us to make it happen.

Now, companies like GM are trying to use the web to their advantage and garner new support as they emerge from the bowels of ruin. By sharing early design concepts, they hope to gauge "hit or miss" reactions before a car even gets off the drawing board. This, of course is a very tricky prospect since you can't really leave critical design or marketing questions up to focus groups, which regularly provide misguided directions. If you don't have "soul-surfers" in the company, that is people with the instinct and taste to know what will work and what won't, you're usually doomed.

At "The Lab" on GM's website, designers answer comments and questions directly from customers and incorporate the feedback into their designs. Currently The Lab is taking feedback on both the GMC Granite concept and Buick Avant concept.

Click PLAY to watch the video