GM: Few Consumers Are Asking for a Refund

DETROIT — GM issued an encouraging statistic following the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, saying that only 339 of the 439,000 cars sold under its 60-day money-back guarantee program have been returned to the company.

"That's less than 1/10th of 1 percent," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, in a speech following the auto show.

"Equally important, we're working to contact as many of these unhappy customers as possible, to find out what they didn't like about their GM car or truck," Reuss said. "We've never done that before. I wish we had, because we're learning a lot about what we can do better. And I know, because I've made a lot of those calls myself."

Last September, GM launched a new marketing program dubbed "May the Best Car Win." The 60-day guarantee was part of that program.

Reuss also said that GM launched a new "How to Help a Customer" mobile application for GM employees on January 13. "This app will allow GM smartphone users to help customers get answers to their questions, anytime, anywhere," he said. "It's just one more tool."

Reuss also called for a renewed commitment to building quality into its vehicles.

"We can no longer tolerate a culture at GM that punishes people for identifying quality concerns," he said. "We need a culture that encourages it, that celebrates it, that rewards it, and that's what I'm after."

He reiterated the automaker's commitment to the Chevy Volt and said GM is guarding against "the temptation to scale back our technology investment while we're still repaying government loans and while the market is weak."

Inside Line says: One grassroots sign that points to renewed health for battered GM. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent