Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post
Newsgroups: americast.ibd
From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com
Organization: American Cybercasting
Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com
Subject: \TITLE
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 12:51:16 EST
Message-ID: <15.1992Nov18.125116@AmeriCast.com>

11/18/92


TITLE #m#gm#m#Pontiac's John Middlebrook: Division Is Producing
Best-Selling Cars For Struggling GM

Paul A. Eisenstein In Atlanta It's hard to remain confident when
your company is in turmoil.

"After the last couple weeks in Detroit, it's just nice to be
working," said General Motors Corp. Vice President John Middle-
brook, with more than a hint of gallows humor.

But if anyone at GM has the right to feel self-assured, it's
Middlebrook, general manager of the automaker's Pontiac division.
Under his guidance, Pontiac is gaining sales and share as well as
winning over the skeptical baby boom buyers who normally shun GM
products.  For Middlebrook, the office is often an airplane seat.
He spends "a little over half" his time on the road, dashing from
dealer meeting to new car preview. Today, he's in Georgia, taking
a spin around Road Atlanta raceway to help john

debut the 1993 Pontiac Firebird, the first remake of the classic
sports coupe in 11 years.  In recent times, Pontiac has struggled
to sell 25,000 Firebirds a year. The new car is expected to dou-
ble that demand. The division hopes its stylish muscle car will
be able to stand up to both its domestic and import competitors.
The key to Pontiac's success is "focus and consistency," Middle-
brook said. "We haven't looked up for quite a while." Though he's
been general manager only since 1989, his ties to Pontiac stretch
way back. In 1981, he was marketing manager when the division
created the theme, "We Build Excitement." His marketing
expertise#m##m# has helped Pontiac present consumers with a
strong image even while GM's other divisions have struggled to
come up with a consistent, coherent motif.  Middlebrook's vision
has translated into a successful series of new product launches.
The compact Pontiac Grand Am, introduced in mid-1991, is GM's
second-best-selling car. In October, Grand Am sales were up 110%
over year-earlier levels.  Another runaway hit is the full-sized
Bonneville. The sedan has some tough competitors, including lux-
ury imports


GM's Pontiac Rejuvenated By Middlebrook


like the Mazda 929, Lexus ES300 and Mercedes-Benz 300. But sales
have been steadily posting double-digit gains.  More significant-
ly, the new Bonneville is winning over skeptics of domestic cars.
According to Pontiac's internal analysis, 18% of those buying the
base SE model say an import was their second choice. That's up
from 2% with the old Bonneville. And 30% of those buying the
upscale SSE and SSEi models would have otherwise chosen an im-
port.

Success With Saturn

On the whole, Pontiac sales are up 9.4% for the year, making it
one of the few GM divisions to outpace the overall new car mark-
et. Its market share has risen to 6.5% from 6%.  Middlebrook
knows that it takes a lot to win every additional tenth of a
point - and more than just image and product. Pontiac also has to
meet the sales and service expectations of its increasingly picky
and sophisticated buyers.  But if he wants a role model, he can
turn to himself.  From 1985 to 1987, Middlebrook served as vice
president in charge of sales, service and marketing for GM's Sa-
turn Corp. During the current industry sales slump, Saturn has
been one of the industry's few real success stories.  "The suc-
cess of Saturn is not the product," says Middlebrook. "It's 75%
how people are treated. That shows the value of getting the cul-
ture right." Transferring that culture to Pontiac isn't easy,
Middlebrook concedes.  Saturn started from a "clean sheet of pa-
per," with a hand-picked dealer network. Most of Pontiac's
dealers have been around for decades and don't want to be told
how to run their shops. And if Pontiac makes too many demands,
they'll simply focus on the other products they sell, since most
are "duals," carrying two or more brands.  Still, the changes are
beginning to happen, Middlebrook boasts. The division itself re-
cently launched a "Pontiac Cares" program, which offers free
roadside assistance, loaner cars and other customer services.
Middlebrook's approach has won him a loyal following, both inside
and outside the company.  "He really listens and he really
learns," said one GM product planner who asked not to be men-
tioned by name.  "He's smart and very low-key," added an outside
consultant who admits to being frustrated by most other GM gen-
eral managers. "He embodies the soul of Pontiac, and understands
it is a different division with a different mission." In a com-
pany where ladder-climbing executives typically shuttle from one
job to another every 18 months, Middlebrook, 51, seems in no rush
to move on, even after more than three years as general manager
at Pontiac. Indeed, those who know him believe this is the job he
always wanted.  If nothing else, it has allowed him to see some
of his ideas move from concept to production.  "There's a lot of
product coming to market that I've put through the birthing pro-
cess," he said.

Long Ties To GM

Middlebrook's ties to GM go all the way back to his youth. He
grew up in Lansing, where his father worked as a toolmaker for
the Oldsmobile division. He graduated from the General Motors In-
stitute with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1959 and was
hired in -also at Olds - by the controversial John DeLorean.
(Middlebrook later went on to earn a master's degree in marketing
at Michigan State University.) These days, Middlebrook admits,
the pressures of the job make him wish for more time to head up
North. He has a small cottage in mid-Michigan, and a four-month
old English Setter named Ham that he plans to train to hunt.  But
this season, about the only thing Middlebrook will be hunting for
is more market share.

+++~.jBL,0 This article is copyright 1992 Investors Business Dai-
ly. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by ar-
rangement with American Cybercasting Corporation.  For more in-
formation, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM