General Motors ads target Honda, Toyota products

A GM ad criticizes the Lexus ES350. 

In recent years, the American automakers and their loyal fans have complained of a "perception gap" in which consumers judge today's domestic cars based on the problems of old that drove people to Japanese competitors.

A series of online ads for General Motors tries to address this by comparing their products to popular Honda and Toyota products, particularly in terms of their gas consumption.

"Some think the imports are more fuel-efficient," many of the ads read, showing a picture of a foreign-made automobile, with an arrow pointing at the word "perception." The arrow then points to the word "truth" and a GM product with a higher fuel economy rating appears.

But although it is true that some consumers can be disinclined to consider American-brand cars, these GM ads approach a tone of hostility. Hostility not just towards their competitors, which could have been brushed off as a healthy competitive spirit, but towards those who buy competiing products. GM might have stood to learn from the more polite Hyundai "think about it" ad campaign. 

Furthermore, some of the ads are a touch disengenous. One comparing the Lexus ES350 to the Buick Lucerne mentions the Buick's extra interior space and lower price, and adds that it is rated for 25 miles per gallon (on the highway). This tries to create the perception that the Lexus does not match the Buick's gas mileage; the reality is that it beats it by 2 mpg. 

It is also a bit of a stretch to make a generalization about "imports" by using a few specific examples. There are many Hondas and Toyotas, as well as other imported cars, that easily trump their respective GM competitors' gas mileage.

Another thing to note about GM products is that many suffer from poor interior packaging that leaves rear seat passengers with only the space and comfort of a car one size smaller. If you're looking for cars with the equivalent interior space of a Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan, you would do fine with the less expensive Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Those cars get better gas mileage than the Malibu, even if its direct competitors -- based on exterior rather than interior size -- do not.

But the basic lesson to draw from the ads is a wise one, applicable to all car-shopping: do your research. Don't base important buying decisions on vague perceptions and broad generalizations. Look carefully at the pros and cons of specific cars, and don't rule one out based on anything less than concrete.