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GM's Urban Restyln': Detroit Automaker Tries to Take it to the Hoop without the Alley Oop!
Is it a fad or a way of life? Maybe a fashion statement or the style of your culture? However you decide to paraphrase it, customizing your whip is as much a way of life as dressing in the morning. Individuals are particular and so should the cars, trucks and SUVs they decide to purchase and sport around town.
So what is it about simply customizing your vehicle that has generated more headlines than CNN’s nightly news? It sure is not anything new to the novice or nowhere new to the streets. Stylish rims have as much history as Hip Hop and flipping whips goes back to the early days. Yeah, the early days! And now it seemingly looks though both are being joined at the hip by media and neophytes to the games as if they were separated at some point in time. Yet, even though music, music videos, and music networks have brought the ideology of customizing rides to the forefront of mainstream culture, mainstream culture has been in the game long before referees were introduced. So my point is that media organizations and car companies alike need to understand that by the time they catch up to a self-proclaimed trend -- it’s no longer a trend anymore – thus, no longer a major issue. Just a way of life!
 Therefore, the key is to understand your market at the point the market is developing and setting off new styles, habits, trends, manners, fashions, customs, etc. Grow with the culture and the ending will be more fruitful for all. Take for example plus-sized rims. The standard on a full-size SUV is at least a 22” wheel. GM will now offer its own 22s on the new 2007 Caddy Escalade when it arrives next year. The benefit being that the customer can roll the cost into the vehicle loan payment; any problems to the wheel are warranted, and since the wheel and vehicle are designed in tandem, you are guaranteed proper performance, safety and reliability. GM insures that wheel calibration, ABS brakes and TPM (Tire Pressure Monitoring) are on point. Even the tires are fitted precisely to the wheel, the vehicle, and its characteristics. It’s an advantage GM calls “best fit and best function.”
 However, even after touring the GM Accessory Design Studio in Michigan, the wheel was not available to see. The only drawback I can imagine going with a GM rim over HREs or Rennens is the limited availability of “off the hook” designs. Their first attempt at designing an in-house wheel was as disappointing as watching Roy Jones’ legacy fall to Antonio Tarver. Now, the Detroit native has taken an introspective look at its accessories business and is listening to what the shops are saying and watching what owners are doing with their vehicles. Says Nancy Philippart, executive director, GM Accessories, “the value proposition of the aftermarket is variety, and clearly the aftermarket is pushing the trend. As an OEM we have the ability of developing accessories to be available at time of purchase.”
GM’s accessories business began about four years ago with little marketing buzz.  Now they are offering a full line of parts including wheels, entertainment packages, spoilers, supplemental storage configurations and much more via their network of dealers. Though the dealers who have signed up represent a small percentage of all GM dealers, every success story has to start somewhere. The added value being a customer walks away with a new car and the gear to go with it, rather than researching parts that may or may not be available or even in their price range. For instance, GM showed us a Chevy HHR customized by Boston Acoustics. It featured DVD screens in the headrests that actually tilt and can play separate movies on each. In the rear was a drop down screen large enough for your living room. A little excessive for that type of vehicle, but ultimately a cool showoff for what can be done with an HHR. GM will be displaying it at the 2005 SEMA Show in Vegas next month.
Now what about all that audio and video equipment that is so popular? Well the days when you can pull out a head unit by unscrewing a few bolts are over. These days everything is multiplexed like in our Automotive Rhythms 2005 VW Phaeton, which no shop wanted to touch because of the extensive amount of fiber optic wiring, which runs everything from the HVAC system to the CD Changer. You won’t have that issue with GM. They make sure that the vehicle’s computer is programmed to allow for added electrical componentry and personalizations. And once again, if any system fails, customers will always be safe at the plate because their warranty will still be intact.
 Auto companies are really beginning to understand the culture of auto customizing. Scion has it down pact. Chrysler, Ford and of course GM see the light. Yet, they still have a lot of work to do and much catching up -- but once they unite full force with the shops and tuners then the art of “flipping your whip” will be as sweet as your mamma’s pies during Thanksgiving dinner.
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