Why can't GM handle the truth?

What if General Motors told the truth? What if they hired Errol Morris and had him film a top executive from the company who can actually talk like a human being? There must be someone. Then Morris could have this executive look into the camera and tell the country, "Yes, we've screwed things up pretty royally. Golly, have we ever. Remember those Chevy Luminas you used to get stuck with at the car rental places? They sucked. They really did. And we're sorry about that. Fact is, we shouldn't have spent years making a bunch of lousy cars and a few really good trucks. That was really dumb even when gas wasn't well north of two bucks a gallon. But we're going to try and turn this thing around. After all, it's not like we have many other choices here. It won't be easy, but we think we can make things right again and we're trying do that with every new car we introduce. We understand if you're ticked at us, but we hope you'll give us another shot. At least think about trying something we make. Thank you."

No. it wouldn't be wildly conceptual. But high concept – and I'm a guy who loves high concept – is not what this company so desparately needs. Desparate times call for brutal honesty and Americans have always loved a good mea culpa. Just look at how well movie stars usually do when they come out of rehab.

It would be impactful and buzz-worthy. And I'm quite sure the car buying public would like it more than a B.S. line like, "America's No. 1 brand. America's No. 1 value."

Who does GM think they're kidding? Wait. Who am I kidding? This is General Motors.