Amid weeks of terrible headlines for General Motors, the company Monday unveiled a new slogan, as a way of trying to be “more honest with our customers,” according to CEO Mary Barra.
The new slogan, “GM: Safety Comes Somewhere Relatively Close to First” is to some an implicit acknowledgment that the company has failed to prioritize safety, and an admission that the facts cannot be denied.
“We can’t honestly say, ‘Safety is our number one concern,’ because it clearly isn’t,” Barra said. “But what we are saying is, ‘Look. It’s not number one, but it’s up there. It’s close. There’s only two, maybe three things above it. That’s pretty high.”
Asked what items might come before safety on the company’s list of priorities, Barra said, “Well, profitability would be number one. Then probably increasing revenue, and cost-cutting. But both of those are really different ways to say ‘profitability’ anyway. That’s how important it is. It takes up three spots.”
Barra stresses that she understands the company needs to rebuild its image in the eyes of the public, and says the new slogan is a step in that direction.
“It says, ‘Hey, safety is important to us,'” she said. “It finishes a strong third or fourth.”
