How I discovered GM’s Planned Obsolescence

I have just encountered firsthand experience of GM's planned obsolescence. It seems there is a bulb burned out in behind my speedometer in my instrument cluster creating an area of darkness in the dashboard while driving at night. I can't see how fast I am going, which I have found, completely eliminates all conviction when I seem to be going really fast. Ignorance really is bliss.

In my attempt to solve this problem, I discover that it cannot be fixed. I have to replace the entire instrument cluster. What used to be a $2 bulb and minimal amount of time will now cost me around $600.00, not including labour . . . for a burned out light bulb. The old one? Garbage. One would think that environmentalists would be all over this and have had speedometers tattooed on their foreheads by now. I haven't noticed a picture of my Instrument cluster on the list of returnable / recyclable items.

Planned Obsolescence is the practice of intentionally making a product obsolete after a relatively short period of time so that the consumer is obliged to buy yet another product at the end of the original product's lifespan. It did work. Consumers were obliged to buy another vehicle. However, for obvious reasons, they decided to buy from a different manufacturer.

If the plan of obsolescence is to replace a product with a must-have better product with more features and advanced technology – great idea. But, how does a group of talented people come up with the idea to build stuff with limited life, that breaks and cannot be fixed, so that people will have to replace in a short period of time?

I didn't have to work at or with GM to know the answer to that question. They have certainly not cornered the market with this phenomenon that conceives and births really dumb ideas.

I know that there were people within GM advising against this idea, suggesting to the senior leaders that this was a bad idea and bad business, predicting and forecasting the potential problems with a plan of this nature. I know this because that is what good leaders do – they stand by their convictions – they do the right thing.

Unfortunately, I also know that there were leaders inside GM who allowed their title and the power that comes with running a large corporation, to go to their head. I know that they didn't listen to what people inside and outside their organization were warning them about.

. . . and, we think is was the recession that brought GM to bankruptcy.

If you don't agree with me on this, then you are either one of those former, close minded leaders in GM, or you don't have a burned out bulb in your instrument cluster that is going to cost you $600.00.

How I discovered GM’s Planned Obsolescence