Perhaps, but GM also has a worse reputation than Ford among buyers. Ford's reputation among the American brands is the best, while GM's is not that great, thou

Perhaps, but GM also has a worse reputation than Ford among buyers. Ford's reputation among the American brands is the best, while GM's is not that great, though Chrysler's is even worse. If I want to buy a reliable, high-quality car that I know is going to last 10 years and not have the interior plastics all looking nasty and faded and falling apart after a mere half-decade, GM is one of the last brands I'd think of. No one thinks that Cadillacs are serious competition to real luxury cars like Mercedes. I think Tesla would do much better partnering with a Japanese automaker. They know how to build high-quality cars in high volume, and they have great reputations too, which is important if you're trying to sell $100k cars.