The phrase too much of a good thing is beginning to be used by GM.  The new interior designs look great and the execution is far beyond the typical GM quality you think about.  But now they are running into a different problem.  Actually two.

The first is developing a brand design language.  Now that the quality is up, each brand needs to speak its own language.  When I get into a Buick it should not remind me of the Camaro.

The second is how to interpret a theme amongst a line of vehicles.  The design language in a brand should be familiar to the other vehicles but not be verbatim

Let me show you what I mean….click hereSo GM now has fewer brands.  This should mean exceptional design from here on out.  More people working on fewer cars means more time spent on the details.  Lets take a look at the some new interiors from different brands.

The new Camaro is awesome and the interior was one of the first unveiled with the new direction.

The new Lacrosse has a similar shaped IP as the Camaro and with a  light pipe sweeping over the top and into the doors.  Great feature but do it differently in a Buick.

The new GMC Terrain has the same themed door as the Camaro.  And the steering wheel is the same from the Buick.  How does the tough square GMC design language match that of a Buick?

I assume GM thinks that consumers will not cross shop these brands to notice but you never know.

Now onto the single brand Chevrolet who is growing a great lineup of vehicles.  But again, don’t share design themes with other brands.

The Malibu that started it all.  Great new theme for Chevy, now how will it transition through the rest of the line?

The Traverse makes it more angular, but keeps the wrap around cock pit feel.

The Equinox gets a softer wrap around but now the center stack gets more angular and technical looking.  And the steering wheel is back from the Buick.

The new Cruze starts to do the wrap around a bit differently.  This design starts to add another level of complexity to the theme which could be a good or bad thing.

The Beat Spark really tweaks the theme but still uses color to form the wrap around making it recognizeable as aChevy.

These interiors do look great and i applaud GM for their progress.  But like any designer I want more from them, so how do you take it further….

The reason I wrote this article was that somone I know had bought a Chevy Malibu.  When they were looking for a second vehicle, a crossover, they went back to Chevy.  They then walked out of the Chevy dealer because the Travers reminded them too much of the Malibu.  Who wants two cars that look the same on the inside.

There in lies the challenge.  How do you develop a design language that can be different enough from vehicle to vehicle but still portray the brand.  OE’s always want return buyers, so how do you interest them enough to come back when your products look the same?

Do you think Gm is on the right track, or is there more to be desired from their brands?