If you’ve been following the saga of GM’s brand spanking new hipster/millennial/woke logo and thought it couldn’t get any worse- just wait. One of our avid readers who works at a large GM dealership let GM-Trucks.com know that the company just finished rolling out a multi-million dollar effort to rebrand GM Genuine Parts and Accessories alongside the ACDelco parts lineup last month. And as you might have guessed, that roll out includes the “old” GM logo.
On December 9th, 2020, GM announced an “All New GM Genuine Parts and ACDelco Parts Packaging“. Reading through the announcement, it’s apparent that the left hand of General Motors had no idea what the right hand was up to.
“The new GM Genuine Parts packaging is a game changer. The sleek new design offers brand recognition while helping to set us apart from other manufacturers,” said Emily Gatlin, marketing director, Berger Chevrolet.
“One of our first impressions was one of the simplest of changes – the blue graphic GM tape on the brown boxes added a tremendous amount of legitimacy to a simple nondescript package,” said Nicholas Branoff, CEO, Brown and Sons Co. “Headquartered in Flint, Michigan, the home of ACDelco, the brand has never been hard to sell. In areas around the country where ACDelco is not that well known, the added GM branding and high graphic boxes should help push these products from just another aftermarket brand to an OEM product.”
Not one month later General Motors dropped it’s iconic blue square logo, the very one on every new parts package, for a slimmer, more modern version…. that their customers hate.
“We are really excited about having both GM Genuine Parts and ACDelco brands side by side to drive home the connection of these GM parts brands,” said Brent Rowerdink, regional general manager, Rowerdink Automotive Parts. “This can help us build an even stronger parts portfolio to provide to our customers.”
This journalist is currently out of words to write.
GM-Trucks.com has reached out to GM for comment and will update this article if we hear back.
Zane Merva is the Executive Editor of GM-Trucks.com and the President of the New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA). A veteran automotive journalist with over 26 years of experience, Zane is a designated ‘Car Talk’ Expert and has been a contributor to The Boston Globe. He possesses a unique evaluative perspective, having road-tested more than 2,000 vehicles across every major manufacturer. While he is a recognized authority on General Motors truck platforms—including the Silverado, Sierra, and Colorado—his expertise is grounded in decades of deep competitive analysis that few in the industry can match. His commentary has been featured by major OEMs and media outlets, including Hyundai and PR Newswire