GM admits in ad its vehicles have lacklustre designs

The Detroit-based General Motors Corp. on Monday published an advertisement acknowledging it had disappointed consumers with falling standards and uninspired vehicle designs.

The advertisement, titled "GM's Commitment to the American People" and published in the trade journal Automotive News, was released as the White House and the congressional Democrats work on finalizing a $15-billion bailout for automakers.

"While we're still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you," the ad reads.

"At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lacklustre. We have proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market."

The company also said they focused too heavily on production of pickup trucks and SUVs. The ad also says while the company has reduced spending by over $20 billion, they are "frighteningly" close to running out of money.

Senate banking committee chairman Christopher Dodd on Sunday suggested GM should restructure its senior management team, noting Wagoner should leave the company.

"I think he has to move on," Dodd said on CBS's Face the Nation.