Ok maybe I should have left the past out of it, but if we are talking right now... today... GM is still selling mediocre vehicles compared to their competition. Look at the Cruze for example... It's not a "bad" car, but there is nothing that makes it stand out and it is easily outclassed by just about every other compact on the market. If you are trying to rebuild your brand you can't just shoot for middle of the road. How about the all new Malibu? Review after review have hammered it and said it is actually a step backwards from the Malibu it replaced. So as far as your Aura is concerned (since it is related to the last Malibu) you would be better keeping it because it is a better car with better materials and room.
I like the Cruze. The 1.4T is a peppy motor, handles nicely for what it is( Corolla being the worst driving compact I have driven), interior is pretty good, and gets pretty good fuel economy. The Eco model is ironically the fun one to drive out of the bunch( lower to the ground and 200 lb. lighter). For 2014, it will also be getting a diesel engine.
As for the Malibu, I haven't sat in it or drove the new one yet so I can't judge it on that. But, I do like the design overall of it. The wood trim is tacky, but besides that I really don't mind it. The 2013 Fusion blows it out of the water design wise, but it is still better styled than the Accord and Camry.
Since we are all part owners in GM we should demand they use our money wisely to engineer the best vehicles on the road and not to market 4 brands with too much overlap. I have said it again and again if GM would just focus on being Chevy and Cadillac in North America they could do so much more with their engineering resources. The Chevy Volt is a neat car and does show a lot of engineering genius, but as a business plan it doesn't make sense.
And once you saw the books, you would quickly change your mind on GMC as did the government. GMC is a profit machine for GM. Talk about business sense, it would be a bad decision to kill GMC. Buick is protected by China. Plus, if managed correctly, Buick and Cadillac can coexist as there are different segments in the luxury market. There are people that prefer a real driving car( BMW, Infiniti, Audi, etc) and there are people that like luxury highway cruisers( Mercedes somewhat, Lexus, Lincoln, etc). Cadillac is going after the BMW market with Buick going after the Lexus,Lincoln, etc crowd.
As for the Volt, anything like the Volt doesn't make business sense. The Leaf doesn't make business sense. Most electric vehicles don't make business sense because the technology is not there yet, isn't cheap enough, and the infrastructure isn't built up enough for them. But, the Prius didn't make business sense either. Back when it came out, it lost money big time. I believe Toyota didn't start making money on it until the 3rd gen. It also wasn't selling worth a crap before Katrina sling shotted gas to $3-$4/gallon. The Volt is the best vehicle on the market today when it comes to helping to ease the market/industry into the future of automobiles( now whether electric vehicles are the future, that is another discussion). It is wonderfully designed and engineered. The vehicle works as advertised and despite the political machine that is out to destroy it just to make Obama look bad, is finally picking up steam almost hitting 3,000 sales last month. If I was buying a car any time soon, the Volt would be in my Top 3 as it is perfect for my uses( the car guy in me still wants a more fun to drive vehicle like a Regal GS or the new Cadillac ATS).
I agree in that GM just can't seem to hit the mark on every one of their products. The Sonic, Cruze( IMHO), Volt, Equinox/Terrain, new Impala, XTS, ATS( boy do I love the ATS), HD trucks( light duties are being redesigned for next year), don't even have to mention the 'Vette( also due for a redesign next year). They finally started to show their potential where pre-bankruptcy it was more in pockets. The CTS and Corvette showed you what GM is capable of. But, they just couldn't do it for every product. They have gotten better at it, but the Malibu does look to be a bit of a step back.
As far as recommending Ford today I just find a lot more positives with their product line. They are focused on basically one brand. Sure Lincoln is still around, but even I question for how long if things don't turn around. If you are putting all your engineering resources into one or two brands you are going to get better products. Plus they are using their worldwide resources and coming up with some pretty neat products like the Focus, new Fusion and the new Escape.
GM is also using their worldwide resources as well. The bankruptcy may have slowed down the unification process, but they are unifying their operations like Ford has. Epsilon II is a global platform in which vehicles like the Insignia, Saab 9-5, Malibu, Impala, Regal, LaCrosse, and XTS ride on. Zeta has the Camaro, Holden Commodore/ Chevy SS, Holden/Chevy Caprice( policy only), etc. Alpha will underpin the ATS, CTS, the 6th gen Camaro, etc. The Cruze, new Malibu, Sonic are all being sold globally.