GM have always done everything well in the background. GM's research and development team are some of the best. A lot of these parts in the most recent decade have come from the Corvette Racing Team and are brilliant parts that are sold to hundreds of car companies around the world, maybe thousands.

The problem between the 80s-early 21st century has been the cars themselves. They have been great cars, but nothing that really has stuck out outside of the US due to the cheap parts they have used to make the car cheaper. Plastic wasn't the way to go. Even their luxury brand, Cadillac, felt cheap. But then in the late 1st decade of this century, right around 2007-2008 they started transferring their GMC and Cadillac models over to higher quality luxury. Then around the beginning of the current decade they moved Buick over because of how well it is doing internationally and enhanced its luxury. Now this last 2 years has been a huge increase in quality for the Chevy brand. The Camaro has seen amazing strides towards performance and luxury, the new C7 Vette is brilliantly made and feels like you are sitting in a Jaguar with a bit plastic remaining, but really hardly at all showing. It's still there, obviously, but they hide it to add to the luxurious appearance. I haven't sat in the new Malibu, but I have in the new Impala and it feels pretty good. They are also moving their designs a bit more to the Euro styling, while retaining that GM details.

Overall I would say GM has obviously been a brilliant brand, but these past few years they have risen above/to the level of the lot in the front and center part of the consumer field. The part you see every day. The part you drive. They part you sit in and the parts you use every day and take granted for.