Is General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) really making a better car than it was just six years ago? According to GM CEO Robert Lutz, that is precisely what is happening. GM's current stable of brands and cars is being particularly well-received this year, from the Buick Lucerne to the Saturn Aura. Problem is, sales aren't living up to the newfound reputation.

In a way, this is to be expected. I can't go a week without someone telling me of a recent horror story with a GM car or truck that burned them "for life" on GM. It's not that GM is so bad (every company has bumps in the road), but it's that there are so many competitors with a consistent track record to choose from. Changing the "hearts and minds" of the American car consumer will take a while, but GM's investors may not want to wait -- like any impatient financial entity.

Can GM overcome the fear of risk aversion so many American consumers have about its brand, regardless of the actual reliability and competitiveness of its cars and trucks? That's a hard question to answer, and one only the consumer, over time, will be able to answer. The foreign competition will do anything but sit still in the interim, so if GM is really serious about winning back the American consumer, it's going to take more than expensive and slick marketing. A track record of years and years of superior reliability and satisfaction numbers will be only the start.