People who are making their way on the inside of big established companies mostly have far more immediate and urgent worries than whether the product is any good. They worry about finding someone else to blame for the latest disaster, about getting promoted, about flattering their boss' idiotic notions and getting a nice bonus, and so on.
[WS:] My point, exactly. The big wigs have more to lose form giving up their power and position in the company, than from letting the company go down the drain.
The big and powerful subdivision that produce the current monstrosities (SUVs etc) would really have to make room for currently insignificant subdivisions in charge of electric cars, hybrids etc. - and they will simply not let it happen. They would rather kill the threat to their position within the company coming from those corners (as documented in the film "Who killed the electric car?") even if that means that the company as a whole will lose it market share in a long run.
Unions, btw, do likewise. They would rather keep their dominant position over a shrinking slice of pie, than give up that position and expand the slice.
Wojtek