GM unveiled an unusual advertisement campaign today admitting that it has “disappointed” and may be even “betrayed” American consumers as it does and say everything it possibly can to get aid from the government. The new print ad comes as CEO Rick Wagoner is facing pressure from Congress to step down to get $18 million in federal loans.

“While we’re still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you,” the ad says. “At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs became lackluster.”

The letter, called “GM’s Commitment to the American People,” ran in the print version of Automotive News. General Motors says in the ad that it has made major strategic missteps and proliferated brands and dealer networks to the point where it lost focus on the core U.S. market.

Spokesman Greg Martin said the new ad is an attempt to present consumers with “a pledge directly to the public.”

“We believe we need to deliver this commitment unfiltered since quite a bit of media commentary has not kept pace with our actual progress to transform the company,” Martin said.

Source: Reuters