When you think of things corporations do well, blogging isn’t usually top of mind. (with notable exceptions.) GM has been blogging for about a year and a half now, and—surprisingly—they’re getting it right.

They serve up interesting content on a fairly regular basis (although they seem to cotton to press release-like posts). They don’t seem to place many (if any) restrictions on the dialogue with their customers, as evidenced by the critical comments sprinkled throughout. I would be surprised if this effort wasn’t driven by an ad or marketing agency, but overall, they deserve kudos for doing something and doing it well.

In a recent post by Bob Lutz(GM VC), he cites blog comments as a factor in the reintroduction of the Camaro.

The power consumers hold over brands these days is amazing—from Dell recalling 4M+ batteries to AOL’s recent woes—companies who aren’t proactively managing their brands are being forced to react to increasingly damaging media coverage, much of it driven by bloggers. Companies who don’t understand or choose to ignore this new reality are going to fade away.

I don’t know if GM can change its image or turn the company around with a blog, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Aug 16 addendum // metacool’s view on GM’s blog, specifically, their use of flickr