If this is too far OT go ahead and delete it. Something I was talking with friends about today at work was how GM is hurting sales wise and what can they do about it. One solution we came up with was GM is too spread out and has too many vehicles that overlap. For instance what is really different in a GMC or Chevy truck or a GMC, Chevy, or Cadillac SUV. They are basically the same vehicle re-branded. so, we were thinking they should do this. Have Saturn as the low end budget car company Have Chevrolet as the mid-range to sporty car company Have Cadillac as the upper class expensive luxary car company Have GMC as the truck/SUV/fleet vehicle company do away with pontiac/olds/buick brands. No more would there be a tahoe or denali suv or a car from pontiac that is basically a chevy with a different body/name on it. They would save a lot of costs on development/advertising/manufacturing by having fewer brands to deal with. They could focus on the core products. I doubt they would even consider this but it would probably help GM in general. either that or stop the overlap and have the companies all offer different ideas that do not have so much overlap. what do you guys/gals think? I am a pro american vehicle buyer for the most part and it concerns me when GM takes a hit.
the could start building 55 chevys. no, they'd screw it up and build some fwd crap with "retro styling cues"...
Yeah, I don't think the new "Camaro" is gonna be the answer. They should have learned from the Saturn experiment instead of squashing it and adulterating it.
lol,,what do any car companies need to do ??? To many people in teh world so need more room cars will stay small,,and there are SO MANY cars ,,they'll have to make smaller motors etc cause of emmissions,,bottom line nothing they can do .. The Camaro looks like part Camaro part Dodge Magnum
just made me almost spray my drink out my nose on that one. hehe I had a thought that they should make a throwback 59 caddy but they would probably destroy it. If the throwback camaro is a success they may start making more throwback vehicles.
They need to build cars that at least have the ability to be cool. And then be able to option them any damn way we want. 1/2 ton pickup with an LS7 and rubber floor mats?-yes please.
Hire Steve Sanford, Picasso and a few other fellow's for one. Then the Goverment should: Kick Asian builder's out of U.S. AND huge tarrif's tacked on their product's.
Seems like I saw an article about the amount of Health Insurance G.M. has to pay for the retiree's they have bought out.Believe it worked out to over $1000.00 per car sold.How can they do it?
Killing off divisions is not the answer, I think they learned that lesson with Olds. The assumption was that Olds buyers would just switch to another GM make, but instead alot went to Toyota and Honda. GM didn't realize that Oldsmobile buyers were OLDS buyers, not simply generic GM customers.
They should quit making those little front wheel drive shit boxes, and start selling things without a million unnecessary options on them.
Getting rid of "Brand X" G.M. cars isn't the answer... The way it used to work was as follows... Caddy-The standard of the world. Buick-Luxury and Performance Olds-The Middle class luxury Car. (and, oddly, the "gentlemans muscle cars") Pontiac-The performance division Chevrolet-The everyday workin' mans cars. G.M.C.-WORKHORSES. thier diversity used to be thier strongpoint! Now it's thier stumbling block because thier diversity isn't diverse at all. and sadly, some of thier most exciting stuff to date-case and point, The New G.T.O.-while a lusty performer (thems bitches are real easy to make reaaal fast) looked like a fuckin ford Taurus from the side. So, If you're an 18 year old kid, What are you gonna buy? The Mustang that looks fast, or the Phone company fleet car that actually IS fast?
I actually think it's quite a bit more than that, but you are right. GM starts in a big hole compared to other makes. What they need to do is really simple-produce a quality,reliable car with a decent amount of styling, options to customize it,good gas milage and get dealers who give a damn about the buyers and provide,uh, service. Do that at a decent price by avoiding all the crap they hang on a car to boost the price,like heated radio buttons, and fake wood grain sun visors and people might come back.Have you looked at a GM pickup truck lately? Its so high off the ground you can't load it, has the payload capacity of a Mini Cooper (no offense to the MIni) and has an interior so fancy you should shave shower and polish your shoes before you get into it. Where's the work vehicle? Right now GM has too much overhead, outdated plants,overlapping models, a poor performance and reliability history, too many dealers who don't give a damn,cars that are unattractive,prices that are unattractive,the list goes on. I think they're already dead, they just don't know it. We'll all be driving Chinese cars in a decade. So here's a question-what will you do if a Chinese automaker begins to produce steel '32 Ford coupes in a quality manner at a Wal-mart price? If they perceive a market and a profit, you know it will happen.
My dad just bought an HHR. Nice car, but not near the GP he traded it in on, and nowhere near the 300M he traded for that! My wife has a Saturn Ion. It seems to be ok, we've had it for 2k miles, but the hubcaps can't handle auto carwashes... What should GM do? Go back to about 1984 and see what Honda did, then copy it. They've been forcing what they wanted to down the American public's throat ("what's good for GM is good for America/vice versa") for so long... I "like" our Ion. I dont "love" it. Not like the Santa Fe we had before it... Jay
I bought an HHR last week, love it! We got a shipment of new GMs in at work. Trucks, Impalas, Malibus and those minivan things. Let me tell you, they REALLY STEPPED UP THE QUALITY! Look at the door hinges, the tactile feel of the dash knobs, the greater use of metal. Better cloth. Better fit-N-finish all around. Thats why I decided to get a HHR..... the 5 star crash rating helps too. And it looks cool next to our '50 Burb! Outlander.......... that minivan is an outlander.
At the get-go I'm a Chevy/GM man through and through. BUT, if I were buying a car that appealed to me because of what I liked in the past as far as stying would it be a new Mustang or one of the new Camaro's that will be coming out? Sadly, the new Mustang would be my choice. They nailed it as far as retro goes. The new Camaro is a loser in my book. As already mentioned, get rid of the options that we don't want and go back to when you could order a car with the options YOU wanted not what some bean counter was pushing to increase profits for a particular model. Sadly, in the long run I don't think they will solve their problems soon enough for the corporation to stand like it does today, or more importantly as it did during it's glory years. Frank
Not a damn thing, except laugh at the poor bastards who buy them! I look at the labels, and don't buy Chinese. They'll get recalled anyway.......... lead paint!
I echo the options choice. No more LS, LX, ot LT as the only choices. And for crying out loud, let people who are passionate about CARS run the place. The accountants' job is NOT to build cars. As for the union, the buy-outs, etc, I don't know. But do reduce the over-lap, better differentiate the marques, and let some one like Harley Earl design the cars.
i just bought a new hhr two weeks ago. looks cool ,gets 30 mpg. 100,000 mile warranty on the engine and transmission, love it. i think the styling is getting better athough i think they missed the target on the new truck, thats a big no no. the impala is looking better the small cars are looking better. gm's nastiest habit is to introduce a new car that people get exited about and then price it way too high. like the ssr a few years ago. $50 grand? damn. make one with roll up windows and a v-6 so that working people can buy it. i fear the same fate for the new camaro. i think the styling is good, but, i'm cautious until i see the sticker. what do they need to do? i think they're doing it.
If General Motors ever goes Asian it will push me over the edge...Honda and Toyota may always be fighting over first and second, but Buick is always there a solid third..so sez Consumer Reports....
Well Here's what I think they should do.. Kick out half the marketing-bullshit artists and shoot from the hip. Every concept car they show is pretty decent, but by the time it hits the lots, it is a watered down lame-ass version. There are a few exceptions. The Corvettes make it through and come out nice with no-holds-barred performance. I had an '05 GTO and the stance (didn't have 5 inches between the tires and wheelwells) and interior were perfect. Performance was great too.. but it didn't look like the fender flared version they got everyone excited with. My dad has a new Solstice GXP and it so far is a fun and well-made car. it is fast, fairly comfortable and looks decent. They for once didn't change it much from the concept. GM always puts lame wheels on their cars too.. when the car looks right and was designed for 18" wheels they go stick on 16". Chevy has some horribly bland sedans.. like they were made specifically for rental companies. Performance-wise I think GM knows what they are doing. the 440hp STS-V, Z06, Cobalt SS etc are great performers for what they are. I've driven the CTS-V and the current model Vette and they were more fun than I can handle. the main problem I see with GM is they are alot of talk and little to show for it. They have some great concepts and then after 2 years of waiting they finally come out and they are outdated and no one gives a crap anymore. My dad waited 9 months to get his solstice. and he ordered it after they were already on lots. I see hope, like the Pontiac G8 and the V-series cadillacs, but they need to instill some of the aggressive looks and higher -end styling into their lower end cars. It doesn't cost much if anything to have better styling on a car.. Look at dodge.. they make a concept.. everyone likes it, they build it as close as possible to it and they sell like crack does in south dallas. Viper, PT cruiser, 300C..etc. etc.
Haha, actually, a silver MalibuMaxx SS is my wife's daily. Bottom line...it was affordable, gets decent mileage, has shitloads of room. And for a showroom stock front drive "wagon" it flat hauls ass. Reliability is not GMs issue. At all. At this time, GM has fewer problems per 100 new vehicles than Toyota or Honda. GMs main problem is a lineup that's fairly unattractive to the public at the moment. Had the new Silverado been introduced when gas wasn't a bazillion bucks an ounce, they'd be piledriving every other manufacturer. No one's buying trucks right now though. The division killing thing really isn't a good option....look at Cadillac for example. Caddy buyers are CADDY BUYERS. They're not GM buyers. Know why all Cadillac vehicles used to (maybe still do) recommend premium fuel? Because folks expected it in a Cadillac. That's the type of mentality that would keep a person from buying an Impala if they couldn't get a new STS. Pontic as a division needs a do over. They are and always have been the performance division. The GTO is an awesome car, I've driven several at speed. In the hands of most of you, they're as capable as a C6 Corvette. But the Holden platform is just plain, well, plain. Solstice is a cool little car, but needs something besides an Ecotec. Tweak just those two models, and Pontic is a hero.
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