First Olds went, now GM ready to Ax another Brand but who will it be?..One thing for sure is GM says that Cadillac and Chevy are the 2 main stays and they ain't going nowhere, so that leaves Saturn, Buick and Pontiac. I would place my bets on Saturn to be buried. They are the new kid on the block and No one buys those but women anyway.
Damn those women who have more money then you, eh? You are an idiot. Saturn's sell. If GM were to get rid of a line, it should be Buick. Chevy does the "cheaper" cars, Cadillac does the "luxury" cars, and Pontiac does the "performance" cars. Buick is pretty much a blend of all of those.
I heard on the news yesterday that Saturn and SAAB were likely to go, as well as Buick. Saturn never returned the results GM wanted, if my information is correct. And GM didnt seem to know what to do with SAAB. Buick was a good blend of some of those cars, but it wasnt a young person's car, and it suffered - as most GM lines suffered - from some of the unnecessarily undependable characteristics of GM engineering and sourcing that we have discussed so many times. I LIKED Buicks, but I didnt like trying to keep them running.
A few years ago my Buick dealer said they were getting a lot of Caddy owners that thought the Buick was a better value and Cadillac prices were just getting too high. BUT, there are new models now and they appeal to a broader base, especially a younger crowd. I'd not be surprised at all if they joined the Oldsmobile.
Can you say HUMMER boys and girls?
What about GMC? you can buy almost the same thing in chevy anyway (small trucks). Kill the same vehicle in three car lines.
What GM needs to do is scrap the dealer organization as it is now and make them all "GM dealers". Each dealer can sell ALL the nameplates. (they all come from the same people anyway) Chevys setting next to Cadallacs sitting next to a Saturn.
Ford needs to do the same.
bob
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Bob,
It is easy for us to say "eliminate one or more brands"; damn near IMPOSSIBLE to do. The stumbling point is the various state auto dealer franchise laws. It cost something like $2 billion for GM to wind down Oldsmobile.
Having said that, here's my own plan:
1) Sell Hummer and Saab (not sure who would want Hummer, but I can see Tata buying Saab). I never could figure out why GM bought Saab, except for the fact that Ford bought Volvo and they didn't want to get "one-upped".2) Eliminate BOTH Pontiac and Buick (in the US anyway, but keep Buick as an overseas brand. Last year GM sold more Buicks in China than they did in the US)
3) Recast Saturn as GMs "mid range" brand (to cover the Buick/Pontiac territory).4) Keep the GMC nameplate for the HD trucks and speciality stuff like tow truck and motor home chassis. That way GM has the option of letting the Chevy truck dealers handle the GMC line or sell the HD stuff through a general line truck dealer.
From an internal GM standpoint, killing Buick would be the toughest item, since GM was built with Buick as its original foundation.
One final item: I don't know how this is shaping up in the rest of the country but out here on the west coast you find almost no Buick or Pontiac dealers; most are combination Buick/Pontiac/GMC (and some of those are former Oldsmobile dealers as well). Here in Sacramento recently one of the largest Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealers turned in his franchise because his kids don't want to go into the auto business (damn shame too, since the grandfather of the present owner was THE original Buick dealer in Sacramento back in like 1910).
The largest Cadillac dealer in town picked up the combo and now sells and services Buick, Pontiac, GMC and Cadillac from one location.
The next couple of years are going to be VERY interesting, and not just in the car business.
Regards, Bill Bowen Sacramento, CA
IMO, it makes sense.
You have us Saturn/Chevy owners (and I'm not so sure Saturn has a reason to exist these days) the Pontiac few who like their sport cars and Cadillac for luxury cars. I'd say even get rid of Pontiac.
You'd have Chevy for cars/trucks, GMC for trucks/heavy trucks and Cadillac for luxury cars/trucks.
No reason to have the others. As it is, they make a standard engine for all lines instead of line-specific engines as they used to. What's the point of the differentiation anymore?
What a moronic comment. I am a guy and I own a Saturn and I know plenty of others guys enjoying them as well. So far, mine has been trouble free.
In the Midwest I see allot of Buick's on the road. Dealers are not hard to find. I am on my 3rd Buick now.
In my sunset years, I want a car with certain comforts.
Went to our local Toyota dealer, drove the 7 passenger Highlander. Wanted a built in navigator...said two Highlanders will be in in three days with the navigator. Never got a call after three weeks.
Went to a Honda dealer to look at the new Pilot. After 1/2 hour walking around in the show room, we, wife and I, never was approached by anyone. And they were not that busy.
I said forget this. Went to our GMC/Buick dealer, drove the Arcadia and Buick, and bought the Buick and love it. It drives like a charm, trouble free for 20K miles and rides better that the Highlander and the Pilot (friend has one).
At a separate time, chatting with a person (55 years old) whose dad has had a dealership. He and his dad always went to the auto shows somewhere in Michigan. He said that many Toyota salesmen these past few years have a reputation of being cavalier and arrogant.
allot of Buick's on the road. Dealers are not hard to
Well I bought a Pontiac, Parisienne 'wagon' in '87 and I'm still driving it regular. Hmm, maybe that's the problem . . . anyway, it has a 307 that won't quit and an overdrive automatic tranny that drops the engine rpm on the highway just perfect. I was hoping to buy another Pontiac in a few years, I hope they don't drop that brand. (Even though most of my car is really a Chev. wink wink)
If you want to see cavalier and arrogant, buy a Lexus. The more often one buys the more cavalier and arrogant the dealership becomes. Now I buy Lincolns that have proven to be just as good as any comparable size Lexus I ever owned and the Lincolns are at least $20,000 less expensive to boot.
They talk about the great resale value of Toyotas and Lexus, try and get if from one of their dealerships. The last Lexus I owned was a 97, when I wanted to buy a 1999 the dealership was offering me $10,000 below NADA average trade for my LS, with only 19,000 miles on the clock, on a $57,000 LS. I did what you did, I walked out stopped at a FLM Dealership that gave me $12,000 more than did the Lexus dealer. I ended up buy two cars from him a 2000 Lincoln LS, a new model that just came out, and a 1999 Mustang GT convertible. I will never buy another import.
S>> see allot of Buick's on the road. Dealers are not hard to
Hummer is going no matter what. But GM is cutting a car brand as well.
I say Saturn should go! What do they have other than the new Aura and the Sky. Well take those 2 and convert them into Buicks.
AM General announced they MAY have a contract to start building Standard Taxi at the H2 plant in Mishawaka IN. Sounds to me they don't plan on continuing the H2.
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