GM joins Ford in jettisoning the minivan market

Chrysler, Toyota and Honda must be very excited about this.

AUTOS November 22, 2006, 1:31PM EST > > What Do Moms Want? GM's Minivan Issue > GM joins Ford in jettisoning the minivan market but is it a smart business > move or an admission of defeat? > by David Kiley > General Motors confirmed Nov. 22 that it's getting out of the minivan > business to concentrate on crossover SUVs. But the market for the two isn't > necessarily the same. The problem is that, like Ford (F)?which announced it > was ceasing production of minivans in September?GM (GM) just couldn't compete > with better products from Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Chrysler. So rather > than trying to fix the problem, they're getting out entirely.
Reply to
Just Facts
Loading thread data ...

And Hyundai/Kia.

Reply to
John Horner

I'm sure they already knew this was coming, it's not like they sold any minivans anyway. Either GM was going to have to come up with a complete redesign, or just bow out.

The retarded thing is that GM killed the Astro van which was a favorite of service techs everywhere and had a little niche all its own. What the hell were they thinking? There's no other vehicle to compete with it, it still sold, and yet they axed it. Dumb, dumb, dumb GM, killing one of the few vehicles you made that actually made sense.

Now our techs are driving Uplanders which makes no sense, and if the news is true, won't exist in a year or two anyway. What's next? Only real vans left are the full-sized G or E vans or else a Sprinter, all of which are much larger than the vehicles they've been driving. Or I suppose they could get a Colorado with a tall cap, but it won't have as much room as a real van.

nate

Reply to
N8N

Another boneheaded move, or should I say 'Result of boneheaded marketing' of the decrepit duo.

Agree EXACTLY on the value of Aerostar and Astro... they were BEST OF for many applications

The Minivan was a great concept and a good product. What went wrong was the image of the product.. and all of us who drive a lot know twhat {sic} that is. GM and Ford should have left the "Moms MArket" to Chrysler and stressed the utility and fleet aspects... leaving the FWD market... to stress RWD and AWD.. and only selling Utilitarian people haulers and service vans.

Just Facts wrote:

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

About as excited as Walmart gets when a corner grocery store closes.

There weren't that many GM and Ford minivan sales to begin with.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Didnt some of the Ford minivan series have some horrible problems with transmission failure, engine problems?

Seems there were a lot of short runs on some of those trannies, maybe failures below 50 k miles?

The minivan was a good solution for some families, but not all of them were, apparently, created equal.

Reply to
hls

N8N wrote: ow out.

I disagree. I'm guessing they got out BECAUSE there was another vehicle to compete with it, and one that took the whole market lock stock and barrel when it debuted: the Dodge Sprinter. With the option of a small Benz diesel in addition to the full line of gasoline engines and a very adaptable body, it pretty well blew the Astro into the weeds.

Reply to
Steve

Ouch, Uplanders? I doubt they will take the beating very long a service vehicle is expected to take. It is crazy that Ford and GM killed their rear wheel drive minivans instead of freshening them. They were not much of a family vehicle, but were good little work trucks. Being built off the Ranger/S10 they must have been cheap to make as well.

This would be a good market for the Chinese or Indians to go after. Strong simple work trucks, both van and pickup style. They make tons of them for their home market, price and durability are key factors, and product life cycles of 10 years or more are acceptable. A company like Tata could walk in and own that market.

John

Reply to
John Horner

That would be interesting to see...IIRC Tata has been making some cars which are based on British designs of a number of years ago... They are okay in their home market, but dont really have a reputation that would inspire confidence.

The Chinese might be able to do it, but realize that the American market can be fickle, and even with a desirable car of excellent quality, the incubation period can be extended.

Both these nations, IMHO, have a problem with competition in the auto industry....for now.

China is perhaps the most agressive nation in the world and will be a monster force in short time.

Reply to
hls

Seems like GM could easily remake the Astro off of the Colorado frame since it replaced the s10

Reply to
Eugene

Probably the Windstar, didn't that use the AXOD?

Very true.

nate

Reply to
N8N

But the Sprinter doesn't compete with it, really - it's actually larger in size than a full size G or E van. Also utterly impossible to enter a parking garage with it, and who the hell likes unloading a van in the rain?

Now if you say that because the Astro primarily sold as a service vehicle not a family vehicle it should have been offered with a Diesel engine, well, you'll get no argument from me there.

nate

Reply to
N8N

Reply to
Troy B.

The Dodge Sprinter is a full-size van. The Astro is a mini-van. They are in different market segments.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

It's kind of amazing, really, that GM is the world's largest company and there are so many markets that they don't even sell to. They don't even care. For instance, they had unreliable junky diesel trucks that nobody would buy. They let that drag on forever. They didn't field a 4-door small (now considered mid-sized) SUV for a long time. They made a half-hearted effort with the stretched S-10, but that was just a pile of junk. They just watched while Jeep and Ford ran away with a huge market. How about this - no extended cab pickup until 1988. 15 years later to the market than the

2nd slowest. How about a competitor to the Mustang? Nope. Police car? Nope. How about something you could use for a Taxi? Nope. How about a low-slung 12,000 lb GVWR truck for rollback service, like an F-450? Nope. Minivan? Nope. V-8-powered rear drive car? Well, yes, at a price much higher than a 300C.

To be fair, though, I do see some markets coming back to them, and Ford doing some of the same kind of ball-dropping that GM used to do. In the

1980's, GM squandered Cadillac's leadership position through a superhuman effort to embrace every kind of mistake possible. It appears that market is coming back around, or at least you could say Lincoln isn't leading any more.

I also think the gas mileage of the 5.3 gas-powered trucks may be a class leader. I'm pretty sure it is.

I think the HHR might be a hit. It may actually be outselling the other entry-level crossovers.

Reply to
Joe

Actually, the Chevy Impala is used both as a taxi and cop car.

For that matter, Corvettes, Camaros and Tahoes are used as polices vehicles, too.

Reply to
Jeff

Not really. The Astro is about as big as a "full size" van of the 70s, on a little bit shorter wheelbase. The Sprinter is bigger, but still smaller than the B-series it replaced, let alone the Ford E-series. Its a delivery/fleet van, which is exactly what the Astro had morphed into despite being created as a family "mini" van. It just wasn't very "mini" and had the same miserable driver's seating position as full-size RWD vans because of the engine "doghouse" being in the way.

Reply to
Steve

The Impala is a horrible police car. The transmission doesn't last and where I live it didn't make it as a taxi either.

I don't know where you live but a Corvette used by police enforcement? Palm Beach or Malibu?

Reply to
VMan

I am in Ontario, and we have Impala's as Police cars, as well as taxi's. Crown Vic's are also used. So are Tahoe's too.

Reply to
80 Knight

Police have a wide variety of different models used as police cars.

I never suggested that using them as regular cruisers was good.

Neither is top posting.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.