Monday, June 2, 2008
GM's Turnaround is Going Well
In the last two years General Motors has been digging itself deeper into trouble. Their cars have been selling badly and because they are such a big company they need more sales than other smaller companies to run. They have now hugely improved the cars they offer. They have the wonderful Australian Holden Commodore based Pontiac G8. The Cadillac CTS, the updated Opel based Chevy Malibu, the Corvette, the Saturn Aura, Saturn Astra, new Saturn Vue, Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky, Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook, Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra and more are all great cars. They still make the Buick Lacrosse, Chevy Cobalt/Pontiac G5, Pontiac G6, Buick LuCurne/Cadillac DTS, Chevy Trailblazer, and Saab 9-5 are just mediocre cars. They also have the completely terrible and pointless Hummer H2 and H3. They are improving these cars, with things like the new Holden Commodore based Comaro. GM is a company that has the resources to make great cars, but too often chooses to be cheap. For a subcompact they could easily make Chevy, Pontiac, and Saturn versions of the Opel Corsa. They could make a sedan version of the Opel Astra (already sold here as the Saturn Astra hatchback). They are going to make a new Saturn Aura that is just a Saturn badged Opel Insignia, the Vectra replacement. They could bring out the 7-seat version of the Saturn Vue, the Chevy/Holden Captiva as a Chevy Equinox replacement. In Europe they have a small MPV (A small minivan like the Mazda 5) called the Opel Zafira that is very good there and could be a fuel efficient and practical family car instead of a SUV. There are lots of cars from other markets that would be great here.
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3 comments:
Do you think that the number of marques in the GM stable cause more confusion amongst buyers? Perhaps wasted marketing dollars (i.e. selling the same car multiple times under the various brands)?
Their approach in Europe and Asia is much different. Why do we need Pontiac, Chevy, Saturn, Buick and GMC? Drastic times call for drastic measures... seems like Pontiac and GMC are odd men out.
I read your blogs with great interest and really enjoy what you have to say. Today GM has announced the closing of many of their truck plants. What do you think of this? I was interested to learn that the Pontiac G8 was based on the Australian Holden Commodore and the Chevy Malibu on the Opel. And I can't agree more with you on the Hummer H2 and H3.
What are the cars GM should concentrate on to sell more cars in North America? from CAR97sub
I agree that GM could sell more cars in the US by narrowing the production to the best of each major category. The Chevy Malibu and Buick Enclave could be category leaders, and the Saturn line has improved. Many other sedans, though, are leftovers from other decades.
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