Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 20:36:58 -0400 From: GlassVial <glassvialnospamAM.hotmail.com> Subject: Re: GM's excess baggage - Buick, Pontiac, Saab, Hummer
This article/link was already posted here earlier (at least to the GM group) Agree with the Buick and Saab dumping, maybe Hummer, but not Pontiac. And even still, dumping those 2 brands won't completely turn the ship around, there's a lot more work to do yet. On Wed, 2 May 2007 23:00:07 +0200 (CEST), Nomen Nescio <Use-Author-Supplied-Address-Headernospam.1]> wrote: >Fortune http://doiop.com/77487l > >..Multiple brands mean multiple expenditures for marketing, >advertising and distribution. Still suffering from negative cash flow, >GM simply has too many mouths to feed. > >GM should keep Chevrolet where it is - the volume brand that is the >heartbeat of America. Maintain Cadillac at the top of the market and >expand its product offerings with derivatives of the popular CTS. And >continue to use Saturn, with its dedicated dealer channel and loyal >buyers, as the brand for import intenders. > >Plenty of excess baggage remains. Here are my recommendations: > >It is past time to perform euthanasia on Buick. Successive waves of new >models haven't moved the needle on sales and it is unlikely that the >new Enclave crossover will make a big difference. For nostalgia buffs, >the Buick brand can soldier on in China, where it is uniquely beloved. > >Pontiac should get the same treatment, though without the Asian escape >hatch. Its boy-racer image is dated and GM's one-time excitement >division has deteriorated into a regional blue-collar brand. In a world >that increasingly is going green, there is little upside for its >testosterone-laced pavement rippers. > >Whatever noble intentions GM had for Hummer, they have been permanently >damaged by the greenhouse gas debate. Hummer should be sold to whomever >winds up with Jeep after Chrysler is broken up. More Jeeps fall off the >truck on the way to the dealer than Hummer sells in a week. > >Turn GMC into a commercial truck brand. As gasoline becomes more >expensive, there won't be enough traffic in personal-use trucks for GMC >to share with Chevy. There are lots of opportunities with huskier >trucks that a player with GM's scale could exploit in the business-to- >business market. > >Say goodbye to Saab. With its perpetually tiny volume and high-cost >European manufacturing base, Saab has defied GM's efforts for nearly >two decades to make it consistently profitable. The success of Japanese >sport-luxury brands Infiniti and Acura has made Saab irrelevant. -GV
