Date: 24 Nov 2001 13:38:46 GMT From: jmel5nopsamcomnospam (JMEL5) Subject: Re: New Saab SUV
>>GM includes(ed) Chevy, Buick, Olds, and Pontiac. There's little >>'marketing' difference in the various lines to most people. You also forget Cadillac. The whole system was setup so that people could "graduate" to different cars as their lifestyles changed. Chevy and Pontiac were for the younger buyers, with their sportier tastes, then, as people got older, they were supposed to mature to Buick and Oldsmobile, with the eventual reward being a Cadillac. This distinction is now blurred, but that's the way it was setup way back when. It's an antiquated system to say the least. Saab doesn't have that problem because they only have 2 cars, and they build them well. >SAAB probably pulls in it's weight in gold and they go and squander it on >stuff >like this because there is a market for it. Well, developing an SUV is not squandering, it's like minting money for car companies. I read somewhere that Ford makes an $8,000 profit on the Explorer, its most profitable vehicle. Sadly, even Porsche is coming out with one, and BMW already has that ridiculous looking SUV trudging along the streets. Interestingly enough, Porsche lovers rejected the 928 model because it was a front engine, water-cooled V-8, but they'll accept an SUV from the same company? JJ