Filed under: Car Buying, New York Auto Show, Trends, GM
GM's hot products selling out
All the available production for Pontiac's Solstice, Saturn's Sky and Chevrolet's Corvette is sold out for 2006,
according to General Motors product czar Bob Lutz. Citing the fast-selling sports cars as evidence that GM is fully
capable of building vehicles that people want to buy, Lutz also pointed to Chevy's successful HHR as another new
vehicle that's selling well without big incentives. HHR annual production has more than doubled (to 132,000 units) to
meet demand.
In a speech to the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce earlier this week, Lutz took a swipe at
everyone from President Bush ("GM is going to have to learn to compete.") to Fortune Magazine ("In
product design, [GM] lost the magic long ago.") by pointing to the success of GM's latest "awful, boring
products"-- not only its sports cars, but also its new SUVs and the Chevy Impala, which is the third-best selling
car in the U.S. at 250,000 units per year.
[Source: GM]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
iQuack 4:56PM (4/14/2006)
GM certainly can build cars people want and it would be a good idea to eliminate the cars people don't want and concentrate on the cars that matter.
This is a great time to dump Saab as well as all badge-engineered redundant crap that does more harm than good.
There's no need for both GMC and Chevy trucks when they're the same vehicles. No need for both a Pontiac Grand Prix and a Buick LaCrosse when they're just about the same, too.
Consolidate dealers so each dealer offers cars that don't compete directly with one another. A GM dealer that sold Chevy, Pontiac, and Buick wouldn't need both a G6 and a Malibu which are nearly interchangeable. The gap between the much improved Impala and the well-rated Buick Lucerene is ideal and enough for GM to offer in that size class below luxury which Cadillac does well now.
GM needs to cut the crap and simplify its offerings as it raises quality. There is some evidence this is happening.
And please, GM, don't create a Ponitac version of the Cobalt because that's the kind of silly branding that's killing you!
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Ryan 5:10PM (4/14/2006)
#1 Yep I agree...
AND
So what GM makes 150 types of different cars, and they have ONLY 3 cars that are "hot", hmm, that ratio isn't to good...
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Greg 5:16PM (4/14/2006)
Big deal, they sold out of limited production cars.
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Aki 5:28PM (4/14/2006)
Nobody doubts--even "asian biased pubs" like Car & Driver--that Corvette is an awesome car. The problem, however, is that 90% of their lineup lacks that passion and ingenuity.
When it comes down to it, the Impala's sales are still heavily contributed to fleet--it's the top fleet car in the US. GM churns out a myriad of uninspired designs thinking they can get away with it as Toyota can. But Toyota has decades of established rep, whereas GM has decades of sour memories from consumers. Choice: bland Toyota with high resale value and perceived reliability ...or bland GM with low resale value and perceived unreliability? It's a no brainer.
GM's response should be by putting out passionate cars with both value and allure. Not the Pontiac G6, Cobalt, Impala, Bonneville, Grand Prix, Malibu... the list goes on and on of boring fleet fodder.
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SoCalHHRs.com 5:32PM (4/14/2006)
I'm really glad GM decided to produce the HHR. It's nice to see a vehicle get 30mpg and still have style! I was one of the early buyers and can only report good things about the HHR. Solid build, quiet smooth ride, and lots of aftermarket potential! Go GM!
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Will 5:34PM (4/14/2006)
I agree that GM is certainly capable of building great cars, however I think the culture within GM is what is holding it back. GM should allow each division to run independantly, and build their own cars. Instead of building one platform, with one set of sheet metal for each brand. GM seems to be too large, and lumbering to respond quick enough to the ever changing demands of the consumer.
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zzzzzzzzzz 5:35PM (4/14/2006)
If Lutz is such a marketing genius why is he letting those top sellers sell out without increasing production capacity for those cars?
If people want to buy them, but they aren't making enough, how is this bidness savvy?
They sell out of the small numbers of vettes they make, yet they are still cranking out hideous cars that nobody wants to buy.
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Sal 6:29PM (4/14/2006)
But the unions won't allow GM the flexibility to shift production from cars that don't sell to those that do. They'd rather see GM fail, because when you deal with unions it's all about them.
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GTO Lover 7:14PM (4/14/2006)
It's quite obvious that GM can make great cars, I'm yet another happy, happy GM owner. I recently bought a GTO and once again I love it, just like every GM car I've ever owned. I agree that they do build too many cars that are too alike, but I have to say that if they started mass producing all the hot selling cars like the corvette, solstice, sky, and even the GTO, I feel that it would take away from their charm. Like the ole' Mustang. Every where I look I see one. Enough already. So I say don't start mass producing the "hot" cars, just stop mass producing all the others.
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david parent 7:21PM (4/14/2006)
after years of toyota's and honda's, it's back to gm for my family. the styling, performance, reliabilty, and overall quality has brought me back. it may have taken a kick in gm's ass, but it worked. I only hope to save enough money after rebuilding my camry's motor (46k), to buy a caddy stsv. as for no. 8, if it weren't for the unions, there would be only 2 classes of people. the very rich, and the very poor, and then wal-mart. asian manufactures don't pay quite as much and the benefits are not quite as good, but just enough to give a decent life. if it weren't for those unions most companies would pay minimum wage, or at the very least, hire illigal aliens. so blaming the unions only shows how ill informed you are.
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UH2L 7:33PM (4/14/2006)
If GM offers three varieties of the same vehicle platform, (say the ION, HHR, and Cobalt, or the Silverado and the Sierra), people say they're not hot individually, but if you add up their volumes, that platform is hot, and people get to choose from different flavors of the same vehicle. If GM had called all the vehicles ION, HHR, and Cobalt one name, the GM SMV1, SMV2, and SMV3 with different trim levels, then people would recognize how many units are sold. Now they do have to be careful not to overdo platform sharing again, but the illogical criticisms aren't fair. Honda only offers the vanilla Accord whereas GM offers choices in style for the same basic vehicle.
And GM should never get rid of Saab, too much international presence and quite a following, (myself included). I've owned three of them, have two right now.
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Mike 7:39PM (4/14/2006)
#1 "And please, GM, don't create a Ponitac version of the Cobalt because that's the kind of silly branding that's killing you!"
Too Late! It's called the Pursuit! (might be Canada only though)
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Fabulo 8:06PM (4/14/2006)
Like one of my friend used to say about bands that suck: "it would be surprising that after a 30 years carrer [The Rolling Stones] would not turn up having at least one or two good songs"
Same thing for GM, when you sell 150 models, you're bound to have at least a handful that sell well (or you can call "hot")
What I'd like to see is for them to sell their stuff at a profit, get out of the hole they so dutifully dug up for themselves.
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FM 8:24PM (4/14/2006)
#12:The Pursuit is coming alright. But who in their right mind wants to bring a rebadged Pontiac that looks EXACTLY the same as a Cobalt?!
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Patricia A. 9:25PM (4/14/2006)
I predict that in 5 years, the same level of hate that some of you have for GM --and the thirst for its demise-- will be directed to Toyota. Mind my words. Some of us love to see a true American company like GM comeback. I am convinced that it will. I am already seeing some people having negative thoughts at arrogant Toyota. And, how long before all those recalls tarnish its quality image?
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Finished.Barber.College 9:43PM (4/14/2006)
Don't be fooled by past perceptions. The cars mentioned are just the beginning, there are many more where those came from. Toyota and Honda slip further into the realm of boring and tired while GM and Ford become the ones turning out exciting, innovative designs with long term quality as good and in many cases much better than the imports. People who want to support American companies have already discovered this, almost by accident, and the automotive agnostic are slowly figuring this out.
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the chad 9:54PM (4/14/2006)
Its not the actual platform sharing thats the problem-Toyota, Honda, et al. all do that, its that GM puts the same metal and interior on them. If they did what they did with the Cobalt & HHR (same platform) it'd be fine, but what's with the upcoming G5? And the minivan quartet. If they looked different from all angles, not just the front and back, no prob. BUt put the SV6, Uplander, Relay, and Terrazza side by side and most people wouldn't know the difference if they didn't have badges. But its so much easier and cheper to do that. GM became complacent and secure and thought the consumer was stupid. There is no longer any differentiation in their brands. If only they could focus. Give each brand a clear identity and make each car inside that brand follow that identity to a 't' and make them all -gasp- look different, and the public would notice a change. But how is Pontiac different from Chevy different from Buick, you get the point.
All of their cars could be hot if they wouldn't sell 8 versions of them. Once they get the smally company, panic-cuz-we're-screwed-so-do-what-we-need-to-do-to-survive mentality, they will produce better cars that break the mold. I'm waiting for that to happen.
And still waiting.
And still waiting.
Hopefully the renaissaince will come over the whole company soon.
But I'm still waiting.
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caffee 9:55PM (4/14/2006)
Patricia A,
The demise of GM has been greatly overhyped, they will be back stronger than ever. Americans love their cars and given the choice they had rather buy american. There are lots of good things on the horizon from GM and Ford. It doesn't matter how many factories Toyota and Honda build in this country they will always be japanese products. I have friends that tell me they held their nose and bought foreign. Well they won't have to hold their noses much longer because the American auto industry has awaken and it's a brand new day.
Remember GM has more return customers than any other auto company. And it's still the largest auto manufacturer on the planet. It will take more than the bias press to kill the giant of Auto makers.
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the chad 9:57PM (4/14/2006)
#16,
Can you help me? I'm still in barber college, but I can't pass the final exam! Please let me know why the mohawk I gave the instructor didn't work out!
:-)
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Chad's instructor at barber college 10:04PM (4/14/2006)
Well Chad it had nothing to do with the haircut it was your cold hands.
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