Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Crossovers/CUVs, Buick, GM
Keeping the Enclave on boil - GM keeps a lid on production
click above image to see more of the increasingly exclusive Buick Enclave
General Motors has a hit on its hands with the big, beautiful Enclave CUV. People all over the country are trying to get their hands on Buick's luxurious iteration of the Lambda Ute. Rather than follow the time-dishonored practice of running as many copies of a hot model out the door as possible, GM's keeping production on the Enclave under strict control. In fact, even though some dealers have sold out of their Enclave inventory, GM will be reducing shifts at the Lansing plant that builds the Enclave. Bob Lutz explained the restrictions thusly: "We want to keep [the Enclave] hot... Nothing destroys the value of a new product faster than over producing." That's it in a nutshell, right there. The practice of tying production to demand is what Toyota and Honda tend to do. Take the Fit, for example. Part of the allure of that vehicle is that buyers often have to wait to get one. The same kind of "best kept secret" mystique surrounds the Enclave - you don't see them everywhere, and they're rather opulent once you finally get a chance to check one out. Exclusivity can also spur customers into paying full price, where before a glut of product would mean heavy discounts. Of course, GM can't afford moves such as restricted production and labor layoffs at every plant and on every model, but we hope this new tack pays off in boosting the General's image as well as its bottom line.
[Source: WSJ]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Tool 6:59PM (10/31/2007)
If you want to beat Toyota, you've got to take a lesson or two from their playbook.
Kudos to GM for keeping inventory tight; it also makes sure you've got the quality right as you ramp production up.
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Lemmiwinks 7:25PM (10/31/2007)
Who would've thought that GM's hottest product on the eve of 2008 would be a $35K utility vehicle from Buick?!
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Matt 7:55PM (10/31/2007)
No kidding, right?!
TriShield 7:25PM (10/31/2007)
This is definitely one of the, if not the best looking crossover available.
GM is playing it very smart keeping supply tight. Even so, I see more Enclaves on the streets on the west side of Phoenix than the Acadia, Outlook and Ford Edge.
Now if only all Buicks were as striking, maybe then it would be GM's best brand.
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jg 7:43PM (10/31/2007)
There's a few on the east side streets too.
I didn't realize how big the truck was until I walked by one on the lot at work. Roomy.
J. D. Billiford 7:30PM (10/31/2007)
>>> I suspect all auto manufacturers will be adopting this philosophy in the near to not-too-distant future.
And like most things, it will be a bittersweet practice. On the plus side it does help to assure better inventory and quality control and consumer interest in the product. On the flip side the consumer will end up paying a much higher price for that same product.
It's just basic Economics 101. With such a tight lid on the number of vehicles produced, dealers won't be too inclined to negotiate the price with a would-be purchaser. In fact, and most likely, the dealer will inflate the price and move the merchandise to the highest bidder.
And as Ben (see above) put it, if the availability is so limited, the customer will just simply walk out the door and cross the street to the competition.
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FThorn 7:14AM (11/01/2007)
All the economics will change when China and India are allowed to flood the market with 'good enough' engineered cars at half the price.
Spankee 8:26AM (11/01/2007)
@FThorn
That's exactly what happened when Hyundai entered the market with "good enough" engineered cars.
Fact of the matter is, cars are sometimes the biggest purchase people EVER make in life, folks who can afford to tend to pay for quality or the illusion of quality. Poor quality and good ol' garden variety xenophobia/racism will keep Chinese cars in check until they get their act together.
That being said, this is like the third time I've seen you make this exact post in like two days. Seriously, dude, I'm half expecting you to post a picture of Fu Manchu evilly twirling his moustache next.
Ben 7:30PM (10/31/2007)
And nobody thought in any of this that if a consumer couldn't get an Enclave, they'd just walk next door to the Toyota/Mazda/Infiniti dealer and get something else instead?
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Mark 7:15PM (10/31/2007)
Everyone is doing this now. Damn wal-mart still doesn't have a Wii for me.
Ben,
Apparently you are not in the market for a nice crossover.
Toyota/Mazda - No. Period.
Infiniti - 10k more, still doesn't look as nice.
But by all means, go elsewhere.
Mark 7:18PM (10/31/2007)
Toyota - yawn
Mazda - Not even close to luxury
Infiniti - 10k more, doesn't come close in looks
But to each his own.
Ben 7:31PM (10/31/2007)
No huh? Not Toyota or Mazda? Must be why the CX7/CX9 and the new Highlander are selling so well. It's OBVIOUS that everybody hates them judging from the many that I see on the road every day...wake up people
Papi L-Gee 10:36PM (10/31/2007)
Ben,
No one in their right mind cross-shops a Highlander and an Enclave. That's like cross-shopping a Civic and a CTS.
Ben 1:11AM (11/01/2007)
And this is because...why exactly? The Highlander Limited starts at $32700 and the Enclave starts at $32990. What'd I miss? People usually shop based on how much they have to spend no?
Apu 2:21AM (11/02/2007)
Some of you GM defenders are hilarious. Naext you'll start typing nonsense like "Cobalt sedan = wow; Infiniti G35 = yawn"
Papi L-Gee 11:25AM (11/02/2007)
Ben,
No... I'm saying that people (usually) shop luxury against luxury, or size against size. The Highlander doesn't measure up to the Enclave in either.
Carletti 7:36PM (10/31/2007)
Dude...they finally got it.
When I first saw the Enclave in person I came to the conclusion that it was one of the most enigmatic automobiles currently available. The car is a fat, morbidly obese, swath of curves and shiny metals. Yet, aside from that, its visible heft actually makes the car look planted and composed, especially from the rear...though it looks too similar to a Hyundai from that angle.
Bottomline, I can't believe the Enclave sells the way some claim it does. But somebody should provide Buick leadership with a prize for something like "most significant GM marketing discovery of the 21st century."
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Jay 7:40PM (10/31/2007)
I wonder where some of you have been. You do realize GM has been doing the same thing with the Sky and to a lesser degree the Solstice since their respective launches right?
dean 7:58PM (10/31/2007)
Well, not over-producing is a good idea, but I don't like the practice of capping production too much. Seems shady.
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Matt 8:28PM (10/31/2007)
Lambda FTW!!!! GM has a huge hit on their hands.
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