The World According to Lutz: fewer brands, more marketing
In a moment that makes us want to put on our most pensive face and say "Yes... that's profound...", Bob Lutz has said "It's really much better to have fewer brands, do it well and then market the hell out of them." Specifically, he's talking about the fact that a car like the Saturn Aura -- Saturn's take on the Chevy Malibu -- hasn't done nearly as well as the Malibu. So far this year the Aura trails the Malibu almost 3-to-1. Why? Because the Malibu got pushed out of the gate with a marketing budget somewhere over the $200 million mark, and the Aura didn't. That is why, according to Lutz, "Three years later, people are still saying 'What's an Aura?'" We know that GM has the talent to get the job done, but it's this kind of self evident thinking (to us, at least, and not a few of our commentators) that makes us wonder what's been going on in the hallowed halls of the RenCen all this time. GM has said that it might try to rebuild Saturn rather than kill it, but with new spending at Saturn put on hold, if they decide to keep it alive, we sincerely hope they will "market the Hell" out of what they rebuild.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
zamafir 5:34PM (12/16/2008)
Better yet, maybe GM could just stop fubaring saturn. Anwyone else recall how they treated the brand for years while they attempted to decide if they were keeping olds?
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roar 5:36PM (12/16/2008)
My local Saturn Retailer, YTD Nov. compared to 2007.
Aura sales + 33%. The issue was not having a 4 cly at launch and not having a mid sized car for 20 months.
Vue sales +9%. Seems like a solid job.
Outlook sales +3%
Sky sales - 16% Small numbers.
Ion/Astra sales are down significantly. The Astra is not a replacement for the Ion, one is a sedan and one is a 5 door hatch. Apples and Oranges. The Astra is selling well in the segment but the segment is very small. Saturn needs a compact sedan.
Enough said.
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Boris 5:44PM (12/16/2008)
Saturn dealership I used to work at sold 3 cars new/used total last month, they have 1 out this month so far and this store was selling close to 100 a month so when do you pull the plug?
diffrunt 5:40PM (12/16/2008)
What,s an astra, u ask? ----It,s a goodlooking, hardriding, noisy Opel!
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roar 5:44PM (12/16/2008)
The Astra is neither hard riding or noisy, drive it.
Diffrunt 5:48PM (12/16/2008)
I spent a day & 120 miles rountrip just to thoroly wring an astra out. This olwrench knows what he,s talking about!
Torrent 5:49PM (12/16/2008)
Nobody asked.
Derek 7:02PM (12/17/2008)
The Astra is one of the best selling cars in Europe (especially if you combine sales of both the Opel and Vauxhaul Astra). People always want Euro cars, right? Well, this is incredibly European.
happy_penguin 9:44PM (12/16/2008)
It's a damn good thing YOU know what you're talking about, "Diffrunt" because none of the rest of us can f*cking figure it out.
MajorGeek 5:42PM (12/16/2008)
This just goes to show how clueless the CEO's are. GM might have more brands then anyone, practice what you preach. If he believed this then it should have already been done years ago, after all the reason all these brands were created no longer applies. I always thought the Malibu got the press because the reviewers picked up on it being an excellent car and everyone ran with it. I assume everyone is afraid to kill off a brand and be blamed for it, so in these economic times, its their best bet to kill some off.
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rsfourever 5:51PM (12/16/2008)
it's not a question of being afraid of killing off a brand. clearly, GM isn't, as they killed of Oldsmobile in 2003. The issue is that they have contracts with dealers across the country, and they would have to make enormous payouts to the dealers if they were closing brands, payouts on the order of hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars, money they can ill-afford to spend at this time.
what i think will in all likelihood happen is that GM will start letting the brands die by giving them less and less new vehicles, forcing dealers out of service. like GM announced a couple days ago, for example, that pontiac might become a one-car brand (G8).
in fact it might even make sense for them to make a few of their brands one-car brands. just produce one car, with its own brand, but sold under the same roof with some other brands. for example: Pontiac makes G8, Saturn makes Astra, Buick makes the Lucerne (or whatever that car is that the chinese designed), and GMC makes the Acadia, Saab makes the 9-3, Hummer makes the H3 (Wrangler competitor). All six vehicles sold under the same roof would be a reasonable possibility. these would essentially be operated as one brand/company, but this way you can also keep the names alive. i don't know if that's a truly manageable system, but it might be... Then you keep Chevy and Cadillac intact, and there you go...
Rogue_G 6:28PM (12/16/2008)
It clearly IS a question of killing a brand, only plural. It cost a lot to kill of Olds, but to do away with Hummer, Saab, Pontiac AND Saturn? Impossible. They have themselves to blame, though, and the past 20 years of horrible decisions. It took that long to amass such a number of useless brands, it would take that long to get rid of them under the best circumstances. During a recession? Good luck.
LJKelley 1:55AM (12/17/2008)
Welcome to your Pontiac/Buick/GMC/Saturn/SAAB/Hummer Dealer. I think not... that would still cause dealership closures and renegotiation. In addition it would be easier just to market two brands (Come visit Chevy today instead of Come visit your Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Saturn, SAAB, Hummer dealer today). The only brands that continue to make 100% sense are Chevy and Cadillac. Hummer will most likely be sold.
I think perhaps your idea would work if they named cars the GM Pontiac G8 or the GM Buick Lucerne or kept the different marque but sold them only at GM Brand dealerships. That would they could advertise... come into your GM dealership today.
Nightcrawler 4:17PM (12/17/2008)
Could they not quite kill a brand, keeping one lame model for that brand and nothing else, thus forcing the dealers to call it quits themselves in order to avoid having to buy the dealerships out?
Brent 5:48PM (12/16/2008)
Everyone take a lesson from Lutz. More Marketing! I will have my marketing degree in May and I need more companies to hop on the more marketing bandwagon!
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Staggs 2:14PM (12/17/2008)
Haha, same here! More marketing probably won't work, but this trend could give me a job.
Zillon 5:52PM (12/16/2008)
About time they realized this.
At the very least, GM needs to tie a couple cinderblocks to GMC's feet and push it off the back of an ocean freighter. Make Buick (Sorry Harley Earl) and Pontiac (turn the G8 into the Impala, and the Solstice into a Chevy, drop everything else) walk the plank. Leave Hummer somewhere in the middle east.
Honestly, I'd love to see GM whittled down to Chevrolet and Cadillac. Unfortunately, there's a TON of history behind the brands that have been consolidated under the roof of GM, and I'd hate to see that go to waste. However, these are dire times.
I wish that GM would take all the money they put towards platform sharing and badge engineering, and turn it into actual progress towards producing more vehicles with actual substance instead of the clones of clones they produce now.
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asus 10:49PM (12/16/2008)
I don't see why they can't whittle it down to just Cadillac and Chevy. That honestly makes the most sense. Thats how almost every other car company is set up (Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infinity, Honda/Acura, Ford/Lincoln.. oh wait they should kill mercury too) Why do they need 5 versions of the same car?
gabe.cody 5:52PM (12/16/2008)
It's sad that Saturn has the best lineup in its history and nobody knows about it.
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OKC08SKYRL 7:37AM (12/17/2008)
My 2008 Saturn Sky Redline is a great car. I was hoping the next generation Sky R/L would have 70 more hp and a larger trunk.