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Official: GM shrinking to four brands; Pontiac to four models
In an interview Sunday with Automotive News (sub. req'd), Troy Clarke, GM's North American president, said that General Motors will be able to make good on its promise to Congress to drastically cut costs. Clarke said that GM will now focus its "product and marketing resources" on Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC. That would leave Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and HUMMER in automotive limbo. As part of that same plan presented to lawmakers, GM said it would sell or close Saturn. And since no one has yet stepped forward with cash, the future is not at all certain for the unique brand despite what GM's marketing VP Mark LaNeve says. In a separate interview, Bob Lutz told AN that Pontiac will also have to get by with only four models: the G8, G5, Vibe and Solstice. Or five models if you count the Solstice coupe separately as Lutz does. Shrinking the brand would complete yet another promise GM made to Congress to make Pontiac a niche brand.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Jesse Fuller 8:04AM (1/12/2009)
My heart just stopped... And now its fine.
Reply
Niels 8:12AM (1/12/2009)
Well put. But what I don't understand is why they want to keep GMC and put Pontiac on the line. GMCs are nothing but re-badged Chevrolets, and have always been nothing but. At least Pontiacs were SLIGHTLY different from their Buick-Chevy-Olds counterparts in the past. GMC is worthless to me. It would be fine as a commercial vehicle division, but the General insists on resuming its charade.
Todd 8:39AM (1/12/2009)
What a joke. They need to be Chevy and Cadillac and that's it.
Proof GM will NEVER learn and is doomed to be liquidated.
Yikes 9:30AM (1/12/2009)
.........GM said it would sell or close Saturn. And since no one has yet stepped forward with cash, the future is not at all certain for the unique brand despite what GM's marketing VP Mark LaNeve says. .........
UNIQUE??????? How is Saturn UNIQUE?
Mr.Oak 10:19AM (1/12/2009)
Todd: Any idea what it would cost to put all those brands out of business?
Keepers:
Cadillac needs to be pushed further upstream. Aimed squarely at BMW, MB and Audi.
Chevrolet is where it needs to be.
Buick could stay on it current track and take on Lexus, Volvo and Acura etc.
Pontiac needs to be re-defined as the "EXCITEMENT" division, with hardcore performance products. No mini-vans or mommy wagons.
On Death Row:
GMC has no product exclusivity. Either get Chevy out of the truck business and give all the trucks to GMC or kill GMC.
Saturn dies and the Sun should go to Cadillac. Become a baby XLR sort of.
Hummer:
Hummer and Pontiac could be scaled back as niche market products. Single shift plants that only makes what it could sell.
Saab: Give it away to anyone who wants it. GM actually sells more Hummers than Saabs.
Mr.Oak 11:43AM (1/12/2009)
I meant to say the Saturn Sky should go over to Cadillac.
Todd 12:51PM (1/12/2009)
@Mr. Oak
"Todd: Any idea what it would cost to put all those brands out of business?"
I am 100% positive the cost would be LESS than the liquidation of all of GM, which is where they are headed with these delusional decisions being made.
Note to GM - You must become as small, as popular, as lean, as profitable as Hyundai. The glory days are over forever, never to return. You have 50 some odd business days to do so before you cease to exist.
Tool 1:06PM (1/12/2009)
GM still does not go far enough with this new 4 Core Brand Strategy.
The main problem is that there are too many brands, too many models and too many dealers.
There would still be 3 main channels:
1. Chevrolet
2. Cadillac
3. BPG (Buick-Pontiac-GMC)
Instead of making 2 very focused brands--Chevy and Cadillac--GM doesn't change things too much by keeping BPG. 'Shrinking' Pontiac to 4 models isn't really transformative.
What GM needs is new management and new thinking. The problem is finding a CEO who doesn't have that rotten, putrid Detroit mentality.
SimbaDogg 5:24PM (1/12/2009)
@ Niels
seriously...this everlasting boner that GM has for GMC is really starting to get under my skin. It honestly makes no sense to offer copy cat products, and then cut other products that are unique and honestly destined to be bought by a completely different consumer base. GM...get cha head out cha ass.
Photoscribe 10:15AM (1/14/2009)
Chevy and Pontiac should share a division...they've always been been similar, since about '49, I'd say. The '58 Impala and Bonneville coupes were almost identical from the front. Buick, Cadillac and Oldsmobile were always cut from the same cloth as well. The Olds 98 was interchangeable with the Buick Electra/Ultra/Park Avenue and Caddy Fleetwood and the lower level Buicks and Oldsmobiles were essentially the same platform. The only thing that set Caddy apart from them were the different rooflines they adopted after 1960 from the rest of GM and the odd optional and standard equipment they had: the headlight dimmer, hinged metal door handles, stereo radios before everyone else...
So...Chevy and Pontiac, one division...Buick and Cadillac, one division. Put Hummer and GMC together (making Hummers more fuel efficient) and Saab and Saturn together, as the "wine and cheese-mobiles". What's the problem??
renshcp 8:12AM (1/12/2009)
I guess now is the time to make all the drastic changes while you have a good reason to do so under mandate from Uncle Sam. It'll be interesting to see what comes from all those dealers. I imagine Saab will find a buyer, but Saturn certainly can't be sold.
Reply
David H. 6:41PM (1/12/2009)
Hyundai should buy Saturn and make it a performance brand. =D
Really though, Saturn is a failed experiment. The idea of making a completely separate and unique brand failed for GM, and they struggled to create an identity for it since it was assimilated in 2000 or so.
Mr.Oak 8:48PM (1/12/2009)
Saturn is not a failure, all its vehicles are quite good. Problem is, its redundant.
Aura - Malibu - G6
Outlook - Acadia - Enclave - Traverse
Sky - Solstice
Vue - Equinox - SRX(?)
Only the Astra stands alone, and its not doing enough volume to merit it's existence.
David 11:59PM (1/12/2009)
It's not that Saturn was a bad idea, but the fact that all they put out was horrible crap, buoyed by two gimmicks: MSRP and plastic panels. Plastic Panels look stupid when chunks are missing.
If Saturn had been comprised of rebadged Peugeots or something, they'd have a purpose in life. As it was, you can't sell utter crap and expect success. Even ignorant car buyers eventually notice that their Saturn experience wasn't a pleasant one, and will avoid future Saturns. Every "savior" of the Saturns, in turn, turned out to be a bad car. It seems like they redid the Vue every year, because the previous model didn't get it right? Who else does that???
The only smart thing they did was to rebadge the Opels, but they should have done that 5 years ago at least, and then it would have been a different story. TOO LATE! "ill-timing" is GM's specialty.
Euthanasia for GM now!!
Avinash machado 8:11AM (1/12/2009)
Good idea. However I feel that the Vibe should be moved to the Chevy division instead.
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BGJ 8:18AM (1/12/2009)
Yes the Vibe and G5 have no place in the 'new' Pontiac lineup of fun performance vehicles. That leaves only the G8 and Solstice, which should be Chevy's anyway so just kill the brand already.
The problem with removing GMC is that it makes alot more money per vehicle than does the same Chevy version. GMC is the upscale Chevy truck which is working pretty well and should be left alone, they just need to quit adding a bunch of crossovers to the lineup and keep it all body-on-frame.
Adam 9:54AM (1/12/2009)
Poof, done. The Vibe is an Aveo 5 door.
AMC 10:08AM (1/12/2009)
I thought that the Vibe was a rebadged Toyota Matrix. What about a mid size Pontiac? They aren't gonna develop a sport oriented G6 based off the new Buick Lacrosse platform?
Randy 11:20AM (1/12/2009)
Do you really think they'll cancel the cars that quick? I think all of the current lineups will be in the "Chevy Division"
And whoever said Pontiac need to be the Excitement brand, they tried that already! The brand has zero identity even with marketing money! It's like putting the stamp "HEALTH FOOD" on a steak and cheese sub! It might be good, but it's just not health food!
They need to bury Pontiac, Hummer a SAAB..... Saturn though! I would not have guessed Saturn. That brand has potential...... I personally don't like the cars due to taste, but it's got niche written all over it.... Alan Mullaly from Ford Motor Company would say "Why stop a name and then spend money on a new one (i.e. Ford 500 took over for Ford Taurus and now Taurus is back)... The point is GM will need an identity for small eco cars. That's the brand! Ugh, they never look beyond step one at GM
Hey GM, watch what FORD is doing! They have their shizat together!
Jared 1:24PM (1/12/2009)
I totaly agree with Randy. Although Pontiac would make a good niche company w/ the G8, solstice, etc. It has no brand identity. Everyone see's these new and high tech cars comming from Ford and Ford alone. So when people think about Ford, then picture those nice fancy cars. GM's problem is it changes it's image soo much, when people think Chevy, they think boxy Tahoes and the POS parts bin cars that consistantly came out of MI for years!