REPORT: GM dropping corporate emblems for 2010. Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges...
Back in 2005, General Motors began adding so-called "Mark of Excellence" corporate logos to all of its vehicles. The reasoning behind the move was that with eight brands, customers needed to know that vehicles from brands like Hummer and Saturn came from the GM family. Fast forward four years and The General is now down to four brands, and the company now feels that a strong link to GM proper won't necessarily help Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Beginning with future 2010 model year vehicles, the barely noticeable silver GM badge will not be added to new products. Vehicles like the 2010 Camaro and 2010 Equinox already don the GM logo, but the assumption is that the logos will stop appearing once the remaining inventory is used up.GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan told The Detroit News that company research shows customers outside the Midwest don't associate brands like Cadillac and Chevrolet as GM products. Some would say that the move will serve to distance the company's brands from the bankruptcy of parent GM, while others may question whether the badging ever captured the attention of customers in the first place. With GM's new emphasis on strengthening the brands it has left, we'd say that tying the mother ship to any of the individual marques is pretty irrelevant and makes little sense. And besides, they're probably saving a few bucks on badges in the process, right?
[Source: Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
kfj 1:02PM (8/25/2009)
Good because it was dumb.
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zamafir 1:25PM (8/25/2009)
agreed. maybe vw should put a nice round badge on the veyron
MOD and ANGRY 2:17PM (8/25/2009)
Come on, it wasn't all THAT dumb... It gave AB a chance to reference Troop Beverly Hills, one of the crappiest 80s movies of all time (and a guilty pleasure for some of us on here). I'm sure Shelly Long will miss the GM badge...
Jei 2:20PM (8/25/2009)
Exactly!
Seeing those little badges on Saabs and Cadillacs and Corvettes was silly. How corny would Lexus look if it had little Toyota badges each of its vehicles? That would be a constant reminder if the mainstream brand on the body of the luxury mark.
This was a no-brainer --- thank God somebody had the "balls" within the ranks to revisit them and then get them eliminated.
Haon 2:25PM (8/25/2009)
Troop Beverly Hills....really? For the badges quote? Try Blazing Saddles.
Tool 3:16PM (8/25/2009)
The GM "Mark of Excellence" could have had impact if it actually stood for something.
As Bob Lutz said about GM's C11 filing, that the old GM was 'brilliantly executed mediocrity'. So to continue to put this badge on New GM cars without a real commitment to excellence -- which I have still not seen -- is probably a good move.
Tourian 3:29PM (8/25/2009)
I'm on the fence about this one, but to the people making parallels to VW and Toyota, it doesn't work - its not the same thing. No cars are sold as GMs (and no I don't think GMC counts) But cars are sold as Toyota and VW. Besides, you can easily look under the hood or in the doorjamb of any Lexus and see Toyota written on it, and although I've never had the pleasure with a Veyron, I bet it says VW somewhere in there.
daleam 5:03PM (8/25/2009)
It was an ill-conceived program. I'm glad they're putting an end to it.
Venom 1:05PM (8/25/2009)
Finally.
I have been bitching about those things for years.
They should fire the idiot who came up with the idea to put them on too.
Nothing like asking someone to spend $50,000 plus on a Cadillac or Corvette and then have some stupid cheap GM badges on the side.
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P.V. 1:10PM (8/25/2009)
Years? Come on, it has only been there since 4 years ago.
TimO 1:30PM (8/25/2009)
In fairness, 4 is more than 1, so the use of the plural was appropriate.
Paul 4:46PM (8/25/2009)
My girlfriend HATED that badge insisted the dealer take it off the Saab 9-3 she wanted to buy but they refused, saying she could do it herself. She was so upset we decided to look at Audis and -- yup -- she left with an A4.
Good one "GM."
Sofa King Fast! 1:06PM (8/25/2009)
I didn't get this idea anyway.
The badges counteracted the effect of introducing models under different brands.
Also, I don't think anyone was more likely to buy a car because it was built by GM.
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kfj 1:17PM (8/25/2009)
I dont know about the GM badges them self but some badges on GM cars aren't held on via an adhesive. IE: the z06 badge, if you remove it you have a hole in your car.
the4thheat 7:23PM (8/25/2009)
--scene: Cadillac dealership--
Man: I just can't decide between this Cadillac CTS and the BMW 3 series, I like them both.
Wife: Look honey! There's a GM badge on the Cadillac, I never knew that Cadillac was a GM™ brand!
Man: Wow, I don't believe it, you mean the same company that makes the Chevrolet Aveo makes the CTS? Fantastic!!! I'm getting the CTS today!
--end scene--
tankd0g 11:12PM (8/25/2009)
They were great, there's a certain security in always knowing where the first rust bubble is going to appear on your new car.
Coolio 1:07PM (8/25/2009)
Good - they looked like blemishes on otherwise nice looking cars.
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Seminole 1:09PM (8/25/2009)
Even though they looked stupid, anyone who didn't want one on their new GM product just had to go inside and get some dental floss and pop the thing right off (assuming, like most badges, it is just held on with adhesive).
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P.V. 1:09PM (8/25/2009)
Thank goodness!
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Dave in MI 1:09PM (8/25/2009)
Put the heat gun down. Back away from the vehicle. It's OK.
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