Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[REPORT: Pontiac and GMC may get axe... you knew this was coming]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/16/pontiac-and-gmc-may-get-ax-you-knew-this-was-coming/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/16/pontiac-and-gmc-may-get-ax-you-knew-this-was-coming/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/16/pontiac-and-gmc-may-get-ax-you-knew-this-was-coming/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


When the president tells you to sharpen your pencil and improve your last-ditch survival effort, it's time to grab the big eraser. According to reports, General Motors may ditch its GMC and Pontiac brands to demonstrate just how serious it is. If the auto lines go, GM would be pared back to Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac, a mere shadow of its former self, but the nameplates might become more clearly defined with the added breathing room. Ford's got its trifecta of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln, so GM would match that setup should it unload Pontiac and GMC in some way, as well as carry through with its ongoing process of shedding Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

While Pontiac actually has some unique offerings, GMC is rumored to stand a better chance of sticking around. It still wouldn't be cheap to do away with the brands. There are dealers who will not go quietly into the night, meaning GM will be looking at the possibility of finding a buyer for yet another piece of its puzzle. Of course, everyone's keeping mum about the possibility of life without Pontiac or GMC.

UPDATE: According to General Motors' sales chief Mark LaNeve, the automaker has no intentions of killing off Pontiac or GMC. LaNeve admits that GM is continuing to tweak its strategy, but reports that "GMC is going away are just unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue."

[Source: Bloomberg]

REPORT: Pontiac and GMC may get axe... you knew this was coming originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gm bailoutgm bankruptcygm brandsgm bridge loangm gmcgm pontiacGmBailoutGmBankruptcyGmBrandsGmBridgeLoangmc pontiacgmc saleGmcPontiacGmcSaleGmGmcGmPontiacpontiac gmcpontiac salePontiacGmcPontiacSaleThu, 16 Apr 2009 09:27:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1518564/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/04/16/pontiac-and-gmc-may-get-ax-you-knew-this-was-coming/1518564/article-detail.xml 1518564 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/pontiac_gmc_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/pontiac_gmc.jpg <![CDATA[GM may rebuild Saturn rather than kill it]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/09/gm-may-try-to-rebuild-saturn-rather-than-kill-it/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/09/gm-may-try-to-rebuild-saturn-rather-than-kill-it/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/09/gm-may-try-to-rebuild-saturn-rather-than-kill-it/#commentsFiled under: ,

When it comes to Saturn, General Motors is a little stuck. The plucky brand that promised something different and then turned into much the same hasn't seen critical acclaim or profitability for more than ten years. GM has halted funding for new Saturn products, and its plan to Congress indicated that a sharp focus on Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. That would appear to leave Saturn something pretty close to dead.

But GM can't simply close the Saturn shop. There are 425 Saturn dealerships, and one dealer-broker figured that GM would have to shell out $3-$4 million to each dealer if Saturn gets put down. That puts GM past the billion dollar mark even before any other cost is taken into account. And Saturn can't simply be sold either, except as a brand name and blueprints - it has no engineering nor manufacturing abilities outside of GM.

A meeting is planned for later this week to "conceive a new business model" to make Saturn profitable, because the uncertainty isn't helping anyone. Dealers don't like the sound of GM putting all of its eggs in a basket that doesn't include Saturn, customers don't like the sound of "No new product," and GM can't stay in a holding pattern and shell out money for a brand going nowhere. We hope they sort something out that restores its initial promise - and some profits - because we still have a soft spot for the otherwordly brand.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

GM may rebuild Saturn rather than kill it originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gmgm bailoutgm brandsGmBailoutGmBrandssaturnTue, 09 Dec 2008 08:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1394578/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/12/09/gm-may-try-to-rebuild-saturn-rather-than-kill-it/1394578/article-detail.xml 1394578 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/12/sat_rem_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/12/sat_rem.jpg <![CDATA[Rumormill: GMC brand getting the axe?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/20/rumormill-gmc-brand-getting-the-axe/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/20/rumormill-gmc-brand-getting-the-axe/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/20/rumormill-gmc-brand-getting-the-axe/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

This has been a big year for GM's organization alignment, with President Fritz Henderson opening up about the brand issue snafu and the appointment of four brand czars. HUMMER was meant to join forces with Cadillac and Saab in a premium channel, but while HUMMER is still in the family, it's apparently been put out on the lawn. GM Inside News (GMI) reports that GM is treating HUMMER as a goner, saying that the H4 program is on life support for handover to the next buyer, and the H3 GMT-700 program is kaput.

The bigger hearsay is that GM's board is considering euthanizing GMC or Pontiac. Those two brands were to be aligned in a brand channel with Buick (PBG). Getting rid of GMC could make some kind of sense, since it's entirely brand-engineered vehicles with some of the worst mileage numbers in the fleet. Shunning Pontiac would be a surprise to us since the Solstice and G8 have given it a nice brand awareness boost and it's got some products in the pipeline. If GMC or Pontiac did go, the GM board would consider folding Saturn into the PBG channel to maintain sales volume. In corporate-speak, we believe this is called GM's "gloves off" phase. Thanks for the tip, Dan!

[Source: GM Inside News]

Rumormill: GMC brand getting the axe? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gmgm brand alignmentgm brand czarsgm brandsGmBrandAlignmentGmBrandCzarsGmBrandsgmcpontiacFri, 20 Jun 2008 13:32:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1231294/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/06/20/rumormill-gmc-brand-getting-the-axe/1231294/article-detail.xml 1231294 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/06/gmc_dealer-sign_opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/06/gmc_dealer-sign_opt.jpg <![CDATA[GM discusses brand strategy, opens bag, releases cats]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/01/gm-discusses-brand-strategy-opens-bag-releases-cats/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/01/gm-discusses-brand-strategy-opens-bag-releases-cats/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/01/gm-discusses-brand-strategy-opens-bag-releases-cats/#commentsFiled under: ,

GM President Frtiz Henderson came squeaky clean about the state of GM's brand portfolio, hurdles and losses. On the issue of too many brands, he admitted that the reason GM still has so many is that it is simply too expensive to kill any one of them. GM spent almost a billion large putting Oldsmobile to sleep, and with The General coming off a $3.25 billion Q1 loss, every half penny counts. In the mean time, GM will have to make do with its four new brand czars.

Henderson and CFO Rick Young also admitted that sales projections could be described as "rosy," the word "Delphi" is beginning to rhyme with "albatross," and that the intergalactic rise in gas prices has changed consumer buying habits "faster than we thought."

Fritz summarized the situation with: "We have to adjust. We have to learn how to make more money in cars and crossovers and tighten our belts with regard to cost expenditures." That's not the writing on the wall, that is the wall itself. Thanks for the tip, throwback!

[Source: CNN Money]

GM discusses brand strategy, opens bag, releases cats originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 May 2008 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>financialsfritzfritz hendersonFritzHendersongeneral motorsGeneralMotorsgmgm brandsGmBrandsThu, 01 May 2008 16:33:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1183185/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/05/01/gm-discusses-brand-strategy-opens-bag-releases-cats/1183185/article-detail.xml 1183185 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/gms_henderson_truths_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/gms_henderson_truths.jpg -1 2