SOUND OFF: If You Were The CEO, Which Brands Would You Axe?

They would be idiots to drop Volvo.

If I were Ford, I'd dump Mercury.

If I were Chrysler, I would make the Chrysler brand a real Cadillac competitor, and I would cut back on a lot of the crappy recent products.

If I were GM, I would continue to do what I'm doing, because it seems to be working.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 12:07:25 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8   

Mercury, Pontiac

— 993Turbo (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 12:19:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

SAAB, Mercury, Saturn.

— answer (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 12:21:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

saturn,pontiac,buick

— carguy68 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 12:25:52 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Mercury, Saab, Buick, Pontiac

— no1listensanyway (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 12:30:44 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Saab, Mercury, Volvo, Buick

These brands just can't compete in today's market. And yes, I think Volvo is on life support.

— Chip (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 12:31:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

LEXUS

— 1995e34 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:00:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

I could not tell you the last time I've seen a new Mercury on the street.

— DexDiamonds (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:10:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Same as u,Lexus fan here..........n_n''

— hao420 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:48:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

I agree with S4cabrio with regards to decisions to be made by Ford & Chrysler.

GM, on the other hand, has a more difficult situation to deal with. Prior to about 1966, there was actually differences between the cars offered by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac. Not anymore. That was why GM dropped the Oldsmobile marque.

In addition, GM now has the Saturn, Hummer, Saab & GMC marques as well. What's a General to do?

As now Saturn no longer has a different product line from the older GM marques, it could be dropped. Hummer should also be dropped. Now that Hummer is nothing but a Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban with a different body, drop it - who needs a third truck line? Saab can probably be dropped as well.

I frankly cannot decide which is more expendable - Pontiac or Buick. GM could conceivably retain both marques, with Pontiac becoming more performance-oriented while Buick becomes more luxury-oriented. GMC would probably be retained and sold in the same dealerships as Pontiac, Buick, or both - no one is going to buy a Pontiac or Buick pickup truck! (Just ask Cadillac & Lincoln.) GMC would offer both pickups and SUVs, while Pontiac and Buick would offer CUVs.

— Audiphile (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:22:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Saab is the only GM line I can see. Buick perhaps is their turn around plans does not work. But some of you are high if you think GM is going to close all of it lines..Saab, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn..someone typed GMC...lol. Too funny peeps!

Volvo is doing well and Ford just hacked AM and RR so what makes any sense to cut off more? Ford can reduce the amount of SUVs they offer since they are not selling as well as before.

Has MB dropped the R series yet?

What about Scion? Not doing so hot...

— Porschinator (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:26:05 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I would not miss any of them to be completely honest.

— Agent004 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:44:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

>Toyota<,other than that none of di brand has future.

— hao420 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:47:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -4   

As much as I hate to admit it Ford needs to drop Mercury. They should keep Volvo simply because they share so many parts and even though Volvo platforms are not ground breaking they could be with investment from money set aside for Mercury. IMO I feel that GM should have gotten rid of Buick,Pontiac and Saturn instead of Olds heres why. If you go back and look cars that Olds sold then in 02-04 they had the best lineup next to Cadillac for GM in design and drive-ability. Also look at the sales numbers for Olds the last two years of existence. They are pretty much the same as Buick,Pontiac and Saturn are now. Chrysler does need to lux up a bit and give the generally everyday stuff to Dodge. Oh yeah one more thing with Ford, how about if they just combine all of their products with Mazda and stop calling them Fords and just call them all Mazda's ,with the main company still being called Ford. So you would have Mazda (sporty everyday excitement), Volvo (safety near lux with environmental appeal) and Lincoln (rwd/awd, real luxury and innovative feature and international appeal). Unfortunately this wouldn't fly due to the fact that no one wants to buy a Mazda F150.

— NItePhire (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 1:57:50 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

it's on its way though

— komododave (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 6:57:27 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

It's interesting, as large as Toyota is, they have but two major brands:
1) Toyota
2) Lexus

(not counting the newly arrived Scion)

— BMW995 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 4:09:40 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I think GMC is useless, altough their sales don't agree with my opinion. It's stupid to have two brands of the exact same truck. just change the front grill. Cadillac and Lincoln need to make their own large SUV instead of badge engineering. then they might have the respect of real enthusiasts. unfortunatley too many of us americans are so ignorant we actually think the escalade is a cadillac and shares nothing with the tahoe. I actually had a guy swear that the escalade shared nothing with any tahow and suburban. I had to actually park his next to a buddys yukon and show him and let him see the interior and compare it. then I popped both hoods and voila! vortech v8 engine cover. Half of americans are ignorant when it comes to cars. trust me I work with cars all of the time being a mechanic. no wonder American cars survived the 70's 80's and 90's. We still have no perception of quality, refinement, build quality ETC. And we swear our chevy gets the bets fuel economy, is faster than anything japan makes ETC. It took me showing an old man the numbers on an avalon before he would believ it was way faster than his impala 3.9v6, and had better fuel economy. once he saw the interior he couldn't say anything, but he still would never buy and import. I buy whats good for me regardless of brand. Detroit didn't give a damn about us building that trash they called cars, and whats worse we actually fell for those phony comercials, and bought cars like the K car over cars like the camry which rode much better and handles light years better.

— 85bmw745i (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 4:47:45 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Mercury has to go.

As to Volvo, not as bad as Mercury but in order for Ford to concentrate on their core products they need to let this one go too.

Get rid of both brands while you can.

— xfifty (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 4:59:02 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Ford Motor Co makeover:
Mercury- Cars and crossovers only, 1 Large redesigned sedan. With Mercury trim level more luxurious than
Ford, it makes sense to keep this label for the car division to better compete against the rivals. Everyone prefers the non-descript Mercury grille over the cheap Ford Grille.

Ford: trucks only

Lincoln: 1 Flagship Sedan, Crossovers, 1 Sport-Lux Car.

The Mustang is Ford's success. Now they need to upgrade the interior with some rich woods. Perhaps they can bring some of the wood in from Jaguar. You see wood on all the finest sports cars, Aston, Maserati, etc.
Axe Chrysler. Their Flagship Sedan is no comparison to the Lincoln Flagship Sedan for Horsepower, acceleration, ride quality, and interior ascetics. My Chrysler 300 is just too small and underpowered to be considered a luxury sedan.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 5:19:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

Well, in working class cities, losing these affordable brands would be of concern to drivers on a budget. Additionally, some of us have to drive our cars for sales. Who is going to buy an expensive BMW for a company and drive it 30,000 miles a year only to get reimbursed 30 cents a mile. Bottom line, the domestics are the cheapest to insure, and maintain. Who really cares about fit and finish when you are driving for a job. None of the clients I’ve taken to lunch has ever complained about fit and finish of a Mercury, they were just happy to get a free ride and a free lunch.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 5:27:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

As for Ford-certainly shut down Mercury.Since they are nothing but rebadged Fords.Ford had ample time to develop Mercury with unique products.However that never happened.Lincoln seems to be developing and there are new products coming out.I'm not sure what the point of Mercury is at this point.It's not salable.As for Volvo it's a harder call as a lot of Fords larger car products and C class cars have been developed with Volvo architecture. It would seem to be a difficult sale as so much of the hardware for Volvo's is being used by Ford. The 2.5 inline 5 is in the Ford Mondeo and Galaxy as well as the Euro Ford Focus. It was a much easier sale of Jaguar/Landrover as much of the hardware was specific to Jaguar/Landrover and not used by Ford.(except Duratec V6).The Taurus,and various Lincoln models use S80 architecture and awd,including the new SUV's that are coming out.In fact Ford has very few platforms that still exist that Ford designed in house.90% is now either Mazda based or Volvo based.The Mustang,the Crown Vic and the Towncar are original Ford.I guess you could say the revised Focus is now original Ford (due to suspension and styling changes)as well but originally came from Europe.I would think a Volvo sale would be extremly complicated. The buyer would have to give Ford access to a lot of hardware. It might have to be that Ford would have to hold a minority stake in Volvo for ever.(Perhaps even at a higher percentage then Daimler Benz holds in Chrysler).Speaking of Chrysler they may be restructuring but so far there is little to show for it.Most of their cars have very cheap interiors. They need new engines like Fords new ecotech's.Supposidly there is some restyling going on.Let's hope it's effective. GM-Get rid of Hummer for sure. Why do they need Saab and Saturn. Both are supposed to be international brand. They only need one so a decision should be made.Buick and Pontiac. Right now Buick seems to be selling in China more then the US. While Pontiac has a performance car history the only 2 cars in it's arsenal that are worth keeping are the G8 and Solstice. The point is that either or both of them could be Chevy's so why not consolidate into a brand that really sells.So for GM-I would keep Chevy,Cadillac,Buick,GMC, and Saab. I would ditch everything else.

— mini22 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 5:32:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Everyone keeps wanting to axe buick. Why?? They are supremely seated as one of the premiere auto makers in Asia. It's a genuine status symbol. All of you aren't thinking globally. Saturn does have a different line than other GM makes. At the moment, all of GM's companies are pulling their weight, except Saab, which possibly has some compelling products coming. It's the only company that isn't really showing signs of growth and life. Hummer would be a second, only because it has a somewhat bad media image. The new truck coming looks sharp though.
As for Ford, there is more work that needs to be done besides just axing car nameplates left and right. And Volvo?? It might be a niche player, but it's got a very loyal following. No reason to axe it just because you don't have a dealership in your town which makes you think they're going down the tube.
It's a HUGE deal to shut off a brand. You can't just turn out the lights and leave. Not with the unions having a vice grip on detroit's marbles. Olds cost GM billions to shut. Mercury is truly the only brand out there that should be put down. That takes a lot for me to say since I own one and it's been a really good car to me. 160,000 miles and still strong.

— komododave (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 6:52:01 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Face it, Detroit doesn't know what to build anymore! Today's generation wants what Detroit is not building. Also, there is little brand loyalty other than for Toyota, Honda, BMW, etc. Ford should dump Mercury (when was the last time you heard anyone say "I drive a Mercury?"), Lincoln (especially the 'zephyr/mark whatever'), the ugly 'identity-confused' Taurus/500 as well as the 'newly-styled-looks-not-much-different-than-before' Escort (why can't we have the European model??) and the bland 'Fusion'. While their at it, fire their design team and hire people with talent (Ford has the most boring looking vehicles of the big three). Keep Mustang, Volvo and Mazda (the only cars that are noteworthy for Ford). Chrysler is suffering from 'cross-over overload', why do they continue to build cars at all? GM can keep Cadillac, Saturn and their Trucks...ditch all the Chev/Pontiac/Buick duplicates (maybe keep the Malibu?). It's so obvious today just by looking at most of the big three's products that those in charge don't have a clue! Instead of playing 'name games' start building some decent vehicles!

— doctorproctor (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 8:11:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I don't agree with doctorproctor about Ford having the most boring vehicles ever! That should go to Chrysler who has the most boring and poorly designed vehicles selling at high prices.

Ford
They should get rid of Mercury! There is no space between Lincoln n Ford. As for Volvo they should stress more on safety while bringing in some rear wheel drives cars and move a bit more upmarket to compete a bit more with the Germans. Mazda is doing excellent and should continue. Lincoln should axe their whole product line and have their own separate design team and etc. Like almost a totally separate company and not having to rely on Ford for all their rebadging. If not then bring all the Euro models and replace the whole Lincoln line. Ford should continue to make models with interiors like the Flex. The Fusions look isn't that bad its just the engine and the interior plus the fit and finish that need working on. They can bring the Euro Focus Coupe and Cabriolet with the sedan, and bring something more exciting than the Taurus!

GM

Very tough to dissect, but GMC should be gone. Chevy's trucks and SUV's should get the look of the GMC since they were always better. They should get rid of the Daewoo...I mean Chevy Aveo and the cobalt. The Impala is as boring as it gets... Cadillac should be the sport Luxury like BMW and Buick like Mercedes classy, elegant. (something which MB has been moving away from trying to chase BMW which they shouldn't) Pontiac needs to focus more on the sport but for some reason I think they should be axed:S. Saturn is the American Opel just keep doing tht.

Chrysler

Move Higher create better quality cars get rid of everything now. No SUV's at all only cars and crossovers. Bring Coupes and Cabriolets and small to large sedans and that look good, drive good and are built good. They should look at the consumer's view and not the Bank Account. Dodge should be more mainstream all good quality cars and no SUVS just cars , minivans, and crossovers. Coupes Cabriolets the works just all look great feel great and are built great.

Jeep should have only 4 models small suv, medium, and large. Then the whole Wrangler line. All have to be fuel Efficient and built great. Chrysler has ALOT OF WORK they better make it through.

— jt716 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 10:01:24 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

My plan would make each of the Detroit 3 highly focused, highly focused sales channels/brands for the 21st century to compete against Toyota, Honda and Nissan:

GM

- Chevrolet (High Volume Toyota Killer)
+ Fold-in Hummer H2 and H3 product at select Chevrolet dealers; HUMMER is not really a premium product, and therefore not sold at Cadillac dealers
+ Rebrand/re-badge Pontiac G8 as Chevrolet Impala but manufacture here in US, not OZ
- Cadillac (Full-line Lux Cars, CUVs and SUVs)
+ Add true 3-series competitor ($30,000 MSRP)
+ Add true 7-series STS/DTS replacement ($50-70,000 MSRP)
+ Rebrand Sky/Soltace and take it slightly upmarket as a Cadillac

Cadillac should be repositioned as "The Standard of the World. Again."

Totally eliminate GMC, Buick and Pontiac. Sell SAAB. Sell or eliminate Saturn--there is no use for this brand anymore since all product except Astra and Vue are rebadges.


Ford Motor Company

- Ford (Volume Toyota Competitor)
- Lincoln (Luxury)
- Volvo (Keep Brand and Invest)

Chrysler LLC

- Chrysler (Full-line Premium Cars and CUVs only)
- Jeep (3-4 highly focused, authentic Jeep product)
- Dodge (Trucks and SUVs only + hi-performance cars)


My plan isn't that radical. From what I understand, these plans are already being considered at Ford and Chrysler. The biggest change would be GM.

The big problem is that traditional Detroit 3 customers are brand loyal. Where would they go? They are less likely, at this point to go to Honda, Toyota or Nissan since they haven't already. Would a Mercury customer shift to another FoMoCo product? Could you get the traditional Buick customer to buy an Impala or Cadillac. This of course, is the big problem, since the Detroit 3 can ill-afford to lose any more market share.

— Maverick2020 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/5/2008 10:33:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Ford:
-Ax the entire Mercury line.
-improve the Lincoln image and quality as a luxury brand. Add a coupe into the lineup.
-Keep mazda as is.
-bring back the R series Volvo's

GM
-Ax the trailblazer and all of its siblings.
-Keep the crossovers
-Ax the HHR, entire Pontiac line.

Chrysler
-Replace the pacifica with something similar in quality with more power.
-Ax the aspen,crossfire
-restyle the sebring
-new pt cruiser
-new 300C

Jeep
-Ax commander, compass
-Ax the designers
-restyle grand cherokee, patriot

— charlik05 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 1:54:38 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Lincoln should aim for Rear drive and small diesels. This is what people want in a flagship luxury sedan, not a V6 Front drive turbo. That is powertrain is better suited to an econbox Ford.
The Lincoln MKt concept looks interesting. Ford should give it the new 4.4L Diesel. Ford plans to go mainstream with this small Diesel. Get used to seeing them in the next F150 and small trucks. At least Ford is Pioneering the return of the Diesel so that it can be mass-produced for the masses, and not just a powerplant for the rich. (Audi A8 Diesel, Mercedes Diesel Sedans)

The rear-wheel drive Fords have always been a sturdy vehicle of decent quality. I drove an Aerostar for 10 years, 250,000 miles, the vehicle just wouldn’t die, and only did routine maintenance. The complaints about Fords are usually the cheap front wheel drive models, which are of low quality and should be avoided.

GM’s ongoing success is of course Cadillac. Especially the Seville STS. Everyone loves that Northstar engine, and the car is very roomy. You have to step up to Audi or BMW to get a motor that is better than a Northstar. I sat in Acura RL at the car show, and it simply didn’t have the roominess or luxury level of any of even the entry-level Cadillacs, and the RL is Acrua’s Flagship, what gives?

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 1:57:20 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Hummer was a decent vehicle when LTV/ Grumman built them. They had a sensible Diesel engine and were built to last over a decade of hard abuse.
Then GM bought the company, and turned a good idea into a Gas-Guzzling, Status Symbol nightmare.
Thanks GM, you did the same thing to Rudolf Diesel’s masterpiece engine. Took a gasoline engine block, turned it into a throw-away Diesel in the 80s, forcing the mass-public to repower their cars back to conventional gas engines. What a waste of money.
When GM wants to be good, they are really good, when they’re bad, they are really bad.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 2:08:17 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Maybe Lincoln/Volvo dealerships.
Replace Merc with Volvo.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 2:12:57 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I agree with some of the comments, but not all.

With respect to Ford, definitely kill Mercury. All it does is drain Ford of cash for minimal sales increases; it's just not worth it. I'd definitely hang on to Mazda and Volvo, as they really need them for their engineering expertise.

For GM, dump Hummer and GMC for sure. I also think they really need to work on redefining their brands. Why would they continue the Impala when the Malibu is about the same size and a car Americans actually want? I think they need to focus Saturn as budget Euro brand, something to compete with VW. They have done a pretty good job with Cadillac so far. They also need to dump some of their SUV's and trucks. Focus on creating cars that people want! Also, invest some damn money in Saab! There really is potential there!

Chrysler is a big mess. They really need to just work on their products. Try to move Chrysler upmarket a bit. Right now, they've only done it with a few cars. That's not going to work when you still sell those god awful PT Cruisers. With Jeep, the need to scrap the entire lineup, minus the Wrangler. They're all inefficient, ugly piles of junk. Dodge needs an identity. Grabbing life by the horns just isn't cutting it.

Just my thoughts.

— GinsterCQ (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 9:47:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Here's what I think should be done.

GM
- Chevrolet (Toyota competitor) I like where they are going recently
- GMC, Keep the denali line-up only, get rid of the rest as they are rebadges chevys.
- Hummer, make it a limited edition product, to be sold with GMCs.
- SAAB, I dont see a point of this brand, just axe it.
- Buick, keep it but only sell it in asia where it has a market.
- Cadillac, keep it, improve quality, make it a true luxury contender, no more rebadging SAABs and SUVs.

FoMoCo
- Ford, improve quality and make it a true Toyota competitor.
- Mercury, just get rid of it, pointless.
- Lincolin, improve quality, get rid of the 80+ image.
- Mazda, keep it as it is. Stylish, Sporty, Cheap.
- Volvo, market it properly, make it innovative, lower prices.

Chrysler
- Chrysler, make it true luxury value.
- Dodge, sporty image, and make it cheap.
- Jeep, more focused SUVs, hire new designers.

— M53R (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 2:08:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Ford leads the way on Electronic Instrumentation. Look at the new Microsoft Synch on Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Ford is Pioneering the GPS Nav, hands-Free cellular and connectivity with the combined solution approach. The homelink built into the overhead console contains garage door opener and buttons to turn your house lights on.
I don’t see anything as good Synch on any of the imports. My boss drives a high-end Acura. His front seat looks like someone dumped spaghetti. All kinds of wires running everywhere, even tangled around the shift knob, and suction cups stuck to the widows holding GPS and other gadgets that fall when you hit bumps. What kind of innovation is that?
So I don’t see huge advantage on electronics on the imports. I see cleaner ideas on the domestics where everything is built in. Ford has always offered a full gauge package as standard equipment. Ford includes an Oil Pressure Gauge, Voltmeter, Water Temperature, Tachometer and Digital Compass. Ford no longer offers the more costly Ammeter. Ford was among the few companies that even thought to offered one. I also see numerous 15 amp 12 Volt powerpoint outlets on the domestics.
The imports tend to use the cheaper idiot lights as opposed to the more costly gauges. By the time the light comes on, it is too late. Gauges are better and provide continuous feedback. I’ve noticed Chrysler has been cheapening their dashboards by phasing-out gauges in favor of the cheaper lights.
Perhaps someone can give some better insight on this.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 11:42:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I see VW will be re- badgeing the Chrysler Mininvan as opposed to building their own. I really liked the previous generation VW minivan.
Chrysler needs to reengineer the Chrysler 300. It just isn’t a true Luxury sedan, and not worthy of flagship status.

I liked Chrysler products better when they made the Cordoba, Labaron and New Yorker.

Their 318cid motor was very sturdy and performed well. Chrysler started building junk on their front-wheel drive platforms starting with the K-Car.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/6/2008 11:57:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

How about a Cadallac/SAAB showroom?

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/7/2008 12:00:26 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

GM: Kill Pontiac or dual it with Cadillac (Performance Brands) Dual Buick with Chevrolet w/Buick doing the large to mid-size..Chevy, mid-size to small. With gas prices the way they are going to be for now on...make Hummer a "Sub-Set" of Pontiac/GMC (bet you didn't know that GMC doesn't have design dept. it's now done in Pontiac's design studio)Saab and Saturn are both re-badged Opels..So let Opel/Holden/Saturn be one division (kill Vauxhual Replace with Chevrolet Name...already happening)Sell off Saab.

Chrysler: Needs desperatly to sell in North America the lineup of diesel powered cars that they sell in the rest of the world (Sebring w/ VW diesel is sold in Europe and GETS 47+ MPG!)

Ford: Like Chrysler, needs to sell in North America,what it sells in Europe and forget about the high end of the market(What's the point of Mercury anymore?) Ford needs to "Get back to Basics"

— TheDepressingTruth (View Profile)

Posted on 5/8/2008 8:22:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

UAW and American Axle workers are on strike yet again. Many GM plants are now idle.

“The last one left at GM, Please Turn the Lights out.”

We can the electricity we save, elsewhere.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 5/8/2008 11:38:27 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I honestly don't see a reason for GM to dump any of its brands except Hummer and Saturn. Sure, there are a minority of urban assult vehicle lovers, but GM would win far more goodwill from average vehicle buyers just by making this little guesture ... and then it can pitch GMC as being bigger and tougher, recapturing the Hummer lovers.

Saturn is being pitched as the Opel of the USA, with "Euro feel", and that's great. But put a bowtie on it , GM. Saturn and Chevy cannibalize each other's sales. Polish up Chevy's image with some German designs and higher material quality, and lose the extra planet that no one asked for...

Buick = value, not performance. All the people who say that Toyota and Lexus are the pentultimate in reliability obviously haven't driven a Buick. That's what many people -- not just old people -- want. What Buick does need is a bit more expressive styling. The Riviera concept is hot, and a new Reatta wouldn't be too bad either.

Pontiac is just now returning to its budget performance roots. Can't axe the division now that it is finally waking from its slumber. The G8 promises to the Pontiac that people have been waiting for these last 25 years.


As for Ford, it should axe Mercury AND Lincoln. Buy a larger stake in Mazda and let them develop all entry-level cars, sold under the Mazda name only. Make Ford the truck brand and specialty vehicles (Bring over a Focus RS once in a while, introduce a GT40, whatever). Volvo should be the luxury brand, taking over the tiny slivers of the market lost by Mercury and Lincoln.

Chrysler is dead, they've a takeover target for Chery or Tata. Piss some holy water on the grave and let's move on.

— moto (View Profile)

Posted on 5/9/2008 9:52:28 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Oh, about Saab: it's no secret that GM does a shitty job marketing them in North America. They aren't as bold and brash as the Cadillacs, but the present exchange rate often makes them more expensive.

... but don't forget, they are very profitable and desirable cars in Europe, and GM has done well to keep Saab's design and manufacturing expertise. We should hope the exchange rate swings back to parity so that Saab pricing can be more realistic. Then, priced just below the Cadillac, GM can offer highly refined, luxury 4-season vehicles. Leave RWD to Cadillac and let Saab be the FWD/AWD luxury marque for GM. (Some BMW owners hate this, but it is true that not all luxury car buyers prize balance and handling as the primary buying requirement).

— moto (View Profile)

Posted on 5/9/2008 10:00:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1