Knight Rider

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/25/news...ce=yahoo_quote

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The news that Toyota has finally passed General Motors in global sales is about as surprising as John McCain finally announcing he's running for president. But now that it is officially Number Two, it is time for GM to perform some long-overdue surgery on its brand portfolio. Age has taken its toll, and GM is overdue for a face lift.
In some ways, GM (Charts, Fortune 500) is still built for the size it was 50 years ago. In the United States, GM's market share is half of what it used to be but it sells seven brands - two more than in its heyday. Toyota (Charts), by contrast, gets by with only three brands: Toyota, Lexus and Scion.


I just thought this was interesting

Zastava_101

I read somewhere that GM sells less Buicks now than they they used to sell Oldsmobiles when it was canceled.

Knight

people actually buy buicks?

Zastava_101

I wouldn't mind owning Lucerne or new Enclave.

codeman94

yep...too many people are getting payed to run too many brands... it should be Chevy, Pontiac, Saturn, Caddillac

sell saab,Hummer... stop making GMC, Buick,

jsaylor

I would boldly suggest that Saturn, in it's current incarnation, is the most pointless of GM's brand structure. IMHO a nice reorganization could be accomplished through the following

Saturn: Youth brand/ultra inexpensive cars to compete with Scion and the likes of Renault's Logan.

Chevy: Mainstream brand that encompasses a bit of everything, much as it does now. Far better executed of course.

Pontiac: RWD across the board. A lower cost BMW alternative if without as sweeping a lineup as the German brand, so it can fit comfortably alongside and just above Chevy of course.

GMC: Primarily real, truck based suvs (Chevy should get the soft roaders) A sort of American Land Rover.

Buick: This is a keeper too, Buick needs to be a mid level luxury brand, a softer counterpart to Pontiac. In that instance Chrysler's 300 makes for a good size, content, price template since it arguably slots between what Caddy should be doing and where Chevy should be.

Cadillac: I still don't think Caddy has it right. A far more stylish and faster take on the Lexus LS series cars would be a more appropriate template for a sound Caddy brand than the CTS is IMO. The new CTS appears to be changing that, but even so the upcoming, larger SCT represents the bottom end of the ideal Caddy spectrum IMO.

97svtgoin05gt

I agree with this setup.

future9er24

I like most of what you have there, but I think it might be better to drop GMC as a whole, and have all trucks be Chevys, soft and off roaders alike. Same sort of bit with the luxury brands, drop Buick entirely and keep the Cadillacs where they are (I actually am rather fond of the newer ones)

Other than those two discrepancies, I think your plan is perfect

bob

In China they do, GM is the #1 Brand IIRC.

jsaylor

Wow, thanks.

As for GMC, I have waffled a bit in the past myself on this issue. In the end I decided that the brand is useful for two reasons.

First, it allows GM to divide 'soft roader' suv's, which are primarily car based and which offer little in the way of real off road ability, and truck based suv's, which typically offer superior towing capacity along with the potential for genuine off-road abilties, into two neat camps. The question here would primarily be who gets the crossovers and who gets the real suv's.

The other benefit IMO is the continuation of a GMC branded truck. I can see two potential scenarios here. First, while I am typically not a fan of blatant rebadging there does exist an argument for the notion that GMC customers might not simply move over to Chevy were GMC to be dropped as many expect. I don't think the exodus here would be as damaging as it would have been in years past, but GM would likely lose something which creates a scenario when, combined wth the ability this brand gives GM to simplify individual brand lineups, does provide a basis for an argument to keep the brand around.

The other scenario, where GMC might prove useful as a badge for pickups, and the one which I think makes the most sense, is as an outlet for a true, mid-size pickup in the event GMC stop offering a simple rebadge of Chevy offerings. There seems to be a fear among Ford and GM that a well executed mid-size offering, particularly one which offers a V8, would serve to cannibilize sales of their full size trucks. And while this argument has definate merit, the problem is that both want mid-size offerings since the same would almost certainly serve top offset the recent losses in full size pickup sales volumes.

However, if a mid-size pickup were badged as a GMC in lieu of a full-size pickup offering through that brand this might help to solve both issues, keeping the Chevy lineup simple and distinct with compact and full-size offerings exclusively while still providing mid-size customers an option through GMC. GM full-size loyalists currently in GMC's but not so particular they wouldn't move to a sister brand can simply switch to Chevy while those who would prefer a mid-size wether for improved fuel economy or improved handling dynamics would have an outlet through GMC.

No doubt some customers would still be lost, but this provides the maximum amount of offering to keep people in GM trucks. And given the most likely reasons why people would want to move from a full size to a mid-size in the first place (fuel economy and improved handling/more car like behaviour) the image GMC has garnered of late seems more appropriate to a mid size were one to be offered anyway.

Of course GM could simply offer a mid-size pickup as Chevy, badge every suv crossover or not as a Chevy, and simply kill the GMC brand. But in the end I think they would be missing an opportunity to simplify each brand while increasing the amount of overall offerings to the market by doing so. Unfortunately, my bet is that GM is unlikely to kill the GMC brand or so neatly divide it's lineup from that of Chevy with the General most likely simply continuing the current theme of mass scale rebadging with everybody getting a version of everything.

neil07gt

I don't remember who originally said it...

If you bought a Saturn, it meant you either don't like cars or you don't like to drive.

Buick is to GM what Mercury is to Ford.

true?

97svtgoin05gt

Naaa...there are several Mercs I'd drive. There are NO Buicks I would drive.

codeman94

IMHO....GMC is a complete waste of time, money, talent, and people. There is no point in haveing basically identical trucks and SUVS taged by two different brands. Whats the point of haveing both chevy trucks, and GMC trucks to compete with one another.

GMC: "I'm the Best"
Chevy: "no, I'm the Best"

GM...Stop confusing people and and only sell one brand of truck.