If your the CEO of GMC whic car models do you keep?

#1
W

WA_Vol

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#1
I know most Americans aren't fans of most of GMC's cars but I do think they have a few winners that could be profitable . Which car models would you keep?

I think I'd keep:

Sports Car
Chevy Corvette/Saturn Sky

Midsize Car
Chevy Malibu

Sedan
Chevy Impala

SUV
Cadillac Escalade

Truck
GMC Canyon

Now if they could just dump the union and control their healthcare costs (benefits)

We might have a profitable American Car company
 
#3
#3
oklavol said:
I know most Americans aren't fans of most of GMC's cars but I do think they have a few winners that could be profitable . Which car models would you keep?

I think I'd keep:

Sports Car
Chevy Corvette/Saturn Sky

Midsize Car
Chevy Malibu

Sedan
Chevy Impala

SUV
Cadillac Escalade

Truck
GMC Canyon

Now if they could just dump the union and control their healthcare costs (benefits)

We might have a profitable American Car company
Click to expand...


SUV the yukon would be better since more people wld buy that instead of the Escalade.

Truck you have to be kidding me w/ the Canyon. The majority of people would rather have a full size vehicle. I can't fit in a small truck. They keep the Sierra
 
#4
#4
"Longest lasting, most dependable truck on the road,..... Chevy.....like a rock."
 
#7
#7
Keep:

Camaro, Corvette, Impala, and market the full size trucks/SUV's under the GMC nameplate

market the Buick Lucerne as a Chevy

keep the Cobalt as the economy car, but continue to offer the Cobalt SS, perhaps add a ragtop to replace the Pontiac G6.

Cadillac CTS (and the -V), CTX

drop:
Traverse and other "crossovers", those horrifically ugly minivans, 5 cylinder Canyon and Colorado, Aveo, Cadillac XLR, Escalade, the Buick nameplate
 
#9
#9
Chevrolet should get rid of it's truck line all together and GM should just keep GMC as their truck division. They are all the same trucks, essentially, just different badges.

Buick should keep the Lucerne and Enclave and replace the LeCrosse with a newly updated Buick Grand National coupe or Riviere coupe.

Chevy should keep the Corvette, Camaro, Impala or Malibu (get rid of one) and one low end car like the Aveo.

Cadillac should keep the Escalade, CTS and come out with a new coupe/convertable.
 
#10
#10
MG1968 said:
Keep:

Camaro, Corvette, Impala, and market the full size trucks/SUV's under the GMC nameplate

market the Buick Lucerne as a Chevy

keep the Cobalt as the economy car, but continue to offer the Cobalt SS, perhaps add a ragtop to replace the Pontiac G6.

Cadillac CTS (and the -V), CTX

drop:
Traverse and other "crossovers", those horrifically ugly minivans, 5 cylinder Canyon and Colorado, Aveo, Cadillac XLR, Escalade, the Buick nameplate
Click to expand...


I agree with this. Although I like the crossover as a style...not GM, but others. I think Mazda and Nissan make some slick looking models.
 
#11
#11
one other thing, GM should drop the Volt if it can't be sold at a price competitive to the Prius/Insight, both of which are under 25K.

no one in their right mind is going to spend 40K + on a domestic hybrid car.
 
#12
#12
MG1968 said:
one other thing, GM should drop the Volt if it can't be sold at a price competitive to the Prius/Insight, both of which are under 25K.

no one in their right mind is going to spend 40K + on a domestic hybrid car.
Click to expand...

The Volt is a plug-in though, which makes it different than the prius/insight. I think it is around 40 miles/charge. Depending on your commute to work, you may never have to buy gas. I would think it would be marketed different than the prius/insight.
 
#13
#13
I would look at Ford and match them on every car they make with a Chevy model. I would match the Mustang with the Camaro, the Tahoe with Expedition and so on.

I would match the Lincoln with Cadillac models and the Mercury with Buick models and then drop the rest.

On top of matching Ford Motor Company car for car I would also keep the Corvette.


I see no reason to keep a GMC truck simply because it has different emblems and a grill. I know some of the packages are different but they can put the best they have to offer into the Chevy truck.


I would also drop this Volt nonsense and concentrate on a good gas mileage car comparable to a Civic or Corolla but read Down N Dirty's thread about the Aveo and maybe they're not capable of making such a car.
 
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#14
#14
doesn't matter whether it's a plug in type hybrid or solar powered, 40K is too much.

It's only difference is that it can be plugged in at night, it wouldn't take Honda or Toyota very long to adapt a similar system and they wouldn't charge a 20 thousand dollar premium.

regarding the Aveo, it is not a GM car, it is made by Daewoo of Korea and is rebadged as a Chevy. The aborted Pontiac G3 was essentially the same thing.

because of the UAW, GM is incapable of producing it's own small, fuel efficient car. Honestly, Ford and Chrysler have the same problem.
 
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#15
#15
The Aveo must be a major p.o.s. after reading Down N Dirty's thread. I feel for that guy going through all that.
 
#19
#19
MG1968 said:
doesn't matter whether it's a plug in type hybrid or solar powered, 40K is too much.

It's only difference is that it can be plugged in at night, it wouldn't take Honda or Toyota very long to adapt a similar system and they wouldn't charge a 20 thousand dollar premium.

regarding the Aveo, it is not a GM car, it is made by Daewoo of Korea and is rebadged as a Chevy. The aborted Pontiac G3 was essentially the same thing.

because of the UAW, GM is incapable of producing it's own small, fuel efficient car. Honestly, Ford and Chrysler have the same problem.
Click to expand...

I would say that is a big enough difference to where it is a market niche and the prius/insight would be indirect competitors. Most of the price of the Volt is the suped up battery it takes, of which, the prius and insight would have to incorporate if they want similar performance. Everything else is a surprisingly simple design (no transmission, etc..)

Regardless, depending on what gas prices do in the future, only having to put gas in your car every couple of months would accelerate the payback cost of that $15-20K and may even end up being cheaper in the long run than either the prius or the insight.
 
#20
#20
given how pathetic 1st year GM designs have proven in the past, anybody who pays 40 grand just to say they own a Volt is asking for nothing but trouble.

the volt still has a gasoline engine, just like the Prius and Insight, all three designs use regenerative braking. I don't think there's enough "special" about the volt to justify the premium price.

besides, to any "carbon conscious" buyer, the Volt's big disadvantage is that it requires attachment to the grid

edit: another item for early adopters to consider is this:

http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/1018197_next-generation-chevy-volt-msrp-targeted-at-20000

why pay 40 grand to have it first, when you can wait and have it for 20?
 
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#21
#21
rjd970 said:
I would say that is a big enough difference to where it is a market niche and the prius/insight would be indirect competitors. Most of the price of the Volt is the suped up battery it takes, of which, the prius and insight would have to incorporate if they want similar performance. Everything else is a surprisingly simple design (no transmission, etc..)

Regardless, depending on what gas prices do in the future, only having to put gas in your car every couple of months would accelerate the payback cost of that $15-20K and may even end up being cheaper in the long run than either the prius or the insight.
Click to expand...

I would really be interested to see you breakdown how gasoline savings could make up a $15-20K gap. I would really, really be interested to see you break that down for me.
 
#22
#22
Personally, if I were GM I would have actually filed bankruptcy and kept the government and their goons completely out of it. I would have canned the unions, and either told Michigan what reality is and accept it or I'm moving south. I then would have only kept Chevy and Cadillac and moved stuff around to be in just those two brands:

Chevy:

Full sized truck
Full sized SUV (Suburban/Tahoe)
Small Truck like the S-10 or the Colorado
Corvette
Camaro
Small Crossover like the vue's design
Mini Van (whatever GM's are called)
Malibu
Cobalt

Cadillac:

Escalade
The Buick Crossover - Traverse?
The CTS line and a varient


It think that puts them more in line with the Companies that are doing well, and start researching into alternate technologies that work. However, none of this would actually work if they still have to pay crazy wages to the people bolting the above list together.
 
#23
#23
MG1968 said:
given how pathetic 1st year GM designs have proven in the past, anybody who pays 40 grand just to say they own a Volt is asking for nothing but trouble.

the volt still has a gasoline engine, just like the Prius and Insight, all three designs use regenerative braking. I don't think there's enough "special" about the volt to justify the premium price.

besides, to any "carbon conscious" buyer, the Volt's big disadvantage is that it requires attachment to the grid

edit: another item for early adopters to consider is this:

Next Generation Chevy Volt MSRP Targeted at $20,000 - AllCarsElectric.com

why pay 40 grand to have it first, when you can wait and have it for 20?
Click to expand...


I may be wrong, but I don't think the volt has an internal combustion engine. I believe it has a gasoline generator that charges the battery to run the electric motor once the charge wears out. Completely different than a traditional hybrid system.
 
#24
#24
Rasputin_Vol said:
I would really be interested to see you breakdown how gasoline savings could make up a $15-20K gap. I would really, really be interested to see you break that down for me.
Click to expand...

Let's use rough numbers since everybody's circumstances are different:

Say it costs $30 per week to fill the car over the lifetime of the payback (at $2.50/gallon, that is what it costs me). That is $120/month...$1440 per year. If you only need to use gas with the volt once every couple of months on average, assuming you only use it to go to the store, work, etc, that is only 6 fill-ups a year, or $180. If you are not using any gas, the price is ovbiously $0.

$1440-$180 = $1260/year savings

$15K/$1260 = 11.9 Years
$20K/$1260 = 15.8 Years

I understand this doesn't assume you already drive a hybrid, but even at half the cost per year you would experience with a hybrid, the Volt is still at least competitive, especially if you are never buying gas. Also, this does not factor in the cost associated with charging the battery out of an outlet of your home. However, it also doesn't factor in things you won't need to do with an electric engine that you would with a traditional or hybrid engine system...oil changes, transmission repair/replace, etc. Furhtermore, this doesn't take into account volatile oil prices...which would greatly accelerate the payback if/when oil prices rise. If all your assumptions against and all assumptions for equal out, you are still looking at roughly a 10 year buy back.

Is it a good car for the guy that commutes an hour everyday for work? No. Is it good for the guy that commutes 10 minutes to work everyday and would only need a partial charge every night? Maybe, depending on all the factors associated.

Nevertheless, if Honda or Toyota can create a plug-in hybrid that doesn't use gas to power a drivetrain, and can come up with some exotic battery technology that would reduce the price premium for a plug-in battery system, then of course the Volt is more expensive. What the Volt really offers here is increased efficiency by using gas to charge a battery, as opposed to driving a drivetrain.

Personally, I say both the hybrids and plug-in models are not worth the price. If you are getting 40 mpg with a traditional Honda Civic for ~$15K, that is about the best there is in an economic sense.
 
#25
#25
your eloquent defense of the Volt is noteworthy. However, since it hasn't reached the retail level, your praise could be misplaced.

and, taking 15 years to make up for the price premium of a first year Volt over a Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, or other fuel efficient traditional car like the Fit should give anybody a good reason to look elsewhere.
 
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