GM may axe Saab, Saturn, Pontiac

[the Teuton]

GM has no traction in Europe.  Saab seems to be it for them.

[Raza]

Just FYI. Volvo is not profitable for Ford either. The Volvo division has not been profitable for several years now. They are not really an asset that Ford needs, but they are closer to one than Saab is of GM. Ford, like it or not, has no real luxury brand, but Volvo is the closest. Lincoln still is pretty much a joke. Saab isn't something GM needs right now either. It does give them a brand for the entry premium market that seems to be gaining traction, but they could put Caddy there too, even though they don't want to.

Are you going to change your name to WhiteBMW?

[USA_Idol]

Why not put Cadillac at the top, Chevrolet at the bottom and Buick smack in the middle?  Does GM really need anymore than that?   

[FordSVT]

GMCs are typically a little higher end than the equivalent Chevy.  Additionally, GM's heavier duty trucks/vans are exclusively sold under the GMC brand.

In other words, it's basically the truck version of Mercury. That's not a very persuasive argument.

Axe it. No reason why those GMC truck sales can't be retained through Chevrolet. Or are GMC buyers that stupid/brand loyal that it would make a difference, everything else being equal?

[2o6]

GM has no traction in Europe.  Saab seems to be it for them.

Opel and Vauxhall are wholely owned by GM. The New Insignia was named Car of the Year........

[Vinsanity]

I worked up a plan once that would have GM keeping all its current brands and surviving, but it was slim.  Really slim. 

I had to think for a while about it, but I almost accomplished the same thing:

Chevy: mainstream brand to compete with Ford, Toyota
Cruze, Malibu, Camaro, Corvette, etc.

Saturn: entry-level trendy "hipster" brand akin to Scion
Astra (competitively priced this time, with the sedan and folding hardtop in place of the hatches), and some lil box car built on the Astra platform

Pontiac: sporty Mazda/Subaru type brand
G8, Solstice (although I do prefer the looks of the Sky), sport-tuned Insignia (next G6?), 2-door Pontiac-exclusive version of the Cruze (along with SS equivalent)

Buick: "Lexus on a budget" type brand
spruced up Commodore/G8, Holden Caprice (Electra?) in place of current sedans, maybe a luxo-Camaro-based halo car with a folding hardtop (Riviera?)

Cadillac: keep current lineup as M-B, Lexus fighter
(although I really REALLY want to see a CTS convertible)

GMC: trucks and SUVs

Saab: tricky. They should be a sportier pseudo-lux premium brand like Acura. Let them develop their own cars instead of using GM platforms, or else just spin them off independently.

no more than two SUV's on each of the Theta/Lambda platforms, probably to Chevy and GMC

Hummer: sorry, can't help with that one.

[2o6]

I had to think for a while about it, but I almost accomplished the same thing:

Chevy: mainstream brand to compete with Ford, Toyota
Cruze, Malibu, Camaro, Corvette, etc.

Saturn: entry-level trendy "hipster" brand akin to Scion
Astra (competitively priced this time, with the sedan and folding hardtop in place of the hatches), and some lil box car built on the Astra platform

Pontiac: sporty Mazda/Subaru type brand
G8, Solstice (although I do prefer the looks of the Sky), sport-tuned Insignia (next G6?), 2-door Pontiac-exclusive version of the Cruze (along with SS equivalent)

Buick: "Lexus on a budget" type brand
spruced up Commodore/G8, Holden Caprice (Electra?) in place of current sedans, maybe a luxo-Camaro-based halo car with a folding hardtop (Riviera?)

Cadillac: keep current lineup as M-B, Lexus fighter
(although I really REALLY want to see a CTS convertible)

GMC: trucks and SUVs

Saab: tricky. They should be a sportier pseudo-lux premium brand like Acura. Let them develop their own cars instead of using GM platforms, or else just spin them off independently.

no more than two SUV's on each of the Theta/Lambda platforms, probably to Chevy and GMC

Hummer: sorry, can't help with that one.

The Astra sedan looks too much like a Cobalt.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The Astra sedan looks too much like a Cobalt.

The Cobalt sedan looks too much like an Astra.

[2o6]

The Cobalt sedan looks too much like an Astra.

Other way around, the Cobalt came first.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Other way around, the Cobalt came first.

Other way around, the Astra concept came first.

[2o6]

Other way around, the Astra concept came first.

No, the Cobalt sedan came first. The Astra sedan wasn't created until last year.

[Eye of the Tiger]

No, the Cobalt sedan came first. The Astra sedan wasn't created until last year.

[2o6]

Talking about the CURRENT astra

[Eye of the Tiger]

Talking about the CURRENT astra

YOU CAN'T JUST CHANGE THE RULES LIKE THAT

[Soup DeVille]

In regards to Pontiac:

I owned a Grand Am several years ago. Apparently, this got me onto the lifelong mailing list for Pontiac propaganda. Usually, every six moths or so, I get a flashy little brochure touting their latest models and how great they are.

The last one was titled "3 over 30," and focussed completely on fuel efficiency. No mention of power, performance, or handling anywhere. This is supposed to be the performance division, isn't it?

If not even GM knows what to do with Pontiac, axe it while true performance machines like the GTO and Firebird are still in recent memory.

[Raza]

In regards to Pontiac:

I owned a Grand Am several years ago. Apparently, this got me onto the lifelong mailing list for Pontiac propaganda. Usually, every six moths or so, I get a flashy little brochure touting their latest models and how great they are.

The last one was titled "3 over 30," and focussed completely on fuel efficiency. No mention of power, performance, or handling anywhere. This is supposed to be the performance division, isn't it?

If not even GM knows what to do with Pontiac, axe it while true performance machines like the GTO and Firebird are still in recent memory.

I inquired about the GTO in 2004 (and 2005), and that got me on the lifelong mailing list as well.

[Laconian]

Mazda keeps sending me shit but at least I got a nice MX5 poster out of it.

[USA_Idol]

In regards to Pontiac:

I owned a Grand Am several years ago. Apparently, this got me onto the lifelong mailing list for Pontiac propaganda. Usually, every six moths or so, I get a flashy little brochure touting their latest models and how great they are.

The last one was titled "3 over 30," and focussed completely on fuel efficiency. No mention of power, performance, or handling anywhere. This is supposed to be the performance division, isn't it?

If not even GM knows what to do with Pontiac, axe it while true performance machines like the GTO and Firebird are still in recent memory.

I got that same flyer.  And I don't even remember the last time I requested any Pontiac information.  Apparently, they keep your info FOREVER.