how could they sell hummer for less than its worth when its worth nothing right now? theres no know-how in that brand, theres no selling potential worth mentioning, and there zero to none brand value, given the fact that a good 99% of even the americans think hummers are a waste of money, fuel and what-not…

anyway, how about GM self-axing? what selling potential is in ANY of their core brands? the best brands they got at the moment are their formerly unloved overseas brands, namely opel, holden and, to a lesser extent, vauxhall…

but im sure bob the putz will drown them as soon as no one is looking…

* even of americans – the very same people who outrighteously LOVED hummers not even a year ago…

It’d be stupid to axe Saturn right now. I’m pretty sure they’re still a non-union automaker (as they’ve always been). GM would be smart to follow their lead, but then, GM’s not exactly smart these days, so……

rds130, i think you are right on this one. Saturn is the last one they should consider selling. get rid of Buick! who’s still buying Buick’s besides those that are a heart beat away from being 6 feet under??? let them buy Cadillacs and axe Buick. Buick doesn’t have any good cars to carryover. they can sell hummer and carry over one of their models as a Chevy. gmc is is selling less vehicles than chevy so they should be sold. saab being sold is a no brainer! sell pontiac but keep the g6 and g8 and make them into a chevy. i just have to say one thing. just because you can’t afford gas for a hummer doesn’t mean you are right by saying that 99% of americans dont like them and what-not.sure it wastes gas, its HUGE! and what large suv doesn’t? actual driving is not that much worse than the escalade, people sure love that!

Yes to Saab and Hummer, no to Saturn and Pontiac. Especially Saturn, with their almost entirely Opel lineup. Pontiac just has too much brand equity to lose. Oldsmobile was always a lost brand. Really, it had no idea what its purpose was. Somewhere between Pontiac and Buick? Was there ever a segment there? Hold on to Pontiac, it will be worth something again if they continue to make it an affordable performance brand and rekindle the RWD/AWD only plan.

One of the fastest growing car markets, with the highest population, wants Buicks more than any other car. Talk about a stupid plan, killing that gold mine off.

GM wants Buick because it has the best union workers, the highest ratings, and is HUGE in China, and they want to keep credit for that. It just has no real value here in the States.

Pontiac actually has some original products that are somehwat interesting (Solstice/Sky, G8) that even I’d be interested in! It’s supposed to be the performance division. I would keep it

GMC should be axed because it doesn’t do anything Chevy isn’t already doing.
I think the problem withg dropping them is some Silverado buyers won’t buy a Chevy, but will buy a Sierra, probabaly only because of the service at the dealer is less hectic at a smaller GMC lot.

The perfect GM umpbrella would be Chevy (main brand), Pontiac (budget performance), Saturn (foreign car intenders/styling), Cadillac (Luxury). Saturn and Pontiac share dealerships.

I don’t know if GM has a subsidiary in China/Russia they can use for Buick, while still owning the brand.
DRFill

Getting rid of Saturn would not be a good move. Everyone is saying how much better the Opel/Vauxhall offerings are compared to the rest of GM, so why get rid of the marque that imports them and basically sticks a new badge on them?

I agree with DrFill, lose GMC. It has no unique products that can’t be directly replaced with Chevys.

Knowing GM, though, they’ll probably just axe Pontiac and Saturn and bring back Asuna and Geo to replace them.

Yes! Finally somebody says it!

Why the hell do they not cancel GMC? It’s so overly redundant it’s ridiculous. It’s SUV’s are supposed to slot between Chevrolet and Caddy, but then why’s Buick there? Traditional SUV’s are gonna be less of a viable market, although a large one, in the coming years. Chevrolets got the Silverado, GMC Sierra only moves about as many as Tundra per year.

The ONLY reason to keep GMC around would be the Denali XT (remember, that pretty neat GMC concept that was possibly slated for production?). But with the Toyota A-Bat and Honda Ridgeline, as well as more traditional four door SUV-based pickups such as the Chevrolet Avalanche, AND a shrinking truck market, there isn’t much incentive to produce it. Actually, I’d rather see it badged as a replacement for the Avalanche than yet another model.

GMC needs to go. Saab and Hummer need to be sold off. Saab may be an interesting proposition, as they have products in the pipeline as well as room for more. The only thing Hummer really has anymore is the H3, the H2 has been allowed to slide and is becoming outdated. I could see Saturn being sold off the an enviromentalist group, such as that solar company that was inquiring about Opel a while ago, since Saturn WAS well known for enviromentally friendly, user friendly vehicles.

With all those gone… GM could keep Pontiac, as long as they differenciate them from Buick. Cadillac could move further upmarket, to give the two of them space. We all know what Chevrolet does best.

The one thing we can expect GM to do, is to not exercise good judgement.

GET RID OF BUICK! It is obsolete, and will further become obsolete as the younger generation gets older. People my age in the 27-35 bracket don’t even think of looking at a Buick, it isn’t even on the radar. They need to look at how the upcoming generation is going to buy as that is who will continue to buy for the next 40 yrs or so. So Buick needs to be set out to pasture. I think Saab should be sold, to someone that could actually revive it as a brand. They have gone downhill ever since GM owned them. Saturn is a toss up, while they have a few interesting cars, seems as if the general public does not care. Pontiac??? I would think GM would make a huge mistake closing them up. So much potential for the brand yet they drop the ball each time. Finally they seem to get going right (G8) and now want to maybe pull the plug. GET RID OF BUICK!!!

All of you guys asking what the point of GMC is seem to be missing one very important point. There are no dealerships that sell both Chevrolets and GMCs. The point of GMC is to put a truck and full size SUV on the lot of a Pontiac/Buick dealership. I don’t know why they need another division for it, though. Next to a Tahoe, the Yukon is completely pointless, aside from leather and design, and I think you can get leather in a Tahoe as well.

If anything, a GMC badged, (kind of like a Corvette doesn’t wear the bowtie), truck that sits under the Chevrolet umbrella, but sold at P/B dealerships, would cut a lot of costs and deliver the same product. They could really do the same thing for the Yukon, just as an upscale ‘option’, not model, for a Tahoe buyer. That way they keep the undeniably better looks of the Sierra/Yukon without having to support an entirely separate division. Budget truck buyers would still have the Silverado there for them, and P/B still gets a truck to sell.

saturn is not an automaker; thus they need no union… theyre merely a remarketer… (come on, slapping a different badge on the grille is NOT considered MAKING a car…)
still, saturn is propably GMs ONLY us-branch that has a slight hope for survival

that is, if it survives the current round of axing

Does anyone even read these comments before leaving their own?

@fan:
What on earth makes you think Hummer is worth nothing/has no selling potential/has no brand value. Are you new to this automotive business thing??? The only reason there is a SINGLE Hummer on the road is because of the brand value and selling potential they have. They aren’t much (if any) more capable off road than a suburban with a lift kit, but because they say Hummer on them and look like big macho trucks (to some, not myself) they sell like crazy, many of them to fools who drive them to work and back, just like any other SUV. Granted they have bad mileage, and are arguably the least practical vehicle out there, they are definitely worth something, because despite gas prices, there are still a lot on the road. Not to mention gas prices are way down now, so people can afford to drive these suckers again.

And why doesn’t LLN hire an editor? I have yet to read an article without some stupid grammar mistake.
“…Saturn and Pontiac are more likely be shuttered”
Wow.

Oh, and fan, my Saturn was MADE in Tennessee.

Get rid of : GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Saab, Hummer.

Keep: Chevy, Saturn, Cadillac.

Saturn would be a good logical step between the two, and also able to pull-off the european imports like the Insignia, Astra, etc that would be different than Chevy’s.

Buick and Cadillac serve the same buyers, basically
Pontiac would have been good if they kept it RWD
Saab just is Saab.
GMC are just Chevy trucks with different trim
Hummers can be sold as Chevy’s . A “Chevy Hummer” might have a different meaning in a few years!!

Cutting costs with rebadged vehicles isn’t what the North American customers want! I thought this was generally acknowledged….

I’ve always had the feeling that GMC is worth heaps to GM. It never gets discussed when people talk about the axe, so it HAS to be worth something to them.

It’d be interesting if GMC and Buick got together under the same roof. Buick does the lux cars, GMC does the lux trucks. GMC still gets their “contractor-grade” sales, and Buick gets no negative perception for larger vehicles.

While the idea of Pontiac is not useless, the brand as it is today is. Kill it. It’s a shame to se Saturn go, but GM can just badge its Opel vehicles as Chevys. Isn’t the Malibu pretty similar to the Aura anyways? And Saab isn’t worth the effort either. If they continue to bring Cadillac up to specs, brand perception will eventually change in Europe.

And how exactly would this help? They are still left with pieces of **** called Cadillac, Chevrolet, Holden, and GMC. Not exactly the most successful brands on Earth… Get rid of the UAW instead – that’s the main problem.

Saab certainly has some value – probably more than when GM bought 100 percent of the brand in 2000 or 2001. Even though the brand’s resale values have tanked, there’s strong brand recognition – and it’s a premium Euro brand that competes in a lucrative piece of the market.

What has GM done with pricing for 2009? I was on Saab’s website this morning… the 9-3 starts at $31,000 and the 9-5 starts at $41,000!! I know the euro/dollar is a mess for GM, but those prices are $4,000 more than they were last year – with virtually no worthwhile changes! Yikes! The 9-5 was $32,000 when it came out in 1998 as a ‘99, you’d think the tooling would have paid for itself and it would be a cash cow by now…

Pontiac and GMC are the ones I’d shelve. Pontiac isn’t sporty – the G8 could have been a Chevrolet or a Saturn. Other than rental fleets, nobody buys Pontiacs anymore. GMC is too redundant of Chevrolet.

Hummer could have some value… especially if gas prices remain cheap (I understand they probably won’t).

Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and Saturn would be a good GM. Four brands are plenty. Sell Saab to Fiat, Hummer to the Chinese, maybe Pontiac and GMC to the Chinese if they’re worth enough.

GMC, Pontiac, SAAB, HUMMER, and UAW need to go!!!!

Saturn has been an abject failure since the day it was launched. Other than taking up space on the dealer’s lot I can’t even remember the last time I saw an Aura or an Astra on the road. Their idiotic pricing policy alone keeps most people away. Who the hell doesn’t want to dicker on the sticker? Half the fun of buying a car is being able to brag to your buddies about how you brought the dealer to its knees. They were better off years ago making their miniature plastic Oldsmobiles and holding their Tupperware parties in the middle of nowhere where at least briefly they were out of sight for the rest of us. The only thing a Saturn was ever good for was target practice before a winter road hockey game because on the cold days you could fit a puck between the gaps in the body panels.

Here’s the biggest question, if the management knew that these brands were not working, why would they pump billions into them? Saturn has one of the newest lineups in the industry, Pontiac has 2 new cars with 3rd one coming out.

This is the money that could have gone to improvement of Chevy.

I said this before and i’ll say it again, Wagoner is the biggest moron to run a Fortune 500 company.

It’s too easy ,even for a cheap shot, to say, “Just kill those divisions”. But in my own opinion I’m not too sure GM wouldn’t and won’t knock off at least a few of these divisions. The Execs have shown themselves too short-sighted and just stupid to do much else.

For a couple of decades now, GM has been heavily, even unfairly, favoring CHEVROLET, CADILLAC, and BUICK at the expense of the other divisions, despite their making better and more interesting product. This is why the CORVETTE is still a CHEVY instead of it’s own division, Why PONTIAC never, the Performance division, never got worthwhile performance cars after the FIERO and FIREBIRD were canned. Why, while GMC makes the better trucks for work and sport, CHEVY trucks get all the ad money and the more interesting product. The DENALI XT concept, which looked totally ready for market was canned.. which would have been unlikely if it were going to be a CHEVY. The list of individual products is long and extends for decades. GM, like much as DETROIT, has never taken small cars seriously, hence why SATURN is even being brought up in this. Why the Cobalt is a roundly derided as a lump of scrap, except perhaps the Cobalt SS.

GM has never really behaved like a large automaker, or even a collection of small automakers, which would have served GM better over time. This is also why, more and more, GM is falling back on that bane of the 1980s, the “cookie cutter” model of automobile development, after spending (what?) five years trying to diversify their divisions into very well defined missions. Of course that worked out great.

GM has not been listening to their customers and giving them what they really want or making themselves really better than the competition as if TOYOTA and HONDA do NOT exist.

In the end, GM’s problems are really of its own making. Wagoner needs to be replaced or made to be accountable and made to suffer in some way for letting things get or continue to be this bad.

I wouldn’t argue selling Saab and Hummer (if they can get anything for it). But Saturn and Pontiac they should hold on to.

Saab and Hummer aren’t losses. I’d hate to see Saturn’s products go away, but not the brand itself. GM has put a lot of effort into upping Saturn’s line-up (why??). I would love to see Saturn’s line-up rebranding into Pontiacs. A lot of them could transfer over.

New line of thought…

If nothing else, I would recommend that GM NOT kill off anymore divisions but actually sell them or put them on hiatus until, at which time, these divisions can reactivated with clean slates and far less baggage and fewer needless considerations to deal with.

GMC should end up making Commercial trucks only. The tightened market and lower demand means that GM needs to cut their truck production hugely and just leave the consumer truck market to CHEVROLET. This will easily allow GM to save face and money at the same time.

HUMMER should be shut down though GM will continue to build HUMVEEs for the military.

SAAB is generally fine but needs to be allowed to function as a separate company under GMs banner much like AUDI and PORSCHE do under VW.

The same should be done with PONTIAC. Let the Performance division do what it needs to do to earn that name and don’t stand in the way just to make the CORVETTE and CAMARO look good. Either that or sell the IPs and/or division to someone looking to make the division work.

If Oldsmobile’s IPs are available sell those as well to make some money.

Put SATURN back in the inside independent column and push them to develop small cars the kick @$$ and are more than just basic transport.

Any or all of these can be accomplished by a temporary shut down and restart, or just selling the properties.

@ oldraven
“One of the fastest growing car markets, with the highest population, wants Buicks more than any other car. Talk about a stupid plan, killing that gold mine off.”———————Dude you need to stop saying things like that. GM is losing money in China, not as much as in USA but it is losing money. Yeah Buick is more popular in China than here, but that does not mean that it is a super popular car that is worth so much. When you say thing like that people start assuming that GM is losing money in NA but is making billions in Asia, which is not the case AT ALL.

GM only needs two US divisions:

Upscale/Performance – Cadillac moving towards higher performance vehicles including SUVs and cross overs as well as sedans and coupes.
Everything else – Chevrolet, with a sub-brand offering rebadged Opels aimed at younger buyers operating from the same dealership.

Stop selling Pontiac, Saab, GMC, Saturn, Buick (US). Everyone needs to get past their emotions about these brands that really are all the same cars with minor differences. Anything more than two is too much.

Internationally:
Merge Holden into Opel. Keep Buick as a Chinese brand but don’t offer Buick products in the US. Position Saab as a high end equivalent of Cadillac for Europe or sell it if someone will buy it.

Now the real problem that I haven’t seen mentioned yet. GM needs to eliminate 1/3 to 1/2 of their US dealerships. Won’t happen.

I never said they were making a killing with them. The market is ‘growing’. That’s the point I was making. The US market, on the other hand, is shrinking. It’s only a matter of time before the growth in China has built a very strong auto market there, where GM’s Buick will have a very strong foothold. One of the reasons GM is hurting so bad is its reactionary practices, in stead of thinking two steps ahead of the industry.

Is there where I apply to run GM? Did I get in the right line?

Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer could probably all close down and GM would be fine. Saturn and Hummer first. Give the Astra, Sky, and Vue to Buick, and can the Aura and Outlook due to their numerous platform mates. Saab should be sold off since it still has plenty of brand equity. Enthusiasts would scream, but Pontiac could go just as well. Give the G8 and Vibe to Buick, the Solstice to Chevrolet, and be done with the rest.

Merging Holden and Opel? Um, that’s basically what we’ve got now. They’re part of the same company and market identical products. What more could there be to merge? The only difference is geography. Just like with Vauxhall.

Anyway, keeping Buick is probably an emotional decision for GM, as it was the cornerstone of the merger that formed GM in 1908 in the first place. But there are probably more concrete reasons, too. Buick is actually improving (drastically) it average buyer age. And since they’re so popular in China, and the Enclave is such a smash hit and new spiritual core to the lineup (Pontiac has no such vehicle), it makes sense for Chevrolet to be GM’s volume brand, Buick and GMC to be GM’s middle, and Cadillac to be their upscale brand.

Four divisions selling the following cars:

Chevy: Aveo, Cobalt/Cruze, Volt, HHR, Solstice, Equinox, Colorado, Malibu, Impala, Corvette, Traverse, Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado, Express

Buick: Corsa, Astra, Vibe, Sky, Zafira, Flextreme, Vue, Invicta, Lucerne, Riviera, Enclave

GMC: Caballero, Terrain, Canyon, Acadia, Yukon, Sierra, Savana

Cadillac: Alpha, SRX, Volt/Flextreme, CTS, Zeta, Escalade, XLR

GM needs to get rid of some of this excess weight, and if it means dropping those brands, then so be it. It makes sense, they have so much fluff in the company, for example, the Saab 9-7x, that is wasting space, time, and money.

I would like to make clear that the G6 and Sky are not popular vehicles…G6’s sell because they are heavily discounted & are pushed on fleets (they are ****TTT cars), and the Sky doesn’t sell that well, I rarely see them.

fan is an idiot… which one has potential? umm yeah chevrolet is especially crap. i mean they sell infinite amount of silverados, they have the malibu, the new camaro, the corvette, the very respectable and well-selling impala… thats more models “with potential” than you can mention for toyota, all with more style none the less.
Fine drop saab, DROP BUICK, drop GMC, theyre just rebadged chevy’s at this point – they can simply restructure like ford has with the F150 and the lincoln Mark LT – make a ‘denali’ type model for the GMT’s and lay gmc to rest. I guess it rounds out the dealer network nicely but you could easily find a new setup. Hummer/Pontiac dealerships – Give hummer one legitimate light and heavy duty truck line priced where the GMC’s were and call it a day. Maybe you could wrap saturn into that dealer network as well, but clear out GMC and Buick from pontiac’s way and you can move hummer and saturn right in and eliminate all their excess baggage.

Saturn is Exhibit 67 of something GM did that actually was working that they let erode into garbage due to laziness and mismanagement

Saturn should be the place where you get exciting new designs and original marketing. Spin-offs of Opel. It should be out of this world, like it’s name!

GM definitely needs more than Caddy and Chevy. There are 1000’s of GMC/Pontiac/Buick dealers that need product. Chevy has more than enough dealers.

I’m sure Hyundai would like to buy some of the lots.

More opportunities and more places NOT to sell cars

Fixing GM is like trying to use a cigarette after you’ve smoked it to the filter!
DrFill

Average age at Buick is now 55. Honda is 51. MB is 64. How things can change fast with the right models. Honda will probably cross over with Buick in 5 years.

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/01/down-economy-mo.html

Saturn has the same union line workers as all the other GM models.

@cjblair — What don’t you understand about that line? Saturn and Pontiac are far more likely to be closed rather than sold to another automaker.

All you morons that think that selling Saab is a good idea… How would it help? The market value of Saab accounts for about 1 month of GM losses! Oh yeah, that will solve everything! Saab account for about 2% of GMs workforce, and they are NOT part the overpaid lazy morons of the UAW. Furthermore, Saab HQ in Sweden has the last couple of years became a global GM center in R&D for many important future technologies like DCT gearboxes, hybrids, vehicle telemetry, safety, turbocharging, production technologies, etc… Stuff that the US operations obviously had no clue about, hence the current GM situation. So yeah, good luck in keeping just the North American part of GM. It would be dead within years.

I must admit to a certain gratification at seeing GM hoisted on its own brand marketing petard.

Fixing GM is going to take more than just shutting down divisions. In this case, their problems have more to do with the attitude they have taken for far too long towards there properties. GM has opted repeatedly to not let each division stand on it’s own and function as if it really was it’s own company. This would have allowed each division to adapt on its own to market pressures and produce product more in line with what will make the division money rather than a handful of disconnected execs who probably don’t even drive GMs making decisions for divisions heading and looking a very different directions. I mean, seriously Seven divisions and one “brain”?

OLDSMOBILE was moving in that direction with some of the best engines GM ever made other of the CORVETTE Development Team. They had the overall best looking cars and most dependable GMs with barely a miss ever. They cancels on two nameplates in my lifetime that I am aware of, the TORONADO (becoming the Trofeo -stupid name) and the ALEVA (replaced by ALERO)

Killing OLDSMOBILE was the dumbest move GM has yet made. It tops killing of the G, B, and F bodies by miles. GM could have killed BUICK and PONTIAC and move OLDS into a position that ACURA and (now) LINCOLN occupy with room to add IINFINTI to their list of targets.

At least, SAAB managed to wring some originality out of their line. Thank goodness those SUVs did not stick.

PONTIAC got some interesting cars, but GM just opted to stop that ball from rolling much further. IF PONTIAC can get along with just three of four cars then let them. I would kill the G5 instantly myself. Have them work on Turbo 4 and 6 power for F/econ’s sake and accelerate an Alpha based Replacement for the G6

SATURN needs to be less like CHEVROLET and just focus on smaller cars and SUVs. The VUE was about as big as a SATURN should ever get frankly.

However, at this point I would not be too shocked at more Divisions being killed off, as stupid a move for customer confidence that would be. I would be more inclined toward brand Hiatus or selling the properties off rather than just killing them off. Seems a horrid waste when GM could make some money on such deals, or keep open, for themselves, avenues, when times are better, to restart those divisions with far better product that best fits that mission goal.

Some have said keeping Buick was an emotional decision. I do not doubt that. It is more like CHEVY and CADDY are the emotional decisions that drive GM now-a-days. Hence getting all the “headliner” products as of late. BUICK is just doing well in China and that is why that division is not on the chopping block. Otherwise, GM would be better served to just let BUICK go east and stay there. If BUICK is losing money for GM it is because the division has too much drag on it in the USA.

Someone stating earlier that Pontiac had equity and Oldsmobile was a lost brand….

Pontiac is nothing but shared platforms of Chevy, as Olds was too, which had equity as well. No one needs copies of the same thing no more than twice.

Pontiac, Buick, Saturn, GMC all need to be cancelled.

Saab should go back to be owned by the Swedish.

I was the one who said that, and I also said they needed to get rid of their redundant Chevy’s (rekindle the RWD/AWD only plan). Thanks for reading the whole comment, though. And GM themselves admitted they never knew how to market Oldsmobile, or clearly define its segment.

Killing Saturn is most definitely a loss. In my opinion.
They seem to be getting off to a great start the last few years. It’s not a bad brand.

Pontiac would be sad. But expected. (they should keep it, if they have some sense)

Hummer. Likely to be sold. Maybe not.
Same for Saab. Doesn’t seem Saab would be so easily killed. Then we can have some quality Saab again!

Just let Buick run in China. I actually like Chinese Buicks.
Kill Buick USA. Those Enclaves make me want to buy a gun.

Keep Cadillac. Either way, they should keep either Buick or Cadillac.

And, GMC? At least do something to it. If not, please axe it already. Talk about prolonged suffering.

Oh. Another thing to be axed? Lutz. That would be welcome news. Literal or figuratively. Literal would be funnier.

-eat your cereal

If they wanted to get serious about this they could just market Cadillacs and Chevrolets. Otherwise all I see them doing rebranding the way they rebrand.

Someone said to axe Holden…not really necessary. Holden is pretty close to Vauxhall.

GMC seems totally irrelevant to me. They don’t produce a single thing that couldn’t be simply rebadged as another brand’s model. Killing Pontiac is a bad idea, too much brand history and recognition. Way too many diehard musclecar fans too
Here’s the plan”
Buick–china only
Saab, GMC and Saturn–get the axe with Lutz

use pontiac for opel/vauxhall (astra, G8, aura, sky) cars make em sporty, RWD or whatever and dump saturn. there.

sell buick, saab

hummer? dont know sell, chop whatever but it gotta go

Yes Saab. Yes Saturn. But it would be Stupid to axe Pontiac…….. I believe it’ s their #2 selling brand……. and when they axed Olds, Olds customers didn’t flock to Buick/Chevy/Saab, they went to other automakers!

ack

I meant Saturn……..

anyway Saturn is a by-product of GM of the 80s that needs to be finally laid to rest.

Give BUICK the Astra. They need a small car and it’s a perfect fit…….. “Opel by Buick” has a nice ring to it…………

Toyota sells three brands through 1,500 dealers. GM sells eight brands through 6,000+ dealers. We can play brandmaster all we want here on the Rotisserie Fantasy GM Mgmt League, but at the end of the day they got to lose half those dealers.

They can knock Pontiac down to a one-nameplate (G8) brand and sell them through Chevy dealers, they can make Saturn’s sole mission to remarket Opels and move them into Buick shops (hey, Buick-Opel, what a concept), but the real issue here is not brands and nameplates but an incredibly costly, flabby distribution system. At least 3,000 dealers must die.

It’s about time, I’ve said it all along, you don’t need that many car division. General Motors should only have two division. Chevrolet to compete with Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota. Cadillac to compete with other luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura. For the other brands this is what they should do:

Buick should be exclusively be built and sold in China. The Chinese likes Buick for what they stood for luxury back in the 50’s and 60’s

Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer should join Oldsmobile in the extinction list.

GMC should be incorporated with Chevrolet.

GM should sell Opel and put Saab back in Europe where it belongs.

By doing this, GM should put more emphasis on better materials to put in their cars. Especially, the interiors, some of the GM interiors looks dated and belong in the 70’s or 80’s one great example is the Corvette’s interior.

Price the cars to compete with Hyundai & Kia and undercut the Japanese carmakers price wise.

Offer the 10 years/100,000 miles warranty

Design the cars to look better than most of the Japanese cars. Honda has the ugliest cars or trucks sold in our country period.

I always have a saying, “The looks is what got me, but the quality is what keep me” If GM adhere to this philosophy they will be fine.

But most of all, the sign of the times, clearly shows that you have to do more than just compete. You have to put your competition out of business.

TomF, you hit the nail on the head….with a sledgehammer.

What were they thinking, making all these dealerships? Waste of money and resources……like, seriously.

Saturn is the logical brand to cut. Only 400 dealers and Opel is moving upscale and Saturn can’t even sell the current rebadged Opels.
Buickwill become home to Opels-
Opel Astra=Buick Skylark
Opel Insiginia=Buick Regal
Opel GT?Saturn Sky=Buick Bengal or Velite

I think the Corsa should become the Chevy Metro and kill off the Aveo.
The Pontiac G8 can become either the Chevy Impala or Caprice
The Pontiac G8ST can become the Chevy El Camino
The Pontiac Solstice can become the Chevy Nomad or just kill off

For those wondering why GMC has customers, I’d NEVER buy a Silverado over a Sierra. Silverados are so ugly it’s not funny. When it comes to trucks, I’d always consider GMC first. If GM does cut GMC then they had better change the styling of the Silverado quickly.
Killing off GMC is as much an emotional thing to GM as Buick is. GMC was the very first company to produce trucks in the US. Founded in 1902 by Max and Morris Grabowsky, they beat even Henry who founded Ford in 1903. It will be a sad day if GMC and Pontiac have to die. My two favorite brands.

ok im sorry steve333 but wtf?
solstice into chevy nomad? you do realize that the nomad was a station wagon, correct?

nor would i buy an opel with a buick badge on it. however i would buy one with a saturn badge.

See this is what I was talking about
There are a LOT of people out there who see the a Sierra and Silverado as different trucks
I know the rest of us see Heckle and Jeckyl
GM will lose sales.
I guess the essence of the GM truck isn’t all that appealing.
Pretty fickle customer base
I doubt the import buyer is that way.
They maybe more lenient
DrFill

@LLN Staff:

You really need to take a third look then. I understand what the line means, but ITS MISSING THE WORD “TO”. Right now it reads: “…more likely be shuttered” and it obviously should read: “…more likely TO be shuttered.”

Unless I’m horribly wrong, and there’s some type of new english language conventions that I’m not aware of that involve leaving out words…

Keep Pontiac… ditch GMC. Everything GMC sells is rebadged chevrolet.

it’s easy to guess the age of posters on this site who want to axe Buick and Saab. Anybody in that range of buyers with nostalgia and money (35-45) will recall what the Saab brand meant to them back then. They were fun affordable efficient cars that stood out from the manstream. As the automotive workd contuniues to homoginize, there are those of us who wish for a car like waht the Saab used to be.

As for Buick, the Enclave is selling like hotcakes to families who want some style but not the bling associations that come with an Escalade. Once they clean up the Lacrosse and the Lucernce (happening soon), there will be even more converts.

We don’t expect those weaned on Civic Si’s and WRX’s to understand, but there is a place for Buick and Saab.

Maybe they need to drop all the brand names used in the US and start over with two new ones (while still honoring warranty/service on the legacy brands).

Cadillac – pimps, dealers, retired union workers with good pensions, Mary Kay saleswomen
Buick – old people
Pontiac – the guys who drove GTOs and Trans Ams in their 20s are now in the buick to dead age groups
Chevrolet – cheap beater rental cars that reek of tobacco mixed with air freshener
Saturn – women who can’t afford a Volvo or Toyota
Hummer – gluttony

I’m just sayin ……..

I agree with stan1’s comments. You’re pretty much on target with those.

I don’t think anyone would care if GM sells off saab since it’s not american. Getting rid of saturn is not a big deal. They need to get rid of Buick too.

Pontiac is kind of a tossup, on one hand, for years chevy and pontiac have mirrored the same framework of a subset of cars: there was almost no need to have both a trans am and camaro. Pontiac is known for their brute muscle cars, which is a dying breed anyway. Sure we have the G8 now but there’s nothing in the pontiac line that would really appeal to the old timers who loved the trans am. As stan1 said, most of these older guys are buying Buicks now anyway.

On the other hand, the G8 and G6 especially are some really nice cars, pontiac has been putting out some pretty quality stuff lately. Nothing wrong with a Chevy G8 though.

I also surprised about Saturn brand as well , I think Saturn better chance to survive as I see more ads with Saturn than Buick. They should just merge the two company. In fact, merge GMC into Saturn as well, Most manufactures has a car and truck line. Do this would allow they to save on advising cost. (Think of Toyota, Honda, Nissan) they don’t have separate brands for their trucks division.

The whole idea of multiple brand names was to have targeted specific market. They can still do this which “Package” that appeal to those market in the Main brand “Saturn” (ie bigger wheels, sport suspension etc…)

If only there listen ore read our posts on that stupid board of directors, GM would be outperforming Toyota!

Thanks all; this is getting to be… oh well:-) Hey, I think Mr Softie should come out with a GM version? Better yet an Industry version.>>>www.microsoft.com/games/pc/zootycoon.aspx<<>>www.cartype.com/pages/3377/gm_october_2008_sales.<<<

DB9

^ Addendum. Buick has no brand equity left in NA only china. The long running joke (25+yrs) upon leaving a bar quickly was to have a Buuuuick:-) Pontiac only has two cars worth a… well its been said to… I just bought a new G8 most people haven’t heard of it think it’s a Bmer when they see it. I also have a new VW CC everyone seems to know about this car?/! Must be the large badges front an rear, oh well. I already posted my version of the zoo earlier in the week,. One more time for posterity:-)))

THE NEW GM:-)

(1) New Saturn & GMC franchise:

SATURN: Aura (Opel Insignia – new Epsilon II platform), Astra (Opel Astra – new Delta II platform), Sky (currently rwd Kappa platform switched to the new rwd Alpha platform), Vue (new Theta platform), Outlook (Lambda platform), New RWD model (Zeta platform or new Sigma II platform).

GMC: Acadia (Lambda platform), New mid/small SUV(new Theta platform), GMT355 (Canyon) reengineered, GMT360 (Envoy) cancelled, GMT900 platform – full-size trucks and SUVs

(2) New Chevrolet & Cadillac franchise:

CADILLAC: New ATS (former european fwd BLS (new rwd Alpha platform)), CTS (Sigma II platform), STS & DTS replaced by one car on the Zeta or stretched Sigma II platform, XLR (second Y-platform), SRX (new Theta premium platform), Escalade (new Lambda premium platform).

CHEVROLET: Traverse (Lambda platform), Equinox (new Theta platform), GMT360 (Trailblazer) cancelled, GMT355 (Colorado) reengineered, GMT900 platform – full-size trucks and SUVs, HHR (new Delta II platform), Cruze (new Delta II platform), Malibu (new Epsilon II platform), new RWD Impala (Zeta platform), new El Camino (Zeta platform), Camaro (Zeta paltform), Corvette (second Y-platform), Volt (new Delta II/E-flex platform), Aveo (currently Kalos platform (T250) switched to new Gamma II global subcompact platform).

All With the latest High Feature power trains.

Bill Mitchell, Harley Earl, Zora Arkus-Duntov and Larry Shinoda would be proud

Why Choose Saturn; its sales are lower than Pontiac? True, but their sales to dealership ratio exceeds that of Pontiac or Buick plus their demographics are better. Bonneville, Park Avenue, Gran Prix etc., are names of derision for most people under 50. Do you think this maybe the reason they were discarded?/! GM let the brands wither on the vine.

DB9

OK….axing a brand that HAS BEEN outselling the rest of them? How much sense does that make? SATURN was doing just fine on their own from 1990-2004…we have always been a part of GM the bigwigs just wanted it to be HUSH HUSH until 2004. So why would you cut off a lifeline like Saturn?
Now…if the idiots at GM would quit making soo many cars that share soo many platforms and then distinguish between each division now that would make sense.
EXAMPLE:
These cars share ALL the same platforms:
SATURN Outlook
GMC Acadia
Buick Enclave
& now oh here’s the genius part Chevrolet Traverse SAME FRIGGIN VEHICLE.
2007 North American Car of the Year Midsize class SATURN AURA
2008 North American Car of the Year Midsize class Chevy MALIBU SAME FRIGGIN VEHICLE

SATURN SKY (our’s looks better)
PONTIAC SOLSTICE… SAME FRIGGIN VEHICLE.>>>>seeing a pattern yet?

Answer me this why is GM forcing us to compete with ourselves?
Oh but thats ok…we’ll just sell the brand (SATURN) that’s making the rest of us look bad….
brilliant GM absolutely brilliant.

Oh & in case you are wondering I do drive a Saturn & am a senior sales consultant for a local dealer….I have been “saturnized” it is a product I DO believe in I just wish GM would realize the potential behind the brand.
Questions…? Email me “peteofsaturn@yahoo.com”

RESPONSE TO steve333

Steve…

The reason the Saturn ASTRA is not doing that well is due to lack of advertising by GM.
It is by far the WORST launch of a new vehicle ever since the L300 identity crisis.
THE ASTRA is a great small car & GM used it as a replacement for the great SATURN ION. The problem….when they got rid of the ION they never said (VIA ADVERTISING) what the ION was replacing. Most of my ASTRA sales have been because of service customers not knowing what the car replaced. Once customers drive it they see it blows away the competition.
Tell me whtat other car on the market (base) has the following features …
SATURN ASTRA XE:
tilt & telescoping steering wheel
4-wheel ABS
6 Airbags (dual stage, side & head curtain)
Rain sensing windshield wipers
Daytime & Automatic Headlamps
Driver Information Center with : AVG MPG, INSTANT MPG, STOPWATCH, TIME, date, & outside temperature
ONSTAR w/ built in phone (through VERIZON)
Must I go on?
Now the claim I received for why GM does not advertise is budget….BULL! So much much money is put into other GM vehicles….not enough into SATURN.

Forgive me if many have said this before – there are a lot of comments here… I like Saturn. But their pricing policy is ridiculous. I was looking at an Outlook, very nice. But across the street was the Acadia. I was able to get several thousand off of that in no time. Why would I choose the Outlook over the Acadia?? Then I considered the Saturn Sky – really nice vehicle. But is it worth thousands more than a Solstice? Haggling on the Solstice will get you thousands under a Sky.

What is the point of this? If you want to pay full price for something, I am sure any dealer of any brand will be happy to accomodate you. If Saturn wants to fix their prices, then they better have UNIQUE products, otherwise they will always lose on price versus the rebadged Pontiac/GMCs.

I say keep Saturn, remove fixed pricing.

For Saturn – I think the Astra is the only unique vehicle? The Aura shares the mechanicals of the Malibu, no? The Astra is nice, but costs more than comparable vehicles in that segment.

I have noticed that there are a lot less Saturns on the lot lately, due to Employee Pricing I assume. The only way to get a reasonable deal. Seems to prove that they have good cars people want, just not at the right price.

2 Dealer Networks: Affordable and Premium/Luxury.

CHEVROLET/PONTIAC: Affordable Dealer Network.
CHEVROLET: Affordable Volume Division.
* Volt: FWD compact electric/hybrid 5-door (E-flex).
* Aveo: FWD subcompact sedan (SWB Gamma).
* Cruze: FWD compact sedan (SWB Delta).
* Malibu: FWD midsize sedan (LWB Epsilon).
* Orlando: FWD compact MPV (LWB Delta).
* Groove: FWD/AWD subcompact crossover (LWB Gamma).
* Captiva: FWD/AWD compact crossover (SWB Theta).
* Equinox: FWD/AWD midsize crossover (LWB Theta).
* Traverse: FWD/AWD large crossover (Lambda).
* Silverado: RWD/AWD fullsize truck.
* Suburban: RWD/AWD fullsize SUV.
PONTIAC: RWD Affordable Peformance Sub-brand.
* LeMans: RWD compact 5-door sedan/3-door coupe (SWB Alpha).
* Grand Prix: RWD midsize sedan/coupe (LWB Alpha).
* Bonneville: RWD large sedan (Sigma-Zeta).
* Corvette: RWD flagship 2-seat sports coupe (Y-body).

SATURN/BUICK/GMC/CADILLAC: Premium/Luxury Dealer Network.
SATURN: Entry Premium Sub-brand.
* Mantra: FWD compact electric/hybrid 5-door (E-flex).
* Corsa: FWD subcompact 3-door/5-door (SWB Gamma).
* Astra: FWD compact 3-door/5-door (SWB Delta).
* Meriva: FWD subcompact MPV (LWB Gamma).
* Zafira: FWD compact MPV (LWB Delta).
BUICK: Premium Volume Division.
* Skylark: FWD/AWD compact sedan/wagon (SWB Delta; Rebadged Opel Astra sedan/wagon).
* Regal: FWD/AWD midsize 4-door coupe/wagon (SWB Epsilon; Rebadged Opel Insignia sedan/wagon).
* Invicta: FWD/AWD midsize sedan (LWB Epsilon; Rebadged upcoming Eps II based Chinese LaCrosse sedan).
* Rendezvous: FWD/AWD compact crossover (SWB Theta; Rebadged Opel Antara crossover).
* Centieme: FWD/AWD midsize crossover (LWB Theta).
* Enclave: FWD/AWD large crossover (Lambda).
GMC: Premium Truck/SUV Sub-brand.
* Sierra: RWD/AWD fullsize truck.
* Denali: RWD/AWD fullsize SUV.
CADILLAC: RWD Luxury Car Sub-brand.
* Calais: RWD/AWD compact sedan/wagon/coupe (SWB Alpha).
* Seville: RWD/AWD midsize sedan/wagon/coupe (LWB Alpha).
* Biarritz: RWD/AWD large sedan (Sigma-Zeta).
* Eldorado: RWD flagship 2-seat coupe (Y-body).

NOTES:
1) Hopefully, GM would be able to sell Saab and Hummer. This will be difficult due to the current global economy/credit crisis. Few (if any) companies will be willing or able to take on any brand expansion projects during unstable economic conditions. It would be a shame if Saab was simply discontinued; the brand has a lot of untapped potential.
2) Pontiac would be transformed into a RWD affordable performance sub-brand and merged with Chevrolet (which will focus on mainstream affordable volume products). The next gen Corvette will move to the Pontiac brand, but will retain its distinct division-less badging just like the current version. The LeMans, Grand Prix, and Bonneville can be sold under different brands in territories outside of the U.S. (such as Chevrolet in the Middle East, Holden in Australia, Daewoo in South Korea, etc.). The next gen Suburban will shrink to Tahoe-sized proportions, thus eliminating the Tahoe nameplate. The Bonneville will serve as the large flagship sedan for the network, thus eliminating the need for the Impala sedan.
3) Buick would become the volume player in the Premium/Luxury Dealer Network due to its established premium status (as opposed to Saturn’s humble beginnings as a quirky and cult-like affordable small vehicle brand), excellent performance in recent quality/reliability scores, and popularity in China. As the volume member in this network, Buick will offer premium sedans, wagons, and crossovers. Saturn will serve as a small vehicle entry premium sub-brand which will carry products that seem a little out of step with Buick’s image (hatchbacks and MPVs). The entry premium/volume premium Saturn/Buick relationship in the U.S. could be duplicated with Opel/Buick in China (since Buick seems to be more popular and has a much higher profile in China than Opel). Except for the Invicta, Centieme, and Enclave, all the rest of the products in the lineups for Saturn and Buick are rebadged Euro Opel products; this will save on ground up development costs for GMNA. The sedan version of the Regal will be marketed as a 4-door coupe while the Invicta will be marketed as a more conventional midsize sedan (much like the Passat sedan and Passat CC are marketed at Volkswagen). Buick will offer optional AWD to better rival Volvo, Audi, and Acura. GMC will be reduced to a premium truck/SUV sub-brand with products that are a little more differentiated from their Chevy counterparts than the current fullsize trucks/SUVs. With Buick pursuing the volume sales in the premium segment, Cadillac will be free to pursue tier-one luxury status and carry a portfolio consisting solely of best-in-class RWD luxury cars that rival BMW and Mercedes.
4) The arrangement above will allow GM to target most of the segments in the U.S. market without the endless parade of platform mates or rebadged clones. For example, there will only be 2 Lambda based crossovers (Traverse and Enclave) as opposed to the current 4 (Traverse, Outlook, Acadia, and Enclave). There will only be 2 LWB Epsilon sedans (Malibu and Invicta) as opposed to the current 3 (Malibu, G6, and Aura). Blatant rebadged clones like the Pontiac G3 and G5 will no longer be necessary. Chevrolet/Pontiac will target Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Mazda, Volkswagen, and Hyundai/Kia. Saturn/Buick/GMC will target Volvo, Lincoln, Acura, and Audi. Cadillac will target BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Lexus, and Infiniti.

GM is absolutely retarded…

Pontiac *absolutely* needs to go. I mean, the only car they have that no other lineup has that is of any potential worth is the G8. If GM were to do a bit of work to the front and rear fascias, they could integrate it into Chevrolet to replace the Impala (I know some will talk about the Impala’s successes but it’s due for a replacement relatively soon and the G8 just came out on a brand new platform, besides… the Malibu and Impala almost impede on each other and the Malibu is a far better car), and with the forthcoming 2 door ute coming… sell it as a new age El Camino. That said, with gas concerns being high on some people’s minds (even as gas prices have plummeted)… GM should’ve had Holden working on a hybrid version of this platform from the start. RWD is what people want, but that doesn’t mean that a RWD vehicle can’t have some added fuel efficiency via an option. I think some would even love a turbo V6 option on the G8-nee Impala if it were an option. This is precisely the type of thinking that hurt GM for almost 40 years… after all, they (along with the rest of the Big 3) weren’t prepared for the first oil crisis, and ever since that timeframe… they’ve been on a steady decline due to mismanagement, poor engineering (Vega, Pinto, etc.), poor quality, and badge engineering that has achieved nothing but put 4 crappy models on the same platform vs. 1-2 good ones.

With that out of the way… the Aura is better than the G6 by miles. The Sky is a more appealing design than the Solstice and there has *NEVER* been reason to sell both. The G5 is a waste of freakin’ time as all it is, is a badge-engineered Cobalt. The Grand Prix was outdated years ago. What else do they have? The Toyota-sourced Matrix-based Vibe? Refresh it and make it a Chevy or refresh it and make it a Saturn. Take your pick. The Torrent is absolute crap and is rumored to be going to GMC anyhow (why bother?), and Saturn’s Vue is already a superior vehicle and might be the best small SUV GM has. Pontiac is one of the few lineups to not get a Lambda so they don’t even have that to fall back on. Fact is, Pontiac has less going for it than Mercury does for Ford. KILL IT.

With Chevrolet poised to launch the Cruze soon and build it in Ohio, this would also be a great time for GM to be pushing development of the next generation Astra to use the same platform as the Cruze. When this happens, GM should begin manufacturing an American made Astra to help cut the costs of sale. The Astra = a great car but the pricing = ridiculous. For less than the costs of an Astra you could buy a Honda Civic EX with similar levels of power and economy. For the same price you could buy a sportier Civic Si or a Scion tC or a Mazda 3s, all of which are superior cars to the Astra in performance. I love the Astra, I would’ve cross-shopped it to my tC when I bought it, but without the sportier Euro models… it’s a rather lame duck experience for a premium tag. Building the Astra overseas and shipping it here makes it overpriced, and without the ability to be as agile or well performing as a Rabbit and offer some form of Astra Redline to combat the VW GTI and anything in the Astra’s competitive range with more than 135hp, the reality is… the Astra is a great car that’s being neutered because of a total lack of vision and creativity.

Which is why Rick Wagoner needs to be sent packing. Move Lutz up to the helm, and if he can’t turn the ship while at the top, by that time… Cerberus will come calling and Nardelli/Press can have their turn. According to Motor Trend, that is what Cerberus wanted to happen if they merged Chrysler with GM. Little wonder that the merger was called off… Wagoner doesn’t want to step down, he’s still not old enough to collect Medicare.

The plan should be:

Chevrolet: Aveo (the new redesign didn’t go far enough, the back end still looks largely the same, but it’s a viable cheap car… could still be a heck of a lot better [i.e. why not make a version of the Opel Corsa for the U.S.?)), Cruze (don't just sell us one model, GM should be creatively looking to offer more on this platform under Chevy... just like Honda and others have); Cobalt (maybe a 2 door Cruze so there's room for a new SS coupe), Malibu (best midsize car GM has), Impala (Rebadged G8), and El Camino. Then toss in the Camaro and Corvette on top of that and you have a pretty well rounded division. You could then take the Pontiac Vibe and do some styling tweaks and sell it either as a Chevrolet or a Saturn, take your pick. My guess is since Saturn has the Astra and the Vibe is still bigger than an Aveo but smaller than a Cruze, it makes a better fit at Chevrolet.

Chevy Trucks (or GMC, take your pick): The usual lineup, could move the El Camino here even if it's sort of a car/truck deal; also can move Chevy's crossover lineup here or split it all off and call them GMC's. If so, I'd still keep the G8T as a Chevrolet since the El Camino has some sort of cred.

Saturn: Basically, Saturn should stay the course and remain as a premium vehicle that slots between the Chevrolet and Cadillac lineups. The Astra should be redesigned/retooled to be built alongside the Cruze in Ohio, and maybe even alongside a new Cobalt (coupe version of Cruze). Basically, it should be the U.S. arms version of Opel/Vauxhall. It should also be given premium materials and be geared to sort of be a pseudo luxury/sport upgrade from a Chevy.

Buick: The only reason I'm half inclined to keep Buick around is because of China, but... in as far as what noteworthy product they have, you could just give the powertrain options of Buick's Lambda and tweak the exterior a hair to fit into Saturn's lineup, doing much the same with Buick's Lucerne as well. After all, you wouldn't want to make the Lucerne a RWD car on the Impala (nee-G8) platform because it could then compete with Cadillac. A sportier FWD car with some luxury akin to the Lucerne though would still have a different market than the predominantly RWD Cadillac. Otherwise... the other option is to design Buick's for the Chinese market, try to engineer them so they're capable of meeting crash standards for both countries (not sure if China even has crash standards... LoL), and manufacture the Chinese designs here. After all, the Buick designs showed in China are quite appealing and I think they would do well here.

Cadillac: Probably the strongest and most well executed lineup at GM. Saturn is a close second but due to some missteps on where to produce product and a failure to round out each model's line... gives Cadillac the definite edge. In comparison to Chevy which has a great Malibu but a bargain basement Cobalt (has had a better image than the Cavalier but the interior is still Fisher-Price plastic... not that the Malibu's is necessarily the pinnacle of material quality [few if any GM cars are], but it is one of the better designed GM interiors out there), there’s still the Impala (adequate, nothing stellar… decently built but it doesn’t really command the market by meeting or exceeding the competition, and it’s more bland this go round than the last model it replaced which wasn’t exactly a head-turner)

Buick needs to stay simply because of China, whether it continues to be sold in the America’s or not I can’t say but I do know/understand why GM does not need to part with Buick and that is because of it’s sales in China. In that vain, I might make Buick the “Asian” version of Saturn/Opel/Vauxhall and/or even some Holden models. I would even consider Asian manufacturing of the entire Buick lineup, build it to Chinese driving tastes (but U.S. crash and environmental standards, which if higher than China… would be another marketing option over there), and see if the whole shebang has a market here in the U.S. At least the R&D money put to use wouldn’t be squandered as even if it sells better in China than here, it would still be more cost-effective than designing for both.

In as far as GMC or Hummer… both have their certain images, GMC is perceived as more industrial than Chevrolet (even if that’s a total myth) and Hummer has it’s own unique styling/image that draws people in (to me, it has far more equity/potential than GMC). That said, if Cadillac is to keep building the Escalade… it could certainly take on the role of image-conscious truck builder and that could justify killing off Hummer, esp. since it’s all visual and no real hardcore image like a Jeep would have. This is one area where GM missed the mark as they could’ve built Hummer into a Jeep competitor vs. turning it into a sort of techno-farce urban industrial Land Rover without the cachet.

GMC… being gussied up Chevy models, should just go. If anything, what we’ve seen from Ford is clear… offer more options on the Silverado’s (Ford ranges from anywhere from a utilitarian pick-up to a full-out, dressed to the 9’s, luxo truck that could even rival the best Cadillac’s offer) and you can altogether do away with any necessary “image” from GMC. Otherwise, if you must have a unique truck brand/identity… kill off Chevrolet Trucks and just keep GMC (might be better, the Sierra IMHO is a bit less homely than the Silverado). There is no logical reason for both.

In as far as what to do with Hummer, Pontiac, and/or Saab… I would either spin them off as a separate company (i.e. create a holding company, call it American Motors Corp. ) with synergies back to the mother ship (i.e. share platforms and foot some R&D until they can get on their feet) and/or sell them and some factories to another automaker. Nissan/Renault has been looking for U.S. manufacturing, and I’m sure one or two of those companies could bolster their portfolio by buying up an essentially worthless company. If not them, perhaps a Chinese manufacture or an Indian manufacturer would like to get their hands on some U.S. nameplates. While Pontiac could be a beast of burden for GM, having a known nameplate for their entry into the U.S. market would be beneficial to an overseas company as they have less worries of facing the stigma of being a foreign make on foreign soil. Considering how many people are foolhardy enough to buy a German-owned or Canadian-owned Chrysler or an Asian-sourced Chevrolet, or a Mexican Ford… I don’t think it would be any more negative if you had an Indian or Chinese Pontiac by comparison. After all, it’s not what greedy executive gets the cash and bilks the American people out of even more money after mismanagement, it’s who puts the people to work. Either way, anyone buying into it would be keeping someone’s American dream alive. Even if the dream might be whoever it was that founded the company years ago.

“and see if the whole shebang has a market here in the U.S. At least the R&D money put to use wouldn’t be squandered as even if it sells better in China than here, it would still be more cost-effective than designing for both.”

And by designing for both I mean designing two separate lineups for both the U.S. and China. I mean if you’re going to be building cars for China anyhow, and if the Chinese tastes more closely resonate to the U.S.’s (and it appears they do based on their love affair with big American-style cars, esp. the old style large American cars… i.e. big Buicks), it could give GM an option. It also could be a source of income for GM by having a GM of China base that builds Chinese domestic product and plays as a good citizen over there. It could help raise the caliber of the Chinese competition whilst also putting many Chinese to work. That could help buoy losses in the U.S. by having an international presence and a greater viability to the worldwide economy (which GM is firmly entrenched in and setting up a significant shop in China as well).

There is nothing wrong with brands competing as long as both brands can be successful via differentiation. In that regard, GM has little to no differentiation amongst many of it’s existing brands. There is definitely more of a difference between Buick to Cadillac (despite their luxury lean… Cadillac is more of a world player in terms of luxury and performance whereas Buick is more of a near luxury offering… less sport, more sedate and tranquil) than Saturn to Pontiac where the bulk of the product is eerily similar and superior at the Saturn dealer, so Buick could have more potential if it had product.

The problem is… Buick only has “3″ models in the U.S. where it has far more in China (even if it’s sort of a Chinese Chevrolet in a sense that goes all the way up to a near-luxury style brand). Make Buick have it’s own R&D and base it’s product off of world platforms (what we’re moving to anyways) and it’s own styling arm, have it engineer it’s product for worldwide sale… and use domestic and international production in the same vain that Toyota, Honda, et al. have.

If that doesn’t work… then yeah, make Buick available only to the Chinese.

One major problem with GM and some other automakers nowadays is that they make several redundant vehicles. They can simply dissolve some brands into others such as disbanding GMC and market a couple of the vehicles as chevies. Pontiac is now more of a niche brand so its production can be dropped without too much trouble.
Saab and Hummer have to go ASAP though.