General Motors has announced that it will shift its advertising focus in 2008 from pickup trucks and large SUVs to cars and small SUVs. The shift in focus is to better promote the Detroit automaker’s fuel economy and eco-friendliness. GM will also continue to shift its advertising resources from traditional media outlets to digital sources.
GM still feels there is a strong market for its full-size light-duty pickups, but wants to build on the momentum of the recent launches of the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Vue and Astra and Cadillac CTS. “We’re going to defend (full-sized trucks), but at the same time we’re fully cognizant of the fact that we need to grow our passenger car business and our small utility business, and we’ll have a big emphasis on that this year,” Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, told Automotive News.
GM is planning to boost its retail share in 2008 by reducing fleet sales and more controlled incentives spending. 2007 figures have yet to be tallied, but GM had a 22.5% share of the retail market in 2006 — 24.3% including fleet sales. GM ended 2007 with about a 100,000 unit decrease in fleet sales.
01/03, 12:12 PM
posted by:
autonut
What they plan advertise for Honda or Toyota? For the automotive company of their size ther isn’t much to brag about in fuel efficiency department.
4 cylinder cars per brand:
Chevy: Aveo, Malibu(Opel), Cobalt
Pontiac: Vibe (grazias Toyota Corolla), Solstice (Opel)
Saturn: Astra (Opel), Aura (Opel) Vue FWD (Opel) Sky (Opel)
Why not stop charade and just call spade a spade: GM can sell you Opel if you want to be fuel efficient. They will also accept down payment on Volt right next to condo in Florida
01/03, 12:17 PM
posted by:
LP640
Why not make another film???? After all Transformers was nothing but a big fat GM advert
01/03, 12:40 PM
posted by:
CTS DRIVER
ha autonut thinks a solstice and sky are opels.
01/03, 12:47 PM
posted by:
celeron
What GM needs to do is to stop BSing people and start to build quality, FUELEFFICIENT CARS.
I mean how much will they spend on those TV ads and pay to Marketing Companies. I am sure with a little more money they can build a good, solid, fuel efficient engine that can be used on existing cars.
01/03, 12:54 PM
posted by:
purdue
Can someone translate autonut into english?
01/03, 12:57 PM
posted by:
corvette
people are blind GM produces just as many fuel efficient cars as Honda and Toyota but get beat over the head because they also sell heavy duty trucks. i don’t think the Tundra is fuel efficient but Toyota doesn’t get any **** for it.
01/03, 1:27 PM
posted by:
injunraiv
^^agreed – first of all autonut is incorrect about the availability of 4 cylinder cars in the GM lineup. For instance the G6 1SV package is rated at 33 MPG (you missed that one, and the G5 as well), and that’s a nice mid sized sedan with good power. As far as the quality goes, does Toyota or Honda offer a 5 year / 100,000 mile powertrain warranty? I think that is telling, but I’m sure you know who is going to pipe in with his crap soon… Oh, and the Tundra is NOT as fuel efficient as the Sierra/Silverado.
So maybe the problem is advertising. You need to do something to change people’s conciousness, or we’ll all wind up just believing idiots like you know who (if we don’t speak his name maybe he won’t return?)
01/03, 1:38 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Let’s all say it together everyone: DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
01/03, 4:22 PM
posted by:
J10
autonut:
(All are manual except the midsize cars.)
Aveo: 24/34
Fit: 28/34
Yaris: 29/36
Cobalt: 24/33
Civic: 26/34
Corolla: 28/37
Astra: 24/32
Malibu I4 Auto: 22/30
Accord I4 Auto: 21/31
Camry I4 Auto: 21/31
BTW, the ECOTEC engines are Opel engines.
01/05, 9:49 PM
posted by:
Blakkarr
Testing:
testing
testing
testing
01/09, 1:59 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
GM has already started down this road. It’s a goiod move, though during some heavily male-watched events, I’d talk about the trucks. Tundra commercials are still much better.
autonut: opel GT ius based on solstice/sky.
injunraiv: “So maybe the problem is advertising.” MAYBE?