Ask the Car People.SM


GM News, New Models and Market Share - READ ONLY

32000 messages,  Last post on Feb 14, 2013 at 7:24 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views-Archives Forum.

What is this discussion about? Automotive News

Messages Page 2494 of 3201

#24928 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [fintail] by ateixeira

Jun 21, 2012 (11:42 am)

Replying to: fintail (Jun 21, 2012 11:23 am)
Some odd ball designs look better in hindsight, even when initial reaction is bad.
 
I like frog-eye Sprites:
 
http://motoburg.com/29660-austin-healey-sprite-frogeye.html
 
My favorite WRX is the 2002 bug eye. When it came out fans were up in arms, now it's a cult classic.
 
Not sure the Juke will ever get that sort of reception, but...call it bulldog ugly. Some will find the ugliness "cute".
 
GM got so much backlash for the Aztek that they often don't take enough risks with styling.

#24929 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [fintail] by andre1969

Jun 21, 2012 (11:53 am)

Replying to: fintail (Jun 21, 2012 11:23 am)
I wonder if maybe he's been reincarnated.
 
Good lord, for some reason, Ann Southern and "My Mother the Car" just popped into my mind.

#24930 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [andre1969] by fezo

Jun 21, 2012 (12:46 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Jun 21, 2012 11:53 am)
I'm liking the direction this is taking. Maybe the next Venza will just be a modern version of a 57 Plymouth Custom Suburban! Don't forget the push button tranny!

#24931 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [fezo] by fintail

Jun 21, 2012 (12:55 pm)

Replying to: fezo (Jun 21, 2012 12:46 pm)
If the Juke existed in the past, it would probably be a '62 Dodge.

#24932 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [ateixeira] by fintail

Jun 21, 2012 (12:58 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 21, 2012 11:42 am)
Original WRX has some support as later versions changed, and not for the better - designs being bland or weird, and everyone always develops a fondness for the first model.
 
I call the Juke the "deformed toad"

#24933 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [fintail] by ateixeira

Jun 21, 2012 (1:31 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Jun 21, 2012 12:58 pm)
Lutz himself referred to some GM cars as angry kitchen appliances.
 
Like I said, though, that scared them out of taking any risks.

#24934 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [ateixeira] by fintail

Jun 21, 2012 (2:56 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 21, 2012 1:31 pm)
Angry appliance = 2003-06 fullsize Chevy truck.
 
Beige is successful, risk is, well, risky...so I can understand their aversion.

#24935 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [fintail] by ab348

Jun 21, 2012 (3:00 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Jun 21, 2012 8:54 am)
I do see some resemblance between the '61 Plymouth front end and the new Lexus "spindle" front end. Both are ugly as sin.
 
Whenever I see a 2-tier grille design like on the past-gen Honda CRX I a reminded of the '42 Olds.
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmentd1/4774667785/lightbox/

#24936 of 32000 Re: Build you own ATS [fintail] by berri

Jun 21, 2012 (5:33 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Jun 21, 2012 11:23 am)
C'mon Fin, give Exner a break. He got a little out there toward the end, but at least his designs were symetrical. The Puke, I mean Juke is just plain bizzare to me. I don't think that even in 1958 the US had any vehicle as strange looking as that Nissan.

#24937 of 32000 Back to Reality by circlew

Jun 21, 2012 (5:46 pm)

Now that we have time to cheer GM's positive IQS achievements, let's not loose sight of the reality:
 
3 Reasons to Worry About General Motors
 
Reason No. 1: Is this product renaissance for real?
GM has been working hard to bring its game up to the same level. So far, the results have been promising: The Chevy Cruze is a good, solid compact, probably GM's best-ever; the new Sonic subcompact is seeing strong sales in a tough segment; and upcoming models like the Chevy Impala and Cadillac ATS look very good so far.
 
But, while the results have been promising, they haven't been great. The Cruze is a very good car, arguably better than Toyota's (NYSE: TM ) current Corolla -- no small achievement -- but the category has moved forward, and Ford's Focus and Hyundai's (OTC: HYMTF) Elantra have both outshined the Cruze in comparisons. Likewise, the Sonic is also very good -- but it isn't in danger of making people forget Honda's (NYSE: HMC ) much-acclaimed Fit.
 
In a nutshell, CEO Dan Akerson's goal is to make GM the biggest, best, and most profitable car company in the world, period. If he can do for GM what Ford CEO Alan Mulally has done for his company, he'll get there -- or at least far closer than anyone would have expected a few years ago. But, to do that, GM's cars and trucks have to be awesome -- better than everyone expects, and at least as good as the world's best. That won't be easy: Ford is at the top of its product game, Toyota is determined to come back strong after a couple of difficult years, and Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) is on a global roll -- and determined to steal the global sales crown that belonged to GM for years.
 
GM is expected to release a slew of new models over the next couple of years. Will they be as good as they need to be? Early results are promising, but GM's long history of mediocrity means that the jury is still out.
 
Reason No. 2: The problem of GM's culture remains
Ford's products got better in part because CEO Alan Mulally was able to accomplish what many thought impossible: He cut out layers of management, got rid of recalcitrant leaders, and changed Ford's culture from a morass of warring fiefdoms to a lean, focused machine.
 
Ford is a sprawling global giant, but nowadays it seems to speak with a single voice and act with a single vision. That's Mulally's signal achievement -- and it's one that Akerson is working hard to emulate.
 
But Akerson's job is a lot harder. GM is a lot bigger than Ford and it was much more broken. Here's just one example: According to some accounts, GM didn't even have workable internal financial controls before former CFO Chris Liddell took charge after GM's bankruptcy.
 
Think about that. GM's leadership didn't have a clear understanding of how the money was flowing within the company. And they were OK with that.
 
That's what Akerson has to fix, top to bottom, throughout a vast global organization. From all appearances, he has made progress. But getting GM's rank and file to really buy into the vision of transformation is going to be a long job -- and if it doesn't get done right, GM will almost certainly slide back into mediocrity.
 
Reason No. 3: No, it's not Europe
I've written extensively about the money-losing mess that is GM Europe. GM Europe, and specifically GM subsidiary Adam Opel AG, is going to be difficult to fix -- but I'm reasonably confident that it will get fixed sometime in the next few years. While it will take longer than Akerson would like, he's making the right moves and it'll happen.
 
That's not a real reason to worry about GM. Here's a real reason: The General's market share is falling here at home. GM led the world in total sales last year, thanks in big part to its market-leading position in China, but its per-sale profits in China are a fraction of what GM makes on every vehicle it sells here at home.
 
The bulk of GM's sales may now be overseas, but the vast majority of its profits are generated here in the U.S. And GM's U.S. market share is falling -- just 17.8% for the year through May, compared to almost 20% for the same period last year.
 
Part of the problem is that many of GM's models are looking long in the tooth -- and that's a problem that will be addressed over the next couple of years, as the slew of new models arrives at dealers. But again, part of the problem is that the competition has stepped up its game.

Long story short: Where is GM really going?
Here's the whole thing in a nutshell: GM came out of its high-speed bankruptcy restructuring with a lot of its old problems fixed, but a lot more still needing attention. CEO Dan Akerson has recognized and attacked those problems in a mostly impressive style, all things considered, but there's still a long way to go -- and GM's history gives us several reasons to think that the company might end up reverting to its old, just-functional-enough self.

 
Regards,
OW

Messages Page 2494 of 3201

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement