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What if you were in charge of GM?

874 messages,  Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM

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#150 of 874
Re: What if you were in charge of GM? [georgecavalier] by mattandi
Dec 12, 2008 (10:53 am)
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Replying to: georgecavalier (Nov 02, 2008 6:44 am)

What if you were in charge of GM?
 
I'd be looking for a new job.
#151 of 874
Re: What if you were in charge of GM? [mattandi] by dtownfb
Dec 12, 2008 (12:51 pm)
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Replying to: mattandi (Dec 12, 2008 10:53 am)

What if you were in charge of GM?
 
I would have a 6 martini lunch and then come back and work on the re-structuring plan.
#152 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [TIMGT5] by magnette
Jan 03, 2009 (9:57 am)
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Dec 10, 2008 1:50 am)

One observation on Saturn - you might as well keep the Astra, even if another division in US GM sells it - it's one of the best selling cars in Europe, and until the world economy fell off a cliff it was probably very profitable, so GM can't drop the model over this side of the pond (only Corsa sells better). If they are making it here, in LHD, then you might as well keep shipping it to your shores - some sales are better than none, and although oil prices are dropping, your market will eventually have to accept the days of gas-guzzling sub 30 mpg cars are over.
#153 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [magnette] by TIMGT5
Jan 04, 2009 (2:26 am)
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Replying to: magnette (Jan 03, 2009 9:57 am)

While the Astra may sell well over there, it is not doing well over here in NA. In fact the Astra is largely invisible. I live in a very large metropolitan area which has a large Saturn dealer close buy and commute on a heavily traveled stretch of highway everyday and have yet to see even one. There are a number of compacts which offer more standard features for the money and score better on magazine reviews. Sorry but over here the Astra is just not a game-changer.
 
Keep in mind that 30mpg is not that big of a deal anymore. The base model of every mid size (read full size in Europe) car sold here gets that much or better. I agree that the demand for gas guzzlers has dropped significantly and that is a good thing, At the same time to say that every sub 30mpg vehicle will vanish is a sweeping generalization that is inaccurate.
 
Name one 30mpg plus car that can seat 7 and tow 8000 lbs? Didn't think so. A car company that is as large as GM needs vehicles that address every need. Besides if you had read my post carefully you would notice that my line-up overall is more fuel efficeint than the one they currently have.
 
I am convinced that we have reached the point of maxium efficiency with the ICE. That even the best scenario-a common rail DI diesel backed with an electric motor might be able to achieve 65-75mpg in a compact car (I am not counting the Chevy Volt, because in reality the Volt is basically an electric car). The problem is one of weight and cost. You can in theory make full size vehicles a lot lighter while still maintaining safety, but the costs of replacing standard steel and aluminum body work with F1 type carbon fiber construction would be enormous and would make such vehicles well beyond the reach of an average person.
#154 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [TIMGT5] by magnette
Jan 04, 2009 (11:23 am)
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jan 04, 2009 2:26 am)

I wasn't suggesting that for people who need to cart seven around, or tow 8000 lbs, a small Euro hatch would do - although I question why so many people here need a large 4x4 to take one child to school and to go to the local supermarket, and I really don't understand why - for the majority of town dwellers who must sit in the same traffic jams we do - the average car size in your market is so much larger than here. Obviously if you are driving 200 miles each day in Montana then that needs a different car than someone going twenty miles in suburban New Jersey.
What I meant by my comment was that the Astra is already developed, already paid for and it isn't likely to be dropped over here if GM survives, so it is effectively a free model over there - all they have to do is stick it on a boat. I thought it was actually selling better there than some of it's competitors - given GM doesn't have much else in that segment. And it isn't sub 30 mpg here - the claimed combined (urban/extra-urban) figures for the Astra here are 42.8 (1.6 petrol);36.7 (1.8); 56.5 (1.7CDTi). (that's UK gallons)
#155 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [magnette] by cooterbfd
Jan 04, 2009 (11:57 am)
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Replying to: magnette (Jan 04, 2009 11:23 am)

I think that the biggest problem with the Astra is the price. Most of what I saw on the lot were between $17-21K. THAT turned my attention to the Aura quicker than it's 3% domestic content. WIth the general public, I think the car would be a bigger hit if it was between $11-15K.
#156 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [magnette] (cooterbfd) by hpmctorque
Jan 04, 2009 (1:53 pm)
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I've seen only one Astra on the street since its introduction.
#157 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [magnette] by TIMGT5
Jan 04, 2009 (3:09 pm)
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Replying to: magnette (Jan 04, 2009 11:23 am)

I agree with you that too many of Americans are driving truck based SUVs. More people should look at compact cars. My point is that GM already has the upcoming cruze and under my plan a rear wheel drive 4 cyl compact for Pontiac would cover the "driver's" niche car angle, another small car would just muddy the mix. One of my problems with GM has always been too many cars going after the same market.
 
As for why Americans prefer bigger cars, well there is some pyschology you have have to understand. Conduct the following experiment. Walk up someone you do not know from your side of the pond and observe how close he or she lets you come before moving away from you. Then do the same to an American stranger. You find on average the American will more likely move away from you sooner. The reason for this is that Americans have a very strong sense of personal space and space ownership. This is why a higher percentage of Americans live in detached houses, own their own cars and have more suburban development.
 
There will always be a number of Americans who will not be comfortable in a car that forces you into close proximity with the other occupants. The trick is going to be to make bigger cars more fuel efficient. The forth coming Ford Fusion hybrid, again a "large" car by your standards is supposed to get 40mpg.
 
I understand where you are coming from, but I am not sure the Astra is GM's miracle compact. The Honda Civic gets better MPG and has more power and a bigger interior. If GM fields a car it must be the undisputed winner in almost every comparisson test, R&T, CR, Car and Driver etc. to win buyers back.
#158 of 874
Re: Rebuilding GM [magnette] (cooterbfd) [hpmctorque] by magnette
Jan 04, 2009 (3:13 pm)
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 04, 2009 1:53 pm)

Well, that's not good for Astra - but you would have to ask why GM can't sell the thing over there, when here it's the standard patrol car for the Metropolitan Police in London, for a start (badged as a Vauxhall, rather than an Opel, but it's all from the same production line... It's the second best selling GM product in Europe, after only the COrsa - which I would imagine is too small for your market...
If they can't sell the Astra competitively in the US against VW's Golf, with your huge network of dealers, but they can in Europe, maybe the question is whether GM's management could find its a** with a map - or perhaps they were too busy polishing the corporate jet...
#159 of 874
by hpmctorque
Jan 04, 2009 (5:11 pm)
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"...Astra - but you would have to ask why GM can't sell the thing over there..."
 
In a word, it's price. It's too expensive compared with the competition. The pricing suggests that GM is more concerned with margins than volume with the Astra, in large part because the value of the euro vs. the dollar doesn't permit GM to make a profit on this car at lower prices.
 
Price isn't the only reason the Astra isn't selling well in the U.S., but I believe it's the primary reason. Another important reason is a very small marketing budget.
 
Reason #3 may be that the future of the Saturn Division is up in the air.
 
I don't doubt that the Astra is a good car, but is it better than, say, a VW Golf/Rabbit or Honda Civic, just to mention two competing models?

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