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Automotive News & Views What if you were in charge of GM?
874 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM
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I've seen only one Astra on the street since its introduction.
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Replying to: magnette (Jan 04, 2009 11:23 am) 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. |
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 04, 2009 1:53 pm) 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... |
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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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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 04, 2009 5:11 pm) I like what GM planned to do with Saturn (Opel designs) but GM starved Saturn for so long that they destroyed the brand. To save all the research dollars, GM should move the products scheduled for Saturn to Pontiac. But I just read the current Motor Trend and it appears that Buick may be the recipient of the Opel 's designs which leaves Saturns future in question. Well, not really. I think we all know how this story ends, it's a matter of when and how. I have a feeling that by the end of this month, we should know more about GM's fate. The fat lady is already warming up on Chrysler.
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 04, 2009 8:06 pm) I still think that if GM wants Pontiac to survive and improve it is going to have to go its own way in design and engineering. In the plan I laid out in an ealier post, Pontiac would be an all rear wheel drive, performance oriented niche seller much like Toyota's Scion. Again Saturn no longer has a clear mission and is now a waste of research and marketing dollars. |
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 04, 2009 8:06 pm) Which car is that? I'm confused on Saturn's offerings. The L-series cars weren't based on the Malibu. They were based on the Opel Vectra B and manufactured at a GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware.
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Jan 05, 2009 6:54 am)
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The L-series was heavily based on the Opel Vectra. SO in some ways, the Malibu connection is legit as it is now based on the Saturn Aura which in of itself is also a Vectra. Good thing about the Saturn is that while the Malibu makes its living off supprting the rental market, the midsize Saturns do relatively little fleet sales. |
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 05, 2009 9:52 am)
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