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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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#175 of 874 Re: Ouch! [TIMGT5] by dtownfb Jan 07, 2009 (7:23 am)
Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jan 07, 2009 2:26 am) I rent from Enterprise about 4-5 times a month. After they put me in a Caliber for the third time, I told them that I would prefer not to have a car that feels like it is powered by a rubber band. They got the message and I haven't driven a Caliber in over a year.   And people wonder why no one is rushing to a Chrysler dealership to buy cars...... Replies to this message: lemko (Jan 07, 2009 7:41 am) TIMGT5 (Jan 08, 2009 1:45 am)
#176 of 874 Re: Ouch! [dtownfb] by lemko Jan 07, 2009 (7:41 am)
Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 07, 2009 7:23 am) Calibers make great car bombs, or at least Santa-suited killer Bruce Pardo thought so.
#177 of 874 Re: Ouch! [dtownfb] by TIMGT5 Jan 08, 2009 (1:45 am)
Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 07, 2009 7:23 am) The Colbalt, Caliber, and current Focus all illustrate one of the great achilles heals of the American auto industry. People often forget that the entry level car is the first chance that a company has to make a good impression and win a potential lifelong customer.   If someone tries your entry product and does not like it it, he or she will then go elsewhere when they are ready for something a little nicer. If on the other hand you make a high quality good driving econo box, then that favorable impression will translate into that customer looking at the rest of the lineup when they seek somethng more.   The Cavalier and the neon were awful cars. Ford almost had it right with the prior Focus but decided to cut costs and keep the current model on the old platform, the one that underpinned the old Mazda Protege. Meanwhile the newer version of the "C1" chasis sits under the far superior Europeon Focus, Volvo C30 and the curent Mazda3.   The 2009 Mazda3 is a five year platform that still can wipe the floor with the much newer Caliber, Colbalt and Focus in a comparison test anyday of the week. Unfortunatly for all of them Mazda is upgrading the car this year (2010) and that one is going to pack features that only a few years ago belonged on high end luxo cars and interior quality looks miles ahead of anything else in the economy class.
#178 of 874 Tim by fho2008 Jan 10, 2009 (4:16 am)
Couldnt have said it better myself.
#179 of 874 GM by fho2008 Jan 10, 2009 (4:26 am)
If I were in charge of GM.    If....not gonna happen but if.    Company jets.......sell em......we make cars dont we?    Fire everyone in the styling department.    Do what GM does best....V8    Take the same engineers who made the latest V8 and have em make 2, 3, and 4 cyl engines.    And give ME a truckload of cash................and I'm gone!
#180 of 874 If I Were Running GM by solara31 Jan 27, 2009 (1:39 pm)
If I were in charge of GM, this is what I would have done.   1) Keep Chevrolet and Cadillac and dump the other brands. GM's market share only justifies having two active brands.   2) Eliminate all bonuses and stock options for executives. They make enough with just their salaries.   3) No more unions. The UAW can fight it by striking which would bankrupt the company and everyone would be out of work or they can accede and save jobs. Modern labor laws can protect these workers, but do away with ridiculous perks like job banks.
#181 of 874 Re: Ouch! [dtownfb] by jchan2 Jan 27, 2009 (8:27 pm)
Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 06, 2009 9:37 am) I agree that Saturn was a great idea at the outset, but depending on the S-Series for almost 11 years just doesn't cut it- the Vue came about 5 years too late; it really should have been there right when the Compact Cute Ute craze was starting to hit. I actually thought the Vue was a fine car...   Then, a series of bad missteps (not redesigning the S-Series after 5 years, the Vue and L-Series being too late, etc.) and then when Saturn got folded into traditional GM and the polymer panels went away, I knew that was the end of the road for Saturn.   Saturn really should have been a car company that stayed to its roots- affordable, reliable, plastic-bodied cars (and the Vue) that were somewhat quirky and brought non-GM buyers into the GM family. Once those buyers got in, Saturn could upsell them into a Chevy, Buick, Pontiac, etc. after a great ownership experience with a Saturn.   The Relay and Outlook are/were mistakes. Not having a well-defined mission for Saturn is really what killed it in the end. That, and becoming folded into the rest of GM. Having the separate plant, labor contract, dealer network, product, etc., really helped Saturn get the number of buyers it picked up in the 1990s. Replies to this message: TIMGT5 (Jan 28, 2009 1:39 am)
#182 of 874 Re: Ouch! [jchan2] by TIMGT5 Jan 28, 2009 (1:39 am)
Replying to: jchan2 (Jan 27, 2009 8:27 pm) Good points all!
#183 of 874 If I were GM CEO by netranger4 Jan 28, 2009 (6:41 pm)
1. Drop Pontiac and Saturn branded passenger cars & SUV's, GMC pickup trucks and SUV's. Restrict GMC branded products to heavy duty commercial vehicles only. GMC has severe overlap with Chevrolet..too much duplication...badge engineering does not play in the market anymore. Badging the Aveo as a Pontiac model will not prove profitable.   Since Opel is the primary source for many Saturn products, drop the Saturn name and re-introduce the products as Opel if line is not discontinued.   2. Reduce passenger car convenience and power options. Only offer the most popular ones. Too many options increase consumer purchasing and operational confusion and adds to manufacturing, mechanical and servicing complexity unnecessarily. Many are never understood or used by end users.   3. Reduce or eliminate excessive or bizarre exterior colors and interior fabric choices. Three grades of fabric should suffice. Restrict fabric patterns to three per fabric grade. Bizarre exterior colors and equally bizarre fabrics damage resale values.    4. Eliminate any trim line that fails to sell without reservation. Replies to this message: fezo (Jan 28, 2009 7:04 pm) TIMGT5 (Jan 30, 2009 1:18 am)
#184 of 874 Re: If I were GM CEO [netranger4] by fezo Jan 28, 2009 (7:04 pm)
Replying to: netranger4 (Jan 28, 2009 6:41 pm) That's not bad. #2 - 4 is pretty much adopting teh Honda marketing model which certainly isn't a bad one to follow.   They do need to cut brands. If that needs a government assisted bankruptcy then do it.   Right now they are nibbling around the edges. They need to make some deep cuts.

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