Croc

Hey, I think Lumina would better fit the Volt. I hate the Volt name...too low-rent, industrial, dirty sounding. Lumina sounds cleaner.

Video not available?

No, the Aztek was much better in pre-production concept form. The production version WAS horrendous, which is why Lutz did a crash refresh of it for its second model year to remove the grey, bulging cladding and replace it with smooth body-colored cladding. Headlights were revised to change the amber to clear (less Tonka-looking), and the rear spoiler was added.

Ummmmm, no. That was in development long before Lutz entered GM. Lutz removed the grey cladding, though, making it less repulsive.

I submitted Phoenix, like I'm sure 62,848,648,385 other people have. I wasn't going to, but when I saw what the typeface looked like, it was the only thing that fit (in my mind).

Dude. Sales data alone disproves his point as minivan buyers only buy minivans for "practical" reasons...but hey, nothing is more fitting in a minivan thread than cupholder and storage placement contests.

I wouldn't have gotten it without your subtitle, but DAMN that's some crazy double entendre going on there!!

Yes, money will always be an issue with GM--but I've thought about that, too. With the consolidation of sales channels, more ads can say "Visit your local Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer to schedule a test drive." and simultaneously feature all sales channel brands at once. This is also why the consolidations are very important, and why I pair Saturn with SAAB instead of Cadillac-HUMMER; Saturn and SAAB have a very European flair to them, so ad copy can play up that brand character and focus on style, safety, etc. Cadillac-HUMMER, on the other hand, are unabashedly American brands with bold, definitive styling. Cadillac, with its newfound emphasis on performance, ride and handling, and HUMMER, with its off-road capabilities, can be advertised as "go anywhere, do anything, experience life to the fullest" brands. Especially if HUMMER is moved upmarket like Land Rover, then both can be advertised as "the finest things in life." B-P-GMC can be advertised as "well-appointed, stylish, individualistic" brands. "Whether you're in the market for a performance, luxury, or utility vehicle, why choose? You can have it all at your nearest B-P-GMC dealer." When you say a "sales" standpoint, that sounds to me like sales infrastructure...which is reduced by both my plan and GM's current policies in reducing the number of individual sales channels. I may be misinterpreting your point, though... As for vehicle development costs, while I just listed a North American brand portfolio, GM is global and many of these vehicles are not NA-exclusives. Other than the obvious Opel-Saturn connection (side note: does Opel really have such a stigma from its brief stint at Buick dealerships in the 70s--and Saturn with such high amounts of positive brand equity--that GM cannot rename Saturn to Opel?), Cadillac is going global. The Alpha, Kappa and TE vehicles would probably be fairly popular with European audiences, as will the expanded CTS lineup. Chevrolet is global too--though I don't like most of the GM-DAT-sourced "Chevy" lineup as it does very little for the brand. GME could utilize my proposed lineup as a global Chevrolet lineup (minus some of the larger trucks/SUVs, of course) and let Opel become more focused and premium. Or, since I'm not terribly familiar with European perceptions of the Opel brand, the Chevrolets could be better-appointed and considered "premium" versus Opel. The (increased) use of Gamma and Kappa vehicles in both the US and Europe in a variety of applications across several brands will help amortize platform development costs more quickly. I'm not quite sure if a reason has been given on this site in the past as to why no boutique little Kappa roadster was developed for Cadillac, as that vehicle could be sold for 2-3 times the sales price of Solstice and SKY and despite significant interior/amenities upgrades, rake in much higher margins. Alpha could easily have applications at Holden, and Chevrolet Middle East. SAAB needs a crossover to compete with the XC90, so why not shorten Lambda for a SAAB application? The Enclave is dimensionally very close to the XC90, though it is 10" longer in overall length, and 4" in wheelbase. I could easily see GM taking the overall shape of the traverse, lowering it, shortening it, toning down the uptick in the rear fender by the D-pillar to Enclave levels, throwing some 9-3 SportCombi-style vertical taillights on the pillars, and styling the front after the 9-3 design vocabulary. Let SAAB do their driver/cockpit magic with the interior and sell it for $40,000+. Really, it's all about the product. Focused, non-redundant product that has been well-executed will sell. Half-baked vehicles based on really good concepts (Aztek, SSR, pre-refresh SRX, etc) don't. I think it's great that the SRX received a premium-looking interior that fit its price and it immediately started posting dramatic sales gains. That vehicle wasn't priced too high, its interior was just lacking in quality and design for the price. The perennial complaint from some on these boards is that GM has a problem with buyers cross-shopping GM brands...but with focused, differentiated products, the cross-shopping will be on "which style is right for me?" vs. "Which dealer offers the best deal?" And honestly...wouldn't GM rather have internal cross-shopping with a 100% chance of sale instead of being cross-shopped with other manufacturers? I do think GM should strive to implement no-haggle pricing across ALL its divisions for new car sales. Not only will this make the car-buying experience better for consumers (far less stressful), it will allow dealerships a guaranteed margin per vehicle. Used car and trade-in values would still be open for negotiation, however.

Not to be too political or anything, I'm fully behind Obama because he has demonstrated 1) good judgment and ost importantly 2) the ability to bring people together, republican, democrat, independent or otherwise. This country has grown so apathetic, and it makes me so happy to see a politician getting people to CARE and be involved. Truth is, the President only has the power to veto bills, make appointments to his cabinet, nominate Supreme Court justices, and act as Commander-in-Chief during times of war. Other than that, Presidents generally meet with foreign leaders and tell Congress what bills they'd LIKE to see. Those are the essential powers given to the President under the constitution. It really doesn't matter to me what "experience" someone has since most of the real "work" and policy decisions are made by Congress and advisors/the cabinet. Both Obama and Clinton will appoint equally-knowledgeable and prominent democrats to the cabinet, and both will nominate less-conservative justices to the Supreme Court. What sets the apart, though, is that Hillary, as shown by her recent attacks/ads, is very divisive and the kind of democrat who thrives on confrontation--she likes to "go to war with the Republicans" (her words), whereas Obama said thet "if a Republican has an idea, he has an idea!" (South Carolina acceptance speech). Obama will bring all people from all walks of life together in this country to unite them in the common goal of fixing the mess we're in. To me, bringing people together is more than just support--it's encouraging people to make their voices and opinions heard. The sooner Americans get off their asses and start participating in politics, the sooner Congress will be held accountable to the American people and boneheaded decisions will cease to be made (or made less often, with more public outcry). Obama's speaking skills may also prove to be better at convincing foreign leaders to work with us, and will definitely be more charismatic in improving our relationships with the global society. Sorry for the mini-rant, but since network TV's been off the air, I've been keeping up with this race and feel very strongly about it.

Kill all brands except Chevrolet and Cadillac, then bring back Oldsmobile to "fill the gap"? Uh-huh. Let's get back to planet earth here... First of all, my plan does not double the number of nameplates, but offers more variants off of existing brand names. Several models were dropped completely: Escalade line (to be filled by expanded GMC Denali brands and a more up-market HUMMER brand, to be paired with Cadillac dealerships anyway) Here is all I added: (Ep-II) Malibu coupe (Accord coupes sell, so why not a Chevrolet? Good product sells, poorly-executed products are "part of a dying segment," "impractical," etc.) (VE) ute for Pontiac (rumored G8 ST) (Zeta) coupe for Buick (rumored) (Gamma) Corsa for Saturn, 3- and 5-door (Aveo cousin) (Gamma) MPV for Saturn Astra TwinTop (EP-II) wagon for Saturn (Delta) MPV for Saturn (Alpha) Cadillac trio, cousins of Pontiac's (TE) Cadillac (already planned) (Kappa) Cadillac roadster (Delta) SAAB duo (TE) SAAB (already planned) (Lambda SWB) for SAAB (???) for HUMMER (HX production model) Everything else is just a replacement of what's currently there. BUT WAIT! I dropped several models as well: TrailBlazer Vibe Envoy OUTLOOK STS Escalade Escalade ESV Another thing to consider is that many of the vehicles added are variants of existing models/platforms. There is also an emphasis on smaller vehicles, especially for Cadillac, Saturn and SAAB. This will be necessary as fuel prices rise. It also focuses Cadillac closer to its competitors. Finally, engineering costs will be spread out as these vehicles are developed globally and will be sold elsewhere. Cadillac is going global. Opel/Saturn are global. SAAB is transcontinental. Chevrolet is going global. I really don't think it's a terribly unfeasible plan, though I am open to debate. For example, I thought of consolidating the Tahoe/Yukon and Suburban/Yukon XL into one Suburban/Yukon (I would never kill the Suburban moniker), but opted not to in the end.

Yup. But Lincoln outsold Cadillac in 1998, something had to be done.

If we're gonna play Bob Lutz on product planning here, then let me give it my shot: Chevrolet: Nomad (Gamma, replaces Aveo), hatch and sedan, $10.5k base Monza (Delta, replaces Cobalt), sedan, coupe and 5-door, $13.5k base Malibu (Ep-II), sedan/coupe, $18k base sedan, $19.5 base coupe Impala (Ep-II LWB), sedan, $24k base Camaro (as-is) Corvette (as-is) Silverado (as-is) Avalanche (as-is) Traverse (as-is) Tahoe (as-is) Suburban (as-is) Colorado (GMT-355), refreshed Lumina (renamed Volt)I think "Lumina" would fit this vehicle quite well as it maintains the "electricity" theme, but sounds cleaner, more upscale and less industrial than "Volt." Captiva (Theta, replaces Equinox), 5 and 7 person configurations, base $22k Pontiac*: Solstice (as-is), base $20k Tempest (Alpha, replaces G6 line), sedan, coupe and soft-top convertible, bases $24k Bonneville (VE/Zeta, renamed G8), sedan, bases $28k Safari (VE/Zeta), ute *Pontiac will re-adopt a cockpit-like interior theme where center stack is canted toward the driver, further emphasizing these vehicles as driving machines GMC Acadia (as-is) Canyon (GMT-355), refreshed. moved slightly up-market Yukon/XL (as-is) Sierra (as-is) Terrain (Torrent replacement) Summit (GMC version of Avalanche, Escalade EXT dropped) Buick*: Invicta (Ep-II) sedan, bases $33k Enclave (as-is) Riviera (VE/Zeta, Velite with softer nose), bases $40k Electra (VE/Zeta), sedan, bases $38k *Benchmark Lexus in quality and ride/handling characteristics. Properly executed, there would be no overlap/cannibalization between Cadillac and Buick because the personalities would be so different. Buick is now a "boutique" brand. Saturn*: Corsa (Gamma), 3 and 5 door, base $13k Meriva (Gamma), base $15k Tigra (Kappa, replaces SKY), base $24k Astra (as-is), base $16.5k Astra TwinTop, base $28k Insignia (Ep-II, replaces AURA), sedan/wagon, base $22k Antara (Theta), base $28k Zafira (Delta), base $24k *Sharing much of its platforms with Chevrolet should not be an issue. Saturn would be very Euro-flavored with a VW-like premium feel in execution and interiors. I also think the European names suck a lot less than their all-CAPS American equivalents. Cadillac* ATS/ATC (Alpha), sedan, coupe and hardtop convertible, bases $30k sedan and $34k coupe, $42k hardtop conv. BRX (TE), bases $38k CTS/CTC/CTX (Sigma), sedan, coupe and wagon, bases $42k sedan, $46k coupe, $48k wagon SRX (Sigma) bases $46k (well-appointed...it would still top off at around $63k like the current model) KLR (Kappa), bases $33k XLR (as-is, just refreshed), bases $72k for turbo 6, $85k for 8 FTS (Zeta), sedan, bases $65k *Cadillac will offer a variety of engines, including turbodiesels. All interiors will be well-appointed. Prices aligned to competitors v. size class. Escalade family dropped, no need to duplicate as HUMMER shares showrooms and moves upmarket, plus has offroad capabilities Escalade does not. SAAB 9-1 (Delta), sedan/sportcombi, base $22k 9-3 (as-is), base $28k sedan, $30k sportcombi, $36k soft-top convertible, $40k hardtop conv. 9-4X (TE) as planned, $34k base 9-5 (Ep-II LWB), sedan/sportcombi, think of this as a companion to my Impala above, bases $35k 9-6X (Lambda SWB), 5/7-seater, bases $40k HUMMER* H (GMT-900), think of this as a Range Rover competitor, bases $59k, tops around $90k Ht (GMT-900), midgate-enhanced H, bases $62k M (GMT-345), essentially a refreshed H3, bases $37k Mt (GMT-355?), H3 SUT renamed, bases $40k R (??), HX production, bases 25k *The only justification for keeping HUMMER is to focus it on high-end capability. Since sold alongside Cadillacs, H and Ht replace the Escalade family to compete toe-to-toe with the Range Rover. M represents the only traditional truck-based midsized SUV in the GM family, and that is because it is a true off-road machine. This vehicle is repositioned upward and offers a premium cabin, especially compared to the current model. The R is the only "volume" model at HUMMER, and it carries a 5k premium over the Wrangler because of its higher levels of quality and capability. NOTE ON SALES CHANNELS Brands would be sold in the following dealership sales channels: Chevrolet (standalone) Buick/Pontiac/GMC Saturn/SAAB Cadillac/HUMMER The logic behind these groupings is that each sales channel will have a complete line-up. Chevrolet would have 14* badges, B/P/GMC would also have 14*, Cadillac/Hummer 12*, SAAB/Saturn 13.* These groupings also reflect the general market positioning for the brands. SAAB/Saturn are both euro-flavored, and this pairing ranges from premium (Saturn) to sporty near-lux (SAAB). Cadillac/HUMMER are both premium offerings, with Cadillac as premium luxury and HUMMER as premium-capability with upscale appointments. B/P/GMC are boutique brands; Pontiac retains youthful orientation and fun-to-drie factor with focused models and sexy styling. GMC continues offering premium trucks and SUVs while expanding on the Denali sub-brand (likely capturing low-end Escalade buyers who do not want the HUMMER off-road capabilities). Buick will offer near-lux and traditional lux vehicles, with an emphasis on quiet and comfort above sharp cornering abilities and 0-60 times. Styling is to be emphasized.

I cannot tell if you're agreeing with me or not, but when looking at P/B/GMC...Buick has 2 cars, Pontiac has 6 (Vibe, G8, G6 sedan/coupe/convertible, G5) and GMC has none. Torrent will become a GMC, so GMC is just trucks. Buick has Enclave, hardly a traditional volume product (and it shouldn't be, really...it's a lux crossover). Pontiac sells the bread and butter for that sales channel. And excepting the G6 interior, none of those products suck.

I'd say Mitsu...because that's the only brand that will logically be axed from the US market. The rest is just ridiculous BS. Pontiac is the only GM brand in any jeopardy whatsoever, and even it will most likely stay. Just like China justifies Buick, Canada justifies Pontiac. Is Pontiac losing money? I'll bet it provides the bulk of volume for B/P/GMC dealerships. Now, if PCS is right, and Saturn gets merged into B/GMC, then Pontiac may go the way of the dodo. But until that happens, I just don't see it. G8 should be fairly good, and I still see enough Solstices around to know someone has Pontiac on their radar. The G5 coupes are sharper-looking than their Cobalt siblings, and I see enough of those around LA as well. With a new interior, the G6 could also be a pretty great car; it's the only competitive volume midsized GM coupe, and it also has the convertible. Give it an interior to match the exterior, and it will sell much better. As for Mercury, in its current interation it really doesn't make much sense. That said, Lincoln is slowly being moved upmarket, and that should give Mercury more room. Mercury also gives volume to Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, so unless Ford re-consolidates its brands, Mercury is needed by those dealers. Ford really has an opportunity to take Lincoln back to its roots as a serious luxury competitor, and then Mercury will be able to breathe a little and be the near-lux brand it's always needed to be.

I'm sorry, but this is so hilariously uninformed. You complain about all the Hollywood coverage, but trust me no one in California gives a rat's ass. CNN is in Atlanta, and most of the major news programs are based in NYC. It really is a situation of the rest of the country being so envious/jealous of "the rich and famous" stars that the programming caters to that. People magazine, US Weekly, and In Touch sell quite a bit of mags each week...and that ain't all in California. I'm also not sure where you get this ridiculous idea that California as a state has the least amount of class and self-respect as a whole. Tell me, where all have you been in California? You paint such a broad brush against the millions of people living in this state, and frankly you could do a much better job of it by having at least a smidgeon of accuracy. Oh, and there'd be no TV show about eating big penis if people like you didn't watch it (at least I assume you do since I've never heard of such a show).

Absolutely not! This is true buffoonery at its worst! Why in the hell would GM go through such an unnecessary expenditure as that just to combat a *perceived* negative perception. GM: the negative perception is not country or origin, it is $h!ty product. Instead of wasting money relocating global HQs, spend it on the product.

My grandmother had a Corsica. I never liked that car much...the Beretta (post-interior refresh) is a lot better looking IMO.

Duuude you missed out on a fun time in Laguna...seriously.

NOS...do you have a filter on what you post on the internet? Because that should have kicked in last night...Seriously man you're not doing yourself any favors posting that, especially if she finds out about it.

One of my fraternity brothers did a reaction video of his nanny, and she definitely vommed at the end. It was so funny.

Ha, I didn't forget my camera...I just didn't bring it. I'm not much of a paparazzo.

I'm sure he has a spot in my feces somewhere.

Well, that was fun. Tired of battling traffic though haha

I'd only take the 6...with current hp/torque levels from modern 6s, I cannot for the life of me think of one situation where I'd say, "damn, I wish I had the 8." The weight savings alone (and better weight balance front/rear) likely make the 6 the better handler anyway.

I could do 10:30...I just don't want to go to early because then there's an incredibly high chance I'd oversleep, and I don't want to blow it off like that if I say I'm gonna be there.