smk4565

Well no bank would give GM a loan, so the government is their only option. GM isn't paying income tax right now because they don't make income, and Wagoner said something in the hearings about a tax exemption they have.

Pittsburgh has 4, one downtown (although it may have gone under) one in the south suburbs, one north (that did go bust and is now with a Pontiac-Hummer-GMC dealership, and one on the east suburbs that is at a Saturn, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Pontiac mega dealership. Saab I thought had nearly 200 dealers nationwide, 4 cars per dealer doesn't cut it. Lexus only has 200-250 dealers and outsells Cadillac with 1,000 and Buick with 1,500. Number of dealers isn't the problem, the products Saab has are.

I agree with siegan, and hopefully they mean it. This could just be another song and dance routine by the GM PR department. To me, GM's press releases have lost credibility, let's see the actions to back up their words. They have to prove they have changed, not just issue a letter or statement.

Saab's 3 models combined to sell 800 cars last month, that brand and all the models need to go away now. All of Saturn can die. Buick could use a small SUV, but the GM product planning idiots made the SRX as a dressed up Equinox, so making a Buick version is redundant. G3, G5, G6 should die in 09.

Not the S-class. The S-class is engineered better than any domestic car. Mercedes for a while in the late 90s, early 2000s, lost that engineering commitment, but it is coming back now. I wouldn't buy an M-B, but probably nothing under $100k is engineered better.

The 3-series is smaller than a Cobalt, and worldwide the 3-series has been a sales success for 20+ years. There won't be a glut in the middle when Saturn, Pontiac and Saab are gone, and a new Impala goes to a price in the high $20s rather than total overlap with the Malibu. The Delta Buick should be $25-30k like the LaCrosse is now, the Buick Epsilon about $29-35k so a base Buick is nicer than the Malibu LTZ. A lot of the 55+ crowd that Buick is trying to get doesn't need a big car, the kids are grown and gone, and they want something with a premium feel. Younger people in urban areas also prefer smaller cars, GM is missing this segment. Buick will never make it at $50k, let alone $60k, they have to live in the $25,000-40,000 range. Cadillac can't even make it in the $50-60k range right now. Cadillac can't get $60k for a midsize V6 sedan like M-B can. Mercedes spends over $1 billion to develop a new S-class, to make a great car it takes a lot of investment, so GM has to choose wisely what they pursue.

There isn't room unless GM can make all 4 better than the competition. 4 average brands will lead to eroding market share just as 8 average brands did. If they can make Chevy better than Toyota/Honda, Buick better than Acura/Lincoln, Pontiac better than Nissan/Mazda and Cadillac better than the Germans they can support 4 brands. If they can't do that, better to go with 3 brands.

The XF is 195 inches long, the MKS is 204. 9 inch difference. MKS is on the D3 platform shared with the Taurus and S80. The XF is on an updated version of the S-type platform, the suspension is aluminum and from the XK. XK and XJ have aluminum unibody structures.

Agreed on that point, which is why I criticized the CTS initially saying it had to be better. If they want it to be a 5/E/A6 competitor they should price it like one. But if the current CTS started at $49k sales would be about 100 units a month, because even at $34k base they need red tag sales. DTS and STS sell in the $40-50k range now, too much overlap, both those sedans need to die, CTS has to move up. Buick should not get 2 epsilons or 4 sedans, too much overlap. Delta and Epsilon will be the volume, the Zeta sedan better be close to the Genesis in price and content, they can hopefully pick up G-Body and Panther platform sales when those products die. If they price a Buick sedan at $40k+ it will get killed in the marketplace by Lexus and the other luxury brands. This car has to be a low priority, because the G8 under $30k isn't selling, a $40K Buick version probably won't sell either. I would like to see Cadillac have 4 sedans, one being a CLS type car, but the money won't be there for that. The Cadillac flagship can't be on Zeta or it is DOA, no credibility at all to an $90,000 car sharing a platform with a $28k Pontiac and Chevy. It has to be exclusive and should be aluminum like the XJ.

The expensive big sedans are safe, but mid-priced big sedans aren't that popular. A zeta Buick could work because it would be smaller than the w-body LaCrosse, and if priced like a Lucerne should find buyers. I said years ago GM needs to dump Saab, Hummer, Saturn, etc to free up resources for a flagship Cadillac, because without an icon, people will still think Cadillac, GM, American cars in general aren't as good as Europeans. Europe has Rolls-Royce, Bentley, S-class, 7-series, and A8, and we have the STS, 300C and MKS.

Pontiac has zero brand image, they can't move G8s for $30k, they won't make it trying to go above Corvette. Cadillac can't match Porsche or Maserati either, the XLR flop is an example. GM right now doesn't have what it takes to play in that high end league with the Euro exotics. I'd like to see Cadillac try, but that is so far down the priority list, and unless they fund it properly, it will fail.

The future of Buick lies with small to midsize vehicles. The mistake GM made in the past was all the full size vehicles with no focus on small premium. LaCrosse, Lucerne, Enclave are all full size vehicles, and full size sedans are a dying market. Town Car, Deville, LeSabre, Grand Marquis, etc worked in the 90s but times and demographics have changed. Delta II, Epsilon II and the Vue platform are where they need to go.

The XF has real leather wrapped on the dash, not leatherette, and real brushed aluminum, not gray plastic meant to look like aluminum. XF has better materials throughout the cabin.

I m guessing Fed or TARP money, probably TARP. It seems that the big banks already appropriated the money they got, and the smaller banks can't make a loan this big. I'd rather not see the Fed make the loan, they are over extended as it is, and the treasury just printing more money isn't helping our economy.

I agree they did better today and had a plan at least, and asking for $34 billion is nothing compared to Citigroup's $300 billion. But the votes for a bailout probably aren't there, some sort of government bankruptcy plan is probably as good as it gets.

It looks like GM and Chrysler's situation didn't improve much today. I do think congress will do something before they go bust. I predict some sort of reorganization that is like Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but controlled by the government and not called bankruptcy.

Those cars don't arrive for another 2-3 years, Chrysler may not make it that long. If the products are so great and the future looks bright, Cerebus should bail them out, not taxpayers.

No, it would be platform sharing. The Buick Cruze should start at $24,000 (likely a few more grand than a loaded Cruze) Buick Malibu (LaCrosse) priced $28-34,000, above the Malibu LTZ. The Buick Vue/Nox would also be $28-34k. The MKZ and ES350 don't overlap with the Fusion and Camry, Buick needs to follow that model, but focus on small to midsize, right now the baby Buick is longer than an LS460, that doesn't work. Get rid of Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and the product overlap problem is gone. Keep the kappa roadster for Buick. Zeta Buick should be back burner, a Zeta Impala can fill the need for full size car and overlap the LaCrosse in price. If Chevy has 12-15 or so models, Buick has 5 based of Chevy platforms, and Cadillac has 6 models, they'll have 25 or so models, which GM can manage and keep competitive.

I don't think Chrysler has a future because their products are so uncompetitive. They also lag in fuel economy, interiors and reliability. The 300 is old news now and not selling, Jeep still has name recognition, but sales are slow, the Caravan and Ram don't make a company. Cerebus should break up the company and sell it in pieces. Sell the Ram and the factory to Nissan, etc.

Sales don't matter, only profit does. GM has to figure out a way to keep the lights on and make payroll. Bankruptcy is 4 weeks away, anything that isn't essential and unique needs to be cut.

Pontiac might not even be around by the time the Cruze is ready, and they shouldn't get one anyway. There will be a Cruze SS that could be quite good for performance buyers. The Cobalt SS has good performance (3rd place in Car and driver sport compacts), only problem, is that it is a Cobalt. Take away the rental car blandness and match VW in build quality and they are fine there. If they take Delta II (180-182 inch length), make it look elegant and put the 2010 LaCrosse interior in it, they will have a winner. 2.3 DI 4 cylinder can make 200 hp, in a 3300+ pound car that is enough, especially for Buick buyers who are seeking comfort, not 0-60 times. A diesel should be offered also, since the Cruze will need one for Europe anyway, and they can go after the 41 mpg Jetta TDI. Buick's future is going to be in small to midsize premium, I hope they see that.

The 7-series and X6 TT V8 with 400 hp the 5-series gets also. The M5 is likely just a higher boost version to get 500 hp. 113 hp per liter is doable. That engine will save costs which will let them use carbon fiber and aluminum and lower emissions to keep the EU off their back. I believe that is what Edmunds was going for, although kind of dumb.

Buick's badge can't support a $40-48k sedan, and that is Cadillac's range. They need to keep the flagship closer to the Genesis or the MKS price, $35-40,000, low $40s fully loaded. The STS doesn't sell as a Cadillac, turning it into a Buick will make it sell worse. Big cars don't sell well, Buick would be best off making a luxury version of the Cruze for $25-30,000 and a luxury Malibu for $28-35,000. Small premium is a segment that will grow and the Jetta, TSX, and Mini are the only ones in it right now before going to 3-series/C-class prices.

Pontiac may be Solstice and G8 only and the G8 will likely be replaced by an Alpha sedan when that platform is ready.. I could see Pontiac being phased out by 2012 also. The money isn't there to keep them alive. Without a bailout (which 61% of the country and Congress currently opposes) they have to file for bankruptcy in January and probably only Chevy will survive. They have to sell or shut down Hummer, Saab and Saturn ASAP.

Sigma costs more, though it is better. They could do a V6 Zeta car for low $30s to $42k like the Genesis is priced. Sigma or whatever Cadillac goes to in the future has to be exclusive.