Camino LS6

It's a practical solution, so a nicety like stand-alone Cadillac dealerships isn't in the budget. The way I'm seeing it being done here is with separate "mini-showrooms" for Cadillac with the others sharing space. It is a workable approach.

I've seen the ads. Advertising generally promotes one model anyway, but the idea that the public gets used to thinking about the dealerships as BPG is what matters here. Obviously, there is at least some merging of the ad campaigns and budgets or that sort of ad wouldn't exist. Perhaps the ad camapaign and budget are already under one contract and the direction of one marketing team - if they aren't they should be. The websites should also be merged (Pontiac's is particulary bad). Yup, lots more work to be done, but as you yourself admit it is the only course GM can pursue. Oh, and the variants need not be "nearly identical", a practice that GM is obviously getting away from. The exceptions being cars sold in distant markets where such commonality is an obvious cost advantage without the penalty of having the variants compete.

The B-P-G channel is well underway. The combination of Cadillac, Hummer, and Saab has just begun. GM is doing what can be done, eliminating brands is not one of those things. Dealerships are being eliminated at an accelerating rate, and development costs are being spread globally. The stand-alone dealers are under a great deal of pressure to get with the program.

Not merely unrealistic, but not possible - or in my view desireable in the least.

Not exactly, the advertising is being consolidated and product development is done by GM not the brands. Each platform or architecture requires the development of several variants to be justifiable, so I see no conflict here. Especially in the cases of Pontiac/Holden and Saturn/Opel cars. Have you seen any of the new BPG ads? Where they are promoting one car as available " at your local Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer" ? No, the job isn't done yet - but they are getting there.

You are so stuck in the past. Thinking that all GM vehicles (or any for that matter) are eight times duplicated is not true nor accurate in the least. As brands, having all eight is an asset, running them like separate companies is not. GM is moving toward running four sales channels, not eight, get that into your head. They are not running things the way they did 50 years ago no matter how much you would like to think they are. Your grasp of the situation is severely lacking, and your suggestions are neither logical nor possible (and in most cases illegal). Yours is a recipe for disaster.

Actually no, Aura was simply released before the polish seen on Malibu was ready. If they had been released simultaneously, that would have been a cause for concern. Saturn still hasn't defined itself well enough IMO. Nope. Franchise regulations are the realm of the individual states, therefore there are 50 different sets of legal entanglements. Most people have no concept of just how difficult it would be to kill a brand. Also, most of the franchise agreements were entered into years ago, so new regulations wouldn't necessarily apply anyway. Saab and Hummer need to be tied to Caddy if they want to survive, having there own sales channels and dealerships hampers them badly. That's why GM is arranging the brands into 4 divisions rather than 8. Pontiac and Buick do not duplicate each other's models. One Pontiac is a Chevy under the skin, and one Pontiac has a mechanical (though well-differentiated designwise) twin. Buick has the best expression of Lambda and a couple of sedans scheduled for near-immediate replacement. These two brands just need a few new models to be sitting in a good place.

I believe that they can, the only question is "will they". If the strategy isn't derailed by those with other agendas, I think GM will get there in time. Let's hope that the wrong people don't take control anytime soon - that will be the difference.

Agreed on both points. But, you can only deal with the situation you are in, not the one you wish you were in. The need to move agressively forward is paramount though. GM must get faster when it comes to implementing the sound strategy they have been following - there simply isn't another viable choice.

It isn't a choice, the statement is either factual or fallacious. In this case it is a false statement that they will need to retract. My prediction: They will say that they used "Toyota's methods" for calculating the numbers, therby shrugging-off their responsibilities. The less than honest methods of both Toyota and CR make them perfect for each other.

Ugh. You guys are just re-hashing the same tired old line, just like the author of the article. Ocnblu has the right of it, canceling brands will damage GM beyond recovery. If it happens, it will be the end. GM has done, and is continuing to do, the right things to consolidate the brands into fewer sales channels (BPG = one channel not 3). Beyond BPG, the high-end brands are next ( Cadillac-Hummer-Saab). So, essentially, we are down to 4 sales channels in the US market already. Add to that the fact that differentiation between the brands is steadily becoming more and more pronounced with each cycle of new introductions (I do think there are at least one too many lambdas) and the ever-shrinking number of dealerships, GM is on the right track. The lambdas are the only example of a new product that really steps over the line into too many versions of the same product. Even so, each version is far more distinct from its platform mates than in the bad old days. This article would have had more value if it had the tone of a warning about the lambdas veering too close to the old failing of badge-engineering, which in my opinion is true, than to indict the corporation for having too many brands. That thinking is pure bunk, and a failed strategy as proven by the demise of Olds. With all of that said, Saturn was, and may always be, an obscene waste of money. The original premise and execution were fatally flawed from the start. Saturn should have been euthanized before Olds was even considered for the cut. I would never have been in favor of making the investment in Saturn that GM has made over the last few years. However, with that investment made, Saturn has something of a reason to be now and should live or die by how well it performs over the next few years. Saturn is the odd man out without partners in a sales channel or the massive volume (Chevy) needed to stand alone. As such, it is the only brand that really merits consideration when it comes to ending a brand (if it doesn't perform). For those who would cancel Pontiac or Buick, you are being quite short-sighted. Pontiac is still GM's second best selling brand in the US, GM China depends on Buick (which is rebounding in the US), and GMC can't stand alone or with only one of its sales channel mates. Think of BPG dealerships as Chevy with extras, a dealership that can cover all of the bases - only with 3 brands rather than one. In similar fashion, GM's new luxury sales channel covers more ground by adding Hummer and Saab to existing Caddy stores while making it tenable to continue selling both smaller brands. More work must be done on many fronts, but the strategy makes sense.

I was just over on the G8 board and they have pics of them loading onto railcars with some posters reporting that the cars are already at the dealerships. So keep your eyes open for G8s on the road!

Damn KC, that's one heavy reality you are dealing with. My condolences to you and your kids.

Well, I'm not even sure what all of the nuances of what she said really mean anyway. I certainly don't have any definitive answers for the questions you ask. Perhaps it is all best left as a mystery, much as the nature and existence of God ought to be left a mystery. For me, the bottom line is that someone's sexual nature is none of my concern.

A wise woman once told me that she believed that human beings weren't homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual, but that they were simply sexual. Now I don't know that she was right, but I found the idea to be thought-provoking.

I didn't bother watching the videos (my machine still has no sound), but I imagine that they had all of the logic of "Refer Madness". That bit of propaganda genius still cracks me up to this day. Some people have a twisted sense of what to be afraid of, and others a twisted sense of how to inspire that fear.

This is something of a mystery, isn't it? My theory is that minds are attracted to minds and that the package those minds come in sometimes confuses the issue. In other words, sex is mental/emotional and the physical part just comes along for the ride.

No need to apologize Cort, you haven't seen it yet. The barn is an awesome building to have the use of, but it does have some shortcomings. No running water, no heat, and not enough light or outlets. I hope to remedy some of that this year. I don't own the building, so I have to watch what I spend on it pretty carefully.

Selling it to Ford and Chrysler is a whole new topic, but the idea intrigues me.

A perfect cruise for the Bonnie, at the perfect time of year.

Ick, they can keep that one.

Who? Me? Happy Birthday, dude!

This thread reminds me of a topic over at CZ28 a while back. The proposal there was for a V8 that is smaller in all dimensions yet retained the inherent balance of that configuration. I found the idea to be very interesting.

<--------Yawns.

I'd better prepare...