HarleyEarl

68, finally I have a way to describe the awful headlights on so many cars....glass tumors....or maybe even plastic tumors. A prime example is the Accord....o man, beyond grotesque.

I agree with you. I'm not totally convinced about Saturn but who knows, the new Saturn might be a the most genius thing GM has done. Really that lineup makes so much sense.

I saw a new Black Challenger on the road today and it doesn't do anything for me. It looks too large. I should like it, because I like these type of cars, but it's disappointing.

When I read this, I get a sense that GM is now really Chevrolet and Cadillac. I'll bet that GM could do very nicely with just these two brands. Maybe not number one but a much better company.

Very true. Pontiac was a dull, frumpy car division then and it was turned around into one of my favorites. I'm no expert in all this, but current situation may be different for Pontiac. I mean, just what is it to be? So many brands have the performance thing going. I just can't see a reason for Pontiac to exist other than for emotional reasons. If they could dump Oldsmobile so easily I can't see the business case for Pontiac either. To me it's too close to Chevrolet in branding image. I don't want them to go, but I see it as inevitable.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...5/1002/BUSINESS MARK PHELAN Lutz says GM won't sweat the small stuff Carmaker to focus on high-volume, big-profit products BY MARK PHELAN • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • July 16, 2008 Read Comments(19)Recommend (3)Print this page E-mail this article Share this article: Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine What’s this? The troops need something to fight for, not a feeling of endless retreat. General Motors Vice Chairman and retired Marine pilot Bob Lutz gave his beleaguered company that goal Tuesday, saying the company will concentrate its engineering and design efforts on vehicles it expects to sell profitably and in high volumes. He pointed to successes like the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS as evidence that GM's plan to sell large numbers of attractive cars is more than the empty boasting that has accompanied so many turnaround plans in Detroit. "This is not the time for niche vehicles," Lutz said. "We can't afford to hit singles and bunts. We need triples and home runs." This ain't batting practice, though. From Toyota and Honda to BMW and Mercedes, the world's best automakers have been successfully selling fuel-efficient cars for years. "We're targeting everything to be high volume," Lutz said, acknowledging the competition, but with a confidence born of GM's recent successes with the Malibu, CTS, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. Chevrolet is key GM's best-selling Chevrolet brand is key to the plan. Chevrolet has at least four small cars or crossovers that will debut before the end of 2011: the Cruze compact car, a new version of the Aveo subcompact, the Traverse midsize crossover that goes on sale soon and a new version of the Chevrolet Equinox compact crossover. All will have class-leading fuel economy and the kinds of features and design that have increased Malibu sales 95% this year while taking in an extra $4,000 on each car it sold, Lutz said. If those four vehicles hit the market with the same strength the Malibu did, they could easily account for 800,000 or more sales a year. Profit matters far more than sales volume, however. Small cars like the Cruze and Aveo have been break-even business at best -- and frequently money losers -- for GM. Lutz said the Cruze has been developed to match or exceed the Honda Civic for looks, fuel economy -- and more important, selling price. That's far from Chevy's current compact, the Cobalt. Cobalt sales have soared this year, but Lutz estimates the car sells for $3,000 less than a Civic. GM employees got their first look at the Cruze when Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner addressed them Tuesday. The car -- which will be sold around the world, though the U.S. version will come from Lordstown, Ohio -- makes its public debut at the Paris auto show in September. The eagerly anticipated Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle due to go on sale late in 2010, also could contribute far higher volumes than previously announced, Lutz suggested. GM has said it plans to build about 10,000 Volts in 2011, the car's first full year of production. Any projection for the Volt is iffy because the vehicle relies on new technologies and suppliers, he said. "We're in uncharted territory. If global demand is there, my personal guess is that vehicles like the Volt could be 500,000 a year in a few years' time," Lutz said. GM plans to use the Volt's technology in vehicles it will sell around the world, including some vehicles that will be built alongside the Volt at the Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant and shipped to Europe. The engines that drive GM Chevrolet and Cadillac are the engines that drive GM, and Cadillac will introduce two new CTS models in 2009: an extravagantly stylish coupe and a reportedly breathtaking sport wagon. CTS sales are up 30% this year, and the car is selling for an average of $8,000 more than the previous model, Lutz said. He expects the same from the wagon and coupe. GM confirmed several other new vehicles that should hit the road in the next two years Tuesday. Cadillac and Saab will build crossovers based on the well-received concept cars they unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. Despite the intense financial pressure on GM, new-vehicle development escaped Tuesday's belt-tightening largely unscathed. "We will build world-class vehicles. That's absolutely not something we will sacrifice," Lutz said, providing a rallying cry GM's designers and engineers needed on a grim day. Contact MARK PHELAN at [email protected] or 313-222-6731.

I hear you and you may be right. But if this great company is to survive in the new realities, maybe something radical needs to be done. I'd rather it existed in a new form then not at all. Look, I know this will never happen, but it wouldn't hurt GM to look at Corvette and apply some of this philosphy and management to GM as a whole.

If you are going to use the high performance Pontiac image thing......for me if it is a Chevrolet high performance car or a Pontiac, no difference. Chevrolet has Corvette and Camaro and the SS and a rich history in performance cars, they can cover any high performance car in any category. Pontiac is not needed. Well, Saturn has never been needed. I love Pontiac's history, but the reality has to be separated from emotion. It's over for that brand. The market is saying so.

Their take on Pontiac and Saturn seems weak and murky to me. No solid rationale for having these brands. Sorry, never wanting to buy a Chevrolet is a lame reason to keep a lame duck division going. Change the Saturn name to Opel, please. Saturn has it's strongest lineup ever because it isn't Saturn. What facinates me is that there did not seem that much foot dragging and angst when they destroyed Oldsmobile. I've said it before, in the end it will very close to the following in North America: Chevrolet Buick Cadillac Market forces will force GM to finally get lean and mean and focused.

I'm a huge GM fan. They have showed brillance beyond compare and yet have made some of the dumbest decisions in automobile history. And they have been hugely successful in so many ways...like being number one a lot of years. Many stunning, many dreadful cars and a slew of marketing schemes later, there has been but one shining star in their orbit. Corvette. Clear visionary, purposeful, consistant, ever improving Corvette. Some close calls for sure and a couple of iffy years, but they stuck with the plan. Now, I say, take the Corvette team and put them in charge of GM and change the name of General Motors Corporation to Corvette Corporation. Because no matter what GM does, they could make the best cars in the world, but the old baggage may take too long to unload. It may be too late. Use the current Corvette emblem slightly reworked. Then see a renewed car company.

So this must be the record for resurrected posts from the past? It's like a retro post. I tend to go out on the weekends for big breakfasts....partly for food and partly to see hot people.

Incredible sightings today in the hot, sunny, trendy area.... New Rolls Royce Convertible....wow. Last generation Rolls vert. Ford GT....the light blue one with orange stripes Jensen Healy convertible New Ferrari convertible Olds Omega Coupe, first generation....never ever see those.

There is something so compelling about abandoned buildings, cars etc. It's not just the object, but who worked there, who owned it, why was it abandoned, it was filled with life and now vacant and dead. I want to know the whole history behind it. I don't know why but I find it so facinating.

Isn't it freakin' gorgeous?!.....luv when they do up a car like this....looks stock except for the gigantic slicks and the rollbar inside. Sizzlin hot.

Yes but when are they going to get it right?.....it's been 50 years of trying to make a small car. And umpteen name changes. Cobalt has no negative image for me.....they should leave it.

Saw one of those new BMW X5s in blue...it almost reminds me of the AMC Concord 4x4 stationwagons. They sure are taking a chance on something like that. Walking along on a beautiful sunny day, I spied this in a back alley. Nissan Pao:

That interior is such a relief from all the generic dashes out there....actually has some style tension.

The '68 Cuda convertible is one of my Mopar favorites. Great looking car. Still holds up after so many years.

That sounds a lot like sex.

world world world

GM even had the 'creases' of a soft top....my favorite is the '62 Pontiac.

Idaho

GM had to stop this insanity with name changes. Just pick one and stick with it. Cobalt to Cruze...when will it end? Get some consistancy so that the buying public knows what you are selling. Ever heard the names, Civic, Accord, Camry, Corolla? Instant recognition.

bag

Can't you just hear the conversations about something like those backup lights at GM. They most likely didn't want to mess up those nice tailights so they took the easy way out. I hate it when GM does that.