GM Inside News Forum - View Single Post - The Last Chevrolet Monte Carlo Rolls off The Line

inov8r · 06-25-2007, 02:35 PM

Andrew, the problem is that when the 1974 MC WAS part of a popular market segment, gas was "cheap", the influence of environmental and safety regulations was much less than today, and the car, nicely equipped, could be purchased for a smaller percentage of the average person's annual income. By 1997, just 10 years ago, when the last of the B-body models was being cleared from dealer inventory--cars with the same basic chassis, driveline and dimensions of your Dad's 74 MC--the automobile market, and GM's position in that market, had changed CONSIDERABLY.

It no longer makes economic sense for GM to try to revive a model that has such limited market appeal, that competes NOT with other manufacturers, but slices up the GM pie further, since most buyers of a MC probably moved from another GM vehicle to do so. It is perhaps defeatist of me to say that, and while it was a nice effort at the time, today there is no justification to have another car that would be so close to the Camaro in size--if the new Zeta/Camaro is as big as all the stories suggest, it will be larger than the Monaro/GTO and the now deceased Monte Carlo.

The cost of bringing a new model to market from GM today is huge, and unless the vehicle has sufficient market appeal--at a price that buyers consider worth doing so--it's going to be VERY difficult, since there is much more competition out there today, seeking customer dollars. GM has not shown itself to be very adept at re-capturing markets or market segments.

It isn't 1974 anymore, much as we might like it to be.

06-25-2007, 02:35 PM	#161 (permalink)
inov8r 2.5L Iron Duke Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Canton GA Drives: 1996 Impala SS 1996 Roadmaster wagon Posts: 24	Re: The Last Chevrolet Monte Carlo Rolls off The Line Andrew, the problem is that when the 1974 MC WAS part of a popular market segment, gas was "cheap", the influence of environmental and safety regulations was much less than today, and the car, nicely equipped, could be purchased for a smaller percentage of the average person's annual income. By 1997, just 10 years ago, when the last of the B-body models was being cleared from dealer inventory--cars with the same basic chassis, driveline and dimensions of your Dad's 74 MC--the automobile market, and GM's position in that market, had changed CONSIDERABLY. It no longer makes economic sense for GM to try to revive a model that has such limited market appeal, that competes NOT with other manufacturers, but slices up the GM pie further, since most buyers of a MC probably moved from another GM vehicle to do so. It is perhaps defeatist of me to say that, and while it was a nice effort at the time, today there is no justification to have another car that would be so close to the Camaro in size--if the new Zeta/Camaro is as big as all the stories suggest, it will be larger than the Monaro/GTO and the now deceased Monte Carlo. The cost of bringing a new model to market from GM today is huge, and unless the vehicle has sufficient market appeal--at a price that buyers consider worth doing so--it's going to be VERY difficult, since there is much more competition out there today, seeking customer dollars. GM has not shown itself to be very adept at re-capturing markets or market segments. It isn't 1974 anymore, much as we might like it to be.