BRAND MANAGEMENT is the problem, not too many brands. Chop nothing. Everytime you cut a brand; you lose customers. Not only that, but closing brands like Oldsmobile cost a billion dollars, so GM can't afford to do that anymore. Franchising laws make it almost impossible to close a brand without incurring huge losses.
That only leaves one option: Make do with what you've got. Make it better.
CADILLAC should offer
uncompromising RWD luxury. I despise the alphabet soup monikers though. I know what a Seville, Deville or Eldorado should like like, but not an XLR, SRX, DTS, CTS, EST, EXT or BLS. All Cadillacs should be two-mode hybrids. Raise the standard higher please.
CHEVROLET should continue to offer mainstream FWD cars and RWD trucks. Opel should infuse a lot of gusto into Chevrolet cars.
PONTIAC should offer sporty
turbocharged versions of Chevrolet cars.
BUICK should offer upscale
turbocharged and AWD versions of Chevrolet cars.
SATURN should drop its current line-up and become the
plug-in hybrid sub-brand of Chevrolet showcasing the Chevy Volt. Bob Lutz has indicated previously that Chevrolet already has a full portfolio.
GMC should drop its current line-up and be re-invented as just a sales channel offering only Hummers and Opel Movano. Pontiac-Buick dealers still need some trucks on their lot, but they should be different from Chevrolet.
HUMMER should be revised to offer SUVs (H2, H3, H4 & HX) and pick-up trucks (T2 & T3) with 2WD and 4wd. All Hummers should be
two-mode hybrids. This changes Hummer image substantially and makes it more viable in the GM marketplace.
SAAB should offer sporty European turbocharged AWD cars. The line-ups of the both the 9-3 and 9-5 must be expanded to include coupes, convertibles, sedans, hatchbacks and wagons.
OPEL should contribute to the designs of VAUXHALL, HOLDEN and DAEWOO as well as CHEVROLET. GM should accelerate its World Car program.
A business model like this would help GM cut costs dramatically without sacrificing anything.