[member12]

GM north America doesn't have too many brands.....what they have too much of is crappy products and lame re-badges. Everyone wants to shuffle the brands around...but the real truth is that a shuffle must be accompanied with a great product lineup.

Cars that shouldn't have ever existed: LaCrosse, Lucerne, G6, G5, Torrent, Outlook, Rainier, Rendevous, Ion....

In their place should have been fewer, better performing models.

Pontiac doesn't need 6 different models...it needs 3 or 4 really good ones. Buick doesn't need anything more than 3 really good, popular models. Saturn doesn't need a full sized SUV when they can dip into Opel for a minivan and sport compact. Pontiac doesn't need yet another "regular" sedan.

Dealership A
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Pontiac:

The G8 and Solstice are the only two Pontiacs that deserve the badge. The G5 may have a future, but it needs wild styling, like that of the Mitsubishi Eclipse (not my kind of car, but it's popular and there's money to be made there). The only model that needs to be added to the Pontiac line is probably a G8 coupe.

The V6 G8 will take the place of the G6 and there is no need for a Torrent when GMC is in the same dealership.

Buick:

The Park Avenue is a must, but what's more obvious here is that the only really competative Buick is the Enclave. The new front drive Epsilon 2 sedan should be the smallest Buick. That leaves the Park Avenue, the front drive sedan, and the Enclave.

For now, that is all Buick needs. Those 3 models should generate more retail sales than the current 3 models.
Also, Buick is known for quiet, powerful powertrains. I think a 2 mode system paired up with the 3.6L DI engine should be standard in all uplevel Buicks. Four cylinder mileage from a 300 horsepower engine while offering quiet city driving should be right up the Buick driver's alley.

GMC

Canyon, Jimmy, Terrain, Acadia, Yukon, Sierra

A competative small truck and FJ cruiser style off road SUV (Jimmy) as well as the Terrain and Acadia crossovers, plus the Yukon and Sierra full sized trucks.

Also included are GM's medium duty line which is supposed to be run by International/Harvester/Navistar...whatever they are calling it this week.


That's enough for one dealership
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Saturn:

Corsa (Agila goes to Chevy, Corsa goes to Saturn), Astra, Aura (sedan and wagon), Sky, Vue, and Zafira.

There is no need for the Outlook...Saturn (and GM) needs to offer a diverse group of smaller cars. Every Saturn is small enough to be powered by a 4 cylinder engine. Some can have optional V6 engines, and of course, hybrids should be offered.

Saturn is the only other GM division (other than Chevrolet) that is large enough to be a stand alone dealership.

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Cadillac:

RWD BMW 3 series competitor, CTS, large RWD 7 series competitor, SRX, and Escalade
Cadillac seems to be on the right track for the most part by offering V series and coupes with the CTS, and a similar lineup should follow the large and small RWD Cadillacs.

XLR to be canceled. DTS to be canceled. Escalade to be based off of a performance RWD crossover chassis, not a full sized truck chassis.


Hummer:

H3, H3 SUT, H3 soft top.

No more than 3 mid sized trucks....very simple, very capable off road. Forget all the fancy goodies...get a Tahoe Z71 if you are into that. Think Land Rover Defender, but with 2 and four door models and a truck model. All Hummers are based off the same chassis and all can share powertrain and parts.
Hummer to be sold everywhere the Toyota Land Cruiser is sold.

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Chevrolet:

Agila, Aveo, Beat, Cobalt, HHR, Malibu, Impala, Equinox, Traverse, Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado, Colorado, Camaro, Corvette, and Express

Chevrolet is the only full lineup at GM. Because of CAFE and rising demand for fuel efficient products, it needs a diverse offering of small, affordable cars. The Agila and Beat are essentially the same thing, except the Beat offers boxy styling and more interior room (like the Honda Element and Scion box). I hope that the new world Aveo and Cobalt are more competative than the current, but they fit the bill as traditional small sedans. The HHR remains on the Cobalt chassis and retains some kind of retro styling. Malibu should be a good sedan with good hybrid powertrains. The Impala needs to move to a stretched version of the G8's chassis....not as fancy as the Park Avenue but not as sporty as the G8 GT. The SS version should be a monster.

Diesel engines should be Chevrolet's "thing". Malibu, Impala, Silverado, Traverse, Tahoe, Suburban, Colorado should all offer diesel options. Trucks and RWD cars should offer small block V8s. Everything else should either be an ecotec 4 cylinder (turbo in some cases) or a gas V6.

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What's missing?

Saab. Because it sells it's own products, can be separated from GM easily and sold for more money than any other brand because it's not integrated. I'll leave that up to the "experts" at GMi to decide if this brand should be sold or kept. If kept, I recommend it being paired up with Cadillac/Hummer dealerships.

Saab has brought very little to the table for GM.