Quote:
Originally Posted by SierraGS
This is where you and GM are totally wrong and why GM may go bankrupt - did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe the millions of happy GM midsize owners of these V6 powered cars:
Century (100% OHV V6)
Regal (100% OHV V6)
LeSabre (100% OHV V6)
Park Ave (100% OHV V6)
Malibu (pre-2008) (100% OHV V6)
Impala (100% OHV V6)
Monte Carlo (100% OHV V6)
Grand Am (100% OHV V6)
Grand Prix (100% OHV V6)
Delta 88(100% OHV V6)
Cutlass (100% OHV V6)
Alero (100% OHV V6)
And these high percentage OHV V6 models
Intrigue
LaCrosse
Lucerne
G6
MAY actually want a OHV V6 powered Epsilon properly equipped with features they are willing to spend money on?
As long as GM goes out of their way to alienate existing owners they have no chance as this violates the first rule of marketing - take care of your loyal customers first since you know they will give you a chance.
I guarantee you that GM has lost thousands of 2008-2009 Maibu sales from the above mentioned owners when they discovered they powertrain they wanted was not available, GM finally got the car right (mostly) but shoots itself in the foot with the powertrain - Not Smart. And the lost sales dwarf any potential "conquest" sales to Import V6 buyers - again NOT SMART.
And before you get going on the DOHC nonsense, go to you nearest GM dealer and spend the entire weekend there and ask the sales reps how many potential buyers care about what is under the hood or if they are far more concerned about how much the car will cost them to buy and operate, until then spare us from your marketing ignorance.
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Marketing ignorance? This coming from the same person that is suggesting that GM offer NO premium OHC 24-valve V6 option in their FWD midsize Epsilon models, which would give them absolutely NO CHANCE of competing with the premium OHC V6-powered Camry/Altima/Accord/Mazda 6? Yea sure...
It's people like you suggesting that GM
insist on providing a primary powertrain that a majority of import buyers have no interest in or desire in owning(which is an unrefined and outdated OHV V6 with archaic 4-speed auto) that put GM's back up against the wall leading up to and shortly after the year 2000 and made a revitalization plan so immediately necessary that they fell short of the import competition for years and years.
Maybe if they had gotten rid of their uncompetitive OHV V6 motors years ago like they should have and stopped wasting millions of dollars on building these outdated motors years ago then maybe their High Feature V6s wouldn't have been so expensive to build. Maybe this has something to do with the funny coincidence that GM is currently building and using less and less of their High Value pushrod V6 motors now and at the same time their premium OHC High Feature V6s are becoming less and less expensive to build along with increased production capacity of their HF V6s.
You make it seem as if GM not offering a horribly outdated and unrefined OHV V6 is a major mistake when in reality GM offering more and more of what the majority of the buying public actually wants which is smooth, efficient, modern, and refined DOHC multi-valve I-4s and V6s is what will help them become as competitive as possible and actually give them a chance to steal sales from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Because I'll tell you right now that GM stands NO CHANCE of competing with the imports and winning over sales from potential Camcord and Altima buyers if they continued to offer OHV V6s, and I've spoken to many, many import buyers and every single one of them have told me they have absolutely NO INTEREST in owning any new vehicle with an OHV V6, plain and simple.
And right now for the time being it might seem like the sales numbers are not very confidence inspiring of the Aura, G6, and Malibu that use GM's DOHC Ecotec I-4s and High Feature V6s w/ 6-speed autos, but you have to understand that for years and years GM has continued on insisting to offer uncompetitive, unrefined, and outdated OHV V6/4-speed auto powertrains in a majority of its makes and models and over the years this has severely damaged GM's overall brand image and media/consumer reputation(particularly with import buyers), and it's going to take a little time for the buying public to see and understand that GM is finally beginning to offer solid, competitive DOHC multi-valve powertrains now in a majority of its makes and models such as the 3.6HF DI, 2.4 Ecotec, and 3.0HF DI along with the new 6-speed autos.
Once the buying public sees that GM is making a serious and valiant effort in offering modern, refined, and competitive DOHC multi-valve I-4s and V6s along with efficient 6-speed autos in a majority of its makes and models while eliminating the uncompetitive OHV V6s/4-speed autos from their makes and models then sales numbers will most definitely improve by a wide margin, especially when the import buyers catch on to GM's newfound powertrain goodness. But it's not going to happen overnight however GM's brand image will improve as long as they continue to offer what the buying public wants which is exactly what they have been doing.
And you would be surprised at how more and more potential buyers are becoming more interested and concerned with what's under the hood of their new vehicle, because I've talked to numerous GM salespeople and they have all agreed that as time goes by they've noticed more and more potential buyers that come into their showrooms asking more detailed questions on the engines and transmissions used in the GM makes and models they are interested in.