GM sharpens focus on small cars; Bringing overseas models to the U.S. key to success

[The Law]

what about the new Astra and Corsa?

when will they land in NA?

Saab is also working on 9-2 (delta)

[K-1]

Originally Posted by megeebee

Even the Vue, based on a GMDAT vehicle, isn't selling as well as the American one it replaced.

I don't know where you're getting that impression. It was up 40% last month and is off a whole 500 vehicles year-to-date from last year. It's on track to have one of it's best years at 90,000 sales.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by jcgable

As in another new model that we have not heard about??? Do tell.

There was a very short article in the news a couple of days ago that hinted that Lordstown has a mock up/pre-production model of the Cruze hidden in a back room somewhere. It should look just like the fuzzy Cruze photos you can see as of today on various websites.

Ah, here's the article:

Is a prototype of the Cruze automobile hidden at the GM Lordstown plant?
Vindy.com
Published:Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Workers caught a brief glimpse of the car coming to its Lordstown plant, but General Motors still is keeping Chevrolet Cruze under wraps.

Rick Wagoner, GM chief executive, showed a photo of the car during a presentation Tuesday that was shown to GM workers all over the country on a satellite feed. It was the first time GM has shown the car.

Chris Lee, a GM spokesman, said Wednesday, however, that no photos of the car are being distributed to the press.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jul/1...ile-hidden-at/

[johnstarnes]

I'm both puzzled and dismayed to read that Toyota designed the iQ right from the start to meet US standards even though their original intention was NOT to sell it here...but that foresight has allowed them to change their mind and offer it to Americans now clamoring for small, comfortable, gas misers. Why did GM not do that with the Beat since they asked us to vote on the Triplets? Now GM says no Beat for the US until the next-gen comes out? Couldn't that easily be four years away? Way to anticipate market changes Wagoner, way to give further market share advances for Toyota! How much does Wagoner make annually again to make stellar decisions like these?

[LAMRONH]

Originally Posted by Ming

Well it certainly wasn't for lack of people like me asking for this in fan forums like GMI since around 2004 or earlier (around when it became apparent that GM was starving its cars for trucks and SUVs and getting a bad reputation for it while Toyota and Honda were building up their image as the default makers of reliable and fuel efficient small cars).

But "no one wanted small cars and everyone wanted trucks and SUVs" back then, if you ask Bob (with his typical hyperbole).

Negativity aside, I am very hopeful for this shift of focus, even if GM management was pulled kicking and screaming into it. I just hope we don't see any small car plans scrapped by the quarterly earnings mentality when or if gasoline prices dip down to levels where SUVs and Trucks start selling better for a few months in a row.

As they say at GE, progress is our most important product.
Isn't that what they say at GE?

In a way, they were right: No one--or not enough folks--wanted GM small cars.
GM small cars were forever the redheaded stepchildren. Lessons were not learned, repeatedly. Brass living in a truck dream world, like addicts.

Anyway, IF this is true, I am proud it's taken but 40 years to awaken the slumbering giant (vehicle builder).

[LAMRONH]

Originally Posted by johnstarnes

I'm both puzzled and dismayed to read that Toyota designed the iQ right from the start to meet US standards even though their original intention was NOT to sell it here...but that foresight has allowed them to change their mind and offer it to Americans now clamoring for small, comfortable, gas misers. Why did GM not do that with the Beat since they asked us to vote on the Triplets? Now GM says no Beat for the US until the next-gen comes out? Couldn't that easily be four years away? Way to anticipate market changes Wagoner, way to give further market share advances for Toyota! How much does Wagoner make annually again to make stellar decisions like these?

Be dismayed, but do not be puzzled johnstarnes.

Some organizations make rational, intelligent decisions that cover many possible contingencies.
Some organizations continue down their familiar, comfortable, well-worn trail.

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by Olds88

I don't think GM should scrap any plans. I really hope they update GMT900 on schedule. My plan is to purchase a 2012-2014 Avalanche to replace the 07 in my driveway (or a Suburban if Avalanche has ceased to exist). I don't think I'm GM's only truck customer that isn't planning on downgrading anytime soon. Either that or give me a truly full-sized RWD station wagon (the Holden Sportwagon isn't) packing some flavor of the Chevy small block.

I wouldn't bet on the Avalanche being around in 2012. It's clearly a product of the cheap-fuel era. The Suburban's going nowhere though. There are simply too many customers who will actually need that sort of vehicle.

I talked with some good friends today who mentioned they are looking to buy a Tahoe to replace their current well-worn Expedition. They're high-income professionals so fuel prices aren't really part of the equation, but they don't use their rig simply for commuting either. They tow quite often (single-horse trailer, boat, double jetski trailer) and have five children so they need 7/8-passenger seating.

It's funny, they mentioned that they wished GM had a modern version of the Astro/Safari available as it would fit their needs perfectly!

I think the big truck-based products that were developed to capitalise on the truck boom in the 90s — Tahoe, Escalade, Avalanche — will disappear within a few years, likely at the end of their model run, but the Suburban will always be here, high fuel prices or not. However I think it'll return more closely to its utilitarian roots instead of being a lavish luxury wagon.

[Zr1_Boi]

uh gm this is good but I got news for you everybody doesn't like puny cars. Like the beat sum people like vettes,tahoes,impalas so don't bet the farm on them. Have a variety of cars so people who actually need space can get a new full sized vehicle. Because when gas drops like now there gonna flop right back to big cars. And p.s I'm not risking my life for a few mpgs so they better be safe.

[jcgable]

Originally Posted by Ming

Thanks jcgable, but I must admit some selfishness in my focus on GM focusing on small cars (again). See, I was a fan of small GM cars back when it wasn't cool to be a fan of GM small cars. I regret selling my 4-cylinder powered 1986 Pontiac 6000 station wagon and I'd love to own a 1987 Buick Skyhawk Turbo hatchback coupe. The reliability was not great, and the rampant rebadging awful, but the concept, the fuel economy, and the price points of those 1980's GM cars were spot on.

Add on top of that my experiences with small cars in Japan, and you have what made my tastes end up where they are today, after a couple of years of being distracted by larger cars and trucks and "bigger is better" mentality (I still love my Bonneville, though).

The majority of traditional GM fans on a site like this are more than likely going to be Camaro/Truck/Corvette/Big Sedan Cadillac/SUV big-horsepower types of guys. So I've developed a thick skin over the years, and just keep pushing my point of view, hoping someone will listen before it's too late, and my chance to see cars like those I liked so much return are gone, never to return.

I see your point of view, and now have a better understanding as to why. What's good to hear is that someone actually understands that even though oil prices are high, that doesn't mean the truck/BOF SUV market should be abandoned altogether. Rather, they should be working to engineer as diverse and broad a portfolio as possible; something they haven't been doing.

I just get frustrated when I see and hear how hard the blue & white collar employees are working, only to be lead by an upper management who constantly make stubborn mistakes. I have high standards set for GM, and they quite simply aren't being met. If gas prices had suddenly reached this point 3 years ago, I would have understood why GM would be unprepared. I don't, however, see how they managed not to invest in these North American products despite a relatively constant increase and gas prices over the last 3 years. Additionally, more recent decisions such as to not engineer the 'Beat' for the NA market and the decision to delay the 'Cruze' for 1 year after the European launch does not indicate any real transition in their thinking.

It is a corporation's job to be able to predict and accommodate trends and shifts in consumer demand. GM has the brainpower, the means, and the experience necessary to do that, yet in many cases, they seem not to. In the meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of jobs are lost because of it.

*Rant over*

[mjd1001]

One thing I'll say about small cars being fun....

A large V8 (or powerful v6) powered mid sized car or large car or SUV (over 3400 lbs) may be quicker/faster than a lot of small cars....but as I have grown older I am a little afraid (due to safety or the fear of getting a ticket) of using that power to acheive very high speeds or quick acceleration runs. However, the small cars I have had (Cavalier, Celica GT, even an older Accord) that weren't that fast...they still were a blast to drive around turns because of their better handling feel. If I'm not goign to try to get from 0-60 in 5 seconds between stop lights....taking that highway off ramp at 40 mph sometimes feels just as good (esp in a small car where you can't feel 2 tons of weight being pushed to the outside of the curve.)

[hotrod1949]

[quote=johnstarnes;1459818]I'm both puzzled and dismayed to read that Toyota designed the iQ right from the start to meet US standards even though their original intention was NOT to sell it here...but that foresight has allowed them to change their mind and offer it to Americans now clamoring for small, comfortable, gas misers. Why did GM not do that with the Beat since they asked us to vote on the Triplets?

This has been one of GM's problems, they engineer a platform 10 ways from Sunday for each market, or not. Engineers can then work on future product, improvements or green technology, instead of adapting some other markets vehicle to North America.
Build in the strictest standards from each market, and make it world friendly, or adaptable very easily, from the beginning. If such engineering makes a car better built for a market than it has to be, excellent!, and advertise that fact.

[1487]

the article is garbage and it should be treated as such. yet another piece written with half truths to paint a picture of GM being inept and Toyota/Honda being right on top of trends. The article says Toyota is well positioned for these times because of the Yaris but doesnt mention Yaris sales at all. Same for the Fit. These cars arent even moving 10k units a month consistently and the press says they are flying off the lots. Furthermore the article makes no mention of the Aveo and makes it seem like GM wont have a subcompact on sale for 2 more years. The article also says Hummers and escalades are the face of Gm and have been where they are focused even though cars like the Impala, G6, Malibu and Cobalt regular sell far more units than than Hummer plus Escalade combined. For the last few years the only GM vehicle that has outsold the IMpala (a car) has been the Silverado.

[dindak]

I think there should be a focus on making SUVs more fuel efficient or making them hybrid also. People still want trucks, just not trucks that get 13 mpg.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by jcgable

Additionally, more recent decisions such as to not engineer the 'Beat' for the NA market and the decision to delay the 'Cruze' for 1 year after the European launch does not indicate any real transition in their thinking.

It is a corporation's job to be able to predict and accommodate trends and shifts in consumer demand. GM has the brainpower, the means, and the experience necessary to do that, yet in many cases, they seem not to. In the meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of jobs are lost because of it.

GM's small cars have had some things working against them over the years:

1. They were sold as econoboxes, with slim or no profit margins. Almost no attempt was made to market a small car with attractive trim and premium technology, like the MINI.
2. Management didn't care about selling cars with no profits to be had. R&D budgets suffered further, leading to a downward sprial that ended in the Cavalier value edition with nerf football headrests and Sunfire with leftover ugly patchwork Aztek seat cloth. The platforms dated back to the 1980's and were uncompetitive.
3. Advertising budgets were small, or ads portrayed the cars as decidedly less than desireable. Corny, cheeseball ads were approved by execs who never would have driven a Cavalier or Sunfire themselves.
4. The Cobalt came with 1999 Civic looks, the melted bar of soap styling that got only aftermarket tuner types (who'd change the looks anyways) excited. The interior and platform were a huge step up, but the Cobalt had lame ads with beach balls bouncing between them and "big brother" (read more desireable) Corvette in the background as a theme. Corvette was the car you wanted, Cobalt the car you settled for.
5. The perfect mix of utility and pricing, the HHR, was crippled by retro looks that don't appeal to the general market, relegating it to niche status.
6. The common sense utlitity of the Malibu Maxx was crippled as it was never offered with a 4-cylinder engine.
7. The Vibe is immediately identified as a Toyota rebadge/reskin by any web site research - so why buy a Pontiac with Pontiac resale value?
8. The Chevy Metro died, with no replacement.
9. Bob Lutz had no apparent interest in small cars beyond his 60's style roadster, the Solstice.
10. Astra gets here, 4 years too late, imported with a weak dollar.

[HotCarNut]

Originally Posted by Olds88

I don't think GM should scrap any plans. I really hope they update GMT900 on schedule. My plan is to purchase a 2012-2014 Avalanche to replace the 07 in my driveway (or a Suburban if Avalanche has ceased to exist). I don't think I'm GM's only truck customer that isn't planning on downgrading anytime soon. Either that or give me a truly full-sized RWD station wagon (the Holden Sportwagon isn't) packing some flavor of the Chevy small block.

How is the Holden Sportwagon not full-sized? Did you ever consider that a Suburban is mega-sized? There isn't a station wagon in existance, period, that has the interior room of the current Suburban. Not even the Buick Roadmasters of yore. Maybe you should evaluate exactly how much room you need as there will be several wagons on the market in the next couple of years (although one full-size, the Dodge Magnum with the HEMI V8, is disappearing), but the Pontiac G8 wagon (should they bring it) will probably be the only true full-size.