LaNeve: Pontiac/Buick OK With 4 Models Each

[Perian]

Source: The Car Connection 05/20/05 email.
-----------------------------------------------------------

GM’s sales and marketing chief Mark LaNeve said Thursday he is trying to make
the struggling Pontiac and Buick brands more like MINI and Porsche.

What’s that?

LaNeve doesn’t want dealers to get nervous thinking he is going to take Buick
and Pontiac down to one model like MINI. But what he does aim to do is focus the
two brands like MINI and Porsche by limiting them in the future to maybe four
models apiece. “In a few years, MINI will have three or four models and that’s
where Porsche is now. Nobody doesn’t understand what those brands are about,”
says LaNeve. Dealers shouldn’t be too worried, he says, because over 80 percent
of GMC and Pontiac dealers are dualed now, and 50 percent of Buick dealerships
are teamed with GMC-Pontiac stores. That will go above 90 percent over the next
few years.

“We aren’t going to grow market share with Buick and Pontiac, but we can
increase profitability by focusing each on a smaller number of models that truly
reflect the brand images we are creating, and that frees us up to channel
engineering resources to Cadillac and Chevrolet where we think we can grow
share. GMC, Buick and Pontiac will be treated as one product portfolio going
forward without the costly overlaps the brands have now.

“We’d never approve the Buick Rainier going now,” said LaNeve, addressing the
International Motor Press Association in New York. He added that Cadillac and
Chevrolet need to be able to better compete against Toyota and Lexus. “If we
have $900 million to spend on four barely differentiated models or on two
segment breaking models we will choose the two models—that’s where we are
going.”

“We think our eight brands are an asset we can leverage, but we have to manage
it better,” said LaNeve. “What I am talking about is Marketing 101, but we have
to keep learning it over and over again.” —Jim Burt

[Perian]

Originally Posted by Perian

“We’d never approve the Buick Rainier going now,” said LaNeve, addressing the
International Motor Press Association in New York. He added that Cadillac and
Chevrolet need to be able to better compete against Toyota and Lexus. “If we
have $900 million to spend on four barely differentiated models or on two
segment breaking models we will choose the two models—that’s where we are
going.”

The children of dual Chevrolet/Cadillac dealers are going to be very rich one day.

For all intent and purpose, it looks like GM is now a two division company.

[mjd1001]

With Saturn obviously staying around...what kind attention do they get? How many models? Who are the positioned against in this line of thinking?

[FoMoCo Fan]

Someone at GM finally gets it!!!

[RWD60]

now let's just hope they make the right models for the brands... and do a good job!!
I think Pontiac should have a RWD G4 compact, the Solstice, a RWD G6 with the GTO as the super hi-po coupe, a RWD G8 to fight the Charger, and maybe an AWD hi-po crossover (Torrent).
Buick gets a RWD midsized sedan (Regal) and fullsized sedan (Electra??), a luxury AWD crossover (Rendevous), and a production Velite.
GMC gets the Envoy, Sierra, Yukon/XL, and maybe the Canyon, all in what would now be considered Denali trim, with choice of RWD or AWD.
Saturn gets the Astra as the Ion, the Sky, the Aura, a rebadged Zafira minivan, and a F/AWD Vue crossover.
Assuming Saab is included in this, give them the 9-2X hatch, the 9-3 sedan/hatch/vertible, the 9-5 sedan and wagon, and a 9-4X crossover baased on the 9-3 or 9-5.

[AdmiralViscen]

I think 4 models is a little small, considering how many platforms GM has, and how many loyal customers they have. Buick shouldn't get rid of the Rendezvous when GMC gets its Lambda crossover, for instance.

Why didn't they cancel the Torrent?

[acascianelli]

Ok...how about this...

1) Kill off Buick, park it next to Oldsmobile.
2) Give Pontiac 2 of the spots made available from Buick. G4, G6, G8, GTO, Solstice.
3) Give the remaining 2 spots to Cadillac to make 2 CHEAPER luxury cars.

[AdmiralViscen]

No, that's stupid. There's nothing good about throwing 300,000 sales per year in the garbage can. Or 100 years of history.

[acascianelli]

Buick doesn't offer anything that stands out from any of the other GM brands.

[AdmiralViscen]

Is that why the Rendezvous is at the top of customer satisfaction surveys, but the Aztek isn't? The Lucerne is the only G-Body besides the DTS, and it is a very different car from the DTS. The Lacrosse is the only W-Body with the 3.6 HF motor.

Nice job changing the argument, by the way. IT'S NEVER GOOD TO THROW AWAY 300,000 SALES PER YEAR, EVEN IF THE CARS SEEM SIMILAR TO OTHER GM CARS ON SPEC SHEETS. 300,000 people like Buicks because they're Buicks, and flushing them down the toilet because YOU think the cars are too similar to other GM cars won't make them go from a Lacrosse or Regal to a Grand Prix. It'll make them go to Avalons and Five Hundreds.

[GMfan2381]

Ive been saying this for months. Glad to see it starting to happen. 4 models that can be optioned out the wazoo is better than 8 models that have a little bit of each. I think this is a smart move for GM so long as they put out the best in each class. A half baked 4 models will not cut it at all.

[Mike The Canadian]

Originally Posted by acascianelli

Ok...how about this...

1) Kill off Buick, park it next to Oldsmobile.
2) Give Pontiac 2 of the spots made available from Buick. G4, G6, G8, GTO, Solstice.
3) Give the remaining 2 spots to Cadillac to make 2 CHEAPER luxury cars.

are you mad?
look what happened when gm killed of oldsmobile

[free_energy0]

Originally Posted by AdmiralViscen

Is that why the Rendezvous is at the top of customer satisfaction surveys, but the Aztek isn't? The Lucerne is the only G-Body besides the DTS, and it is a very different car from the DTS. The Lacrosse is the only W-Body with the 3.6 HF motor.

Nice job changing the argument, by the way. IT'S NEVER GOOD TO THROW AWAY 300,000 SALES PER YEAR, EVEN IF THE CARS SEEM SIMILAR TO OTHER GM CARS ON SPEC SHEETS. 300,000 people like Buicks because they're Buicks, and flushing them down the toilet because YOU think the cars are too similar to other GM cars won't make them go from a Lacrosse or Regal to a Grand Prix. It'll make them go to Avalons and Five Hundreds.

So you want more badge enginering? That will just perputate GMs rep as a maker of boring cars that mean nothing. It will continue the slow death of all the divsions. Throwing away 300,000 sales so they have money to make good cars again will net more sells (and some relavency) in the long run.

[free_energy0]

Originally Posted by AdmiralViscen

No, that's stupid. There's nothing good about throwing 300,000 sales per year in the garbage can. Or 100 years of history.

You and a few other GMiers, plus the dying-off crowd of conservative old white men that buy Buicks are the only people that think the history is a good thing. The only reason Buick does well in JD power is the old people never drive their cars, and wouldnt notice if something was wrong in the first place. I have seen this first hand w/ my Grandparents

[86fleet]

This might work, if those four cars are the best they can be. I personally don't have a problem with Chevy and Cadillac gaining even more importance, they've always been the most influential. I don't think overall GM sales will fall at all. People are flexible. If someone wanted to buy a Rainier, they could just by an Envoy, or move up to an Escalade instead.