Lutz: No Beat for US, Cobalt not near EOL, CUVs on the way, Aura stalled

[Firebird00]

Amazing, what Bob Lutz has outlined is 99.9% (the other .1% being giving Pontiac vehicles as correct) the OPPOSITE of what needs to happen for GM in order to make money. Its time for Bobby Lutz and his cohorts to retire. GM needs to restructure at the very top. They all need to go. That includes the Board.

[oct1]

Guy, honestly, how many of you would buy the Beat today? It is one of the smallest cars in the world!!! If that were the case the Yaris would be the best seller in the Toyota lineup. They may still come up with a revised Cobalt. The engines are more economical than their counterparts in Toyota's lineup. And they have the SS. The 2.2 just got VVT, the 2.4 is better than Toyota's in the Matrix/Corola XRS. And the 2009 Aveo is coming with a new engine, that may be more fuel efficient than the outgoing one. Let us not panic lest we GM admirers will kill our beloved company.

[TruckMan]

Originally Posted by sigma

Because if you do it right, then you save yourself millions by adding additional product flexibility to the portfolio. If you car is world compliant, then you can sell it where you want to, when you need to.

High gas prices mean that Ford is bringing over the Fiesta. GM can't bring over the Beat or the Corsa because they aren't US crash standard compliant. So they offer the Aveo. If you had the choice between the Aveo, Fit and Fiesta, which one would you choose? And this is how GM makes itself irrelevant in yet another product category.

But why invest millions into a car that probably won't sell well. Should they engineer it to be 4WD too? Never know when somebody might want to take a subcompact off-road. If the Smart doesn't sell well, the Beat won't sell well. The Beat is a very small niche vehicle that isn't worth the extra development dollars. Most people don't realize that the Beat is very small - smaller than the Aveo.

[steve333]

WOW!
When I saw the headline I thought it was a joke.
They made us take a poll on the small cars with no intention whatsoever of designing it for the US market. PLUS, they think the Cobalt is fine the way it is for 3 years more!!??
Like I said before, time to say sayonara to GM. I was pissed off about the name change to Cruze but they need a new small car no matter what the name is.
If Ford redesigns the Focus to Euro style, I may actually do something I thought I would never do-buy a Ford.

Rick Wagoner is the biggest moron in the car industry followed close behind by Minimum Bob.
Absolutely pathetic

[steve333]

Originally Posted by psece

Volt first, everything else second. That is where all the thinking is right now. They feel that a halo vehicle like the Volt will get people into the dealership. There won't be enough of the Volts for demand(and the price will be a put off) but they are hoping they can get them into a Malibu LTZ 4 cylinder, a redesigned Aveo or a Cobalt XFE. Or tell the customer in 6 months, we will have a car that gets 11% better economy of the Cobalt but looks like a Malibu on the inside. Not much but lets hope that it changes perception.

The competition is in close to the same predicament(other than perception). Civic has a 2011 redesign intro, Corolla's redesign was this year and sales aren't that great(could be availability though but I think part of it is that the new one looks like a 'S' version of the old Corolla). Toyota has the updated Prius in 2010 and Honda is suppose to have their diesel in late 2009.

Lots of things not talked about was BAS+, HCCI, Small car 6 speed Transmissions, diesels, Colorado/Canyon replacements, BLS, Hydrogen, etc. I really think GM has something up there sleeve. I am just surprised that Lutz hasn't let the cat out of the bag yet.

Thats because the cat ate his brains

[88Fiero]

To all of you flapping your trap about suvs. Have you driven a Hybrid yet? Have you watched the instant economy gage get up in the upper 20's on the highway? Or running down the street and get into 30? They Hybrid needs to be reprogramed to stay in the electric mode longer. Go out at 35+ not 25, and it needs to go into V4 sooner and stay longer!

[fp115]

Originally Posted by steve333

WOW!
When I saw the headline I thought it was a joke.
They made us take a poll on the small cars with no intention whatsoever of designing it for the US market. PLUS, they think the Cobalt is fine the way it is for 3 years more!!??
Like I said before, time to say sayonara to GM. I was pissed off about the name change to Cruze but they need a new small car no matter what the name is.
If Ford redesigns the Focus to Euro style, I may actually do something I thought I would never do-buy a Ford.

Rick Wagoner is the biggest moron in the car industry followed close behind by Minimum Bob.
Absolutely pathetic

Do realize the headline is incorrect. The Beat was never intended for the US, the Cruze is still on schedule as originally planned (June 2010), the next generation Aveo is slated around the same time as the Cruze. Also the Insignia is NOT halted, but simply stalled in order to shift funds around. The Aura is still fresh enough to last the additional time.

[steve333]

Originally Posted by dindak

A few points

1. Cruze is not going to save GM and there is little point in rushing it when Cobalt is selling well.
2. A new NOX / Torrent will be welcomed by the market if it's fuel efficient and modern. People want SUVs, just not big guzzling ones.
3. Beat will not be a big seller even with $4 gas. It's too small. Maybe it adds 20,000 units, big deal.

GM needs to conserve cash, reallocate funds to hybrids / cars and keep it's head down. Great products are coming and the economy will improve in a year or so.

1. The Cobalt is selling because all small car are selling. It is in dire need of an overhaul. At least make the suspension more like the Astra, new seats, telescoping steering wheel, but you know GM will do none of this and let it rot on the vine.
2. CUV sales are tanking.
3. The Smart car is selling, you dont think the Beat would? GM needs these cars to cut down their average CAFE-NOW.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by steve333

1. The Cobalt is selling because all small car are selling. It is in dire need of an overhaul. At least make the suspension more like the Astra, new seats, telescoping steering wheel, but you know GM will do none of this and let it rot on the vine.
2. CUV sales are tanking.
3. The Smart car is selling, you dont think the Beat would? GM needs these cars to cut down their average CAFE-NOW.

2. CUV sales are doing fairly well versus past months. You aren't taking into consideration that the car buying market has tanked. It is very difficult to buy an Enclave these days, they aren't on the lots for very long.

3. 10k cars sold is hardly a well selling car. Once you post 100k sales then the market is booming. The market is a niche to which Scion even has to pull out of. Investing millions of dollars into the Beat to be marketed now is stupid when the money is better spent on a vehicle like the Aveo, Cruze, Volt,...

[steve333]

Originally Posted by member12

So they introduce a concept to America, but during a time if high fuel prices they don't build it to meet federal standards.....and the Chevy Cruze is not going to make it to the USA until it's long in the tooth. GM wants to sell the only brand that meets it's target audience even though it's totally integrated into the GM truck lineup. The Saturn Aura (Insignia) won't arrive in the USA until it's out dated.

To be fair, the Cobalt was introduced only 4 years ago...but it was a half-assed effort and everyone knows it..in fact, only the SS products have been competative. GM introduced the 2004 Malibu around the same time and updated it once and then completely changed it for 2008.


This is a lot of bad news to take all at once....seriously hard to be a fan of GM now when they don't want to get any better.



FIRE BOB LUTZ.

Couldnt have said it better myself, although the decisions lie with Rick Wagoner. When is the GM board going to wake up and fire that dimwitted chimp!?
Ford has found its way because it hired an outsider with a brain, current Focus design notwithstanding. They are bringing their entire superior Euro lineup here STAT while GM mainlines into a sure death.

[calgaryhhr]

Originally Posted by TruckMan

But why invest millions into a car that probably won't sell well. Should they engineer it to be 4WD too? Never know when somebody might want to take a subcompact off-road. If the Smart doesn't sell well, the Beat won't sell well. The Beat is a very small niche vehicle that isn't worth the extra development dollars. Most people don't realize that the Beat is very small - smaller than the Aveo.

I would be one of the first into the showroom to have a look at this and potential purchase or lease one. As a commuter car this would be great. I don't know if trying to compare Smart sales to a potential Beat sales is fully accurate. Although these cars might be similar in size and engine volume and fuel economy (?? don't know what the specs are like yet) I think these cars would appeal to different people. The Beat should have a more attractive design and come in at a lower price. I don't know how they sell the Smart in the US but in Canada the Smart is sold in MB dealerships and that could deter many people. Some people just don't feel comfortable walking into an MB or BMW dealership. Not to mention that the Smart has a pretty involved maintenance program which is pretty costly (especially with the previous diesel models.) The MB service plan on Smart cars runs about $200 to $300 every 6 or 8 months. A Beat should offer much lower cost of ownership and most people will be willing to walk into a Chevy dealership to check one out.

[Pinnacle]

Un****ingreal! what can you say? God please strike these morons with a bolt of lighting so we can put someone new in there.

[TruckMan]

Originally Posted by steve333

1. The Cobalt is selling because all small car are selling. It is in dire need of an overhaul. At least make the suspension more like the Astra, new seats, telescoping steering wheel, but you know GM will do none of this and let it rot on the vine.
2. CUV sales are tanking.
3. The Smart car is selling, you dont think the Beat would? GM needs these cars to cut down their average CAFE-NOW.

1. The Cobalt is only 4 years old. GM has plenty of vehicles that need updating more than the Cobalt. The Impala is older AND GM SELLS MORE OF THEM THAN THE COBALT. Wouldn't it make more sense to update the Implala first? They probably make more money from the Impala too. That's just one example of why most everybody here is wrong about the Cruze update.

2. CUV/Truck numbers have dropped TEMPORARILY, but their numbers are still at the same levels AND HIGHER than most cars. "Tanking" is a gross exaggeration.
GM trucks to date: 899,728
GM cars to date: 689,507

3. CAFE doesn't go into effect for 7/12 years. There's still plenty of time to worry about those numbers. The Beat would be more niche than Hummer without all the profit.

[mcool]

Originally Posted by RamJet502

NO BEAT FOR THE US!!! Morons!!!

Why debut the three minicars in NYC if they wouldn't be engineered for federalization?

Stupid, GM. Just stupid. You can't take that car, which will be seen in Transformers 2, apparently, debut it here then slap us with the same old excuses!

That was the Corsa excuse... and Saturn could have a market leader there.

Wasn't the new GM supposed to develop world cars now?

[notacarguy]

If this is true, GM deserves to go belly-up. Maybe then they could get some competent managers to help the company do better.