Wagoner: 'Saab is not for sale'

[jbernie]

Originally Posted by 96_impala_ss

No, A lot of people think the same. Saturn is cheap cheap plastic cars. (To the American public) They should phase out Saturn, and if they insist bring Opel here. Personally I think they would do better as Pontiacs, since Holden is nothing but rebadged Opels and the Holden developed RWD cars. Also Pontiac has a larger dealer network than Saturn, and it wouldnt cost much to rebadge them as Pontiacs than to bring Opel here and go through that hassle.

Suggest you go study your Holden & Opel product lines. Very little in Holden is Opel, it is more GM Daewoo, and the Commodore is pure Holden these days as the Opel remanents went out with the VE came online with the Holden devloped Zeta platform.

That being said, a Holden/Opel/Pontiac link up would not be all bad news.

[skylark68]

Houston sort of has one Saab dealer left, I think it's Ron Carter on I-45 South (Gulf Freeway). It's also a Hummer Cadillac dealer.

[Quickening]

Originally Posted by skylark68

Houston sort of has one Saab dealer left, I think it's Ron Carter on I-45 South (Gulf Freeway). It's also a Hummer Cadillac dealer.

O right. That one is so far out I forget about it. Still its ridiculous for the majority of Houston to have to drive out there for Saab.

[chevypowa670]

sell Saab, GM needs money and Saab sure as hell isn't making them any, i can't believe some people are more willing to dump GMC (GM's second best selling company)then Saab. I Just don;t get the love affair, they are nice cars they just sell worth a damn.

[Quickening]

Because GMC is rebadges. Isn't seen in a good light. Its full of trucks, suvs, crossovers that get piss poor mileage.

Saab on the other hand has so much potential if GM would pay attention to it for more than 1 second.

[chevypowa670]

Originally Posted by Quickening

Because GMC is rebadges. Isn't seen in a good light. Its full of trucks, suvs, crossovers that get piss poor mileage.

Saab on the other hand has so much potential if GM would pay attention to it for more than 1 second.

your right, but they are not going to so why keep it around? I understand GMC is full of trucks and SUVS but that is what the company is for. They make alot more money for GM then Saab does, that goes for hummer and Saturn also dump these **** companies, i like hummer just as much as the next guy but they have to go. And Saturn, don;t even get me started on Saturn.


Chevy, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac and GMC

what GM should be and it should stay that way, getting to big in the first place is a reason why this company is basically dead.

[Quickening]

If they are going to clean up shop, than GMC and Pontiac are going to.

[guitarlix]

Originally Posted by Quickening

Saturn truly needs to become Opel. Why they are Americanizing the Insignia goes directly against GM's goal/plan. Position to go head on against VW.

Saab needs get new product. Play up its eco friendly engine, lifestyle etc. And go after Audi, Acura, Volvo. Luxury, FWD/AWD.

Cadillac focuses squarely on Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Fill the niches, and go after each and every sell of their sales.

Buick aligns more with Buick China and takes on Lexus. Doesn't try to fill every niche, but the core vehicles. And doesn't command the higher premium of Lexus.

Chevy. Jack of all trades. That goes after Toyota, Ford, Honda.

I can't believe some of you people still think like this. This is ABSOLUTE RUBBISH. Total garbage.

Lexus and Acura don't give a flying f about Volvo or Audi. Their target is straight at the top - MB and BMW. Acura is not there yet but I can assure, it isn't thinking about taking on Saab, but rather BMW.

The markets segments are very clearly defined - there's luxury and there's economy and various size/product classes within these broad separations.

What you're trying to do is to somehow fit all of GM's umpteen brands somewhere in the market. But these niches don't exist.

Lexus isn't a niche. Audi isn't either. Acura isn't a strong enough brand to command a price premium like Lexus, MB or BMW but that is its target. Not to be a SAAB competitor. To think in this manner is to think like Wagoner and his cronies - 1 year planning with no thought of the future.

There can only 2 or utmost 3 brands at GM. Saturn is useless. And thinking that rebadging it Opel is going to solve anything is pure dream. (Opel would do better than current Saturn though). Just because you're offering product worldwide, doesn't mean you have to offer it everywhere. That's not consolidation. Consolidation would be aligning Chevy, Opel and Holden for instance. Not a different brand for every one of your global brands.

Chevy and Cadillac stay. Then you pick between Pontiac and Buick. The rest are useless over the long run. (they'll shrink and GM will ultimately be forced to close them.)

[guitarlix]

Rick Wagoner: "We are not going to sell Saab"

Saab salesman: "We are not going to sell any Saabs"

(modified from another forum)

[xzen]

I would really like to see a new Saab with the insignia's hatchback.

[96_impala_ss]

Originally Posted by jbernie

Suggest you go study your Holden & Opel product lines. Very little in Holden is Opel, it is more GM Daewoo, and the Commodore is pure Holden these days as the Opel remanents went out with the VE came online with the Holden devloped Zeta platform.

That being said, a Holden/Opel/Pontiac link up would not be all bad news.

Yea I understand Holden is a mix of Daewoo and Holden. What I ment when I said Holden developed RWD Cars was Zeta. I wasnt implying that Holden is nothing but rebadged, but rather the only Holden developed cars are their RWD cars. If I was talking about the Commodores on V body, I woulve just said Rebadged RWD Opel cars or Reworked RWD Opels.

[MERCURYSABLE08]

Originally Posted by nadepalma

I say enough is enough with Saturn. Just dump the brand strategy for it, adopt the Opel crest and image, and then at least you can justify the prices for the Astra, etc.

And having Opel/Saab stores may not be all that amiss from what they have in Europe.

But that's just me - and its an old rant from where I'm seated.

I'm not big on killing brands and I say that really just because of the brand I like.

But anyway I agree 100% with you and I think it would be a good move.

[Stovebolt]

Originally Posted by 96_impala_ss

BTW there have been some pontiacs without the split grill.

1960. Strangely, one of my favorites.

[TORRED1]

Saab is quirky, let it die, or else just let it it be a niche very low volume vehicle, How does Saab sell in europe, and the rest of the world. How many Saab,s sell in the USA vs Europe in a yr.

[stevecmh]

its the one brand that i would be fine with them dropping