A different look at GM's consolidation

[lio45]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

Old GM
1. Chevrolet
2. Pontiac
3. Oldsmobile
4. Saturn
5. Buick
6. GMC
7. Hummer
8. Cadillac
9. Opel
10. Vauxhall
11. Saab
12. Holden
13. Daewoo
14. Buick - China
15. Partnership with Isuzu
16. Partnership with Fiat (I apologize for reminding people of this one.)

That list is unfair as you're listing brands that were never contemporaries at GM. For example, Vauxhall and Opel were already merged into one brand before the HUMMER acquisition. By that logic, you could have listed Oakland, LaSalle, etc. on that list and watch it grow over 20! The list is supposed to be a snapshot of GM at one point in time, so you can't have all that stuff together on it.

Also, Fiat doesn't belong on the list any more than, say, Suzuki...

Buick - China isn't a brand. While at it, why not decide that Chevy - Latin America is a separate brand? It's pretty much in the same situation as Buick in China, i.e. it sells plenty of GM vehicles from different sources (Opel, Daewoo, GMNAO, etc.) and even has its own "homegrown" models. Just like Buick in China. That's arbitrary.

I agree with your point... just pointing out a few inaccuracies FWIW.

[ksr]

Isn't any brand just one hit car away from a turnaround? I'd be reluctant to shut down anything.

Chrysler has been saved several times by just one car (K car, then the LH Series, then the 300), although each time they never came up with a follow-on hit to really keep the momentum building.

Although, being devil's advocate to my own statement, I think GM mostly did what was necessary product-wise to save Oldsmobile, and they still couldn't rack up big sales numbers. When the Intrique hit the road, C&D judged it superior to Camry and Taurus and predicted [deserved] Cutlass-Supreme-like sales numbers that just never materialized.