GMC Should Die… And be Reborn

[TimR]

Originally Posted by 2002 Caddy

Also keep in mind that GMC buyers already PAY MORE to have a GMC on the grill.. They will NOT consider a Chevy truck.

Where does this come from? Go to gmc.com and build a truck then go to chevrolet.com and build same truck. Same price. (do not count special edition things etc as they appeal to very small percentage).

I'd drive a Chevy truck if they weren't so weird looking. I won't drive a new Buick (old people car 4 door only) and I won't drive a Pontiac (posers except maybe the G8 four door only) and I won't drive a Saab (ugly things) and I won't drive a Saturn (except maybe the Sky Redline which is way nicer than the Solstice)and I can't justify the money on a Caddy....and Hummer is just a lost cause.

[SierraGS]

Originally Posted by poncho1982

Hahahaha!! Good one.

I thought GMC buyers were all about "Professional Grade"? That in itself negates Toyota.

Any GMC buyer that goes to Toyota over a Silverado, (which BTW is basically THE SAME VEHICLE) or even Ford or Dodge, is stupid.

Buh Bye! Good riddence.

You won't be laughing when the Toyoa Tundra owns the large pickup truck market.

The truck market is going to drop due to the housing slump - NOT gas prices.

I'll make this easy for you to understand - someone hit the "reset" button on the Truck market and going forward it will belong to the company who makes the best moves, just like the Accord/Camry built the market after the last economic/energy dowturn in the early 80's.

Toyota will do it usual beat down on GM and line up great deals for contractors when it introduces its HD line and gradually raise sales until they enjoy the same gap on the Silverado as the Camry has on the Malibu.

The Sierra outsold the Tundra last month 13,362 vs 12,144, and Sierra sales are down by a lower percentage to date than the Silverado.

Now combine them and you get 25,506 which is higher than the Rams 19,727 and closing in on the Silverado 37,020 and without a HD Tundra.

Toyota can easily outsmart GM in the large truck market re-build and will duplicate its dominance the Tacoma enjoys in the small/mid-truck market.

Only GM management would come up with a lame idea as dropping a brand that costs next to nothing per sale, yet yields high margins (profits).

Let me see.... GMC = Low cost with High profit, there is a brand that has to go (sarcasm intended)

[Bvonscott]

I can't believe this thread exists. There's a reason I have a GMC, because they look better than Chevy! I'm a die hard GMC fan, no way I'm buying anything else!

[AMERICA 123]

Just an FYI,

Everybody that cares about GM, you might want to 'notice' the following.

Since the information concerning Toyota's labor practices came out, here are the topics mgescuro has started.

In other words since this thread here - More Skeletons in the Closet for "Friendly" Toyota

06-18-2008, 08:30 PM
GotAWD
3.6 Liter V6

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More Skeletons in the Closet for "Friendly" Toyota
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...18/090268.html

- these are the topics mgescuro started.


Pontiac Needs to Close
mgescuro

GMC Should Die… And be Reborn
mgescuro

My Vision of Cadillac (REDUX)
mgescuro

If Buick Survives, It Needs to do a Few Things
mgescuro



*****************************
Go look at those posts, and if that doesn't make it obvious whats really going on here, go scroll thru the rest of his postings.

*****************************

I would post that a little better but somehow my editor selection is now limited to 'Standard Editor' or 'Standard Editor - Extra formatting controls" so I guess avatars and pictures won't post.

This control function -

Message Editor Interface
When posting messages to the forums or other members, there are three interface types available to you. The simplest of these is a simple text box, while the last is a fully-fledged WYSIWYG editor, which allows you to format your text as you want it and see the results immediately.

Depending upon the capabilities of your web browser, you may not be able to use all of these options. If you experience problems when posting messages, try switching to a different interface type.
Message Editor Interface: Standard Editor - Extra formatting controls

Darndest thing, the Message Editor Interface changed from WYSIWYG while I reading and posting on the thread about Toyota - More Skeletons in the Closet for "Friendly" Toyota.

[2002 Caddy]

Originally Posted by poncho1982

Hahahaha!! Good one.

I thought GMC buyers were all about "Professional Grade"? That in itself negates Toyota.

Any GMC buyer that goes to Toyota over a Silverado, (which BTW is basically THE SAME VEHICLE) or even Ford or Dodge, is stupid.

Buh Bye! Good riddence.

With an attitude like that you have a future in GM senior management.

Lets go back to the board room table circa 1999...

Well if Olds buyers leave us to buy Lexus.. Then they are stupid. If they are that disloyal. F'em

There is the attitude we need...
If the customer stops buying our trucks and cars... Good Riddance to them...
The last thing we need now is more customers... More customers mean more sales and more sales means we might actually make some money...

[PAULSTS1]

Again Post#50 is about implementing Technology to Solve the "Sales Problems." And I still agree. Though I have been a loyal GM customer for most of my life, lately the products by FORD have been occupying my desires: The Escape Hybrid, The Lincoln Navigator (for style and technology, only) the Jaguar (recently acquired by TATA) and the SYNC technology. Elsewhere I saw the new Ford Falcon, and think it's hot!

GM is losing the race because its static, and is doing nothing but shuffling the Titanics deck chairs, everyday something isn't done, mutiple millions of dollars flow. AND THOSE DOLLARS LIKE DAYS OF LIFE CAN'T EASILY BE REPLACED. What's needed is a mass marketeer like Lee Iococca, who at one time was an Indian Chief at FORD it was he that was responsible for the Mustang. And he brought Chrysler back from the brink with fuel efficient, family cars, and paid of the Federal Loans, years in Advance. GM needs a visionary, with strength, and the Iron Hand to make things happen. But every day the wait, the Company draws closer to Federal Court District 11

[lightbrotha2004]

I agree with Mgescuro but only to a point. I say that they incorporate the line up and like MG said have Denali and Cascade, but without the Chevy names. I for one will never buy a Silverado, but I will buy a Sierra, no Tahoe, but a Yukon.

[EllwynX]

Previously some GMC models looked better than their Chevy counterpart (mainly on the last generation of Silverado/Sierra). The 'angry face' Silverado was the ugliest truck on the market.

But in their current form they are nearly identical aside from the front grille. And the Sierra's front end is just too open and cavernous compared to the Silverado. The chrome bar w/Bowtie is far more attractive than a featureless grille with a 'GMC' in the middle. Exact same with the Colorado/Canyon.

This also goes for the Tahoe/Yukon. The Tahoe is a stunning SUV. The front of the Yukon looks like a dopey smiley face though.

IF a brand needs to be eliminated, GMC makes the most sense.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by poncho1982

Hahahaha!! Good one.

I thought GMC buyers were all about "Professional Grade"? That in itself negates Toyota.

Any GMC buyer that goes to Toyota over a Silverado, (which BTW is basically THE SAME VEHICLE) or even Ford or Dodge, is stupid.

Buh Bye! Good riddence.

Thank God some of these people aren't in charge of GM...there'd be nothing left after two months and we'd all be driving Fords.

So in effect, you're saying, "Screw you, loyal GMC owners. You're among the last people left who are truly loyal to GM, but we don't need you, go to hell."


In today's day and age, we need as many customers as we can get, starting with the ones who are already loyal to the company.

[regfootball]

separate building = double costs = dealers will have increased expenses = they don't need that right now

[gardnet1]

As far as corporate surgeries go why do the cosmetic work with GMC first? They make money and loads of it, even today with gas so high. Their R&D is virtually paid for by Chevy. Their not costing Chevy any sales either.

The real cancer is Saab which hasn't turned a profit since that bozo carter was in office in the 70's and won't make money for at least another 5 years. Sell Saab or Kill it, or strictly sell them in Europe and mid-east. Sell Saab along with Hummer to an Indian or Russian conglomerate looking for a foot hold in the US. Sell them the factories in Indiana & Louisiana too as GM can move the pickups to underutilized plants.

Hummer could probably fetch a good price of $3 billion or more and Saab might fetch $1billion. Plus GM could get rid of the Saab factory and R&D center in Sweden that are too costly to be of any use.

That would be enough to fund veba and GM could then channel more R&D funds to the others. Saab and Hummer have mostly standalone dealerships that GM could easily pare that would streamline management.

GMC could take up some of the Hummer slack such as Wrangler type off-roader.

Then you would have:

Chevy: Affordable, dependable, value oriented
Cadillac: Performance Luxury
BPG
--Buick: Modern Luxury
--Pontiac: Oz Holden connection (cheap R&D) with some Chevy rebadges, excitement and MPGs
--GMC: Professional Grade trucks a step above Chevy, more profitable trucks and SUVs such as Denali line.
--Saturn: Opel/Vauxhall rebadges, free R&D, Euro-line of GM; anti-Domestic, Domestic brand.

And you could take Saab and Hummer's advertising budget and give it to Saturn so people can be aware of how they have changed.

GMC has been profitable 29 of the last 30 years. Saab has been profitable 0 of the last 30 years.

[dav305z]

Not sure I really see the point in using GMC as a commercial truck brand when Chevrolet is more than established enough.

I really doubt there's many GMC customers out there whom GM would not be able to coax into a Chevy or Cadillac (for Denali customers).

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by gardnet1

As far as corporate surgeries go why do the cosmetic work with GMC first? They make money and loads of it, even today with gas so high. Their R&D is virtually paid for by Chevy. Their not costing Chevy any sales either.

The real cancer is Saab which hasn't turned a profit since that bozo carter was in office in the 70's and won't make money for at least another 5 years. Sell Saab or Kill it, or strictly sell them in Europe and mid-east. Sell Saab along with Hummer to an Indian or Russian conglomerate looking for a foot hold in the US. Sell them the factories in Indiana & Louisiana too as GM can move the pickups to underutilized plants.

The real cancer is GM's inability to do what it takes to build relevant cars consistently in the market.
The fact that gas prices are at a level now that will severely affect full size truck and suv sales for the forseeable future means that the importance of these vehicles is gone.
However, GM is highly dependent on them.
So, why get rid of viable car brands, and stick with trucks?

Originally Posted by gardnet1

Hummer could probably fetch a good price of $3 billion or more and Saab might fetch $1billion. Plus GM could get rid of the Saab factory and R&D center in Sweden that are too costly to be of any use.

HUH? GM would be lucky to get $1B for Saab or Hummer. $3B is ridiculous.
The only reason GM has managed to be relevant in E85 and hybrid technologies and engine management is because of Saab Engineering!! Without them, GM's a decade behind the times.
But yes... GM shoudl sell Saab, but not because of the reasons you stated.

Originally Posted by gardnet1

GMC could take up some of the Hummer slack such as Wrangler type off-roader.

Not needed. That role can be performed by Chevy as well.

Originally Posted by gardnet1

Chevy: Affordable, dependable, value oriented
Cadillac: Performance Luxury
BPG
--Buick: Modern Luxury
--Pontiac: Oz Holden connection (cheap R&D) with some Chevy rebadges, excitement and MPGs
--GMC: Professional Grade trucks a step above Chevy, more profitable trucks and SUVs such as Denali line.
--Saturn: Opel/Vauxhall rebadges, free R&D, Euro-line of GM; anti-Domestic, Domestic brand.

Still too many brands, nor does it attack the fundamental problems at GM.

[scotted73]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Thank God some of these people aren't in charge of GM...there'd be nothing left after two months and we'd all be driving Fords.

So in effect, you're saying, "Screw you, loyal GMC owners. You're among the last people left who are truly loyal to GM, but we don't need you, go to hell."


In today's day and age, we need as many customers as we can get, starting with the ones who are already loyal to the company.

Loyal to GM or GMC? There is a difference. This continues over to Dealers as well. I cannot count the number of times one GM Brand dealer has bad-mouthed another GM brand. Where's the overall loyalty? Each one wants to make money without considering how they are goign to get product.

True loyalists to GM would find another division to purchase their next vehicle. If they decide to seek a vehicle from another manufacturer, then they were never really loyal in the first place.

Everyone wants the division they are partial to, to survive. Completely understandable but not in the cards if GM is going to continue. But to say one is loyal to GM and then discount GM if "their" brand is considered for removal is odd.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by scotted73

Loyal to GM or GMC? There is a difference. This continues over to Dealers as well. I cannot count the number of times one GM Brand dealer has bad-mouthed another GM brand. Where's the overall loyalty? Each one wants to make money without considering how they are goign to get product.

True loyalists to GM would find another division to purchase their next vehicle. If they decide to seek a vehicle from another manufacturer, then they were never really loyal in the first place.

Everyone wants the division they are partial to, to survive. Completely understandable but not in the cards if GM is going to continue. But to say one is loyal to GM and then discount GM if "their" brand is considered for removal is odd.

Ah, yes. WE think that. WE'RE GM loyal no matter what.
The question is, "What do the other consumers think?"
When you ask someone what they drive, do they ever say, "I drive a GM?" No, they'll say, "I drive a Cadillac" or a Buick or whatever. I know some people who don't even know that GM is a parent company made up of different brands. To them, a GMC is a GMC product, not a GM product.
Yes, true loyalists will go to Chevy if GMC is killed. But what about the ones who really don't care, or the ones who just don't find Chevys appealing?
It's a tough situation to sort out.