UPDATE 6/21!: GM Cutting Another Division?

[drew630]

I say get rid of Buick. There is no need from the brand anymore. A fully loaded Chevy or base Caddy can easy fill this void.

[Jaymac332]

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

Buick-Pontiac-GMC = BPG

Ah, thanks.

[kenman923]

If they kill Saturn, I am trading in my L300 for a Nissan Altima.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by Motownr

Sure it's not Saab?

Saturn?

BPG has issues, but GMC is a money maker.

Saturn is basically Opel in the US, or it will be. Nothing to axe there, Saab is needed outside the US.

Basically Pontiac followed by GMC have the least amount of brand exposure (Buick is next).

GMC makes money, but for how long? Personally I'd kill Pontiac, move the G8 to Saturn and move Saturn into a channel with Buick and GMC. You'd also have to kill the Outlook, and no GMC version of the Torrent (let the VUE take care of that).

[Canuck]

Sell Saab or shut it down. What value does it have? Such a small niche and a bad purchase from the start. Who would buy Saab?

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by drew630

I say get rid of Buick. There is no need from the brand anymore. A fully loaded Chevy or base Caddy can easy fill this void.

Buick means something, and is worth saving as people know a Buick is still a luxurious car (maybe not very luxurious, but more so than a Pontiac).

No matter how you look at this, things do not look good for Pontiac OR GMC.

[YupYupYup]

Originally Posted by drew630

I say get rid of Buick. There is no need from the brand anymore. A fully loaded Chevy or base Caddy can easy fill this void.

Not happening. Certain on this one. You will see some model changes, re-positionings, but Buick is here to stay. Mostly due to the China equation which is big and only getting bigger.

[JSWZ28]

Everyone knew in the back of their mind this was comming. Which brand would be the easiest... GMC of course, just as the post states. Who needs the Sierra, Yukon, Envoy, Cannyon, Acadia?

I only have one request (okay, maybe two) GM. If you kill GMC, Drop the current Silverado sheet metal and use the Sierra's. The odd buldges all over the Silverado are a little much. The Sierra is tough yet elegant!

Two: make Pontiac a niche brand and offer a small number of performance vehicles. Kill all versions of every model except for the GXP models. Forget the stripped down base model, if I want one of those I will get a less equipped Chevy.

Soltice GXP Coupe/Convert
G5 GXP (Colbalt SS Supercharged)
G6 GXP Coupe/Sedan/Convert
G8 GXP Coupe/Sedan
GTO (Corvette based Coupe)

Notice there is no Vibe, G3, G8 ST, Torrent, or Firebird. You can adjust trim levels to meet different tastes, but make all care PERFORMANCE based GXPs.

Placing Saturn with Pontiac and Buick is a great idea. Saturn=Entry level, the NEW Buick=Mid Lux level, and Pontiac=Performace options!

Maybe GM could go one further and rename Saturn OLDSMOBILE!!! Talk about name recongnition and brining an identity to a brand that has none.

[FenwickHockey65]

GMC is GM's 2nd best selling division...no way in hell are they axing it, even if is just a bunch of trucks. You have the Acadia and Terrain to cover the losses of the BOF trucks. Throw in a Holden Crewman-ish thing and you'll have even more success.
GM Board of Directors: GMC is made up of rebadges that people freaking buy. Get that into your heads. I know plenty of people who'll buy a GMC over a Chevy just because the designs are better. One of those people is me.

[kenman923]

Originally Posted by Canuck

Sell Saab or shut it down. What value does it have? Such a small niche and a bad purchase from the start. Who would buy Saab?

Either Ceberus or Tata, of course.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by JSWZ28

Everyone knew in the back of their mind this was comming. Which brand would be the easiest... GMC of course, just as the post states. Who needs the Sierra, Yukon, Envoy, Cannyon, Acadia?

I only have one request (okay, maybe two) GM. If you kill GMC, Drop the current Silverado sheet metal and use the Sierra's. The odd buldges all over the Silverado are a little much. The Sierra is tough yet elegant!

Two: make Pontiac a niche brand and offer a small number of performance vehicles. Kill all versions of every model except for the GXP models. Forget the stripped down base model, if I want one of those I will get a less equipped Chevy.

Soltice GXP Coupe/Convert
G5 GXP (Colbalt SS Supercharged)
G6 GXP Coupe/Sedan/Convert
G8 GXP Coupe/Sedan
GTO (Corvette based Coupe)

Notice there is no Vibe, G3, G8 ST, Torrent, or Firebird. You can adjust trim levels to meet different tastes, but make all care PERFORMANCE based GXPs.

Placing Saturn with Pontiac and Buick is a great idea. Saturn=Entry level, the NEW Buick=Mid Lux level, and Pontiac=Performace options!

Maybe GM could go one further and rename Saturn OLDSMOBILE!!! Talk about name recongnition and brining an identity to a brand that has none.

Saturn has all of Oldsmobiles new models. Olds was killed for one reason, the name. It has OLD in it. Yea Olds would be proud that his name killed his comapny, NOT!

[Firebird00]

Considering GMC is total badge engineering, has low brand fuel economy, expensive, and 100% truck/suv based (which has tanked) I see it as having one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. I don't see them being profitable after the year is up. I'd say Pontiac is not far behind. Buick better thank China everyday, b/c without them I feel that Buick would have been sent to the knackers yard a long time ago.

[TriShield]

One of the root problems of GM is the sheer amount of brands it has, five too many.

If GM gets real about the reality of their place in the market and are serious about staying out of bankruptcy they will CUT ALL THREE BRANDS ASAP.

None of them do anything that Chevrolet and Cadillac aren't already doing or can't do better and none of them have any real goodwill or equity left in the marketplace.

The worst part? GM killed them (and itself) with decades of mismanagement, fundamental misunderstandings of each brand's place and heritage, failure to do them justice, and the crappy cars that were the result.

GM MUST allocate all of it's resources to it's core business which is the Chevrolet brand and Cadillac for luxury.

[steinravnik]

Makes sense to give Saturn to the BPG sales channel, this will hopefully give Saturn more sales and fill a void left by the elimination of a brand. BTW, I think GMC should go. Trucks are dying, and they truly are rebadges. Pontiacs and Buicks are too, like someone pointed out, but they have some unique styling with the Solstice. Buick has the Enclave which is selling well.

As someone said, the floor must have completely fallen out on June sales. This economy is really in serious trouble.

[TriShield]

Originally Posted by Hotspur

2 years too late.

20 years too late.