Joined
·
14,692 Posts
Chevy's "American Revolution" Not Complete
Another rant by Ming
I'm excited for GM and for Chevy. They have an incredible amount of new product coming in within the next several months. "An American Revolution" indeed.
But they also have some fat that needs to be trimmed. Old, moldy designs that it seems GM is hanging on to purely to keep some UAW factory producing vehicles that it can only sell with heavy discounts. Or designs that came just a few years ago but pre-dated Bob Lutz and already look outdated or still use outdated components.
GM / Chevy can only do so much. But before they give up the "American Revolution" tagline / campaign, they should make the change complete. There are a few ways to do this that would cost very little in time or money, even if they hurt short term profit.
1.
Eliminate stale 20-year old designs from Chevy dealers' lots:
A. Kill the Astro
B. Kill the Blazer
C. Kill the S-10 4x4 crew cab
D. Kill the Tracker
Eliminate "fleet only" rental specials that may be the first Chevy a person ever drives, and the practice of keeping around old models to keep factories busy:
A. Kill the "Chevy Classic" (prior gen Malibu)
B. Stop selling old junk when new models are out - 2005 Grand Am coupe, while the G6 is on the lots.
Yes, some of these things are already planned. But why wait? There should NOT be a 2005 version of any of these vehicles. You don't see Toyota (at least in America) selling 20-year old products / platforms. It doesn't matter how "good" these vehicles were, nor how many fans are buying used S-10's and modding them out for truck shows. If the Astro is replaced for fleet use by a decontented CSV cargo van Uplander, few will complain. Heck it has more horsepower and almost as much if not the same torque. I haven't seen many plumbers or airport taxis using the Astro to tow things, which was the last best reason to keep it around. The Blazer was a great vehicle, but so were many 20 or 30 year old Chevy vehicles - that doesn't mean it should still be in the lineup - especially since my local dealer has about 2 Blazers and 50 Trailblazers (same goes for the Astro - they only have ONE passenger van). The Tracker will die when the Equinox with its mighty 3.4L engine comes around
-- and its about time.
2. Restyle the vehicles slated for 2007 or later redesigns for a common look. The Silverado has a new front end -- why is the Suburban still sporting the old round looking one? Sure, it looked great back when Clinton was still in office...but c'mon... The Impala looks great on the outside (Monte Carlo's looks are subjective), but the interior is clearly Pre-Lutz, and turns me off big time. Even the Trailblazer continues with the Pre-Lutz Bulbous Rubbermaid Chevy look, while the Envoy looks much sharper. You might even think the Impala interior "looks good", but it looks nothing like the "Revolution" vehicles - the Colorado, Malibu, Aveo, etc. And that's my main problem with these rounded-edge aerodynamic Taurusy interiors.
Cars that need some restyling to get into this century:
1. Impala interior (I still like the exterior, the grille could change)
2. Monte Carlo interior and grille (grille should have a flat air dam more like a
NASCAR vehicle or the Intimidator concept, not that funky front end with the cross hatch and slit thing...
3. Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe interiors (I already did a thread on this so don't get angry at the repetition here)
4. Suburban / Tahoe front end - like Silverados (even if you hate it, it looks more in line with the rest of the new Chevy product)
That's about it. If GM can do these things by 2006 MY, then the Revolution will truly be complete. How expensive can fitting a Silverado front end to the Tahoe be? Is there some major difference I'm missing? Who needs more Astros on their lots?
One thing you'll notice when you go on many other popular Import manufacturers lots is a common design theme. I may be asking for too much, but I want Chevy lots to look every bit as modern and up to date as the rest of them. Forget these 7-year styling cycles - that doesn't cut it. Disagree with me if you will, but I don't see how this could be a bad thing for Chevy -- especially considering the desperate Dealers' tendencies to put the slowest sellers like Astros and Blazers up on pedestals in front of the Dealerships. That just has to stop to give people a true sense of change at their local Chevy.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Another rant by Ming
I'm excited for GM and for Chevy. They have an incredible amount of new product coming in within the next several months. "An American Revolution" indeed.
But they also have some fat that needs to be trimmed. Old, moldy designs that it seems GM is hanging on to purely to keep some UAW factory producing vehicles that it can only sell with heavy discounts. Or designs that came just a few years ago but pre-dated Bob Lutz and already look outdated or still use outdated components.
GM / Chevy can only do so much. But before they give up the "American Revolution" tagline / campaign, they should make the change complete. There are a few ways to do this that would cost very little in time or money, even if they hurt short term profit.
1.
Eliminate stale 20-year old designs from Chevy dealers' lots:
A. Kill the Astro
B. Kill the Blazer
C. Kill the S-10 4x4 crew cab
D. Kill the Tracker
Eliminate "fleet only" rental specials that may be the first Chevy a person ever drives, and the practice of keeping around old models to keep factories busy:
A. Kill the "Chevy Classic" (prior gen Malibu)
B. Stop selling old junk when new models are out - 2005 Grand Am coupe, while the G6 is on the lots.
Yes, some of these things are already planned. But why wait? There should NOT be a 2005 version of any of these vehicles. You don't see Toyota (at least in America) selling 20-year old products / platforms. It doesn't matter how "good" these vehicles were, nor how many fans are buying used S-10's and modding them out for truck shows. If the Astro is replaced for fleet use by a decontented CSV cargo van Uplander, few will complain. Heck it has more horsepower and almost as much if not the same torque. I haven't seen many plumbers or airport taxis using the Astro to tow things, which was the last best reason to keep it around. The Blazer was a great vehicle, but so were many 20 or 30 year old Chevy vehicles - that doesn't mean it should still be in the lineup - especially since my local dealer has about 2 Blazers and 50 Trailblazers (same goes for the Astro - they only have ONE passenger van). The Tracker will die when the Equinox with its mighty 3.4L engine comes around
-- and its about time.2. Restyle the vehicles slated for 2007 or later redesigns for a common look. The Silverado has a new front end -- why is the Suburban still sporting the old round looking one? Sure, it looked great back when Clinton was still in office...but c'mon... The Impala looks great on the outside (Monte Carlo's looks are subjective), but the interior is clearly Pre-Lutz, and turns me off big time. Even the Trailblazer continues with the Pre-Lutz Bulbous Rubbermaid Chevy look, while the Envoy looks much sharper. You might even think the Impala interior "looks good", but it looks nothing like the "Revolution" vehicles - the Colorado, Malibu, Aveo, etc. And that's my main problem with these rounded-edge aerodynamic Taurusy interiors.
Cars that need some restyling to get into this century:
1. Impala interior (I still like the exterior, the grille could change)
2. Monte Carlo interior and grille (grille should have a flat air dam more like a
NASCAR vehicle or the Intimidator concept, not that funky front end with the cross hatch and slit thing...
3. Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe interiors (I already did a thread on this so don't get angry at the repetition here)
4. Suburban / Tahoe front end - like Silverados (even if you hate it, it looks more in line with the rest of the new Chevy product)
That's about it. If GM can do these things by 2006 MY, then the Revolution will truly be complete. How expensive can fitting a Silverado front end to the Tahoe be? Is there some major difference I'm missing? Who needs more Astros on their lots?
One thing you'll notice when you go on many other popular Import manufacturers lots is a common design theme. I may be asking for too much, but I want Chevy lots to look every bit as modern and up to date as the rest of them. Forget these 7-year styling cycles - that doesn't cut it. Disagree with me if you will, but I don't see how this could be a bad thing for Chevy -- especially considering the desperate Dealers' tendencies to put the slowest sellers like Astros and Blazers up on pedestals in front of the Dealerships. That just has to stop to give people a true sense of change at their local Chevy.
