[kilcher]

Every time a new GM car bomb some say it's due to a lack of advertising. I tend to agree with that but I think the real problem is that GM keeps changing the names of their vehicles. Most people don't know what a G8 is but if you rename it the Grand Prix then right away you have name recognition and you don't have to spend much on advertising.

I'm not sure what my point is, I just wish they'd quit renaming cars. Ultimately I think it'd result in more sales and a significant cost savings.

 

[Uzzy]

It seems to be a domestic thing to remane the car when it changes a lot, but the Japanese stick with a name, no matter what. GM didn't rename a lot of their cars in the '80s and early '90s and it might have been beneficial, like you said. When the Monte Carlo/Grand Prix/Cutlass/Regal went from RWD personal coupes, to FWD midsize cars, they didn't rename them. They went on to continue to be quite popular. GM has also had some success in reviving old names like Impala and Malibu. I think GM lacks focus right now, but then again, doesn't seem like they always have?

 

[likearock00]

Eh, I agree that the names have been shaken up a bit. I don't think it's too bad though because Pontiac really needs to reinvent themselves and a name change may help. I think advertising is pretty weak and concentrates more on incentives more than vehicle content and attributes.

I really wish GM would dig up old classic names before going with alpha-numeric junk though.

 

[Hudson]

I don't see the Japanese keeping names alive "no matter what." Toyota had the Starlet and Tercel on the bottom end of their lineup and replaced them with Echo and then Yaris. If they never changed names, the Camry would be the Corona or the Crown today, the Altima would be the Stanza (or 510), and the Subaru Impreza would still be the DL.

Name changing, according to the marketeers, has to do with changing images. The Japanese brands tend to have positive images for their vehicles while American brands tend to keep their vehicles unchanged for so long that they almost need to distance themselves from the old model. And, of course, there are the radical changes or models being sold side-by-side with the "outgoing" model.

I think GM made a big blunder in the 1980s by letting Malibu die. Buick did a disservice to themselves by dropping ALL of its tried-and-true names. And Pontiac and Cadillac have abandoned decades of positive name recognition (atleast among American car fans) by trying to follow the more international alpha-numeric path.

I really wish GM would dig up old classic names before going with alpha-numeric junk though.

I'm with you here. It was nice to see Malibu replace Corsica, a revival of GTO, and Impala replacing Lumina. What about Deville (over half a century old)? Seville and Eldorado (both go back to the mid 1950s)? Bonneville (nearly half a century old)? Grand Prix (over 45 years old)? Were "import intenders" really passing on these vehicles because of the "old school" names? Really?!?!? Could it have been that the 2000 Seville and Bonneville and Grand Prix weren't as competitive as the STS and G8?

While "a rose by any other name" might make sense in Shakespear's time, his roses weren't called "R4".

 

[johnstarnes]

I think both factor in as problems. I think dropping names with such heritage and market recognition is one of THE dumbest things that GM has done lately. It is hard to imagine Toyota ever dropping "Corolla" and "Camry" and replacing them with, say, C2 and C3. "Grand Prix" and "DeVille" and "Regal" and more are all very well known car names that evoke recognition of GM as their maker. "G-8" is anonymous and forgetable.

 

[jkennedy293]

The problem with the old names is a horrible stigma attached to them. When people think about a Deville or a Grand Prix, they immediately picture an inferior product. By changing vehicle names, marketing departments can start fresh and not have to worry about changing that perception.

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

When I think Grand Prix, I think bright red trailer park-mobile. Not a great idea...

The problem with GM old names is that the majority of them carry negative stigmas.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

When I think Grand Prix, I think bright red trailer park-mobile. Not a great idea...

The problem with GM old names is that the majority of them carry negative stigmas.

That is coming from a guy who has a... 1986... Monte Carlo... SS...

 

[Uzzy]

That is coming from a guy who has a... 1986... Monte Carlo... SS...

Hehehe

An Italian guy on my baseball team was talking about his Navigator and mentioned he used to have a Camaro. So I said "was it an IROC?" He sid no, it was an '96 SS.

Then two minutes later another guy that didn't hear me, asks him if its Camaro was an IROC! :lmao:

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

That is coming from a guy who has a... 1986... Monte Carlo... SS...

Haha, the same goes for my car.

Except instead of bright red... it's white with faded black trim...

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Hehehe

An Italian guy on my baseball team was talking about his Navigator and mentioned he used to have a Camaro. So I said "was it an IROC?" He sid no, it was an '96 SS.

Then two minutes later another guy that didn't hear me, asks him if its Camaro was an IROC! :lmao:

LOL Italian guy and the bitchin' IROC Camaro, OOOOOOOO :lmao:

 

[BrickTamland]

It can be both.

Take the Astra. I like that name, and I think it was okay to make the change from Ion. However, the car does not get advertised. Gee, a one-second, partially cut-off, rear 3/4 view without mentioning the car's name is insufficient? Whodaguessed?

Then take the LaCrosse and Lucerne. While not bad names by any stretch, the names Century, Regal, LeSabre, and Park Avenue were fitting. Just giving the new model a new name is not going to erase Buick's grandparent stigma, s odropping great names with great history is a mistake. Changing Buick's stigma requires refocused vehicles, not just new names.

 

[Hitman1970]

Lord knows I would have rather owned a 2006 Regal GS than a 2006 LaCrosse CXS, but at least I knew what the car was "really" supposed to be. Good grief.

 

[crooner214]

I agree that GM is too quick to change some of it's names. They need to hold on to names like Cobalt or G8 (even though it isn't really a name, it works well). As someone mentioned before, though, you can't use some names from GM's storied past due to the automaker's mistakes over the last 30 years. Yes, Impala and Malibu work great now, but if they had remained on cars throughout the 80's and 90's, would they work so well? It might be alright to revisit some great names like Grand Prix, Deville, or even Caprice, but first GM needs to build standout cars to attach these names to.

One other thing to keep in mind: the perspective many of us on this site have regarding the auto industry, and more specifically General Motors, is not the same as most of the American car buying public.

 

[agman25]

I think both factor in as problems. I think dropping names with such heritage and market recognition is one of THE dumbest things that GM has done lately. It is hard to imagine Toyota ever dropping "Corolla" and "Camry" and replacing them with, say, C2 and C3. "Grand Prix" and "DeVille" and "Regal" and more are all very well known car names that evoke recognition of GM as their maker. "G-8" is anonymous and forgetable.

Toyota has actually dropped Corolla in Europe. It is the Auris now.

 

[vcs2600]

I doubt GM changes names without some hard data which justifies it.

And what are you going to tell the guy who bought a $17K FWD Grand Prix and comes back to find a $27K RWD model? Completely makes sense to change the name in that case.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Was there really a thing with Italians and Camaros?

 

[BrickTamland]

Was there really a thing with Italians and Camaros?

Yes, with New Jersey Italians and Camaro IROC's.

Wow, ethnic stereotypes.

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

Yes, with New Jersey Italians and Camaro IROC's.

Wow, ethnic stereotypes.

They're always the best kind of stereotype

 

[Uzzy]

Was there really a thing with Italians and Camaros?

IROC = Italian Retard Out Cruising OR Italian Reeking Of Cologne. :fall: