A niche to be scratched
Much as the deck chairs on the Titanic never seem to be in quite the right arrangement, General Motors is still trying to redefine its brands:
Buick and Cadillac owners both have money, but they choose to spend it on radically different things. A Buick owner would be inclined for a quiet vacation on an isolated beach, while Cadillac is more about dressing up for a night out on a weekend in the city.
A Pontiac will be designed for the nightlife, too, but for a fashion-forward agenda with pounding bass and flashing strobes. Chevrolets aim to look good as well, but with the effortless appeal of blue jeans and a good shirt, not Pontiac’s club-hopping flash.
Saab sells cars around the world, so it can speak to a smaller audience: people who consider themselves independent thinkers and want a car with Scandinavian style and environmentally responsible performance.
Saturn attracts buyers who wouldn’t touch a Chevy or Pontiac with a 10-foot-pole and its theme will build on Opel’s European strengths: design, handling, fuel efficiency and interior room.
Conspicuous by its absence is Hummer, which no doubt escaped this sort of analysis because (1) GM is contemplating throwing it to the wolves and (2) its image can be summed up in a mere five words: “Al Gore can bite me.”
The only problem with this, really, is that GM doesn’t sell enough vehicles to justify all these damn brands. It might have made sense forty or fifty years ago, when the General was trying to keep its market share under 50 percent so as to avoid confrontations with antitrust types, but today it looks like an excuse for GM to hold on to a lot of marques it simply can’t support.
And to tell you the truth, that bit about “pounding bass and flashing strobes” is nothing short of a death sentence for Pontiac: there simply aren’t enough people with mullets and/or questionable aesthetic judgment who can afford to ante up $30k for a G6 or G8, which is why you see them in mid-80s Buicks with 20-inch wheels and torn headliners.
(Via The Truth About Cars.)
Jeff Shaw »
21 July 2008 · 1:28 pm
Good assesment. GM needs to get lean, make a good quality two or three cars, and drop all those brands. Keep the best, spin the others off and let them fend for themselves. Or something. What do i know?
Scott »
21 July 2008 · 7:42 pm
Pontiac lost me when they killed the Bonneville. Old guys like going fast, too, they just need some room to spread out in. I guess that’s what Caddies are for, but feh, it grates my populist nerve to consider it.
CGHill »
21 July 2008 · 8:47 pm
Probably why I’m hanging on to the Infiniti: its interior is vast, its speed is acceptable (zero to sixty around eightish, not amazing, but quicker than anything else I’ve owned), and its thirst is comparatively moderate.
Scott »
22 July 2008 · 12:05 am
Yeah, I should look that way, I know, but honestly, the new lime-green Charger R/Ts give me a big tingle. Like I need a damn fast car – 2 tickets in 2 months, the first in almost 10 years.
But who am I kidding? I’ll buy another truck, and I’m even getting tired of buying them. I should just buy an old El Camino or big-block Ranger for funsies, and start leasing the rest of the fleet, swap ‘em out every couple of years.