Tuesday, December 29, 2009

What The GM Should've Done: My Plan For A Better General



Everyone knows that General Motors got it all wrong when they killed off many of their brands. Many think that Saturn was right to die, but almost all other marques could've been saved if GM would've made better decisions. I have my own version of this plan, in which only one brand is killed off. I think that General Motors could have kept almost all of their brands, and these brands could've been profitable. Here's my plan for every brand in the General Motors Portfolio:

Chevrolet: Get rid of all medium commercial trucks and let GMC take over that area of business. Focus the SS badge on real performance cars, not over-chromed econoboxes and sedans. Stop bringing in re-badged Daewoo cars from Asia, continue on the sharper design path that's been taken, and focus on creating a less confusing array of models. Make the Tahoe and Suburban less luxurious, sharper-looking, and more Chevy-like in general.

Buick: Keep going on more youthful design path, kill the Lucerne, and do not launch any Crossover besides the Enclave.

Pontiac: Kill the G3, G5 and Vibe as they are just re-badged Chevys, continue producing the G6, G8, and Solstice as sporty, more youthful Chevy alternatives. Re-introduce the GTO, but make it more visually distinctive than the last generation.

Cadillac: Continue producing sharp-looking luxury cars, make the larger sedans better-looking, introduce an ultra-sedan in the BMW 7-Series price range. Focus on marketing that doesn't make women look stupid. Kill the Escalade to make way for Hummer. Bring the XLR back and differentiate the technology a little from the Corvette, creating something more luxurious, if a little less muscular.

GMC: Turn the brand into the nameplate for the GM medium-duty commercial trucks, maybe eventually branching into large semis and buses once again. Produce no more Chevrolet copies, instead being the GM commercial vehicle brand. Also, take over for Hummer in producing military vehicles.

Hummer: Hummer takes over for the Cadillac Escalade as General Motors' luxury SUV maker. After giving control of military development to GMC, make small (H4), medium (H3), and large (H2) SUV options for the relatively wealthy and city-dwelling. Launch off-road racing team.

Saab: First of all, Kill every single crossover or SUV that ever crossed a drunken GM designer's mind. Then, continue making sturdy sedans, wagons, coupes and convertibles that pull you along like a motorized feather pillow (maybe not the best comparison, but it's all I've got). Make all cars more unique, as Saabs should be.

Saturn: Sorry Saturn, you're screwed either way.

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