You’re going to keep Buick?
In what appears to be another example of The General thinking not much further along than what’s for lunch that day, GM announced plans to chop the brands down to four.
Sure. It’s a pretty obvious move and a good one. Not sure why they wouldn’t cut to two. But four is a good start.
But here’s the Soup of the Day moment: The four they’re keeping: Chevorlet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
I didn’t stutter. Buick.
Don’t get me wrong, i think it’s sweet that GM wants to keep the single remaining Buick devotee in cars for the remaining days she has on the planet. Especially since she turfed her last Regal.
But Buick? Really? Were GM execs worried that all 4,429 members of Buick Forum would be upset and start an online protest? If so, apparently it’s unlikely they’d do so during daylight hours. Actually, I have to say I was shocked to find an online Buick community. I expected there to be only a few pen pals. But even Pen Pals have gone online it seems.
Everyone needs a friend.
And it seems like The General is worried about not having any. I thought General Motors pulled up short when they only let Oldsmobile go in 2000. They should have kept going then. Why not pack up Buick at the same time? A twofer. Get that Band-Aid off in one, hard, sudden pull. But they checked up. One couldn’t possibly alienate close friends like Michelle. Not when they keep you informed on the latest celebrity gossip.
Instead The General went back to picking around the edges.
Why not keep Saturn? And maybe let it live up to its original intent of offering cars that are inherently different from the rest of GM’s offerings. Supported by dealers that actually want to help the customer. Do something clever. . . like. . . I don’t know. . . A car with dent-proof door panels that gets 40 miles to the gallon?
Something interesting could have come of the integration of Opel vehicles into the Saturn line up. But instead they’re going to keep Buick afloat. It’s like building a raft out of cinder blocks. As far as I can tell: Anyone who owns a Buick now and plans to purchase a new Buick probably has one remaining purchase left.
The way the GM executives really think through the long term health of the company—it’s inspired.
Or maybe they drive Buicks. Or they feel the world just doesn’t have enough luxury crossover vehicles. No. I’ll bet they drive Buicks.
As long as the whole company doesn’t go belly up before I can get around to buying a used Cadillac CTS-V it’s fine by me.
February 18th, 2009 at 16:47
I’m continually mystified by GM’s inability to shed brands. Toyota has three, and just added that third one. GM needs Chevy and Cadillac to survive and nothing else. I think that’s a doable business model, but Lordy it’s like pulling teeth.
Chrysler is absolutely dead man walking. I hadn’t realized how much Daimler had gotten rid of all of the design talent. They literally have no ability to design a new car.
February 19th, 2009 at 14:08
They assumed they’d rely on Benz designers? Guess that didn’t work out.
Here’s a slice of irony: Apparently Saturn dealers are looking to buy themselves out. They are looking into options for bringing in Chinese or Indian cars to keep the brand alive.
February 19th, 2009 at 14:46
The one that makes no sense to me is GMC. All it sells are Chevy trucks under a different badge. WTF?
GM should be Chevy and Cadillac, end of list. As for Saturn dealers organizing a buyout, GM mentioned that in their press release announcing the Saturn phase-out, then immediately countered that news with a whole bunch of reasons why that would be a bad idea. I guess they are worried about Chinese or Indian competition here in the States and not so much about the URGENT need for cash RIGHT NOW.
February 19th, 2009 at 14:50
And for the record, if we’re keeping one, I agree that GM needs just those two brands: Chevrolet and Cadillac.
In this day and age, that appears to be most sustainable number of brands and hits both ends of the spectrum.
I think GM needs to be worried about the Chinese and Indian manufacturers. The same way they should have been worried about Hyundai ten years ago.
February 19th, 2009 at 15:14
GM won’t kill Buick because it is the most popular foreign nameplate in China and they obviously think that is a big chunk of their future–you know, a simple typo in that last line would have created a horrible epithet, but I digress.
So Buick will hang around because the Chinese like them, in much the same way that hair metal bands hang around because of Canadians. We as a nation may have long since outgrown these things, the rest of the world not so much.