It's 1995, and you run GM

[Camino LS6]

What would have been done differently since that time?

[Justin Bimmer]

They should have kept as much independence as possible between the divisions as far as design and keeping competitive and went to a more common engine theme sooner.

Also, made sure Fisher Body employees knew they worked for GM.

[XP715]

Kept the B-bodies around, if nothing else but for fleet sales. There was no need to hand that entire segment of the market to Ford on a silver platter after '96. Ask a cop that's been around for a while if he/she has driven both. If they have, ninety-nine times out of a hundred they'll wish they had their Caprice back.

[Intrepidation]

• Would have designed cars to exceed the quality of the Japanese cars inside and out
• Would have never considered selling Hummers
• Would not have allowed half assed products to go into production
• Would have made sure each brand was forced
• Would have made sure as much money and attention was paid to mainstream cars (small, midsize, and large) as the trucks
• Would have worked towards a balanced portfolio of cars and trucks
• Would have fired people with personal agendas
• Worked on the legacy costs
• Would have made the divisions stop trying to compete with each other
• Would have killed off badge engineering
• Would have killed models that overlap
• Would have worked on RWD Cadillacs to compete with the best of the Germans then
• Would have already cut Pontiac down to a focused, niche roll
• Would combine Oldsmobile and Buick lineups to make one complete lineup out of two brands, so they could share showroom space and theoretically Oldsmobile would have a better shot at surviviing
• Would have paid attention to giving Saab actual product
• Would have paid attention to Saturn, keeping it's S series updated/redesigned, and focus on small cars

[87Chevette]

I wouldn't have killed the EV1..

Burn in hell, Hummer.

[PurdueGuy]

I find it funny that people hate on Hummer so much, nevermind the fact that it MADE MONEY for GM. IMO, that puts it above some of the other brands in this time frame. IMO, they should have set up hummer to be more easily disposed of when the SUV craze passed, so they'd make the money without the troublesome cleanup.

[daves87rs]

• Would have designed cars to exceed the quality of the Japanese cars inside and out
• Would have never considered selling Hummers
• Would not have allowed half assed products to go into production
• Would have made sure each brand was forced
• Would have made sure as much money and attention was paid to mainstream cars (small, midsize, and large) as the trucks
• Would have worked towards a balanced portfolio of cars and trucks
• Would have fired people with personal agendas
• Worked on the legacy costs
• Would have made the divisions stop trying to compete with each other
• Would have killed off badge engineering
• Would have killed models that overlap
• Would have worked on RWD Cadillacs to compete with the best of the Germans then
• Would have already cut Pontiac down to a focused, niche roll
• Would combine Oldsmobile and Buick lineups to make one complete lineup out of two brands, so they could share showroom space and theoretically Oldsmobile would have a better shot at surviviing
• Would have paid attention to giving Saab actual product
• Would have paid attention to Saturn, keeping it's S series updated/redesigned, and focus on small cars

Guy makes some good points....

I would have sent the 95 Chevy Cavalier back and demanded better!

[87Chevette]

I find it funny that people hate on Hummer so much, nevermind the fact that it MADE MONEY for GM. IMO, that puts it above some of the other brands in this time frame. IMO, they should have set up hummer to be more easily disposed of when the SUV craze passed, so they'd make the money without the troublesome cleanup.

Very valid point. Very Valid. GM was indeed brilliant for setting this brand up -- from a short term finanical stand point.

I personally dislike the brand because it did only two things for GM.

1) Made money for about a decade. (this is a good thing)

2) Destroyed their Image on economy/environment more so than the Suburban ever could. (this is a bad thing)

IMO, the latter far outweighs the other- Perhaps without hummer, we would have seen alot better products in other areas, like better Hybrid platforms and Electric drivetrains. I dont think GM would be in the mess they are today if they hadn't handed whatever little bit of environmentally friendly image they had to Toyota on a silver platter.

All that being said, You are very wise to point that out.

[87Chevette]

Guy makes some good points....

I would have sent the 95 Chevy Cavalier back and demanded better!

I would have at least demanded better by 1999, not 2004.

[z28luvr01]

Kept the B-bodies around, if nothing else but for fleet sales. There was no need to hand that entire segment of the market to Ford on a silver platter after '96. Ask a cop that's been around for a while if he/she has driven both. If they have, ninety-nine times out of a hundred they'll wish they had their Caprice back.

Even better than that, I'd have allowed the plan to redo the B-bodies in 97-98 and fit them with the LS1 to go through. This would have bought me time to gradually phase them out in favor of their replacements based off the VY platform from Holden, who would be aware of my desire to sell their platform in the US and design it to meet NA standards from the get go. I'd also use it as a basis for an F-body replacment, and maybe the Buick, Olds, and Pontiac W bodies.

My plan to keep the B-bods alive means that I don't cough up the plant to add Tahoe production. I'm not sure how I'd handle the demand - I'd probably either spread it out over the various truck plants, or reopen and retool a mothballed plant.

I'd have continually updated the 4.3 V6. There is absolutely no reason why this engine should have gotten not a single bump in horsepower since the early 90s. An updated 4.3 would have helped the Blazer compete with and possibly overtake the Explorer, while making the S10 the cream of the compact pickup class. It should have inherited all the tech that went into the LS engine. I'd have this engine as a base motor for the B-bodies and F-bodies also.

I'd have done everything I could to get the NVH and reliability issues with the Quad 4 fixed without sacrificing power. Then, I'd have scrapped all other 4cyls in GM's lineup and replaced it with a family based off the fixed Quad 4.

Same goes for the DOHC 3.4. Work out the quirks, and make it the V6 family of choice for the FWD midsize sedans.

I might have continued research/development of turbocharged engines.

I would have had a manual tranny avaiable on all N-body V6 models possibly excepting the Skylark.

I'd have found a taker for the 50% share that GM had in Saab

Seeing that it was a success but not really helping GM as a whole, I'd have sold off Saturn at the height of its popularity and probably gotten a nice penny for it.

I'd have raised the price of every GM car by $500 and given it a better interior

I'd have kept the Lumina name on the 1995 W-body Chevy coupe. RWD/FWD thing aside, it would have made the sales numbers for the Lumina look a little better.

I'd have allowed the designers to strut their stuff instead of bowing to engineers, safety Nazis, etc.

I might have productionized the Stingray III - as a Pontiac flagship.

I would not have abandoned the EV1 or the Sunracer.

I'd have fired everyone who didn't agree with me.

[Daryl Z71]

Make better quality vehicles.

[Paolino]

Given Paul a SC Riviera for free.

Seriously though, taken the Japanese cars seriously and focused VERY hard on bringing quality interiors up!

[frogger]

Aimed to beat import competition and be price competitive in volume car segments, not match their previous generations and be cheaper

Invested in full replacement of Cavalier/Sunfire by 2000

Invested in full replacement of W and N Bodies by 2002

Made interior quality, ride and handling a priority in all their volume sellers

Don't think about Fiat or expansion of brands or models

[Intrepidation]

Amazing that almost everyone hear has mentioned bringing quality up to meet and exceed the competition...how come it took GM (and Chrysler, and Ford) until literally now to figure this out?

[CaddyXLR-V]

Amazing that almost everyone hear has mentioned bringing quality up to meet and exceed the competition...how come it took GM (and Chrysler, and Ford) until literally now to figure this out?

I think it always came down to the bean counters. They would probably always say it costs too much money, lets cheapen it by X amount.

Personally, I think they should have paid more attention to detail, and used higher quality parts, better interiors, better engines, and if they had to be sold at a loss to meet the market price, then so be it. Their reputation and sales would pick up after a while, and GM could have started raising the prices so they wouldn't have to rely on rebates to sell their vehicles.

Edited June 10, 2009 by CaddyXLR-V

[PurdueGuy]

Amazing that almost everyone hear has mentioned bringing quality up to meet and exceed the competition...how come it took GM (and Chrysler, and Ford) until literally now to figure this out?

How are we defining quality? IMO, *most* GM vehicles have been just as good if not better in quality in many areas than most or all of their competition for a while now. Take a look around at the other manufactures, and you'll see that GM isn't the only company with some turds here & there in the last 10 years.

[FAPTurbo]

Well, in 1995, I'd be about eight years old, so if I ran GM, I'd probably be outside the Ren Cen, sitting atop stacked phonebooks in the drivers seat of a Corvette making 'vroom vroom' sounds.

[A Horse With No Name]

Laugh if you will

Pontiac-niche, focussed cars...

Olds-spend lots of $ and make it a flagship.

Work on legacy costs.

As someone else said, keep RWD fullsize around.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

Given Paul a SC Riviera for free.

Seriously though, taken the Japanese cars seriously and focused VERY hard on bringing quality interiors up!

That SC Riviera from that era is just the cat's ass as far as a car goes. Again, a very under rated GM car. They got that one right for its market and era.

Chris

[Justin Bimmer]

The last 5 out of the 6 CEOs of GM have pretty much come from the financial side of the company.

Fritz, Wags, John Smith, Roger Smith, Tom Murphy (that goes all the way back to 1974) All were financial

Bob Stemple was design at Olds.

PS - CNBC has named [Roger] Smith as being one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time".

[Camino LS6]

Interesting responses so far, keep them coming.

[ehaase]

The 2004 Malibu would have been the same car as the 2008 version with Buick and Pontiac versions.

No more W bodies after the 2000 Impala.

No more G bodies after the 2000 DTS, LeSabre, Bonneville and 2001 Aurora.

One RWD platform instead of both Sigma and Zeta and would have been used for CTS in 2003 and W and G body replacements from 2003 through 2006.

J bodies would have been replaced by 2000. A steel bodied car based upon the Saturn S series would have been better than keeping the antiquated J bodies through 2004.

3.5L Shortstar V6 would have had VVT and 250 hp and replaced the 3800 in all premium applications by 2000.

I would not have spent money on the 4200 DOHC I6 and just used the 4.3L V6 and various V8's in the Trailblazer/Envoy. The 4.3L V6 would have received the same improvements the V8's received over the years.

[Paolino]

That SC Riviera from that era is just the cat's ass as far as a car goes. Again, a very under rated GM car. They got that one right for its market and era.

Chris

I'll admit, back then I was just starting to look at cars being I was new to having a license. When I saw that Riviera, I dropped my jaw... it was edgy, elegant, smooth... it was luxurious... it was gorgeous. I thought that and then the Aurora were so ahead of their time.

[Delta Force79]

Would have offered the "aurora" V8 in more cars, would have also spread the Northstar across more models outside of Caddy. Would have kept the Cavalier Z24 around and made it a serious bang for the buck econobox. Beating the Civic SI to market here. I would have dropped the Sunbird/Sunfire and refocused Pontiac on actual performance cars, Firebird/Trans Am, make the then Bonneville SSEi have the Aurora V8 to give it a bit more power and bragging rights than it's platform mates with 3800 V6's. I would have made the Supercharged 3800 the standard Engine for the Riviera and either the Aurora V8 or the Northstar an optional engine. This was Buick's halo car, it should have a V8. There's really a whole bunch I would have done differently but this is just some things that come to mind.

[daves87rs]

I would have at least demanded better by 1999, not 2004.

I've had a few J bodies (a few right now), anf they were dated by 1997.

[ShadowDog]

I'd have done everything I could to get the NVH and reliability issues with the Quad 4 fixed without sacrificing power. Then, I'd have scrapped all other 4cyls in GM's lineup and replaced it with a family based off the fixed Quad 4.

Same goes for the DOHC 3.4. Work out the quirks, and make it the V6 family of choice for the FWD midsize sedans.

I might have continued research/development of turbocharged engines.

I would have had a manual tranny available...

All good points and all worth exploring. The Quad 4 had promise, if not for its reliability issues. Same goes for that lovely VIN "X" 3.4L - GMs most expensive engine development at its time. I still miss the feel of that engine, despite it being mated to a lousy 4T60-E / 65-E automatic. Which leads me to your last point when it concerns the V6 lineup...

"I would have had a manual tranny availalbe (PERIOD)!"

That fact alone cheesed me off during my teen years.

[Justin Bimmer]

Wasn't the Northstar VERY expensive?

[z28luvr01]

Which leads me to your last point when it concerns the V6 lineup...

"I would have had a manual tranny availalbe (PERIOD)!"

That fact alone cheesed me off during my teen years.

Well they've always had the manual available on 4cyl cars. In the early 90s they had a 5 speed option on V6 J-bodies, N-bodies, and W bodies. Most if not all were gone by 95. I know you're not the only one cheesed by no manuals. I went to college with several Honda humpers who left GM simply because they didn't offer a manual on the cars they wanted.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Ecotec development would be accelerated and sent to charm school.

Interior improvements get highest priority across the board.

Buy one of each of the top 3 competitors in each segment. Force the divisional management to drive each one for a week and write a report on what GM could do to beat each car. Those reports would be reviewed by the product planning committee.

Continue to refine the 3.4 DOHC until the Shortstar arrives. Use that engine in place of the 3800 where it will fit (it's a physically large engine). Shortstar replaces the 3800 and the 3.4 Twincam company wide upon arrival. All other pushrod V6es dropped, replaced with heavily refined Twincam/Ecotecs.

Atlas I5 and I6 programs changed to allow for use in full size trucks and cars. Specifically starting with the Holden VY platform in 2000. From this point forward, the Holden V-platforms replace the upper end W and G bodies.

Chevy:

GEO dropped.

Delta platform development would be accelerated and ready for 2000 release. Retains Cavalier name.

N-body Malibu project continues. Replaced with epsilon Malibu that we got in 2008.

Lumina dropped.

Impala moves to medium wheelbase G-body. Choice of 3.4 DOHC or 5.7 litre LT-1. 9C1 package available for fleet use.

Sorry guys, I still kill the B-body Impala. The old girl had been around since 1977. If you're looking for full size RWD goodness see our friends at Pontiac.

Camaro development continues.

Lumina APV given a real name and sent back to be redesigned for real this time.

Trailblazer continues development.

Saturn:

Closed. S-Series spruced up and goes to Oldsmobile

Pontiac:

drops the Sunfire, Transport.

Line trimmed to SWB holden V Grand Am, MWB holden V Grand Prix with high end GTO option, LWB holden V Bonneville, Firebird/TransAm. Bonneville 9C1 package available for fleet use.

Dealer body completely merged with Buick and GMC.

Oldsmobile:

Gains the s-series from Saturn which eventually moves to Delta. Achieva serves out the remainder of it's time and is then dropped.

Cutlass Supreme name NOT changed to Intrigue. Coupe and convertible options continue to be offered. Remains on W-body till Epsilon available.

Silhouette dropped.

Eighty Eight moves to a shortened G-body below the Aurora. Gets the Shortstar.

Aurora becomes a halo above the Eighty Eight.

Ninety-Eight moves to an ultra long wheelbase G-body.

Adds a "Vue" like vehicle when Theta is ready.

Bravada continues development.

Cutlass Cierra serves out the remainder of it's days as a government fleet car and then is dropped.

Buick:

Skylark moved to SWB Epsilon at the end of the N-body run.

Century dropped.

Regal moved to LWB Epsilon.

LeSabre dropped

Park Ave moved to LWB Holden V platform.

Roadmaster dropped.

Riviera development continues the same but with DOHC engines.

Work begins on a FWD/AWD crossover vehicle.

Turbos abound.

Cadillac:

Catera is sourced from Holden rather than Opel.

Eldorado, Seville and Deville move to Holden bodies.

Fleetwood gets a new, unique to Cadillac platform. Interior, driveline, and handling refinements allow the Fleetwood to claim "Standard of the World"

Work begins on a RWD/AWD crossover vehicle.

Work begins on th Escalade.

Hummer? Saab? Fiat? Never heard of them.

Dealers would be Chevy independent, Pontiac/Buick/GMC, Oldsmobile/Cadillac. If you look at my lineup, each dealer would have access to every platform in GM's stable except the ones at the extreme ends of the spectrum, yet there isn't much overlap.

Chevy handles FWD "everyman" with some RWD sports thrown in.

Buick handles FWD traditional premium, Pontiac handles RWD "everyman"

Oldsmobile handles FWD "euro" premium, Cadillac handles RWD world beater luxury

[Lamar]

There would have been no such thing as Oldsmobile and Pontiac minivans.

Interior design would have led the times instead of being just behind them.

Buick Century would not have been moved to W in two years; Regal was already there.

[Camino LS6]

Lots of great stuff in here.

Many ideas are ones I would have implemented as well.

[Camino LS6]

I would not have killed the B-bodies until a superior replacement (Holden V) was ready and the capability of building them here was also ready.

Meantime, I would have expanded the model range by two bodystyles. A full-on vert 2-door and an El Camino.

Tahoe production would have been at another plant.

Two smaller RWD architectures would have been pushed into development (alpha/Zeta). Sigma would have been folded into zeta.

No Saab, No Hummer, No Fiat

Saturn would have been for sale.

Olds would live on the knife edge

The F-body would still die in 2002 unless the CAW and Canadian govt. gave sufficient concessions so that a more versatile, small, RWD platform could be built there. Single-product plants were not an option. They never should have been.

Negotiate for an end of exclusive rights to any model name at any plant - ever.

That's just a start.

Badge - engineering would end.

Brand inappropriate products would end.

Dealer consolidation would begin in earnest

A concentration on maximising bodystyles for a given platform would be the rule.

GM would cover every segment, but not with every brand. For example, only Chevy would have a minivan.

GMC would be distanced from Chevy Truck in a meaningful way.

The Escalade would not have happened.

A strong push for premium - level , high style, small cars (both FWD and RWD) would be a priority.

Alpha-numerics would be banned.

[A Horse With No Name]

Olds would live on the knife edge

Dealer consolidation would begin in earnest

GM would cover every segment, but not with every brand. For example, only Chevy would have a minivan.

The Escalade would not have happened.

A strong push for premium - level , high style, small cars (both FWD and RWD) would be a priority.

These are probably the best 4 ideas here, actually.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

Dealers would be Chevy independent, Pontiac/Buick/GMC, Oldsmobile/Cadillac. If you look at my lineup, each dealer would have access to every platform in GM's stable except the ones at the extreme ends of the spectrum, yet there isn't much overlap.

Chevy handles FWD "everyman" with some RWD sports thrown in.

Buick handles FWD traditional premium, Pontiac handles RWD "everyman"

Oldsmobile handles FWD "euro" premium, Cadillac handles RWD world beater luxury

I like this way of thinking also.

Thank you for your post, it was very thoughtful and gave me some positive things to think about, sir.

Chris

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

1995? Built a large SUV empire. During the height of the SUV empire i would have broken the unions (large cash reserves + massive auto reserves).

While i was at it i would have scrapped Saturn, never contemplated HUMMER, sold Saab (Ford probably woulda been game to buy it). I would also have sold Oldsmobile.

Additionally focus would be on higher quality interior components and greater quality overall... by greater i mean best in market. This would have inevitably made cars cost more but i believe people would have bought them.

As the SUV empire began to crumble around 2005+ the car segment (which i did not ignore) would be sufficient to pull us through. Factories would be retooled for car production as the SUV craze faded out.

Edited June 12, 2009 by Teh Ricer Civic!

[gm4life]

In 1995 aside of the typical cost cutting and adjustments made to the buisness side of things I would have done alot of things different, on the product side also. GM would have focused on not only DOHC V6 engine but the Northstars and famous small block V8's along with the Ecotec. The Atlas 6cyl. would also have had more applications and more focus would be paid to fit and finish. Also 5 and 6 speed automatic trannys would have came out sooner.

Buick

Riviera would have had an optional 4.6L Northstar or Aurora 4.0 V8.

Park Avenue would have been given a proper MCE around 2002ish with an optional Northstar.

LeSabre would have recieved an optional L67 Supercharged 3.8 and a floor shifter option. Both LeSabre and Park Ave would have been combined much like with the Lucerne and been placed on the Zeta platform.

Regal would not have been offered with a 3800 instead a 3.4L DOHC and then 3.5L Shortstar.

LaX would have been called the Regal.

Century would have been fleet only after 2003 (all it did was ruin Buick's image).

Rendezvous would have been given a 3.5L Shortstar and later a 3.6L DOHC HF.

Cadillac

Deville would have stayed on the G through 2005. A new FWD/AWD large platform with an updated Northstar and a six speed automatic would arrive in ('06) and name would have changed to DTS then also.

Eldorado would have been updated in 1998 with the Seville and carried on through 2004 then moving to the Sigma like the STS.

Seville would have been the same and in 2005 moved on the Sigma with the Eldorado.

SRX would have come to market in 2002 instead of 2004.

Escalade would have still happend but had more styling differences than the did pre-2007.

XLR would have had a lower price tag around 60K with a PREMIUM interior.

Fleetwood model would have been introduced and became the flagship around 2002ish on a RWD long Sigma platform.

CTS stayed the same.

Chevrolet

Monte Carlo would have been the same with an optional SS and Supercharged 3800.

Lumina would have be gone after the 1999 model year and Impala would have started in 2000.

Impala would have had an optional SS package with the L67 from the start. (2000-2005 generation)

Malibu would have stayed the same with the 2008 coming out a few years sooner.

2006 Impala/Monte Carlo models would have been placed on the Zeta and been produced along side a new Camaro/Firebird and Bonneville Standard HF V6's and two optional V8's and SS verisons for all.

Camaro would have stayed on the F-platform until 2006 when the new model on the Zeta arrived.

Equinox would have had an optional four cylinder from the start.

SSR would have been based on a different platform and had an optional six speed from the start.

J-Body would have died by 2002 with the new Delta and refined Ecotec motors with an SS model like we finally got for 2008.

Corvette same.

Trailblazer would have been updated to compete with the 4Runner/Explorer.

GMT-900's same with a Silverado SS regular cab and manual trans.

GMC

Much would have stayed the same but a Denali Sierra would have been optional in Crew and Extended Cabs.

Pontiac

Bonneville would have stayed on past 2005 but on the Zeta platform and been produced along side the Impala/Monte Carlo and Camaro/Firebird

Grand Am would have stayed with G6ish styling and decent interior and DOHC V6 and 4cylinder engines in Coupe/Vert/Sedan form from the start.

Firebird/Trans Am would have lived on the F-platform through 2005 and in 2006 moved onto the Zeta.

GTO never would have happend sorry.

Grand Prix would have stayed much the same but the 2004 redesign would have been competitive with the likes of the Nissan Altima.

Solstice same.

Aztek never would have happend.

Sunfire would have died after 2002 model year never to return.

G5 never would have happen.

Astra would have became what the Pontiac G5 should have been.

Olds

Aurora would have stayed on with a redesign and 6spd automatic sharing a platform with the 2006 DTS.

Intrigue would have stayed much the same but with a redesign for the 2003 model year and moved to the Epsilon with a standard four cylinder.

Alero would have moved in 2005 to the Delta and have been sold along side the Cobalt as the premium small car.

Bravada would have died along with the minivan.

Saturn would have been sold or killed ASAP.

Hummer never would have happend.

Saab would have had better products and a truly updated 9-5 in 2006.

[knightfan26917]

Lots of great stuff in here.

Many ideas are ones I would have implemented as well.

Same here ... I've been nodding my head in agreement with many of the "plans".

So, the only thing I'd add ... is what most people would expect from me.

The Lumina coupe would've remained the Lumina coupe ... or got branded a brand NEW name entirely. None of this heritage-names-on-cars-that-have-NOTHING-in-common-with-the-originals "crap" ... especially the Lumina heritage of replacing the Celebrity....

*sighs*

And, frankly, reading all of the ideas people have posted here ... kinda makes you wonder how things would be today if we were running GM, don't it?

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...Chitown #2 = 07/25/09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"I will not make the same mistakes" ... Kelly Clarkson ... 'Because Of You'