drew770

The reason why GM never responds to any commericals is because GM lives in a self grandiose bubble. Plus, GM has cut themselves off from reality. They had no idea that the government was going to increase CAFE so they did not prepare for it. GM also figured that Toyota could not produce a decent truck because Toyota is still a niche player according to GM. Hybrids and the Toyota Prius is a joke and no one will be buying them. SUVs will always be great sellers because gas will always be at $1.75 a gallon. And so on and so on!!

Yes, loyalists are the only real GM fans but there is another issue. Loyalists did not keep Oldsmobile alive, keep the Camaro from being discontinued, keep the GTO afloat nor did the loyalist keep GM from almost sliding into bankruptcy. The Monty was a car that only the loyalists loved. But it did not sell enough to justify it's production costs. GM has to gain new buyers and not only rely on the ever shrinking group of "Buy GM or nothing" crowd.

But Honda is the true azz kicker because it's sales, profitablity, reputation, resale value & quality is light years ahead of anything Mazda produces. So in order to really kick some azz you need more than good looks.

Again, GM has lost its way with defining what a brand suppose to be. Saturn started off as a "Different" kind of car company and now thanks to Lutz, Saturn is a American Opel. Did we need an American Opel? Could the Opel brand autos go to any GM brand other than Saturn? Couldn't Saturn have offered super successful, small, fuel efficient, & fun to drive small cars? All three triples could have been Saturns right along with the Sky, a Vibe like vehicle and a required Delta based offering. But what we get is another confused brand with no clear way to standout enough from Chevy or Pontiac to clearly compete with VW or Honda. Any if someway say that they are different because they are based on Opels and then how in the hell is that going to standout in America where 99% of the folks don't know who Opel is?

Well, I think the Colorado/Canyon is an example of GM lack of focus. The 5 cylinder is not on par with competitors, interior is horrible and the exterior styling is not as attractive as the Tacoma and Frontier. But as much as a dislike the twins and is disqusted at the lack of GM's focus, the Ford Ranger is much much worst.

I like all three (3) concepts but I don't think GM has the will nor marketing brains to build one of these cars. Right now GM is pretty close to profitablity and there is not real rush to push into the minicar market. Yes, Scions and the Mini Cooper are super sucessful but GM can't seem to get past the views of big trucks and suvs. We can see an example of this by looking at GM's poor attempt at the subcompact market with the Aveo. The Aveo was the best selling subcompact in America. Knowing that the Fit, Yaris and the Versa was coming what does GM do. Half a$$ the redesign of the Aveo and the hatchback version is no where to be found. Sorry to be so negative but GM of late has not been hitting on all cylinders and even Lutz is playing down the idea of an American minicar.

What is the purpose of any Caddy suv or crossover? I thought that the SRX/Slade job was to battle the Volvo XC, Mercedes M, X5 Lexus products, etc. Better yet, what is the Buick Enclave main competition? With Buick and a Caddy Crossovers/suvs then I think GM has the market covered. There is no need for a Saab crossover.

Is it me or does it seem that Caddy is still in alot of flux??? Alot of these decisions should have already been made years ago. At this point in the Caddy Renaissance, they should be fine tuning what they already have or at least have 3 or 4 production ready prototypes during winter testing or something. If the plan is to push the CTS up to compete with BMW 5 then I hope it has technology and the options to compete with the 5 Series. Have GM figured out what platform the BLS will be on? What is the final decision on the STS and the DTS? Is the SRX being elimated or not and if it is where is the Caddy crossover to compete with the Lexus RX? At this point in time, Caddy should really have it's crap together. At this point in the 3 generation Slade and 2nd generation CTS the stable for Caddy should be full by now. If you want to play with the big boys then you need to act like one. And with all this woulda, coulda and shouldas that is coming from Caddy is dishearting.

GM has alot riding on the Saturn train and if the new Saturn products don't take off then GM will be in trouble. But, I think the focus has to be on Chevy and Cadillac the two bookends for GM. Chevy needs a lambda minivan among other products and Caddy needs alot more products such a sports coupe and a convertible to truly compete with Lexus and BMW and until Chevy & Caddy gets these much needed products GM will have to fight tooth and nail to keep Toyota out of the #1 spot.

That's a good question and a question that GM should be able to answer but will not. Saabs can command a higher price than a Saturn so I would like for GM to make Saab more like Volvo and Acura minus the RL. Since the TL is nothing but a dressed up European Accord then Saab and do the same thing with the NG EP platform. Saab should offer unigue interiors and options that you can't find on any Buick or Saturn. But with GM's idea of Saturn moving upscale this leaves Saab out in the cold. My final option for Saab would be to be sold to the highest bidder.

Some Wallstreet anaylsts said "that if GM can just sell an additional 1,000,000 vehicles, then there would be no Japanesse advantage". Well who in there right mind thinks that GM can sell an additional 200,000 let alone 1,000,000 more cars!! This is not a UAW problem but a "Union" problem. Union numbers are falling and alot of union jobs are shifting overseas to avoid the high labor costs. Now more than ever the unions are being seen as part of the problem and not the solution. Is there any other reason why 99% of foreign automakers are union free in their American plants. This is not faulting the unions but union heavy industries are now defunct or in decline!! Union heavy textiles are non-existant and big steel is now on the verge of forgeign ownership (rumor of US Steel being brought out by a Russian steel firm). With all of this happening are there any other reasons why new workers don't want the union representation. And with the GM and Ford problems being highly publized then the union is of course seen as part of the problem. If the union what to still be a viable entity in the future I think it is time for the union to man up and help the U.S. auto industry erase any advantage that the foreigners have. Does that mean taking a pay cut or having some of their benefits reduced? Yes. Will it be easy? no but if the union want to save jobs and its union members lifestyles then some sacrfice is warranted. Now GM's management need to get in high gear to look at additonal ways to saving cost such as getting rid of any executive perks such as private jets or any other money eating mess. Management can't ask the unions to sacrifice if they are still riding in corporate jets and chilling on the corporate credit card.

Okay, to tell the truth, I was very nervous about the Tundra's debut. I for one will never take Toyota for granted and I just knew that Toyota would hit the Full-Size truck market out of the park with the 2007 Tundra. Well, it is good but no better than the GMT900s or F150s. Plus, the F150 is new for 2008, so I know Ford will take it to a new level and that is good for the domestic automakers. The 2007 Tundra's interior is poor which is a surpraise because the previous Tundra's interior was great but I think the exterior is pretty good. At least Toyota is trying with full-size trucks unlike GM which just decided to dump the minivan market.

I really like this new Malibu but I think it is still missing some technology that is becoming quite common in its competitors such as non On-Star Nav, Bluetooth and motion headlights. If GM wants import buyers to look at the Malibu then they should at least provide the same amount of options and technology that the Camry/Accord provide. But, GM has fallen short of this matter so again GM will play second fiddle to the imports!!!!!

GM should not use a "SPOKESPERSON". The cars should be good enough to sell themselves!! It's not like Toyota is using Paris Hilton to sell Camrys or Honda is using Lynsey Lohan to pimp Accords. GM needs to learn that no "SPOKESPERSON" can change a perception issue if the cars on the lot is not worthy. Buick with its terrible minivan, LaCrosse and dull Lucerne won't change anyones mind. How do GM think they are fooling using Tiger Woods?

We have alot of people that would like to live in the "Glorious GM Past" but it is the distant past. GM had all of these brands because back in the day there wasn't a strong Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai or Kia. These car companies have shown GM that you can grow by providing a wide range of vehicles under very few brands. GM is just the opposite. GM still thinks that they need a whole brand for 1 lousy segment!! If you would ask Wagoner what is the difference between Pontiac & a Chevy he couldn't tell you! The Lexus brand is the prime example of what focusing on a brand and not dividing yourself thin can do. Toyota did not release Lexus until their house was in order and the same thing with Scion. If Toyota was struggling do you think they would have wasted money on Scion, like GM does with some of these dying brands?

The Lexus came in last but Caddy would give his left nut for a equivlent to the LS. At this point Caddy is not a player in this game and it seems it will be years before Caddy will be really ready for the Big Bois!!

As far as the passenger car side of the house, GM has to be sure that the NG Malibu is a homerun, drop dead looks and on par or better than the Crown Champ Camry. If not then GM will be robbing Peter (Aura & G6) to pay Paul (NG Malibu)!!! Is it me but wouldn't it hard for the G6 or the Aura to gain sales if the Malibu is a hit? Why would you buy a decent G6 or a good Aura when the NG Malibu is suppose to be great? That's why Toyota has no in house competition for the Camry and the same for Honda and the Accord. It's only GM that cut its own throat with so many overlapping brands and models!

Again, GM needs to set a clear goal and purpose for Buick!! Your luxury brand is Cadillac! Not Buick. Buick will never be another Acura or Infiniti no matter how much we think it should. No one in their right mind would think that people that is looking at an TSX, TL or a G35 will go to a Buick dealer. Leave that for Caddy or Saab. So what is Buick's purpose? American luxury? Or just a cheaper, slower, softer Caddy? It's amazing Lexus is the top selling luxury brand by trying to be all to all people but GM has to divide themselves into 3 or 4 different brands to compete with single brands such as BMW, MB or Lexus. It almost seems that if GM would focus on Caddy and expanded its lineup then GM wouldn't need a Buick. Just my opinion and I know there are alot of Buick loyalist out there but lets get serious about if Toyota can grow with 3 brands why is GM shrinking with 8 brands? There comes a time that someone needs to really examine each brand and see if someone needs to go the way of Plymouth or Oldsmobile. Can you imagine if Oldsmobile was still producing cars? What would be their purpose next to Buick, Caddy & Saab?

I might be the only one but I love the idea of the Hybrid looking different from the regular suv offernings. People seem to forget that hybrid buyers like to be different for difference sake. They want people to know they are driving a hybrid, so GM did the right move on making the hybrid look different and alittle wierd.

I couldn't agree more!! Why would GM abandon a whole segment of vehicles because sales are falling currently? This just shows a pattern of GM's lack of long term planning! Who is running the show over there? Do you think Toyota or Honda will dump the minivan because sales are slowing for the segment? It's amazing but with a slumping segment, their sales are up!! This decision just reinforces that there are too many brands and not enough vision to go around. If the Lambda platform was so good as GM seems to be shoving down our throats then they could have made a minivan from it very simply. But, obviously they are to concerned with Crossovers and not about minivans. Seems to me this is the same thing they did with focusing on SUVs and not passenger cars!! And we want to know why GM is losing market share and losing buckets of money!!

Never clueless but smart. Gas prices are on the rise again and the Colorado sales are behind Tacoma and the Frontier! So what's clueless?

I am hoping that GM will give us a nice production RWD car!!!!!!!!!!!! A fuel efficient RWD will be a great addition to the GM lineup. Hey, maybe a "REAL" midsize truck because that Colorado is pure junk. When is that platform going to the grave??

For every sales increase in an important GM vehicle there is always a disappointment. GM just can't seem to keep everything floating at one time! Good Impala sales = lousy Malibu, Aveo, Cobalt-HHR monthly sales.

Great idea! I hope that Hummer does the same thing but a real compact truck that is off-road tested. GM needs a real compact pick up because the Colorado twins sucks butt!

I couldn't agree with you more. The idea that DCX would put Dr. Z on American commericals to say, German engineering this and German engineering that!!! Was way out of line. I guess they are saying that without German know how Chrysler would have been dead afew years ago.