smk4565

G6 is a money loser since it goes to Avis or to people getting $6,000 off sticker. But it is a crappy car that can outsell several of GM's luxury offerings put together. The problem is luxury cars need image and status. GM's brands have lacked focus and Cadillac has lacked the flagship to make them a legit contender. Cadillac for example tries to be like Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and Lincoln and makes a boaty soft car, a sports sedan, a huge SUV for rappers and athletes, a soon to be soccer mom crossover, etc. They are all over the map and don't do any one thing particularly well that defines their identity. And the money to make that happen doesn't exist, I think Cadillac will continue to decline as long as GM has more than 3 brands. Saab was lost years ago, time to put us out of Saab's misery.

But is it worth the $12-15k price premium over a Prius? The Prius is the green image icon and the 2010 model gets over 50 mpg so while not electric, it still has a low cost of ownership and is seen as environmentally friendly. Plus the "green" crowd tends to not look at domestics very often. The Volt will have a lot of hurdles to overcome.

The tax credit is supposed to be $5,000-7,000 for the Volt. GM was hoping for $7,000, but I don't remember if they got that or if was less. Even with that, the Volt will be $33-35k. Which is pricey since it offers Cobalt like performance and amenities.

Audi uses longitudinally mounted engines in the A4 and A6, that differs from any Acura, Lincoln, Saab, etc, so Audi quattros have about a 55/45 front to rear weight distribution. Not as good as BMW's 50/50, but good enough to get get close in performance, and Audi has been using their interiors and MMI system to attract buyers. They did outsell BMW in Germany and sell 1 million units worldwide in 2008. But Audi just had a big product assault, BMW and Mercedes have theirs coming in 2009-2010, so they may overtake Audi again.

Saab is dead, not only due to low brand awareness, but bad reputation for reliability, and dated product. They will never compete with Audi on interiors, never compete with BMW on performance, never compete with Mercedes on image and engineering, never compete with Lexus on quality/reliability. Cadillac can't even do any of those 4, how on earth will Saab. And front drive cars, even with awd option are never going to stand a chance against the Germans or Infiniti. Look at current front drive luxury cars (over$40k), DTS, 9-5 and S80 are sales dogs, the Acura RL even with AWD only never sold well, and never will, because it can't match the Germans in handling or ride. In today's market, if you have a luxury car (not an entry lux like an ES350, TL or MKZ) that isn't rear wheel drive, you might as well pack up shop and go home.

Wasting Chevrolet's money on Pontiac, Saab, Hummer, etc

I'd like to see Chevy a mid-level and Cadillac, but they might not even be able to afford that. Buick is the logical fit in between, but their image is badly damaged. Cadillac is facing a 2011-2012 where the CTS is their only sedan, and SRX and Escalade are their SUV offerings, thus they'll be forced to take an Epsilon II car and turn it into a Cadillac so the dealers have something to sell. Cadillac is in deep trouble, without a huge injection of funds, to develop 2-3 all new platforms, all new engines and 8-speed transmission.

I just read the Alpha based Cadillac has been delayed 2 years to end of 2014 because of GM's finances. Conversely, BMW is already working on the new 3-series that comes out in 2012. Cadillac can't compete with BMW without money, and Chevy can't compete with Honda and Toyota without money, I am almost to the point that I think GM should become a 2 brand company.

GM hasn't made money since 2004, the current structure and strategy are not working. They didn't make money when the market had 17 million sales, now that it is 10 million sales a year, they could be dead within 2 years unless they take action.

No one wants to buy Saab, and if they stood as their own company they would be in Chapter 7 bankruptcy within 2 months. This is GM making it look like they are trying to change, so they can ask for more government bailout money in March. Otherwise, GM themselves will be filing for bankruptcy.

Notice you put both in past tense. Has made and have made money, but not making money now. GM needs to quit making decisions on the past and do what is right for the future. Pontiac and Hummer are the past, Saab and Saturn are failed experiments, all should go.

Another example of how broke GM is right now. This is why for years I have said they can't have 8 brands. When they have to cut back on a Cadillac or a Chevy in order to build yet another full size truck/suv or another rental feet sedan, something is wrong. The money being wasted on Hummer could build this car, the money wasted on Saab could build a Civic rivaling car, etc.

And Silverados, Tahoes, Acadais aren't going to sell in Europe or Japan, so they need to do more than one thing well, or they'll keep facing shrinking sales here, and struggle abroad.

VW Polo gets 60, BMW 116d gets 52, Prius 46, new Prius 50, Insight probably 50 mpg. It goes beyond Japan, but Europe also. Consumers in those countries expect 35 mpg out of a midsize, and 45-50 in small cars. The cars GM sells here are guzzlers compared to what is sold there, and GM doesn't have a car like the Ford Fiesta yet. GM does big cars and suvs well, but not small stuff, and the 2nd and 3rd world countries are driven by small cars, that is why VW is going to be the #1 automaker in the world by 2015.

2,000 to 4,000 isn't anything to brag about. Toyota sells over 1,000 Camrys per day here. GM need smaller, more fuel efficient, higher quality product if they want to compete overseas. Small cars with 45-50 mpg, not 35, CTS build quality in Aveo to Cobalt sized cars, Malibu LTZ or better interior in a compact, etc.

Chrysler makes concepts all the time that they never build, and they don't have the battery, electric drivetrain or fuel efficient engine technology that they have in these concepts like this one and the Liberty EV. So I am not too excited about something they are unable to build now, and probably won't be able to build until 2013 and they could be bankrupt well before then.

No one is going to pay $80,000 for a front drive hybrid with Prius-like performance. Cadillac shouldn't be in the front drive business anyway. At $50k they may find some buyers, they can give it an interior/features that are similar to a loaded CTS to offset lack of performance. But at $80k there are too many high end cars that have loads of features and loads of performance.

2 Volts would mean the Converj is nearing $80,000. Cadillac already has an $80,000 2-door that no one wants, making one with similar interior and less performance won't sell. It better perform like a 911 if they want to charge $80,000 for it.

51 is totally reasonable for Lexus because the ES350 is 61, and the LS460 is the only other car they have that has an older customer base. The RX and IS attract younger buyers (35-55) and the RX is their best seller. Toyota's average age doesn't matter, people don't buy a Toyota and automatically trade up to Lexus as they age. There are young people that can afford a luxury car just as there are older people that can't.

CAFE is a weak excuse, they still make Hummers, Suburbans and Tahoes that suck far more gas than any rear drive car. The CTS gets the same mileage as the Malibu, so FWD vs RWD makes no difference in mileage. The problem is too many years of feeding Saturn, Saab, Hummer, etc and not enough time making modern, lightweight platforms, clean diesel, hybrid cars, etc. Only now are they getting the 6-speeds and DI engines to market, they should have been doing that in 2005-2006, but they pushed the GMT900s as priority one, and thought "high value" 3500 and 3900 V6s is what the market wanted. Sigma may not seem dated now, but the E-class and 5-series are getting redone this year, and BMW is already has the test mule for the next generation 3-series, if they don't start on a Sigma replacement now, they will be behind again.

335d for sure kills all these luxury hybrids. They don't sell it here, but the BMW 116d gets 53 mpg, which is better than the 2010 Prius. And it is rear drive, so the myth that rear drive sucks gas while front drive is the way to go is false.

The Lexus ES350's average buyer age is 61. The Lexus brand in 2007 had an average age of 51. And Lexus already has 2 cars the size of the Regal, plus one smaller than that, and they already have a smaller (than Enclave) crossover and a convertible (even though the SC430 sucks, but IS convert. is coming). It could take Buick 2-3 more years to get a smaller sedan and ute, while Lexus has those vehicles for sale today.

But do they need 2 cars of identical size with similar engines , transmissions and acceleration with only suspension tuning and some sheet metal being different, especially when they have the Malibu also. They can do a sport model of the Malibu to get younger buyers. The goal should be 400,000 Malibus a year, not 180k or whatever they sold this year. The 2.8 turbo isn't even efficient, in the 9-3 which is a little car it is rated at 15/24 mpg, there are V8s that get better.

Buick is getting the Regal which is a restyled Aura, so that is already covered. Don't need 2 of the same car at the same dealership. If Pontiac stays it should be Solstice and G8, maybe the Astra. But they won't make money with 3 cars so I doubt they stay for long.

Sales volume doesn't equal profit.