After years of haranguing over their competitive disadvantage caused by a weak Japanese yen, Detroit automakers say their arguments are finally being heard in Washington -- but Washington may not have much power to flex.
That's because global currency markets have bet big on the yen remaining weak for the immediate future, a self-reinforcing trend that some experts say can only be reversed by careful moves in Japan, not dictates from Capitol Hill.
At the same time, European countries have grown more concerned about the yen's weakness against the euro, adding another voice to Detroit's side.
"Clearly, everybody from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) on down is saying the yen's too weak."
But those arguments have yet to win any converts in the Bush administration, where Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson repeatedly has said that the yen's weakness was an accurate reflection of doubts about Japan's economic growth. Earlier this month, Paulson and Japanese officials blocked European finance officers from discussing the yen's value during a meeting.
How does a weak yen hurt Detroit? The Auto Trade Policy Council estimates that the yen provides a subsidy of up to $9,000 on luxury vehicles and $2,000 on lower-end cars imported from Japan, sales of which soared 23% to 2.1 million vehicles last year. The weak yen also generates extra profits for Japanese automakers; of the $3.6 billion in profits that Toyota Motor Co. reported in its most recent quarter, $250 million came from a lower yen -- more than Toyota saved from its cost-cutting efforts around the world.
Toyota still imports about 1/2 the vehicles they sell here.
I do not think we can really cut up the market that tightly. Dodge entry level to take on Ford and Chevy the same except take on Honda/Nissan/Toyota and Saturn does the same? No, One entry level division (Chevy has way more volume than Dodge) and let Saturn continue to have a little more premium image/import contender.
Make the Dodges fleet cars. Build the heck out of them but keep the price up at the rental fleets.
You Guys NEED TO READ 62vetteefp linked article. It is one of the best articles that proves my point of just how big of a deal this currency manipulation issue is.
62' What do you think pal ? Is it time to tariff Japanese and Chinese imports if Japan/China are going to continue to ignore the problem until the U.S. citizens demand some sort of knee jerk reaction ????
I know the Japanese automakers are very concerned as this could be the bomb that takes their profit dominace away. Dude they want to import small cars because with the currency advantage they can make a decent profit where the Big 3 are stuck with a loss or at best a razor thin profit on small cars. You actually might see Japanese cars interiors feature Chevy Chevette like interiors because they won't know how to operate without that currency cushion.
Hey this is hard. I know I was grabbing at the thin air but was trying to come up with something. So you are saying sell all Dodges to rental company's ? Is their really that much of a market for rental fleets ? I could of went off the deep end and said Dodge should become a luxury brand above Cadillac or something like that.
I really don't see what's wrong if a car company can get away with selling two brands in the same segment as long as those brands are more than just rebadges. You'd of course have to give each car it's own flavor but I do think Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, have enough heritage to get the job done.
Dodge/Chevy=High Volume target Ford and imports
Chrysler=European like that targets lower end Mercedes, VW, Audi's
Jeep-Mid-High Volume with a focus on off-road performance. Bring back the Pontiac Aztek as a Jeep model and give it Ranchero Shocks, Skid Plates, and Mud tires :P J/K
Hopefully if there is world wide pressure from those that buy from japan they would do something. I do not see that happening until after the next election.
Right now GM sells almost twice as many vehicles as Toyota in the US AND Toyota imports almost half it's vehicles from Japan. I know Toyota is looking to build 5 more plants here but they probably figure they have a few good years yet of cheap imports before the yen gets balanced with the world. They had to build the truck plant here to try and get the good ole boy truck buyers to believe they are an American company. too bad folks do not know they are only half an american company.
In fact last year they imported almost 50% more vehicles than the year before (860K vs. 1,179k) and built fewer vehicles in the US (1,360k vs. 1,399k)
My question is where is all that Toyota profit going? japan has been in the dumper for years as far as their economy yet they make huge profits here. What gives?
I would comment about China but that is not part of this forum.
My question is where is all that Toyota profit going? japan has been in the dumper for years as far as their economy yet they make huge profits here. What gives?
Good Question because I don't know where all that money is going. :confuse: I don't think Japans economy is quite as bad as some make it out to be.
As you know GM is cutting back on rental fleets as is Ford. Chrysler/Dodge has been going the other way and sells a huge percentage of fleet.
If fleet is 20% of the entire US market (I posted this data before and do not recall the exact number but it is close to 20%) the market is huge. Total market in US is 8 million cars. Chrysler/Dodge sold 660,000 million cars last year. 20% of 8 million is 1.6 million rental fleet cars. GM could keep all those Chrylser plants going just building fleet cars AND not hurting the rest of the GM brand residuals by not selling old GM branded cars to fleet. Of course this would hurt GM in the short term as the GM plants would be underutilized as they cut out rentals.
If GM really wante to they could sell all the Chrysler/Dodge at cost to the rentals and put Ford out of business by taking away all their rental market.
GM would also have to make sure they update the Chrysler/Dodge products even for the fleets and over time get them on the global GM platforms.
...even if the Chinese DO buy Chrysler, who says we have to buy their junk? Why is it that just about every crappy Asian brand instantly has entry to our market yet they refuse to buy our stuff? Why even import these travesties that once were proud Mopar marques? Lot 'em rot in Asia.
you bring up a good point. However I've seen enough regular posters (I won't mention names) that are looking forward to the Chin-E class of cars. It's sad but true some americans will buy them and then they will scratch their head as to why they lost their job also.
Shoot, I look forward to the importation of Chin-E-Class cars as much as I would an Asian bird flu pandemic sweeping the United States. Both would be extremely detrimental to our health.
Of course this would hurt GM in the short term as the GM plants would be underutilized as they cut out rentals.
Well they could then at least transfer workers to the Dodge Rental building fleet side.
I would prefer to not see Dodge stay a Rental Fleet Specialist as the brand has to much good Heritage to do that kind of work. Sure sell some good cars to the rental agencies that are nice enough to make renters want to look at other GM products.
Shoot, Dodge predates Chrysler as the vehicle once built by brothers John and Horace. Dodge has so many cool cars right now, it would be a shame to see them disappear as did Plymouth. I just got the latest edition of "Collectible Automobile" which features a great article on the 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
All those people who told me in discussions that the relative value of yen and China's currency don't matter were just blowing smoke? All I know is what I read and my recall.
I do recall that there was a 10% tariff on the foreign company cars... does anyone remember that? Was that Carter era? That was the era of dumping products here at/or below cost.
Essentially they're still dumping by using the reduced value of yen and Chinese currency.
I can't see why anybody would even want a Chin-E-Class car. You can't argue quality. Chinese quality is abominable. I've seen those Chinese pocket bikes with sloppy welds, stripped screws, and lots of metal burrs. These dudes can't even properly forge a wrench! Is a cheap price the only thing they care about? Geeze, buy a decent quality used car if you're that poor! Come to think of it, the reason they're poor and have to buy a Chin-E-Class car is because they've been buying all that Wal-Mart garbage and put themselves out of a job. Fools and victims! Victims and fools! If there wasn't a market for this crap, it wouldn't exist.
They had to build the truck plant here to try and get the good ole boy truck buyers to believe they are an American company.
Not really. North America is the ONLY place in the world where full-size personal trucks sell in any kind of quantity. Since cross-ocean shipping costs aren't going down anytime soon, it makes sense to build the trucks where they will sell.
Why is it that just about every crappy Asian brand instantly has entry to our market yet they refuse to buy our stuff?
Because they build the kinds of cars we like to buy, but we don't build the kind of cars they like to buy. If GM really wants to make some headway in Japan, they need to start building microcars with Lucerne interiors and better-than-Lexus IQS scores.
Essentially they're still dumping by using the reduced value of yen and Chinese currency.
Well they essentially defeated are tariff by artificially under valuing their currency so much it defeats our low tariff. Perhaps a tariff raise is needed to counter this ? Maybe the taxes collected can be used to pay for UAW Pensions because they by using this tatic have killed off a lot of american jobs and if chrysler was to go under I don't want to pay the bill but think the workers deserve to stay retired after puting in 30+ years.
Shoot, maybe we should raise the tariff so high that Toyota and Honda, et al will be paying for each laid-off UAW employee for life! It would kind of defeat their anti-union stance, wouldn't it?
Do you really think it would make a difference ? They are such nationalist I feel we could build the best products in the world and they still wouldn't buy it. I think they still hold a grudge because of the WWII and you can't question their patriotism to their homeland.
...for every company that sent its work overseas - whether they make textiles, appliances, tools, whatever - the stuff they import from China and other third-world toilets should be tariffed to pay for all the American workers who lost their jobs due to corporate greed. The tariffs should be so dang high that outsourcing would become so costly it would be unthinkable.
Well said Lemko........ The Chinese are making good cars but that is due to GM, taking extra measures to make sure the jobs done right. Well they look good atleast. No telling how well their made.
Holdenguy, said the new Holden WM Statesman replaced the Royaum. I like you liked the Royaum and actually wouldn't mind seeing it over here still as a LaCrosse/Lucerne. The WM Statesman Would make a fine Lucerne or Bonneville replacement. I say bring these designs over here and lets build em'
I believe like I said before in competition but Japan, need to open their market to our exports. They also need to fix the currency problem and then I wouldn't have a problem with having fair and balanced competition. That also goes for China as well as they have a law that says you have to build it in China to sell it China, well that is what I've heard with cars anyways. :mad:
Well oviously congress is now looking at these issues as GM, Ford, Chrysler, UAW, IUE-CWA, has cried foul long enough just maybe something will be done at the congressional level.
I think that the best thing for GM to do is let Mercedes take car of the Chrysler problem. If Chrysler takes Mercedes down with it, that will not hurt GM. However, I can't see that Chrysler will do GM any real good, and would probably hurt GM's recovery. If Mercedes could get Toyota to take on Chrysler, this might slow Toyota down more than help them.
Well that would mean company's such as Delphi, would have to re open it's U.S. operations or go out of business. Fine with me !!!! Your proposal is exactly what's needed IMHO. Delphi, has plants in China, and has been trying for years to build all the fuel injector systems for Delphi in China. They also tried to build Valve Lifters but even the Germans and Japanese failed at their attempts and is why still to this day Toyota, still buys their Valve Lifters from Delphi. They just got a new contract about 2-3 months ago at my Step-dads and Aunts plant in Wyoming, Michigan. (Suburban of Grand Rapids) Lemko, that same plant built rifles in WWII. It has huge furnaces for heat treatment.
...if Chrysler goes down and takes Mercedes with it, it would be poetic justice. Jurgen Schrempp (sp?) would be considered autodom's worst monster since Roger Smith.
Geeze, if Daimler was all that, don't you think they'd at least put an effort into resurrecting the Chrysler end of the business rather than letting it wither and die or trying to pawn it off on some sucker? Daimler reminds me of a guy who brags about being the ultimate automotive authority. He buys your cherished classic car from you, beats the heck out of it, neglects the maintenance, and blames you for what he did. Now, he's looking at the naive teenage kid down the street on which to unload his beat-up neglected ride.
I think it could. There is certainly an affinity for the local product in some quarters, but the same can be said for the US market. The Japanese makes gradually revised their products to bring them in line with what American buyers wanted, while the US makes have apparently decided to go after juicier plums elsewhere (China, India) rather than try to take share from highly competent, established competitors in a mature market.
I'll bounce off the curb and back into the traffic lane here...
The Toyota company has had wonderful PR based on lots of factors, so true and some not so true at least now.
Ironically at the same time they're launching a campaign to show how "American" they really are, their recalls, flaws, errors, are becoming public more than they used to. Their flaws are being associated with more problems with their cars, which is the same burden American carmakers have carried for years now.
I'm hoping a billboard in Cincinnati will still be up when we run down for a birthday party. The billboard was promoting how American Toyota is. Their headquarters are on the other side of Cincy in Erlanger, KY. There was a double entendre in the one I saw. Sort of like the "One day you'll own Generals." After a set on a new car they were right; there would only be _one_ day I'd own Generals. On the next car I had them switched out and wouldn't accept it when it was delivered with Generals.
I believe the effort to show how American they are will have a backlast with anyone above GenX.
I think I got it covered. Some of you eliminating brands is plain foolish. GM, needs to hire me as their marketing guy and let ME implement my plan so we can keep all the brands.
No. Best bet for GM is for Honda or Toyota to hire Rocky. :P
GM has too many brands. GM albatross is apparent business/legal arrangements that require GM to provide new vehicles to dealers such as Saturn, Buick/Pontiac. If not for being tied up with the dealers, GM could dump Pontiac, Buick, Saturn. GM only needs Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC brands. These are golden.
If successful car companies such as Honda and Toyota each had 5-7 brands, then perhaps one could make an argument that GM should also have same amount. But, it ain't so. Why fight Honda or Toyota superior business model?
GM's oldest brand names have been around for nearly a hundred years. The real problem at GM is that the product lineup is not very good. Buick's are not very good, the LaCrosse is on an old platform. Changes are coming. Sales with only Chevy and Cadillac would drop from 4 million to 3 million (or less).
cancelling brands isnt practical. People act like GM can wave a wand and just dump divisions on a whim with no cost implications. Dumping Olds cost GM a fortune and state laws protecting dealerships makes it hard to consolodate dealerships or to get rid of a brand altogether. It would cost GM billions to ax another brand.
Obviously TOyota and Honda are in a much different position and have the benefit of being able to study GM and not repeat what they have done. For the record, GM didnt really create all these brands (Hummer and Saturn excluded) they got all these brands through aquisitions and mergers over the years. Most of them came about many decades ago and for a long time having all these brands wasnt a bad idea. It ridiculous to say "toyota only has 3 brands so GM should match that" because Toyota is increasing it's # of brands to coincide with increased presence in the US while GM has been shrinking its # of brands, or at least wishes they could do so due to slacking marketshare. There are a lot of things Toyota can do that GM cannot for numerous reasons. Thats like saying "GM should dump unions because Toyota doesnt use them". Easier said than done.
I keep finding their commercials and themes just don't grab me like some do. There are some commercials I find myself stopping what I'm doing and looking up because of the music or the beginning to it--there's something that's got a catch.
Not the case with most GM commercials. It's not like the expertise isn't available here...
I guess you roll your eyes at Toyota ads that try to establish them as an American company by telling you how they build cars in Kentucky and employ thousands of US workers. Not buying a car because you dont like the ad campaign is truly ridiculous. I am so tired of people complaining about Chevy ads as if using "American Revolution" or that stupid country song is reason enough to shun GM products. Whether you hate the theme of the ads or not the vehicles are the nice for the most part.
As for Toyota being #1, I dont see any way they wont be for the foreseeable future. They have so many advantages here and in Japan that there is little reason to expect them to surrender theh #1 spot. The only way I can see that happening is if GM, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai collectively siphon of Toyota marketshare with fantastic vehicles over the next few years. All I care about is GM turning out great vehicles and if they can do that while being #2 that is fine.
I roll my eyes at both. I don't care for either product as well. A dull Asian nameplate or a dull domestic. It's like lukewarm coffee and cold unbuttered toast. Neither offers anything to make me run down to the local showroom.
And I don't like country music, so associating a nameplate with it will indeed keep me away. There's so much choice on the market that I can easily find something that doesn't irk me.
"American Revolution" is like "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit"...they are both kind of unfinished statements. What's so revolutionary about a Cobalt or a Malibu that finally lost the fish face? Nothin. I see no revolution, more like an evolution towards being really competitive. Who thinks of this stuff?
If you are tired of people complaining, you need to tell GM to get some competent ad people on the payroll. It's not the complainers who are wrong. If some association with the brand puts them off, they will patronize another brand. GM is making some headway with the product, but I don't see much on the marketing side.
And to be fair, most car ads are lame. Especially Kia commercials. I'll take GM all day over those. And lest we forget "Bold Moves" or overcompensating Dodge truck ads or Toyota ads that are as dull as the cars they sell, or pretentious Lexus ads, or the annoying animated Honda guy, etc.
I still think GM should do a little more with heritage, and somehow relate to the cars being as competent as they were 40-50 years ago. Who doesn't like a Chevy from that period? Draw a parallel, somehow.
It ridiculous to say "toyota only has 3 brands so GM should match that" because Toyota is increasing it's # of brands to coincide with increased presence in the US while GM has been shrinking its # of brands, or at least wishes they could do so due to slacking marketshare.
Lots of GM resources wasted by duplicity. GM has many brands and models competing against each other. Don't see that with Honda or Toyota.
going on, I think the main issue is what does GM need to do to start/keep it's momentum going? And without buying marketshare, actually earning it. In other words, since GM is on the offensive, can they continue to keep it up?
I feel one of the last things it needs is more divisions. GM shouldn't be thinking of buying other companies not going into joint ventures where it doesn't see some immediate returns and continuing gains throughout the JV. As many stated, they should concentrate on their own block, fixing the problems with realistic solutions instead of patches, instead of buying the next block.
I think if the General does buy/merge with Mother Mopar, both sides will lose.
Comments
After years of haranguing over their competitive disadvantage caused by a weak Japanese yen, Detroit automakers say their arguments are finally being heard in Washington -- but Washington may not have much power to flex.
That's because global currency markets have bet big on the yen remaining weak for the immediate future, a self-reinforcing trend that some experts say can only be reversed by careful moves in Japan, not dictates from Capitol Hill.
At the same time, European countries have grown more concerned about the yen's weakness against the euro, adding another voice to Detroit's side.
"Clearly, everybody from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) on down is saying the yen's too weak."
But those arguments have yet to win any converts in the Bush administration, where Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson repeatedly has said that the yen's weakness was an accurate reflection of doubts about Japan's economic growth. Earlier this month, Paulson and Japanese officials blocked European finance officers from discussing the yen's value during a meeting.
How does a weak yen hurt Detroit? The Auto Trade Policy Council estimates that the yen provides a subsidy of up to $9,000 on luxury vehicles and $2,000 on lower-end cars imported from Japan, sales of which soared 23% to 2.1 million vehicles last year. The weak yen also generates extra profits for Japanese automakers; of the $3.6 billion in profits that Toyota Motor Co. reported in its most recent quarter, $250 million came from a lower yen -- more than Toyota saved from its cost-cutting efforts around the world.
Toyota still imports about 1/2 the vehicles they sell here.
Buick.
I do not know what the next gen Pacifica is like but the Enclave pretty much killed the current one.
Chrysler brand really has only the 300 (which will soon need refreshing) and the T&C.
Make the 300 a fleet car and the T&C a Buick.
I do not think we can really cut up the market that tightly. Dodge entry level to take on Ford and Chevy the same except take on Honda/Nissan/Toyota and Saturn does the same? No, One entry level division (Chevy has way more volume than Dodge) and let Saturn continue to have a little more premium image/import contender.
Make the Dodges fleet cars. Build the heck out of them but keep the price up at the rental fleets.
62' What do you think pal ? Is it time to tariff Japanese and Chinese imports if Japan/China are going to continue to ignore the problem until the U.S. citizens demand some sort of knee jerk reaction ????
I know the Japanese automakers are very concerned as this could be the bomb that takes their profit dominace away. Dude they want to import small cars because with the currency advantage they can make a decent profit where the Big 3 are stuck with a loss or at best a razor thin profit on small cars. You actually might see Japanese cars interiors feature Chevy Chevette like interiors because they won't know how to operate without that currency cushion.
Rocky
Hey this is hard. I know I was grabbing at the thin air but was trying to come up with something. So you are saying sell all Dodges to rental company's ? Is their really that much of a market for rental fleets ? I could of went off the deep end and said Dodge should become a luxury brand above Cadillac or something like that.
I really don't see what's wrong if a car company can get away with selling two brands in the same segment as long as those brands are more than just rebadges. You'd of course have to give each car it's own flavor but I do think Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, have enough heritage to get the job done.
Dodge/Chevy=High Volume target Ford and imports
Chrysler=European like that targets lower end Mercedes, VW, Audi's
Jeep-Mid-High Volume with a focus on off-road performance.
Bring back the Pontiac Aztek as a Jeep model and give it Ranchero Shocks, Skid Plates, and Mud tires :P J/K
Rocky
Right now GM sells almost twice as many vehicles as Toyota in the US AND Toyota imports almost half it's vehicles from Japan. I know Toyota is looking to build 5 more plants here but they probably figure they have a few good years yet of cheap imports before the yen gets balanced with the world. They had to build the truck plant here to try and get the good ole boy truck buyers to believe they are an American company. too bad folks do not know they are only half an american company.
In fact last year they imported almost 50% more vehicles than the year before (860K vs. 1,179k) and built fewer vehicles in the US (1,360k vs. 1,399k)
My question is where is all that Toyota profit going? japan has been in the dumper for years as far as their economy yet they make huge profits here. What gives?
I would comment about China but that is not part of this forum.
Good Question because I don't know where all that money is going. :confuse: I don't think Japans economy is quite as bad as some make it out to be.
Rocky
If fleet is 20% of the entire US market (I posted this data before and do not recall the exact number but it is close to 20%) the market is huge. Total market in US is 8 million cars. Chrysler/Dodge sold 660,000 million cars last year. 20% of 8 million is 1.6 million rental fleet cars. GM could keep all those Chrylser plants going just building fleet cars AND not hurting the rest of the GM brand residuals by not selling old GM branded cars to fleet. Of course this would hurt GM in the short term as the GM plants would be underutilized as they cut out rentals.
If GM really wante to they could sell all the Chrysler/Dodge at cost to the rentals and put Ford out of business by taking away all their rental market.
GM would also have to make sure they update the Chrysler/Dodge products even for the fleets and over time get them on the global GM platforms.
you bring up a good point. However I've seen enough regular posters (I won't mention names) that are looking forward to the Chin-E class of cars. It's sad but true some americans will buy them and then they will scratch their head as to why they lost their job also.
Rocky
Well they could then at least transfer workers to the Dodge Rental building fleet side.
I would prefer to not see Dodge stay a Rental Fleet Specialist as the brand has to much good Heritage to do that kind of work. Sure sell some good cars to the rental agencies that are nice enough to make renters want to look at other GM products.
Rocky
Rocky
I do recall that there was a 10% tariff on the foreign company cars... does anyone remember that? Was that Carter era? That was the era of dumping products here at/or below cost.
Essentially they're still dumping by using the reduced value of yen and Chinese currency.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Not really. North America is the ONLY place in the world where full-size personal trucks sell in any kind of quantity. Since cross-ocean shipping costs aren't going down anytime soon, it makes sense to build the trucks where they will sell.
Because they build the kinds of cars we like to buy, but we don't build the kind of cars they like to buy. If GM really wants to make some headway in Japan, they need to start building microcars with Lucerne interiors and better-than-Lexus IQS scores.
Rocky
Well they essentially defeated are tariff by artificially under valuing their currency so much it defeats our low tariff. Perhaps a tariff raise is needed to counter this ? Maybe the taxes collected can be used to pay for UAW Pensions because they by using this tatic have killed off a lot of american jobs and if chrysler was to go under I don't want to pay the bill but think the workers deserve to stay retired after puting in 30+ years.
Rocky
Do you really think it would make a difference ? They are such nationalist I feel we could build the best products in the world and they still wouldn't buy it. I think they still hold a grudge because of the WWII and you can't question their patriotism to their homeland.
Rocky
Rocky
Holdenguy, said the new Holden WM Statesman replaced the Royaum. I like you liked the Royaum and actually wouldn't mind seeing it over here still as a LaCrosse/Lucerne. The WM Statesman Would make a fine Lucerne or Bonneville replacement. I say bring these designs over here and lets build em'
Rocky
Rocky
Rocky
Well that would mean company's such as Delphi, would have to re open it's U.S. operations or go out of business. Fine with me !!!!
Your proposal is exactly what's needed IMHO. Delphi, has plants in China, and has been trying for years to build all the fuel injector systems for Delphi in China. They also tried to build Valve Lifters but even the Germans and Japanese failed at their attempts and is why still to this day Toyota, still buys their Valve Lifters from Delphi. They just got a new contract about 2-3 months ago at my Step-dads and Aunts plant in Wyoming, Michigan.
(Suburban of Grand Rapids) Lemko, that same plant built rifles in WWII. It has huge furnaces for heat treatment.
Rocky
Rocky
Rocky
The Toyota company has had wonderful PR based on lots of factors, so true and some not so true at least now.
Ironically at the same time they're launching a campaign to show how "American" they really are, their recalls, flaws, errors, are becoming public more than they used to. Their flaws are being associated with more problems with their cars, which is the same burden American carmakers have carried for years now.
I'm hoping a billboard in Cincinnati will still be up when we run down for a birthday party. The billboard was promoting how American Toyota is. Their headquarters are on the other side of Cincy in Erlanger, KY. There was a double entendre in the one I saw. Sort of like the "One day you'll own Generals." After a set on a new car they were right; there would only be _one_ day I'd own Generals. On the next car I had them switched out and wouldn't accept it when it was delivered with Generals.
I believe the effort to show how American they are will have a backlast with anyone above GenX.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
click here for Toyota Motors link
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I will roll my eyes at any company using nationalist masquerades as an attempt at selling product.
No. Best bet for GM is for Honda or Toyota to hire Rocky. :P
GM has too many brands. GM albatross is apparent business/legal arrangements that require GM to provide new vehicles to dealers such as Saturn, Buick/Pontiac. If not for being tied up with the dealers, GM could dump Pontiac, Buick, Saturn. GM only needs Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC brands. These are golden.
If successful car companies such as Honda and Toyota each had 5-7 brands, then perhaps one could make an argument that GM should also have same amount. But, it ain't so. Why fight Honda or Toyota superior business model?
Obviously TOyota and Honda are in a much different position and have the benefit of being able to study GM and not repeat what they have done. For the record, GM didnt really create all these brands (Hummer and Saturn excluded) they got all these brands through aquisitions and mergers over the years. Most of them came about many decades ago and for a long time having all these brands wasnt a bad idea. It ridiculous to say "toyota only has 3 brands so GM should match that" because Toyota is increasing it's # of brands to coincide with increased presence in the US while GM has been shrinking its # of brands, or at least wishes they could do so due to slacking marketshare. There are a lot of things Toyota can do that GM cannot for numerous reasons. Thats like saying "GM should dump unions because Toyota doesnt use them". Easier said than done.
I agree 1000%.
I keep finding their commercials and themes just don't grab me like some do. There are some commercials I find myself stopping what I'm doing and looking up because of the music or the beginning to it--there's something that's got a catch.
Not the case with most GM commercials. It's not like the expertise isn't available here...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
As for Toyota being #1, I dont see any way they wont be for the foreseeable future. They have so many advantages here and in Japan that there is little reason to expect them to surrender theh #1 spot. The only way I can see that happening is if GM, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai collectively siphon of Toyota marketshare with fantastic vehicles over the next few years. All I care about is GM turning out great vehicles and if they can do that while being #2 that is fine.
And I don't like country music, so associating a nameplate with it will indeed keep me away. There's so much choice on the market that I can easily find something that doesn't irk me.
"American Revolution" is like "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit"...they are both kind of unfinished statements. What's so revolutionary about a Cobalt or a Malibu that finally lost the fish face? Nothin. I see no revolution, more like an evolution towards being really competitive. Who thinks of this stuff?
If you are tired of people complaining, you need to tell GM to get some competent ad people on the payroll. It's not the complainers who are wrong. If some association with the brand puts them off, they will patronize another brand. GM is making some headway with the product, but I don't see much on the marketing side.
I still think GM should do a little more with heritage, and somehow relate to the cars being as competent as they were 40-50 years ago. Who doesn't like a Chevy from that period? Draw a parallel, somehow.
Lots of GM resources wasted by duplicity. GM has many brands and models competing against each other. Don't see that with Honda or Toyota.
I feel one of the last things it needs is more divisions. GM shouldn't be thinking of buying other companies not going into joint ventures where it doesn't see some immediate returns and continuing gains throughout the JV. As many stated, they should concentrate on their own block, fixing the problems with realistic solutions instead of patches, instead of buying the next block.
I think if the General does buy/merge with Mother Mopar, both sides will lose.