The CTS wagon will be a CTS wagon, not some SUV crossover wanttobe. It will share front fenders, hood, doors, interior with new rear quarters and rear fascias.
Buick should make the Super suspension, wheels, tires, and steering available as a reasonably priced option on all LaCrosses, for those who don't need or want V8 power, but appreciate the other driving attributes of the Super. Same for the Lucerne.
Agree. Don't understand the point of a 300 HP V8 in a fwd Buick Lacrosse. Who/what is the intended market for this car? Which brands/models did Buick/GM intend as its competition? At 33K list, this is entry price for entry level lux-perf. But, Lacrosse is not lux nor perf.
Maybe market for Lacrosse V8 Super is golden seniors who had performance GM cars back in their 20's.
golden seniors who had performance GM cars back in their 20's.
I read that as "golden seniors who had performance GM cars back in the 1920s." :P
How many of those not-quite-collecting-Social-Security folks actually had hot dog cars in their youth, instead of just being envious of the WW2 veterans who did have them?
Yeah, but you two pull Buick's average buyer age down 5 years all by yourselves. :P
I think the intended buyer is someone who would be in the market for an Avalon or Lexus ES but refuses to buy "foreign" cars, finds Cadillacs to be overpriced and too flashy, and still believes that 6 cylinders are the budget option.
First Drive: 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 4x4 - Previews
BY DAVE VANDERWERP
"What sets this system apart from the popular Toyota hybrid arrangement is that the Tahoe can run as a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and an automatic through one of four fixed gear ratios. With their theoretically infinite ratios, CVTs are much better than conventional automatics at keeping engines spinning at the most efficient speeds, but at constant highway speed, that advantage can be nullified by the internal friction inherent to CVT operation. In hybrids, the energy loss can be even worse because the drivetrain must also spin an electric motor. The Tahoe, however, can switch over to a more-energy-efficient mechanical path (one of the fixed ratios in the automatic) to minimize wasted energy whenever possible. Whereas the Prius is always processing its power through the CVT, even at inefficient highway speeds, the Tahoe’s system is better and can simply bypass the electric motors and lock onto a gear."
Lemko, as one who likes Buicks, would a LaCrosse Super with the 3.8 substituted for the V8 appeal to you? In other words, we're talking about a nicely decked out LaCrosse with leather, etc., etc., good suspension and steering, but with the latest version of the 3.8 V6. The idea would be to swap some fuel economy for performance.
Uh...my girlfriend and I would immensely love the Buick LaCrosse Super! We're not seniors and very far from collecting Social Security benefits.
What's it like at most Buick dealers? Is the atmosphere, sales and service personnel geared to handle people 30-50? About a year ago, I stopped by a Buick dealer to look at and sit in a Lucerne and it seemed that all the sales guys either were or could have been collecting SS.
Dealers around here are Pontiac/GMC also and no, they were anywhere from 25 to 50 (sales staff). There are a bunch of standalone Buick dealers and they are probably the ones with the older staff. Cannot see how a Buick only dealer makes it though.
I went in to get info on the Enclave I am ordering and they had none in stock. They come in and they are sold. Had a bunch of Acadias though.
The 3.8 isn't a bad engine, but it's more Clark Kent than Super unless you do something like supercharge it or have something like the Grand National. The LaCrosse CXS, which sounds more like the vehicle you're describing, comes with the more modern OHC 3.6 V-6. From what I understand, it too delivers great fuel economy. Can't complain about the fuel economy of her current 2005 LaCrosse or my 1988 Park Avenue.
Stopped at a smaller stand-alone Buick dealer to look at a 2005 Park Avenue that turned out to be a dud. Thought I'd at least ask about a LaCrosse Super, but they didn't have one in stock. A co-worker came by yesterday and kept talking about the Pontiac G8 and that I should consider it as my next ride, but I'm just not a Pontiac kind of guy.
When is the Chevrolet Impala going RWD? I just hope it is better styled by that time. The current car looks like an Accord on steroids.
There are a bunch of standalone Buick dealers and they are probably the ones with the older staff. Cannot see how a Buick only dealer makes it though.
It was a combo Buick-Nissan dealer. Think that they picked up Nissan a long time ago to diversify.
Another old-time Oldsmobile dealer in a nearby town did the same and added Nissan a long time ago. He is thanking his lucky stars for doing so.
There was a stand-alone Olds dealer in another town that did not diversify and ended up going out of business. But, he made out by having an upscale condo complex built on his property.
Article in Tuesday WSJ mentions that GM's CIO, formerly of Bell Atlantic and TI, ripped out GM's 23 different design systems and put in one common one in 2005. This is being used by GM locations worldwide. An associated system being implemented called Worldbook serves as a digital library for design, product and manufacturing information.
Another item mentioned in article, and maybe previously discussed on this board, is that new Chevy Malibu was designed in Germany. Wonder how many pro-American-brands-only car buyers will know this fact. Will GM advertising tout the fine German engineering tradition when promoting the 2008 Malibu?
I went in to get info on the Enclave I am ordering and they had none in stock. They come in and they are sold.
Are they selling for list or list+dealer added junk?
I suppose you consider the Enclave to be a "crossover". In my opinion (for what its worth) the lambdas are too big and heavy to be "crossovers".
I think that a crossover should be somewhere between a sedan based wagon and an SUV. But then there are a lot of different sized SUVs too, so the whole concept of what a crossover is or isn't is murky. To me the Audi Allroad is what a crossover should be.
went in to get info on the Enclave I am ordering and they had none in stock. They come in and they are sold.
Are they selling for list or list+dealer added junk?
At my dealer no junk and selling at MSRP.
As far as Malibu / Germany, that is the future at GM. Pretty much trucks /SUV's / Crossovers / some Cadillacs will be completely styled/engineered here in the states. Other platforms will be engineered in the areas where they have the most expertise. ie samll cars in Korea. Mid in Germany and now it looks like large RWD in Austrailia. China will also get into the action.
Now what does that mean? Well take the Malibu. The basic Architecture was engineered in the home country of Germany. All Engineers (worldwide) report to the head of Engineering here in the US (Queen). The interior and exterior styling was done here in the US with major communication between Germany and Design Staff (All GM designers world wide report to the head at Design Staff here in the US). And it goes on from there. There is a large team responsible for making sure the vehicle meets the needs of the customer and the needs of manufacturing/engineering. Sourcing is done world wide with an emphasis on using woeld wide sources that would have plants wherever the assembly plants are.
I suppose you consider the Enclave to be a "crossover". In my opinion (for what its worth) the lambdas are too big and heavy to be "crossovers".
I think that a crossover should be somewhere between a sedan based wagon and an SUV. But then there are a lot of different sized SUVs too, so the whole concept of what a crossover is or isn't is murky. To me the Audi Allroad is what a crossover should be.
Crossover, per the industry definition(which is somwwhat murky), is a vehicle that crosses over from the car to truck world. A true truck / SUV has a body on frame while cars (today) are pretty much unibody. So if you build a vehicle with truck like appearance on a unibody you have a crossover.
With its reputation on the mend, sales of new cars and crossovers exceeding expectations, and a new labor deal projected to cut billions from its annual costs, General Motors Corp. is in its best situation in decades, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Tuesday.
But the challenge on the path to regaining revered status and sustainable profitability, particularly in the United States, isn't over.
"It's a substantially improved world, and I would say our situation product-wise, reputation-wise, labor-cost-wise is probably the best it's been in 20 years," Lutz said in an interview at a media event in Memphis to promote the launch of the refreshed Chevrolet Malibu. "I would say all of the stars are aligning very nicely. ... But are the worries over? No."
The fact that GM's product plans are accelerating at the same time it's been able to cut costs and make itself more competitive with a new UAW labor contract, improves the chances that GM can continue its turnaround and regain a reputation as a revered American automaker, a reputation that has eluded the automaker for decades.
On Tuesday, Lutz said he continues to be increasingly confident that GM will bring the range-extended Chevrolet Volt to market by 2010.
"We got our first experimental battery pack today" from LG Chem, Lutz said. The battery pack doesn't yet have a cooling system, he said, but doesn't need one for the stage of testing GM and LG Chem are in.
GM expects to receive an experimental battery pack in December from A123Systems, the other battery supplier with which it has a contract, Lutz said.
By the first quarter, GM expects to be running the E-Flex operating system in late model Malibus for testing purposes, he said.
Lutz said the first-generation production version of E-Flex will appear in a vehicle that will look much like the concept car shown at the 2007 Detroit auto show, but with a more traditional front end.
"The engine-motor configuration didn't work. ... Now it has a more classic-looking front end. ... It will be called the Chevrolet Volt."
Lutz said the company has not determined how many Volts it will make in the first year, but said he believes "it's a very safe bet that it will be produced in the tens of thousands" in its first generation.
"This is not sanctioned, not an official GM number, but in the first full year of production I would like to see between 60,000 and 100,000 and then go up from there," Lutz said.
This summer Mary Mooney and her husband were soaking up the sun in Florida when they saw a Buick Enclave, a big, seven-passenger vehicle, and decided they just had to have one. But when the couple called two dealers back in Michigan, where they live most of the year, the model they wanted was sold out at both.
So instead of flying home, the Mooneys bought an Enclave in Florida and drove it 1,300 miles back to Michigan. Sitting in her opal-colored Enclave on Saturday, Mrs. Mooney said, "We fell in love with it."
The tight supply of Enclaves – a so-called crossover utility vehicle that has become General Motors Corp.'s breakout hit this model year – is no accident. Buoyed by a new labor contract that reduces its costs, GM is keeping a tight rein on production of the Enclave in an effort to avoid past mistakes that forced it to offer discounts and cheapened the image of the company's brands. Both the Enclave and Acadia are selling almost as fast as dealers get them. At the end of September, GM had a 21-day supply of Enclaves, and a 49-day supply of Acadias. The Outlook hasn't sold as well and its stock is higher – 73 days' supply. A supply of 65 days or less is considered healthy.
I don't want to burst any marketer's bubble, but crossovers have been among us for years.
That overly touted carlike ride with the utility of an SUV started long before the arrival of CX-7s and RX 300s. Maybe the first ones weren't recognized because carmakers didn't include the letter X in the name. But they were there.
We had them as kids; our parents loaded us into those Ford LTD Country Squires (or equivalent Chevy behemoth) to take us to Grandma's or on some family vacation.
Wagons have all the practicalities of crossovers without the marketing muscle. They're not part car and part truck, they're just long cars.
Says Wagons were crossovers but then says they are just long cars. So I would say that wagons based on the sedan version (shared sheetmetal, no height changes) are not crossovers.
Above is title of article in today's WSJ. Article says that Enclave and Acadia very succesful and that GM recently laid off 1000 workers on third shift that make these vehicles. Are these workers going to jobs bank to sit around doing nothing rather than build vehicles in demand?
It also said that a Michigan couple wanted an Enclave and called two dealers near their home and were told that it was sold out. They were able to find one in Florida were they were at (on vacation?) and bought it.
With this GM strategy, they might as well shut down the 2nd shift making Enclave and Acadia to be even more successful.
With great reviews of Enclave and Acadia, this would be an opportune time to capture traditional import brand buyers. But, will these potential buyers wait for weeks or months for these vehicles?
Article also said that Outlook not selling as well as Enclave and Acadia.
Is GM looking to add more dealerships? With a great product line now I would think they want to be able to sell them. I assume there are towns with multiple Chevy dealerships but no Saturn. It's too bad they can't turn some of the Chevys into Saturns.
It's too bad they can't turn some of the Chevys into Saturns.
I'm curious, though, why they can't. GM has something like 7400 total dealers I think. Of those, there are 4300 Chevy, and 430 Saturn. Meanwhile Toyota has 1200 dealers and VW (the closest brand to Saturn's new European dynamics strategy) has 600.
What I have proposed is they look at the standalone Buick dealers that are still out there and in good locations. They already have the Buick dealer rep which can easily transfer over to Saturn with training.
Above is title of article in today's WSJ. Article says that Enclave and Acadia very succesful and that GM recently laid off 1000 workers on third shift that make these vehicles. Are these workers going to jobs bank to sit around doing nothing rather than build vehicles in demand?
It also said that a Michigan couple wanted an Enclave and called two dealers near their home and were told that it was sold out. They were able to find one in Florida were they were at (on vacation?) and bought it.
With this GM strategy, they might as well shut down the 2nd shift making Enclave and Acadia to be even more successful.
Perhaps it was not this article but I thought it also said what critics have said about GM and the domestics for years. They over build and keep plants running jsut to keep the hourly workers working. This causes over production and then price drops/incentives and then poor residuals. As we all know here (if you have been reading) GM changed that strategy a year ago and started buying out employees and closing plants to "right size" itself. Yes they are not building enough Enclaves YET, but they are still ramping up production. They are making sure they do not overproduce and keep the vehicles selling at increased prices w/o incentives. I thought the article said that this is the same strategy as the Japanese have always used.
Oh, yea most, if not all of the 3rd shift were temp employees brought in about 6 months ago to jump start volume. You may not be able to tell but the Lambdas are close now to a good volume to keep the dealers happy. Just not quite thru Enclave startup yet.
I've seen a few Enclaves and a couple of Arcadias on the road. I do like the front-end treatment of the Arcadia the best out of the Lamdas. Have not seen the Saturn.
I would rather see GM layoff the temporaries and/or transfer employees to other plants if possible than to just keep building. They aren't Chrysler for God's sake.
Plus, every launch is/will be really critical for them, these Lamdas, CTS, Malibu, Astra, upcoming G8, to turn the corner on the divisions.
Do you know how many standalone Buick dealers there are? All I've been able to find is a total number, 3000, for Buick and 2800 for Pontiac. There are also 1600 Cadillac and ~170 Hummer dealers. Compare that with 345 M-B, 350 BMW, 140 Jag, 180 Lexus, and 250 Acura. So when I see the total number of GM dealers is 7400, obviously many are combos, I just don't know how many.
2009' pal. I would look for it this Detroit autoshow pal.
Lemko, you really should consider a Lucerne Super, new CTS. Your options will of course be expanded in the near future. The new Saab 9-5 will be out in a couple of years and of course the new 9-3 is out. How bout a Saab 9-3 Turbo X like I love ???? :shades:
GM, is coming out with so many new cool cars it's just a great time to be a car buff. Have you checked out the new Malibu ? Your girlfriend I'm sure would like it.
I do not see you pal, in a G8 but that doesn't mean I don't think you shouldn't for fun drive one. I do not think you should drive the new CTS, as you will come home with one. :P
They are fianlly getting it !!!!!! GM, management has finally learned how to market their vehicles. Make people beg, scratch, claw, for one. People in this country get a "kick" from having to jump through hoops to get something everbody else wants. We see it with toys, video games, clothes, latest basketball shoes, and the others who don't have it become envious. Am I really wrong ? :surprise:
They are fianlly getting it !!!!!! GM, management has finally learned how to market their vehicles. Make people beg, scratch, claw, for one. People in this country get a "kick" from having to jump through hoops to get something everbody else wants. We see it with toys, video games, clothes, latest basketball shoes, and the others who don't have it become envious. Am I really wrong
there is a fine line there. But, right now there are too many Soltices at dealer lots while not enough Skys. did they over build the Solstice? I do not have access to numbers but I am pretty sure they went hog wild with that success and over produced and now they are having the same issue as always. They should have been a lot smarter with the Solstice. Afterall the 2 seat roadster segment was pretty tiny to begin with (only a few entires with very low volume) AND when a hot car comes out lots of folks enter the segment to have the coolest car but then sell it and go on to the next big thing. The Enclave is not in a low volume segment but with soft Outlook sales and Acadias now available I bet GM will back off on the Saturn/GMC production and once Enclave is past start up they will fill that Buiick pipeline.
As discussed long ago here there is an acceleration schedule to starting up a new product and if you want quality you stick to the schedule. Once you reach planned production at high quality you can turn up the daily output.
The Auto Zeitung -sonderheft, Gebrauchtwagen 2008, a car inspection organization from Germany released their latest report. It shows a value which represents number of faults/100 cars. And the cars inspected are 1-3 years old.
Here´s the result of middle size class:
1. Saab 9-3 - 2.4 problems per 100 2. Honda Accord - 6.0 3. Jaguar X-Type - 7.5 4. Volvo S40/V40 - 8.3 4. Mercedes-Benz C - 8.3 6. Peugeot 406/407 - 8.5 7. Opel Vectra - 9.1 8. Audi A4 - 9.2 9. Mazda6 - 9.7 10. BMW 3-series - 10.6
Much has been made of Saab’s poor ratings in the Consumer Reports data. I don’t know how much the sample size or reporting methodology differs, but this is certainly a great showing for the Saab range in Germany.
The initial year for the Saab 9-3, the 2003 model year, was a year that caused Saab to be rated poorly in many surveys. Now that we’re in 2007 a lot of these surveys have dropped 2003 from their sample and Saab are showing much better results.
I think they are near 70% combined GMC/Buick/Pontiac dealers so maybe there are 1000 standalone Buick and Pontiac stores? Cannot really recall the numbers.
One thing with dealers and too many. GM has the rural market in the midwest pretty well covered(CAddillac) while the imports really do not have much out there. This is a hug advantage for GM and a huge disadvantage for the imports. In Michigan there are only a couple Lexus dealers and most of the state you do not see many of them because few want to drive 2 hours to a dealership. Even upnorth there are few Toyota/Honda and again few want to drive 1 hour.
My point is that yes, the domestics have too many outlets but they do not want to get to the level of the imports. This is such a huge country. I would think you would want at least 10 dealers per state (Caddillac) which is only 500. You would have at least 4 in large cities.
Yeah GM, sure did over build the Solstice. One would think they would try to keep demand up by limiting the volume. I also think GM, needs to focus on faster refreshes like every 3 years minumum. I remember hearing Carlos Ghosn, saying Nissan, was going to focus on faster refreshes to keep the desirability of it's models up. We in this country want the latest car. You don't neccessarily need to overhaul the whole sheetmetal to do a refresh but maybe like on the solstice add a functional hood scoop, another engine option, and of course new colors just as a example.
Well here in Michigan, 62' our GM dealers are spaced just about right. If I had the money I know area here in Western Michigan, I would build my GM, dealer franchise tomorrow assuming I got permission.
Saab is just too exotic for me. I really want either a top-line Buick Lucerne CXS or a Cadillac. If Buick builds a nice big RWD car, I'd be first in line.
My girlfriend really loves her LaCrosse and talks about owning a Buick as if it had as much prestige as a BMW. She might see buying a Chevrolet as a backward step.
I KNOW I'll come home with a CTS if I drive it. I just went to pick up a part for my Seville STS and saw a white CTS-4 out there and had to look. They even left it open so I could look inside. I didn't dare sit down.
The way I see it, it's still early in GM's comeback game. I don't want to be hasty and get something now when something even MORE AWESOME might come along. If Cadillac builds a really nice RWD/AWD DTS, that might be it.
I also think GM, needs to focus on faster refreshes like every 3 years minumum. I remember hearing Carlos Ghosn, saying Nissan, was going to focus on faster refreshes to keep the desirability of it's models up. We in this country want the latest car. You don't neccessarily need to overhaul the whole sheetmetal to do a refresh but maybe like on the solstice add a functional hood scoop, another engine option, and of course new colors just as a example.
GM is expert in this and did do whole new sheetmetal frequently. Find a good auto picture book on US cars at Borders or in library. Seems like Chevy, for example, had total new sheetmetal every year in 50's to 60's. Guess people were gullible back then and bought into "latest" got-to-have style.
Don't know if there were any mechanical improvments of substance through those years though.
I have given this some thought and perhaps the big difference is this: Sport Utility Vehicles are designed for off road use, some are better than others. Station Wagons are like cars - not for off road use. Crossovers are utility vehicles that are not designed to get very far off road, and would really like to stay on road as much as possible.
towing capacity might be considered too, with the SUV's better than CUV's or cars.
Sounds reasonable. Even the US media could not agree on a definition. For last years car/truck of the year they wanted to add Crossover of the year but they could not agree on a definitio.
Now would anybody take an SRX offroad? NOt on my life would I trust it. It is just a high station wagon yet many consider it a crossover.
General Motors has a hit on its hands with the big, beautiful Enclave CUV. People all over the country are trying to get their hands on Buick's luxurious iteration of the Lambda Ute. Rather than follow the time-dishonored practice of running as many copies of a hot model out the door as possible, GM's keeping production on the Enclave under strict control. In fact, even though some dealers have sold out of their Enclave inventory, GM will be reducing shifts at the Lansing plant that builds the Enclave.
Bob Lutz explained the restrictions thusly: "We want to keep [the Enclave] hot... Nothing destroys the value of a new product faster than over producing." That's it in a nutshell, right there. The practice of tying production to demand is what Toyota and Honda tend to do. Take the Fit, for example. Part of the allure of that vehicle is that buyers often have to wait to get one. The same kind of "best kept secret" mystique surrounds the Enclave - you don't see them everywhere, and they're rather opulent once you finally get a chance to check one out. Exclusivity can also spur customers into paying full price, where before a glut of product would mean heavy discounts.
Of course, GM can't afford moves such as restricted production and labor layoffs at every plant and on every model, but we hope this new tack pays off in boosting the General's image as well as its bottom line.
General Motors Corp. wants to make Chevrolet, its largest brand, an environmental leader as the U.S. automaker invests in fuel-saving systems in a challenge to Toyota Motor Corp.
GM will use hybrids, fuel cells, more efficient gasoline engines and other technologies to vie for mileage and environmental bragging rights against competitors such as Toyota in each U.S. market segment, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told reporters this week in Memphis, Tennessee.
“There is no environmental technology that will be untouched by Chevrolet,” said Lutz, who was introducing a redesigned Malibu sedan in Memphis. Details of the effort will be announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show in two weeks, he said.
The Chevrolet initiative follows Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner's pledge at last year's Los Angeles show that the Detroit-based automaker would use some of the billions of dollars saved by closing plants and cutting labor costs to pay for new technology and narrow a decade-old environmental image gap with Toyota. GM is trying to hold off the Toyota City, Japan-based company and maintain its rank as the world's largest automaker.
The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its investigation into criminal wrongdoing by former executives at Delphi Corp., a department official said.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the decision came during the last few days.
In an investigation that lasted more than two years, the Justice Department looked into whether there was criminal intent behind accounting irregularities at Delphi. Those same irregularities have prompted a civil case brought by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
What is the status of all those GM investigations??
Seems like Chevy, for example, had total new sheetmetal every year in 50's to 60's.
The sheetmetal wasn't ALL new. For example, if you look at a side view of the '65 and '66 Impala or a '64-'67 Skylark, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. Yet look from the front or the back, and that's where the difference is. But yes, it seems as though every 3 years there was a completely new body style. Alot of this had to do with people's DESIRE and HUNGER for something new and fresh. Remember, the point in time you refer to was only 10-15 yrs. after WW2, and I guess you could say that the "auto boom" lasted as long as the "baby boom".
At GM, officials remained cautiously optimistic about their results after posting a 3.4 percent gain for the month. GM, however, was down 5.7 percent for the year to date.
“We posted another solid sales month,” said GM’s top sales analyst, Paul Ballew. “We expect our market share to be around 25 percent again. We are able to buck the industry trends and post sales increases both on the retail side and total sales.
“A large part of it we attribute to our new products in the marketplace.”
Cadillac, Ballew said, had its best month with retail car sales up 20 percent. The CTS sedan led the gains.
“We had our best sales month for the CTS in history,” he said. “We are just now getting adequate supply of the product -- we had a 20-days supply.”
Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, said GM’s long-term sales outlook has improved.
“We’ve stabilized our retail sales over the last 26 or 27 months,” he said. “If you look at the last four months, we’re on a positive trend there as well as pricing. We added the warranty, and we’ve seen some of our competition is following this plan.”
Ballew said GM’s inventory is down by about 125,000 units at 950,000 units and will remain below a million units by year-end.
GM is taking away sales from Ford and Chrylser. Will probably level out at 25% even with reduced fleet sales.
Toyota up 4.5% but they have the highest fleet sales ever.
Chrysler is cutting big time. They are probably partnering with Nissan or some China company. Cutting 10,000 hourly and 1000 salarieds is not just "tuning", they are getting ready for something big.
GM Reports 310,008 October Deliveries, Posting Third Consecutive Year-Over-Year Monthly Increase
(Monthly comparison percentages are adjusted for sales days unless noted. Annual and calendar year-to-date comparisons are unadjusted.)
Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac Increased Sales Year-Over-Year Full-Size Utilities and All-New Crossovers Post Significant Gains 2008 Malibu Orders Outpace Available Supply All-New CTS Drives 20 Percent Cadillac Sales Increase DETROIT - GM dealers in the United States delivered 310,008 vehicles in October, 8,700 more vehicles when compared with year-ago performance, outpacing an industry expected to show a volume decline of about 4 percent.
For the third consecutive month, on an unadjusted basis, total sales increased, with October up 3 percent. When adjusted for selling days, sales declined 1 percent. It is anticipated that GM will see its fourth consecutive month with market share above 24 percent. Since August, market share is up more than 1 point, to 25.1 percent, compared with the same three month period last year.
The month's 229,294 retail deliveries demonstrated solid performance despite continuing industry softness. GM retail sales were led by brisk retail sales of full-size utilities, mid-utility crossovers, the Cadillac CTS, and the Chevrolet Aveo, Cobalt and HHR. The Saturn division showed yet another retail sales increase, up 7 percent.
Cadillac CTS total sales surged 75 percent, compared with year-ago performance, due to the strength of the all-new CTS, now in showrooms. GMC Acadia, Saturn OUTLOOK and Buick Enclave together had total sales of more than 12,800 vehicles, pushing a more than 320-percent increase in GM's mid-crossover segment. Additionally, Cadillac's SRX luxury crossover saw a total sales increase of 37 percent. Total sales of the fuel-efficient Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 were up 81 percent, Chevrolet Aveo was up 58 percent and HHR was up 70 percent compared with last October.
Comments
The coupe will be the same way.
Agree. Don't understand the point of a 300 HP V8 in a fwd Buick Lacrosse. Who/what is the intended market for this car? Which brands/models did Buick/GM intend as its competition? At 33K list, this is entry price for entry level lux-perf. But, Lacrosse is not lux nor perf.
Maybe market for Lacrosse V8 Super is golden seniors who had performance GM cars back in their 20's.
I read that as "golden seniors who had performance GM cars back in the 1920s." :P
How many of those not-quite-collecting-Social-Security folks actually had hot dog cars in their youth, instead of just being envious of the WW2 veterans who did have them?
Uh...my girlfriend and I would immensely love the Buick LaCrosse Super! We're not seniors and very far from collecting Social Security benefits.
I think the intended buyer is someone who would be in the market for an Avalon or Lexus ES but refuses to buy "foreign" cars, finds Cadillacs to be overpriced and too flashy, and still believes that 6 cylinders are the budget option.
BY DAVE VANDERWERP
"What sets this system apart from the popular Toyota hybrid arrangement is that the Tahoe can run as a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and an automatic through one of four fixed gear ratios. With their theoretically infinite ratios, CVTs are much better than conventional automatics at keeping engines spinning at the most efficient speeds, but at constant highway speed, that advantage can be nullified by the internal friction inherent to CVT operation. In hybrids, the energy loss can be even worse because the drivetrain must also spin an electric motor. The Tahoe, however, can switch over to a more-energy-efficient mechanical path (one of the fixed ratios in the automatic) to minimize wasted energy whenever possible. Whereas the Prius is always processing its power through the CVT, even at inefficient highway speeds, the Tahoe’s system is better and can simply bypass the electric motors and lock onto a gear."
More at link: C/D Article
Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Yay GM!!!
What's it like at most Buick dealers? Is the atmosphere, sales and service personnel geared to handle people 30-50? About a year ago, I stopped by a Buick dealer to look at and sit in a Lucerne and it seemed that all the sales guys either were or could have been collecting SS.
I went in to get info on the Enclave I am ordering and they had none in stock. They come in and they are sold. Had a bunch of Acadias though.
When is the Chevrolet Impala going RWD? I just hope it is better styled by that time. The current car looks like an Accord on steroids.
It was a combo Buick-Nissan dealer. Think that they picked up Nissan a long time ago to diversify.
Another old-time Oldsmobile dealer in a nearby town did the same and added Nissan a long time ago. He is thanking his lucky stars for doing so.
There was a stand-alone Olds dealer in another town that did not diversify and ended up going out of business. But, he made out by having an upscale condo complex built on his property.
Article in Tuesday WSJ mentions that GM's CIO, formerly of Bell Atlantic and TI, ripped out GM's 23 different design systems and put in one common one in 2005. This is being used by GM locations worldwide. An associated system being implemented called Worldbook serves as a digital library for design, product and manufacturing information.
Another item mentioned in article, and maybe previously discussed on this board, is that new Chevy Malibu was designed in Germany. Wonder how many pro-American-brands-only car buyers will know this fact. Will GM advertising tout the fine German engineering tradition when promoting the 2008 Malibu?
I went in to get info on the Enclave I am ordering and they had none in stock. They come in and they are sold.
Are they selling for list or list+dealer added junk?
I think that a crossover should be somewhere between a sedan based wagon and an SUV. But then there are a lot of different sized SUVs too, so the whole concept of what a crossover is or isn't is murky. To me the Audi Allroad is what a crossover should be.
Are they selling for list or list+dealer added junk?
At my dealer no junk and selling at MSRP.
As far as Malibu / Germany, that is the future at GM. Pretty much trucks /SUV's / Crossovers / some Cadillacs will be completely styled/engineered here in the states. Other platforms will be engineered in the areas where they have the most expertise. ie samll cars in Korea. Mid in Germany and now it looks like large RWD in Austrailia. China will also get into the action.
Now what does that mean? Well take the Malibu. The basic Architecture was engineered in the home country of Germany. All Engineers (worldwide) report to the head of Engineering here in the US (Queen). The interior and exterior styling was done here in the US with major communication between Germany and Design Staff (All GM designers world wide report to the head at Design Staff here in the US). And it goes on from there. There is a large team responsible for making sure the vehicle meets the needs of the customer and the needs of manufacturing/engineering. Sourcing is done world wide with an emphasis on using woeld wide sources that would have plants wherever the assembly plants are.
I think that a crossover should be somewhere between a sedan based wagon and an SUV. But then there are a lot of different sized SUVs too, so the whole concept of what a crossover is or isn't is murky. To me the Audi Allroad is what a crossover should be.
Crossover, per the industry definition(which is somwwhat murky), is a vehicle that crosses over from the car to truck world. A true truck / SUV has a body on frame while cars (today) are pretty much unibody. So if you build a vehicle with truck like appearance on a unibody you have a crossover.
But the challenge on the path to regaining revered status and sustainable profitability, particularly in the United States, isn't over.
"It's a substantially improved world, and I would say our situation product-wise, reputation-wise, labor-cost-wise is probably the best it's been in 20 years," Lutz said in an interview at a media event in Memphis to promote the launch of the refreshed Chevrolet Malibu. "I would say all of the stars are aligning very nicely. ... But are the worries over? No."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/BUSINESS01/710310370/10- 14
The fact that GM's product plans are accelerating at the same time it's been able to cut costs and make itself more competitive with a new UAW labor contract, improves the chances that GM can continue its turnaround and regain a reputation as a revered American automaker, a reputation that has eluded the automaker for decades.
On Tuesday, Lutz said he continues to be increasingly confident that GM will bring the range-extended Chevrolet Volt to market by 2010.
"We got our first experimental battery pack today" from LG Chem, Lutz said. The battery pack doesn't yet have a cooling system, he said, but doesn't need one for the stage of testing GM and LG Chem are in.
GM expects to receive an experimental battery pack in December from A123Systems, the other battery supplier with which it has a contract, Lutz said.
By the first quarter, GM expects to be running the E-Flex operating system in late model Malibus for testing purposes, he said.
Lutz said the first-generation production version of E-Flex will appear in a vehicle that will look much like the concept car shown at the 2007 Detroit auto show, but with a more traditional front end.
"The engine-motor configuration didn't work. ... Now it has a more classic-looking front end. ... It will be called the Chevrolet Volt."
Lutz said the company has not determined how many Volts it will make in the first year, but said he believes "it's a very safe bet that it will be produced in the tens of thousands" in its first generation.
"This is not sanctioned, not an official GM number, but in the first full year of production I would like to see between 60,000 and 100,000 and then go up from there," Lutz said.
So instead of flying home, the Mooneys bought an Enclave in Florida and drove it 1,300 miles back to Michigan. Sitting in her opal-colored Enclave on Saturday, Mrs. Mooney said, "We fell in love with it."
The tight supply of Enclaves – a so-called crossover utility vehicle that has become General Motors Corp.'s breakout hit this model year – is no accident. Buoyed by a new labor contract that reduces its costs, GM is keeping a tight rein on production of the Enclave in an effort to avoid past mistakes that forced it to offer discounts and cheapened the image of the company's brands.
Both the Enclave and Acadia are selling almost as fast as dealers get them. At the end of September, GM had a 21-day supply of Enclaves, and a 49-day supply of Acadias. The Outlook hasn't sold as well and its stock is higher – 73 days' supply. A supply of 65 days or less is considered healthy.
I don't want to burst any marketer's bubble, but crossovers have been among us for years.
That overly touted carlike ride with the utility of an SUV started long before the arrival of CX-7s and RX 300s. Maybe the first ones weren't recognized because carmakers didn't include the letter X in the name. But they were there.
We had them as kids; our parents loaded us into those Ford LTD Country Squires (or equivalent Chevy behemoth) to take us to Grandma's or on some family vacation.
Wagons have all the practicalities of crossovers without the marketing muscle. They're not part car and part truck, they're just long cars.
Says Wagons were crossovers but then says they are just long cars. So I would say that wagons based on the sedan version (shared sheetmetal, no height changes) are not crossovers.
Where and what is a Saturn?
I think the biggest issue is brand recognition and so few dealerships. Very few around.
Next issue may be that few want to have the no haggle experience but I doubt that.
It also said that a Michigan couple wanted an Enclave and called two dealers near their home and were told that it was sold out. They were able to find one in Florida were they were at (on vacation?) and bought it.
With this GM strategy, they might as well shut down the 2nd shift making Enclave and Acadia to be even more successful.
With great reviews of Enclave and Acadia, this would be an opportune time to capture traditional import brand buyers. But, will these potential buyers wait for weeks or months for these vehicles?
Article also said that Outlook not selling as well as Enclave and Acadia.
How GM Handles a Hit: Build Fewer (WSJ)
I'm curious, though, why they can't. GM has something like 7400 total dealers I think. Of those, there are 4300 Chevy, and 430 Saturn. Meanwhile Toyota has 1200 dealers and VW (the closest brand to Saturn's new European dynamics strategy) has 600.
It also said that a Michigan couple wanted an Enclave and called two dealers near their home and were told that it was sold out. They were able to find one in Florida were they were at (on vacation?) and bought it.
With this GM strategy, they might as well shut down the 2nd shift making Enclave and Acadia to be even more successful.
Perhaps it was not this article but I thought it also said what critics have said about GM and the domestics for years. They over build and keep plants running jsut to keep the hourly workers working. This causes over production and then price drops/incentives and then poor residuals. As we all know here (if you have been reading) GM changed that strategy a year ago and started buying out employees and closing plants to "right size" itself. Yes they are not building enough Enclaves YET, but they are still ramping up production. They are making sure they do not overproduce and keep the vehicles selling at increased prices w/o incentives. I thought the article said that this is the same strategy as the Japanese have always used.
Oh, yea most, if not all of the 3rd shift were temp employees brought in about 6 months ago to jump start volume. You may not be able to tell but the Lambdas are close now to a good volume to keep the dealers happy. Just not quite thru Enclave startup yet.
I would rather see GM layoff the temporaries and/or transfer employees to other plants if possible than to just keep building. They aren't Chrysler for God's sake.
Plus, every launch is/will be really critical for them, these Lamdas, CTS, Malibu, Astra, upcoming G8, to turn the corner on the divisions.
2009' pal. I would look for it this Detroit autoshow pal.
Lemko, you really should consider a Lucerne Super, new CTS. Your options will of course be expanded in the near future. The new Saab 9-5 will be out in a couple of years and of course the new 9-3 is out. How bout a Saab 9-3 Turbo X like I love ???? :shades:
GM, is coming out with so many new cool cars it's just a great time to be a car buff. Have you checked out the new Malibu ? Your girlfriend I'm sure would like it.
I do not see you pal, in a G8 but that doesn't mean I don't think you shouldn't for fun drive one.
-Rocky
They are fianlly getting it !!!!!! GM, management has finally learned how to market their vehicles. Make people beg, scratch, claw, for one. People in this country get a "kick" from having to jump through hoops to get something everbody else wants. We see it with toys, video games, clothes, latest basketball shoes, and the others who don't have it become envious. Am I really wrong ? :surprise:
-Rocky
there is a fine line there. But, right now there are too many Soltices at dealer lots while not enough Skys. did they over build the Solstice? I do not have access to numbers but I am pretty sure they went hog wild with that success and over produced and now they are having the same issue as always. They should have been a lot smarter with the Solstice. Afterall the 2 seat roadster segment was pretty tiny to begin with (only a few entires with very low volume) AND when a hot car comes out lots of folks enter the segment to have the coolest car but then sell it and go on to the next big thing. The Enclave is not in a low volume segment but with soft Outlook sales and Acadias now available I bet GM will back off on the Saturn/GMC production and once Enclave is past start up they will fill that Buiick pipeline.
As discussed long ago here there is an acceleration schedule to starting up a new product and if you want quality you stick to the schedule. Once you reach planned production at high quality you can turn up the daily output.
Here´s the result of middle size class:
1. Saab 9-3 - 2.4 problems per 100
2. Honda Accord - 6.0
3. Jaguar X-Type - 7.5
4. Volvo S40/V40 - 8.3
4. Mercedes-Benz C - 8.3
6. Peugeot 406/407 - 8.5
7. Opel Vectra - 9.1
8. Audi A4 - 9.2
9. Mazda6 - 9.7
10. BMW 3-series - 10.6
Much has been made of Saab’s poor ratings in the Consumer Reports data. I don’t know how much the sample size or reporting methodology differs, but this is certainly a great showing for the Saab range in Germany.
The initial year for the Saab 9-3, the 2003 model year, was a year that caused Saab to be rated poorly in many surveys. Now that we’re in 2007 a lot of these surveys have dropped 2003 from their sample and Saab are showing much better results.
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2007/10/saab-rates-well-in-german-qualit- y-study.html
-Rocky
One thing with dealers and too many. GM has the rural market in the midwest pretty well covered(CAddillac) while the imports really do not have much out there. This is a hug advantage for GM and a huge disadvantage for the imports. In Michigan there are only a couple Lexus dealers and most of the state you do not see many of them because few want to drive 2 hours to a dealership. Even upnorth there are few Toyota/Honda and again few want to drive 1 hour.
My point is that yes, the domestics have too many outlets but they do not want to get to the level of the imports. This is such a huge country. I would think you would want at least 10 dealers per state (Caddillac) which is only 500. You would have at least 4 in large cities.
Yeah GM, sure did over build the Solstice.
-Rocky
-Rocky
My girlfriend really loves her LaCrosse and talks about owning a Buick as if it had as much prestige as a BMW. She might see buying a Chevrolet as a backward step.
I KNOW I'll come home with a CTS if I drive it. I just went to pick up a part for my Seville STS and saw a white CTS-4 out there and had to look. They even left it open so I could look inside. I didn't dare sit down.
The way I see it, it's still early in GM's comeback game. I don't want to be hasty and get something now when something even MORE AWESOME might come along. If Cadillac builds a really nice RWD/AWD DTS, that might be it.
GM is expert in this and did do whole new sheetmetal frequently. Find a good auto picture book on US cars at Borders or in library. Seems like Chevy, for example, had total new sheetmetal every year in 50's to 60's. Guess people were gullible back then and bought into "latest" got-to-have style.
Don't know if there were any mechanical improvments of substance through those years though.
Sport Utility Vehicles are designed for off road use, some are better than others.
Station Wagons are like cars - not for off road use.
Crossovers are utility vehicles that are not designed to get very far off road, and would really like to stay on road as much as possible.
towing capacity might be considered too, with the SUV's better than CUV's or cars.
Now would anybody take an SRX offroad? NOt on my life would I trust it. It is just a high station wagon yet many consider it a crossover.
Bob Lutz explained the restrictions thusly: "We want to keep [the Enclave] hot... Nothing destroys the value of a new product faster than over producing."
That's it in a nutshell, right there. The practice of tying production to demand is what Toyota and Honda tend to do. Take the Fit, for example. Part of the allure of that vehicle is that buyers often have to wait to get one. The same kind of "best kept secret" mystique surrounds the Enclave - you don't see them everywhere, and they're rather opulent once you finally get a chance to check one out. Exclusivity can also spur customers into paying full price, where before a glut of product would mean heavy discounts.
Of course, GM can't afford moves such as restricted production and labor layoffs at every plant and on every model, but we hope this new tack pays off in boosting the General's image as well as its bottom line.
Go to: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/31/keeping-the-enclave-on-boil-gm-keeps-a-lid-on- -production/
I should be getting mine in May. Wonder if there will be any lease deals then!
GM will use hybrids, fuel cells, more efficient gasoline engines and other technologies to vie for mileage and environmental bragging rights against competitors such as Toyota in each U.S. market segment, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told reporters this week in Memphis, Tennessee.
“There is no environmental technology that will be untouched by Chevrolet,” said Lutz, who was introducing a redesigned Malibu sedan in Memphis. Details of the effort will be announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show in two weeks, he said.
The Chevrolet initiative follows Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner's pledge at last year's Los Angeles show that the Detroit-based automaker would use some of the billions of dollars saved by closing plants and cutting labor costs to pay for new technology and narrow a decade-old environmental image gap with Toyota. GM is trying to hold off the Toyota City, Japan-based company and maintain its rank as the world's largest automaker.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the decision came during the last few days.
In an investigation that lasted more than two years, the Justice Department looked into whether there was criminal intent behind accounting irregularities at Delphi. Those same irregularities have prompted a civil case brought by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
What is the status of all those GM investigations??
The sheetmetal wasn't ALL new. For example, if you look at a side view of the '65 and '66 Impala or a '64-'67 Skylark, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. Yet look from the front or the back, and that's where the difference is. But yes, it seems as though every 3 years there was a completely new body style. Alot of this had to do with people's DESIRE and HUNGER for something new and fresh. Remember, the point in time you refer to was only 10-15 yrs. after WW2, and I guess you could say that the "auto boom" lasted as long as the "baby boom".
53/54 identical
55 thru 64 all new sheet metal every year.
At GM, officials remained cautiously optimistic about their results after posting a 3.4 percent gain for the month. GM, however, was down 5.7 percent for the year to date.
“We posted another solid sales month,” said GM’s top sales analyst, Paul Ballew. “We expect our market share to be around 25 percent again. We are able to buck the industry trends and post sales increases both on the retail side and total sales.
“A large part of it we attribute to our new products in the marketplace.”
Cadillac, Ballew said, had its best month with retail car sales up 20 percent. The CTS sedan led the gains.
“We had our best sales month for the CTS in history,” he said. “We are just now getting adequate supply of the product -- we had a 20-days supply.”
Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, said GM’s long-term sales outlook has improved.
“We’ve stabilized our retail sales over the last 26 or 27 months,” he said. “If you look at the last four months, we’re on a positive trend there as well as pricing. We added the warranty, and we’ve seen some of our competition is following this plan.”
Ballew said GM’s inventory is down by about 125,000 units at 950,000 units and will remain below a million units by year-end.
GM is taking away sales from Ford and Chrylser. Will probably level out at 25% even with reduced fleet sales.
Toyota up 4.5% but they have the highest fleet sales ever.
GM Reports 310,008 October Deliveries, Posting Third Consecutive Year-Over-Year Monthly Increase
(Monthly comparison percentages are adjusted for sales days unless noted.
Annual and calendar year-to-date comparisons are unadjusted.)
Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac Increased Sales Year-Over-Year
Full-Size Utilities and All-New Crossovers Post Significant Gains
2008 Malibu Orders Outpace Available Supply
All-New CTS Drives 20 Percent Cadillac Sales Increase
DETROIT - GM dealers in the United States delivered 310,008 vehicles in October, 8,700 more vehicles when compared with year-ago performance, outpacing an industry expected to show a volume decline of about 4 percent.
For the third consecutive month, on an unadjusted basis, total sales increased, with October up 3 percent. When adjusted for selling days, sales declined 1 percent. It is anticipated that GM will see its fourth consecutive month with market share above 24 percent. Since August, market share is up more than 1 point, to 25.1 percent, compared with the same three month period last year.
The month's 229,294 retail deliveries demonstrated solid performance despite continuing industry softness. GM retail sales were led by brisk retail sales of full-size utilities, mid-utility crossovers, the Cadillac CTS, and the Chevrolet Aveo, Cobalt and HHR. The Saturn division showed yet another retail sales increase, up 7 percent.
Cadillac CTS total sales surged 75 percent, compared with year-ago performance, due to the strength of the all-new CTS, now in showrooms. GMC Acadia, Saturn OUTLOOK and Buick Enclave together had total sales of more than 12,800 vehicles, pushing a more than 320-percent increase in GM's mid-crossover segment. Additionally, Cadillac's SRX luxury crossover saw a total sales increase of 37 percent. Total sales of the fuel-efficient Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 were up 81 percent, Chevrolet Aveo was up 58 percent and HHR was up 70 percent compared with last October.