General Motors discussions

writer

This is a very interesting situation:

Stronach's "Magna" controls Opel (with GM still holding 35%) and according the "The Globe and Mail" the current terms say "that Opel vehicles not be sold in the U.S. market".

According to what I heard on the radio, GM will supply vehicles for Penske's Saturn for 2 years, but after that it is up to Penske to do something about it.

Magna's bread and butter is supplying things for other companies. In some cases it is sub-assemblies and parts, and in other cases, it is final manufacturing. If you bought a BMW or Benz, there is a chance it was built by Magna.

The point here is that Magna exists because it has good relations with other major companies. Stronach will NOT try to get "creative" in a way that might upset GM (or other companies). So the restrictions on Opel can be taken at face value. Yet it is believed that in the long run, Stronach wants to bring some manufacturing to North America (and Canada in particular, since Magna was "badly treated" by Chrysler in recent years, in this regard).

So any negotiations will be friendly. But it would make sense for Opel designs to be sold as Saturns for more than just the next couple of years.

Both Penske and Stronach have been around in the automotive industry for a very long time now and know what they are doing. It sounds like Penske really wants to build a complete free-standing car company too, so it is not a certainty that they will there will not be any conflict, but I think that it would probably be in both their interests to try get along -- at least for the near future.

andre1969

was in the wake of the first oil embargo. While big car sales were bad for everybody in 1974, Pontiac seemed to get hit extra-hard. I think one problem was that in big car, Pontiac tended to rely mainly on the 400, whereas Buick and Olds put a lot of 350's in their LeSabres and Delta 88's. And suddenly, in a gas-conscious era, those extra 50 cubes mattered. Also, when the '73 LeMans came out, I think the styling polarized a lot of people. It did sell well in 1973, but that was a banner year and just about anything sold. But it got hit hard in 1974.

Pontiac also started confusing buyers when they came out with the Grand Ville, which took over for the Bonneville as Pontiac's top dog. Yet in 1971, both started off on the same ~126.3" wheelbase. In contrast, the Electra/98 rode on a 127" wheelbase, while the Catalina, LeSabre/Centurion, and Delta were on a 124". The Grand Ville had the C-body's roofline sort of grafted on, but it was still just a B-body, and lacked that extra 3" of rear seat legroom that the Electra/98 had. After a year or two, I think they moved the Bonneville down to the 124" wb, and in the final year or so, I think the Grand Ville moved down, too. Eventually, the Grand Ville was replaced by the Bonneville Brougham.

After the fuel crisis abated and bigger cars started selling again, Pontiacs really didn't. In fact, I think the LeMans actually fell slightly for 1975. It fell again in 1976 and again in 1977. In contrast, GM's sister midsizers picked up sales in '75 and '76. Competition from the downsized full-sizers cut into sales for '77, but somehow, the Cutlass Supreme managed to increase sales even in '77...which led to that whole fiasco when they started running out of Olds 350's and substituted Chevy engines.

The '77 Bonneville was fairly successful, but the Catalina wasn't. And the downsized '78 LeMans wasn't much of a hit, either. One big success that Pontiac had though, was the Grand Prix. It was a strong seller from 1975-79, until fuel crunch #2 killed demand for bigger cars again, even downsized ones.

Pontiacs other successes in the late 1970's were the Firebird/Trans Am, and the Sunbird, which was a hot seller for awhile. Unfortunately though, the bread-and-butter, the full-sized cars, had dried up.

andys120

If you bought a BMW or Benz, there is a chance it was built by Magna.

IIRC Magna(-Steyr) built all of the 4-Matic equipped Mercs, perhaps they do BMW's X-Drive vehicles as well.

tomcatt630

Post above has great information. While the Firebird and Grand Prix sold well in the 70's, the big and mid sized mainstream cars did do as well as the 60's. Thus Pontiac fell from 3rd place, never to return.

I agree that the Grand Ville name was a mistake, it made the storied Bonneville just a middle trim. [Pontiac used 'Grand' too many times] When the Bonneville Brougham name replaced it in 76, that was long overdue.

The colonnade LeMans was overshadowed by its GM mates. Formal roofs were the rage, while fastbacks were 'too 60's' for the 70's.

Pontiac tried pushing 76-77 LeManses into police fleets, with the "Smokey & Bandit" cop cars being examples. Only saw these LeManses in TV and movies, not too many on street.

berri

I never understood why they dropped the classic Catalina name.

I wasn't all that fond of the intermediate's colonnade look, but agree that the more squared off, formal lines of the Cutlass Supreme probably carried the look best. The Ford's of that era had too many little windows that often looked awkward, so they didn't really dent GM sales, while the Mopars had developed a reputation for electronic gremlins that stunted their sales volume except for the Cordoba.

hpmctorque

Wow, Steve, I doubt if many readers would remember your reference to the Captain and Tenille. It's been a long time since those two were popular.

hpmctorque

I'd think Penske would want to keep the Sky.

andys120

I'd think Penske would want to keep the Sky

The Sky isn't exactly selling lot hot cakes, when was the last time you saw one?

andre1969

Pontiac tried pushing 76-77 LeManses into police fleets, with the "Smokey & Bandit" cop cars being examples. Only saw these LeManses in TV and movies, not too many on street.

There was a LeMans police car called the Enforcer, but for the most part I don't think they were very well liked. here's a spec sheet on one. It's blurry, but kinda readable. They came with a 185 hp 400 V-8, 3-speed automatic (THM400 I guess) and a 3.08 or 3.23:1 axle.

Motortrend or C&D did a comparison test of police cars in 1977, and I vaguely remember the LeMans enforcer 400 coming in at 0-60 in around 11-11.5 seconds.

I saw an old Michigan State police test, though, that put a 1978 Catalina with the 400 at 0-60 in around 9.8 seconds, so maybe the downsized B-body police package was laid out better?

Also, in 1976 I'd imagine you could still get a 455 in the LeMans police cars. I've also heard rumors of a slightly bored-out police-only version, that took it to 460 cubes, that was available in 1976 and some early 1977 models. Dunno if that was true or not.

I've never seen a '76-77 LeMans police car in person, as they usually used Mopars around here, with an occasional Chevy thrown in. I've seen pics of them online, though. I think Ohio might have used them. They seemed to show up as police cars on tv and in the movies more often than in real life, so maybe Pontiac was dumping them to movie studios!

andre1969

I never understood why they dropped the classic Catalina name.

I think by the later 1970's, the market was starting to shift, and buyers were interested in either basic, cheap transportation, or as much fluff and luxury as their money could buy. In 1973, which was a great year up until the oil embargo hit, Pontiac ran off around 236,000 Catalinas, 46,000 Bonnevilles, and 88,000 Grand Villes (so actually, the Grand Ville was fooling some people!). For 1974, that got knocked down to about 112,000 Catalinas, 20,000 Bonnevilles, and 44,000 Grand Villes.

In 1975, Pontiac started trimming some slow selling models and shuffling things around. The Catalina lost the hardtop sedan, while the Bonneville lost the pillared sedan. The Bonneville coupe also went from being a hardtop to having a fixed opera window. I can't remember now if the '74 Grand Ville coupe was a hardtop, but for 1975 it also had a fixed opera window. Also, the Grand Safari wagon got shifted from the Grand Ville to the Bonneville lineup that year. Production ended up being around 71,000 Catalinas, 26,000 Bonnevilles, and 28,000 Grand Villes.

For 1976, the Catalina sold around 73K. The Bonneville sold around 65K units (10K wagons, 24K of the base coupe/hardtop sedan, and around 31K of the Brougham hardtop coupe/sedan which took over for the Grand Ville). So even by this time, it looked like the market was beginning to shift towards more luxurious cars, and the Catalina was seeming less and less important.

For 1977, downsizing proved a big success for GM in general, but not so much Pontiac. That year, the Catalina moved around 75,000 cars, not much increase over 1976. The Bonneville, however, moved around 122,000 cars. The base coupe outsold the Brougham coupe, 38K to 16K, but the Brougham sedan ran off 47K to the base sedan's 14K. So still, the market was shifting towards nicer cars. And incidentally, over at Chevy, 1977 would be the first year the Caprice outsold the Impala.

For 1978, Pontiac sold around 62K Catalinas, while the Bonneville jumped slightly to 139K units. In 1979, the gap would widen. 47K Catalinas, and 178K Bonnevilles.

In 1980, when the second fuel crisis hit and the recession took hold, the Catalina plunged to about 17K units, while the Bonneville dropped to around 81K. In 1981, last year of the big Pontiacs until the Parisienne, the Catalina sold about 10,500 units, to the Bonneville's 91,000.

FWIW, by 1981 there wasn't much spread between pricing. A Catalina sedan started off at $7471, while the Bonneville was $7776. The Bonneville Brougham was $8768, though. A pretty big jump, but then the Bonneville Brougham (and Grand Ville) always did have some pretty high aspirations. I've seen a few Bonneville Broughams from the 1960's at car shows, and even back then they seemed like a B-body trying to out-do a C-body.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen the Catalina stick around. While I like them both, I always preferred it to the Bonneville. Usually it was just little details, like the grille or taillights that made all the difference for me. It wasn't so noticeable in the 1960's, but in the 1970's they seemed to differentiate the two more. In a similar vein, Chevy started doing that with the Impala and Caprice...and I usually preferred the Impala!

Also, interestingly, while Pontiac dropped the Catalina and Bonneville after 1981 due to poor sales, none of the direct replacements ever did any better. The 1982 Bonneville, which was a midsized based on the old LeMans, which itself was dropped for the FWD 6000, only sold around 80,000 units that year, compared to around 102K 1981 big cars. And that was where the Bonneville G peaked; it was downhill from there. When the big Parisienne was introduced in mid-1983, it sold around 17K units. It saw sales increase every year though, topping out at around 87K units in 1986. No doubt some of that increase came as GM downsized its other big cars to FWD...the Electra/98 for 1985, and more directly, the LeSabre/Delta 88 for 1986. Now the FWD Bonneville, which came out in 1987 and replaced both the midsize Bonneville and Parisienne at the same time, was a strong seller, as Pontiac finally started trying to get the Bonneville more in line with its sporty heritage from the 1950's and 1960's.

hpmctorque

True, the Sky isn't a big seller, but it's tooling is a sunk cost. I'm thinking that, marketed properly, it can serve as a halo car to draw people into the showroom.

tomcatt630

Having different names for full sized cars' trim levels died around 1976-1980. It got too confusing, and buyers prefered the luxo names like Caprice, Bonneville and Marquis. Catalina ended up a strippo old timer's car by '80. Impala was plain Jane til 1985.

I have Collectible Automobile article about 71-76 big Ponchos, and the 74 GV had the hardtop coupe style for one last time.

lemko

iluvmysephia1

Tucson the other day. But it is not often that I do see one. They're not a bad looking car, actually. The Captain will do what is right for Saturn.

While going to Respiratory Therapy training in mid-Missouri our next door neighbor drove a Saturn sedan. I talked to him about it, he seemed passionate about the brand and the "pop-back" body material.

When his Dad and Mom came to visit in a Saturn SUV I knew it was a family affair. Some people love 'em. A Saturn Aura passed my wife and I yesterday on vacation. Not a bad looking rig, very solid looking. Looks everything as good as a new Chevy 'Bu.

fintail

I saw a brand new G8 GXP the other day, loaded and looking sharp. This car needs to be able to live on as an Impala - it is what the Impala should be, not the rental grade lowest common denominator pile that it is.

crkeehn

as my brother, who lives a block from me, owns one. He's not the only one in the area as someone else in the vicinity owns the same color Sky he does, I frequently see it on the Beltline when I'm going home.

When I first had my Relay serviced, the service manager asked why I didn't get a Sky instead, he knew my brother from a long-term Saturn relationship. All I had to say was "two teenage sons". Nothing more needed to be said.

subsonic5

See the Sky every day, Penske should keep it and do some up grades on it it would sell then, a power top would help. :shades:

subsonic5

Hope Penske keeps the G6 (all models), and the G8. See alot of them around, hope the lines continue. G8 would give him the luxury car.

andys120

There's no reason IMO for Penske/Saturn to adopt the slow selling, bland G6 but you could certainly make a case for the G8. However there are rumors that The General may want to rebadge it as a Chevy (Impala SS?) once Pontiac is out of the picture.

nippononly

we will see some odd and interesting vehicles from a melange of global manufacturers in the next few years, sold as Saturns thanks to Roger Penske. This will certainly be better for the Saturn brand than GM's bungled attempts to run it.

dtownfb

The article I read yesterday alluded that Penske would keep the Aura, VUE and Outlook.

I think it is a good move for the Saturn dealers but still not sure if Penske can pull this off. It's a good investment for him since he does get the dealership network for a cheap price. But Saturn hasn't turned a profit....EVER. I hope he has better plans than GM had.

motorcity6

Down the list:
1974-Grand Prix SJ-455 4 bbl- approx 90k mi
1976-Grand Prix SJ-455 4 bbl-approx 90k mi.
1977-Grand Prix SJ-400 4 bbl-approx 90k mi
1979-Firebird V-6, Daughter's car-100k miles
1988 6000LE w/2.8 V-6, Hvy suspension extra. 55k mi.
1989 6000SE w/2.8, great handling pkg-95k mi
1991 6000SE w3.1 V-6,no suspension goodies, 95k
2006 Grand Prix GT 3.8 S/C current mi 33k

The 74,76, and 77 GPs were outstanding cars that go gobbled up the road, stress free, and never complained. The 74 had one glitch, where the radiator portion that cooled the auto-trans oil let go and soon we had oil and water circulating thru the water passages-a mess-dealer fixed, no charge.

1988 X-body, 6000LE never complained and the sport suspension upgrade was worth the cost. 1989 6000 SE was a delight with the all the STE suspension goodies, great car no problems.

1991 6000 SE was a farce, std 6000 suspension, put new struts on @50k heavy duty type, calmed it down some. 1991 production was short.

My current 2006 GPGT was purchased used w/4300 miles @ local Caddy dealer 2 yrs ago, cheap deal, traded in a 2002 Olds Intrigue w/120k mi..one of three Intrigues owned 1998, and 1999.The Intrigues w/3.5 Shortstar engine-1999 and 2002 were super W-body cars, zero engine problems, only steering shafts, and brake issues..!998 Olds was repurchesed by GM @26k mi-cost $600 to own..

The current GPGT is loaded and has steering issues, the famous ISS, which it is on it's third one, and on it's third battery..Wheel problem, replaced, The car is a W-body Chevy with somewhat better styling, noisy, loves gas, and cruises fast, air works great and sunroof adds to the pleasure..As I say, it was a cheap buy and the Ponitac, Buick, GMC dealer on Venice Island Fl does a great job of keeping it purring.. It had some tire issues, so I bought the 4 tires form the car dealer and it's his responsibility to offer high-speed driving with zero vibrations..

All cars listed here were purchased new, except the 2006 Pontiac..

Have owned 43 cars to date-76 yrs old..

fintail

I will admit I have at least a slight liking for those mid 70s GPs - they seem like a much classier version of a Monte Carlo, 70s personal luxury - but not so comical. A fully loaded one could be something to have, and I see they have a following today - prices of them seem solid for something from that era.

fezo

Maybe he'd like to import Chinese MGs....

tomcatt630

The 1969 Grand Prix was the first of the A-Special or G bodies. The next cars of this were the 70 Monte Carlo and Cutlass Supreme. Although the Olds was still 112" wb.

The most famous G bodies were the 73-77 collonades which sky-rocketed in sales, during the disco era. :shades: The 78-88 G bodies sold well, but gradually faded away in mid 80's. The 'W' cars never achieved the same sales #'s as the older G's, which GM hoped. But by late 80's, Taurus, Camry, and Accord blew GM away.

andre1969

I always thought the '81-87 Grand Prix was a sharp looking car, but it never seemed to catch on. First year sales for the freshened style were pretty strong at around 146,000, which considering the economy at the time, was pretty good! It sold slightly better than the 1980 model had. But then for 1982 sales fell to around 80-90K, and went downhill from there, even as the economy improved.

I wonder if part of the problem was that Pontiac never really did a "halo"/musclecar version of this rendition of Grand Prix? Olds had the Hurst/442. Buick had the T-type and Grand National, and Chevy had the Monte SS. But the best Pontiac could muster was the odd looking 2+2 for 1986. It had the same tame 150 hp Chevy 305 that you'd get in a regular Grand Prix, Monte, or Bonneville-G, rather than the hotter 180 hp 305 from the Monte SS. In a slight nod to performance I guess, I think they did at least give it a dual exhaust and quicker 3.55:1 axle.

That 2+2 was an expensive sucker, too, ~$18,200, whereas a Monte SS only started at $12,466 for the notchback or $14,191 for the Aerocoupe. Even the Grand National was only $14,349. Maybe the GP 2+2 came fully optioned, though? A lot of stuff we take for granted, like even a/c, was still optional on a Monte/Grand National.

Anyway, without that halo car, maybe it hurt Grand Prix sales? Also, Pontiac was trying to push the newer-wave stuff like the 6000, Grand Am, Firebird/TA, and Fiero, so I guess the Grand Prix, and Bonneville-G, just got lost in the shuffle? The Parisienne, in contrast, almost sold itself I think. Never in huge quantities, but probably still profitable enough that Pontiac dealers were glad to have a big car back in their lineup.

fintail

Pretty good discomobile...

Did these things have swivel seats too?

One in a light silvery blue, no vinyl top, but with t-tops (might as well), the period wheels, and the big engine would be a nice period piece.

andys120

He is said to be in touch with Samsung(?) of Korea (let's hope it's not Ssangyong!) and Renaultabout providing product for Saturn retailers.

Most Renaults are too small for US consumption but IIRC the New Megane is sized about the same as the Astra and looks nice to me>

andre1969

I can't remember now if the Grand Prix (or LeMans) had swivel seats or not. I'd imagine they were offered across the board, but I think I've only seen them in Cutlasses, Monte Carlos, and Laguna S-3's. I remember sitting in a Cutlass that had them, and I wasn't impressed with the comfort. They were a neat gimmick, but I found the backrest too flat and at a bad angle, the base cushion too short, and the seat to be poorly padded, in general. Here's a pic of the seats, from a '74 Cutlass brochure, but you get the idea...


In comparison, the seats in my LeMans approximate this...

except that except my seat is one-piece, not a 40/60. The base cushion is longer, and the way the base cushion and backrest curve, they seem to support my thighs and back much better.

I'm not sure, but I think they only offered the swivel seats in 1973-75. The seats in that '77 Grand Prix you posted are just regular buckets. I can't remember sitting in one like that, but they certainly look comfortable and well-padded. I've seen a LeMans or two with bucket seats (mainly Can Ams) and they don't look near as comfy.

fintail

Those swivel seats look pretty terrible, yeah. I am not exceptionally tall, but I am tall enough where I can tell those wouldn't have enough thigh support.

I can imagine Farrah Fawcett or someone of that ilk pulling up in that GP :shades:

stever

Most Renaults are too small for US consumption

Penske seems to be doing ok selling the smart car.

hpmctorque

You drive a heck of a lot of miles.

tomcatt630

In 1976, a base GP was introduced with a bench seat/column shift and sold like sliced bread. Before the 'Model J' was base with buckets. This may have stolen Bonne/Catalina sales.

These GM personal-luxo coupes gained sales from people trading in older GM full sized cars. My parents did similar, getting a 1980 Regal in place of a LeSabre. To them it was 'sportier and nicer looking'. Neighbor traded in '71 Impala for an '82 Cutlass Supreme coupe.

Quite a few similar cases in my working class Chicago neighborhood. For the price of a plain Impala, one could get a G body well equipped.

lemko

I most certainly agree! The G8 GXP would make an AWESOME Impala SS - not that FWD pile they currently have regardless of the 5.3 litre V-8.

fintail

If GM doesn't keep it around, they are hopeless.

xrunner2

I most certainly agree! The G8 GXP would make an AWESOME Impala SS

Agree. Hopefully they would get rid of the awful front and rears of the G8 and put on Chevrolet styling. With that, I could be tempted again to be a Chevy owner. Overall profile of G8 is fine.

lemko

With SIX round taillights no less! I can't stand the bland look of the current Impala. It looks like the second coming of the Lumina or an Accord on steroids.

fezo

I agree with you on the current Impala. Looks like an Accord knock off. If I want that there's loads of late model used Accords to pick from.

fintail - love the Grand Prix with T-top. I didn't realize you knew Batman...

tomcatt630

I dont remember the 73-77 GP having swivel seats as the Cutlass and Monte Carlo/Malibu/Laguna cars.

Also, Farrah Fawcett drove Mercury Cougar XR7's in L-M ads, and a Cobra II on "Charlie's Angels".

andre1969

Okay, forget Farrah Fawcett in a GP, but how about Carrie Fisher?


Oh hey, I think the new Oldsmobiles are out! :shades:

fintail

early this year, too :P

berri

Alright, that's Carrie Fisher and the car she used when she blew up rhe Blues Brothers apartment! Classic movie.

writer

I am not certain if the situation in the Toronto area is typical of what Saturn is like throughout North America, but from what I have seen, the biggest problem right now is, ironically, Saturn's biggest strength -- the dealership network.

The problem I see is that there are too few dealers and they are poorly located. I think this is a result of it being a late part of GM. I live about 2/3 out from the center of Toronto, towards the west. The Saturn dealers tend to form a ring around the outside of the city. I have Chev and Pontiac dealers better located for service visits.

I expect that what happened is that in the GM contracts the probably had a territory clause limiting further openings in areas where the earlier GM dealers were located, so this was probably the best they could do.

However, this is all changing now. I doubt if Penske will be limited by territorial clauses resulting from existing GM dealers, and during this period of bankruptcy closings of GM and Chrysler dealers, he should have a number of good prospects to sign up.

Depending on the contractual limitations of the deal, he could be sitting in the "perfect place" at the "perfect time", or as close to it as anyone ever gets in a lifetime.

andys120

I found this interesting tidbit in Pete DeLorenzo's Autoextermist.com:

One opportunity Penske is said to be pursuing involves a deal with Nissan-Renault’s Carlos Ghosn to import Renault Samsung Motors vehicles built in South Korea, as Automotive News first reported. Samsung builds four passenger vehicles, all based on existing Nissan vehicle architectures

I am less confident than DeLorenzo that importing old Nissan product, however cheap, can help solve Saturn's product problems.

Samsung SM5>


Autoextremist.com

lemko

Heck, I see them all the time! They're an attractive little mini-'Vette! I remember when one of them fell off the lift at the local mechanic's shop! One of the mechanics shouted to his co-worker, "Look out! The Sky is falling!"

iluvmysephia1

a sturdy looking front stance to it. It's really pretty appealing looking, and, as a Chevrolet 'Vette is too much car, IMO, the Saturn Sky is not. I do like the Pontiac Solstice's look better, though. But both the Sky and the Solstice are nice looking rigs. They are unique designs, deserving of much praise, individually and collectively.

Sharing the same platform, that they do.

irismg

Yes, but I'm curious. I mean, now that Saturn is no longer a GM car, who will warrantee the cars that are yet unsold? Not to mention the cars in the used market?

There are Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrids and Saturn Aura Hybrids out there at a relatively good price right now, but who would touch them now?

TIMGT5

Revamping GM’s line-up part II

This is an update on something I had written several month’s ago. Since then GM has filed bankruptcy and has decided which brands to shed and which to keep. Three of these came as no surprise and two did surprise me just a bit. Based on GM’s new brand alignment I would recommend the following for each division.

Chevrolet: This is the entry division; and the line-up would be as follows:

“B” Car: $11,500-$14,000 this would be a small 3 and 5 door body hatch back that would replace the less than stellar Aveo. Use a 1.3L turbo as the standard engine. Offer a lot of low-cost, customizable features, similar to Scion. Aim for 35mpg or better. This car will need to be produced in S. Korea or China, to be a viable low cost product.

“Dedicated Hybrid” $15000-$17,000 Using the B-Car platform but with a more aerodynamic Hatchback 5 door body use a 1.3L with electric assistance, to achieve 45 mpg or better. Bill this as the cheapest 45mpg car sold.

Cruze: $16,500-22,500.00 This is scheduled to replace the Cobalt (Thank the Lord) I would have a 4 door Notch, 5 Door Hatch (Mini-Wagon) and Coupe bodies. Base engine should be a 1.5L Turbo tuned to 140Hp, 145Lbs of torque with a 5 speed manual or automatic. Aim for 35mpg for this model. As this compact is a critical component to GM’s future success, banish all cheap plastics from the interior. The upper model (LT) would feature a 2.4L engine tuned to 160Hp and well equipped (Sunroof, Leather, power everything etc) The next up would be a high performance “SS” model with a 265Hp turbo 4, tight suspension, 18 inch wheels, and a short through 6 six speed manual. The top end model should be a full (42mpg) hybrid

Malibu: $22,000-$28,500 So far so good. The steering feel needs further refinement. Widen the body by 2 inches, to address the two major complaints that people have with this car. Eliminate the 4 speed automatic, and go with 6 speed automatics only on both 4 and 6 cylinder models. Add a top of the line “SS” with a lowered profile, “blackout trim”, 20 inch wheels, tighter suspension, ground effects and a 280Hp V-6. Also bring in a 2 door coupe version to replace the clumsy Monte Carlo.

Impala: $26,500-$32,000 Ditch the current outdated front wheel drive car, the Malibu has this segment covered. Cannibalize the hardware in tact from the now extinct rear wheel drive Pontiac G8. Re-body the G8 as the “new” Impala. The base car will have GM’s DI 300Hp V6, the up-level SS will sport the 425Hp V8 from the Camaro.

Camaro: $23,000-35,000 in addition to the coming convertible, add a series of competition packages and add-ons. Keep the current engines.

Volt: Work on getting the price of this ERE (extended range electric) down as quickly as possible. If this car can be sold at $25,000 of less it will make a big impact on GM’s Green rep

“Equinox replacement” $18,500-$27,000-a 5 to 7 seat crossover based on the Cruze chassis. The base engine would be a 170Hp 2.4L 4 cylinder with the up-level engine being a 270Hp V6

Transverse: $25,000-find a way to get some weight off this vehicle. Update the suspension and add quicker steering. Redo the third row of seats for better access.

Colorado: $15000-$25,000 needs a complete redesign to be more competitive with Tacoma, Frontier and Dakota. Increase the body size slightly in all dimensions. Base engine should be a 4.0L V-6 with an up level V-8 option.

Silverado: $25,000 and up create a more modern looking body.

Tahoe-Drop this as a separate model

Suburban: $35,000-and up, this would be the remaining “truck-based” SUV and would come in shorter and longer body lengths each with 3 rows of seats. Make a diesel version available.

Corvette: $85,000-150,000.00 Remove the “Chevrolet” designations from this car and sell as a standalone model. Move to an advanced mid-engine configuration and give it a truly exotic shape. The “base” engine would be 625Hp V-8 and the upper level would be a supercharged version packing north of 750Hp Extensive use of carbon fiber will keep the weight down. Make this the ultimate performance bargain. Set up a separate showroom at select Cadillac/Buick dealerships.

GMC: Focus this division on commercial and small business customers. Remove the Arcadia from the line up (Duplicates the Chevy Transverse) Market Heavy duty pickups, SUVs and Work Vans

Buick: This line should for traditional American luxury and I envision 3 models:

Lacrosse: $28,000-$35,000 built on the same platform as the Malibu. All models will be equipped with a V6 at around 275 HP and standard 6 speed Automatic Transmission. The model trims will be L, Grand Sport (somewhat firmer suspension and more aggressive transmission and Ultra model. All would be made stem to stern with very high quality materials and lots of standard features. Liquid filled engine mounts will be standard to silence this car.

Park Avenue: $35,000-$42,000 Replacing the lackluster Lucerne and built on the rear drive Zeta platform this will feature a standard DI V6 tuned to 300 HP, the up-level Ultra would have a 425 HP V8. The suspension tuning would be softer than the “New Impala” This car would be engineered for those who previously enjoyed the likes of the Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town car. Acres of wood and leather would abound in this model and it would be smoothest riding of all GM cars.

Enclave: Find away to reduce weight and fuel consumption. Explore a diesel option for higher gas mileage

Cadillac: this will serve as the business executive’s ride. With Buick focused on traditional “American Style” luxury Cadillac can focus on taking on BMW, Mercedes, Lexus etc. This would be the line-up.

SRX: $35,000-$42,000 this crossover serves as an entry level model, with a standard 300Hp DI engine and standard all wheel drive. Well damped sporty suspension would round out the package.

CTS: $37,000-$47,000 Enlarge the body by a few inches, the base model should have a 340Hp DI V6. Also there should be a torquey high gas mileage diesel. The top model would feature a 430Hp V8 and loads of luxury features, offer in Rear and ALL wheel drive.

“Ultra-Lux” $50,000-$65,000 this rear wheel drive car would be a true 7-series, S-class, and LS460 killer replacing the lacking DTS. Make it big and distinctively Cadillac. The standard engine would be a 450Hp V8, aim to make this the quietest car on the market, lost of insulation, standard features and great engineering here.

Escalade: $50,000-70,000 Get rid of the truck platform and base it on the “Ultra-Lux instead. No one uses these things as a truck anyway.

Future Models: GM needs an effective modular diesel engine. GM should turn its focus to making effective and affordable electric cars and ultimately Hydrogen Fuel cells.

imidazol97

A revamp plan that shows thoughtfulness. Nice post.

Two questions for thought:

How are you going to pay for all the retooling and new plant production for the revamped models? That cost (accented by UAW overwages and executive overwages) kept GM from doing thus in the past.

How are you going to meet CAFE which BO put on them with all the higher output performance motors?

Well, three things for thought!:

There are still a lot of models. The Monday morning folks through the last many months kept criticizing the number of models as part of the higher cost hurting GM. Yet it seems this plan still has lots of varying models. How are you going to reduce that number?

Also, I don't see a vehicle that has the attraction that the LeSabre had as a car with the ability to hold 6 people and still get 30+ mpg on the highway as well as respectable mileage in normal driving, which varies in each person's area of the country. A "volkswagen" of that sort sold a lot of cars. In this plan the closest I see, the Malibu, has the workhorse 4-speed transmission being dropped? There is something needed to compete with the dumpy Camry and the noisy Accord for a quality car.

Mr_Shiftright

This list is looking better all the time.

Do you think a $15-$17K hybrid is really possible at this time? I'm doubtful

RE: Buick -- I think this brand also has to go, at least in the USA. Keep it for China/Asia. Can't Chevrolet cover these bases?

Corvette --not sure messing with a legend is a good idea. And unless quality control and technology goes way way up there's no way I see this car competing in a higher price bracket. Corvette interiors age in dog years and pushrods just aren't sexy.