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That would be the Daewoo-designed (insert brand name here) Lacetti replacement.
How are Daewoos these days, quality-wise? I know Suzuki's mainly pushing them in the US, and there's the Chevy Epica in Canada, which is like a Verona. Were Daewoos ever really bad cars? Or was it just an issue of too sparse of a dealer/parts network, and mechanics not really having any experience with these cars?
Back when Daewoo as a brand here took the dive there was a dealer about 20 miles north of here. There was a beautiful picture to be taken there that I unfortunately missed - the dealership, with a couple of cars left but clearly abandoned under half a foot of snow and a sign saying "open." I don't think so, Tim.....
In 2002, GM formed GM Daewoo Auto & Technology (GM Daewoo) with Suzuki and SAIC, (GM owns 44.6 percent, Suzuki owns 14.9 percent, and SAIC owns 10.6 percent). As of the year of 2008, GM owns 50.9 percent, Suzuki Motor Corporation 11.2 percent and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC) 9.9 percent of GM Daewoo. The Daewoo Motor Creditors Committee owns the remaining 28 percent.
GM Daewoo operates manufacturing facilities in the cities of Gunsan, Changwon and Incheon, and a power train plant for transmission in Boryung, Korea. GM Daewoo Vietnam Auto & Technology (VIDAMCO) in Hanoi, Vietnam, assembles selected GM Daewoo products for the Vietnam market. In addition, GM Daewoo products are assembled at GM facilities in China, India and Thailand etc.
The GM Daewoo Design Center and GM Daewoo Technical Center at Bupyung are developing the next generation of GM Daewoo products. The Center for Manufacturing is overseeing research in production technology. GM Daewoo is the home of GM’s global small and mini-car architectural development teams, which are developing the next generation of products for the GM Group.
Somewhat big news is that GM is considering what to do with Hummer. Sell, revamp, etc.
BIg news for GM employees no salaried cuts. This was the rumor since Ford said they were cutting 12%. However GM has been cutting for 6 years and they are leaner than Ford even though GM sells more models and has a higher market share.
Oshawa truck pant is closing. That will leave only one plant out of 3 open in 2 years. And that plant is in jeapardy because it will build the Zetas and right now only the Camaro is still there. Perhaps the next G8 also. Of course the Impala is a big question mark on what it will be and where it will be built.
http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gm- news/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=46161
The Vue, totally redesigned for 2008, placed first in the Compact Crossover SUV segment. The Sky roadster, introduced in 2006 and the first vehicle to usher in Saturn’s dramatically revised product lineup, won the Sports Car segment.
The VSAs, which measure owner satisfaction on 46 different attributes, are driven by data collected from thousands of new car and light truck buyers. They are based on surveys mailed to owners of new 2008 model year cars and trucks purchased between September through December 2007. Of the 46 attributes evaluated, 39 pertain directly to the product and seven focus on the financial and dealership aspects of the vehicle purchasing experience.
http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gm- news/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=46152
Were you able to call in for the investor meeting held a little later after the "main" event?
I guess the biggest thing for me about the earlier Wagoner conference was the closure of four plants, not just Oshawa. I thought I read (or heard Lutz state) the Impala/SS RWD, and the possible Buick, is as dead as dead can be. Hard to take a read on it as it's been on/off more than a light-switch.
I can see GM wanting to move Hummer on as that would be the next step, since they've finally awaken to the fact the trucks / SUVs can't save them. Can't they bring out a proper wagon (maybe we'll get a G8 SW)? They can haul just as much, if not more, than a cross-over.
In addition to vaulting over the F-150 and Silverado, it even beat the Camry and Accord. THAT'S a startling shift!
Wow, that's an incredible shift. 50K units in a month would come out to around 600K annually for each of those three cars. How is the '08 Accord doing these days?
Seems like not that long ago, if a car sold more than 400K units, it was considered phenomenal. Meanwhile, the Silverado would usually put around 700-800K units, while the F-series tended to pull down 800-900K I'd guess.
The times have certainly changed.
Heck, maybe now would be a good time to get a new pickup truck, if you really need one? Although in my case, paying $300-400 per month just to saye $40-50 on gas (compared to my old Silverado) just doesn't make sense.
Oh, if you actually needed a pickup truck now would be the time to buy it!
What you guys are witnessing today, I have predicted will happen in the Daewoo forums. I have always stated that Daewoo is GM's only hope for survival. That prediction came true and there are many articles about it today. The days of the big SUV's and cars is gone, and most future GM small cars will be Daewoo.
I guess bob Lutz was reading the edmunds forums or something because he followed my recommendations to the absolute letter.
Is this a real comment? Actually they will be building almost all their trucks in the US and will have about 40% of their sales as trucks (assuming 2 shifts at each plant). Sales of total US trucks are still about 40%.
Pontiac retail car sales driven by a 36% increase in Vibe sales
Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook power mid-utility crossover segment with 12,000 total vehicles sold
Fleet sales off 36% due to planned reductions in daily rentals and the impact of the American Axle strike
No
Can't they bring out a proper wagon (maybe we'll get a G8 SW)? They can haul just as much, if not more, than a cross-over.
Must be one huge Station Wagon. I could never get the stuff I get into my Enclave even into an old time Caprice Classic wagon. But I think we will see more station wagon type vehicles. Then again the SRX never sold that well. And that reminds me. We had an SRX before the Acadia and it fit nowhere near the stuff we could get into the Crossover.
U.S. auto sales tumble 11% as pickup and SUV market falls off sharply.
Asian automakers outsold Detroit's Big Three for the first time in May as the industry continued its dramatic shift toward more fuel-efficient cars.
Helped by a reputation for fuel-sipping models, Asian brands captured 47.8 percent of the U.S. market, while American automakers held just 45.4 percent of their home turf last month.
Exemplifying the landslide toward cars, the Honda Civic supplanted the Ford F-Series pickup as the nation's best-selling vehicle.
The Civic, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla and Honda Accord all outsold Ford's flagship vehicle last month, marking May as the first month since the early 1990s that a car, not a pickup, was the best selling vehicle in the United States. On an annual basis, the F-series has been the nation's top-selling vehicle since 1981.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/AUTO01/806040395/1148
Just for kicks, I pulled the stats on an Enclave. 118 cubic feet of cargo volume. That's pretty impressive. SRX only came in at 69 cubic feet. Just for comparison, the old, boxy, downsized Caprice wagon was around 87 cubic feet, and I think the rounded '91-96 style was 91. Even the old whale of a '71-76 was around 108. Which I think it actually impressive, as I'd always heard that the clamshell tailgate and rear window took up a lot of space. But then I think something like the '74-78 era Town & Country wagon, which had to have been just as massive but with a regular tailgate, was only 101 cubic feet.
I remember not being all that impressed by the way the SRX was laid out. It seemed cramped to me in the second row, and the third row was downright tortuous. Seemed like the thing ended up being big and bulky in the outside, but that didn't translate to generous interior accommodations. The Enclave, Acadia, and Outlook seem much better thought out. The only thing I remember not liking was that the second row seats seemed small and thinly padded. Probably so that they could stow easily, or be removed without too much trouble.
If they made something like a G8 wagon, I imagine it would have around 72-80 cubic feet of cargo space. That's not going to cut it for someone who needs the interior room of a Suburban or minivan. But it could still be pretty useful.
1) it is midsized, not a full size like the Enclave
2) it was designed to compete with the X5, so it is a sports car like crossover, not something like the midsize truck SUV's (Trailblazer, etc...)
The third row seat is for children, not adults. The second row seats are higher off the floor, so leg room is really quite good and comfort is not bad. I would say that the comfort is probably better than my Seville was. The SRX does not have much more space than a wagon would have though. I would have liked a wagon better, but I am quite happy with my SRX except for the fuel consumption. But my overall average so far is about 19 MPG. see here
yes.
it was reported that GM will be closing 4 truck plants in the US.
I didn't know they would have any left in the US after that.
Ford and GM have relied on support for so long from their trucks and now they are dead in the water with spiking oil prices. As people wait in line for the Prius, GM to this date still doesn't have a worthy competitor - they just seem to always be several steps behind thier Japanese competitors.
yes.
it was reported that GM will be closing 4 truck plants in the US.
I didn't know they would have any left in the US after that.
Ford and GM have relied on support for so long from their trucks and now they are dead in the water with spiking oil prices. As people wait in line for the Prius, GM to this date still doesn't have a worthy competitor - they just seem to always be several steps behind thier Japanese competitors.
----
Actually no, they are closing 2 in the US, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Mexico.
On is in Canada, one in Mexico and two in the US.
Trucks were over 55% penetration last year and now around 45%. Yes full size truck volumes at GM are significantly down due to 4 main reasons: gas prices, the economy, the strikes, and the blow out of the housing market. Contractors are having a hard time finding work so they are not buying new work trucks and gas prices are keeping some of the retail market from buying them. The strike kept the companies that were buying trucks to not be able to order what they need. And if times are hard due to high prices on everything then the retail consumer is not going to spend money on a large truck he really does not need.
What I am saying is that trucks are not dead. They still sell about 45% overall US. GM is basing themselves on a 40% penetration with capability to increase to ~50% with 3rd shifts when at least 2 of the above factors reverse themselves. At this point GM is on track to sell almost 2 million trucks this year. That works out to about 8 plants working 2 shifts.
http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008063
What is amazing is that Toyota, with the exception of the owner beloved Prius, Highlander, Tundra and Tacoma have no vehicles in the top 3 of the segments. They used to have about one in every segment.
Honda also only has 3 in the top 3 of the segments. How they have fallen. Pretty much every manufacturer is even now.
Now the long term reliability needs to be similar in the future as well. The difference in numbers between a lot of the top tier makers is only 10-20 ppv in the 100-120 range. I think that's where all the good makers should be with the exception of the luxury marks under 100.
Why wait for the future. They already are. Buick is even tied with Lexus for first place on the 3 year JD Power study.
Isn't that the truth. The GP is done after this year, so it doesn't matter how reliable it is. The car sucks. My wife has an 07 for a company car. It's horrible. Sure, it's reliable, but on the all important desirability scale, it scores a zero.
Now the Malibu is something GM should be proud of, seems like a very nice family car.
when do they expect to have the first one ready for sale?
really - the Volt, which is very pie in the sky at this point will have probably one car for each dealer in the year 201?j
the Volt imo is nothing more than marketing hype
Does GM even have a future car that can mimic that of the Prius?
Any idea why they need to ask? I thought all hybrids got a tax break up to a certain number build? I know the Prius no longer has a federal tax break.
OK, I looked and they are asking for an increased amount., Of course it is a big step away from gas usage which is what the US wants. Be great to kick start a product that does not use gas!
Toyota and Honda also have Volt type vehicles coming out soon after the Volt does. I assume they will get the same tax break? Of course it is all PR so they will probably never see the light of day.
Well, according to Ford's ads, their quality is equal to Honda and Toyota. Either Ford came up to their standards or Toyonda fell to Ford's. Doesn't matter to me. I stick with GM!
IQS is based on both mechanical defects and design defect issues. Guess owners like the design of the GP better than Camry/Accord.
IQS is becoming meaningless. Problems per vehicle are from .9 to 1.7. Sure it is double from the best to the worse but at the most it is less than 2 problems per vehicle.
BUT if you want a quality vehicle the main brands are all virtually the same.
Lexus 99, Toyota 104, Honda 110, Ford 112, Cadilla/Chevy 113, Hyundai/Pontiac 114, Lincoln 115, Buick 118 with an industry average of 118.
That is the difference between 1 problem and 1.2 problems per vehicle. Who cares.
At GM the only real flyer is Saturn at 157. What could cause that? All the Saturns are built in the same plants as Chevy/Pontiac/Buick.
Now, the Chevy Volt comes into the crosshairs. I think GM avoided mimicking the Prius. They have several different kinds of hybrids for sale now, but the Volt seems to leapfrog the Prius as it is more an electric vehicle than a hybrid. It has a small gasoline engine whose sole purpose is to charge the car’s batteries. They say Volt can go 40 miles on just the batteries. After that, the gasoline engine comes on to charge the batteries. I have heard a price of about $30K for a 4 seater that can get the equivalent of between 100 to 150 miles per gallon while the gasoline engine stays off. Of course, that mileage will depend on the price of electricity from the grid. When the gasoline engine starts coming on, the gas mileage is 40 to 55 MPG, similar to that of the Prius. So, if one can drive less than 40 miles between plug in charges, the gas engine never comes on and you use no gas.
The batteries have been the holdup. I hear that Toyota and GM have been courting a company called A123 Systems who just recently made a series of breakthroughs to make the “40 miles on batteries only claim” possible. It appears that this time, GM will have a car on sale like this before Toyota does. Only time will tell. I have heard 2010 will be the year that the Volt becomes available. Use Google and YouTube to find out all the information one could want about the Volt. By the way, the Volt is quite a looker.
You're talking about something that is years from hitting the dealer lots - by that time the Prius will have been around for 5-6 years!
It's really not even comparing apples to apples anyway.
"GM will have" "only time will tell" "they say" "i have heard"........that pretty much sums up GM's green technology imo.
You're talking about something that is years from hitting the dealer lots - by that time the Prius will have been around for 5-6 years!
It's really not even comparing apples to apples anyway.
I have no idea what you are trying to say anymore. Yes the Volt technology will leapfrog the Prius technology. It is most likely the future of cars in the next 10 years. Almost every manufacturer have said they are developing plug in vehicles with the new batteries that can go 40 miles on one charge. And it is hitting the streets "years" from now. Yes, probably at least one year before any other competitor. Once they all go into production battery prices will drop and the vehicles will become affordable.
As far as technology, GM is the leader in two-mode hybrid technology. At this time they are in full size trucks only but they are moving it down to smaller vehicles as is MB.
Will there still be a market for Prius type hybrids in the future? I am sure there will be. First thing though every vehicle should get the mild hybrid tech that GM uses. It is very affordable and can quickly get a few more MPG with no compromise on the customer.
It strikes me that once again they are looking at Toyota as a stationary rather than a moving target. There is nothing to justify the idea that the next Prius will just be more of the same.
I'm not saying that GM won't get where they want to go but I am saying that they aren't there yet and their past record is not enough to get them a mulligan here.
???? the full size SUVs that can carry 8 people get the same city mileage as a 4 cylinder Camry!! :surprise: TO me that is pretty dramatic. Issue is that GM made the mistake of putting it only into loaded vehicles (most likely though because they were volume constrained and put it into the more profitable vehicles). They need to get this into the lower model SUV's and Pick Ups to get the volume.
I agree with you that they need to get this into lower end. Saving gas on a $50K SUV is one of those head scratchers.
Problem is: For $20,000 less, you can get a vehicle that can also carry 8 people, and get the same 'çombined' mileage. It's called minivan. No denial that the two-mode hybrid is a sophisticated piece. Also I don't expect the Volt to be anything less than state-of-the-art. What's more, I never doubted that GM can actually make a great compact car like the Civic/Corolla. The trouble with GM is: they can't seem to bring any of this with a competitive price and still make money of it. Look how the Prius is affordable to a lot of people. Others simply plan/price/market it better. And this is what can spell GM's doom.
a sports car will leapfrog a sedan. They are two different beasts not to mention two different technologies.
Do you really want to compare something that GM hasn't produced yet to the success of the Prius? Let's see some results first.
Last I heard the SUV hybrid system that GM has developed; sales were one tenth of what they had anticipated. A problem they face trying to sell their hybrid SUV is getting people to overcome paying MSRP for a car that can easily be had for $10k below MSRP in it's non hybrid form.