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GM News, New Models and Market Share

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    edited April 2012
    So is GM the Wal-Mart of auto manufacturers?

    Talking about making a reach.

    All the talk on here about how other companies' recalls "aren't about GM", but when a single article about how high-value several GM products are now, the instant link is that "is GM the Wal-Mart of auto manufacturers?" And it took a prompt by me to get a SINGLE comment about it here.

    An objective discussion of what GM does right, is impossible here.

    If WalMart sold more domestic products than other, 'higher end' companies, it might be a better analogy.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    That Acura is hideous. I'm reminded of "The Joker" on Batman every time I see one. Seriously.

    They cleaned up the front and back of the Acura recently, but it still needs a total makeover. Maybe they will do it in 2014.

    Acura had a winning style in last gen (04-08). Too bad they did not choose to just evolve that style as some companies do with an excellent design. Porsche comes to mind, Mercedes too. A guy from Mars could connect an old 60's Porsche with the current model.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,681
    >the instant link is that "is GM the Wal-Mart of auto manufacturers?" And it took a prompt by me to get a SINGLE comment about it here.

    There are some posters I usually skip reading of their posts. So it's just another inflammatory post I'm glad I skipped until you pointed it out.

    >An objective discussion of what GM does right, is impossible here.

    Needs some hosts attention, doesn't it.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Despite all the hubbub about that single Volt fire, it had no or little effect on sales.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    edited April 2012
    An objective discussion of what GM does right, is impossible here.

    Not so. Seen many here say positives about GM, such as dumping Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab in order to better focus on gold standard brands. Also, about very good looking vehicles that GM has been coming out with - Cruze, Malibu, 2013 Impala, Camaro, Traverse, Lacrosse, Regal, Acadia, CTS, etc.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Just as another comparo to recall numbers for GM lately:

    http://www.inautonews.com/recall-roundup-2012-ford-focus

    140K units, for wiper motor.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Man, xrunner2, where I have been looking here lately? :)

    I don't believe I've read 'nary a single positive about GM here, unless it's from me, dave 8697, or imidazo.

    Personally, I couldn't imagine expending so much energy posting on products I disliked, on another forum here.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Not sure what's "wrong" with the Walmart comment. If I was a GM stockholder, I think I'd want them to be one of the largest retailers in the world.

    The objective in here is to discuss GM news. That means warts and alls. There's a Fans discussion if you want all your posts to be sunny side up. :shades:
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    edited April 2012
    Steve, no one said 'no warts allowed'. It's all that several posters ever do here, though. I mean, come on. I dislike Toyotas but I don't waste energy posting there, just to get a rise out of the regular posters (who are mostly fans) there.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited April 2012
    Missed all the sudden unintended acceleration chat eh? (Or all the "gel" posts before that?).

    All the hosts do is try to keep people mostly on topic and weed out the cussing and spam. If you don't like the direction a thread is going, you can easily ignore the other posters and continue on with what you want to talk about in your own thread. Not every post requires a response or a rebuttal. Think of it like a cocktail party; peel off and go talk with the interesting guy in the corner wearing the Corvette t-shirt.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Steve, I guess you're right. I just have trouble understanding the psychology of it. Guess it's not for me to know.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Missed all the sudden unintended acceleration chat eh? (Or all the "gel" posts before that?).

    BTW, not from me there is.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    edited April 2012
    So, you think my comparason of the Buick Verano to a Nissan Altima several posts back were anti-GM?

    How about my posts about the Volt?

    Talk about seeing the world through jaded eyes.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited April 2012
    I'm still bringing up "tin whiskers" now and then. :P

    Never had any luck with Volvos to speak of (although my sister had a good one). But yeah, I don't bring up all the times the rubber bellows in the mid 70s models broke and stranded me. Much. Then there was the flywheel with the broken teeth....

    People have long memories, and GM has been around 15 years longer than Volvo* to create some bad ones with a small, if vocal, percentage of people.

    (*Volvo turns 85 today)
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    edited April 2012
    All the talk on here about how other companies' recalls "aren't about GM", but when a single article about how high-value several GM products are now, the instant link is that "is GM the Wal-Mart of auto manufacturers?" And it took a prompt by me to get a SINGLE comment about it here.

    I don't see it as such a reach. Let me explain, and it is an honest question.

    Whenever the poor GM depreciation is cited, people say that's not relevant because "GM's are discounted much more off list than other makes". That means they're not able to as easily command their MSRP. And in recent comparos, if they aren't as competitive from a feature and function perspective, but are "high value" (because they are cheaper?) - well that seems to be the WalMart formula, too. Most products at Walmart are not higher cost, they are cheap products at a good value. If you want more expensive products that are high value, you go to Costco.

    So is GM's business model to build lower cost products that are "High value"? Like the previous Impala? I'd suggest that they'd be better off making the best products around, even at a higher price. That approach doesn't seem to be hurting Apple, or BMW. And GM has done it sometimes - the Cruze article about the lady running the design who had to fight for the nicer interior in that car. And look how successful the change in strategy has been on their smaller sedan.

    My question is to raise the issue - what does GM really want to be known for? What to they want to be when they grow up? Cheap value? Or higher-end value? Both answers have a place in the market.
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    Excellent points.

    Critical analysis of a company doesn't equal negativity.
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    So, you think my comparason of the Buick Verano to a Nissan Altima several posts back were anti-GM?

    Or my posts about possible channel-stuffing? (as a response to another poster here).

    Or my comments that the Cruze is the best small car GM has ever made, and I like its looks, too?

    :confuse:
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    To me, the big chrome "tooth" on the Acura reminds me of a beaver.

    Great car, but I would not buy one with that front end, even if the car was superior in other ways.

    Shades of the Edsel design...
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,034
    I like the 2013 Fusion, open mouth and all!

    I think it's a good looking car. I know that grille is Aston Martin-inspired, but it makes me think a bit of the 1957-59 Chrysler 300 cars!
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,681
    edited April 2012
    >"tooth" on the Acura reminds me of a beaver.

    This looks worse to my personal eye. It looks like the mug shot of a meth addict who's lost most of their teeth and just got arrested for street walking in the urban area.

    Two giant holes grinning at us.

    image

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,464
    Face only a mother could love, side cribbed from a crossbreed of the Impala and Passat.
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    I'm OK with the look on the Kia, but I can see your point.

    Some folks like the unified Mazda "grin" that's been adopted on most models.

    Looks like a demented smile of some sort, but evidently some folks like the look.

    Still, I'm glad companies push the design envelope a bit. Makes cars in general a little less boring.
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    There's a Fans discussion if you want all your posts to be sunny side up.

    Now wait a minute. One can be a die-hard fan of something for many, many years and still vehemently criticize when something or someone is wrong. Here in N Illinois, this can happen in any given year with the Chicago Cubs or Chicago Bears.
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    On cable tv today on Velocity was Mecum Auto Auctions. They sold off many old Cadillacs. Have to say the ones they had from late 40's, very early 50's to 1952 that I saw were very tasteful and looked to age well. Now, that was in contrast to a couple of 1959 Cadillacs that I would describe as grotesque. What was GM thinking back then with those enormous tail fins that looked to rise about 2 feet above the trunk lid?
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    Good ole' Harley Earl and Virgil Exner...
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    Here is the meth addict's old man after he posts bail.

    image

    :lemon:

    Regards,
    OW
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited April 2012
    Nice!

    image

    2013 is scheduled to be the final year of production for the sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvette, otherwise known as the C6. Having replaced the fifth-generation C5 Corvette in late 2005 as a 2006 model, that will mark a seven-year run on the market, which is impressively long in anyone's book, but fairly typical in Corvette history.

    Keeping the C6 fresh all those years had as much to do with special models like the ZR1 and Grand Sport as it has with constantly tweaking smaller things like the options, accessories and colors that have been offered.

    For its final model year, the 2013 C6 will reportedly get a last new color called Night Race Blue. The Corvette is already offered in two blue hues: one called Supersonic Blue Metallic (an option that costs an extra $300 on the standard Vette) and a lighter blue introduced for the 2012 model year called Carlisle Blue Metallic. The latter debuted at last year's SEMA Show to celebrate the Corvettes at Carlisle event in Pennsylvania that claims to attract more privately owned Vettes in one place at one time than anywhere else in the world.

    CorvetteBlogger also reports that Chevrolet will be deleting Competition Gray wheels from the options sheet and replacing them with the Black Painted Aluminum wheels you see above
    .

    Regards,
    OW
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    You gotta be kidding me? That Caddy is distinctive and doesn't look like a clown's face. I like that Caddy doesn't copy styling...like their 'razor edge' styling although I personally wouldn't spend the money for a new one.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited April 2012
    You gotta be kidding me?

    Look closer.....

    image

    Regards,
    OW
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    Note: This is constructive criticism. All of the other car makers are doing fine in this area save Mitsu.

    Like it or not, this is typical "Old Bankrupt GM" style supply planning. An industry average inventory lead should work to reduce profits at some point.

    GM Back To Its Channel Stuffing Ways :lemon:

    Regards,
    OW
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Interesting posts after your article, including this one:

    All GM dealer inventory is built to a dealer order. Channel stuffing, in the context of shipping to dealers who do not order product exists at GM only in the context of persuasion. Dealers always get to choose whether to order vehicles or not.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    edited April 2012
    At least there's no big pouting 'mouth' at the front end of a Caddy.

    About the Corvette...

    It's always cracks me up that in magazine comparos between the Corvette and cars often costing fully twice as much, reviewers/entertainers often complain about the Corvette's interior in comparison.

    Well, maybe if Chevy doubled the price, the interior would meet their standards! Sheesh!

    Typically, I disdain 'image' cars--and I know there's an image of a Corvette owner--but I'd like a lower-end one, no chrome wheels, no bright yellow or stereotypical red--and I do like the all-American heritage and history of the car--I can see me being one of those guys who buys a new one upon retirement and the wife and I doing the Route 66 thing in it. The wife is OK with that idea, too. Of course, that's more than a decade away most likely.

    The current Corvette, is the first Corvette in almost thirty years I've been interested in. Keeps the 'heritage' look, but looks trimmer and tauter than past iterations IMHO. I've toured Bowling Green and it's a neat plant. Those people know they're not building grocery-getters there.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited April 2012
    Dealers always get to choose whether to order vehicles or not.

    Almost every dealer has his inventory "floor planned" or financed which means he is paying interest on every car on his lot for as long as it is there.

    Here's a post that helps shed some light...

    I wonder what floorplan concessions GM has already given the dealers. I worked for GM, and there were two ways to get dealers to hold more inventory: incentives and extortion. You can only extort the dealers if you have cars that are hot. How it works is your regional rep will say "take an extra 50 cars that you don't want and I will give you an extra 10 of the hot model." If you don't want the extra cars, you get NO inventory of the hot model. Most dealers finance their inventory (floorplan) and manufacturers give dealers typically 90 days of free float until the interest clock starts ticking. Sometime they will give a special deal to take more inventory. My guess is that is how they are getting dealers to choke on this extra inventory. The OEMs use this tactic to smooth out cyclical and seasonal production/sales.

    Regards,
    OW
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    The current Corvette, is the first Corvette in almost thirty years I've been interested in. Keeps the 'heritage' look, but looks trimmer and tauter than past iterations IMHO. I've toured Bowling Green and it's a neat plant. Those people know they're not building grocery-getters there.

    Totally agree. :D

    Regards,
    OW
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited April 2012
    Buick buyer getting younger! ;)

    An analysis of new vehicle buyers shows that their average age was 51 years old in 2011, three years older than buyers in 2007. In 2011, 40% of all buyers were aged 55 years or older, up from about 30% just four years earlier. And, in keeping with much commentary about today’s youth, in 2011, only 11% of all new vehicle buyers were aged 34 years or younger, down from almost 16% four years earlier. Perhaps today’s young people indeed do have less interest in cars or perhaps they don’t have the money for a new car, or both.

    Among the makes on the market today, every OEM is now catering to an older buyer than back in 2007, with the exception of Buick. This OEM has lowered the average age of its buyers from 62 to 59, though the current age is still the second oldest after Lincoln buyers (60 years). Buick has brought in more young buyers by dramatically altering its product portfolio, adding the Regal and placing much greater emphasis on the Enclave (average age: 56 for both) while discontinuing the Lucerne (average age: 70 years). In 2011, the Regal and Enclave accounted for more than half of all Buick retail deliveries. Going forward, Buick will benefit from the recently-launched compact Verano, though the age of the Verano buyer so far (59 years) is higher than the Buick team probably would like. Polk’s Automotive Forecast indicates Buick has additional new products and powertrain enhancements in the pipeline, which should attract younger buyers.

    In the luxury space, Land Rover attracts the youngest customer (average age: 47 years) while Lincoln and Cadillac appeal to the oldest. Both these findings also held four years ago, though Lotus tied with Land Rover back then. The typical Lincoln buyer in 2011 was 60 years old, up five years from 2007 and shows the greatest increase in the luxury category. One advantage of having older buyers is that according to consumer research, their make loyalty and retention rates tend to be higher.

    Looking at the non-luxury category, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen drivers are the youngest at 48 years old and they were also the youngest (along with Suzuki and Nissan buyers) four years ago. Chrysler, Freightliner and Buick buyers have the most grey hairs in the non-luxury segment. If you remove Buick from the equation, the range of average ages of non-luxury buyers is a mere nine years ‒ 48 to 56.

    While customer age data can be informative, it can also be deceptive. Much of the change in average age is due to a change in mix, including body type and/or powertrain mix within a model or model mix within a make, among others.




    Regards,
    OW
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    Even though many would say a Corvette is expensive (and, it is, taken out of context), it's been (and remains) a bargain ... Performance-wise. Its always been an incredible sportscar value when compared to other makes and models.

    I've seen some reviews as you describe, but most of the time they are comparing like-priced cars. That's when the difference in interiors usually comes up.

    Maybe you can cite a source, but I never recall seeing a $50-60K Vette interior being compared to something like a $100+K Porche interior. The problem is that the Vette interior doesn't improve in a linear fashion as the price goes up in the higher performance versions of the Vette.

    Still, any way you cut it, the Vette is a lot of performance/style for what you get, compared to the competition.

    I bought a 96 Vette new, and other than the difficulty I personally had in getting in/out of the car, I loved it. And, it got great gas mileage on the highway for such a performance car.

    I've read several reviews over the years of the Dodge Viper, and many have complained about the spartan feel of the inside of the car, but I'm guessing most Viper buyers aren't buying the car for its interior feel...
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    Pretty good interview with the CEO of Hyundai...

    http://www.salon.com/writer/tom_krisher/
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    Really interesting article.

    Also interesting that the CEO of Hyundai USA used to work at GM.

    Just think if GM could have kept him and let him push GMs turnaround.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Only in the past few years--with the exception of the ZR-1 in '90 or so--has there been a super-exotically-priced Corvette. For twenty-five years or more, the base Corvette (usually all there was) was compared to various Porsches, etc., all costing considerably more, and the old interior saw is brought up repeatedly. Yesterday I looked inside a new one and it was fine by me.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    edited April 2012
    The President of Hyundai North American might want to keep worrying about quality:

    Yesterday my 2010 Santa Fe caught on fire while my son was driving down the hwy with the cruise control on. There was a loud bang from under the hood, then flames started shooting from under the hood. Steering went out.... burning oil all over the place and fire coming from under the car. Had it towed to nearest Hyndai dealership and now waiting for and explaination as to what happened. Car is under warrenty still so we will see how we are treated. Fire department says this was a bad fire. Wonder if they are going to total it....
    Jan
    Ingleside, TX
    Reply »
    |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#14 Nov 30, 2011
    Mar wrote:
    Hello, I have a 2011 Santa Fe and parked it in the garage after being in it for about an hour. Two hours later the garage was an inferno. The fire department and insurace company could not conclude it was the car. do you know of any recalls for this or other reports of the car catching on fire?
    Thanks
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    While Hyundai/Kia has made big strides over the past decade, I still think it has become a rather overrated brand, and if you look at resale vice Toyota, Honda, etc. apparently the market thinks so too.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    Please explain where the large 'mouth' opening that is as wide as the headlights is, on the Caddy. I can clearly see where that is on the Kia.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,681
    The Cadillac has strength and character in that grill pattern. It also is a family grill in the texture used to fill in.

    Here's an early Kia, however.

    image

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    You missed the point. The Caddy looks like a insane Pumpkin Clown, not a big mouthed bass! ;)

    Regards,
    OW
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    The mouth on your insane pumpkin is as wide as the eyes. Again, not seein' it on the Caddy.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    Here's an SRX delivered to CR for a test drive straight from Lansing:

    image

    Regards,
    OW
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    That one needs some othodontia!
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    Maybe these folks can trade their vehicles for the "hot" new Chevy Cruzes...

    http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2012/04/nhtsa-investigating-jeep-wrangler-chevy-- cruze-fires/
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,902
    That link was already posted a week or two ago and discussed here. I posted the Hyundai links just because Hyundai is always mentioned here as a company GM should emulate, and (of course) no mention was ever made here of these recent-model Hyundai fires.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
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