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General Watch: General forum
Subject: meeting
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| Buickman |
06/19/04 |
11:12 |
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What about Buick? You asked a great question. GM has starved the division of car product while combining stand alone stores with Pontiac/ GMC. They learned with Olds, combine them first, then close it, fewer lawsuits that way. GM wants to build them overseas, sell them on the net and profit on the paper. They could care less for Olds or Buick, Pontiac probably next on the hit list. They have investment bankers to help them buy other companies with different franchises. Meanwhile the rest of the company suffers due to the actions of those in marketing.
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| john88 |
06/01/04 |
14:01 |
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GM only made money last year because they sold Hughes and the Armored car division. Saturn needs urgent help to show that GM is capable of turning their decline around.
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| ragingfish |
05/11/05 |
16:01 |
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Saturn has TONS of untapped potential. I forsee Saturn, if developed RIGHT, to become the next Honda fighter. The ION Redline was a good faith effort at winning sales from yuppies that love their Civics. But it wasn't good enough.
The AURA and SKY show tons of potential, and have revived an excitement in the division. Granted, the SKY is no different than the Solstice on the inside. But platform sharing, if done right, can save money AND earn profits. The SKY and Solstice have very different target audiences. The AURA is also a stunning automobile, and, if the production model retains a good portion of the styling of the concept, it, with the SKY, can turn Saturn around.
While Saturn may have never turned a profit, it still has a huge amount of sales under it's belt. They must be doing SOMETHING right. Most say it's the buying experience. I've never bought a Saturn, so I can't testify to that, but it seems like a reasonable explanation.
I don't think it's *quite* time to throw the towel in on Saturn yet. Give the AURA and SKY a chance to take root. They could be the dose of medicine the division needs.
That being said, Buick isn't the only one that needs saving. Pontiac has been neglected for far too long too. I've been a loyal Pontiac owner my whole life. I remember the early 90s disasters with heavily plastic0 cladded cars and poor quality. But I stuck by them.
The G6 is a step in the right direction, and the Solstice has promise. The Torrent is a disappointment, as it's obvious to anyone it's only a rebadged 'nox. I'm glad to see Chevy has great sales and a good following, but perhaps that's because they've never been product starved. If the execs took half the time and money they spent building Chevy's current line and focused it on the "damaged' brands such as Buick and Pontiac, GM might be in better shape today.
Don't blame the consumer for making those brands "damaged." It's the fault of GM management. And if they can't take this alarming wake-up call as a time to cut the BS and turn the company around, they need to be ousted, and we need someone else at the reigns.
I'm very curious to see if Buickman's plan is even midly considered by GM management. Good luck to you my friend -- I'll keep buying Pontiac to show my support and faith in GM -- as long as Pontiac is in business, anyway.
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| webmaster |
06/02/04 |
19:49 |
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Is bailing out Saturn the answer?
What about the flagship Buick? Isn't it time for GM to evaluate whether their "Saturn idea" is really viable and throw in the towel if it's not?
I understand that the original concept for running Saturn has gone by the wayside and production procedures are now just like the other divisions...instead of the "Japanese style team work concept" they originally planned for Saturn.
GM drained money from Olds to support their failing Saturn idea, and Olds is now history. Are they going to do the same with Buick in a vain attempt to make their "Saturn Plan" succeed? If so, after Buick, what's next? Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC? In the end will "General Motors" mean "generally Saturn"??
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