GM's Henderson: Future rests on Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC

[DainBramaged]

General Motors will go to market with four core brands in the future: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Pontiac will be shrunk "significantly," a senior GM executive told the Automotive News World Congress.

GM COO Fritz Henderson said that GM is conducting a strategic review of its Saab and Hummer brands and that the "status quo" for the Saturn brand will not work.

"We need to do something different with the Saturn brand," he said.

Henderson stopped short of saying GM would outright shutter the brand, but he made it clear that it would not remain in the same capacity and form it is today.

Likewise, GM is working with the Swedish government on a plan to help the Saab brand.

"We're engaged with the Swedish government as we speak," Henderson said. "We've talked to investors and we'll see where it goes."

Three-quarters of Saab sales are in Europe, he said. "Saab is not a U.S. strategy."

Henderson said the four core brands comprised 83 percent of GM's total sales volume in the United States last year.

Going forward, the Pontiac brand will "shrink substantially," Henderson said. But the fact that GM is investing heavily in the Buick brand in China will benefit that brand in the United States.


http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090121/FREE/901219995

[tridim]

1. People still buy Buicks?

I thought Saturns were solid cars, certainly better than Buicks or Hummers.

[DainBramaged]

2. (sigh)

[JCMach1]

6. I loved the Buicks I owned... Hell, mine just wouldn't die

I gave away (for $500) a 1989 Wagon with 250K plus miles that never had a single engine problem and always got around 28mpg (V6) before I moved to UAE.

[Lugnut]

7. I'm on my second Buick.

We downgraded from a LeSabre to a Century and gave our daughter the LeSabre. When she traded in the LeSabre (on a Pontiac) it had 160,000 miles on it and was still going strong. They are good, reliable, comfortable cars.

[tridim]

9. Guess I'm stuck in the past on the Buick brand

Because the last one I was in was a bouncy, faux-luxury nightmare, with a full front bench seat that made no ergonomic sense whatsoever.

[Lugnut]

10. Seems so.

The last front bench seat vehicle I drove was my '77 Suburban.

[jmowreader]

11. They're very popular in China...

They're also popular with senior citizens.

[Occam Bandage]

16. Absolutely huge in China.

Seems like everyone's got a VW or a Buick there.

[Romulox]

12. They're the same cars with different sheet metal.

So sick of "experts"...

[EOTE]

15. I don't believe Buick shares many or any components with Saturn.

Perhaps the Enclave shares some parts with the Outlook, and the corporate 3.6 liter V6 is used in all of Buick's vehicles and can be found in the Outlook and the Aura. But overall, with the exception of the Enclave/GMC Acadia, there are no Buick clones.

[Romulox]

21. The Enclave and the Vue are essentially the same vehicle.

And while I may have exagerated (a bit!) about the platform similarities since Saturn doesn't make a full size sedan, Saturns and Buicks share things like transmissions and engines, as well.

[EOTE]

24. It's the Outlook, not the Vue.

And yes the Outlook, Acadia, Enclave and Traverse share an awful lot in common (being on the same Lambda platform and all), but their interiors are as different as can be. It's nowhere near the cloning that they had beginning in the late 80s and early 90s with cars like the Cavalier and the Sunfire which were only discernible by their sheet metal.

[Romulox]

25. Right. The outlook. nt

[blue_onyx]

27. The Vue could make a good addition to Buick though

If Saturn is shut down, I hope the Vue model is kept in some way. It's a great looking SUV and I usually don't like SUVs at all. If they made some small changes to the front end, to make it more Enclave-like, the Vue could be a good addition for Buick.

[EOTE]

29. I like the Vue as well.

And GM needs a compact SUV to compete with the likes of the Escape/Tribute.

[EOTE]

13. The new Buicks are fantastic.

I've been in all of Buicks new lineup including the LaCrosse, Lucerne and Enclave and they're all awesome cars. I think the Lucerne is a good deal superior to the Lexus ES350 and the Enclave is a much better value than the RX350. If I was in the market for a large FWD sedan, Buick would definitely be my first choice.

[snooper2]

28. Keeping Buick and "shuttering" Pontiac

What a stupid fucking move

[leftstreet]

3. The future rests on Public Transportation n/t

[Mike 03]

4. Why are they shrinking the Pontiac?

Why can't we make the Trans Am again? Damn, I would buy that car in a heartbeat.

My father has a Caddy and has nothing good to say about it. He's fighting cancer now and it pisses me off that he also has to fight to get the damned car fixed properly everytime something breaks.

ON EDIT: The Trans Am was a Pontiac, wasn't it? I'm not so knowledgeable on who makes which cars.

[exboyfil]

5. I wanted a Firebird Trans Am when I was a kid in High School

College I did not even think about owning a car (no $s). After graduation I ended up with a Cavalier. Never did get a Trans Am.

Bruce Springsteen:

Driving in to Darlington County
Me and Wayne on the Fourth of July
Driving in to Darlington County
Looking for some work on the county line
We drove down from New York City
Where the girls are pretty but they just want to know your name
Driving in to Darlington City
Got a union connection with an uncle of Wayne's
We drove eight hundred miles without seeing a cop
We got rock and roll music blasting off the T-top singing
Sha la la la la la la la la, Sha la la la la la la

[CRF450]

8. I own one currently, an 01 model.

Yes its a Pontiac, its a rebadged Camaro only it looks better. The Firebird Trans Am is no more, only the Camaro will be around and its making a comeback sometime this spring. If they're gonna shrink Pontiac I hope they dont do away with the G8. Cause that car is a fine ride for a sedan!

[Kalyke]

18. Pretty, pretty car.

I hate the new box and/or bubble look so many cars have now.


I drive a 2005 Mustang.

[CRF450]

31. Seen the redesigned 2010 Mustangs?

They look better, but I'm seriously disappointed in their performance "upgrade" from the current models, going from 300hp to only 315hp! The new Camaro is an animal with a 436hp LS3, they say it will have up to 422hp but I thinks its the same exact engine, GM tends to under-rate any LSx engine to goes into anything other than the Corvette, much how like they under-rated the LS1 in my car, rating it 305-325hp when its actually the exact 350hp LS1 used in the Vettes.

I'm kinda interested in a 2010 v6 Camaro. A 300hp direct injected v6, and a starting price of only 23 grand with a 6 speed manual. That can be my daily driver while the Trans Am can be the weekend/project car. I am saving up for a twin turbo kit.

[Occam Bandage]

14. Saturn is a mess, yes.

A few years back, it was an entry-level brand on par with Chevy. Then they tried rebranding it between Chevy and Buick. They should either make it a compact, youth-oriented economy line for cars competing with Toyota's Yaris and Honda's Fit, or axe it altogether.

[TZ]

17. The quality REALLY dropped off on Saturn after the first five years

or so. I had a 95 I think that just want KA-BOOM at about 50,000 miles (not quite 5 years old). I took care of that car too. I have NOT bought American since.
If they keep Saturn, they need to get it back to where it was quality wise.

[dysfunctional press]

19. they should try to compete for some of vw's market share.

it almost seemed like they were trying to, with some of their designs and colour palette.

[FLAprogressive]

20. Why does GMC still exist?

Their trucks are virtually the same as Chevy's line.......you don't get anything different in a GMC than you do in a Chevy.

[Romulox]

22. Answer: it costs money to close dealerships. nt

[ThomWV]

23. Move the trucks to GMC and get rid of Chevy too, why not?

Just one more layer of management and for what? Keep GMC for light trucks and industrial vehicles, Cadillac for the luxury end, and one of the remaining 3 for the cars and get rid of all the rest.

[Romulox]

26. The answer to "why not" is that GM will have to buy out dealership contracts. nt

[Stevenmarc]

30. Please GM don't screw up SAAB