So it got me wondering….
Wondering what all falls under the GM brand name? How much will
shutting down Pontiac really accomplish?
This list doesn’t necessarily count all versions or sub-models of GM
products available, but it’s an impressive list.
84 models just in this list, and this doesn’t count their overseas
operations in Australia, Britain or the orient. Many of these simply
have different branding on the same basic design, but that list would be
limited. And it seems to me they’ve all become so expensive that there
really isn’t a big difference between buying a Cadillac and a Chevy
anymore. I imagine you still pay a little more, but even many of the
bottom of the line cars are as much as I paid for my first house.
84 models (not counting sub-models). I wonder how many of each they
make in a year (I’m not going to look that up), average it across all
models. How many new drivers are introduced each year? How many
drivers retire (too old or die (old or young)) each year? How many
older cars are retired each year (scrapped or otherwise unusable)? Does
the production of just this one manufacturer supply enough to cover all
those conditions? Oh yea… probably so, but I don’t know for certain.
Now multiple this by: Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan……. I
think you get the idea.
To me, rail against unions as I might in some circles… this smacks of
corporate and shareholder greed more than anything else…. too many
models, too much diversity, too much dilution of product lines, and
over-saturating the market. I don’t know how to fix it, but I tell you
what I think….. if GM ends up in Bankruptcy, I see a few gems in here
that a third party could probably pick up, and if trimmed right and
managed right… could become a strong brand on it’s own. Same story
for Chrysler. What I mean by trimming, is removing some models from a
lineup, not nuking the entire brand.
Here is the list:
Buick (probably the most conservative, but two of the three are nearly identical, maybe trim the whole brand?)
- Enclave
- LaCrosse
- Lucerne
Cadillac (What the heck happened here? 10 models? Get a freakin’ clue)
- CTS
- STS
- DTS
- XLR Roadster
- V-Series
- SRX Crossover
- Escalade
- Hybrid
- ESV
- EXT
Chevrolet
Chevy CARS (not too bad, could use a trim though)
- Aveo
- Cobalt
- Corvette
- HHR
- Impala
- Malibu
Chevy TRUCKS (how many trucks do you need? ONE, with different options)
- Avalanche
- Colorado
- Silverado
Chevy SUV/CROSSOVERS (Is it a truck, an SVU or a car? Nobody seems to know, could use some major trimming)
- Avalanche (again?)
- Equinox
- HHR (Again?)
- Suburban
- Tahoe
- TrailBlazer
- Traverse
Chevy VANS
- Express
Chevy UPCOMING (Assuming they don’t go bankrupt)
- Camaro
- Cruze
- Spark
- Orlando Concept
- VOLT
Chevy COMMERCIAL RIGS
- Light Duty
- Medium Duty
- Fleet
GMC (Take a Chevrolet, put a different badge on it, make a few design changes and BAM, it’s like a company puking up vehicles)
- Acadia
- Canyon
- Sierra Hybrid
- Yukon Hybrid
- Sierra 1500
- Yukon
- Envoy Denali
- Envoy
- Yukon XL
- Savana Cargo (van)
- Sierra Denali
- Yukon Denali
- Yukon XL Denali
- Savana Passenger (van)
- Sierra 2500HD
- Sierra 3500HD
Hummer (Diluted, needs trimming, FOCUS PEOPLE, FOCUS)
- H2
- H2 SUT
- H3 Alpha
- H3x
- H3T (truck)
- H3
Oldsmobile (probably a decent line up… killed in 2004)
Last ones built in 2004
- Intrigue
- Aurora
- Bravada
- Silhouette
Pontiac (Rest in pieces, another example of diluting your own brand, should have been trimmed)
- G8
- G5
- G3
- G6 Sedan
- G6 Coupe
- G6 Convertible
- Soltice
- Torrent
- Vibe
Saab (confusing really, should be trimmed)
- 9-7 Sport Sedan
- 9-3 Convertible
- 9-3 Sportcombi
- 9-5 Sedan
- 9-5 Sportcombi
- 9-7X SUV
Saturn (Had a good start, still a decent small lineup, possible best chance at individual survival)
- Astra
- Aura
- Outlook
- Sky
- Vue
- Hybrid
I usually use Jeep as my favorite example of Brand dilution:
- Commander (now this is just dumb, trim it and go buy a freakin’ Suburban)
- Compass (Trim it, it’s dumb too)
- Grand Cherokee (Bread and Butter)
- Liberty (replaced the regular Cherokee, why?)
- Patriot (Supposed to make you feel good because it’s named Patriot? Give me a break… trim it)
- Wrangler (Bread and Butter)
- Wrangler Unlimited (four door hard top, WTF, buy a Wrangler OR a Liberty (I’d say regular Cherokee but they don’t have that in the lineup anymore) trim it)
So basically, to me, Jeep should have four vehicles in their lineup;
- Grand Cherokee
- Liberty (should be the regular Cherokee)
- Wrangler
- Pickup (not listed, not seen in the wild for some time, but makes decent sense, why is it not there anymore?)
- 2-door
- 4-door
- Station wagon
- Truck
- Jeep
Throw a convertible in and that’s all you need. What the heck happened?
… and then there are guys like me who don’t even buy new cars but just
rant about them. Geeeez shut up already…
okay, shuttin’ up.
Asa Jay
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