After Bloomberg broke a story this morning suggesting that GM would rid itself of both GMC and Pontiac to avoid bankruptcy, the General's PR team went into full react mode. The result is a follow up piece by Automotive News that refutes Bloomberg's anonymously-sourced report.
Sales chief Mark LeNeve told the industry trade paper that reports that,"GMC is going away are just unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue."
He went on to say that GMC is profitable and General Motors is working on plans to make it even more profitable in the future. He also refuted the rumor that dealer franchise agreements would be terminated to accelerate dealership consolidation.
Automotive News: GM to Keep GMC, Pontiac; no plans to quicken dealer consolidation
hondacura4 says:
03:44 PM, 04/16/09
"General Motors is working on plans to make it even more profitable in the future."
Thats good to know as many of us here were simply uninformed or curious about the brands fate.
However, given the truck/SUV market, how exactly will GM.... or what plans have surfaced that will make GMC even more successful? Im aware the market as a whole is down but I dont forsee the full size truck/SUV market being as strong as it was.
As for Pontiac, outside of the G8 and the unprofitable Solctice, Pontiac doesnt have any original, unique or desirable high performance products. If Pontiac wants to be a high performance brand they will have to revamp their whole product portfolio and the brands image. Neither are easy.
stovt001 says:
10:25 PM, 04/16/09
Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
I like GM, or at least I like many of their products. I'd like to see them come through (or again, more accurately, their products) but it is hard to support this kind of decision making. The mainstream market leading manufacturer get by with two brands each - a mainstream brand and a luxury brand. There is little to no overlap, the brands are focused, there is little internal competition, and each gets the marketing dollars they deserve.
I'd love to see Pontiac become a niche performance sub-brand. I really would. But we all know risk-adverse GM just won't do that, and the government probably wouldn't like it anyway. So why keep it around just to sell rebadged Chevy compacts and antiquated appliances? Reassign the G8 to Buick (call it the Invicta) and let that, along with the Enclave, LaCrosse, and (rumored upcoming) Regal sustain them until they can be phased out of the U.S. market.
I have a hard time buying the argument that GMC buyers wouldn't switch over to Chevy. If they absolutely couldn't get a GMC, does GM really think they'd get a completely different product rather than an identical product with a different badge? LTZ trims on Chevy trucks and SUVs will fill that niche just fine. Sure it doesn't cost much to rebadge a truck as a GMC, but it sure dilutes the marketing bucks when you have to sell two different trucks and compete against yourself. How stupid.
Buick, I can possibly see surviving in the long term, if it is positioned as a Lexus/new luxury oriented-Hyundai competitor, while Cadillac goes against the Germans and allows itself to be flashier. The rumored Regal, the Enclave, and the LaCrosse are all very appealing products. My idea for a G8 rebadged as Invicta would be an appealing product as well. The only obstacle is justifying a dealer network for one small brand. Combining with Cadillac for a sales channel might work.
flicmod says:
05:32 AM, 04/17/09
"Do not believe in anything until it is officially denied." - Otto von Bismarck