In a webchat yesterday with journalists, GM's CEO Fritz Henderson said he's not a fan of badge engineering, the practice of creating new models by simply changing the name and styling of a current vehicle.
Odd then that he sees a bright future for GMC, a division that is made up entirely of badge-engineered Chevrolets. According to Henderson, the upcoming GMC Terrain is an example of badge engineering done right as it's sufficiently differentiated from the Chevrolet Equionox.
Well, Fritz may be right that the Terrain doesn't necessarily look like the Equinox, but that doesn't change the fact that it will still compete against its Chevrolet counterpart. They're both the same size and feature the exact same drivetrains. Sure, not every town has both a Chevrolet and a GMC dealer, but isn't GM supposed to be doing things differently now?
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iskch says:
08:40 AM, 06/17/09
They are still dragging extra baggage (GMC & BUICK).
orangutan says:
09:14 AM, 06/17/09
He's an idiot.
billt9 says:
09:18 AM, 06/17/09
I agree with Henderson and disagree with Hellwig.
The derogative term "Badge engineering" refers to vehicles with only front and rear bumper, front and rear lights, and badge changes.
For the Terrain, they changed all the styling below the beltline. Pretty close to being enough.
Toyota has the Camry/ES with different roofs.
Toyota has the Auris/Blade with same roofs.
Toyota... and more.
But I guess Toyota differentiates them into different markets/pricing/luxury levels. So that's different.
Maybe GMC and Chevy needs to be $5000 different, not $2000 different. Then GMC would slot between Chevy and Cadillac.
Then Buick would be like, wtf you doing B****??? That's our market!
billt9 says:
09:20 AM, 06/17/09
But Buick/Pontiac/GMC is one dealership anyways, so then I guess I don't know why GMC exists.
GM's stupid.
billt9 says:
09:22 AM, 06/17/09
I think this is happening because nobody has hands as tough as Carlos Ghosn, who has no second thoughts about firing all those extra workers.
Henderson melted like Wagoner... well, we need to give those peeps jobs!
FIRE!!!!!!
thejohnp says:
09:41 AM, 06/17/09
But is it really a re-badge if they're keeping a car around that would otherwise be discontinued and not available in any other version?
Seems shortsighted to me to stop production on a vehicle that people & critics seem to not only really like but actually want. Not quite a change of mentality for a troubled automaker.
bankerdanny says:
09:58 AM, 06/17/09
Once again begging the question of why Pontiac was killed and GMC was allowed to live even though the majority of it's products would be indistinguishable from their Chevy counterparts if the badges were removed.
firstwagon says:
10:19 AM, 06/17/09
"But I guess Toyota differentiates them into different markets/pricing/luxury levels. So that's different"
Where did he say it was OK for toyota?
I think most people will agree a fancy Camry with a Lexus badge is lame too.
stovt001 says:
11:07 AM, 06/17/09
Except Lexus for whatever reason sells a ton of Camrys. Toyota can simply get away with laziness and bad products and GM can't. That is just how it is, apparently.
greenpony says:
11:13 AM, 06/17/09
There's a long history of car companies doing this. What makes it so unacceptable now?
1487 says:
11:25 AM, 06/17/09
"Sure, not every town has both a Chevrolet and a GMC dealer, but isn't GM supposed to be doing things differently now?"
GMC makes money, thats why they are keeping it. The Terrain isnt badge engineering because it looks nothing like the Equinox, he never said GMC and Chevy products wouldnt exist in the same space. I understand the anti GM bias but try to use some common sense here.
"Once again begging the question of why Pontiac was killed and GMC was allowed to live even though the majority of it's products would be indistinguishable from their Chevy counterparts if the badges were removed."
Its not rocket science, Pontiac was reliant on fleet sales and Pontiac was full of money losers. GMC doesnt rely on rentals for a large portion of sales and its profitable because its vehicles sell for far more money than the average pontiac.
brn says:
12:10 PM, 06/17/09
"Except Lexus for whatever reason sells a ton of Camrys."
Exactly. It's more about perception than it is about execution. How does GM get around the perception issue? That's a tough road.
estreka says:
12:17 PM, 06/17/09
GMC should be a badge, not a brand, like Jeep's trailrating, or Chevy's Z-series, or Ford's Eddie Bauer. Btw, Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy today.
billt9 says:
07:16 PM, 06/17/09
I don't see how it's more about perception than execution.
The Lexus ES doesn't have a single surface in common with the Camry. None of the shapes inside or out match.
moparbad says:
09:06 AM, 06/18/09
No reason at all for GMC and Buick to exist if Henderson truly believes badge engineering has no value.
GM is actually good at badge engineering even if they make mediocre cars.
Proof is in the pudding. Watch as GM fails to maintain market share of midsize Epsilon platform cars as soon as G6 is no longer available.
G6 is differentiated sufficiently to appeal to buyers who would not buy a Malibu and will not buy a Malibu. G6 has younger demographics.
GM is making a profound error in killing Pontiac.
Is anyone at GM listening? Keep Pontiac-Buick-GMC.
It actually makes sense to group these three brands in one dealership with the reality of GM's current and future expected market share. Badge engineer Pontiac vehicles until there is sufficient revenue to support unique powertrains and body styles for future models.
Does Henderson understand the value of a brand? Pontiac has great brand perception even if a Pontiac G3 makes Pontiac enthusiasts vomit.
Keep the G6 in coupe and convertible and possibly sedan versions, keep the G8, keep the Solstice and keep the Vibe. Tooling is already paid for, dealers already own the tools to service these models and mechanics are already trained to service them.
Eliminate the G3 and G5 as they offer no credible differentiation to Aveo and Cobalt.