guionM
07-01-2004, 11:10 AM
Part 1 dealt with the issue GM was having over consumer clinics on the car. However, since GM's upper brass seemed to be unified in their support of the car, I didn't believe it was going to be much of an issue. If it got down to brass tacks, I'd expected Gary Cowger or Bob Lutz to simply push it to production anyway. But there seems to be another, more serious wall now blocking it.
Cheers and Gears has many GM and industry insiders who post there. The site tends to be a very credible source of information, and typically aren't moved by nastygrams from GM, though sensitive material that threatens other posters tend to be deleted.
With that as a background, according to info over there, the Chevrolet Nomad, though very much well into development, has had the brakes slammed on by the guys who pay for these type of things. Evidently, this is in spite of the fact that GM upper management is in favor of the car! This includes Rick Wagoners, Bob Lutz, Gary Cowger, Chevrolet, and of course Ed Welburn. At Ford, that type of support would be enough. At GM, it isn't.
GM is run like the government (in theory) in that there is a series of checks and balences, and that no one person or area can dictate what sees production or doesn't.
The final authority is beancounters. GM being a business, is in the business to make money. Also, the larger the business, the more sluggish and clumsy it is. GM right now actually has the ability to do the engineering to bring a car to market faster than it's approval process can manage. While a car can be engineered in less than 2 years from scratch, it still has to clear countless hurdles, be subjected to countless studies, and at any level, the car can be halted, and kicked back for more study, analysis, or additional cost cutting. Aparently, this is what happened to Nomad.
Ford's engineering isn't quite up to the speed of GMs, but Ford's approval process is much much quicker, and less subject to being derailed once a project is started. Ford is capable of bringing a car to market between 2 to 3 years (the GT was an exception at 18 months), but because of Ford's more streamlined approval process, a car can actually hit the streets within 3 years if upper management approves. Chrysler (once the quickest company to bring out new cars) now has to route approval through Daimler in Germany. Till last summer it seemed a loosing proposition, but now it seems that there was a blanket approval, so Chrysler has a mind bending amout of new vehicles scheduled over the next few years.
To be sure, the Chevrolet Nomad isn't going to sell at 100,000 vehicles per year. But considering the potential price, the number of Chevrolet dealers, the early success of the Dodge Magnum, and that there's a bigger market for 4 passenger harttops than there is for 2 passenger convertibles all but makes the Nomad certain to be the biggest selling Kappa car, and the most likely to sustain it's sales once the newness wears off because it's very practical (PT Cruisers are still selling at 100,000 per year).
GM should absolutely, positively make the Chevrolet Nomad. It's small, useful, sporty, and unique. If these reports of Nomad being blocked is true, this is one instance IMO where the beancounters got it wrong.
http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3554
Cheers and Gears has many GM and industry insiders who post there. The site tends to be a very credible source of information, and typically aren't moved by nastygrams from GM, though sensitive material that threatens other posters tend to be deleted.
With that as a background, according to info over there, the Chevrolet Nomad, though very much well into development, has had the brakes slammed on by the guys who pay for these type of things. Evidently, this is in spite of the fact that GM upper management is in favor of the car! This includes Rick Wagoners, Bob Lutz, Gary Cowger, Chevrolet, and of course Ed Welburn. At Ford, that type of support would be enough. At GM, it isn't.
GM is run like the government (in theory) in that there is a series of checks and balences, and that no one person or area can dictate what sees production or doesn't.
The final authority is beancounters. GM being a business, is in the business to make money. Also, the larger the business, the more sluggish and clumsy it is. GM right now actually has the ability to do the engineering to bring a car to market faster than it's approval process can manage. While a car can be engineered in less than 2 years from scratch, it still has to clear countless hurdles, be subjected to countless studies, and at any level, the car can be halted, and kicked back for more study, analysis, or additional cost cutting. Aparently, this is what happened to Nomad.
Ford's engineering isn't quite up to the speed of GMs, but Ford's approval process is much much quicker, and less subject to being derailed once a project is started. Ford is capable of bringing a car to market between 2 to 3 years (the GT was an exception at 18 months), but because of Ford's more streamlined approval process, a car can actually hit the streets within 3 years if upper management approves. Chrysler (once the quickest company to bring out new cars) now has to route approval through Daimler in Germany. Till last summer it seemed a loosing proposition, but now it seems that there was a blanket approval, so Chrysler has a mind bending amout of new vehicles scheduled over the next few years.
To be sure, the Chevrolet Nomad isn't going to sell at 100,000 vehicles per year. But considering the potential price, the number of Chevrolet dealers, the early success of the Dodge Magnum, and that there's a bigger market for 4 passenger harttops than there is for 2 passenger convertibles all but makes the Nomad certain to be the biggest selling Kappa car, and the most likely to sustain it's sales once the newness wears off because it's very practical (PT Cruisers are still selling at 100,000 per year).
GM should absolutely, positively make the Chevrolet Nomad. It's small, useful, sporty, and unique. If these reports of Nomad being blocked is true, this is one instance IMO where the beancounters got it wrong.
http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3554