GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
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GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Uh oh. On the verge of junk bond status and now cutting a line... Not good.
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DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp., which issued a shock profit warning last week and has been losing market share, may phase out one of its weaker car brands if sales fail to meet projections, company Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on Wednesday.
GM's Buick and Pontiac are both "damaged brands" due to lack of investment over the years, and GM is working to correct that with an array of new vehicles coming to market, Lutz told a Morgan Stanley automotive conference in New York.
But if some of its brands fail to meet sales projections, "then we would have to take a look at a phase-out. I hope we don't have to do that. What we've got to do is keep the brands we've got."
Financial analysts have said for years that the world's largest automaker has too many brands to support, even with the gradual phase-out of the Oldsmobile brand a few years ago, particularly with its weaker U.S. sales.
Sales for both Pontiac and Buick have lagged in recent years. But GM is in the midst of a $3 billion investment in new vehicles for Buick, and Pontiac showrooms and they will have four new vehicles this year, including the Solstice roadster, Torrent SUV and the G6 mid-size coupe.
GM, which last week cut its earnings outlook for 2005 by as much as 80 percent, posted a 6 percent drop in U.S. sales for the first two months of the year. GM's U.S. market share fell to about 25 percent, far below its share of 27.5 percent for all of 2004.
Analysts said last week that GM's March sales could fall as much as 10 percent in March, while foreign automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. would continue to gain U.S. market share.
Lutz said GM will post relatively flat U.S. sales for March, however, performing much better than expected.
"I think we're going to be just about even, our best guess at this point. Either a percent over or a percent under," he said. "It is a substantially better month than January or February, and it looks like the whole industry is up."
<snip>
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp., which issued a shock profit warning last week and has been losing market share, may phase out one of its weaker car brands if sales fail to meet projections, company Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on Wednesday.
GM's Buick and Pontiac are both "damaged brands" due to lack of investment over the years, and GM is working to correct that with an array of new vehicles coming to market, Lutz told a Morgan Stanley automotive conference in New York.
But if some of its brands fail to meet sales projections, "then we would have to take a look at a phase-out. I hope we don't have to do that. What we've got to do is keep the brands we've got."
Financial analysts have said for years that the world's largest automaker has too many brands to support, even with the gradual phase-out of the Oldsmobile brand a few years ago, particularly with its weaker U.S. sales.
Sales for both Pontiac and Buick have lagged in recent years. But GM is in the midst of a $3 billion investment in new vehicles for Buick, and Pontiac showrooms and they will have four new vehicles this year, including the Solstice roadster, Torrent SUV and the G6 mid-size coupe.
GM, which last week cut its earnings outlook for 2005 by as much as 80 percent, posted a 6 percent drop in U.S. sales for the first two months of the year. GM's U.S. market share fell to about 25 percent, far below its share of 27.5 percent for all of 2004.
Analysts said last week that GM's March sales could fall as much as 10 percent in March, while foreign automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. would continue to gain U.S. market share.
Lutz said GM will post relatively flat U.S. sales for March, however, performing much better than expected.
"I think we're going to be just about even, our best guess at this point. Either a percent over or a percent under," he said. "It is a substantially better month than January or February, and it looks like the whole industry is up."
<snip>
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: I'm not homeless, I'm just houseless
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Originally Posted by Hetfield
This really isn't a shocker. There is so much redundancy in GM's lineup that it amazes me they have made it this far with only cutting one line.
Same car, same look, different name, different price... Why? 
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 374
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Originally Posted by Hetfield
This really isn't a shocker. There is so much redundancy in GM's lineup that it amazes me they have made it this far with only cutting one line.
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Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 1,151
From: I'm in the Bay, Trick
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
I'm sad to say this but with a couple exceptions, the current line of GM cars just scream "rental" and "bland". There just isn't much to be excited about in general.
Blasphemy, I know.
Blasphemy, I know.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 225
From: Elkhart, IN
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Like a couple people, this isn't a shock to me. Once they did it to Olds I knew they'd probably do it to Buick soon. I can understand them doing it though. As much as I hate to see brands fade away sometimes it just has to happen.
BTW, I like Pontiac but honestly their cars all look very simiar. It was cool back in the late 90's but now I want something new.
BTW, I like Pontiac but honestly their cars all look very simiar. It was cool back in the late 90's but now I want something new.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,045
From: Lake Hopatcong N.J
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Originally Posted by JoeliusZ28
Pontiac sales lagging? theres only a billion grand ams on the road 
Come on.
Come on.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 55
From: Boston, MA
Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands
Originally Posted by ImportKILLER
I'm sad to say this but with a couple exceptions, the current line of GM cars just scream "rental" and "bland". There just isn't much to be excited about in general.
Blasphemy, I know.
Blasphemy, I know.
Dope