LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
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From: Weare, NH
LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
No plans to phase out any brands, GM's vp of sales and marketing says
Posted Date: 3/24/05
DETROIT -- General Motors reasserted on Thursday it has no intention of eliminating any of its brands in the future.
Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales and marketing for GM, told Automotive News the automaker is investing heavily in all eight brands. Phasing out a particular division is not under consideration.
"We have no plans, or even discussions, of killing any brands," LaNeve said, "We're investing more heavily than ever in product and marketing programs."
On Wednesday, GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz told a Morgan Stanley Automotive conference in New York if one of GM's "troubled brands" fails to turn around, "then we'd have to take a look at a phase-out," Lutz said.
Published reports linked Pontiac and Buick to Lutz's comments.
LaNeve reemphasized in a message to dealers Thursday that both brands are safe.
LaNeve also said GM is managing Buick, Pontiac and GMC as one channel and providing those divisions with a product portfolio "to service that channel and to focus" the lineup.
That represents a key difference from Oldsmobile, which GM killed last year, he said.
"These portfolios we're going to deliver we don't have to deliver an A to Z portfolio for those three brands," he said. "We can tighten and focus them. I'd rather have four or five great Pontiacs or Buicks than eight undistinguishable products. That business model makes a lot of sense."
Source: Autoweek
Posted Date: 3/24/05
DETROIT -- General Motors reasserted on Thursday it has no intention of eliminating any of its brands in the future.
Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales and marketing for GM, told Automotive News the automaker is investing heavily in all eight brands. Phasing out a particular division is not under consideration.
"We have no plans, or even discussions, of killing any brands," LaNeve said, "We're investing more heavily than ever in product and marketing programs."
On Wednesday, GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz told a Morgan Stanley Automotive conference in New York if one of GM's "troubled brands" fails to turn around, "then we'd have to take a look at a phase-out," Lutz said.
Published reports linked Pontiac and Buick to Lutz's comments.
LaNeve reemphasized in a message to dealers Thursday that both brands are safe.
LaNeve also said GM is managing Buick, Pontiac and GMC as one channel and providing those divisions with a product portfolio "to service that channel and to focus" the lineup.
That represents a key difference from Oldsmobile, which GM killed last year, he said.
"These portfolios we're going to deliver we don't have to deliver an A to Z portfolio for those three brands," he said. "We can tighten and focus them. I'd rather have four or five great Pontiacs or Buicks than eight undistinguishable products. That business model makes a lot of sense."
Source: Autoweek
And on another "As the world turns..."
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From: Sterling Heights, MI
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
That certainly contradicts what Bob Lutz said yesterday.
What in God's name is going on at GM? The left hand doesn't seem like it knows what the right one is doing. Are things really in this much disarray inside the walls of the RenCen???
What in God's name is going on at GM? The left hand doesn't seem like it knows what the right one is doing. Are things really in this much disarray inside the walls of the RenCen???
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From: Waltham, MA
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by HAZ-Matt
It turns out that they probably do have some people that know what they are doing. 
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From: oshawa,ontario,canada
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by kefkafloyd
The left hand does one thing while the right hand does another? With a company the size of GM, the likelihood is not impossible.
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Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
He said exactly what I would have said, if I was still deciding what brand to whack. Like he ever would have come out and said, "Now nobody get excited, because we haven't decided which one of you two is the one to go"
He could just be the company mouthpiece trying to settle things down for a little bit.
He could just be the company mouthpiece trying to settle things down for a little bit.
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From: Ontario
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
These portfolios we're going to deliver we don't have to deliver an A to Z portfolio for those three brands," he said. "We can tighten and focus them. I'd rather have four or five great Pontiacs or Buicks than eight undistinguishable products. That business model makes a lot of sense.
BTW, what's with Saturn being the golden child? Comparing their models, Ion is far less desirable than Cobalt; and Vue is less than Equinox (aside from the Honda V6). Yet GM wants to catapult them above Chevrolet in the brand hierarchy. Why not keep them as the entry-level division and fight Scion and other econoboxes?
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From: The Golden State
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by R377
BTW, what's with Saturn being the golden child? Comparing their models, Ion is far less desirable than Cobalt; and Vue is less than Equinox (aside from the Honda V6). Yet GM wants to catapult them above Chevrolet in the brand hierarchy. Why not keep them as the entry-level division and fight Scion and other econoboxes?
GM is capatalizing on Saturn's "foreign brand" reputation.
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From: Alexandria, Louisiana
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by guionM
It's not about current models.
GM is capatalizing on Saturn's "foreign brand" reputation.
GM is capatalizing on Saturn's "foreign brand" reputation.
Saturn being shrouded as a unique company might be a good thing for it.
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Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by Z28Wilson
That certainly contradicts what Bob Lutz said yesterday.
What in God's name is going on at GM? The left hand doesn't seem like it knows what the right one is doing. Are things really in this much disarray inside the walls of the RenCen???
What in God's name is going on at GM? The left hand doesn't seem like it knows what the right one is doing. Are things really in this much disarray inside the walls of the RenCen???
thats if a few years from now the companies arent improving and continue on a downward spiral. Not that they are currently planning on doing it. He's saying its a "if all else fails" type of thing
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From: Ontario
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by guionM
It's not about current models.
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From: Waltham, MA
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Originally Posted by 97z28/m6
but thats stupid, unprofessional and flat out the wrong way to do business.
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Posts: 9,705
From: Oakland, California
Re: LeNeve says Pontiac & Buick are NOT on the chopping block...
Come on now, does anyone believe that the sales guy would be the first to know if brands were getting the axe?
In any other industry he'd be the last to know.
In any other industry he'd be the last to know.
