Geoff Chadwick

Without the cost of closing the dealers GM doesnt have many options - I can think of these:

(a) Starve dealers of product till they fold - which would hurt sales they need to survive. If done intentionally, couldnt GM get sued for this by their dealers?
(b) Go ch11 and see sales plummet till they just had to close anyway.
(c) Ask nicely. Give fruit baskets.

The dealers have to go. GM can't support that many dealers anymore. GM could save a *lot* of money by consolidating brands. I just dont know how it'll be possible without sucking GM dry... we all know it'll mean bleeding jobs nationwide shutting that many dealers down (but better than GM folding).

Tokuzumi

Chevy could drop the Silverado, and use the Sierra as their truck. Maybe make GMC the uplevel option package, kind of like the GXP series for pontiac, the SS for chevy, or the V series for Caddy. Granted, the monikers used are for performance divisions, but it could be used in place of Denali. Just thinking out loud.

super83Z

Why does everyone always say this? The Silverado outsells the Sierra approx. 3 to 1. Makes zero sense to do that.

Tokuzumi

The Silverado is god-awful ugly. Or just make the Sierra the Silverado, and drop the GMC name, altogether, keeping the Denali option package on the Chevy SUVs.

GTOJack

Silverado is fugly when compared to Sierra.

SSbaby

Did I read that right.... the next CTS will be FWD?

What the heck is going on in there?

routesixtysixer

jg95z28

You're reading too much between the lines of Guy's speculated "worse case" scenario.

super83Z

Again the Silverado outsells the Sierra 3 to 1. Looks are based 100% on opinion the numbers are facts.

Last of a Breed

How many Chevy dealers are there compared to GMC dealers? That plays a huge role in number of units moved.

Tokuzumi

I'd be curious to see how many people traded in a Silverado to buy a Silverado.

Chuck!

I honestly don't care if it's a Sierra nose with a bowtie on it, or a Silverado nose with "GMC" in the middle of it, as long as there is only one version of it and I no longer have to listen to both "Professional Grade" and "This is our Country" I'll be happy.

flowmotion

Not enough more Chevy dealers to explain the sales difference. Chevy is a stronger brand, that's all.

Besides, the last thing GM needs to being doing at this point is thinking of cockamamie reasons to keep two duplicative dealership channels open. Pontiac/Buick/GMC brings nothing to the table, and everything they have could be sold through Chevrolet.

guionM

Jeff is correct. I'm following GM's flow of logic, and what I hope is only a worse case sceneario.

If (and that is still, fortunately, a big "IF") GM decides against a RWD DTS/STS replacement, then GM is backtracking from their plan of developing Cadillac into a premium brand.

Then there's GM's logic in killing the Zeta Impala. According to Bob Lutz, it was because of a 1 mpg difference in CAFE. Most likely, it was also much cheaper to GM ro rebody a larger Espilon and use existing supply networks instead of creating those needed for an all new architecture in North America.

If GM decides it can save a few dollars and get another 1 mpg swapping the CTS to a Espilon chassis and turn it into another MKS, then it's not difficult to imagine a cash strapped, post Lutz GM jumping on that idea pretty quickly. Especially if it's built on the same assembly line as another Espilon, enabling GM to shut down another factory and increase usage of another one that isn't operating at peak capacity.

The CTS is at least 3 years away from replacement, and almost certainly even farther now that money is all but non-existent.

jg95z28

I think you're on to something. Based on current market conditions, GM is more likely to rebody current platforms than dump tons of money into new architectures. The only place I see them spending a significant amount of money in new development is in drivetrains. That is only because of CAFE and the fact the feds have already agreed to fund Detroit to develop more fuel efficent engines.