This could be a really ignorant question, but does each brand have its own engineers? I know Saab does, but are different people designing, say the Malibu and G6?

The only car that I know was done by division engineers was the Grand Prix GXP. I remember RLSedition saying on clubgp that the car was not a GMPD project, that it was a seperate team of engineers.

This leads to the second part of my question. Is it still worth having seperate engineers for each division? On the one hand, one group of engineers accross the world can probably get things done more quickly, easily and cheaply than can divisional groups. On the other hand, cars designed seperately are naturally more unique and seem to have more brand character.

Look at the GTO and GXP. The GTO was brought here very efficiently, and is likey a better car than any Pontiac could have brought out on its own. It does however, lack brand character. When my '00 Grand Prix is parked next to my dad's GTO, it's very clear which one is the "real" Pontiac (and not just because of the GTP's acres of gray plastic inside ).The GXP meanwhile, has been shockingly well received, even by people who hated the Grand Prix. Reading RLS's posts, it becomes very clear that they really knew the Grand Prix, what it needed, and to whom in the market they wanted to aim the car. As a result, the car is distinct very cohesive in all its design aspects. It's not without flaws, and is generally an inferior car to the GTO (disregarding personal needs that might make the GXP a better choice), but it is almost certainly a better Pontiac. Futhermore, it's sufficiently differentiated from the Impala SS, with the two cars better defining the difference between the brands than any other of their shared platform models.

You might also compare the Grand Prix GXP to the GMPD designed Bonneville GXP. One gets the feeling with the Boneville that no one on the project was really dedicated to the Bonneville, and as a result it is not very convincing even though it does have some high quality components. This is not to question GMPD's abilities or dedication, but rather, how well they can focus on an individual model given that they were not the people who designed the car itself nor are they paid to specifally make this brand better.

So basically my question (if you didn't want to read my rant) is whether there's room in today's GM for each brand to have its own engineers, and also, how do they balance the brand identity with a global engineering setup.