They kill the Orlando concept and rebadge the Aveo to become the Pontiac G3.

 

Questionable decisions yes. But what does it have to do with how many studios GM has?

 

They've got 11 different design studios and that is what they come up with? I think that's what he was getting at. I'm sure it's probably got more to do with GM's bean counters than it does their design talent.

 

Design studios had pretty much zilch with decison to sell the G3 here and not the Aveo. To be honest, I'm baffled at the association.

FWIW, the Orlando IS going into production.

The decision was not to produce and sell the Orlando HERE.

That's a decision made by GM brass.

In particular, by GM's "Product Czar", for whatever reasons he felt necessary.

 

Wouldnt the Orlando be competition to the Ford Flex?

 

Not, it is a true compact, HHR size, despite seating 7. Its closest competitor now would be the Mazda5.

 

wow its that small?

But yea the apples to oranges of G3 to design studio is there. But i think the idea is why 11 studios if the bean counters are just going to slap a different grill on the car and call it a Pontiac. At least the Sunfire looked different than the cavi. The G3 should have some kinda Poncho image other than a pop in grill..and that making a car look REAL cheap..

 

GM design studios are filled with talented designers. The problem, as some have noted, is the decision making around and above them.

 

Hopefully the Orlando is at least DESIGNED with a possible U.S. importation in mind.

 

well it should of been built here..kinda funny having a GM product called Orlando not sold herei n the U.S.


(yea I know it will change) but still..its called the Orlando a smaller 7 person car. Perfect name for it considering families go to Orlando for vacations and some need that space but not a huge car..hmmm maybe call it EuroDisney???

 

If it isn't, someone at GM needs to turn in their pass and find a different line of work.

 

GM's problem is that it is being way too knee jerk trying to change things around for $10 gas that does not exist...which is a shame because they really have just gotten competive.

The fact of the matter is..even Toyota is loosing market share. GM could be making the best cars the world has ever seen and at this point they would still not gain ground. Rather than being so knee jerk...they need to ride this storm out, and keep doing what they have been doing with of course progressivly more fuel economy built in.

 

Either GM is run by idiots (and trust me, I've had moments where this seems like the only logical conclusion) - or, the company has some pretty smart and well-connected prognosticators that can see things that are not yet obvious to consumers.

If GM is smart, they're constantly doing scenario planning and developing several different approaches to the market. I'd hope that a company with GM's talent and resources can thrive whether gasoline in 2010 is $2/gal or $12/gal.

 

GMs North American sales are only about 42% of global sales. Latin America, Africa and the Mideast comprise about 15% of total sales, whereas Europe is about 26% and Asia Pacific is 16% of total sales. It shouldnt be too hard to figure out what global small cars might do well in North America. The Corsa is a top seller in Latin America and Europe, and it looks as though the Cruze is quite similar.

 

I can tell you first hand that the roll of the design studio is to develop and create new designs or themes for future vehicle development. It's the job of the strategy board and other bean counting offices to determine what and where vehicles are to be developed or not. Design Staff is there to be the pool of design talent that when taped can bring innovation and facilitate future design themes. Many of the studio's are there for brand management and developing themes for differentiating GM's brands. So Chevy has a bar across the grille, Pontiac has had split grilles since the '64 GTO, and Caddy has wheels with 7 spokes.
One of the problems with GM since the mid 70’s has been that they have lost some of their deign leadership and innovation in the marketplace. That was one of Mr. Lutz’s primary goals when taking his position with GM. So I can assure anyone that the Pontiac G3 wasn’t an idea that Design Staff had but more of what they were told to do. If you look back at GM’s history the times when they were on top were times when GM Design was a strong part of the marketing and development of new vehicles. They have lost that edge but there is hope with the current crop of new vehicles being put out there.