super83Z

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm-...nal-2009-09-16

Threxx

Is LaCrosse even for sale yet? I know they shipped a few but then had some major electrical issues with them and halted all sales and production. How can they exceed sales forcasts if the car was only for sale for a few days and then put on hold?

super83Z

The WSJ has an article too, kind of shows the dealers are still out of touch as usual.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125305886067314043.html

Need a subscription to view the rest:

Sixer-Bird

I saw one for the first time on a road trip to Austin last weekend. Yesterday I saw another one. Very nice looking car in person.

Plague

They have been on sale for about a month. I didn't hear about the electrical issue. Do you have more info on that?

Eric77TA

I don't know what the status is on the quality hold, but I assume that the issues have been resolved. I see carriers full of LaCrosse headed East on I-70 just about every day now.

lil_mikey69

Amazing. Build good cars and people will buy them. They should have tried to follow this model much sooner.

R377

Unfortunately for every model that's doing well, GM usually has two or three more that have been left to rot on the vine and are doing poorly (e.g. Impala). Of course, you never hear about those in GM's press releases.

Hopefully this will be one of the advantages of fewer brands and models. They'll be able to refresh them quicker before they start to drag down the average.

super83Z

The poor Impala, no car gets brought up more than that one. I guess I'll jump on the bandwagon once the sales start to drop, but since it still outsells the Malibu we're just throwing $#!& against the wall still.

matLT1

I have an '08 Impala and think its a great car

R377

Impala sales YTD are down 37%. And compared to two years ago, they're off almost exactly 50%.

Time to jump on the bandwagon.

guionM

In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with the Impala. My group rented one some years ago when we went through a course up in Seattle, and I was one of the 2 whose name was on the rental and the primary driver. The Impala is put together well, is unexpectedly tossable, and the V6 had enough punch. When the latest design first came out I mistook it for the latest Honda, but buyers looking for cars in this class are looking more for dependable, value packed, appliences more than stunning style. In that light, the Impala does exactly what it's supposed to do, and sells very well as a result.

The issue with Impala is simply that it's a yawn on the automotive landscape.

The design of the car was yesterday before the 1st one rolled down the assembly line. Flashier cars have been grabbing all the headlines over the years like the 300 & Charger. Even the newer Camrys and Accords now are designed to have a pulse. Meanwhile, the Impala is the most painfully boring looking car in the Chevrolet showroom.

Comparing the sales of Impala to the Malibu puts Impala in a great light (Impala sales are all but thrashing those of the Malibu) that doesn't tell the true story in the automotive market. Fusion is trashing the Impala where sales were once very much the opposite (don't even ask what the Fusion is doing against Malibu sales... you really don't want to know ) Then there's still the pesky sales numbers of the Honda Accord and Camry that puts a damper on things.


Off subject, it should be intresting to see how the Ford Taurus does in the marketplace once Ford finally starts producing them at more than a trickle (Ford is ramping up Taurus production at a snailspace to avoid any quality glitches or recalls). The Taurus will cost a bit more than the competition, but will be far ahead as far as design, quality, fit and finish, level of interior materials. Instead of the Impala's value message, the Taurus' message is "pay a little more to get a whole alot more".

Should know if that message is resonating by the time spring rolls around.

super83Z

Not yet, it still is GM's number 1 selling car.

http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/pag...autosales.html

R377

It doesn't matter how well it sells compared to GM's other cars; that comparison makes virtually no sense. Different cars are in different markets and have completely different sales expectations. It'd be like not caring if Silverado sales tanked by 200,000 units because, hey, it's still GM's best selling vehicle.

The important thing is how well a car does within its market against its competitors. And by that yardstick, Impala is losing ground. Not only that, being as terribly outdated as it is, it's hardly a showcase for "the new GM" that they're trying to say can go toe to toe with any competitor. People cross-shopping an Impala against its competition are going to think it's still the old GM pushing out the cheapest cars possible.

super83Z

Actually in this buisness ALL that matters is how well it sells. Regardless of your personal feelings of the car, its still number one at GM. Maybe they don't understand it either, but it hasn't fallen off the charts in sales. The cars from GM that have come out after it that are critically acclaimed by enthusiast and journalist alike, all sell less than the Impala.

As outdated and crappy as it is, down 37% in sales from last year, and it still outsells the Malibu(which is up 11%) every month. Ignoring the numbers and spouting the same boring rhetoric that gets thrown around here every week is mind numbing. Nevermind that its only fallen 1K units behind the all new Fusion, the Impala is certainly holding its own.