The latest whispers have GM chopping overlapping models rather than entire brands. This begs the question, which models should/will go?

Here's the breakdown as I see it:

Small cars:

G5
Cobalt
Astra
Vibe

The pressure is low in this segment because it is growing. Nevertheless, the G5 should disappear. With the upcoming Cruze slated for Lordstown, there will be no more pressure from the UAW to try and artificially amp up production at that factory. Pontiac dealers meanwhile, might be content with the new Vibe, which is doing better than the half-assed G5 anyway.

The Astra is an interesting case. It's not selling, but it's a great car. I think it should and will stay because it points to the right direction for Saturn's future.

Mid-size:

Mailbu
G6
Aura
LaCrosse
Impala

The LaCrosse is far along on its redesign, despite poor sales. I thought the same was true for the Aura until I saw this story on GMInsideNews. If true, the Aura could be vulnerable. It's a great car (my mother drives an XR), but it's just not selling. What's more, it might not fit at Saturn, which has a real identity crisis on its hands right now.

My assumptions have been similarly challenged on the G6. It has long seemed the odd man out, with no planned replacement. And yet, it keeps selling - up 26 percent retail this month. Rick Wagoner even noted it in his e-mail to management last week. This sets up an interesting possibility: could Pontiac feasibly get the Opel rather than Saturn? It's far fetched, but nothing is impossible at this juncture.

Full-size:

DTS
STS
Lucerne
G8

My oh my how things have changed. Remember a year ago when the full-size segment was going to be flooded with an army of Zeta sedans? Now it seems only one has staggered ashore. The G8 is doing reasonably well. I guess its future depends on CAFE and the exchange rate between the Australian and American dollar.

STS seems safe - Cadillac is a core brand and will complete in every segment. DTS though, is looking increasingly out of place in Cadillac's new showroom. I bet Lucerne can take over most of the DTS sales, but that doesn't necessarily mean that car should continue either. The G-Body is very old and might not be worth real updating, especially if the stretched Epsilon II cars start grabbing these sales.

Small SUV's:

Equinox
Torrent
Vue

Kill the Torrent and Vue.

Crossovers:

Traverse
Outlook
Enclave
Acadia

Kill the Outlook and Acadia. Outlook is wrong for Saturn and is not selling. Acadia and Enclave are selling in the same showroom - a total waste. Had you asked me before they came out which one should die, I would have said Enclave; however, the Buick has proven itself on the market.

Full-size trucks/SUV's

Escalade
Silverado
Sierran
Tahoe/Suburban
Yukon/Yukon XL
H2

Leave GMC as is for now. These rebadges require very little from GM and do continue to sell. If its sales fall even further, I say cut them down to just Denali. Cadillac can't lose the Escalade - it's the vehicle most responsible for the brand's resurgence. Hummer is a separate issue for now, as it is under review.

Last and least, there's the Sky/ Solstice. Strangely, I think both of these have a reason to exist. The Solstice is the heart of the Pontiac brand right now, representing the sole product that was conceived, developed, and executed as a Pontiac. Meanwhile, the Sky design offers global sales, and the inexpensive 4-cylinder sports car suits Saturn's image as well.
Any other views? Of course, this is all mute if GM fails to live up to this commitment, as it always has in the past.

 

Why kill any rebadge? It's an inexpensive way to get yet another car out there. The only time a rebadge should be killed off is if it costs more to rebadge it than they are making on it. Otherwise even if it doesn't double sales, it's worth it.

 

If it caniblized sales from another car and makes it look bad, that is why it should be killed. Kind of how the Vue is a really good, nice car. But when you compare it to the Equinox and Torrent, people think small SUVs from GM suck, seeing how the Chevy/GMC dealers have more traffic than any Saturn dealer could hope to have.

Also, does Chevy really need the Impala that somehow that void can't be better filled by Buick and their 2 full size cars?

 

I agree about the Impala. The new Malibu is bigger than the previous generation and fills that slot nicely. If anything, the Impala should be a Chevy version of the G8 only slightly spruced up. However, given the current market, I just don't see that much room for big V8 sedans.

 

Huh? The current Impala is a boat compared to the Malibu, which sizewize really isn't all that bigger than the previous version.

 

I'm working off of the assumption that no Chevy models would be cut. No way GM is going to give up all those Impala sales.

 

the new malibu is much larger than the older one, it is just slightly smaller than a current impala

 

It takes sales not only from say Saturn, but also Toyota or Honda. GM should take any sale it can get, even if it means someone would rather have a Chevy than a Saturn.

 

It also means Toyota and Honda get to spend the money they made selling100,000 cars all on making Camry better.

GM on the other hand still sells 100,000 cars but has to split the update money four ways, and sell four perpetually weaker products.

 

Right. The key to all this is figuring out where that split investment can pay off, and where it does not.

I think the mid-size segment in particular is big enough to support a few "flavors." Drive a Camry, Accord, and Altima back-to-back-to-back, and you see they are all quite distinct. With a few relatively cheap adjustments, GM could market sedans that target each of these pack leaders.

Other segments, like compact and now full-size crossovers don't have nearly the market to make a full range worth the investment. I say quit producing the Outlook and Acadia tomorrow and focus on making the Traverse and Enclave better.

 

Impala is bigger than G8.

IMO two cars can be in the same segment if they have something that makes them different, like RWD/AWD/FWD. Or like how the G6 has the coupe and convertible.

 

I disagree, Toyota sells the Camry, Avalon, Solaris, and a Lexus (ES? Series) all on the same platform.
Most every brand has re-badges, Honda has Acuras that are Honda re-badges, Nissan has Infinity that are Nissan re-badges.

 

The first column is the G8 and the second is the Impala. The Impy is 3.3" longer and an inch taller, but is 1.9" more narrow. The G8 is larger on the inside by a measurable amount.

G8 / Impala

Exterior length 196.1" 200.4"
Exterior body width 74.8" 72.9"
Exterior height 57.7" 58.7"

Front legroom 42.2 " 42.3 "
Rear legroom 39.4 " 37.6 "
Front headroom 38.7 " 39.4 "
Rear headroom 38.0 " 37.8 "
Front hiproom 56.7 " 56.4 "
Rear hiproom 58.0 " 57.2 "
Front shoulder room 59.1 " 58.7 "
Rear shoulder room 59.1 " 58.6 "

Passenger volume 124 cu.ft. 104 cu.ft.

 

What?

"Small SUV's:

Equinox
Torrent
Vue

Kill the Torrent and Vue. "


The Equinox is the ugliest one and is taking away sales from the other two.

 

I disagree. See the fact that they are all the same car means that one upgrade can be spread across the whole line. If your talking look updates, that's why i said they need to sell enough to at least by justified for the extra costs.

Not to mention that i doubt GM would hit that 100k goal without the 4 products seeing as each model normally gains an amount more than it takes away form it's own "clone".