Profit margins is what I meant by "make more money".

Say you make an average of $3000 on Cadillac's 93,200 cars = $280 million

Say you make an avera of $1000 on Chevy's 627,626 = $628 million

You have to produce 3 times as many Chevies to make the same amount of money.

 

I havent either, but its something that I would have to see if I was in charge of platforms.
Im not, so all is well...or is it?

Yes, but GM doesnt need help on making cars, they need help on profitability.

It is a hell of a failure, but there are sevearl reasons for teh failure. Sure GM has set itself up for this after years of forgetting about cars and compacts. But like Scott said, and others have said, they have mad massive inroads into fixing thier problems.
Most people dont know that or see that.

Exactly why I said that Alpha needs to be more then just a unique RWD platform. It needs to be put together with existing parts, in an existing plant with overcapacity.


Agreed to a point. I think there must be profitability in the platform itself, not in seeing how big we can make it. I think that is where the platform becomes diluted and then we have a product problem.


Well, thsi thread was built on the fact that GM survived...what would happen.


Even more reason for Alpha to be much more flexible. Which is why it needs to be a large replacement for a lot of cars. Id give you the fact that maybe Alpha could replace Sigma cars since the CTS could be a touch smaller and still remain in that mid-luxury segment with E and 5.
I would like to see Sigma and Zeta turn into something better.


Again this is thread was built in the idea that GM makes it out alive.

Agreed, but if thats given, what will we see after this.

 

Assuming that GM stays in business as an automobile manufacturer, Alpha is pretty darned high on the priority list. It's not intended as a Zeta or Sigma replacement - it's in a different class.

And having Cadillac compete toe to toe with BMW's, (as well as others), best selling range of cars - both here and Europe, is exactly it's purpose. Of course, that also opens up the opportunity for the other divisions to take advantage of a small, RWD, sporty architecture.

 

Why, I couldn't imagine what kind of "small(er), RWD, sporty" car you're thinking of.

 

There's no reason why Chev/Cadillac cannot work the same way as VW/Audi or Toyota/Lexus.

Chevy and Cadillac sharing components only makes good sense. Of course, the extra refinement and luxury should be seen and felt in Cadillac.

 

I guess I wasn't clear. I was writing about what models Cadillac needed, assuming two or three platforms. I think the Alpha Caddy should be 179", with a second model at 185", if they really need it (i.e. have cars at both 3-series and G37 sizes), though I don't think the market's big enough for that many models.

Use the Sigma or Zeta for the 191" car and a stretched version for 203.

 

I think this deserves its own thread. If you were GM, would you have made the same decisions in the 90s and early 2000s?

Trucks and SUVs were selling well, and you make a large profit on each vehicle. Where would you spend your R&D money?

EV1 was NOT selling well, had a limited range, and did not make a profit. Would you keep it? Would you invest R&D money into it?

Gasoline and oil prices were relatively stable and comparatively cheap. Would you invest in high fuel mileage vehicles?

I'm sure there are many many more. Yes, you can armchair quarterback it in hindsight. But, put yourself in GM's position knowing what they knew AT THE TIME.

 

There's "that", but probably also a sedan for Chevy.

 

Anyone catch Obama's call today for radical decreases in auto emissions from now until 2020? I didn't catch the whole thing, but from the sound of it, if that goes through, you can pretty much forget all of your preconcieved notions of what you consider a "car".

 

I'm sure Alpha will share some parts from the GM bin - all GM cars do.

But the purpose of Alpha is not to simply be thrown together from existing parts, it's to compete without excuses in it's intended segment, in a way which enhances Cadillac/GM's global image.

And from the sound of it, it seems like Lordstown could be the next Oshawa, with both Alphas and Deltas being assembled there.