General Motors stunned the automotive world last week, but it wasn’t for the usual negative reasons.

Industry followers more accustomed to hearing about large layoffs or sickening sales declines were startled when GM said its U.S. sales rose 3.7 percent in February, even as its two domestic rivals, Ford and Chrysler, posted sizable declines and the overall market was flat.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17467382/

A little more good news for GM. keep it coming.

 

I'm starting to see those things pop up all around my area.

 

GM sales increase in a flat market due to pickup trucks?

That's great news for GM as a whole, though it simply sounds like GM is winning over Ford and Chrysler truck buyers.

But outside of the Impala and the entire Saturn line, GM is still being raked over the coals, and that really concerns me because that's where the stability is when fuel prices go crazy next time.... and there will be a next time.

GM's truck line is wooing over buyers because of it's interior design and fit & finish just as Ford did a few years ago. The Escalade is a home run because there's hardly another vehicle on the market that knows exactly what it is like the Escalade does. Shockingly, we've all forgotten that it was the Lincoln Navigator that wrote that language.

I'm not ripping GM. I know there's alot of great products still to come, and we'll need a score card to keep track over the next 3 years (they'll be coming fast & furious, and there's a few unexpected cars on it's way that will surprise people). I just want to keep in the very forefront that GM is still wide open to another crash untill it gets it's solid, quality car lineup in place.

 

^ thats why GM needs the MCE cobalt to be killer. we know the new malibu is going to be.

 

Unexpected cars? Give us an idea, if you dont mind. Are we talking luxury cars, main streamers, niche types?

I thought the MCE was canned?

 

Toyota is advertising the Tundra heavily here, they have at least 3 comercials I've seen about it.
Kinda misleading too, they show "old" brake rotor made for like 14" wheels and show their large rotor beside it...making it sound like they're the only ones with large brakes...building perceptions.
GM has to attack perception issues if they want to slow the tide.

 

hmm.... They put out a great product and get more sales..... You don't need an MBA to figure that business plan out.

 

Actually, Chevy's best strategy in advertising its trucks would be to completely ignore Toyota. I've seen studies that say responding to attack ads only validates the other party as an opponent. For instance, a few years back, Miller ran its "President of Beers" campaign. Budweiser responded with an ad claiming that Miller wasn't even American. Surprise, Miller's sales went up after the Bubdweiser ad. The same thing happens in politics all the time. To respond to a competitors attack ad is to acknowledge to the public that they are a legitimate opponent. Chevy needs to pretend that the Tundra doesn't even deserve the mighty Silverado's attention.

 

guionM has it right and the "next time" is probably already here.

There have been several articles laterly attesting to the fact that luxury SUV's and Pick-ups have been selling well. However, parts of the country are already seeing gassoline prices at $3/gallon and we haven't even gotten into the spring/summer when prices have for many years, gone up from early spring levels.

I'd suggest that any bump in sales of anything that isn't seen as "fuel effieicnt" is probably a short-term gain at best no matter how good a vehicle it is or what nameplate is on it.

 

It's funny to see these positive GM truck sales figures now;

After watching Toyota Tundra's "Hot Wheels stunt set" commercials for the past week (disclaimers in "find print" state these to be actual tests, which is impressive IMHO), then yesterday I saw GM's latest Sierra ad showing the Sierra Super Duty(?) pulling a load of rail cars full of regular Sierra pickups (disclaimer states this is NOT an actual demonstration) - I'm thinking Toyota's got "stuff" to prove, while GM is having a bit of fun showing off it's latest offerings (if you haven't seen the new GM ads, they're great! like a throwback to the 80's truck ads from Ford and GM in my view).

With that in mind, I agree whole heartily with dav305z and others; GM should (continue?) to play their own game against Toyota in the truck market, instead of producing any sort of "me too" "Hot Wheels" style gimmicks... Toyota's ad is pretty nifty at first viewing, and a lot of work clearly went into them, but it doesn't "do" anything for me as an actual truck buyer; the "faked" GM ad evoked strength and power without the truck (really) doing anything - makes me want to take a trip to the dealer just to see it...

...and I'm not a truck person <Perfect.>

 

I'd call loosely them niche. The mainstream cars are pretty much in the open & far harder to conceal.

Coming under the radar is a car for Saturn (easy to figure out, just look at what's missing in their lineup), Pontiac (less of a secret, but still under the radar), and Chevrolet (outta left field).

Those are just the ones I know about. All need less than an 18 month lead time once pulled into the pipeline, so it's plausable that something could be kept quiet then surface just a year before production. All seem slated for next year & the year after (2009-2010 model years.... we're in the 2008MY already!) Reason for the short lead times is that all are already "drawn up" and will go on then existing chassis (I suspect all 3 are on different chassis).

Pray GM has a good year this year.

Also, Buick will get a RWD sedan afterall, so take that "Dealers don't want one" article we recently read with a grain of salt... or dismiss it outright. Don't know if it will be a version of the Holden Caprice or a version of the next Cadillac DTS (won't be built in Oshawa).

We'll get the new Chevrolet El Camino within 12 months of Holden's VE Ute hitting the streets in Australia. Intrestingly, that puts it around the same time the Chevrolet Camaro hits the streets. About the same time (less than 12 months later), at least 1 GM division will be getting a "Long-Medium-Short" Zeta coupe.

Again, pray for GM to have a good year this year and the US economy doesn't tank.

 

A Saturn pickup? I honestly can't think of what they're missing, as they are getting the Astra to fill the small car market, unless we're looking at a traditional Ion replacement....Pontiac GTO? (just a hope).....Chevy....hmm, I have no idea, especially when you say "outta left field."

 

You miss understand, I meant attack the perception issue not Toyota's ad.(the ad's focus)
And I doubt many don't see Toyota as a legitimate competitor.
The perception's I'm talking about are:
-GM still uses small, weak brakes, or ring gears.
-They don't accelerate or brake well loaded or pulling a load.
Just commercials showing off how strong they are, what they can do and also the family side...like a truck working hard all day, and then taking the family out later that night, in style...

 

Saturn coupe? I dunno pick up...I really hope not.
Pontiac, its got to be something outside of a GTO, since G8 would make a GTO type car a much talked about posibility.
as for Chevy...what is out of left field? They have just about every market coverd, the the exception of a crossover, but that wouldnt be left field as ther ehas been major talks of a Tblazer or Uplander replacement coming off Lambda.
Its not a coupe or sedan, we know that we will be getting Camaro and Impala off Zeta
Trucks, SUV's, midsize sedans, compact cars, subcompacts...all accounted for
Only thing I can think of would be a Kappa type roadster, maybe even a Nomad type niche car but if I remember the Kappa chassis cannot be extended where the concept was, or so I think.

So the 3 models you talked about above would be going on existing today or ones that are coming, such as Zeta?
Saturn could get an epsilon coupe, Pontiac a zeta coupe, and Camaro a Kappa nomad.

I always hope they have a good year. Buick getting a RWD sedan, I assume would be built like the Gbody Lucerne and DTS is now, in a revamped Hamtramick?

Will the Camino come from Down under or home grown?
I thought that there was only a long and short set ups, now there are mediums?? Thats 3 types per part? Sounds like fun.

 

Just saw another GMC "Professional Grade" commercial, excellent!..just what I was talking about, just would've liked to see some tight interior shots.