Pontiac: Nothing but rwd cars?
GM proposal plays up performance cars in attempt to revive ailing brand
After debating Pontiac's viability this year, General Motors' leadership plans to revive the brand's heritage of performance with a product lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars. There would be no trucks and - after the next generation of vehicles - no front-wheel-drive cars either.

awesome... *MAYBE* we'll get some interesting cars over here...

this ought to be interesting....

Hopefully they aren't just building the same stodgy old vehicles that don't connect with anyone but the engineers that designed them, but with rwd....

hmm what about the G4? i thought it was going to use the same setup as the colbalt ss, supercharged 4, fwd

Hmmm - the same setup as the Cobalt SS, except RWD sounds nice (assuming the same low price).

Where did you get that info from?

They need to bring back the G.T.O Judge with a Big Block power monster under the hood.

Pontiac: Nothing but rwd cars?
GM proposal plays up performance cars in attempt to revive ailing brand
After debating Pontiac's viability this year, General Motors' leadership plans to revive the brand's heritage of performance with a product lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars. There would be no trucks and - after the next generation of vehicles - no front-wheel-drive cars either.

Need your source (you know how it goes) :)

And... if true.. IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

Yeah, because the GTO really was flying out of the showrooms.

hmm, this move might be questionable if gas prices keep rising...

hmm, this move might be questionable if gas prices keep rising...

And why is that? Are you implying that RWD vehicles are less fuel efficient than FWD vehicles? If so, you have alot of reading to do...

The "performance line-up" portion usually equates to high horsepower low mpg, and if they do this throughout the entire line-up it might lead to low sales. (rising gas prices) I understand that RWD vehicles are capable of good mpg.

There's a few things out on the web about this..

From Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/29/pontiacs-new-identity-rwd)

It's no secret that General Motors' one-time "performance" brand has lost its way in recent years, to the point where product czar Bob Lutz singled out Pontiac as one of GM's "damaged brands" in a widely-quoted speech. Now rumors are circulating that GM may revive Pontiac's performance focus by dumping FWD models in favor of an exclusively RWD lineup.

Autoweek reports that a plan may be in the works to phase out the FWD models after the next round of model revisions already in the works. Also rumored to be on the way out are any truck models, with the Torrent SUV possibly destined to receive a GMC badge. A new RWD sedan would replace the Grand Prix.

This would be a big change for Pontiac, which currently carries only two RWD models, the Solstice and the soon to be discontinued GTO. Needless to say, the RWD plans would include the new GTO already making the rounds of the rumor circuit, but it seems unlikely that a new Firebird will join the pony car revival any time soon.

Look for a forthcoming Pontiac RWD concept car as a trial balloon for the new brand strategy.

And from Autoweek (http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060529/FREE/60529004/1024/LATESTNEWS):

| Latest News |
The future of the Grand Prix sedan, one of several front-drive Pontiac vehicles, is reportedly being debated.

Pontiac Going Rear Drive?
Proposal plays up performance cars in attempt to revive ailing brand

By JAMIE LAREAU | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Published 05/29/06, 2:30 am et


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DETROIT -- After debating Pontiac's viability this year, General Motors' leadership plans to revive the brand's heritage of performance with a product lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars.

There would be no trucks and - after the next generation of vehicles - no front-wheel-drive cars either.

GM will unveil a rwd sedan concept at January's Detroit auto show, company sources say. This echoes the strategy that GM adopted with the 1999 Evoq concept, which revealed Cadillac's new brand "look."

The Pontiac plan is not final. GM executives continue to build a business case for it. This ambitious proposal is a plan to save the brand, which has suffered declining sales. GM sold 437,806 Pontiacs in the United States last year, compared with 599,123 in 1995.

One insider says it would take five years to convert the brand to rwd. That's why Pontiac will get one more generation of fwd and all-wheel-drive small cars.

A Pontiac spokesman declined to comment on the brand's plans. Fwd cars will not go away soon, but rwd vehicles will become more prominent "in the near term," the spokesman said.

Sources inside GM and close to Pontiac say GM leaders are debating:

>> The future of the Grand Prix sedan.

>> A possible GTO replacement based on the Chevrolet Camaro.

>> A Firebird muscle car.

In recent years, Pontiac has been wracked by debate over its future. During a controversial speech at the New York auto show last year, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz called Pontiac "a damaged brand."

In a recent interview with Automotive News, Lutz said he had never asserted that the brand was "irreparably" damaged. While Pontiac is still struggling, GM is repairing the damage, and the bleeding has stopped, Lutz says.

Nevertheless, sources say top-level GM executives did debate a phaseout of the brand. In January, senior executives met to discuss Pontiac's future. GM decided to revive Pontiac as a pure performance brand.

GM will trim product lineups as it consolidates Buick, Pontiac and GMC into three-brand dealerships under its retail channel strategy. In a recent interview, Lutz told Automotive News that Pontiac and Buick will not carry trucks.

Lutz declined to speculate whether the Pontiac Torrent crossover, a rebadged Chevrolet Equinox, would one day go to GMC, but industry sources say it's likely.

The strategy will force Pontiac to sort out its product plans for the Grand Prix. While GM hasn't set a time frame, it's likely the automaker will discontinue the current incarnation of the fwd Grand Prix after the 2008 model year, industry sources say.

GM is considering a new mid-sized rwd sedan to replace it, says an industry insider. The source says the vehicle will be "one notch up" from the present Grand Prix, which has a base price of $21,990, including shipping. Whether that vehicle keeps the Grand Prix name is uncertain.

A rwd lineup could give Pontiac performance credibility, says John Pitre, general manager of Motor City Auto Center in Bakersfield, Calif. "They're right on track with the performance division of GM," he says. "BMW has been born and raised on rear-wheel drive. For us on the West Coast, rear-wheel drive feels better to drive and seems to last longer."

But Pontiac's drive to become a pure performance division would sacrifice sales volume, predicts Doug Scott, industry analyst at GfK Automotive in Southfield, Mich. For example, many G6 buyers in northern climates want a front-wheel-drive car for winter conditions.

Scott also said GM is pressuring dealers to combine Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises into single stores by cutting the brands' product lineups.

"They really want to narrow the range of products and narrow the sales objective," Scott says. It means sacrificing sales volume at dealerships for profit at corporate level. "It's forcing the channeling strategy," he says.

Pontiac brand executives hope that if GM builds the Camaro for Chevrolet, the architecture could provide a similar product for Pontiac. The previous generation of GM muscle cars included the rwd Pontiac Firebird, a sibling of the Camaro.

But Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson is quick to add, "We want a truly differentiated product. We don't want a rebadged vehicle."

Company insiders say that if GM decides to build the Camaro, GM will not revive a Firebird version. "There will be no Firebird," says one source. "Rear-wheel drive? Yes. Pony car? No."

Dealers also want a replacement for the GTO, one of only two current rwd Pontiac cars, the other being the Solstice two-seater. Pontiac will kill the Australia-produced coupe this fall after just three model years.

Insiders say there will be a replacement for the GTO, but the product gap will remain for a couple of years.

Says Pontiac's Hopson: "We haven't made any bones about the fact that Pontiac needs a rear-wheel-drive performance vehicle."

Move the Corvette to Pontiac with the Trans am revived and bring out a few more perfromance brands.

Move the FWD cars and vans to Chevy.

Keep Cadillac as a sperate brand of Chevy. Caddy's are FWD anyway.


Make GM all Trucks.


Seperate dealerships for each, or maybe sell everything at the same dealerships. Close down / move dealerships that are too close to each other.

Buick might be gone next if it isn't already?

Keep Cadillac as a sperate brand of Chevy. Caddy's are FWD anyway.

Every Caddy save the DTS is RWD or AWD.

[QUOTE=Diabolical1 CC]Move the Corvette to Pontiac QUOTE]

youre smart

Move the Corvette to Pontiac with the Trans am revived and bring out a few more perfromance brands.

Move the FWD cars and vans to Chevy.

Keep Cadillac as a sperate brand of Chevy. Caddy's are FWD anyway.


Make GM all Trucks.


Seperate dealerships for each, or maybe sell everything at the same dealerships. Close down / move dealerships that are too close to each other.

Buick might be gone next if it isn't already?
Mmmmmm..... good idea :rolleyes:
GM all trucks? Surely you must mean GMC. Cadillac as a separate brand of Chevy? What are you talking about? It's freaking General Motors, they are largely all the same cars (with a few exceptions) wearing different faces and badges.
......and I think the Firebird will be made out of the Camaro concept, don't you? Just like they used to the entire time they manufactured them from '67 on. Move the Corvette to pontiac......I can't even believe you typed that.

:rolleyes:

Every Caddy save the DTS is RWD or AWD.


Sorry DTS is just a Version of the De Ville Cadillac.

1996 was the last year for RWD Cadillacs, the Fleetwood Brougham. Until the funky design change in 2003 when RWD was brought back for all except the AWD optioned, the trucks, but the De Ville is still FWD. With the exception of the RWD Catera 97-01, but that was just a German Opel rebadge.

However you are right that all but the De Ville are now RWD or AWD. So I guess Cadillac would have to stay as it's own division.

Why do they want to can the GTO all ready?

Sorry DTS is just a Version of the De Ville Cadillac.

1996 was the last year for RWD Cadillacs, the Fleetwood Brougham. Until the funky design change in 2003 when RWD was brought back for all except the AWD optioned, the trucks, but the De Ville is still FWD. With the exception of the RWD Catera 97-01, but that was just a German Opel rebadge.

However you are right that all but the De Ville are now RWD or AWD. So I guess Cadillac would have to stay as it's own division.
There is no such thing as a deville any more. As was previously stated the DTS is the only fwd car cadillac sells. I would venture a guess that when the next redesign comes out the DTS will also be rwd. They finally realized that to compete with the germans they needed rwd.

Need your source (you know how it goes) :)

And... if true.. IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

www.autonews.com

"Move the Corvette to Pontiac"

So with your thinking, should the Mustang be a Volvo or Mazda?

I vote to make corvette a brand of its own. GM actually considered this a few years back.

~~Quentin

Why can't the Corvette be a Pontiac? Pontiac is supposed to be the performance division, right? Inertia and history are the only reason. It's not like it would be any real change to the car, swap a couple badges and re-print the manual. Purists would kvetch, but it's not like they'd cancel their Z06 order over it. When the Camaro comes back, it should be offered only as a Pontiac too.

Everyone hates GM's brand engineering and the brand confusion it creates when similar cars are available in different brands with slightly different trim, but when you have a clear cut case of a car not falling into one of their brand's strategies, everyone gets all butthurt about moving it to the correct brand. Make up your mind.

I believe the correct Mustang analogy would be offering it only as a Mercury Lynx, but then again, Ford doesn't pitch Mercury as a performance division...

Pontiac Corvette is on the same lines as an Infinity Skyline, you don't change something that people associate to a specific brand. Nissan realized this, hopefully GM will.

Besides if the G6 and Solstice can't save Pontiac what makes you think the Corvette could?

They need to partner up the dealerships in this fashion:

Chevrolet
Pontiac/GMC
Cadillac/Buick
Saturn/Saab

If they want Buick to go against Lexus, then why sell it with Pontiac and GMC? The new Buicks should be Sigma platform (RWD) like Cadillac with more conservative design and ride to get more traditional buyers.

Let Saturn (Opel) and Saab be GM's funky European duo and sell those two side-by-side.

Chevy needs to continue what they're doing, being GM's bread and butter brand, let them have the trucks, to keep their fans happy and the Camaro and Corvette for blue-collar halo cars.

GMC needs to make more luxurious and bolder designed truck for their raison d'etre, while Pontiac should be RWD and continue to offer some 4-cylinder cars - I would love to see a 3-series esque sedan off the Kappa platform.

bad post.

I deffinetly think an all RWD division would be great for pontiac.

Sports Sedan == BMW

other people make sports sedans too, but BMW defines it.

And what do all BMWs have in common? A RWD chasis.

Get on it pontiac.

And what do all BMWs have in common? A well tuned RWD chassis on quality dampers and performance oriented suspension components. Adequate brakes. Excellent steering response. A free-reving motor with a generous mid-range. A smooth transmission and shifter that keeps the engine in the power band without too much work. Above average build quality.

Good ****ing luck with that, Pontiac.Fixed.

If Toyota can't compete with the 3 Series like they intended to (Lexus IS), what makes you think Pontiac has a chance in hell? It takes a lot more than RWD and Bilsteins to make a great car.. just look at the Solstice/Sky.

Right now, I think GM should be positioning Pontiac to build better cars than Hyundai. That's a tall enough order to fill.

If they could build a car as good as the IS (previous one) for around the price of the Solstice, that would still be an achievement in itself (and not a bad idea altogether)

Fixed.

If Toyota can't compete with the 3 Series like they intended to (Lexus IS), what makes you think Pontiac has a chance in hell? It takes a lot more than RWD and Bilsteins to make a great car.. just look at the Solstice/Sky.

Right now, I think GM should be positioning Pontiac to build better cars than Hyundai. That's a tall enough order to fill.

I think the Lexus IS does a pretty good job of competing with the 3 series.

But you're right RWD is just one of the components to making a car that can compete with BMW.

But you have to also admit the reason so many BMWs are on the road has more to do with the cachet of driving a bimmer than it does with the perfomance qualities that people on this board appreciate.

Why do they want to can the GTO all ready?

because they are selling like crap.

Move the Corvette to Pontiac with the Trans am revived and bring out a few more perfromance brands.

Move the FWD cars and vans to Chevy.

Keep Cadillac as a sperate brand of Chevy. Caddy's are FWD anyway.


Make GM all Trucks.


Seperate dealerships for each, or maybe sell everything at the same dealerships. Close down / move dealerships that are too close to each other.

Buick might be gone next if it isn't already?

:rolleyes:

Actually, the GTO pulled itself into respectability sales wise with the 400HP version. It is not being "canned". They decided it was not worth it to redesign to meet new standards for one or two years. Autoweek had an interview with Lutz where he explained that the GTO will be based on the new rear-drive platform shared with the camaro. This is due out in a year or so.

Also, why can't Pontiac be all rear-drive and still be viable. BMw does it and sells huge performers that suck gas, and little econo cars that sip it. All this means is that Pontiac will be more about performance than value-packaging.

They will have to do more to Pontiac than make them RWD. Though it's a good idea, they need more good ideas to carry them through, otherwise they will have nothing but RWD pieces of crap. As someone put before....RWD and Bilstiens aren't enough to make a good performance car..... they should at least be able to outdo hyundai's build quality.

This is the right move. Stratify your different sales teams, quit badge engineer, create market images, and design cars that people want. Might save them, but I bet it's to late.

They need to partner up the dealerships in this fashion:

Chevrolet
Pontiac/GMC
Cadillac/Buick
Saturn/Saab

If they want Buick to go against Lexus, then why sell it with Pontiac and GMC? The new Buicks should be Sigma platform (RWD) like Cadillac with more conservative design and ride to get more traditional buyers.

Let Saturn (Opel) and Saab be GM's funky European duo and sell those two side-by-side.

Chevy needs to continue what they're doing, being GM's bread and butter brand, let them have the trucks, to keep their fans happy and the Camaro and Corvette for blue-collar halo cars.

GMC needs to make more luxurious and bolder designed truck for their raison d'etre, while Pontiac should be RWD and continue to offer some 4-cylinder cars - I would love to see a 3-series esque sedan off the Kappa platform.

Here's a raging idea, sell Opels as Opels, sell Holdens as Holdens. Kill off the leech brands as necessary. GM should go bankrupt for flooding the market with rebadged crap as more expensive crap. Except for the 'vette and the truck lines what real US designed products does GM sell? I mean, Chevy's "American Revolution" includes Daewoos, Sigma (opel) chassis, Honda V6's and the 'vette. I'm really amazed that GM is suffering worse than Ford since Ford still has 3 distinct overlap brands/products I guess GMAC is to blame? I don't want to see the big 3 (ok, big 2.5) go away but they need to stop selling inferior products in their home market.

Why hasn't anyone asked the most important question:

Where are these RWD platforms going to come from?

Pontiac as a division doesn't have the sales volume to warrant exclusive RWD platforms all by itself (unlike Caddy which does mostly have unique platforms, but it's cars sell at a much higher price level).

GM has stated recently that only Saturn, Chevy and (to a lesser extent) Caddy, will be "full-line" brands. So if that is the case, Pontiac's cars are going to be based off cars from other divisions. Are they all going to be Solstice and next-gen Camaro-based? I think that would be limiting the brand quite a bit.

If this move is goign to happen, then Pontiac (as would Buick too) will most definitly will have to partner up with another division - probably a full-line one.

Amongst knowledgeable consumers in North America, the Opel and Holden names hold a tremendous amount of cachet, and the novelty of Australian cars as well as German Opels just could work.

It would not be a bad idea to neuter Saturn and turn their dealers into Opel-Holden.

GMAC actually is what kept GM alive, it's just that Ford doesn't have as much overhead as GM does.

Here's a raging idea, sell Opels as Opels, sell Holdens as Holdens. Kill off the leech brands as necessary. GM should go bankrupt for flooding the market with rebadged crap as more expensive crap. Except for the 'vette and the truck lines what real US designed products does GM sell? I mean, Chevy's "American Revolution" includes Daewoos, Sigma (opel) chassis, Honda V6's and the 'vette. I'm really amazed that GM is suffering worse than Ford since Ford still has 3 distinct overlap brands/products I guess GMAC is to blame? I don't want to see the big 3 (ok, big 2.5) go away but they need to stop selling inferior products in their home market.

I doubt the response to neutering the Saturn division would go over well. This was the most prominent stab at the compact car market that GM ever had. The response from the Saturn buyers, which are amazingly loyal from what I've seen, would be one of mutiny. They would likely feel betrayed as their lovable US car label is repealed for a very well known non-US label, be it Holden or Opel. Even though they are soon to be purely Opels underneath, its the facade that we love as american buyers. And, we should not forget what they did for the process and experience of actually buying a car. They would never get rid of Saturn.

As far as where will the supposed RWD platforms come from? Good question. I know I've seen the Solstice Kappa platform done up every way to sunday, but that would likely get ridiculous quickly. The new Camaro platform will only go so far. They would have to either adopt and hopefully not defile Caddy buyers by using some of their platforms, or of course develop new ones.
I have scary visions of a 1976 green Grand Prix (Monte Carlo, Cutlass....) running through my head now.

It would not be a bad idea to neuter Saturn and turn their dealers into Opel-Holden..

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Wow.... talk about bad ideas.

GM is pumping tons of money into a completely revamped Saturn line-up (and they look great, BTW). Why the hell would they want to dump it now?!?

And bringing out a whole new unknown brand into the US would be a disaster. Even amongst enthusists, I bet only a teeny-tiny percent out there know who Opel or Holden are. You would be completely starting from scratch in terms of name reconginition - wasting tons of money just to get the brand name out... money that would be much better spent on the cars themselves.

so all the front wheel pontiac vehicles keeping the name alive are going bye bye?

*waves bye bye to pontiac*

Maybe neutering Saturn and turning their cars into Opels isn't such a good idea, but GM's really in a do-or-die situation, and I can't help but think that GM would have an advantage by using an "untainted brand" to sell their cars under.

Buick, GMC and Pontiac really have to make a case for existence over the next five years (if GM lasts that long). The best Pontiac could hope for is the RWD lineup and to have that lineup as well-executed as the Solstice. Buick needs to start making real luxury cars, sharing components with Cadillac instead of Chevrolet and not priced and engineered to compete with the Impala, but against Acura and such. GMC is in a difficult situation, everything's shared with Chevy, perhaps they should focus exclusively on SUVs and Avalanche-type vehicles while Chevy sells regular trucks.

Compared to GM, Ford has a much better portfolio of brands (Lincoln, Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Aston). Granted, many of them aren't doing well right now, but all of them still have goodwill amongst consumers while GM needs to offer truly compelling products to get consumers to reconsider such brands as Pontiac and Buick.



:lol: :lol: :lol:
Wow.... talk about bad ideas.

GM is pumping tons of money into a completely revamped Saturn line-up (and they look great, BTW). Why the hell would they want to dump it now?!?

And bringing out a whole new unknown brand into the US would be a disaster. Even amongst enthusists, I bet only a teeny-tiny percent out there know who Opel or Holden are. You would be completely starting from scratch in terms of name reconginition - wasting tons of money just to get the brand name out... money that would be much better spent on the cars themselves.

So if i understand correctly. GM Is importing opels as Saturns and next Holdens as pontiacs. Haha. So they are doing what most car magazines have been suggesting for years. Bring on the holdens and name them appropriately.

BlitZ

Pontiac is supposed to be GM’s go-fast nameplate and this is a step in the right direction in doing that. Pontiac could do well by selling uniquely styled torque monsters (Just look at Dodge) for a good price. American manufacturers have a real hard time building anything better than their German or Japanese counterparts except for trucks and SUVs. The one thing I think they do well is a whole lot of horsepower on the cheap. And there is a reason for this, many American buyers want a whole lot of go but don’t want to pay for it. There are also many who want reliability, refinement and handling, these go to Japanese and German nameplates. With as many brands as GM has there is no need to have each brand in every segment of the market.

If I was heading up Pontiac I’d offer an entry level coupe/sedan/5 door, all with a variety of engines but at least one that was the fastest on the block (aka Mazdaspeed 3 and Dodge Caliber SRT4). A mid-sized sedan/coupe that has all the handling an 1.5x the power of a 330i with a 50/50 weight ratio but more basic interior and fewer tech options for 10k less. A large sedan and perhaps 4 door coupe with as much power at the top of the range as the Charger SRT8 and lastly I’d make a shortened version of the mid-size coupe/sedan and go head to head with the STI and Evo.

But you have to also admit the reason so many BMWs are on the road has more to do with the cachet of driving a bimmer than it does with the perfomance qualities that people on this board appreciate.BMW only gained notoriety when they invented the sport sedan. A sport sedan is a functional daily driver that is as much fun to drive as a sports car. When they first came out, BMW got the press drooling. Yes, these days, people buy them for the included maintenance and the badge on the hood.. BMW earned that kind of respect.

Unfortunately, GM has shown us over and over again just how un-fun a car can be. Even the Solstice & Sky fell well short of their marks simply because GM couldn't be bothered to match the transmission to the engine.

David Hill was the last person at GM with enough good ideas and enough clout to build a proper car. He retired on Jan 1st of this year and so did any hopes for GM's revival.

BMW only gained notoriety when they invented the sport sedan. A sport sedan is a functional daily driver that is as much fun to drive as a sports car. When they first came out, BMW got the press drooling. Yes, these days, people buy them for the included maintenance and the badge on the hood.. BMW earned that kind of respect.

Unfortunately, GM has shown us over and over again just how un-fun a car can be. Even the Solstice & Sky fell well short of their marks simply because GM couldn't be bothered to match the transmission to the engine.

David Hill was the last person at GM with enough good ideas and enough clout to build a proper car. He retired on Jan 1st of this year and so did any hopes for GM's revival.

BMW has defended its title as the best sport sedan for a while now. I’ve driven Infiniti, Lexus and BMW and for the combination of driving fun, luxury and style they are still tops. The IS350 is nice looking and has the grunt but there is no manual and the electronic systems won’t let you have any fun. The STI and Legacy have the handling and power but just not the amenities and style. I’ll have to see if the Porsche Panamera winds up being the best sport sedan it certainly looks nice and should go fast and handle well. Of course it probably has a 100k price tag too…

So if i understand correctly. GM Is importing opels as Saturns and next Holdens as pontiacs. Haha.

Except that they aren't importing them - there in lies the notion that Saturns are just rebadged Opels... not really true - simply that Opel and now Saturn will use the same designs, however (for the most part) Saturns will still be built in the US, while Opels will still be European.

And actually, it's even better than that, because ALL variants of the Kappa (Sky/Solstice/etc) platform are being built in the US (including the Opel GT)

Reguardless how they restructure I think they should keep the names, and just consolidate all the brands they have into the dealerships. One dealership per area with all GM brands available at the one place. Take the best model for each varient and sell that without rebadgeing it and making it in a seperate plant. Then consolidate everything to a couple platforms, say 2 for each catergory and sell them that way. Cut costs down and make a couple big plants that can churn out all the platforms of a type and badge them as need be.

Like a Subaru setup and dealership only with one stop GM shopping. I would also like to see GM sell Subaru the Saab name. Thus revive the Saabaru but make more than the 92x bring out a Legacy version and a Tribeca as originally intended. Give Subaru the Upmarket name it desperately needs and the alternative design that it lacks. I would bet that those who hate the areo snout of the new Subies would look more favourable upon the Saab front end. etc...

Well that is my solution anyway. One stop shopping and the dealerships all win as does GM and hopefully Saabaru.

The Saabaru could even be named Saabaru officially.

saabaru is offically dunzo.

It's now subayota.

Reguardless how they restructure I think they should keep the names, and just consolidate all the brands they have into the dealerships. One dealership per area with all GM brands available at the one place. Take the best model for each varient and sell that without rebadgeing it and making it in a seperate plant. Then consolidate everything to a couple platforms, say 2 for each catergory and sell them that way. Cut costs down and make a couple big plants that can churn out all the platforms of a type and badge them as need be.

Like a Subaru setup and dealership only with one stop GM shopping. I would also like to see GM sell Subaru the Saab name. Thus revive the Saabaru but make more than the 92x bring out a Legacy version and a Tribeca as originally intended. Give Subaru the Upmarket name it desperately needs and the alternative design that it lacks. I would bet that those who hate the areo snout of the new Subies would look more favourable upon the Saab front end. etc...

Well that is my solution anyway. One stop shopping and the dealerships all win as does GM and hopefully Saabaru.

The Saabaru could even be named Saabaru officially.
Saabaru is gone, WTLW.
One stop GM shop? Yet another great idea :rolleyes: Do you work for GM already?

I believe the correct Mustang analogy would be offering it only as a Mercury Lynx, but then again, Ford doesn't pitch Mercury as a performance division...

not to bring up old ish, but did you mean Mercury Cougar, or did I just miss the point you were trying to make...?