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Ford is better?

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CCM:
I've always had good luck with Chevy/GM.  I've owned 7 vehicles in my life and only 2 of them have been non GM or Chevy, and I had problems with both of them, one Dodge and one Ford.  I currently have a Trailblazer SS and I love it.

danny_galaga:

--- Quote from: Dartful Dodger on April 24, 2009, 02:22:57 pm ---
--- Quote from: RayB on April 24, 2009, 01:29:50 pm ---Every car maker needs that mass market model.
--- End quote ---

Not Chevy, Chevy didn't even try to sell outside of the Americas.


--- End quote ---

and i think you've just answered your question...

TOK:

--- Quote from: danny_galaga on April 24, 2009, 09:47:51 pm ---
--- Quote from: Dartful Dodger on April 24, 2009, 02:22:57 pm ---
--- Quote from: RayB on April 24, 2009, 01:29:50 pm ---Every car maker needs that mass market model.
--- End quote ---

Not Chevy, Chevy didn't even try to sell outside of the Americas.


--- End quote ---

and i think you've just answered your question...

--- End quote ---

GM may have focused Chevy on North America, but they've been sharing international platforms for years. The latest Malibu is the Epsilon platform. The same car with revised styling is sold as an Opel, Vauxhall, Saab (9-3) and even as a European only market Cadillac.

The Camaro and Corvette are probably their only two cars that are the same in the world market as the US.

SavannahLion:

--- Quote from: HarumaN on April 24, 2009, 02:43:18 pm ---Breaking News:
--- Quote ---Struggling General Motors says it will kill off the Pontiac line as part of its restructuring, source tells CNNMoney.com.
--- End quote ---

--- End quote ---

I've been racking my head on this one. How does killing off a brand name like Pontiac help with restructuring and saving money? Even Lee Iacocca mentioned somewhere that a car company with too many badges isn't going to do well. How does this work? I understand that badges like Mustang, Corvette, etc are cars within their own rights, but the bread and butter cars are all just re-badged. Take that watchamacallit Volkswagon van. Isn't that van just a rebadged van of like five other models across as many manufacturers?

I know those assembly lines can't shift production in a fortnight. But it's not like letting a brand go dormant for like... five years is going to cause any harm. Isn't that what Ford did to the Thunderbird line? They let it suck so bad that they just let the name lie dormant for about five years then introduced a whole new model harking back to the original designs.

So how is killing off a line any better than just letting it lie dormant and not produce anything under that name for a few years?

shmokes:
Just think of the dealerships alone.  I don't know how it all works, but I imagine running a car dealership is similar to running other franchises.  Let's say, to pull ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out of thin air, that the owner of the dealership is required to pay a franchise fee, have certain minimum levels of cash reserves, and maintain a certain minimum ratio of new to used cars.  In return, GM has to provide all kinds of support to the dealership, not the least of which being a certain minimum number of new models of vehicle every year.  They also have to advertise the brand.  They also presumably have to do thousands of other things that don't immediately come to mind -- running a NASCAR racing team to promote the brand.  And all the stuff pinballjim is talking about. 

And think about it.  If the Pontiac brand is already junk, it's only going to get worse if they ignore it altogether and let every unique model die, selling only rebranded stuff.  Plus I wouldn't be surprised if their franchise agreements don't allow them to do that.  I'd be PISSED if I owned a Pontiac dealership and GM decided that they were going to stop Pontiac R&D altogether and just rebrand stuff from their other lines instead.  Of course, I suppose I'd be pissed about them killing the brand altogether, but that's another story, I suppose.

Anyway . . . I'm just musing.  I don't know anything about it.

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