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SAAB and GM...
I am not surprised by the article in BW. Sure they are
venting steam that GM is willing to invest lots of
money into SAAB while it kills Oldsmobile.
But if we look at GM what we see is shocking...
Saturn spends fortunes on finding ways to make modern cars
which no one really wants cause Saturn seems to have found
a way to screw up interior design in a big way. Ie. Steering
wheel in LS (did they buy that part from Lada?)
Pontiac is working hard on getting the World Price for the ugliest
thing on 4 wheels and with the Aztec they're close to a win!
What is sad that each next generation Trans Am or other
car looks worse, not better... Their big luck right now
is that the Grand Prix looks ok, but what else does?
Chevy manages to design cars these days which look good
outside, suspensions which are up to date, but when it comes
to the interior and engine selection a bunch of low IQ
people seem to be in charge. The results like the Malibu
which could be turned into a real nice car... well what do
you expect from a car using such an old fashion V6 engine...
Cadi... well not sure what they're after but to copy DB
products front ends and Hyundai rear ends will probably
not turn them into a premium brand that many people like...
I guess their target market of people in their 60s will
keep an alive as long as these forgot their contacts and
don't see their car before they buy one.
Oldsmobile... having driven an Aurora I can only say
that except for the engine the car was crap. SORRY FOLKS ;)
Well that problem is solved now.
Buick or the ugly American mid size sedan... honestly
some of the new models now look good enough to avoid
turning stomachs of tourists in the US upside down
and there might be some hope left... As to Buick sales
, it surprises me how many people which such bad taste
are around in the USA. Why so ugly? Do we need so much
chrome and that ugly front ?
So the thing that keeps GM alive seems to be the
good old SUV, build as good as a 1976 chevy and
using technology from the late 70s... and sure the
good old V8s still fit and people buy em :)
Will see how that strategy works out if fuel prices
double...
Opel... there we have it, the German part of GM which
now lives of it's Astra and Corsa sales and which loses
money on each Vectra and Omega it sells. Opel simply
removed all high performance models from its lineup
during the 90s cause there is now need for them. The
4x4 Vectra got axed and the GSi and other sports versions
as well... But hey, here we got a few new SUVs for ya..
Problem is people don't wana buy Opel SUVs and that people
expect OPEL to make good performance cars... which hey
they could no longer deliver... so sales took a huge hit.
And now? An Astra with 160Hp should help get some GTI sales
back, but with the GOLF V6 having 204Hp... well you get the idea!
SAAB... as much as people have bashed GMs handling of SAAB
and OPEL, GM needs both and their know how to fix their US
operations, and they do need the small engine technology
that SAAB has.
So if GM wants to survive... they better start axing some
more good old junk like many of their old V8 small block
engines, old style SUV frames etc...
Regards,
Coolknight
, Thu, 8 Mar 2001 19:46:04
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