When will the US automakers realize that switching names every product cycle is one reason, a major reason I think, that US car quality perception is so low. When someone mentions their “‘83 Civic” still running, and that model name is still available in somewhat the same segment, that implies at least to me some sign of quality and longevity. Now mention a Contour, 500, Lumina, Uplander, Montana, Aerostar, Windstar, L300, etc ad nauseum… you get the feeling that US car makers produce such garbage that they have to rename it.

There are bigger issues here (ie, global architecture, movement to global nomenclature), but shouldn’t they have thought of that years ago? Who the hell is in charge of these companies.

Oh wait…

I don’t know if anyone knows the answer yet. GM’s press release was pretty vague. However, the car is almost the same size as the Cobalt…

Then again, this IS GM we’re talking about…

The Corvette is the one product that tells you someone at GM gets it. The form/name of the product stays the same and is continually improved, generation to generation and in-between. Kind of like a Civic.

Nice job on the naming too. I know I’m not the only one that’s thinking about the negative meaning of cruise or cruising. I guess they spelled it differently though, so it’s okay.

http://www.automotive.com/future-cars/90/73950/112-0806-2011-chevrolet-compact/index.html

This thought occurred to me this weekend as I passed a row of minivans on I-94. GM (and Ford) had to abandon the mini-van segment because they can’t compete in the high price segment against Toyota and Honda and can’t complete with Hyundai/Kia at the value end of the spectrum either. (Chrysler can’t either, but if they didn’t make mini-vans, what would they make?).

The sad fact for GM is that their car products are caught in this no-man’s land between the better regarded Japanese and German automobiles and value priced Koreans. GM wants to be a first-tier car maker, but reality is their products are shopped more for the discount than anything. Given their inherent cost structure and limited appeal, its a tough business proposition.

Distinctly American is certainly what works – in market segments where there is little or no direct competition. Distinctly American may work for a limited number of Middle Eastern or Russian millionaires. Unfortunately, you can’t be a success in the global marketplace selling niche vehicles. And in spite of big numbers in NA, Yukahoes and Chrysler 300s are oddities outside their home turf. If these products could not enjoy a meaningful penetration in global markets in the past, they will certainly find no broad favor in a world of increasingly expensive and dwindling resources. As much as you may bemoan the loss of the “good old days”, they are in the final analysis – gone.

American industry, for better or worse, must operate in the world as it is, not as it wishes it to be.

To put it another way – if America wants to make a meaningful contribution to the world, it needs to first join the rest of the world.

On a side note, there are some good Korean cars. Why does Chevy choose ones that hearken back to crap cars from the 80’s to inflict on us?

I’m advocating stand-out styling with heritage cues from classic Chevrolets blended into something that would look like a 21st century Chevrolet. Everything from the little Aveo to the big Tahoe should look distinctive and befitting of the brand and it’s rich history.

Most Chevrolets look dire. You could peel the badge off and not know what it really is. Even the new Malibu looks uncomfortably Japanese, not like a real Chevy.

One only needs to look at the success of the Chrysler 300 to know that a distinctly American car can be a success–not only in the US, but worldwide.

Daewoo should not be designing cars for Chevy–that is damaging the brand. If I want Korean, then I’ll buy a Hyundai.

The UK site (www.chevrolet.co.uk) is essentially the same.

Across Europe, Chevrolet is positioned at the bottom of the barrel, presumably so as not to tarnish the Opel and Vauxhall brands.

Better get used to it. If Chevrolet has a future, this is what it looks like.

GMNA eithers gets with the program or disappears. Building products that are “distinctly American” is why they are in such deep shit. The vast majority of the world neither needs nor wants “distinctly American”.

As in the Galapagos Islands, these evolutionary freaks can only survive in a highly specialized habitat. Introduce them into the real world and they die out.

Cars are kind of lame anymore.

I recently took a trip and rented a car while there….when I came out of the hotel, I said, “my God the cars all look the same!” I had to hunt for the Ford logo to find mine. Really lame.

John

Speaking of unpleasant: I just saw my first ‘new’ Malibu yesterday in Dallas traffic. I had hoped to like it based on promo photos – I hated it. The rear end looks like a poorly constructed Revell model with the boat-trailer replacement style lights not meshing well, at all; and the sides look truck-like tall. I was amazed, as I had figured it was going to kill the new Accord in looks; it didn’t, which is saying something.

When GM adopts styling that looks distinctly American and Chevrolet that will be one small step in reinvigorating the brand.

Making Chevrolets all look like Daewoos is just another step in destroying the brand.

It is so depressing to get Daewoos, when Western Europeans and South Americans get Opels. How about the CORSA and the ASTRA, rather than the Aveo and Optra. The Astra should be hatchback for Saturn, and sedan for Chevy.

Don’t worry, Europe is about to get these, too. After all, if GM can’t screw up Opel directly, they’ll just squeeze them with Chevy-badged Daewoos.

Why? I have no idea. The Opel-Vauxhall/Saab split works well enough, so why does GM have to push Opel upmarket, kill Saab between Opel and Cadillac, and hamstring Opel with Chevy? Did they learn nothing from the brand-management clusterf__k that is their North American market?

It’s borne out of the “Make the Logo Bigger” school of marketing and design. It’s also one of the reasons I’ve always respected brands like Kia and (before the current 9-3) Saab. The branding was low key; the product did the talking. Conversely, the new C-Class is especially obnoxious; could they make the logo any bigger?