I’m sorry. Aren’t you the same person that crapped on the Saturn Astra non-stop for months before it arrived stateside because GM was using this exact same reasoning?

No contradiction. If the Astra was a world beater, I’d welcome it and tell GM to take the hit. It isn’t.

I’m sorry. Aren’t you the same person that crapped on the Saturn Astra non-stop for months before it arrived stateside because GM was using this exact same reasoning?

I agree with you guys about the entry-level Cadillac. It should be RWD. Epsilon’s not going to cut it. I don’t agree, however, with taking Caddy upmarket so quickly after dragging the name down 30-odd years. I think slow and sure wins this race. There’s only so much people will pay for a Cadillac right now. It didn’t use to be that way, but now it is. Besides, aren’t sales of Maybach and Rolls and Bentley down?

And the argument that GM has plenty of brands capable of filling the gap is equally laughable. Even with the Enclave boosting its image somewhat, Buicks are still known as God’s Waiting Rooms. I don’t see the new LaCrosse or the Lucerne (riding on a platform old enough to drink with no replacement) changing that.

The throttling back of Zeta and Alpha plans must kill Pontiac’s all-RWD aspirations, so where the hell does that leave them? Reskinning Chevys again?

Or Saab, which continues to have inventory pile up? Will the 9-4x and replacement for the 10-year-old 9-5 ever get here? Can the restyled 9-3 please go away?

Or Saturn, with the only failing Lambda (and the Traverse breathing down its neck), a Car of the Year winner that missed its sales target by about a quarter, a heavy and inefficient small SUV and a compact that loses money? How would that work?

There are simply no game changing products, no game changing management/cultural moves and no game changing labour agreements to make the changes needed for the Detroit 3’s survival.

Lets take GM for example. The Chevrolet Malibu will sell aomewhere around 200-250k units at an average price tag of $23 K. When was the last time GM was able to move that many mid size sedans at FULL MSRP. Also, the Saturn Vue, Cadillac CTS. and the GMC Acadia are all selling well at or close to full MSRP. These appear to be possible game changers. In fact, all GM, at 2.3%, was only of the “Big 6″ manufacturers to post year over year sales gains.

I think it is hard to understate the importance of the new UAW contract to the domestic automakers. This will quite literally eliminate the “legacy costs” through the albeit expensive VEBA. Plus, the hourly cost per hour of assembly line labor will go down by an average of $15. Again ,this is a possible game changer.

John

Depends what you define as a ‘huge step’. All three are burning through their cash stash at an alarming rate. The so-called game changing UAW contract and new models from GM are not doing much for the bottom line nor are they likely to in the short term if at all.

There is not enough evidence to support this blanket statement.

There is an enormous mountain of evidence to support the position that Detroit is in deep enough do do to lose everything (although one hopes not).

GM has sold all of it’s non-core operations but retains enough of GMAC to ensure arterial bleeding due to sub-prime etc. Ford has put everything up as collateral for cash supply (even the blue oval logo). The recent debacle between Cerberus and Plastech demonstrates their extreme vulnerability.

There are simply no game changing products, no game changing management/cultural moves and no game changing labour agreements to make the changes needed for the Detroit 3’s survival.

I take your point. Everyone is listening to WII-FM (What's In It For Me). But the downfall will have an enormous effect on the entire country, both economically and psychologically.

I understand your sentiments, Robert, but I have to ask… It will be a big story to WHO?
Employees, suppliers, and stockholders for sure. But the average import nameplate owner–is he really concerned? Should he be?