The idea of selling Holdens here as Pontiac is a good one. The idea of selling Opels here as Saturns is also good but I’d rather have the Opel brand name than the Saturn name but that’s just me. Whatever is left can be divided (never duplicated) between the Chevy, GMC, Buick and Caddy names and all sold off of the same dealer lot. Talk about selection!!! Of course profits are needed so they might have the build the Holden and Opel designs here. Just don’t let the Detroit guys screw around with them too much!!!

Lastly the idea of a Caddy wagon seems like a fairly good one at first glance but I fear the result would be quite Dodge Magnum like and we know how that turned out. Tits up. A better wagon would be one that is less muscular and more athletic (leaner) like a Volvo/BMW/Mercedes but again that is just my tastes. I do think a shift towards GOOD wagons needs to be pushed like they pushed the SUVs way back when. Much more realistic vehicle than a SUV with better mileage.

I’ve been saying what I’ve said in the Death Watch threads for a while now; when I started I was certain that GM would still be around when the two hundredth Death Watch went live, and I’m still sure of that. Hell, I may have to start saying “see you at GM Death Watch 250.”

FYI If/when GM emerges from C11 as a viable manufacturer, or gets “out of the woods” before filing, this series ends. Until then, it’ll keep going, no matter how many episodes that requires.

Good. It’s been an interesting series and I’ve enjoyed reading it.

The General’s in the automotive business. If it wants to stay in business, the automaker needs to build and sell the right cars at the right time.

…at the right price.

The Death Watch articles are coming fast and furious. I wonder, is it the 7th sign for GM?

I think sport wagons are going to be the next wave once the tall wagon thing fades off. For guys in their 40’s like me, the BMW, Honda wagons provide a lot of utility without seriously sacrificing handling like tall wagons. Plus, some of them have very sexy lines. No JLo rear ends (though I wouldn’t pass that up). Of course, GM will be late to the party on this…if they are still around.

Are you sure about that? In my area, you would be lucky to find an Enclave available for sale. And while Acadia is more available, it is still very much in short supply. Can’t speak for the Outlook. And don’t you think sales will multiply once Chevy Traverse gets rolling?

This is correct. The Lambda sales are falling off a cliff in recent months.

June 08 sales compared to June 07:

Buick Enclave: -18.4%
GMC Acadia: -40.1%
Saturn Outlook: -58.0%

What is the actual cost and expense per unit at GM and how much has it increased or decreased in the last few years?

This info is not available to the average Joe. And if it was, I wouldn’t trust it. GM accounting is notoriously unreliable– recalculated on a regular basis and still under investigation by the SEC (BTW).

All we know is that SUVs and pickups had the highest margins. Still do, but not so high now. We also know that there are a couple of imported models upon which GM is making a loss: Belgian-built Astra, Aussie G8. But even then, clever accounting may well mask the damage (subsidizing foreign plants, etc.).

The only sure sign of their health is to follow Ray Young’s advice: cash is king. The fact that GM NA has a negative market cap (subtract foreign ops and you got less than zero), feels the need to raise $15b (whilst already paying $250m a month in interest payments), and has postponed the UAW VEBA payment (which raises the spector of a strike) tells you they’re taking in less money than they spend, IN A BIG WAY.

So, where are the profits these days? Still in trucks, I’m afraid. Until and unless GM can make money on small or mid-sized cars in the NA market, they’re hosed. It’s as simple as that.

Not possible with current technology. The batteries are simply too expensive. Which is why the Volt will either sell for $40k or GM will sell them for $20k and lose $20k on each one they sell (but make it up with greater volume!).

In other things-instead of giving them yet another crossover, why don’t they just kill Saab and be done with it? Worldwide sales are well below levels needed to make a profit. Sales are dropping in Europe (in the first six months this year, they were down 13.0% to 39,418) and falling like a stone in the US (in the same time period, they were down 29.0% to a pathetic 12,068-and in June alone, they were down 57.1%(!!!) to only 1,872). They can always take the 9-4X and sell it under some other nameplate. It’s not like they have a shortage of choices.

The rest of these annoucements are vehicles that are, like you said, sub-niches, and not worth mentioning.

It would be interesting to see a graph. I would think with the major drop in sales the unit cost and expenses are skyrocketing. Is it even possible GM can cut costs faster than the income derived from sales? If not then the only conclusion one may make is GM will fail.

I know in my business if I sell less product my cost per unit increases.

If anybody has this information would you kindly link it?

Thanks.

See you at GM Death Watch 200.

Don’t kid yourself. Just because something hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t.

FYI If/when GM emerges from C11 as a viable manufacturer, or gets “out of the woods” before filing, this series ends. Until then, it’ll keep going, no matter how many episodes that requires.

GM still hasn’t used the perfect name for their oversize gas-gobbling vehicles: Brontosaurus.

It might be because I’m on the west coast, and not in the target audience, but Saab (and Volvo for that matter) rarely crosses into someone’s consciousness when considering an entry-level luxury car.

All these new names coming out makes me wonder if they’ll run out of things to name their cars eventually.

How quick could GM bring an electric Cobalt, Aveo, or any other vehicle to market?

How about taking some model they are getting ready to can and turn it into an EV? Scared to take away from the Volt’s grand introduction?

Just like they are scared to put the Volt drive train idea into all their existing models.

Why not make Saturn’s an all electric brand? Do bold, brash, and daring things with it. Take some serious risk. Once long ago, wasn’t Pontiac considered to be GM’s experimental division?