Comments on: GM Denies Refutation of Denial of Brand Termination

By: nikita

nikita — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:22:47 +0000

The final criteria is the dealer experience. GM’s dealers are AWFUL. Many I’ve been to are dirty and run by, what seem like, bad used car salesmen. They are run like high-pressure boiler rooms. It seems like the guys don’t care what you buy as long as you also buy the extended warranty and the “underbody, rust-proofing” protection plan.

Ive had the exact same treatment at Toyota stores in San Diego and Los Angeles, Ford and Dodge as well. you cant pin this particular fault on GM.

By: GS650G

GS650G — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:10:34 +0000

I guess they found out the hard way dealers do read the WSJ in the morning. Shades of Oldsmobile dealerships being shuttered came to mind.

By: zerofoo

zerofoo — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:47:57 +0000

TR3GUY: Yes it is too late. Chapter 11 is GM’s only hope.

I’ve got an Infiniti and a Jeep in my driveway. I don’t have any particular loyalty to any company – just make a good car – and support it well.

GM is just starting to fill my first criteria. The CTS, Malibu, and G8 seem like damn good cars.

Hell, the Caddy dealer in my area also sells Hyundais! How can GM allow their premier brand to be sold side-by-side with Hyundai?

I can tell you that buyers WILL cross shop the Genesis with a Cadillac if they are RIGHT NEXT to each other.

Chapter 11 will allow GM to get rid of these AWFUL dealerships.

It is working for VW – they had really terrible cars AND terrible dealers. They are now in the process of fixing their cars and cleaning up the dealer experience.

Unfortunately for GM, their dealer network is too big and too broken to fix in a timely manner. Time is not on GM’s side.

-ted

By: roar1

roar1 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:23:40 +0000

My local Saturn store has sold more of the current available models this year than last, more Aura’s, more Vue’s, more Sky’s and more Outlooks than 2007. The volume has dropped vs. last year because the Ion is no longer available and it represented 30% of their business. They are only 10% behind last year without the Ion. They just had a great June and a solid start to July. Saturn has a purpose and if given solid product and solid marketing it can take on the imports.

roar

By: Joe ShpoilShport

Joe ShpoilShport — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:22:18 +0000

I’ve gone back and re-read the article above. I can’t get by the fact that letter specifically mentions Saturn by name and none of the other brands. I think he’s telling us GM’s next move.

By: TR3GUY

TR3GUY — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:14:01 +0000

Is it too late? Here is a question for fellow subscribers. Can GM do anything to stay afloat? The Malibu got good reviews but what are sales like? Is the “negative halo” too much to overcome–period? Toyota has recalls but it doesn’t seem to hurt perception of quality.

If GM introduced a full line of cars tomorrow that were what the American buyer wanted would they try it?

I can’t find one American car that I’d buy over a foreign make in the same class.

When Saturn first came ot a friend at work bought one. It was a good car for a GM — but the comments were it’s almost as good as a Honda or Toyota.

By: Geotpf

Geotpf — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:09:29 +0000

I’m confused. I’m sure owners of GM’s stock are likewise confused. Confused stock owners tend to sell.

I just punched in “GM” into Google (to look for it’s stock price). But I didn’t get as far as Google Finance. On the main Google site, for a search for GM, I got the following:

Related searches: gm bankruptcy gm bankrupt

That can’t be a good thing. That means a lot of people have been search for those two combinations of terms recently. In any case, for the day, GM’s stock actually closed up 41 cents, although it’s still less than a buck more than it’s 50-year low.

By: hltguy

hltguy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:43:25 +0000

Which is worse, the “denying of the denial of the denial” or if one takes their word at it and they are not looking to cut brands. If they are not (per their P.R.) looking to cut brands, then they are the bigger fools.

By: DearS

DearS — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:40:21 +0000

Lying and denying a lot is challenging to do while keeping oneself from going insane and/or delusional. One cannot lye to another without lying to oneself. I’m telling you its challenging, special with bigger lies. Its challenging to keep a grip on reality. Its painful eventually.

By: dastanley

dastanley — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:17:21 +0000

“denying the denial of the denial”. OK, now we’re getting silly here. This is vintage junior high shit. Of course what do you expect from GM, decisive action? Hey, I know, they should just piss away valuable time and money and play PR games and damage control rather than designing and building vehicles that customers actually want. Oh wait, they’re already doing that now.

By: solo84

solo84 — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:50:28 +0000

ahhh…the infamous Mark LeNeve. when i was a parts countermen at a GMC/Buick/Pontiac store, we would constantly get rosy corporate letters from him stating the HEALTH and LONGEVITY of GM sales. so his letter to reassure Saturn and Hummer branches comes as no surprise. something like “pulling the wool over their eyes” comes to mind…

if i were an employee at a GMC/Buick/Pontiac/Hummer/Saturn/Saab dealer right about now, i’d start looking for another place/brand of employment.

By: J.on

J.on — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:36:09 +0000

Anyone else gets the feeling that Lutz is the J. Bruce Ismay of the car world? In other words, he will not be on the ship when it sinks.

By: Cicero

Cicero — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:29:24 +0000

There’s nothing like watching the captain of the ship run around in circles on deck as the iceberg approaches to give the passengers a feeling of security.

By: ZoomZoom

ZoomZoom — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:25:02 +0000

Yes, indeed.

A picture is worth a thousand words.