Quote:
Originally Posted by Hylton
"Our"?   Truth is, they would not lose very many sales. I drive a GMC Yukon and what do you think I'd do if I could not buy another Yukon? Go out and buy a Toyota or Ford?  Most of us GMC drivers know we are driving Chevy's with different logo's - we are not so stupid to believe we are driving a truly unique product. I'd still get to choose between a Tahoe, Suburban and Escalade.
If GM droped GMC division and let Pontiac manage the GMC truck line then the products would still be available. If I am not mistaken, most Pontiac dealerships also sell GMC so there would be little changed at the dealerships. Again - GMC managers are redundant. |
I always say "our" because like it or not, we're all in this together. Especially people who depend on GM for income.
I'm not so sure that all GMC drivers would go to Chevy and Cadillac. The ones who are loyal to GM, and not GMC, would. But I think we've learned from the Oldsmobile experiment that killing brands almost always leads to bad repercussions. I'm sure GM thought that most Oldsmobile owners would go to Buick or Cadillac. Wrong.
And GM's put too much money into emphasizing the fact that Pontiac will be a "performance" brand from here on out, no matter how dumb the whole "Pontiac is car" slogan is. Trucks are what they've been trying to get away from for the last couple years, which is why the Torrent's being dropped this year. Even the G8 ST could technically be thought of as a performance car, as it's nothing but a truck bed stapled to the front of a G8.
Something a lot of people need to remember is that the majority of consumers are not like us, the enthusiasts. The majority buys what they need, when they need it, and from whoever gives them the best price. There's a lot of people out there driving cars from one single GM division who refuse to buy from another GM division, even if they offer more or less the same car. It's the people who are loyal to the brand, and not the company, that makes killing off divisions risky.