City of Lights Not So Bright
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
It’s always nice to attend a world-class international motor show in one of the world’s great cities, so last week’s Paris show was circled in red on a lot of calendars, including mine.
Perhaps I’ve just become jaded from so many years of so many shows, but for some reason, this year’s Paris show just didn’t seem up to its usual high standards, at least in terms of exciting vehicle introductions. There wasn’t any one brilliant concept car or show-stealing production vehicle introduction that leaped out at you. Or maybe I’m not too jaded because, in conversations with others at the show, I learned I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
Not that the show was without its highlights. I must say, the new Ford Mondeo is quite impressive. It’s terrifically styled, and it’s a clear sign that Ford of Europe’s design team has its act together.
We had a couple of introductions that clearly show GM Global Design has its act together, too. We had good response to the unveiling of the new Opel Antara, which I think looks just great. If you look closely enough, you’ll see a sneak peek of the next-generation Saturn Vue, which we’ll introduce next month in Los Angeles. GM had another debut, the Chevrolet WTCC concept, a look at what a World Touring Car Championship entry might be like. It also may offer a glimpse at what future GM global small cars may look like down the road…
On the whole, the show gave you a sense of where the industry is headed… namely toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. And I’m not talking tiny, either — the Antara is a good example of a sizeable crossover with good fuel economy.
With worries about fuel prices in North America, the U.S. market is inching closer to where the European market has been for years — emphasis on those smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. And they sacrifice nothing in terms of luxury and comfort with those vehicles, either. As I told The Wall Street Journal, people in Europe buy $30,000 VW Golfs.
I believe eventually the U.S. market will reach that point, if gas prices continue to be an issue. Or if the U.S. government ever does what I’ve always said it should do if it wants to drive people toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, and that’s raise the gas tax gradually every year until it approaches European levels.
That’s the only way to do it — you can’t legislate people’s vehicle choices through CAFE increases. As I’ve said before, that’s like trying to address the obesity problem in this country by forcing clothing manufacturers to sell smaller, tighter sizes. It just doesn’t work that way.
- Posted in Bob Lutz
Ani
Mr. Lutz,
I think the WTCC concept looked too tall to be a genuine race car.
On an unrelated topic in the Sequel fuel-cell vehicle why are you carrying hydrogen on board. I read somewhere that hydrogen storage on board was a major cost constraint. Would it not be easier to carry a biofuel (ethanol or butanol) and strip the hydrogen from it for use in the fuel cell.
Just wanted to be the first person to post to get your attention.
BigQid
What about the Audi R8. Understated is kind of Audi’s thing, but of all the cars in the show, it has the best chance to have an impact. Even if its more expensive than a comparable Porsche, people would buy it because its basically a Lamborghini Gallardo in cheaper Audi skin. There are alot of these new mid engine V8 sports cars coming, probably because people are willing to pay the price of 2 or 3 Corvettes for them.
Brock Tice
THANK YOU. The only thing it makes sense to do is to raise the gas tax. I’m not a fan of taxes in general (as a libertarian) but as far as addressing the whole oil issue goes, it’s the only thing that makes sense. There are all of these silly exceptions for commercial vehicles, and laws are tweaked until people can drive their SUVs no matter what. If the gas tax were just gradually raised, people would naturally start migrating away from SUVs.
I was just in the UK by the way, and saw only one GM vehicle the whole time — a Cadillac. Comparatively I saw a lot of Fords. It’ll be a tough job to get into that market.
Edward Hayes
The Chevy TLC is a PYT!!!
Par excellence.
This looks like the car Honda tried to design but failed. This might just be the best looking small car GM ever created.
Go ahead and make it, I tell you it will become GM’s Volkswagen Beetle.
Go ahead and produce it and GM will wrest design leadership in the compact car segment from Honda and the Mini Cooper.
Go ahead and fast track it, you will crash the import pocket rocket category, whatever they call it.
Go ahead make it, every teen on the planet is going to want one.
Go ahead, make my day.
You know, to say the cars that GM’s designers are creating now like…well you know…to say these cars will not change your fortunes. If you look at the TLC or the Camaro and say it will not change the paradigm, it’s equivalent to listening to the Beetles and saying, this group will not be known beyond Penny Lane. It might appeal to some young British teens perhaps.
But before you know it, “Band on the Run”.
Anyway just keep that symphony going Lutz!
Andrew Charles
While Ford is the best-selling brand in Britain (14.6% market share), and has been for many years; and Chevrolet is still only a minor entrant (under 1%); I suspect that Broick Tice saw a great many GM products in the UK, but simply didn’t recognize the brand or vehicles. GM’s mainstream brand in the UK is Vauxhall, and with a market share of 12.8% it is far ahead of third-place VW, with just 7.9%, or sixth-place Toyota with just 5%. An increasing number of Vauxhalls (most RHD versions of GM’s Opel brand vehicles) will in future be shared with the Saturn brand.
Brian
The WTCC is nice, although we will never see something like that here. The styling is good and bold, and I’m sure the beancounters would interfere with development.
Regarding the Ford Mondeo, that is a stunning looking car. I have no sympathy for the situation Ford is in when they are building cars like that in Europe. Reminds me of the the situation with GM, with all of the good products overseas.
Sigh, and they wonder why they are in the situation they are in. I like GM and I own one, but I want to see the Domestic industry flourish with stunning product and not average product.
getalifeagain
I think the way to less petroleum fuel use is to hand out ration cards as was done during WWII.
Simultaneously, there should be a law that if you drive low mileage SUV’s on the highway during rush hour, they must be HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles) with at least four passengers.
whlanteigne
I have to disagree about the CAFE requirements.
During the time they were increased regularly, they worked; manufacturers were forced to develop and make more efficient vehicles- thus we saw the “downsized” vehicles of the late 70s, innovative small trucks like the Chevrolet S-10 and Ford Ranger, and a host of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars- from Asia and Europe, mostly. As the CAFE numbers were frozen a dozen years ago, design work on fuel-efficient vehicles has apparently stagnated, at least as demonstrated by the current offerings. A 3,000 lb car that gets 30 mpg was impressive 15 years ago, it’s nothing to brag about today.
Furthermore, I think giving MORE tax money to a fiscally irresponsible government is an unqualified BAD IDEA, unless you’re willing to go the rest of the way and push for the “Fairtax” Federal Tax Reform (Federal sales tax for end users on all NEW products, replacing and eliminating Federal income tax entirely, and making the IRS irrelevant).
big picture guy
Brock Tice - in case you didn’t know, Vauxhall and Opel are GM brands. I’ll bet you saw at least a few of those in the UK.
Now as for the lackluster Paris Auto show, I agree that concept cars just don’t have the wow factor that they did just a few years back. There really isn’t much uncharted territory left. What haven’t we already seen?
Heres an idea to break new ground. Instead of trying to one-up the competition through exotic sheet metal, sumptuous interiors and mega-performance, how about offering up an simple, inexpensive, ultra-safe vehicle.
Start with roll cage and 5-point belts, and even mix in roller coaster inspired padding and restraints. Show the world an entry-level car for a young driver that makes safety the overriding objective. And don’t let conventional wisdom about customer preferences hold you back.
About 40,000 people die in vehicle crashes each year in the USA alone and all the industry can offer up with concept cars are new and exciting sheet metal skin and gadgetry. GM has innovated in vehicle safety but it has always been in incremental gains through complexity. Take a fresh approach, be ingenious and give us something both simpler and safer. Just a thought.
getalifeagain
The WTCC Ultra Concept; now that would sell! Sell trick kits for the tuners in the aftermarket also, to keep the desireability up.
jnaggs
i just want to echo the comment about the WTCC being too tall for a race car. i actually have that problem with most pocket rockets. in the quest for more interior space the small cars are getting tall and upright and this does not lend itself to a preformance application.
pakcar
O no, I think it’s really upto the mark. so many companies introduced their new brands and models. there were also a lot of new technologies introduces by auto companies. I absolutely differ with you.
leo
I don’t get it. What’s wrong with SUVs? Why do we want people to migrate away from them?
The last thing the american auto industry needs is more government intervention. The free market - not the government - should be determining people’s vehicle options.
Tree Hugger
Question: I don’t get it. What’s wrong with SUVs? Why do we want people to migrate away from them?
Answer: Because undisputable evidence indicates that the ice caps are melting at an alarming rate!!!
Franknic
Bob,
I’m 22 years old, most of my friends were tuners at one point. I can tell you from experience that if the WTCC came to the U.S., with a race themed interior, the GXP’s 2.0L Turbo ECOTEC engine (with 260hp and 260lb-ft of torque), a 5-6 speed Tranny, a speaker system with subwoofer, and cool color options, you would not be able to keep them on the lot. Dont let this car go to waste Bob.
Keep up the good work!
SavageATL
I disagree with Lutz’ comment that there weren’t any brilliant concept cars at the show and have an example; the Peugeot 904. If Buick could slap the Wildcat name on this car and offer it with a variety of powertrains, from the Northstar V8 to a twinturbo Grand national engine, it could solve all of its problems overnight. From Nul to Cool in 3.8 seconds flat. Best interpretation of the buick theme since, well, the original Roadmaster.
fred
Bob-
The Opel Antara does look good, and there are a couple of other Opel models that may have a future in NA. Now that the pow-wow with RN is over getting these vehicles over here, some with twinturbodiesels hopefully will be a priority.
BTW Brock you probably also saw a bunch of Saabs running around London as SaabUK has been outselling US recently, one would think that the turboD model not available here may be to blame.
When ya get 40 mpg, fuel prices are no longer a “worry”.
Jay Marcone
Sure - just what we need, more taxes. I think the average American already works until May each year before she can keep his money. And, unlike Europeans, we work over 40 hours per week on average, and don’t have half the summer off on ‘holiday’.
Keep the tree huggers away from our SUV’s and full size trucks. Count your blessings that gas prices are coming down, especially with the upcoming Silverado and Sierra launches. Frankly Bob, I’m surprised to see you take this stance since the very lifeblood of GM is the improved but still relatively poor gas mileage FST business. Peper and Larson should leave their branding imprint on your backside as a reminder.
Jay Connoby
Lutz,
Does Gary White share your views on raising gas taxes? Better remember what keeps GM’s bread buttered. GM without full size truck = no GM.
david
I agree the Paris show was very disappointing. There was a lot of ‘average’ and little ‘credible’. Audi I feel stole the show with their continuity of brand, product and communications. They all seemed to line up. The communication colour, the obvious progress they are making, and the overall tone and feel of their presentations. Nissan’s Qashqai and the Antara were worthy demonstrations of this new crossover language currently under discussion. Of particular note however were the Korean efforts, in particular the ‘Ceed’ caught my attention. I’m wondering where the majors are going. I was always taught to ‘play into space’. It seems t me there is plenty of space left and the ‘crossover’ segment is only one such area. Where are the competitors to Miata? Why hasn’t Kappa platform been in more evidence. Good concept, well executed, poor rollout. I was looking forward to Solstice being joined by Curve and Nomad, all I got was the Sky. here must be an economic at 100k units…..some redesign of the design process seems to be in order! I think automakers in general need to get back to the Colin Chapman ethos of ‘Just do it’ - because it’s the right thing to do. The bean counters have a role to play, but this should be a time of design led engineering, not engineering constrained design. I wish GM ood luck with their turnaround plans. I do hope the talk of ‘customer orientation’ is an honest one and even if this is the will of executive management, I do hope the stagnant bureaucracy of middle management doesn’t serve to stifle the delivery process. Good luck.
Greg
Please tell me you’re going to bring over the 2-door Antara you showed last year with the turbo-diesel as a Saturn model?
We want to purchase one and are holding off until we see what GM does before making our next vehicle purchase.
Greg
Charles
I’d have to disagree Bob. The solution is not to Europization of the US by forcing us to buy tiny cars while he goverment raises gas prices. I cannot believe that a successful corporate executive of an American company would endorse more goverment taxes instead of less. Although that’s the plan according to the new world order, that in the future all but the super rich ride on bicyles like the Chinese do today. No, the answer is that car makers marshall all their human and technical resources in developing economic engines or alternative fuels so that we can continue to drive nice, large, comfortable vehicles. And I’d rather see GM succeed in that regard than foreign companies. I don’t want to have to trade in my Grand Prix for a Fit. Don’t let us down GM!
WHlanteigne
“I don’t get it. What’s wrong with SUVs? Why do we want people to migrate away from them?”
1.) They’re overweight gas-guzzlers that are less practical and more dangerous (tend to flip over because of high CG) than a front-wheel-drive minivan.
2.) They’re overweight gas-guzzlers that are mostly used to transport a single individual.
3.) They’re overweight gas-guzzlers that use too much in the way of raw materials to manufacture.
Small wonder manufacturers are now pushing “crossovers,” that is, minivans and cars styled to look like SUVs.
IMHO, the current crop of GM minivans misses the mark- either too much or not enough SUV influence- either give them a real truck-styled “doghouse” or go back to the rounded front end.
Ames Tiedeman
The WTCC needs to come to the USA…
This will sell in Califronia faster than bean dip….
Rene Curry
I agree with you that the US market is shifting where it can now accept paying a premium for a quality small vehicle.
I hope that GM pipeline is being filled.
I like your strategy of bringing Opel products into the Saturn fold. Brilliant!
Please figure out how to marry Holden & Pontiac.
While we all love premium vehicles and company’s love margins, don’t lose the value portion of the equation. Great job on the Impala for example.
Tim
I love the new WTCC! Even though I think it looks more like a rally car then a touring car. Stick awd on that bugger and it would be good to go! I would pay 35k for a fun car like that.
onell annz
Mr. Lutz, Antara is a good example of a sizeable crossover with good fuel economy because it has also good engine. What about the Equinox and Torrent? Are you not planning to put good engine in these CUVs like the 3.6L OHC or 2.8L or 3.0L or 3.2L?
John
What about all the cool small cars shown at the Paris show?
The Toyota Auris?
VW Iroc?
Skoda Joyster?
Suzuki Splash?
Renault Twingo?
Peugeot Epure?
Hyundai Arnejs?
Fiat Panda?
Audi S3?
Chevy WTCC Prototype?
GM just needs to put the WTCC into production as an econo-sports car like the WRX STI or the Lancer Evo, and then come out with a frugal base version.
Until GM comes out with a series of cars that get 30 mpg CITY, it’s not going to be taken seriously as a small car manufacturer.
But honestly, don’t say you were bored by the new small cars or other cars such as the new Alfa Romeo 8C or the Citroen C-Metisse or the Renault Nepta, and then praise the Opel Antara, another POS crossover SUV. That just makes it look like there was indeed something dim at the auto show, and it wasn’t the city or the cars on exhibit.
GM did good work on blowing off Nissan though. As much as I like Kerkorian’s intent of shaping up GM and getting rid of Rick Wagoner and the rest of the white collar mediocrity, a merger is not what GM needs. It just needs to sit down and make decent cars that people want, and those aren’t 17 varieties of the same minivan/crossover SUV/front-drive sedan.
A Cobalt, minus the electronic power steering, plus 30 mpg city, and a rear drive Malibu and Impala with a traditional stick shift option, would go a long way toward helping GM out of its rut.
Just don’t plan on competing with VW by marketing a $30k Aveo.
Brendan
Bob,
I know this is off topic, but I just wanted to say that a month ago, I purchased a new Buick Lucerne CX and I LOVE IT!!! Keep Buick making cars like this and that line will make one hell of a come back. It’s simple a great car.
Rick Lupori
Mr. Lutz: The WTCC should be offered as soon a possible in the U.S. market. This is just the kind of vehicle GM needs to attract young buyers to Chevrolet dealers.
There would need to be a more mainstream variants of the WTCC offered as well since the new Corsa cannot be offered in the U.S. It is a shame the new Corsa will not make it, but if the WTCC could be offered in 2 years it would help. The next generation Aveo and Corsa are supposed to share architecture and the WTCC would be a great place to start. Just make sure the Turbo-Diesel is an option, this is what puts the icing on the WTCC cake.
It there any chance of the Easytronic transmission making it to the U.S. or a competitive CVT?
I do not agree with your view of gas taxes, if GM offered exciting small car offerings like the WTCC, Corsa and Astra; American consumers would buy them.
I would still like to see the Combo offered in the U.S. as I think it would catch on with it’s versatility and unique styling.
The Antara and Captiva also look great, hopefully that is what the next VUE with be like. Once again the Turbo-Diesel would be a desirable option.
On another subject, congratulations on the 20% increase in Impala sales this year (and with a higher percent retail). Still think with some option revisions and the addition of a 6-speed auto the Impala could be the best selling car in the U.S. There is a market for a car that can carry up to 6 adults and deliver up to 35 MPG in the real world.
Scott Kempton
Bob—
I wrote you a long comment on the new Camaro several months ago, just after seeing it in person at the Chicago auto show (THANK YOU for approving it! I plan to be the first one in line to buy one).
I’d now like to comment about the WTCC: BUILD IT FOR AMERICA! I’m 51 years old, and live in Nashville, TN and probably NOT in the demographic the car’s designers had in mind. But I think it’s bitchin’ looking, just like the Camaro is, but in an entirely different way. I think it’d be a great addition to your small car portfolio. The Cobalt and HHR are both great cars, and worthy competitors in their markets, but the WRCC would hit a different nerve than either of those cars. Accordingly, I have a few suggestions if you were to put it into production:
1) the black lower body extentions and the wing on the back look a little overdone to me, but otherwise, don’t TOUCH the exterior details. The vent behind the front wheels, the little window just ahead of the outside rear view mirrors, the sculpting around the taillights, and the exterior mirrors are all way cool. Keep ‘em! Also–if you can find a way to keep the driver’s door handle, you should; it’s beautiful and really adds to the lines of the car. Who cares if the girls break their fingernails on it?
2) Base engine: 170HP Ecotec. Optional engine: 260HP Ecotec. No V6. Give it a nice exhaust note, like the Miata.
3) The interior theme on your current cars are all very nice, but not nearly “cool” enough for this car. Keep the quality that you’ve found, but snazz it up a bit. Oh—and put some REAL seats in it.
4) Colors: keep the blue on the concept, and add a bright green metallic, a really nice candy-apple red metallic, and a nice bright yellow metallic. This car needs bright colors.
5) Price: $17,000 base, $25,000 loaded.
That’s all my suggestions. I’ll be interested to see how this car progresses. Thanks for listening to all us armchair product planners.
Scott Kempton
Mr. Langlitz (Germany)
Dear Mr. Lutz,
supporting comments from other bloggers, I would like to recommend an acceleration in “Opelising” the Saturn-Portfolio. As I could read, there is an unprecedented request for the new Corsa, what means nearly 100.000 orders so far, despite the sale didn’t start in all countries yet! Please, get it to the USA and you’ll see the pale faces of your competitors! You did listen to your customers and green-lighted the new Camaro. And for sure it will prove as the right decision. Please, listen again and bring those Opel-models to the States, which people would like to see at the showrooms.
To “BigQid”:
I just would be mad, to buy an Audi R8 instead of a Corvette. The Corvette is looked upon as a true world-class-sports-car also over here in Europe, even despite our car-magazines sometimes are a little biased against US-Vehicles. I truly can’t see any reason, which would justify paying such a higher price for the Audi R8. By the way, the Z06 is still some HP ahead. They only vehicle in Germany, available under 70.000 Euros, and with 400 HP is the Corvette. And, regarding to comparison-tests, it’s most fuel-efficient!
Mr. Langlitz (Germany)
Look at this:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/AUTO01/610090312/1148
Matt
Bob,
1) Build the WTCC concept.
2) Bring it to the United States.
I love V8 engines (especially the one in my Corvette), but I also love small cars. Equipped with nimble handling, they’re easy to thread through traffic, painless to fuel, and amazingly practical for me and my wife. I spent $25K for my MINI Cooper S, so I’m at least one American who will spend the money for a performance-oriented small car. Throw in all wheel drive to teach the WRX and Evo crowds a lesson. A World Rally Championship entry could do wonders for global recognition. Even Ford plays there.
kurt
Most of the buzz I got from the Car sites reviewing the Paris Auto Show came from the fawning over Audis and other high powered, enthusasist oriented vehicles. There wasn’t all that much emphasis on “daily drivers” nor cars that function as cars.
Don’t get me wrong; I like driving cars that respond and handle well. But unlike the journalists, we customers have to live with our choices for years.
I hope GM will not see the Paris show as an excuse to abandon fuel efficiency, reliability and other issues that are important to the ownership of a vehicle.
Bwright
Bob,
Build the WTCC concept. But to make it work it requires five things:
1. A name. If you want to create and nurture a potential icon in the vein of this car you have to appreciate what names and not alphanumerics do for a car. Think Impreza and Evolution for the class. Progress on to the evocation of Corvette on all the way up to Flying Spur, Phantom, Murcielago and Enzo. That is the power of names. Give it one.
2. Since it looks like a rally car and would probably be targeted to that crowd make absolutely certain that, as with the Corvette, there is a corresponding race team in place. The production car should be shown next to the race car and the driver lineup should be in place for competition on the rally car scene.
3. Naturally this means available AWD.
4. Make it available in a 4-door to be a touch more practical and truly compete with the Impreza/Evolution set.
5. Make certain that the good folks at Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) have it digitized soon for their Gran Turismo series.
Caddyfan
From a Cadillac fan (I have the same questions, Mr. Lutz):
Cadillac and Their Second Rate Cars…
Go here and scroll down to the Cadillac Timeline.. See all those great innovations that came directly from Cadillac? You’ll be surprised by a few of them… Where is this innovation now? Why does one need to look elsewhere for what Cadillac has been known for, for years? If Cadillac wants to be the Standard of the World - they’re going to need to build more than nice looking, fast and reliable vehicles. They’re GOING to need to be innovative again…
get in a Lexus LS430 and Drive It. You’ll realize that just about everything else on the road is inferior. Don’t be a “me too fool” and listen to everybody else. Drive the car yourself.. The same thing can be said of the Mercedes S-Class.. It’s a different kind of automobile.. It’s not expensive simply because it has a “Mercedes” badge on it. If that’s what you believe, than I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like to sell you…
The LS430 has oscillating air conditioning and heating vents. I’d driven one around for a short time - and at one point I’d taken it to the dealership as the vents didn’t seem to be oscillating all the way back and forth. I figured they were sticking and maybe needed to be cleaned. After close examination, they told me it was because the vents actually stay in the range of whichever side is needing the hotter or cooler air. So what looked to me like the vents getting stuck was simply the car “knowing” to keep the vents in one specific area until it had been adequately cool off.
And before you say the dealership was just BSing me - I tested their theory. With the air conditioning on 60 degrees, the vents did stick to whichever side of the car needed more cooler air. When I raised the temperature, the vents began to fully oscillate from left to right again…
Sure, that’s one silly feature that’s not very important (to you - but it is to me and many others) - but all these silly little features add up.
Another example is the sound-deadening material they use inside the car. Did you know that the coating over all the wood grain has a special chemical that deadens sound? Like I said, all these little interesting things add-up to make the Lexus LS, the Lexus LS.. I can go on and on and on about the amazing things this car does.
The Mercedes C220 CDI on the European market measures not only the intensity but the direction of the sun into the inside of the car, which it takes into account when determining location to send air from, direction to send it to, and temperature to make it.
I wish Cadillac would buy one of these cars, study it, and start impressing me this way… Anyone having trouble agreeing with me is probably under 35.. There are some things you just wont understand without having grown up with Cadillacs the way they used to be. It actually used to be very prestigious to own one…
Caddyfan
As far as Dealership experiences, I suggest Cadillac doing what Hummer did/is doing: Mandating a specific design language / actual design and giving dealers some type of incentives in terms of rare/”hot” selling cars and/or more profits or lower prices to purchase cars from GM and increase their own profit margins, etc. as ways to mandate a change. Offer regional tailored classes for salespeople/mechanics and how they should dress, talk, interact with, and handle sales. Implementing Saturn-style experiences/pricing techniques and using benchmarking BEYOND where Lexus is now is how the road to success and sales should be acheived (beyond superior product of course.)
Jan Bayus
Bob,
That wtcc concept is not a good looking automobile from any angle. It looks like the cousin of the late Aztec.
I don’t know where it would sell, but not here!
As for your ideas on raising the gas tax. Hooray to you for having the guts to say it.
Buick Diesel
Caddyfan wrote: The LS430 has oscillating air conditioning and heating vents.
Who cares? I for one, would have absolutely no use for a feature like that.
A car basically has 4 wheels and a seat. How complicated do we want them to be?
I do understand the point you’re making that Cadillac should innovate.
noel park
I agree with John, October 10, 2:51 AM. Whan I saw the picture of the Toyota Auris in Autoweek, it gave me a chill. As I said, when gas goes back to $3.00+/gallon after the election, they are going to eat you alive.
Good comments on the Cobalt and the Aveo as well. Well done.
Bwright
Caddyfan,
Before commenting on perceived technological leadership of Lexus and Mercedes you may want to do first re-check your research.
Those clever oscillating vents from Lexus? I HAD those in my 1985 626 Mazda from whom I have no doubt Lexus has obtained permission for the patent. Lexus has now added a sensor? Yawn.
As for MB, you should know that the clever displacement-on-demand technology they touted on their 2006 flagship CL coupe was invented by Cadillac.
Cadillac, in conjunction with Delphi, premiered the Magnetic Suspension system which migrated to the Corvette and is now surfacing years later on Audi’s TT. Ferrari is now touting the system as the cat’s meow on their new quarter million dollar flagship the 599 GTB. Good for them. They should thank Cadillac profusely.
Let’s be clear, the Magnetic Suspension system as it exists now is both the Holy Grail for suspension engineers worldwide and simply the most advanced suspension on a series production car ever built for public use. A system if you will so advanced that it can adjust individual shock damping on a car throughout its full range of motion for every INCH of forward motion at 60 mph. So fast is it that it is in effect an active suspension system for a price so laughable to previous attempts by the world’s greatest automakers that they might as well have been working with the horse and buggy. This sort of thing has eluded engineers worldwide since the debut of the automobile. Does anyone remember Infiniti’s desperate and failed attempt to build such a radar-based system because the best computers of the day could not manage? Read up on any of the abortive attempts by Mercedes-Benz to craft a fully hydraulic one? Realize that their relatively primitive Active Body Control is their best attempt. Same goes for Jaguar’s CATS system. The Magnetic Suspension system is almost literally engineered on a molecular level. It is small wonder that Automobile Magazine named it Technology of The Year in 2003 and it also earned the prestigious PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence) award for its significance. As Road and Track’s stunned editor Kim Reynolds said of the technology, “This is an engineering advance comparable with the starter motor and independent suspension …” Similarly awed, Motor Trend’s Jack Keebler said in 2002, “MagneRide is one of the best automotive technologies I’ve seen in a decade. It’s an important breakthrough, and I consider it on par with stability control.”
What does Lexus offer that is comparable? Virtually everything Lexus offers or has ever offered has been cribbed from someone else. If they are feeling particularly motivated they might add a sensor or widget to it and crow in an attempt to fool the clueless.
The hydroforming technology in use on Cadillacs and Corvettes is sufficiently advanced that no less than Boeing visited GM to see exactly how some of the technology, for which GM holds the patents, works when applied to aluminum (See Corvette C6 by Phil Berg).
So be careful when you say Cadillac needs to be more innovative than the Europeans or Japanese. GM routinely is. It’s just that few people actually realize this and so parrot superficial stereotypes and word of mouth assumptions which do not stand up to even a cursory examination of the facts.
Caddyfan
Bwright,
GM is awful at advertising anything!
There are many things GM is responsible for, but because it is inconsistently spread throughout their lineup and poorly advertised (every GM ad is about the “all-new available V8″), nobody knows what they have invented.
Magneride should be available on ALL Cadillacs right now–as well as being optional on Buicks and all LTZ SUVs.
But it’s not even advertised–much less spread throughout the lineup.
The CTS would own its current class if it had them.
Another wasted GM innovation is the HUD, which is appearing on BMWs now–yet GM STILL cannot get it into all their Cadillacs and upper-level Chevys, GMCs and Buicks.
You just wait until it appears in the next Honda Accord–and Honda will get credit for it (Another advertising opportunity wasted).
GM can take it up a notch–take the technology fight to the competition, but they have lagged for a while and many basic things like Bluetooth are missing from their cars (especially the upper-level ones)–while appearing in Nissans.
It is unconscionable that the Toyota Camry has gotten push-button start before Buick and many Cadillacs.
(And don’t get me started on somethign called the ‘power tilt/telescoping steering wheel”)
We shouldn’t be fighting these basic, basic, technology battles with GM. They should have all that and a bag of (silicon) chips the likes of which the automotive world has never seen. That is the GM I know and am waiting (im)patiently for.
I believe in Bob Lutz and GM. I just wish they’d move faster.
Cheers!
Caddyfan
John
Here is a video interview of the head of advertising for Toyota NA, and he began to talk about how Toyota was moving toward local advertising in general–and the Tundra launch in particular:
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/s…ad.php?t=38475
Everybody should have a listen (he praises the Equinox, by the way).
The reason GM should be afraid, it that Toyota plans to bring their truck “to the masses”, by showing up at tons and tons of small community events everywhere all over the country. He calls it one-to-one advertising, and boy is GM in for a whopper in my opinion.
The idea is for consumers to see Toyota in places they never expected.
They are targetting specifically:
1. Country music
2. Fishing
3. Contractors/small business
4. Sports
I have said this for ages and ages. GM needs to get people into their cars! The Drive at Las Vegas and AutoShow In Motion are all well and good, but I can personally say that I have never ever been able to attend any of these through–
Lack of knowledge
Distance (events too far away)
(And if I don’t know, nobody who’s noncommittal about cars around here even has a clue.)
The only time I have seen something like this from GM was when there was a small car show in Maine, and a (PBG) dealer decided to bring cars for people to look at/sit in.
Why is this?
Not everybody in the country lives in Minneapolis, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Atlanta or San Franisisco.
Getting people into your cars invloves a lot more than just these large drive events in big cities (an invite for which, most people will never receive)–although they do help a little.
What about people who live in less metropolitan regions of the country–like suburban and rural New England?
I can name you a ton of fairs in New England that have virtually no presence of GM at all. Why is this?
Why is GM so absent from local advertising? Besides dealer ads with Boston accents, there are hardly any ads about GM’s cars about on local networks here.
I’m afraid Toyota has a winner here on its hands.
GM needs–more so than Toyota–to get people into its cars. Local and one-to-one advertising is much more personal than these myriads of ads on cable or these secretive “drive events” that nobody but enthusiasts knows about–or cares to drive two hours to get to.
—————————————–
What do you think?
Am I missing something?
Is GM visible in your local community? (I mean like the county fair; parades; other gatherings. Michigan residents need not answer that one).
Jerrod
If anyone read the article posted by Mr. Langlitz you will note another example of the point Bwright is trying to make. That Honda tailgate reminds me alot of the back end of an Envoy XUV.
I would like to see GM get some of the credit that is due to them for their inovations but timing is everything. If the market isn’t ready to notice what you have done you may have to push harder. It beats puting it on the shelf and letting your competitors beat you up with it 2-3 years later.
Bwright
Caddyfan,
You will get no argument from me on the GM advertising front. I am continually dumbfounded by the average consumer’s ignorance of GM’s technological prowess both now and in the past. That problem indeed can be laid squarely at the foot of GM’s awful (changing though) advertising.
I mean how can they not talk up the fact that they brought airbags to the passenger car market in the US? How can they not mention their other key industry safety firsts?
I will never ever forget a Mercedes commercial I saw many years ago. It showed a German engineer, maybe 60 years old or so, in a suit and tie being interviewed in his office. The engineer briefly explained the importance of crumple zones in saving lives in a crash. The interviewer then responds disbelievingly something to the effect of, “But Mercedes Benz invented this key technology and never patented it? Why not?” To which the engineer smiled and quietly said, “Some things are too important not to share.” Fade to black and the Mercedes Benz logo.
If I live to be 100 I will never forget that ad.
In one fell swoop in illustrated MB’s sweeping technological prowess in such a way that they seemed to be benevolent and magnanimous because their technological wealth was so much that they could afford to effectively take care of everyone else.
Genius.
If only GM could do something like that. If only.
Paul
If GM’s got such great technological skills, why don’t they make any car that gets over 40mpg, even on the highway?
Eric Planey
Bob!
Just saw the HHR panel your going to put out…nice.
May I also recommend a longer-wheelbase Taxi addition? I always thought that Chrysler should have introduced such a version a year or two ago when PT sales started sinking. I think people in New york, who remember the old 50s-style cabs, would get a kick out of a retro cab. The HHR is practical, too. If you make a hybrid version, even based on the Vue Green Line, cab companies would JUMP on it.
Eric
Besa
one way gm can improve is to go down to where the people are and advertise.I am responding or reaffirming the above post about how toyota wants to go to the grass root.
I live in Oregon,portland to be specific and boy I am gonna tell you not a lot of vehicles are GM.I can sit on a freeway and count how many cars are gm and i bet you they will be so few compared to toyota and honda.if you want people to buy these vehicles make your presence known or you will not even be considered.We know gm but we do not see if at shows,music concerts.gm is so consumed with the big cities and big shows and guess who sees these vehs live?the big rich Joe who would rather drive in the back of a MB or BMW.
go down to the roots and show your car
Jim
Bob,
Love the length, height, 4 doors, tailgate, and exceptionally bold Chevrolet styling.
Add a 4 cylinder twin cam, RWD / AWD with a crawler gear and you will have finally built something worthy enough to replace my wife’s most beloved Tracker a few years down the road. Seriously!
Jim
Mr. Langlitz (Germany)
To “Bwright”:
Excellent comment! In the meantime even BMW wants to make people believe, Night Vision would be THEIR new technology. But as everybody should know, it’s available in Cadillacs since several years. The same way it’s garbage, when they claim over here in Germany, Airbags had been installed in a Mercedes S-Class for the very first time. The Oldsmobile Toronado had an Airbag 6 years earlier. And so on, and so on…
Bwright
“If GM’s got such great technological skills, why don’t they make any car that gets over 40mpg, even on the highway?”
Paul
Paul,
The simple answer to your question is because GM answers to the consumer and, despite what the ignorant, biased liberal media would have you believe, by and large consumers have rejected the current compromises necessary to get to a 40 mpg car.
Honda’s Insight got 66 mpg hwy on the EPA cycle? But, as was reported by leftlanenews, instead of booking gangbuster sales Honda was forced to cancel the car this September after selling a whopping 320 (not a typo) cars in the first quarter. Honda’s hybrid Civics have seen sales fall off a staggering 51% this year. Despite discounts and aggressive lease programs Ford is practically unable to give away its hybrids.
About the only hybrid selling decently is of course Toyota’s Prius. Why? Simple, unlike the heavily compromised Insight the Prius can seat more than two people. So why does the Civic hybrid, with similar seating capacity, struggle relative to the Prius? Because the Civic looks like any other Civic while the Prius looks…pious. In other words, Prius buyers are by and large only in the game if the car announces to the world that they are fuel savers. Otherwise they are not a buyer. Toyota loses money on each and every Prius. So why does Toyota do it? Because, as Car and Driver recently reported with deadly accuracy, it provides exceptional cover for the fact that they have increased truck and SUV production by over 300% over the last ten years.
Here is the text of Car and Driver’s piece which should be required reading for those who think building a fleet of 40 mpg cars is the way Toyota has gotten to the top or a realistic course for any major automaker:
__________
“Thomas L. Friedman, a New York Times columnist, recently reconfirmed how little most members of the mainstream press understand about the auto business. In a piece about General Motors that he penned May 31, he opined, “Surely, the sooner this company gets taken over by Toyota, the better off this country will be.”
What sent Friedman off his rocker was a GM marketing incentive for certain vehicles that would pay any gasoline costs above $1.99 per gallon for one year. Friedman saw this as a sinister plot to maintain America’s “addiction to oil,” which he deplores for a variety of reasons. Because Toyota builds the Prius and GM builds the Hummer, he has basically concluded: GM bad, Toyota good. This from a columnist who finds nuance in political matters and frequently lambastes politicians for taking a simplistic view of the world.
What Friedman doesn’t grasp is that in market-driven societies, customers control what they buy, not corporations. General Motors understands this, and Toyota understands it even better, judging by the fact that the Japanese company outearned GM by $22 billion – yes, that’s a “b” – last year and has increased its market share in America over the past 10 years from 7.3 percent to 13.3, whereas GM’s share has shrunk from 32.8 to 26.2 percent.
Friedman seems to think that Toyota’s relative success has been fueled by a diet of small, efficient machines, but the statistics tell a different story. Trucks were only 26.7 percent of the 1,083,709 vehicles Toyota sold in 1995. By 2005, Toyota had more than doubled its U.S. sales to 2,260,296 vehicles, and of this much larger total, trucks had increased to 43 percent. Put another way, Toyota sold more than three times as many trucks in 2005 as it did in 1995.
Conversely, in the ’90s, GM failed to anticipate the shift of American buyers toward trucks. As a result, the company didn’t allocate enough factories to the manufacture of its big pickups. Nor has GM ever brought a competitive minivan to market. And while Ford was going to town with its Explorer, GM didn’t produce a solid mid-size SUV until 2001, when the TrailBlazer and its relatives arrived.”
__________
Bullseye. Today, Toyota is putting the finishing touches on a massive truck plant in Texas. When complete it will spew an additional 200,000 (another of Toyota’s famously conservative estimates) large pickup trucks onto the roadways and generate massive profits for Toyota. Even better is the fact that building the plant was relatively easy since the state of Texas gave them nearly half a billion dollars in subsidies to locate the plant there.
Incredibly, if Toyota’s SUV/truck production continues at its present rate and the Texas truck plant so much as meets Toyota’s modest projected output next year then for the first time the company will actually produce more trucks/SUVs than cars. Again, next year. The mainstream media can be expected to turn a blind eye.
GM’s only failing is that they are not cynical enough to use the functional equivalent of a Prius to cover the fact that they build vehicles that people, as evidenced by Toyota’s mix and product shift, actually want to buy. Know this for a fact, if GM built the Prius then each and every failing of that vehicle, from its total inability to achieve anything close to its EPA mileage to its recall for going dead at highway speeds, would be front page news and GM would have long since been forced to stop selling it.
WHlanteigne
In this blog there have been a lot of requests for GM to develop a small, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive family of cars. I have to point out that you already have the platform in the S10 Blazer and pickup: lower the suspension a tad, widen the middle of the frame to accomodate wider, deeper footwells, design a separate body subframe of stamped, welded galvanized metal, cover with plastic or composite body panels; a 2-seat roadster/coupe body for the short wheelbase frame, 2+2 sedan.wagon for the long wheelbase, maybe even an El Camino? Use a 4-cyl Miller-cycle engine with 6-speed trans for the “miser” editions, V6s or even V8s for the “performance” versions…
Jack Smith
CaddyFan - Give it up. The Cadillac’s you knew are from many years past and are gone. With Bo and crew at the helm, the only thing that you can count on is marketing hype with little to back it up. Sure there are dsome remaining luxury goodies, but if you can tell me with a straight face that a $65K STS is built as solid as a BMW or Mercedes, then go ahead and waste your money. Cadillac sales continue to decline because the GM purchasing group won’t pay for content to even keep up, forget about leading the segment. Poor fit and finish, cheap plastics and switches, poor handling, the list goes on and on…
John (GM fan)
Mr. Langlitz,
NightVision is no longer available on any Cadillac. They failed to market it effectively–or spread it around their lineup in any cohesive manner.
The story of GM…
GM has this nasty habit of decontenting cars that are lower in the lineup just to justify a higher price point in their upper-level cars.
Other companies cram their expensive cars with technology and move it on down the lineup with each model year.
That way, they have an incentive to keep innovating at the top end, while their “lesser” cars all bask in the halo of the older cars’ tech advances (because you just know that if it appears in the 2007 model S-class it’ll be in the E-Class by the next model year, and in the C-Class an additional year after that).
GM, on the other hand, will put an exciting new tchnology in an expensive car, and six years later, that car will still be the only model in the lineup with it.
What’s really sad is that even then, GM still won’t know how to advertise the feature–long having resorted to yet another ad about the “all-new V8″.
GM needs to stop advertising on price and engine size and start creating an image behind each and every brand.
They need to leverage technology intelligently across the GM lineup so that GM can get credit for innovation.
More importantly, they need to market themselves properly–as brands and not “bargains”.
GM may yet change, but it’s painfully slooooow.
Mr. Langlitz (Germany)
Mr. Smith,
when you believe, a BMW or Mercedes would be so much more solid than a Cadillac, then, why do those brands fall so far behind Cadillac at J.D. Power-surveys…? For example, also at a customer-satisfaction survey by the German ADAC, Mercedes Benz gained a horrible result. I don’t think, that’s pure coincidence! My uncle used to drive Mercedes Benz. Every time I met him he told about another malfunction. He had to see his dealer within three weeks more often than me with me 2001 Alero within 5 years. No, thanks…
Caddyfan
Jack Smith,
If you have never owned a Cadillac STS, there is precious little you can tell me about “fit and finish”.
You seem to be throwing every single stereotype you have of GM at any given car–whether or not you know anything about it in actuality.
Its “fit and finish” isn’t automatically “poor” because it’s made by General Motors.
As a matter of fact, in terms of reliability Cadillac is right up there with Buick and Toyota.
The STS has other problems that stem from:
1. Cadillac’s lack of brand image.
The Germans have “driving; precision engineering and technology”
The Japanese have “quality; attention to detail and price”
Cadillac has neither (except an “all-new V8″).
Cadillac first needs to have an image it wants to project, and then sell cars with that image.
2. The STS in particular is a weak effort in that regard.
The styling is an abomination to what Art and Science can really be.
They made a herculean (by GM standards) effort to match the Germans on features and technology, but the packaging was–bah!
The problem with the interior is less about fit and finish and more about imagination.
It was also heavy (a perennial GM problem–everything they make is likely to be the heaviest in its class for some strange reason).
But most importantly, it brought nothing new to the segment. It was just another “me-too” car.
Of course, the “marketing” didn’t help.
But hey, if Lexus can do it, Cadillac can do it a million times over–because Cadillac has decades of history on Lexus.
History is pedigree–something that counts (if you can get it right).
If the lowest common denominator–Lexus–can sell (which was only a few years ago a Toyota-rebadge brand), the Cadillac can certainly do it.
Whether it will happen is another story altogether.
Call me a fool, but I’m sticking around to see what’s going on. I have faith in Maximum Bob.
Mr. Langlitz (Germany)
Hi John,
well, I already had a closer look on a Cadillac CTS and today the STS. Of course you are right, these models don’t offer Night Vision anymore, but still it’s not true it came up over here for the first time, like our media sometimes try to tell. But at least the Head-up-Display still is available for the Corvette - also a long time before BMW and any other German brand!
getalifeagain
Constructive criticism or criticism w/o a bitter tone is taken well..whereas mean spirited criticism not only leaves bad taste, but renders that criticism for the most part useless.
getalifeagain
Please manufacture the WTCC; it’s a winner!
WHlanteigne
“Cadillac first needs to have an image it wants to project, and then sell cars with that image.” _
In fact, Cadillac does have an image, or at least a slogan they want to project: the “Standard of Excellence” image. _
Unfortunately, that slogan hasn’t been true for decades. Right now, the actual standard for excellence is more likely a Lexus or Infiniti (whether that status is deserved or not). Yet Toyota and Nissan don’t have GM’s vast resources, and I’m not ready to admit that GM has fewer or less talented people- I very strongly suspect there is a lack of 2-way communication between Mr Lutz and the production floor, and Mr Lutz and the engineering department. If GM wants to dominate the market as it once did, mediocre isn’t going to cut it- they need really excellent product design and excellent manufacturing. And you might as well face up to the fact that the UAW workers that some are so fond of bashing are going to be largely responsible in improving GM build quality to the point of excellence necessary.
Ames Tiedeman
This car must be built!
Rick Lupori
Mr. Lutz: GM still faces many obstacles and the Kerkorian challenge is not over yet, even if he does not do anything the market value of GM is at a dangerously low level and one that may attract other “investors” with other ideas of how to reform GM.
Mr. Wagoner has done a great job on labor relations, plant consolidation, direct labor costs and Health Care and you have done and excellent job getting the HHR, Solstice, Sky, and Camaro to the market.
As good as these efforts have been they are only the beginning; GM is only in the first inning of this turnaround there is a long way to go.
First GM needs a MAJOR PHILOSOPHY CHANGE in content - GM cannot outsell cars that are not the market equal to in content even if the gap on style has been. Most Camry models are the mid priced SE or LE models and the current Impala content does not measure up, if the Impala is going to go from the 4th best selling car to first changes must be made.
With the Impala’s styling, upgraded interior with room for up to 6 adults, 18 Cu Ft of trunk space and 31 MPG there is no reason that the Impala should not be the best selling car on the U.S. market. The available content on the Impala is the only thing keeping it from the #1 spot.
The 2LT trim level must have the currently unavailable at any price Fog Lights and Heated Mirrors added to the trim level as standard along with the folding rear seat. Heated Leather seats must be optional on the 2LT level as well as chrome wheels and trim. As it is now a buyer can make a 1LT into a 2LT so what is the point of (2) trim levels. The 2LT has the E-85 capable 3500 V6 that can deliver 30-35 MPG in real world conditions and even mid 20’s with E-85 it should have a full complement of options.
The LS, 1LT with 3500 V6 and 3LT with 3900 AFM V6 packages are fine as is, but the LTZ trim should offer the 3.6L V6 with 6-speed automatic available on Aura and G6 models for prospective import buyers demanding this powertrain.
A true Navigation package must be added to at least the LTZ and SS trim levels.
More color choices, Stabilitrak and Magnaride suspension should be available on SS models; the current limited color options on the SS are unacceptable.
I know someone who would buy an Impala 2LT with Fog Lights tomorrow, but will be buying a Fusion, Milan or 500 if GM cannot change this by spring. This buyer has over $3,000 in GM card bonuses but will still buy a Ford because it offers what he needs. He would also consider a Lacrosse CXL with fog lights but again no fog lights equal a “no sale”.
This buyer has been waiting since 2001 to trade a 98 Malibu (with Fog Lights) for an Impala or Century with the base engine and Fog Lights. GM could have sold a 2001 Century and a 2007 Impala for a profit; instead they will lose money and a loyal customer to Ford.
(I know GM absolutely will never change this antiquated practice no matter how much data proves it wrong,)
GM must learn that it has to offer customers what they need instead of trying to make a profit deleting content then giving a big rebate to try and make a sale. Seems like putting the equipment on vehicle buyers want at a profitable price is better than giving away thousands in rebates. It sure works for Toyota.
Sorry to be so harsh but when GM is introducing the great products that you have created Mr. Lutz then turns around and handicaps them with decades old marketing think that costs GM well over 100,000 sales a year for no logical reason it is frustrating.
This option content philosophy of intentionally not offering certain items on models to either get buyers to move up a trim level or move up to a higher priced car stopped working in the 1980’s and has been one of the main reasons Toyota has increased market share.
Maybe in the second inning GM can try something different, if they don’t there is no reason to think that anything but giving up more market share will occur.
Current score Camry 340,905 to Impala 219,167 (difference of 121,738) some small changes could close this gap to under 50,000.
On the other hand if GM combines their improved cost structure and great product with giving buyers option content they want to buy GM could increase market share back to 30%.
Paul
“The simple answer to your question is because GM answers to the consumer and, despite what the ignorant, biased liberal media would have you believe, by and large consumers have rejected the current compromises necessary to get to a 40 mpg car.” - Bwright
First, you’re assuming compromises have to be made. VW, for a while and soon again, had a Passat TDI that got 30+ mpg in the city and 40+ mpg on the highway.
The Corolla, the most popular nameplate in the world, made a name for itself for getting good fuel economy. 30 million of them have been sold since 1966 to people who were willing to make compromises to get 40 mpg.
Finally, if GM truly has such great technological skills, they would be able to make a car that gets 40 mpg without compromising the things that are important to ordinary people.
Until then, however, my next car is going to be a VW Golf TDI. That is, when tooling around on my 70mpg scooter gets old. Which won’t be any time soon.
Rick Lupori
Mr. Lutz: GM must produce “Must Have” small cars in the “B” (Aveo/Corsa) and “C” segment (Astra/Cobalt) and these cars must have 8-way power seats with heated leather surfaces, Fog Lights with base engine, AFL Lighting, navigation systems, alloy wheels and the ability to get over 40 MPG gas and over 50 MPG Diesel.
Thanks for the HHR Panel, can’t wait to see one next year.
Some other models GM needs to offer:
Buick
EFIJY - get people into showroom (Like Solstice) to see new Enclave and Lucerne
Velite Styling and interior to Lacrosse and update CX and CXL content to luxury level
Update Lucerne content across line to luxury level
RWD Electra (Statesman)
New Century based on Cadillac BLS with Velite Styling
Cadillac
Flagship RWD (DTS size) Luxury Model with Sixteen styling
More Aggressive styled STS
Redesign SRX rear styling
Chevrolet
Matiz (if Smart Car sells) 1.2L Easytronic Est. 35/55 MPG
Cruze (replacement for Holden Cruze based on Meriva)
Aveo 5-Door 140 HP 1.8L 5M 28/40 MPG (WTCC Styling)
Nomad Concept with 3500 V6 and 6A 25/34 MPG
HHR Panel
GMC
New minivan from Acadia with 3.6 V6 DI optional AWD and 5.3L AFM V8
New small cross over like Jeep Patriot from HHR
Canyon Upgrade 3.6L V6 and 5 speed auto (same as Holden Rodeo)
HUMMER
Dune Buggy H4 (Borrego Concept) from Solstice
Pickup from H3
Turbo Diesel added to both H2 and H3
Pontiac
Solstice Sedan
Grand Prix Sedan
Firebird returns (Solstice 3 Door Hatch)
SAAB
New 9-2 from Astra Estate with 1.9L Turbo Diesel 5A 36/50 MPG
BioPower E-85 Capable Plug in Hybrid 9-5 Estate
AWD 9-3 Sedan
SAAB 9-3 5-Door (Vectra) 2.2 DI 5M 23/40 MPG
SAAB 9.3 Sport Combi 3.0 V6 TD 6A 23/44 MPG
Saturn
Tigra Hardtop Convert 1.3L TD 5M 41/60 MPG
Corsa 1.3L TD Easytronic 43/65 MPG
Corsa 1.7L TD 5M 36/55 MPG
Meriva 1.7 TD 5M 35/52 MPG
Meriva 1.6L Easytronic 26/43 MPG
Meriva 1.7 TD 5M 35/52 MPG
Meriva OPC 1.6 Turbo 6M 23/37 MPG
Combo 1.7L TD 5M 36/50 MPG
Combo Tour 1.6L 5M 26/39 MPG
Astra Twin-Top Hardtop Convertible 1.8L 5M 23/38 MPG
Astra 1.9L TD 5A 36/50 MPG
Astra 1.6L Easytronic 28/44 MPG
Zafira (7 passenger Sport Van) 1.9L TD 6M 30/44 MPG or 6A 24/41 MPG
Aura Estate (Vectra) 1.9TD 6A 25/44 MPG
Put these vehicles on the market and GM market share in the U.S. will climb back to the 30% range easily. It should be easy since all of these vehicles already exist and many have been sold for more than 4 years in other markets. There are also about a dozen vehicles I did not list here.
Matt Krull
I’m geniunly surprised by people who say they like the WTCC and think it will sell.
I’m 24. Last year I got my degree and my well paying job. The first thing I did was go new car hunting. I went looking for a fun fast car - driving experience was paramount. I think that puts me right into the prospective WTCC buyers niche.
I considered both the Cobalt SS Supercharged and the Ion Redline. But when it came down to it I bought the Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani. It simply felt twice the car. It was low, very comfortable and stylish inside, has classic sex appeal on the outside, and most importantly, is great fun to drive.
The cobalt may be faster, but it doesn’t steal your heart. And as much as I like GM cars, currently none of them steal my heart. The people I know who own GM do it because of loyalty to the brand, or because the price was right, not because they love their car. The two exceptions are the solstice owner and the HHR owner.
When I see the WTCC, I see a cobalt that has been redrawn by young boy. All the lines are hard, but the angles are wrong, it feels “extreme” instead of funtional.
I see the giant outstretched wheels - with no place to travel and wonder how this thing could be raced on tarmac rally course (let get down my driveway). Same with the skirts and front spoiler that shave the ground. Too tall, too narrow.
Basically it looks like a tuner show car - form for forms sake and no concession to function.
All of it combines to feel like a cartoon. It would have to be a helluva ride for me to be caught dead in one.
I suppose, looking out at the parking lot, it may sell, it may even sell well (by niche standards) if priced low enough that teenagers can afford it new. But it will never have the halo car effect. It will never be a SiR, Type-R, or GTI. No one will think chevys are better cars because this one car exists.
Me, I’m a child of the 80s, I’m waiting with baited breath to see what has been done to my childhood idol, the Camero.
noel park
For more information on the Paris show check out autoweek.com/paris. 52 pictures of what was on offer.
Autoweek has more coverage of the Paris show in this week’s (October 16) edition. There’s a nice picture of the Toyota Auris. They say it will be the Corolla replacement.
Oh dear!
Bwright
Paul,
Which VW Passat TDI are you talking about that gets 40 mpg? The 2002-2005 VW Passat TDI which was sold ONLY in non-California emissions states (say it with me, c…o…m…p…r…o…m…i…s…e…d) got 27 city and 38 highway for an average of 32.5 mpg. http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedans/0409_passat_tdi/ and again reinforced by http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehicle_Reviews/Sedans_Coupes_and_Hatchbacks/2004_Volkswagen_Passat_TDI.S180.A7222.html
That is a long, long, long way from a 40 mpg car which, again, is my point.
I assume compromises have to be made? LOL. No my friend, I don’t deal in assumptions. I prefer facts and the facts are that a compromised (unavailable in all states) Passat TDI failed to achieve either of the EPA mileage figures you claimed via your cited article. Read your article again, carefully. Unlike the two I cite above, your article neatly neglects to mention EPA certified figures. Can’t say I blame them. This yet again reinforces another of my earlier points about how willing people are to overlook the facts which are that a current Chevy Aveo (27/37 EPA) can effectively match the actual EPA numbers for the now discontinued Passat TDI.
Nobody can or is currently building a practical real-world 40 mpg car because the technology just isn’t there yet but everyone talks about it like, “Well, just build it GM. Isn’t everybody else doing it?”
Case in point, again, your assertion about the Corolla’s EPA mileage. First, the Corolla only recently got to a 40 mpg EPA figure. What is key about the EPA rating is that it is a best case scenario achieved under conditions so unrealistic that even the EPA has conceded same and will adjust the test next year to be more realistic. Currently the EPA test, developed in the 1970s and last revised in 1985, is run on a dynamometer in a room. Vehicles do not use A/C and on the highway segment of the test are only allowed to average 48 mph, reflecting the old 55 mph speed limit. In a November 2005 report by The Daily Auto Insider, EPA Administrator Steve Johnson said, “Everyone agrees that the test procedures and our calculations are outdated. We’ve got 20 years of new technology, 20 years of experience, 20 years of new driving conditions.”
Even more interestingly, the EPA test is actually performed 90% of the time by the AUTOMAKERS. Makes for an interesting honor system doesn’t it? Note well that when the SAE tests for actual horsepower were recently revised to include verification virtually every single Asian automaker was found to have been gaming the system (overstated power output figures) whereas almost every GM vehicle increased in power or stayed the same.
Fearless prediction, the Corolla will easily fall under 40 mpg next year when confronted with the revised EPA test which will reflect real world highway speeds and vehicle equipment use. Averaged with its revised city figures it won’t even be close to 40 mpg.
Ames Tiedeman
The WTCC should be sold in the US. It would do well in Ca., Fl., and Az.
Tom Kwakovski
Did you ever notice that the opel antara is almost the twin of the chevrolet captiva, really amazing, check this video http://www.carchannel.be/nl/artikel/chevrolet/opel-antara-versus-chevrolet-captiva .