General Motors: The Good & Bad - Garage419

Last year I was lucky enough to vist your Great Country, spending two weeks in the 'Motor City', it saddened me greatly to see GM going through these trouble times, but having worked as automotive designer for past 12 years some things were apparent, the sub-supplier/worker strikes that were going on were shear madness only serving to bring 'your' companies to their knees, other routes of expressing your disatisfaction need to found, this reaks of what happened in the uk with british leyland and now it is no more . Getting rid of 'Rick' and replacing him with 'Fritz' will not solve GM's problems, new blood is required and the world market is changing . The product/brand range was too diverse with too many ovelapping products, all inturnally competing against each other and as many of you say they 'their products are garbage'. The customer by nature expects economy (except in the case of out and out sport cars), good build quality,safety and realiability, focus needs to be transfered onto how to acheive this, not what company belives/thinks/guess's what they want. Today's market is simple - small, small-sports,medium, medium-sports, large, large-you get the picture, in all three price sectors value,middle class and luxury. GM clearly has all the right parts but not the right recipe and it needs to look closer at the foreign competors, that said some of its brands are world leading the 'Vette' with its Ls engine is pehaps one of the worlds Best sports car 'pound for pound'. What I dont understand is why GM doesn't call upon it's european sub companies, and raid it's parts bins, for example europe has some great four cylinder engines petrol and diesel which could be brought state-side(with enough power output even to keep you guys happy) which would increase volumes further bringing unit cost down across the whole company. I only hope that it can turn it's self around for the sake of the company and the workers, otherwise you may end up like us ... driving every body else's car's. all for now.....Best Wishes

American car companies have been in trouble since the 70's. Back then, the products were just plain garbage, but they got away with it because there wasn't any real competition. Then, the Japanese onslaught of the 80's taught them a lesson, so we thought. The 90's showed 'marginal' improvements in product quality (but still nothing that will last like a Jap car). The problem in the 00's is the product design philosophy. The emphasis seems to be on market target, when it should really be on product design and development. The Big 3 design cars with an emphasis on who will most likely buy the car. Anyone who likes the car will buy it. Finally, I think we need to simplify things a great deal; for example build a small, medium and large car and build those very well.

The host of this show is a moron. Really, but the LS engines are good, even though the Cadillac V6 is better.

This is what should of happened from GM: Kill GMC and let Chevrolet do the trucks. Also GM should stop rebadging cars and selling them like there a completely different product. They need to also remake some out of date models (Chevrolet corvette, Cadillac STS & DTS). Keep Pontiac since it's one of GM's biggest sellers. Sell Saab, Saturn and Hummer and maybe Buick since they already have Cadillac to be their luxury brand, and if they can't sell Hummer & Buick then just kill them. Cut down on their SUV/Crossover lineup. Stop importing crappy Daewoo cars and selling them to the public with a different badge (E.G. Chevrolet Aveo5, Pontiac G3). Also Gm should start selling the volt soon before it's too late for them.

How the hell can anyone say the new Camaro is bad GM? It kicks the new Mustang's ass in looks and performance.

I have a random question. Is there going to be a follow up episode on Supercar Weekend from Palm Beach, Part 1? Part 2 coming?

Guys, how did you skip over the Solstice/Sky? Should GM still have roadster? Is either worth keeping?

I agree with the BMW model Small car Medium Car Large Car Small Crossover Larger SUV Small Pickup Large Pickup add a Roadster and a HALO car that's all you need if you want to do Badge Engineering you NEED to differentiate them Make Cadilac the ultimate in Luxry/Performance Make Dodge the Ultimate in toughness these companies are far too reactive than proactive remember it takes 3-5 years for a car to go from paper to the showroom, you need to be forward thinking

you know i pay pretty close attention to this sort of thing but i honestly did not know that the hybrid silverado existed... and they cut the half ton diesel that people would actually buy... even worse Chrysler just did the exact same thing with the ram 1500 and are planing to come out with a full sized hybrid truck. i just hope it gets cut when Chrysler (hopefully) goes into chapter 11 in a few days... or even better gets liquidated

Question for you guys: are any of you under 70-years-old? If you answered yes, would you even consider driving a Buick? By far, that's GM's most unnecessary brand. People who drive them are pretty much dying off. GMC used to have a point; people used to think Chevy trucks weren't for "serious truckers." This was less so on either coast. I can see why GM, a company which obviously has a hard time adapting to change quickly, hasn't figured this out & cut them yet. Pontiac would've been able to stay if GM wasn't so far gone at this point. They epitomize what's wrong with the American auto industry; poor marketing. Originally, every GM car brand filled a niche. Now, they're all the same company, but with different labels. That just breeds inter corporate competition, which is actually not good in this case. Maybe when these guys where on the cutting edge of car-tech it brought a better product. This is clearly no longer the case. If they really want to save themselves, they'll turn into one company that makes all of their current cars under $50 dollars worth saving. Maybe when they start turning out a serious profit, they could start a luxury brand (perhaps revive Cadillac). Of course, this would royally screw a ton of people, but it's the best path for the future of the corporation. I'm curious if I'm alone here. Tell me, am I crazy for thinking this?

Please do a good car, bad car on Chrysler... It would be like "mmm... yeah, they're all bad". Also... What do you guys have in common with finalgear??? pleate tell me!

great show. Alot of common sense. A feel good vid to watch.

What ever GM does, they should cut the Cobalt and current plans for the Cruze. Replace that with a 100% American built platform. The normally aspirated (non-eclectic) version could hold the badge of the Cruze (or other name) LS, LT and SS. Then the highest version of the car would be the Cruze Volt plug-in. These would all be on the same 100% new platform, light, tight and great. Having the Cruze/Volt on the same base platform will save a tone of money and allow them to focus on making a solid chassis beyond that of any car in its class. (LS/LT’s with grip around 0.85g on summer tires and a SS version with the same or more than the current Cobalt SS). The Volt could be marketed as the best handling plug in on the market. The above would also make tuners very happy. Volt drivers who want a little custom work could order certain SS upgrades, which would work on the plug-in (most likely handling parts only). The LS/LT could order any of the SS upgrades too, thus the platform, as a whole, is a win-win.

Here's what GM should do: Chevrolet -Corvette -Camaro -Malibu -Silverado "Chevrolet Truck" -Colorado "Chevrolet Truck" -GMC Tahoe -GMC Truck commercial Truck bodies for dump trucks, etc. Caddilac -CTS/CTS-V -XLR/XLR-V -Escalade Holden specialty Motors -Commodore

Leo is not a car person if he would rather have a hyundai shit-box over a Camaro, or kill the Escalade. You're opinion is wrong!

I personally think that GMC is the epitome of badge engineering. Since it's conception, they've been badge engineered Chevrolet trucks. In the face of the decisions at GM, GMC still exists. I think that now, as the brands are pared down to the core, they should stand for different market shares. Chevrolet should be solely passenger cars. Buick should be upmarket somewhere between where Saturn and Pontiac intended to be. Cadillac should stay put and like Leo said, make the Escalade into a large Bentley-like luxo-barge. GMC should be trucks trucks trucks. consolidate the Silverado and Colorado into GMC. It's leaner and more efficient to keep all vehicles in their prospective brands and categories. Model Breakdown: Chevrolet- -Aveo (or replace with better car) -Cruze -Malibu -Impala or Caprice (use the G8!!!) -Volt -Camaro -Corvette Buick -Upmarket Entry (Astra) -Lacross -Luscerne -Roadmaster (another excuse to use the G8 platform) -Wildcat (would make a neat roadster where Solstice/sky left off) Cadillac: -BLS (entry level to compete with 3 series) -CTS -Evoq -STS -Escalade (like the Sixteen concept) GMC: Canyon Sierra Terrain Arcadia Yukon Fleet vehicles There. Everything where it should be. no more ambiguation.

* Interesting show + feedback. First off, GM's forte [American car companies] was never small cars. Thats why they bought small car companies & rebadged them. $12,6 is pretty good pricing for a brand new 2010 city car isnt it? ~ What did I say last year? NGM New GM? I predicted the future & was 100% correct. I simply can't understand why they WAITED SOOO LONG to get here??? They should have done this YEARS AGO!!! Corvette is strong enough to stand on its own as a Brand. Others brands should not be killed, but SOLD! Dont forget, Hummer started life as a military vehicle & it was only after Schwarzenneger wanted to use his for road use did it get enough attention. Camaro bad? Its only bad because it took > over a decade to arrive to market by which time its futile. 'Kinda getin prego?' "Wouldn't buy one in Million yrs" ?WHY? They need to go forward while celebrating their past & very rich history. Louis Joseph Chevrolet (1878-1941) was a fearless automobile racer from La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. He was the second son of Joseph Felician Chevrolet, a watch and clockmaker, and Angelina Marie (Mahon) Chevrolet. The Cadillac automobile was named after the 17th-century French explorer Antoine Laumet de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701. CTS-V TRACK PACK? Thanks I didnt know that, its news to me. Is it only a RED brake package? Cadi 16 - Most beautiful car never produced! It could take on Maybach, Bentley & Bugatti 4 door! What is so awful about the RX350? GMC - B2B v. B2C Belongs to the trucking division DIESEL HYBRID = Future http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac Chindia + Russia where markets are actually still strong in some segments is a perfect opportunity to gain market share using these brands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTzCwp0Q_lk Oksana LADA! This chick can hardly speak English & she's giving instructions. What a farce. I would question Buick before I question Pontiac.

did you guys see the latest ep of the onion ?? pretty friggin funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTzCwp0Q_lk i dont think the lineup is the problem really, they should just make the automobiles "to order" i wonder what happens to all those Aveo5's that dont sell ?? hmmmmm

Here's my line-up Chevy -Corvette -Camaro -Cobalt -Malibu -Impala (kill the current car and rebadge the Pontiac G8) -Silverado -Colorado -Tahoe -Rebadged GMC Acadia Cadilac -CTS and CTS-V -DTS -SRX Kill off GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Opel. Rebadge All Opel's and Saab's as Vauxhall's Then make a new, hip image for Chevy so young people want to buy them

I'm glad GM is trimming the fat but why kill Pontiac? Let Chevy be the family safe company, Cadillac is the luxury/performance brand, Pontiac should be the sporty/affordable brand. I say get rid of GM before Pontiac. I mean it's just a trim level upgrade of Chevy.

It Had to be done!!!!!!!!!!!! Why is there a GMC Acadia, Chevy Traverse, and A damn Buick Enclave?!?!?!?!And now we have the SRX Why!?!?!?! Bankruptcy and some more firings are definately a must! I a still say we need that rear drive midsize and small zippy fun sedans! But Silverado/Sierra, Tahoe/Yukon, and the ever retarded Suburban/Suburban i mean they vehicls never look different! Aveo= Garbage. Why make a small car to say you wanna capture the scion age brcaket and then make it as un enthiasticly driven as possible. I persoanlly would be happy with 22/27 mpg if the car looked good was made well and was a blast to drive!! Are you trying to tell me that as the biggest automaker GM does not have the resouces to make american drivers want to dirve again!?!?!?!?!?!?!? If so.....yeah rip them apart and start from fresh!

I dont understand why GM does not hire people with intellegence. Everyone has been saying the same thing for years yet they still come out with garbage cars that no one wants. I loved the kid keepin it gangsta i though leo was gonna bust a cap

You guys nailed almost every point but the Caddilac SRX is definately a bad GM. Matt this car looks as bad as the new Lexus RX300!!! And in the episode it looks cheap on the outside and Cadilacs shouldn't look cheap!!! They also should better go with a sports estate like the M5 touring or RS6 Avant.

I relly wish GM would follow BMW in the rwd with awd option instead of these fwd boring cars. I do hope that we see more Holden over here but we will have to see.