GM to phase out Saturn, Hummer, Saab, and Pontiac brands.

[XDeSuEhTX]

I don't know if this has been discussed on here yet.

All of the above mentioned brands as a whole will likely be gone soon. They are going to try an at least sell these brands off so they can continue under a different manufacturer, but if they don't find an investor in time, they are just going to pull the plug on them. Hummer and Saab, I think will be done by the end of this year if there is no investor. Saturn and Pontiac will be gone before 2012.

Thoughts?

Personally I like Pontiac and Saturn for the most part, and don't really want to see them go. What I don't care for are the other GM brands, like Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and such. They make too many large, family, and old folks cars and suvs I don't care for, and now they're cutting the more fun brands off it seems.

[Zayre88]

I'm very critical of GM even if i like them and only owned GM cars.They want to sell Saturn by 2012 but who will buy?  Most Saturn cars are rebadges from Opel or other GM platforms.  

I think that Saturn had it's chance, unfortunately it never had a huge success:
In 1994, Saturn sold 286,000 cars (when they only had the S serie)
In 2007, Saturn sold 240,000 cars (with Ion, Aura, Vue, Sky, Outlook, Relay)

It's sad, but GM is in a desperate situation, without deep difficult moves, soon there will be no Saturn, Chevy, Pontiac Buick and GM all together. The time for painful decisions has come to save GM.

Hummer and Saab have to be sold now!  It's time for GM to act because the same old corporate structure with multiple brands, rebadges, nameplates for everyone has to go.  They're no longer #1 with 45% of the Market, they have half of that and the company must restructure.

[kendra]

That's a bit unfortunate. Pontiac is a good, solid brand, as is Saab...everyone I've ever known with either brand of vehicle has had excellent luck and gotten a lot of longevity out of them.

Saturn I won't really miss. I always thought they seemed a bit cheap, and not particularly noteworthy. My ex-roommate had one, and while it was okay, it was nothing special.

Hummer, I won't be missing at all -- the apex of vehicular overindulgence, I think. :insane: I just never understood the appeal, and even less so when I see one barreling down the road at me in my Normal-Sized Vehicle. ;)

[videogamer75]

I like Hummers. They are great cars for off-road adventures such as hunting and they run pretty well too. That and they're just plain cool looking. I, for one, will miss them.

[kendra]

Originally posted by videogamer75
I like Hummers. They are great cars for off-road adventures such as hunting and they run pretty well too. That and they're just plain cool looking. I, for one, will miss them.

Well, best stock up whilst you can, then...you're no doubt an anomaly, as I'd be willing to bet that 95 (or perhaps even more) percent of Hummers will not see a single "off-road adventure" in the course of their existence. :P

I saw one trying to parallel park today -- it was a riot. :insane:

I'm more of the boring, conservative, practical four-door sedan type, what can I say? :)

[videogamer75]

Um what do you mean? Off-road use is the reason they were invented in the first place. The military used them in the 1980's (while they were called HUMVEES) to get through wooded areas, snow, sand, etc. and other areas that would be hard to get through. They're not really suited to regular roads, but that doesn't mean they are bad cars. There are plenty of good points about the Hummer. By the way, I really don't appreciate you acting like I'm stupid or something by giving me the ''sticking tongue out smiley face'' when I clearly am not.

And I am certainly not an ''anomaly'' as there are several other people who like Hummers, I mean if that wasn't the case GM wouldn't have produced them for so long.

[kendra]

Originally posted by videogamer75
Um what do you mean? Off-road use is the reason they were invented in the first place. The military used them in the 1980's (while they were called HUMVEES) to get through wooded areas, snow, sand, etc. and other areas that would be hard to get through.

I know that. I'm quite up on my history, thanks, military and otherwise. I even remember the 1980s, as I was there. ;)

They're not really suited to regular roads, but that doesn't mean they are bad cars. There are plenty of good points about the Hummer.

Didn't say they were bad cars, structurally or what-have-you -- I was suggesting that they were a bit over-the-top and unnecessary.

By the way, I really don't appreciate you acting like I'm stupid or something by giving me the ''sticking tongue out smiley face'' when I clearly am not.

Interesting, when I thought my usage of said smiley made it evident that I was just kind of poking a bit of good-natured fun. I wasn't insinuating that you were "stupid or something," but your overreaction is making you look a bit foolish, I think.

And I am certainly not an ''anomaly'' as there are several other people who like Hummers, I mean if that wasn't the case GM wouldn't have produced them for so long.

*sigh* I am going to make what I was saying as abundantly clear as I can so you are no longer so hideously confused about my meaning.

1. I have encountered ZERO people besides yourself who claim to utilize Hummers for any sort of off-road adventuring. In my experience, they have all seemingly been owned by suburbanites, for reasons unbeknownst to me, and used to shuttle back and forth down city roads and highways. I live in a largely rural state and this has STILL been my experience, which is what I have to draw information from. The poor people who actually live out in the sticks and could use a vehicle with significant off-road capabilities can't actually afford the Hummers that might indeed make it easier for them to traverse their dirt roads, in a bit of a sad twist. Go figure.

2. I was referring to you as an "anomaly" for that reason, and not for the reason that you "like Hummers," as yes, I am well aware that many people like them, and spend tens of thousands of dollars on them. Evidently not enough people like them to keep the brand viable, however...but oh well, c'est la vie.

I DO hope we're clear now. :bigsmile:

[XDeSuEhTX]

Back in high school, my math teacher had an H2... Apparently she liked it well enough to pay the gass bill. It likely has never been off of pavement.

I think it's just too much for one company to try an manage so many car brands at once. As it's been mentioned, I could see why Hummer doesn't sell enough. As far as Saab goes, Jerry Seinfeld is the only person who's ever owned as far as I know.

But I still don't understand Pontiac and Saturn. Pontiac being an American classic, they've always blurred the lines between classy and sporty. As far as Saturn goes, I think there's always room for a line of economy cars. Cheap doesn't necessarily mean crap anymore in the car industry. Kia and Hyundai do extremely well with similar lines.

[Mervyns]

I miss models like the Chevy Blazer/GMC Jimmy/Oldsmobile Bravada, Chevrolet/GMC C/K trucks, the Geo brand, Oldsmobile, etc.

[kendra]

Originally posted by Mervyns
Oldsmobile

I miss them too.

[Mervyns]

Someone down my street used to have both an 80's Chevy Blazer and Oldsmobile Bravada, both mysteriously gone now. The Olds went first if I remember correctly.

[Zayre88]

Even though there's a sentimental value for these brands, I think that GM must turn the page on their old corporate structure to have one brand for every kind of people whereas Toyota, Honda, Nissan and even Ford have no more than three brands and be just fine.

I really like Pontiac, but I understand that in today's market and with GM having to rely on loans to stay open, they must downsize and come back as a leaner, focused car company.  GM had 45 percent of the market in 1980, they're down to 22, half of their former glory.  

It costs a fortune to develop, produce and market all these brands and nameplates, especially to build brand and name awareness when there's so many car names to market.  Many compete in the same segment and/or are almost identical, only GM has two brands of trucks.  

The G6 is a competitor to the Aura and Malibu.  Honda sells The Accord, Toyota has the Camry, Ford has the Fusion.

The Buick Enclave, GMC acadia, Saturn Outlook and Chevrolet Traverse are nice Crossovers, but they're almost the same.  Can't GM just have no more than two?  Can't they have just one and sell it under different equipment packages instead?

Here is how I would reshape GM with one full-line brand, one luxury brand, and no more than 6 cars in between.  I feel that anyone would be able to find something to fit their needs in that group of cars:

My new GM on the left:  __________________________________    The GM we know on the right:

[Mervyns]

I hope GM doesn't become the next A&P.

[kendra]

Great streamlining, Zayre -- appealing to a wide range of vehicular needs without the redundancy that we see in the current GM. Nicely done.

[CTAmeshopper]

I will miss Pontiac, that just seems too iconic to go away. :hurt:

I won't miss Hummer though they can be spun off from GM I've always saw them as big and really unnecessary for civilian use,as opposed to the military who really need them.

Saab I think can sell as a separate brand as well GM doesn't need it.

I like Zayre's idea of compacting the amount of brands.

[HoJofan206]

I agree Zare, you did a good job with your realignment of GM.  Only thing that I suggest differently is that the Pontiac G6 is one of the top 20 selling vehicles in America.  It might make business since to keep that car as well, even though the new Malibu is the same car and it much more refined.  Otherwise, excellent job!

[Mervyns]

I hope they keep their remaining traditional brands: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. They already killed off Olds.

[HoJofan206]

I personally see no reason to keep the GMC truck line.  All of them are just rebadged Chevy trucks, they offer nothing original to the lineup.

[XDeSuEhTX]

Well, as it turns out...

- Pontiac is officially discontinued.
- Saturn was to be purchased, but fell through, with plans to discontinue in the near future.
- Hummer was sold off to an undisclosed Chinese company.
- Saab is still up in the air, uncertain with it's future.

[NJxxJon]

Originally posted by XDeSuEhTX
Well, as it turns out...

- Pontiac is officially discontinued.
- Saturn was to be purchased, but fell through, with plans to discontinue in the near future.
- Hummer was sold off to an undisclosed Chinese company.
- Saab is still up in the air, uncertain with it's future.

I will buy saturn for 400 bucks. Saturn rocks and I could change it up a bit!

[jmcnamara96]

Saab is sold to Spyker Cars NV