I think if GM sticks to what they claim their plans are for the Buick and Pontiac brands are, then it makes sense to have them both in one showroom.

Buick is supposed to be a a reasonably luxurious car that's not up there with Cadillac and is more competing with the likes of the Toyota Avalon, Lexus ES330, Acura TL and other relatively large entry-luxury cars. They could have a passenger car of that size, let's say a LeSabre, then a larger passenger car say of Chrysler 300 or Ford Five Hundred proportions, let's say a Park Avenue. Probably keep both of these fwd with an awd option. Add a true 4-seat large rwd coupe (Riviera, anyone?) and a nice convertible version of that coupe, and there's your four Buick models. Maaaaybe keep a minivan and crossover SUV around since no such products exist in the GMC lineup and they certainly don't fit with the proposed image for Pontiac, existence of the Pontiac Torrent Chevy Equinox clone notwithstanding.

Pontiac is supposed to be sporty and with a bit of flair but also reasonably practical. Their existing models at least in theory make a certain degree of sense but their execution is rather poor. They can continue to have a G6-sized vehicle but it would need to be more sporty and better screwed together. Let's say the Volvo S60 would be a good example of what to target, although with a bit more sport to the Pontiac competitor and obviously a lower price. They're planning a G6 coupe and hardtop convertible for very soon. Make the same improvements across the G6 line and you have three models right there. The GTO works as a larger coupe with a V8 and if made more interesting than the current blandmobile could be good as their big muscle car. Optionally, but not necessarily, they could have a smaller muscle car (Firebird?) to compete with the Mustang. The new Mustang has shown that a muscle car can still sell in good numbers if done right. Maybe make convertible versions of the GTO, Firebird or both. Finish up the lineup with a larger sedan somewhere in between the two hypothetical Buick sedans (Bonneville?) that's more overtly sporting, perhaps rwd to directly compete with the Chrysler 300.

GMC is pretty solid as is.

Combining the three brands covers pretty much every segment, and while both Buick and Pontiac would have sedans, coupes and convertibles they would be differentiated enough that they would complement, rather than cannibalize each other. Customer comes in lookin at a GTO but it's too loud and doesn't ride nice enough? Take a look at this Riviera. Customer comes in lookin at a LeSabre but it's not sporty enough? Step this way and check out a Bonneville. Customer wants a nice convertible but can't justify the price of a Riviera? Whaddaya know, this G6 is pretty nice too and it's a lot more affordable. Customer comes in on a GMC Envoy but it's too trucky? Well here's this Buick Rendezvous. The three brands combined would be not really all that much more to sell than what Toyota has on its lots. And those big megadealers would be able to consolidate some of their multiple outlets into single outlets, reducing their overhead and giving the sales team more ways to keep customers in the same showroom.

Hey, maybe GM should hire me...

 

Mark LaNeve is offering a wake-up call to General Motors' 300 stand-alone Buick and Pontiac dealerships: GM is downsizing its product lineup.

Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealerships will have a full range of products; stand-alone dealerships will not.

Over the past month, LaNeve, GM North America's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, has explained his plan to nearly 3,000 dealers.

"We're not going to put a bullet to anyone's head saying you have to do this," LaNeve said last week during an interview with Automotive News.

But "we're not designing the portfolio for stand-alone Buick dealers," he said. "You might make it as a stand-alone if you're really good in the right market. But the business opportunity of all three is where you'll really see profits."

As of Jan. 1, Buick had 198 stand-alone dealerships, while Pontiac had 110. There were 168 GMC stand-alone stores. By contrast, there were 784 Buick-Pontiac-GMC stores and 245 Pontiac-GMC stores.

In an interview with Automotive News on March 23, LaNeve enunciated his plan to eliminate product clones. At the time, GM had just issued a downbeat earnings forecast. And during a question-and-answer session at the New York auto show, GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz had called Pontiac and Buick "damaged brands."

LaNeve subsequently assured dealers that those brands would survive. But GM concluded that it had to accelerate its plans to eliminate product clones.

That plan has been "turbocharged in the last six months -- especially in the last 60 days," LaNeve said.

In the past, GM gave brands their own versions of the same vehicle -- creating an overlapping product lineup and confusion in the marketplace.

For instance, Buick offers the Terraza minivan, and Pontiac sells the Montana SV6 minivan. Meanwhile, Chevrolet markets the Uplander minivan, and Saturn sells the Relay. Those minivans are built on the same underpinnings.

In the future, LaNeve said, GM might not have minivans for Pontiac and Buick.

Chevrolet and Cadillac dealers expect to benefit from the Darwinian product strategy that is taking shape. Last week in New York, LaNeve outlined GM's plans for Chevrolet and Cadillac.

"Strong brands win; weak brands lose," he said during a speech to the International Motor Press Association. "End of story."

Successful automakers "are anchored by a great volume brand at one end and a great premium brand at the other," LaNeve said. "In our case, (that's) Chevrolet and Cadillac."

LaNeve's comments are borne out by GM's U.S. sales figures for the year to date. Despite GM's 4.9 percent sales decline through April, Cadillac is up 4.0 percent and Chevrolet is up 1.1 percent.

But not everyone agrees with La-Neve's approach. Conrad Darby, owner of Darby Buick in Sarasota, Fla., says, "If GM is adapting a strategy of survival of the fittest, I don't know if that helps dealer morale."

GM's product strategy makes sense to megadealer Jack Fitzgerald, who sells all GM brands except Saturn and Hummer at three of his 12 dealerships in suburban Washington.

"Chevy is doing OK, and Cadillac is doing better," says Fitzgerald, who has sold cars for 50 years.

The elimination of GM's product clones is "probably a good strategy," Fitzgerald says. "GM makes too many different cars. You can't stock all of them or focus on all of them. Reducing models will save money."

GM's old strategy of me-too products isn't working anymore for Buick, Pontiac and Saturn. Each reports declining U.S. sales.

Lynn Thompson, co-owner of Thompson Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac-Saab in Springfield, Mo., says his Cadillac and Saab sales are up substantially over last year.

But his Pontiac and Buick franchises are suffering, and his store's overall sales are down 20.0 percent from his original forecast. At a meeting last week of 20 Pontiac dealers from around the country, Thompson learned that other Pontiac dealers are struggling, too.

"Not everyone is making more," says Thompson, who is the former co-chairman of GM's national dealer council. "We get fat and sassy when things get real good. Only when things slow down do we start to pay attention."

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102430

 

Funny how GM comes out and says this after replicating the Oldsmobile lineup of sedans, SUVs, and vans in the Buick showrooms and then gives the new Malibu and Equinox some fancy faces and plops them in Pontiac.

How long until the "filler" models die out? 4-5 years from now? When GM sets a strategy, it takes forever to turn around. The ship doesn't turn on a dime... "we haven't amortized our costs!"

Anyway, the G6 is THE entry-level Pontiac. Nothing less sporty should be allowed in, and a sedan smaller than that is just dopey. No Korean cars please. Pontiac is the last North America-only brand, and it should say DETROIT loud and clearly (and Chicago and Cleveland, which are the other large markets that Pontiac does well in).

 

Hmm, well it looks like GM might actually be taking some steps towards doing what they've been talking about.

Moving to accelerate the consolidation of its Buick, Pontiac and GMC brands into a single sales channel, General Motors Corp. is warning dealers that only sell the Buick line that they'll have fewer and fewer models to sell in coming years.

The message was delivered Thursday during a meeting in Troy of more than 1,000 dealers from the automaker's north-central sales region, including Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.

Dealers that sell only the Buick line could face financial challenges as GM pares its U.S. model line in response to falling demand. Buick sales are down 17 percent this year and GM told dealers that Buick's product portfolio will be trimmed down to four or five vehicles from eight. The vehicles most likely to be cut are the Rendezvous crossover vehicle and the Rainier, a midsize sport utility vehicle.

To reduce product overlap and save marketing costs, GM is realigning its North America brands and model lineup. Chevrolet and Cadillac will become "foundational" brands with the broadest car and truck portfolios. GM's other six brands will see their product lines pared to only models that meet specific, strategic brand images -- such as trucks and SUVs for GMC.

A big piece of that plan includes selling Buick, Pontiac and GMC cars and trucks at a single dealership, rather than at stand-alone stores. About 50 percent of Pontiac, GMC and Buick stores have already been consolidated.

"It's really getting the role right and the three work together," Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales, service and marketing for GM North America, said during a recent interview.

"I told the dealers straight up, I'd rather you've got three or four great Pontiacs that really deliver on that legendary athletic design or performance and three or four great Buicks that are a cut above," LaNeve said.

In recent months, GM has reached out to reassure and rally dealers as part of a broad initiative to revive flagging U.S. sales that contributed to a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss. In May, GM reported a 13 percent decline in sales, and its overall sales are down 6.7 percent this year. Its U.S. market share has dipped to 25.4 percent from 27 percent a year ago.

Livonia Buick dealer John Rogin said he felt no pressure to buy into the so-called "single channel" concept, but is open to converting at some point.

"We've been a single line dealer for 20 years," said Rogin, who also owns a single-line GMC dealership. "Would I and GM ultimately do better if I had all three brands under one roof? Absolutely. If GM has a plan, we'd welcome a discussion."

Jim Bunnell, North-Central regional manager, and Pete Gerosa, GM North America Vice President field sales, service and parts, said Chevrolet will likely market 23 to 26 models, while Cadillac's portfolio will consist of nine to 11 models. Chevrolet now offers 20 models, not counting medium duty trucks and certain derivative model such as Cobolt SS. Cadillac sells nine models, not including high-performance versions.

Hummer will market four to five different models, up from three choices. Saab's product line will have five to seven models, up from its current four, according to dealers attending the meeting.

Collectively, the Pontiac, GMC and Saturn brands will have 22-27 models, GM executives told dealers, without providing details. The three brands sell 18 distinct vehicles and plan to produce at least four additional models.

GM also told dealers it will cut production by 33,000 units in the last three months of the year. Hurt by lower sales and a stockpile of unsold cars and trucks, GM is reducing North American production by about 110,000 vehicles, or 9 percent, in the third quarter. For the year, GM plans to cut output by about 465,000 vehicles, officials told dealers.

GM spokesman Stefan Weinmann declined to comment on GM's future production plans, citing changing market conditions, which may alter production plans.

Dealers are concerned that the production cutbacks, together with a new promotion that offers employee-style discounts to all consumers through July 5, could leave them short of inventory, Rogin said. Dealershave largely dealt with bloated inventories in recent years.

While some dealers may not agree with GM's new strategies, Rogin said he felt optimistic after the meeting, calling it "the most direct, most truthful, most positive meeting anyone could remember."

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...C01-202702.htm

 

General Motors is asking exclusive Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers to swallow some bitter medicine as it cuts overlapping products. But many are taking it with a spoonful of sugar: the hope that GM will help make deals between stand-alone stores.

GM says stand-alone Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealerships will not have a full product line in the future. The automaker wants dealers to combine the three brands into one store.

GM's so-called channel strategy is not new, but the messenger is. Mark LaNeve, GM North America's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, says GM will increase pressure on dealers by cutting overlapping products.

One dealer says stand-alone Pontiac, Buick and GMC dealers shouldn't be surprised. "These stand-alone dealers have known for five years now that eventually they'll have a problem," says Paul Rubin of White Bear Lake Superstore in White Bear Lake, Minn. "Now GM is telling them that they really will have a problem because they won't have product."

Rubin is co-chairman of GM's national dealer council with LaNeve. Rubin is a Pontiac-GMC dealer.

As of Feb. 1, GM had 784 Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealerships, 22 more than at the same time last year. By contrast, GM has 198 stand-alone Buick dealerships, 110 stand-alone Pontiac stores, 168 stand-alone GMC stores and 245 Pontiac-GMC stores.

GM is helping make deals between stand-alone dealerships. To what extent GM will step in financially, though, remains unclear.

GM helped out with one deal in suburban Detroit. Bob Saks Buick-Oldsmobile will sell to Bob Sellers Pontiac-GMC, says Bob Saks of Bob Saks Buick-Oldsmobile. Both are in Farmington Hills, Mich. GM awarded Saks a Buick-Pontiac-GMC franchise in nearby South Lyon, Mich., he says.

"GM gave us the opportunity to build a new dealership," Saks says. "If it wasn't for them, the deal wouldn't have happened."

Meanwhile, dealers for brands that will get more product -- Cadillac, Chevrolet and Saturn -- are happy with the plan.

Jacques Moore of Moore Cadillac-Hummer-Saab-Subaru in Richmond, Va., says one day he'll likely face a problem of overlapping vehicles if Saab's product lineup expands.

"But I understand it," Moore says. "People don't need to be buying Saab instead of Cadillac just because it has a different badge on it."

Bob Goodman of Goodman Automotive Group, which has two Saturn dealerships in Florida, says: "I don't think it will affect us. The commitment to the Saturn brand is there. We've seen what's coming, and there is more on the horizon."

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102486

 

so in short instead of killing brands they are killing the overlap machines within each brand (ie, no more gmc sierra) ?

 

The GMC Sierra ain't goin anywhere. It does not overlap with any Pontiac or Buick products.

They want to set up Pontiac, Buick and GMC as three brands which will complement each other within the same dealership. Overlap with the likes of Chevrolet is not such a concern.

 

i guess we could then say that they are getting rid of the brands and creating one bigger brand. i know that it's not really, but just saying they are merging makes it seem as if they will still have overlapping cars

 

Yeah, there's going to be some overlap.

The point here is that with each of these brands, GM wants to have a certain degree of focus among each brand's vehicles, to the point where each brand would not quite have enough models to stand on its own.

Yes, there would be overlap at a Buick-Pontiac-GMC store. But there would be less overlap between the current Buck, Pontiac and GMC lineups. Hopefully enough of a reduction in overlap such that dealers would be able to move people from one car to another if they say, looked at a Buick but wanted something more sporty, or looked at a Pontiac but wanted more luxury, all while keeping the customer in the dealership and increasing the likelihood of a sale.

 

Now that GM finally got the message that they needed to streamline their product lines, their dealers are up in arms about it. All the old time stand alone Buick dealers are going to have to bite the bullet whether they like it or not. Just because you sold only Buicks for 50 years doesn't mean you will continue to be successfull at it.

It's that same mentality that got GM into the shape in which they had to make these changes.