I'm a big fan of Autoblog. While there are some who might suggest that there's a good reason that re-writing (or republishing) press releases is a lost art form, and that a 53 minute podcast is the pistonhead version of waterboarding, I don't count myself amongst them. At least not until now. In any case, there's no denying that Autoblog is, as Justin says, the newspaper of record. Equally clearly, TTAC is a bunch of cybernetic muckrakers who abide by Oscar Wilde's dictum that if you can't say something nice about someone, come sit by me. While I don't begrudge Autoblog their success, there are times when I wish they'd grow a set of stones. But then I think, hang on, these are genuinely nice folks. Just because Autoblog doesn't share TTAC's jaundiced view of the auto industry doesn't make them bad people. Why be so [double] negative? Not all children are born with a desire to turn over rocks and unearth the life-and-death battles beneath. Why begrudge Autoblog their wide-eyed, unquestioning, puppy-dog enthusiasm? Because they get press credentials to the Detroit Auto Show and we don't? Well, yes, precisely. And while we await final word on that subject, rest assured we will not go quietly– or cheerfully– into that long good riddance. Or something like that.
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Under the current GM philosophies, shouldn’t the RWD Statesmen/Park Avenue be going to Pontiac as the Bonneville or something like that?
Then the high-power/chromed out/high-style cars would go to Cadillac.
That would make Buick the “bridge” between the two in your plan?
ajla:
If we’re getting into Justin fantasy land here….
Pontiac would really be only sporty cars. I’d have the G8 be the top of the lineup; no need for something bigger. The upcoming Alpha platform (smaller RWD) can underpin most everything else.
Buick would be more like sedate, old school luxury. Truly rolling barcaloungers. The elongated Holden that sells as the Statesman in OZ and as the Park Avenue in China is absolutely perfect. Embrace the comfort and stop wasting time with “sporty” versions.
As for Cadillac, they shouldn’t be selling cars that overlap with Buick in my opinion. Three priorities for rebuilding that brand (1) Nothing south of $50 or $60k. (2) Overbuilt, standard of the world cars. (3) Instantly recognizable to non-car people. In terms of luxury vs. sporty or specific styling, that’s really a side issue.
And all GM cars should have names. I hate alphanumeric nomenclature. It makes people say things like “The new big Pontiac.” or “The smaller Cadillac SUV.”
Bring back the 1950s, when one model represented the entire brand: one Chevy car, one Chevy truck, one Pontiac, one (or two) Buicks and Caddies. Make coupe and sedan variations, but all with the same name and basic design within each brand.
Modern concession: Chevy and Pontiac/GMC should get SUVs and CUVs.
Oh, and make that Pontiac car a little softer, more conservative and bring back a Camry killer: the Oldsmobile. And everything but Chevy and Cadillac should be sold together on the same showroom.
I don’t know how many other Autoblog refugees there are here, but now that I think about it I stopped reading Autoblog right around the time I discovered TTAC. There is no other place on the world wide tubes I know of that has the same kind of clean setup and editorial content TTAC has. I’m looking at Autoblog now after a long absence and brother, it ain’t changed much, ‘cept for more (obtrusive) ads.
@Sajeev:
To some extent, the dealer arrangement you talk about does exist now. GM did a good job of consolidating dealerships into Chevy, Pontiac-Buick-GMC, and Cadillac-Hummer. Saturn still stands alone, which I think is fine.
Unfortunately, Saturn displaced Oldsmobile. And what’s worse is that it never replaced Oldsmobile in terms of sales.
mistercopacetic, try an RSS reader instead of a web browser. It makes Autoblog usable. The only time I actually see their website in totality is if I drop to it to post a comment.
I realize it is like waving a red flag in front of a bull, and the content creators will squeeze off the feed readers with truncated, aborted tidbits in the hope that we’ll all be assaulted with pixels and pixels of advertising in our quest for content… but really it is the only way. You can’t get more “clean setup” than an RSS feed.
Besides, sending pixels is what runs up your costs as a website operator. I know, I run a server colocation/web hosting company.
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
Justin: I question the reach of their consolidation, esp in urban areas where tying brands together has a big impact on perception. (Chevy/Buick and Ford/Mercury dealers in the middle of nowhere are fine)
But in Houston, there is (at least) one standalone Buick dealer. And a standalone Pontiac/GMC dealer across the street. And a Pontiac/GMC/Buick/Cadillac dealer on the other side of town. Zero cohesiveness, hence GM’s crazy product portfolio.
@SajeevMehta
I thought that one of the side effects of GM’s efforts to only have a couple products for Buick, Pontiac and GMC was that stand-alone dealers would simply not have enough product to keep doing business, and would have to merge or die off. It doesn’t seem to be working here, either. I know in Flint we have a Pontiac-Cadillac dealership, a Buick-GMC-HUMMER, a Pontiac only, and a few BPG mixes.
Sajeev, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pontiac/GMC Dealer and the Buick dealer across the street from each other were actually the same business or same owner, per GM’s consolidation process.
CarShark: As we all know, narrowing dealer scope is pretty hard given the favorable state laws. Aside from Cerberus’ tactics, the only way I know out of it is to push the big red bankruptcy button, or get Auto Nation to buy everyone out.
akitadog: I am 99% sure they are different owners. The Buick dealer also has Lincoln/Mercury and used to have Saturn.
I expect the land value of that Pontiac dealer is its best asset. The only thing more stale than the G5s/Yukons on the lot is the 1970s vintage showroom in the center. (not that there’s anything wrong with old buildings, I’m just sayin’)
I usually read Autoblog on a Palm (crap) browser TX these days which can handle the mobile version well enough. Ads are nonexistent, and so are comments – all of the content and none of the, uh, fluff. You can see what it looks like at this link:
http://m.autoblog.com/
All of the AOL/Weblogs sites support mobile browsers. I like to scan BloggingStocks and Engadget this way. TMZ.com on the can, anyone?
I was reading the Podcast when a Ford Escape ad popup got in the way. But besides that CHILL OUT.
Remember Robert although they are in close proximity to one another there is a difference between having stones and being a dick. Although the latter does have more fun.
Also, how did this become a dealer network debate?
Robert,
I don’t know if I’ve read everything about TTAC being denied press passes to the Detroit auto show, but do you think it has something to do with this site’s policy of ignoring embargos? I believe your exact words were “Embargo This!”
Cowbell:
If the Detroit Auto Dealers Association had made that point, well, fair enough.
The Committee refused to provide any reason for their decision to deny this website access to the press days.
Maybe Autoblog and TTAC should form some sort of partnership together?
Autoblog provides the news, while TTAC provides the commentary. For official reasons, press passes for one would be good for the other. It could be a boost for both sites.