You can't make this shit up. The Wall Street Journal publishes an article saying GM is considering killing some of its "damaged" brands. GM spinmeister Tony Cervone categorically denies the story. The Detroit News says nope, it's true. And now CNNMoney reports that GM Marketing Maven Mark LeNeve sent a letter to The General's store owners denying the denial of the denial. In other words, the Wall Street Journal story isn't true. (They aren't killing brands.) "We engage you, our dealers, in this process of improving our business," the intercepted missive assures. "That is the extent of the 'examination' that is going on at this time for Saturn or any other GM brand. There is no breaking news here." That said, if one were inclined to read between the lines… "It is true that we constantly review our plan for improving volume and profitability for Saturn and all our brands," he wrote. Constantly reviewing as in checking results against targets? Nah, couldn't be. He must mean revising their sales targets downwards. Anyway, there is either more or less here than meets the eye. I think.
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Yes, indeed.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
There’s nothing like watching the captain of the ship run around in circles on deck as the iceberg approaches to give the passengers a feeling of security.
Anyone else gets the feeling that Lutz is the J. Bruce Ismay of the car world? In other words, he will not be on the ship when it sinks.
ahhh…the infamous Mark LeNeve. when i was a parts countermen at a GMC/Buick/Pontiac store, we would constantly get rosy corporate letters from him stating the HEALTH and LONGEVITY of GM sales. so his letter to reassure Saturn and Hummer branches comes as no surprise. something like “pulling the wool over their eyes” comes to mind…
if i were an employee at a GMC/Buick/Pontiac/Hummer/Saturn/Saab dealer right about now, i’d start looking for another place/brand of employment.
“denying the denial of the denial”. OK, now we’re getting silly here. This is vintage junior high shit. Of course what do you expect from GM, decisive action? Hey, I know, they should just piss away valuable time and money and play PR games and damage control rather than designing and building vehicles that customers actually want. Oh wait, they’re already doing that now.
Lying and denying a lot is challenging to do while keeping oneself from going insane and/or delusional. One cannot lye to another without lying to oneself. I’m telling you its challenging, special with bigger lies. Its challenging to keep a grip on reality. Its painful eventually.
Which is worse, the “denying of the denial of the denial” or if one takes their word at it and they are not looking to cut brands. If they are not (per their P.R.) looking to cut brands, then they are the bigger fools.
I’m confused. I’m sure owners of GM’s stock are likewise confused. Confused stock owners tend to sell.
I just punched in “GM” into Google (to look for it’s stock price). But I didn’t get as far as Google Finance. On the main Google site, for a search for GM, I got the following:
Related searches: gm bankruptcy gm bankrupt
That can’t be a good thing. That means a lot of people have been search for those two combinations of terms recently. In any case, for the day, GM’s stock actually closed up 41 cents, although it’s still less than a buck more than it’s 50-year low.
Is it too late? Here is a question for fellow subscribers. Can GM do anything to stay afloat? The Malibu got good reviews but what are sales like? Is the “negative halo” too much to overcome–period? Toyota has recalls but it doesn’t seem to hurt perception of quality.
If GM introduced a full line of cars tomorrow that were what the American buyer wanted would they try it?
I can’t find one American car that I’d buy over a foreign make in the same class.
When Saturn first came ot a friend at work bought one. It was a good car for a GM — but the comments were it’s almost as good as a Honda or Toyota.
I’ve gone back and re-read the article above. I can’t get by the fact that letter specifically mentions Saturn by name and none of the other brands. I think he’s telling us GM’s next move.
My local Saturn store has sold more of the current available models this year than last, more Aura’s, more Vue’s, more Sky’s and more Outlooks than 2007. The volume has dropped vs. last year because the Ion is no longer available and it represented 30% of their business. They are only 10% behind last year without the Ion. They just had a great June and a solid start to July. Saturn has a purpose and if given solid product and solid marketing it can take on the imports.
roar
TR3GUY: Yes it is too late. Chapter 11 is GM’s only hope.
I’ve got an Infiniti and a Jeep in my driveway. I don’t have any particular loyalty to any company – just make a good car – and support it well.
GM is just starting to fill my first criteria. The CTS, Malibu, and G8 seem like damn good cars.
The final criteria is the dealer experience. GM’s dealers are AWFUL. Many I’ve been to are dirty and run by, what seem like, bad used car salesmen. They are run like high-pressure boiler rooms. It seems like the guys don’t care what you buy as long as you also buy the extended warranty and the “underbody, rust-proofing” protection plan.
Hell, the Caddy dealer in my area also sells Hyundais! How can GM allow their premier brand to be sold side-by-side with Hyundai?
I can tell you that buyers WILL cross shop the Genesis with a Cadillac if they are RIGHT NEXT to each other.
Chapter 11 will allow GM to get rid of these AWFUL dealerships.
It is working for VW – they had really terrible cars AND terrible dealers. They are now in the process of fixing their cars and cleaning up the dealer experience.
Unfortunately for GM, their dealer network is too big and too broken to fix in a timely manner. Time is not on GM’s side.
-ted
I guess they found out the hard way dealers do read the WSJ in the morning. Shades of Oldsmobile dealerships being shuttered came to mind.
The final criteria is the dealer experience. GM’s dealers are AWFUL. Many I’ve been to are dirty and run by, what seem like, bad used car salesmen. They are run like high-pressure boiler rooms. It seems like the guys don’t care what you buy as long as you also buy the extended warranty and the “underbody, rust-proofing” protection plan.
Ive had the exact same treatment at Toyota stores in San Diego and Los Angeles, Ford and Dodge as well. you cant pin this particular fault on GM.