Good morning participants in TTAC's fantasy GM Car Czar (WTF Edition). Remember when GM announced they were going to build the Beat sub-compact for U.S. Chevy dealers– and then not (too expensive to import)? Well I hope you didn't toss out the cards for the Beat mini-cars' brethren. Automotive News reports that GM now plans to replace the current Aveo with a hecho en Mexico version of the Groove or Trax by 2011. Product-addled Chevy Veep Ed Peper refuses to narrow it down any further. "Of the triplets, we will get one of those variants, I don't want to say at this point." Peper also warns U.S. mini-car fans that the final vehicle will be "very similar to one of those vehicles but larger," in part to meet U.S. crash test standards. The supersized mini-compact will be built on the gamma platform. Oh, and the Cruze will replace the Cobalt. Still, best to save those cars. I mean, cards.
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With the way the car market works today, GM could sell all 3 versions and not make enough of them.
But I think it is really important for GM to kill the Cobalt and the Aveo as soon as replacements can be found. Just because they sell at $9,999 doesn’t mean they should be sold.
In 1959, Charles Lindblom published his article on “The Science of Muddling Through” which outlined his view that the U.S. executive bureaucracy uses limited policy analysis, bounded rationality, and limited or no theory at all in formulating policy. While it was aimed at government entities, it certainly describes the way GM operates. They don’t have any kind of product plan (or any other kind of business plan) in place. They just make knee-jerk decisions and change course on a daily basis, hoping they’ll eventually end up on the right road.
Everything they do, from their on-again-off-again-on-again product announcements to executives who contradict each other on an almost-daily basis, shows they have no real direction in anything they do. But then again, maybe that is their business plan. They keep shotgunning ideas and products and on the rare occasion they do manage to hit somewhere near the target, they declare success, then spend the next three years patting themselves on the back until they have to muddle through the next self-inflicted crisis.
Why not the Beat? It was the people’s choice… the “Groove” looks a little too “cartoony”; like a car that Homer Simpson would build for Bart (or Lisa).
Looks like a cross between a PT cruiser and a Scion xB. But it’s just a Daewoo like the Aveo, why bother? I’m not sure this does any better than the just OK Cobalt but it does improve on the wretched Aveo.
Frank Williams:
In 1959, Charles Lindblom published his article on “The Science of Muddling Through” . . . it certainly describes the way GM operates.
Excellent point. And while I hate to defend GM execs here, there is a certain logic to their ‘muddling’. These are not dumb people running GM. They’ve known they’ve been boxed in by unionized plants, pensions costs, too-many dealers / state franchise laws, their own (misguided) loyalty to (too many) worthless underlings in management, myopic political loyalty to Blue States, etc..
If GM had been easy to fix over the past 10 years, wouldn’t someone have put together the $10-50B necessary to take it over? Nope. No one wanted to manage the mess. And the current management team will get paid very well regardless of the outcome.
Does this mean that the Aveo will have to soldier on for another three years?
Why so many names? I read car blogs every day and I can’t keep track: Cruze, Beat, Groove, Trax, Cobalt, Aveo.
Establishing a brand takes years and millions of dollars. Then GM throws it away and starts all over again.
Establishing a brand takes years and millions of dollars. Then GM throws it away and starts all over again.
However sad it may seem, I think many return customers would rather not be reminded of their last GM small car experience.
Whoa! 2011 not 2010!?
# danms6 Says:
However sad it may seem, I think many return customers would rather not be reminded of their last GM small car experience.
Well, I don’t plan to forget my GM small can experience – I expect to nurture it, and remind myself why I will NOT purchase another GM “hmmm – sorta close enough to something” vehicle.
Bruce
Any reason to expect the new small GM products to be any different than the old GM small car products? I mean knowing them it will be different looks but all the same under the skin as what we have now – fair to middling engine, tranny, and materials getting 10 mpg less than it ought to.
C’mon GM, give me a reason to stay with your brand!
Ford could beat you to it and introduce the new Fiesta AND Focus before you get your s*** together and get the new Cruze/Trax/Beat on the market in NA.
Aveo, Groove, Trax, Beat, Cruze…along with Gamma, Delta, Epsilon…and conflicting news stories about all of them in the last few months. Way confusing. I’m guessing it’s GMs attempt at marketing to try to create buzz.
We never hear about “platforms” from other makers, and consumers likely couldn’t care less. Just give us great small cars with brands and names that have longevity and identity. GM, Ford and Chrysler have a bad habit of bringing in imported models that come and go–Colt, Fiesta, Aveo, Optra, Epica, Catera, Merkur.
Other companies have single models that have continued for years (Civic, Corolla, Accord, Camry, etc). Pick something, make it great, and stick with it.
I live in Canada and bought one of GM’s Daewoo imports, a Chevy Epica (aka Suzuki Verona), which I actually like a lot, and it was my first GM vehicle (after a long series of Hondas and Toyotas). Alas it is no longer sold in NA but overseas only; I would have bought another one.
The Cruze/Trax/Beat/whatever might show up in a couple years–maybe not. More likely the Cobalt will get a minor refresh. Instead, I’ve been eyeing the ’09 Fit or Versa.
danms6 “However sad it may seem, I think many return customers would rather not be reminded of their last GM small car experience.”
How true.
The Groove was the least original and my least favorite of the 3 concepts GM trotted out at the time. It is a Chevrolet xB, waaaaay too derivative of Scion. The Trax and Beat are fairly stylish and original and GM would have been smart to have them on the market by now. So what else is new?
clive, “Ford could beat you to it and introduce the new Fiesta AND Focus before you get your s*** together and get the new Cruze/Trax/Beat on the market in NA.”
Ford will beat them to market simply because GM only put their cars up for show 2 years ago and didn’t really plan or do any work on bringing them to market in the US. Which is why I have no sympathy for GM because I liked all three concepts that were previewed.