By on August 11, 2009

As part of today’s wander through hyperspace, GM attempts to answer a riddle that would have vexed a Theban: “What makes a Chevy a Chevy?” To which the only possible answer is “everything to everyone.” GMC receives the same treatment, in which we learn that the Professional Grade Brand “has a great opportunity to get away from where Chevy is.” (Whatever is is.) But when a Fastlane commenter asked GM Senior Creative Designer Dave Smidebush “why should we order a Terrain over the Equinox?” his answer was an enigma wrapped in a puzzle lost in a Vortec.

Dave Smidebush: Thank you. THey’re [sic] both great vehicles. Buy the one that appeals best to you but I’m a little partial to the Terrain!

If that doesn’t scream “differentiation,” what does?

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24 Comments on “GM Brand Chevrolet. Ish....”


  • avatar

    If it falls apart after 30,000 miles.

    John

  • avatar
    adonasetb

    the 2 vehicles are not identical – so you chose the one that appeals to your individual tastes – so what is the point of the article?

  • avatar
    Luke42

    adonasetb,

    What’s the difference?

  • avatar
    PeteMoran

    why should we order a Terrain over the Equinox?

    With those sorts of “gotcha” questions, who wants to take a bet gmblogs will be shutdown before the end of the year?

  • avatar
    geggamoya

    The Terrain looks just like the European Opel Antara, and the Chevy is called Captiva but looks nothing like the Equinox. Seems logical… Chevy Captiva

  • avatar
    tauronmaikar

    “What makes a Chevy a Chevy?”

    It is that painful feeling that comes after being anally destroyed but you can take comfort in the fact that you may have prevented the job loss of a fellow american.

  • avatar
    superbadd75

    So basically “We figured some people wouldn’t like the styling of the Equinox, so we made a couple of different versions in hopes of capturing more buyers. Jeep did it with the Patriot and the Compass, so what the hell, right?”.

  • avatar

    gosh, in other words, all things to all people. I’m impressed!

  • avatar
    mattstairs

    In every Chevy, there’s a little…Daewoo…

  • avatar
    moedaman

    tauronmaikar :
    August 11th, 2009 at 11:55 am

    “What makes a Chevy a Chevy?”

    It is that painful feeling that comes after being anally destroyed but you can take comfort in the fact that you may have prevented the job loss of a fellow american.

    Actually you can take comfort in knowing that you didn’t get raped as hard as the poor fellow who paid extra for the GMC or Buick version.

  • avatar
    Cicero

    A big part of GM’s problem is manifested by the facct that while I have a vague idea what an Equinox is, I have no clue about a Terrain. I assume that’s another division’s badge-engineered Equinox, from Mr. Smidebush’s enigmatic comment.

    I like cars and try to keep track of who sells what. If I can’t make sense of GM’s product lines, how do they expect to make any sense to Mr. and Mrs. “Point A to Point B”?

  • avatar
    oboylepr

    It starts costing large sums of money to keep it on the road. This starts 1 Microsecond after the warranty expires!

    You’ve been warned!

  • avatar
    slateslate

    As I haven’t set foot in a GMC in a while, my point may be moot…..

    but it ain’t hard to make GMC professional grade…..effin’ trim the interior in brushed aluminum and durable (but not cheap!) plastic and leatherette so that you don’t mind bringing in your mud-caked boots or bags of top soil into the interior…..and you don’t care if Fido drools all over the rear space cuz you can wipe down the whole interior with nothing more than a damp cloth.

    That would be professional grade.

  • avatar
    Howler

    Equinox? Equi-NOx Whenever I see one I think of noxious fumes and its enormous backside. It’s Equinoxe guys. By the way, what does Jean Michel Jarre have to do with an SUV! The Buick Rendezvous? Can’t wait for the Chevy Oxygene and Zoolook.

  • avatar
    windswords

    I love British accents. They sound so sophisticated. But that lady said absolutely nothing illuminating. As a matter of fact she said nothing noteworthy – in a very sophisticated way. Sophisticated rambling I guess.

  • avatar
    SherbornSean

    I get it now. Chevy is unprofessional grade.

  • avatar
    TomH

    If you took the Chevy/GM scripts, and did a global search and replace on the brand names, they are interchangeable, i.e. there was no meaningful/substantive content to help you understand the brand. Another cue would be the “opposite = reasonable” test; try the opposite of any statement made in the vignette. (e.g. “We really focused on the details” vs. “We really DIDN’T focus on the details.) If any car maker or any brand claimed to NOT do ANY of the elements discussed in the GM ads, they would be laughed at. Once again, the new GM, walks like, quacks like, and looks like the old one; albeit with a lot less debt and a lot more of my tax money in its treasury.

  • avatar
    SupaMan

    Dave Smidebush: Thank you. THey’re [sic] both great vehicles. Buy the one that appeals best to you but I’m a little partial to the Terrain!

    And with THAT answer I’m suppose to believe Fritz when he says, “I’m not a fan of rebadging”?

    Bullsh*t

  • avatar
    SKT

    Pathetic.

    Not one sincere or purposeful mention of anything worthwhile.

    I’ve seen diaper commercial’s with more passion.

    What an unbelievable waste – just nonsense.

  • avatar
    billc83

    To be fair, who couldn’t get passionate about Huggies Pull-Ups?

  • avatar
    Buckshot

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/2007_Chevrolet_Aveo_sedan.jpg

    Excitement?
    Bold?
    Sporty?
    Action?
    Rock n roll?

  • avatar
    mtypex

    “gosh, in other words, all things to all people. I’m impressed!”

    Except me … I’ll take the Hyundai Sonata behind Door Number Two. Actually, almost any Hyundai over almost any Chevrolet. Sad… or not.

  • avatar
    thanh_n

    I was checking out the video and was wondering if “Chevry” at 0:16 is supposed to be spelled like that?

  • avatar
    Jeff Puthuff

    Holy shit, Thanh! Good catch. That’s f’in embarrassing!

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