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Too bad Obama already skewered this kind of presidential salesmanship. Hilariously.
18 Comments on “Obama Toasts the Cobalt in Lordstown...”
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“you lie!”
I think he made a great point. He’s in Lordstown, probably a town that is actually concerned with domestics selling well, so there’s no reason to berate him for showing salesmanship. He’s not as bad as the gobernator of California was about 2-3 years ago when he stood right atop a Hummer at a dealership giving off the usual sales pitch rants.
A positive message for 1000+ UAW folks getting called back to work on the same day that an equal number of salaried workers are getting permanent severance packages… bittersweet for GM employees like me.
“The Cobalt was one of GM’s most sought after cars (under c4c)”.
Faint praise… let’s see how the Cobalt sells for the year. Any idea how many have sold since the government subsidy ended? Methinks a lot fewer than when Uncle Sugar underwrote the purchase.
If he really wanted to get the troops excited, he shoulda compared the Corolla to Kanye West and called them both jackasses.
Sajeev Mehta: If he really wanted to get the troops excited, he shoulda compared the Corolla to Kanye West and called them both jackasses.
The problem is that too many of the UAW workers and GM executives are like Kayne West. They think that if they grab the microphone, and shout loudly enough that the Civic and Corolla are junk and that GM has the better small car, then it must be so…
“And you have my word on it”.
Where have you gone, Joe Isuzu?…
Funny, he didn’t speak at a Ford plant.
I think he and Maximum Bob were twins separated at birth. Never mind that GM’s workers have been recalled too late, and that GM’s sales actually dropped 20% during CFC.
@ gslippy
GMs sales dropped with respect to August 2008, which were very high due to a better economy and employee pricing for all.
GM’s August 2009 sales were the best of 2009 and were up something like 30% from July 2009.
Statistics have a funny way of being manipulated for headlines….. Bad-GM = big headlines.
Question for everyone: Will the Cruze get a fair shake in the marketplace and with the critics?
The Cobalt may be bland and uninspiring (except maybe in SS form) but the same words have been used to describe Corollas, Foci, Calibers, Rios, Spectras, Elantras, Mirages, Sentras and even Civics, once considered the class of the segment but no longer. Seems bland and uninspiring is a selling point in this class. Is a Cobalt really much more so than anything else in its price range? I’m not convinced. If that’s what people don’t like, then fine.
I wonder if the domestics are judged on a different set of criteria than the rest of the industry. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, we want our stuff to be the best and it’s disappointing when anyone falls short. And the Europeans aren’t a reliable source either. Don’t believe me? The Astra is considered a decent car in Europe, quite competitive with the Golf and Euro Focus. Critics here yawned.
One more thing: In the early 1980’s, the Chevette remained a top seller despite being well past its prime.
@stopwhining:
Your numbers are correct, but I disagree with the implication.
With the same “better economy” of August 2008, and assuming other incentive programs were in place for the mfrs last year at the same time as GM’s “employee pricing for all” deal, the other mfrs all managed to do better than a 20% reduction over August 2008. Ford was up 17%.
GM’s July 2009 numbers were 19% lower than July 2008. Ford was up 2%.
I would conclude that Ford, Toyota, and Honda all got a boost from CFC, but not GM. If a 20% slide over 2008 is considered a “boost”, GM may soon find itself at #4 in sales in the US.
European critics have already given the Cruze pretty mediocre reviews. Its critical reception maybe better here due to our more lenient press. GM is lost in Europe without Opel. All they have are these dreary Daewoos.
Below is typical mediocre European Cruze review.
http://www.carenthusiast.com/reviews/article/3414/-/2009-Chevrolet-Cruze/First+drive.html
msquare :
September 15th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Question for everyone: Will the Cruze get a fair shake in the marketplace and with the critics?
The Cobalt may be bland and uninspiring (except maybe in SS form) but the same words have been used to describe Corollas, Foci, Calibers, Rios, Spectras, Elantras, Mirages, Sentras and even Civics, once considered the class of the segment but no longer. Seems bland and uninspiring is a selling point in this class. Is a Cobalt really much more so than anything else in its price range? I’m not convinced. If that’s what people don’t like, then fine.
I rented a Cobalt not too long ago, so I have some experience with the car. It drives quite well (the engine, in particular, is notably peppy for a small car), and handling is up to par, but it REALLY – and I mean REALLY – suffers when it comes to styling and interior quality. It sells on price and has to, but at least the mechanicals are up to snuff.
From all indications, the Cruze will be a far better overall package.
akear :
September 15th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
European critics have already given the Cruze pretty mediocre reviews. Its critical reception maybe better here due to our more lenient press. GM is lost in Europe without Opel. All they have are these dreary Daewoos.
Yeah, but critical reception isn’t necessarily a predcitor of sales success. If it were, the best selling small cars in America would be the Mazda 3 and VW Rabbit. In terms of driving dynamics, those cars are way ahead of the pack.
Instead, it’s the Toyota Corolla, which is an epic bland-mobile if there ever were one.
Personally, it looks to me as if the Cruze is a massive improvement over the Cobalt’s weakest points – styling and interior quality.
Commando :
September 15th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
“you lie!”
Well, there are a lot of folks in that plant who are working right now, as opposed to filing for unemployment…and that’s no lie. Perhaps we should all keep that in mind.
gslippy :
September 15th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I would conclude that Ford, Toyota, and Honda all got a boost from CFC, but not GM. If a 20% slide over 2008 is considered a “boost”, GM may soon find itself at #4 in sales in the US.
I suspect a lot of that has to do with the fallout over the BK. Same for Chrysler. The one unavoidable downside of the BK was that consumer confidence was going to suffer, and it did.
It’s going to take time for a lot of consumers to start shopping GM again.
“ Obama Toasts the Cobalt in Lordstown ”
Or did it mean to say:
Obama calls the Cobalt “toast” in Lordstown…
“Faint praise lets see how the Cobalt sells for the year. Any idea how many have sold since the government subsidy ended? Methinks a lot fewer than when Uncle Sugar underwrote the purchase.”
PS- The Prez was there in part to celebrate production of 1 millionth Cobalt at Lordstown.