The Detroit News reports that Ford’s wind-down of its Mercury brand continues apace (i.e., very slowly). Now that the mothership has eliminated its standalone Mercury franchises, they’re using the same process of attrition to grandfather the brand’s models to death. As of Thursday, Ford will no longer build the Mercury Sable. I know, it’s a crime, right? “Ford only sold 1,158 Sables last month, down 37.8 percent compared to April 2007.” Yup, the Sable’s another D-platform loser. “That will leave Mercury with just four models,” the DetN writes, displaying an uncanny knack for numeracy, “including the Mountaineer and Grand Marquis, both of which are scheduled to be killed over the next couple of years. Mercury is supposed to get a new small car, but Ford has no other models planned for the brand at this time.” At this time? Brrrr. Will someone please close that door? Hang on; what’s this?
It’s not news per se. After all, we knew that Wilmington was on GM’s “endangered plant” list. But the idea that GM will somehow attract a buyer for a factory that builds a dead-in-the-water sportscar is laughable. After all, Chrysler still hasn’t found a home for its Viper nameplate, a brand that carries far more heritage and prestige than the Skystice. So what to do with Wilmington?
In an interview with Autoweek, GM CEO Fritz Henderson finally stepped out from under Rick Wagoner’s shadow and stated his firmly held belief that the new Cruze and Spark will spark Chevy’s renaissance. Or, if you prefer, they’ll “fortify Chevrolet as a competitive, top-quality brand in the next two years.” True story?
The Wall Street Journal has got its mitts on a document detailing Fiat’s plans for world automotive domination and can reveal that the name for Sergio Marchionne’s plan is “Project Phoenix.” The plan reportedly calls for Fiat to take over Opel, Vauxhall, Saab and GM’s South African operations in addition to the Chrysler brands. Fiat would spin off this new auto empire into a new entity which would also include the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands, but not Ferrari and Maserati. Fiat would also close GM Europe’s plant in Luton, UK, and cease operations in Graz, Austria. The payoff? Annual savings of around €1.4 billion from 2015 onwards, according to Fiat’s estimates. The downside? A high chance of epic failure.
Bloomberg reports that Renault/Nissan is looking at partnering with Penske Automotive Group to make a bid for the Saturn dealer net, according to “people familiar with the matter.” Nissan wants to use more of its North American capacity to build Saturn-branded vehicles based on either Nissan or Renault products. Penske would distribute the vehicles through existing Saturn dealers, using its “plug and play” model already in use with Smart dealerships. In this arrangement, Smart takes customer orders and deposits via a Web site, allowing dealers to keep fewer cars in inventory. Would this work with a larger model line? Does Nissan/Renault really want to compete with itself? Does GM really have another month to solicit offers (as it plans to) for Saturn? Will those offers improve over the next month? Er, maybe, apparently, no and definitely no. Still, if Penske and Nissan want to pull the trigger, it’s hard to see how GM could say no. And maybe, just maybe, Saturn could once again become America’s most innovative dealer network.
Earlier today, Robert noted that “GM doesn’t have a fucking clue what it’s doing with its products or brands.” For more proof of this, consider this report from GMInsideNews which claims that a Buick-branded version of Opel’s Astra has been approved for the North American market. According to the GMI story, the 2012 Buick “Astra” will be built at either GM’s Lordstown, OH, assembly plant or at their new San Luis Potosi, Mexico, assembly plant starting in 2011. The crazy part? “At this point the car has NOT been approved for Buick in China, that decision will be up to Shanghai GM.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that GM is in talks with Renault over the future of the Saturn dealer network. GM has already given up on the possibility of receiving any kind of cash consideration for Saturn; a deal with Renault would see Saturn essentially handed over to the French firm. According to the WSJ, Renault is considering Saturn as an American-market brand for its Renault and Samsung Motors products. Why Renault wants to compete with its sister-firm, Nissan, in that brand’s biggest market isn’t immediately apparent. Maybe Ghosn doesn’t like Marchionne hogging the spotlight. Meanwhile, Chinese automaker Geely has submitted a bid for GM’s Saab “division” (it’s more at brigade strength currently). Unfortunately, nobody is sure if this bid is for real or if it’s just a gambit to pressure Ford into accepting Geely’s Volvo bid. Or maybe Geely has just fallen for all things Swedish. We’re told to expect a Saab deal in “early summer,” and with bankruptcy looming, look for Saturn to be offloaded post-haste as well. (Thanks to rod panhard and Mr Sparky for the tip.)
Believe it, kids . . . the Cimarron is back! According to a Motor Trend “Scoop,” GM has acknowledged that it doesn’t have the resources to compete in Europe’s tough luxury market, build an RWD Alpha-platform “baby CTS,” or really do much of anything besides bringing another Epsilon II-based whip to the US market. Can you feel the excitement? The project, codenamed “GM 166,” will reportedly be positioned between the Buick LaCrosse and the Cadillac CTS. How? By costing more than the LaCrosse, of course. Because who doesn’t want a warmed-over FWD midsize starting at $35 grand?
But as one door closes, another opens. With Pontiac dead, Automotive News [sub] reports that GM will use its NUMMI capacity for some other Corolla-based GM product. Because, as one Pontiac spokesman puts it, “there’s really nothing wrong with the Vibe. Its only problem right now is that it is a Pontiac.”
The remnants of the British automotive industry offer a wealth of important lessons for America’s declining industry, having made the hero-to-zero leap a few decades ago. And though British Leyland would certainly constitute the major lesson from the fall of the British Automotive Empire, the overemphasis on “heritage” among survivors of the BL experiment offers teachable moments of its own. During and after the sunset on Britain’s auto heyday, investments and advantages in technology, performance and reliability were ceded to the Japanese and German firms, as the backwards-looking British industry got lost in its own history. “Charm” and “Britishness” became the raisons d’brand for Jaguar, Rover, Landie and Rolls/Bentley in the 70s, 80s and 90s, leading to a creative funk only recently be shaken off by the brands’ new guides. Case in point: Jag’s XJ.
And the bigwigs spent ten years building brand equity with cheap, basic transportation. And lo, the Japanese automakers headed upmarket, ceding entry level business to the Koreans. And the Seoul sales train smiled for it was good. And then came the Genesis, and Hyundai’s new day morphed in the minds of its creators from budget luxo-fighter to an opportunity for sub-brand confusion and ADD.
GM had promised to have a decision by the end of March on whether it would sell or fold HUMMER. They missed that deadline along with other key targets set by the White House-appointed Presidential Task Force on Automobiles (PTFOA). Not that there wasn’t interest in the aptly named pornography-on-wheels. GM simply, well, blew it.
At the New York Auto Show, Susan Docherty, GM’s North America vice president for Buick-Pontiac-GMC, attempted to defend GM’s portfolio (she should have a word with Sisyphus on that task). The Detroit Free Press reports that Docherty put GM’s brand strategy (or lack thereof) into perspective during the intro for the hideous GMC Terrain (which, absent bankruptcy, would bring GM’s five-passenger SUV total to . . . in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track). She said Chevy and Cadillac are global brands; and there are US buyers who want something in between mass market and high end. “There are customers out there who are not interested in a volume brand but also don’t want to pay for a luxury product,” she said. Yes way. “In its marketing-speak, the Equinox ‘blends function and style into a very sporty, yet upscale compact crossover,’ while the Terrain is ‘an appealing choice for existing traditional SUV customers.'” Both of them?
Reuters would have us believe that it has “sources” close to GM’s federally mandated sale of its boat anchor brand: HUMMER. “Three bidders remain for General Motors Corp’s Hummer [sic] brand, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, adding that current offers range from $100 million to $200 million in cash, in addition to other commitments. None of the bidders are automakers. One bidder is from the United States and the other two are from overseas, the sources said, adding that the bidders include private equity and wealthy individuals.” Folks, let history be our guide.
GM CEO Rick Wagoner promised to reveal the fate of the HUMMER brand today. Old Sparky was warmed-up and everything. Of course, that was before the President of the United States fired Wagoner’s ass. And so the maker of pseudo-military SUVs will spend its eleventh month on death row—sorry, “under strategic review.” Automotive News [sub] reports that GM will now postpone a decision “for a few weeks as it works to complete a sale.” No, they don’t mean “a” sale; they mean the sale of the entire brand. Wait! Does that mean . . . ?
“Our efforts to sell Hummer are proceeding, and there are several parties interested — and I would say really interested — in the brand,” Troy Clarke, GM’s president of North America, said during a call to dealers today. “We’re still very much in the process, although that process is maturing.”
WTH is a “maturing sales process”? Does GM have a buyer for the world’s most politically incorrect automotive brand or not?
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