GM Tidbits

[articsteve]

Honestly does your opinion on GM even matter? They could cure world hunger and you would find some way of picking it apart.

I'm mocking GM's desperation not the car, yet. 

If the car is any good it will stand on it's own.  The only reason ppl attend a Chevy store is because they want cheap finance rates.  The first rule in retail is not to bash the other guys product.  What will happen is that desperate Chevy sales ppl will end up bashing the Camry.  Chevy dealers will get the worst colour of Camry, it will be dulled up and ppl are going to say to themselves, why are these guys doing this?  Maybe I'd better go over to the Toyota store to see if they (the Chevy guys) are telling me the truth.  You've truly reached rock bottom when you gotta bring the other dude's car into the showroom.  This is similar to Dubya's SURGE.       

[Allen]

GM considers upgrades to St. Catharines plant
GREG KEENAN

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

May 16, 2007 at 9:28 PM EDT

General Motors Corp. is prepared to invest $300-million (U.S.) to $400-million to build transmissions at a plant in St. Catharines, Ont., if it gets enough help from the Canadian Auto Workers union and governments.

A new line of six-speed, rear-wheel-drive transmissions will be built at an engine plant in the Ontario city if a new, flexible agreement can be reached with the CAW and various levels of government support the project so that General Motors of Canada Ltd. can make a strong business case, spokesman Stew Low said yesterday.

The investment would be made at a GM engine plant in the city, which has the space for a transmission line and skilled workers, Mr. Low said.

The St. Catharines plant is not competing with any other GM sites in North America for the business, but the auto maker has a transmission plant in Windsor, Ont., where workers have been hoping for a new investment.

The Windsor plant is fully utilized making front-wheel-drive four-speed transmissions for the Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Vue and other vehicles, Mr. Low said. It has a product mandate in place to make those transmissions until 2010.

“We're not ruling out future investment for Windsor,” he said.

Ontario Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello said the project will need support from the both the Ontario and federal governments.

“They know that our interest is in supporting innovation in manufacturing,” she said of GM.

The transmissions will likely be supplied to a GM plant in Oshawa, Ont., which will start assembling new rear-wheel-drive cars for the auto maker next year. The new cars start with the Chevrolet Camaro.

The request for a new union agreement to help land the project is the latest example of the Detroit-based auto makers seeking ways to reduce their costs and make their operations more flexible.

“There's more pressure. The companies have more options,” CAW president Buzz Hargrove said yesterday.

“Some of the changes make sense,” Mr. Hargrove said, “for us as well as them.”

At GM's massive assembly operations in Oshawa, workers agreed to outsource janitorial operations and eliminate an in-house construction crew in order to win investment. The Ontario and federal governments also backstopped the plan by providing $435-million (Canadian) for the project, which included investments at other GM operations in Ontario and several research and development projects at universities throughout the country.

GM employs about 3,200 people at the St. Catharines engine plant and a parts making factory in the city.

About 1,200 work at the Windsor operation.

[mrthompson]

I'm mocking GM's desperation not the car, yet... 
...This is similar to Dubya's SURGE.       

W T F ?

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Buick gets new ad tag line with launch of Enclave
Redesigned badge also planned

Jamie LaReau  |  Automotive News
May 17, 2007 - 11:33 am   

DETROIT -- Buick is changing its advertising tag line to "Drive Beautiful" and is getting a redesigned badge.

The campaign begins Sunday, May 20, in a 30-second TV spot for the Enclave crossover.

This is the third time in three years that Buick has changed its tag line. "Drive Beautiful" replaces "Beyond Precision."

"The opportunity is right for us to launch this new theme because every vehicle in the portfolio meets high criteria," says Maria Rohrer, General Motors' marketing director for Buick. "With the Enclave, we'll be talking about the fact that it is the finest crossover ever."

Four 30-second TV spots will run during shows such as "60 Minutes" and "Dancing with the Stars," along with cable programming, Rohrer says. A print and Internet campaign for the Enclave will begin this summer.

The new Buick ad campaign shows factors that distinguish the Enclave from competitors -- such as a higher frontal-crash test rating than that of the Volvo XC90 and a quieter cabin than that of the Lexus RX 350, Rohrer says.

Besides the new tag line, Buick has redesigned its badge, Rohrer says. The Buick tri-shield will stay, but the badge has been updated to give it a more contemporary color scheme and look.

"This brand has been around for 104 years," Rohrer says. "We need to write the next chapter to bring some romance and optimism to this brand. We're going back to the back-to-basics marketing approach where the product is the star."

Ads to play on emotion

Rohrer says the ads will play on emotion more than the previous "Beyond Precision" ads did with the Lucerne sedan. That campaign focused on technical aspects of the sedan.

"Drive Beautiful" will highlight Buick's technology and the joy of driving a luxurious vehicle, Rohrer says.

"There's one spot called 'Moments,' " she says. "That one talks about your most perfect drive. We went to doctors, lawyers and architects and asked them what was their perfect drive moment. We took a mash-up of all those different experiences and put it into this one spot. The Enclave is featured in there in beautiful ways."

The print ads will drive consumers to the Internet and will run in higher-end publications such as Vanity Fair and Cigar Aficionado. The target demographic is equally male and female ages 45 to 55 with an income of $100,000 or more. There will be a strong push for African-Americans.

Says Rohrer: "I'm recognizing that we have an aspiration of a certain age group that has amassed their fortune, and I'm trying to speak to them intelligently in a way that will make them look twice at Buick. I think people have been waiting for this."

Buick's advertising budget remains about the same as last year, she says. Last year's budget is not yet available, but Buick spent $177 million on advertising in 2005.

Says Rohrer: "It's the most important launch Buick has probably ever had to date. So I have dedicated the majority of my budget to the launch of the Enclave.

"This is a long-term proposition, and it's incredibly important we launch this correctly. But it's also about carrying the idea through and bringing the other cars into the umbrella."

Later this year, Buick will launch the updated LaCrosse and LaCrosse Super sedans. The Lucerne Super comes out next spring.

Rohrer says the new campaign will include those vehicles as well.

[Mitlov]

Buick doesn't need a new badge, it needs a new car that can attract people who aren't on the verge of retirement:

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I don't get it!   Chevy is Americana. And with an actual Euro import Astra coming in the fall, why not position yourself as more authentic importish?

Saturn lets domestic roots show in 'Rethink American' effort
Work from new agency, Deutsch, introduces fourth tagline in five years

Jean Halliday  |  Advertising Age |
May 17, 2007 - 10:10 am  

DETROIT -- Saturn, established by General Motors to convert buyers who considered buying an import, is now trumpeting its made-in-the-U.S. roots.

Saturn is rolling out a brand campaign from Interpublic Group of Cos.' Deutsch, of Los Angeles, this week with the theme "Rethink American" that will run across national TV, print, online and out of home.

The new tagline, which will also be part of all product advertising, is Saturn's fourth since 2002.

"Rethink American" was developed after extensive research with owners and non-owners in Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angles, said Dan Keller, who became marketing director of Saturn in January.

"It was part of the learning process for me and Deutsch," he said. Deutsch won the account in January without a review.

Consumers in the focus groups pegged Saturn as different.

"We don't have all the baggage the domestic car companies have," Keller said. Consumers who saw an early version of the TV commercial said it made them "rethink what an American car company can do."

Over the past year or so, Saturn has broadened its lineup with more attractive models that are also pricier. This is a big shift from the "Different kind of car company" that rolled out in 1990 with affordable small cars and built a rock-solid image of sterling customer service.

Sales up 20 percent

When the new Astra small car (a derivative of an Opel model GM makes in Europe) arrives late this year, Saturn will have added five new models in 20 months. Saturn's U.S. sales jumped by nearly 20 percent through April to 77,030 units compared to a year ago, GM said.

"We are positioning the brand to grow dramatically," Keller said. "We need to appeal to a broader spectrum of people."

Saturn's target consumer has evolved from people who intend to buy an import to "progressive-minded import intenders" who are willing to consider other options, he said.

Wes Brown, vice president of consultant Iceology, credited Saturn with reinventing itself in a short time with new, more-stylish vehicles and a strong lineup.

"It's a significant revolution Saturn has undergone, but now they've got to shift the brand," Brown said. But he said changing people's perceptions of Saturn as a maker of affordable small cars is "difficult to overcome in one leap."

Drumming up the image of "American" could also backfire with people who don't like patriotism in their advertising -- and Saturn knows that. Brown said the ad strategy "may be a bit of a gamble, but if it works it could have a halo effect across GM."

[barrie1]

I think Artic just keeps on enjoying himself by actually showing us how little he knows about the GM vehicle line yet expects everyone to give him some credibility. I wonder just how much alcohol they put in the water in his area as there's still No common sence used in his statements. 

[Mitlov]

I don't get it!  Chevy is Americana. And with an actual Euro import Astra coming in the fall, why not position yourself as more authentic importish?

Drumming up the image of "American" could also backfire with people who don't like patriotism in their advertising

  GM already has Chevy for the flag-waiving crowd (hell, the new Silverado ads feature a jingle centering around the words "this is our country" and a collage of images, including the columns of light commemorating the Twin Towers in Manhattan.  Whatever happened to advertising how tough a truck is, like Ford and Toyota do?).  Saturn doesn't need to get into that crap as well.  Instead, they should be playing up their ties with Opel, German suspension tuning, all that jazz. 

[PJungnitsch]

GM advertising has to be an interesting business to be in. The European Astra will only be here for two years, before it (and the apple-pie Cobalt) are replaced by the Korean developed Delta II platform in the fall of 2009.

[UmroAyyar]

Buick doesn't need a new badge, it needs a new car that can attract people who aren't on the verge of retirement:

 

[mmret]

Buick doesn't need a new badge, it needs a new car that can attract people who aren't on the verge of retirement:

 

I'd change the grille somewhat, but hot damn.

Rationality out the window!

Those side mirrors look positively tiny though, and visibility out hte back window probably isn't exactly stellar.

[jcon]

I'd change the grille somewhat, but hot damn.

Rationality out the window!

Those side mirrors look positively tiny though, and visibility out hte back window probably isn't exactly stellar.

When you're in car that looks like that you don't need mirrors, everyone is watching you!

[Mitlov]

What kills me is this.  Every single time I post a Riviera picture in a thread, I get the same reaction.  Now, it seems to me that if I was running a company, and we had a concept car that elicited that sort of reaction in people, WE SHOULD MAKE IT A PRODUCTION MODEL.  Maybe I'm just too naive and simple-minded to run a big company like GM, but it seems to me a pretty clear-cut situation.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I'd change the grille somewhat, but hot damn.

Rationality out the window!

Those side mirrors look positively tiny though, and visibility out hte back window probably isn't exactly stellar.

When you're in car that looks like that you don't need mirrors, everyone is watching you!

 

The products GM Daewoo produces won't all necessarily be produced in South Korea. They're just assigned the lead global development of smaller cars, much like Australia is large RWD, etc. Coud be built wherever, and have to be saleable more places.

[random006]

May 19, 2007
GM fuel cell vehicles by 2012
by Auto123.com

 
General Motors is planning on having vehicles powered by fuel cells in dealership showrooms by 2012. GM's target is presently the most aggressive of any other car manufacturer.

Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development, has just completed a 300-mile trek in a fuel-cell powered Chevrolet Sequel on one tank of hydrogen. He said that this was the first fuel-cell vehicle ever to drive 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen on public roads.

The Chevrolet Sequel test-mule is an SUV that can carry up to eight kilograms of hydrogen, the equivalent of 16 gallons regular fuel, is powered by lithium-ion batteries.

GM is planning to deliver 100 units of their next fuel-cell vehicles, the Chevrolet Equinox, to specific consumers by the final quarter of 2008. GM is also working on the production version of the Chevrolet Volt, which debuted in Detroit, by 2009.

[random006]

May 21, 2007
GM may sell its medium-duty truck unit to Navistar
by Auto123.com

 
General Motors is thinking about selling its medium-duty truck line which includes the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick work trucks built in Flint, Michigan. Navistar, supplier of Ford's Power Stroke diesel engines, is one of the front runners.

GM's intentions have little to do with gaining liquidity, it is more of an attempt to hand-over the unit to a company whose focus is more heavier-truck segments. One of the principal consequences of this sale would the freeing-up of the Flint Plant in order to build more light-duty trucks.

Sales of medium-duty trucks fell 8% in the US in the first tree months of this year. This is mostly due to tighter emissions regulations, high inventory (GM has built up a large overstock of medium-duty trucks) and a relative slowing-down of the economy.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

GM, UAW reach deal limiting 'jobs bank' for workers

Reuters |
May 24, 2007 - 12:00 pm   
 
DETROIT (Reuters) -- General Motors reached a pioneering deal with the UAW union that will force almost 400 workers out of a "jobs bank" program that guarantees nearly full wages and benefits when the automaker eliminates work or closes factories.

Under the deal, about 400 GM workers with specialized jobs in Flint and Lansing, Mich., will have to accept buyout or early retirement offers or accept other positions with the automaker, GM said today.

GM and its Detroit-based rivals, Ford Motor Co. and the soon-to-be private Chrysler group, all face a crucial round of contract talks with the UAW this summer to replace a four-year deal on wages and benefits that expires in September.

The "jobs bank" program, which the automakers and the union created in the 1980s, is expected to be one of the hot-button issues up for discussion.

GM and other automakers had intended the work guarantee to yield productivity gains by convincing unionized workers that their jobs would be protected even if they helped to introduce cost-saving processes and equipment.

But more recently the program has been seen by some Wall Street analysts as a symbol of the entrenched costs that have contributed to the deep losses for U.S. automakers since it had effectively guaranteed pay without work for hundreds of former active workers.

GM has not disclosed how many employees it has in the bank after a program of UAW-endorsed buyouts and early retirement offers eliminated 34,410 workers from its payroll last year.

GM spokesman Dan Flores said the UAW had agreed that about 85 skilled trades workers in Flint and some 300 in Lansing could agree to a number of choices as an alternative to staying in the bank.

A skilled trades worker has a recognized specialty such as welding or machine repair under the labor contract and is eligible for a higher hourly wage than unskilled workers.

"The only option they don't have is remaining in the jobs bank," Flores said.

GM has extended the same buyout offers to the 400 workers that it offered company-wide last year, including early retirement and buyouts of up to $140,000.

In addition, the automaker has offered to place the workers in another skilled trade, retrain them for new work, allow them to work in a production job at higher wage rates or relocate to a GM factory more than 50 miles away.

If the workers opt to move, GM will pay relocation costs of up to $67,000, Flores said.

The UAW workers have 45 days to consider their options under the offer, he said.

The 85 UAW skilled trades workers in the program in Flint have been out of work since GM idled its Buick City complex in the city in the late 1990s.

In Lansing, GM idled and subsequently tore down a massive car assembly plant and replaced it with two smaller facilities.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070526/AUTO01/705260359/1148
American flag flap rocks Las Vegas

Hummer dealership's oversized U.S. flag raises question of whether it is patriotic or advertising.

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- A flap over an outsized American flag and its flagpole has city officials and an auto dealership dueling over patriotism, advertising and neighborhood peace.

The city reports receiving more than 100 e-mail messages since the City Council last week ordered Towbin Hummer to take down its 100-foot flagpole. Most disagree with the council's decision.

Mayor Oscar Goodman blamed the dealership several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip for not keeping a promise to build a small veterans memorial with the tall pole.

"Get us a memorial, and then we can talk about a flag in excess of 40 feet," said Goodman, who last year endorsed letting the dealership exceed the city's 40-foot flagpole height restriction.

The Towbin Hummer flag isn't the biggest in town. The Terrible Herbst gasoline and convenience store chain has several American flags around the city measuring 30 feet by 50 feet on poles 100 feet tall, said Jim Smith, a purchasing agent.

Dealership owner Dan Towbin said his big flag, which at 30 feet by 60 feet is about the size of a competition volleyball court, fits his dealership.

"The building's oversized, the sign's oversized, the cars are oversized," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

A Towbin aide said a concrete pedestal was being erected at the base of the flag for a plaque to honor veterans.

City spokesman Jace Radke said a City Council member could bring the issue up again. The next meeting is June 6.

Gary Swanciger, a resident who said the flapping of the big flag wakes him at night, said he thought the super-sized Stars and Stripes was designed more to attract customers than build patriotism.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

LaNeve to Chevy: Fix the car ads

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
June 4, 2007 - 1:00 am

DETROIT -- General Motors marketing chief Mark LaNeve is sending a blunt message to Chevrolet's long-time ad agency, Campbell-Ewald: Fix Chevy's car ads.

That puts pressure on Bill Ludwig, the ad agency's chief creative officer.

In an interview with Automotive News, LaNeve said he wants to push Chevrolet cars as a "smart choice" offering a better price than their Asian rivals - and comparable quality, too.

"You're paying a premium" with Japanese cars, LaNeve said. "You're not getting better quality, you're not getting better performance, you're not getting better fuel economy - you're just paying a premium. We have got to get that communicated."

LaNeve says he has asked Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper and Campbell-Ewald to improve the Chevy car ads. His comments appear to be raising the pressure on Peper.

Through May, Chevrolet sold 370,551 cars, down 1.4 percent compared with the year-ago period. Through that same period, Chevy truck sales were off 4.4 percent.

Analysts blame the falling truck sales on high gasoline prices and a decline in the truck segment rather than on the brand's truck ads.
 




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Account-ability
GM wants better car ads for Chevrolet. Here are key facts about Chevrolet advertising.
Chevrolet's advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald, of Warren, Mich., has had the account since 1922.
Campbell-Ewald chief creative officer is Bill Ludwig.
Chevrolet spent about $756 million on advertising in 2006.
It is one of the nation's biggest ad accounts.

 

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GM's new Chevrolet Malibu goes on sale this fall and will likely lead the advertising campaign with its launch spots.
 
 
LaNeve's wake-up call seems likely to send shock waves through the advertising community. Last year Chevy spent $756 million on advertising, more than any other GM brand. With that kind of spending comes pressure.

But Campbell-Ewald is no run-of-the-mill agency. It has handled Chevrolet's advertising since 1922. And in recent years it has created such memorable spots as Bob Seger's "Like a Rock" truck ads, "An American Revolution," the "heartbeat of America" tag line and Chevy's current "This is our Country" campaign for the Silverado pickup.

But LaNeve has proved to be willing to shake up long-standing business relations.

Last year Campbell-Ewald lost a piece of its Chevrolet business to Deutsch, of Los Angeles. Deutsch handled negotiations for Chevrolet's 2006 Major League Baseball and motorsports ad campaigns.

Campbell-Ewald's chief creative officer, Bill Ludwig, was willing to discuss his agency's work, but Chevrolet vetoed the interview and refused to make any Chevy executives available.

Last June, LaNeve fired Cadillac's ad agency, Leo Burnett Detroit, and hired Modernista to do Cadillac's creative work. Leo Burnett had held the Cadillac account since 1935.

 
Moreover, Burnett created Cadillac's "Breakthrough" spot featuring Led Zeppelin. That ad campaign fueled Cadillac's turnaround and propelled LaNeve, then Cadillac's general manager, into the upper reaches of GM management.

Yet LaNeve pulled the plug on Burnett once the Cadillac ads had grown stale.

Disgruntled dealers

To be sure, Chevrolet has recently aired some distinctive car ads, such as the Super Bowl "Car Wash" spot that showed scantily clad men washing the Chevy HHR. But Chevrolet dealers have been complaining about a lack of effective car advertising for years.

"Mark's comments are right on, and it's the result of his meetings with the dealer council," says Ted Nicholas, general manager of Three Way Chevrolet in Bakersfield, Calif. "It's become a rallying point with the Chevrolet dealers - that passenger car sales is where we're going to beat Toyota."

Jim Rathman, who owns Jim Rathman Chevrolet in Melbourne, Fla., blames the too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen syndrome. Rathman was on the Chevrolet dealer council for five years in the 1990s. He says Campbell-Ewald would come up with great advertising, but GM's management would alter it.
 
"They'd say, 'We can't say this' or "We can't do that,' and then Campbell-Ewald would end up looking bad because the final product would not look right," Rathman says. "These guys know how to market, and we need to let them do what they do and get the heck out of their way."

But others think the Chevy ads are too scattershot, touting a variety of attributes such as good fuel economy but failing to generate any passion.

"They try to reach a broad range with so many different types of vehicles," says Brian Boyd, general manager of Charles Boyd Chevrolet in Henderson, N.C. "They (spend) so much money trying to hit every single area. But if you don't know what you're shooting for, you'll have the wrong message."

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Combo stores are top priority of new Buick, Pontiac, GMC bosses

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
June 4, 2007 - 1:00 am   
 
ST. LOUIS -- The new managers of Buick, Pontiac and GMC will move aggressively to eliminate stand-alone dealerships and combine the three brands under one roof.

They also want to slash Pontiac's fleet sales, which regularly have exceeded 40 percent in recent months. That level is "not healthy," said Jim Bunnell, general manager of Buick, Pontiac, and GMC.

Bunnell said GM will adjust the product lineup to minimize overlap among the three General Motors brands.

"My whole concern is if we can have the right portfolio of products across all three divisions that complement each other and don't tread on each other," Bunnell said at an event here in May.

He said his goal is for Buick, Pontiac and GMC to offer enough product to meet the needs of 80 to 90 percent of the market and generate dealer sales and profits.

Sharing Bunnell's vision is his new sidekick - Katherine Benoit, executive director of Buick, Pontiac and GMC. She says combining the three brands in dealerships and closing stand-alone stores - a strategy called channeling - is "our number-one priority."

Benoit will spend the next few weeks at GM's design center in suburban Detroit to assess future products for the three brands.
 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buick, Pontiac, GMC goals
New General Manager Jim Bunnell's goals for Buick, Pontiac and GMC
Eliminate stand-alone dealerships and combine the 3 brands in single stores.
Cut Pontiac fleet sales.
Adjust the product mix to eliminate overlap and generate sales.
Push for a vehicle like the Pontiac Trans Am.
Work with China team on Buick design and content.
Focus GMC sales on the Acadia, Sierra and Yukon.

 

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'I'd like to own one!'

Bunnell said he has a vision for the three brands.

For Pontiac, Bunnell said, the arrival of the G8 sedan in the first quarter of 2008 will be the first step toward giving the brand a "true rear-wheel product." He doesn't rule out an eventual all-wheel-drive version.

Bunnell also will pick up where John Larson, former Buick, Pontiac and GMC general manager, left off in his quest for a rear-drive sports coupe similar to the Chevrolet Camaro.

"Could it be a Trans Am? Could it be a GTO? Something like that? Sure," Bunnell said. "I have got to get inside all the numbers and understand what our team thinks the opportunities are by segment. But as an old Pontiac enthusiast, yeah, it'd be cool to have. Hell, I'd like to own one!"

As for GMC, Bunnell wants sales of the Canyon mid-sized pickup to improve. GMC has sold 7,276 Canyons through April, up from 6,549 in the year-ago period. In contrast, GMC's full-sized Sierra pickup recorded 64,639 sales through April. Still, Bunnell insists there is a market for mid-sized pickups.

"Would I like to do more? Sure. But it's a good, solid product for us," Bunnell said of the Canyon. "It's not a core product. We're going to focus on Sierras, Yukons and Acadias and now, to a lesser extent, the Envoys."

As for Buick, look East - Far East.

"We want to work very closely with China," Benoit said. "If we can share design and share content, that would be great."

GM plans to build a compact Buick sedan in China but has not decided whether to offer it in the United States, GM executives have said.

Sales, marketing strengths

Bunnell, 51, brings sales experience, having worked closely in the field with dealers. Benoit, 56, brings marketing skills. Together the two plan to move forward with channeling and curb Pontiac's fleet sales.

"Managing all three brands is probably one of the biggest jobs in GM, so Jim (Bunnell) has a lot of responsibility," Benoit says. "We both know one of the most important things we can work on for the alternate brands is the portfolio and future product. That will be the primary focus of both of ours."