[Shotimes] RE: Lutz comments from the other day

[Ron Fleshman]

Even though I was a Ford guy back in my younger years, I had great respect
for Chevrolet and General Motors.  Not any more.  I agree with Ron in that
Pontiac is on life support and Buick on survives because old people like
them.  And Chevrolet?  Name one Chevy you really want to own besides the
Corvette.  I thought so.

 

A good story is the best man at my wedding.  We've been close since college.
We were both looking for cars in 2004.  He won't look at anything but GM and
I was shopping around.  He bought a 04 GTP with all the goodies including
the paddle shifters.  I bought an Acura TSX.  He's given me hell for it
since then.  Anyway, I admit now that I should have probably spent the extra
$5K and got the TL, but I still like the TSX regardless of what some have
said about how slow it is.  I like it.  To get back to my story, He was
constantly making fun of my "little car," so I proposed we trade cars for a
day.  I had to make a trip to our capital city (100 miles) and he had to go
out of state that day (100 miles).  We traded.  When he came back he
admitted he really enjoyed my car and how quiet and precise it was.and then
smiled and asked me how I liked his.

 

I went through the list.wind noise from drivers side door, transmission that
hunted for gears and shifted hard, "wallowy" handling, big-time torque
steer, and a radio that wouldn't even pick up stations clearly.  I liked the
power, the gimmicky paddle shifters (though I preferred the TSX's shifter),
and the heads up display.  He was crushed and made some "4 cylinder" comment
and left.  A couple of weeks later, he admitted that my car at about $3k
less was a better buy.

 

That's what scares me about GM.  Ford, despite all the hatred we all have
with them over the cam issues, is making solid cars.  The 500, though
grossly underpowered, is simply a good car.  The Focus is amazing in
handling and what it's supposed to do.  Chrysler is having hit after hit.
The 300 is a car everyone wants and is built well (though I don't like it or
its claustraphobic interior), and the same goes for the Charger and others.
Toyota is Toyota, but simply bulletproof and high quality.  Honda and Acura
are precision.  Even Subaru is building good cars these days.  GM?  They're
making cars no one wants unless you're 65.  What happened to the company who
make the Chevelle SS and the IROC Camaro?  They still sell cars, but I've
told my staff and they now agree, if a car dealer calls to replace a car on
a policy, if it's a Chevy or Buick or Pontiac, it's someone way past 55
years old.

 

It's sad, but true.  

 

Ron

 

  _____  

From: Ron Porter [mailto:ronporter@prodigy.net] 
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 12:54 AM
To: V8List SHO; Shotimes
Subject: Re: Lutz comments from the other day

 

And it didn't at all surprise me that Olds was killed. It was a car in
search of a market niche. Buick has always had the specific role of the
near-luxury car for people that won't buy Cadillacs.

 

I don't think that either will go away, but if I had to bet, I'll bet
Pontiac would go before Buick. Pontiac isn't selling anything. Bonneville is
bye-bye, I believe the Grand Prix sales are down, and G6s already have heavy
discounts and rebates. And the GTO is a sales bomb. Do they even still make
the Aztec? History doen't matter, it's "what have you done for me lately?"

 

Ron Porter

Donald Mallinson <dmall@mwonline.net> wrote:

Any idea what products were on the Zeta platform? This doesn't apply to 
the new 2-seater for Pontiac and Saturn I hope, these actually look like 
something that might sell.

I doubt they will drop Pontiac, but I am still amazed they killed 
Oldsmobile and not Buick. Frankly, GM could do without one of the two 
brands, but as a long-time Pontiac fan, I will root to keep that one.

Don Mallinson

Ron Porter wrote:

>Here are Bob Lutz comments to the Morgan Stanley folks from Crain's (who
owns Automotive news). It doesn't directly seem to threaten to can either
Buick or Pontiac, but there is a realization that they must restructure. The
loss of the new RWD platform could bite them big-time.
>
>Sorry for the format, but was copied from a PDF file, which theV8 folks
will receive as an attachment.
>
>Ron Porter