To mark the occasion of Daimler finally calling it quits with their disasterous Chrysler purchase, I thought I'd offer some suggestions to the major American car makers. It's all about brands, and the fact that their current brand propositions don't mean anything. As a reminder to the GM Executives reading this, brands are about appealing to a specific segment of customers.
GM has been worst of the big three on the brand management side, still running their business as if it had 60% market share in the US. And they've also arguably had the worst American products in the past 30 years, too.
1. Chevrolet. This brand is trying to be all things to all people, from offering a $15,000 Aveo hatchback (built in Korea) to a $70,000 Corvette Z06-- WTF?? How about offering the Malibu as a mid-sized sedan or the Impala, but not both? This brand should be about value-- cut the lineup significantly.
2. Cadillac. The best-managed of the General's brands, truly undergoing a renaissance. Keep it up, keep expanding globally.
3. Saturn. GM's new strategy of bringing in their best European products and rebadging them as Saturns is actually pretty clever, placing Saturn as a progressive competitor to the likes of Volkswagen. Keep it up, and don't lose courage to execute this approach. Invest in green technology to capitalize on your momentum.
3. Pontiac. GM was rumored to be positioning this brand as the "American BMW," meaning sporty sedans. But 20 years of mediocre product has left it meaning nothing to car shoppers. Sell it/close it down.
4. GMC. Trucks and industrial vehicles, targeted for businesses and the working person.
5. Hummer. This brand is hard, being so closely linked to the reptilian instinct. They're already moving to increase volume by offering smaller vehicles, but this moves into GMC territory. Sell it/close it down.
6. Saab. Oh, how this distinctive brand has been ruined by bad management and cost cutting. Position as a brand that builds safe, luxurious and GREEN(!) Swedish family transport. Hatchbacks, Sedans and Wagons designed and built in Sweden and powered by fuel sipping turbo and diesel.
