Okay. Time to speculate and make your guesses and predictions. But first, here's a quote from GM's press release from Feb. 17, 2009


The full press release is located here: http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayS...mp;docid=52168


So with the info that some existing Pontiac, Buick, GMC, and to a lesser degree Chevy and Caddy, are going to be eliminating models. According to GM, they will go from 48 models, down to 36 models. What models do you think will stay? What do you think will go? Which models do you think they should eliminate? Any thoughts?

 

HI!
well... i think the G6 is actually going... which is odd... and the G8 among others will remain.
as far as others... not sure...
but here's what i THINK ...

for caddy - lets get back to american sedan luxury and keep caddy for CARS.
im sorry, as pretty as they can be - ESCALADE? save it for the 'burbans of CHEVY.
and that SRX crossover? bleh.... no. now i DID see a CTS wagon type thing at the philly auto show. it was actually nice.
but caddy should re-focus to making LUXURY quality CARS. please, no more caddy SUVs and re-badge Avalanches. leave that to chevy.

buick is already pretty lean.. so.... we shall see. i saw a concept for a new, crazy *** REGAL. looked hot, but really. who is going to buy it?

for chevy - CAMARO season is upon us. the impala still rules the highway.... the cobalt should and i think IS going bye-bye.... cause the new CRUZE will be out... and the VOLT.... well, that should be interesting -
the malibu is a screaming success and they really did it well. new MONTE? dont hold your breath... and ya know waht? its ok! cause those of us that have them now have soon to be classics!

i could go on and on, but it'd be more fun in person with y'all and with drinks.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

 

TICKER[/align]
[/align][/align]Washington, February 18 (MIA) - General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it may need $30 billion in total government financing to weather the economic downturn and would cut 47,000 jobs worldwide and shutter five more U.S. factories in a massive restructuring plan.
The job cuts, which would take place by the end of this year, include 10,000 salaried and 37,000 blue-collar positions, amounting to 19 percent of the company's current global work force.
GM is already surviving on $13.4 billion in federal loans and said in a 117-page plan submitted to the Treasury Department that it would seek an additional $16.6 billion if economic conditions worsen, but it could achieve profitability in two years and fully repay its loans by 2017.
The U.S. automaker presented its turnaround plan as it worked to win concessions from the United Auto Workers and bondholders to dramatically resize the company. The UAW said it reached a tentative deal with GM, Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. on contract changes, but discussions were still under way about how the companies would fund -run trust funds that will take over the companies' retiree health care obligations starting next year.
GM said it was making progress but had not yet achieved all the concessions from workers, lenders, dealers and suppliers that the Bush administration sought in the loan terms provided last December.
President Barack Obama's administration will review the plans from GM and Chrysler LLC but could pull the loans if they don't approve the turnaround plans by then. The review could be extended into April, but if the government demands the money back it would force the companies into bankruptcy.
In December, GM said it might need a total of $18 billion in government financing but only got a commitment of $13.4 billion, including $4 billion that the automaker received Tuesday.
GM predicted it could run out of money next month and said it wants to receive an additional $2 billion in March and an additional $2.6 billion in April.
The company has a $4.5 billion revolving line of credit that must be refinanced in 2011 but now believes that private funding won't be available, so the automaker is asking the government to lend the money.
If market conditions deteriorate, GM says it may also need an additional $7.5 billion revolving line of credit to stay afloat, for a total potential request of $30 billion.
GM's plan details extensive cuts. Of the 47,000 jobs to be slashed, 26,000 will be outside the U.S. The new plan has the U.S. work force declining from about 92,000 hourly and salaried employees at the end 2008 to 72,000 by 2012.
In its Dec. 2 plan to the Bush administration, GM said it would cut the number of plants from 47 in 2008 to 38 by 2012. But the new blueprint goes further, cutting an additional five plants by 2012 to a total of 33 facilities. GM didn't identify which plants will be closed.
GM would further reduce the number of vehicle models. The plan envisions a reduction in nameplates from 48 in 2008 to 36 by 2012. That's four fewer models than in the December plan.
GM said all of its major U.S. vehicle launches from 2009 to 2014 would be high-mileage cars and crossovers.
GM's eight brands would be reduced to four core lines — Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC — as the automaker said in December. But the company said Pontiac also would remain as "a highly focused niche brand."
GM would significantly accelerate the number of gas-electric hybrids and plug-in hybrid cars. It plans to offer 14 hybrids and plug-ins by 2012 and 26 by 2014, when alternative-fuel vehicles are expected to account for 65 percent of sales.
GM, however, is scaling back its anticipated fuel economy gains, a metric closely watched by environmentalists in Congress. GM said it will meet federal fuel efficiency standards through the 2015 model years, but the progress will be slower.
The Dec. 2 plan said its car fleet average would reach 37.3 miles per gallon by 2012 compared with 31.6 in 2008. But GM now predicts its car fleet will reach 33.7 mpg by 2012 and not surpass 38 mpg until 2014. ik/fd/9:26

 

I'd like to know what they mean by highly focused niche brand.

The imports kicked the Detroit 3's *** for years with models that appealed to the tuner crowd. GM finally got their foot in the door with the Cobalt SS. Now they're just going to abandon that market again? Those cars fit with GM's plans IMO. Small, fuel efficient cars being "tuned" to be small performace cars.

Maybe GM plans to make Pontiac their "tuner" car line.

As for Buick, I can see them eliminating the Buick SUV. Buick's core market is the older crowd.

Caddy... I agree that they need to stop re-badging the Suburban and the Avalanche. I think Caddy should abandon the ideas of the Caddy of old. Goodbye to the big, land-yacht. Re-design the Caddy division to compete with cars like Mercedes and BMW. The Corvette-based Caddy sports car was a step in the right direction. Now theyneed to run in that direction and designmodels that will attract the BMW and Mercedes crowd. Just my opinion though.

The Pontiac G6 was a replacement for the Grand Am. TheGrand Amended in 2005, and the G6came out in 2006. So thecurrent design of the G6 is4 years old, and due to be re-designed or ended within the next couple years. Also, as much as I like the Solstice, I don't see it surviving the chopping block. Which is too bad since it's cousin, the Saturn Sky, is going with the end of the Saturn line.

 

February 18, 2009
Which Pontiac models will survive?

PONTIAC'S G8 SPORT TRUCK HAS BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE LINEUP.[X(][X(][X(]I really liked it 2 [X(]WHICH MODELS WILL BE NEXT? The GM Exec R going to get 2gether & smoke & then decide[8D]
General Motors presented the United States Department of Treasury plans for the company's long-term viability. GM will focus on its core brands; Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Pontiac will serve as a focused brand with fewer entries, within the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel. GM will have a total of 36 nameplates in 2012, down 25 percent from 2008 levels.
Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-Pontiac-GMC Pontiac, said a couple of months back that Pontiac will become a "very focused, very specialty or niche."
So the question is, in whittling down the lineup, which models should the manufacturer keep?
It has already announced the Holden-derived 2010 G8 ST Sport Truck won't make it to dealerships.
These are the choices: G3 a Chevy-Aveo-based small car scheduled for a spring 2009 debut; G5; G6 sedan, coupe and convertible; G8; Solstice roadster and recently unveiled coupe; Torrent; and Vibe.
Chevy has a new Camaro does a Firebird cousin have a shot?

THE CHEVY-AVEO-BASED G3 IS SET FOR DEALERSHIPS THIS SPRING.

 

see? thats another lame thing.
if we HAVE an AVEO, why do we need it AGAIN with a pontiac badge?
i would rather see diversity spread out across the brands.
i DONT want to see the same chevys with different badges. its so overdone.
sure its not as cost effective for them, but... come on. really.



yes... the Caddy CTS-V [fastest V8 production sedan in the world] is NICE. i was in one at the auto show in philly. but i still love the idea of having one land whale in the lineup. you need that long, big luxury car. its so AMERICAN and i love it. i test drove a DTS and it was a nice time!!!! but we shall see. i will say, even the INTERIOR of the CTS-V was hot, sharp, and totally impressive.

i pray every day for this ****storm to end on a happy note.

V

 

 

y would they get rid of G6 i think that would be dumb good gas milage and all around car i think but i dont know what they thinkin

 

i have a feeling that the repeats will go. since there is a g5 which can be considered close to the same as the cobalt one of those two will go. then the denalis will probably head out. thats what cadys are for. the impala should stay along with all the newer models. such as the g8. the crossovers will probably go down to one to. so essentially just getting down to one brand one model.

 

i think they should turn caddy into a model for chevy, and kill the escapade, er escalade, keep a base sedan for classy crusing, and have buyers be able to option it with different packages, likethe cts-v as a preformance option, tho i doubt thattl happen. they should also choose between GMC and chevy trucks, why do they need two lines of the exact same trucks? buick is probibly doomed, i can only see them possibly keeping a sedan for old people who cannot afford a caddy, under a chevy badge, sad because buick went through so much trouble just to reverse that stodgyimage in the 60s - 80s. i really hope they dont discrase pontiac with an avao, they are the cheezyist cars on the market in my opinion, even worse than a geo. it would be pretty stupied to let cobolt go causthoseare nice little cars, way better than an avao andwhen optioneddown theyareprettyaffordable for a good small car, decent milage and actullly pretty comfy.