[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

What platform is this car built on???
I've read that the G8/Caprice platform won't be built much longer in Australia. Am I correct???

This

I read they will discontinue the Chevy SS because the low US sales are not enough to keep the platform going for it alone.

[72projectbird]

The car is built on the Zeta chassis. The same chassis that GM used on the G8, and currently use on the Chevy Caprice.

[Dick Boneske]

Yes, sales of the SS is very slow in the US. GM is shutting down its Australian Holden operation in 2017. I believe Ford already shut theirs down. I don't know about Chrysler.

Australian-built cars can't compete with other countries due to high wages the union workers are paid there. Other industry in Australia is in trouble for the same reason. A friend in Melbourne says more and more products are coming from China--kind of like the US.

[yumpy]

I think the only car that comes close to the SS is the hemi Chrysler 300. The SRT model list for $45,900 and the SRT Premium list for $49,000. The wifey presently own a 2007 300 and is on here 2nd Grand Caravan. She said she is done with Chrysler. She said all 3 have be just about as reliable as the Fiat 128 she had in high school. I use to work on Fiats and she couldn't of said it any better.

[pontiaclarry]

Since the 80's, GM has had its head up its butt. They have been too far removed from the market, in general. They do not have a real good feel for what the car buying public wants, how to stratigize its products, and how to promote interest in their products. With Olds and Pontiac gone, they have left an enormous hole in their product line. It is true they had too much duplication across product lines. But the answer is not delete entire lines of cars, but rather reduce much of the duplication. In the early 70' GM had 55% of the domestic car market. Now look at them. They have only poor and ineffective management to blame. I can't fault Cadillac for wanting to separate itself from the stigma of the horrific management decisions being carried out at the corporate level. Chevrolet has always been the lowest priced product. And now with only Buick poised between them and Cadillac, GM is like a bouy in the ocean. They can't even recognize that Buick has always been the sought after product of the geriatric set. Until they get genuine car enthusiast people involved in their product line, they will continue to be out of touch. I was shocked when they dropped Oldsmobile. Then I was stunned beyond words when they made the preposterous decision to kill Pontiac. But that is how GM of late has sought to fix things. Don't figure out what is wrong and fix it, just kill it. All this leaves me with the overriding question: What is wrong with those people?

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by pontiaclarry

Since the 80's, GM has had its head up its butt. They have been too far removed from the market, in general. They do not have a real good feel for what the car buying public wants, how to stratigize its products, and how to promote interest in their products.

Yet despite all those problems you claim, no one in the world is selling more cars in the U.S. than GM does.

In the early 70' GM had 55% of the domestic car market.

Back in 1970, GM/Ford/Chrysler (the Big 3) sold about 7.65 million cars/trucks. GM had about 3.7 mill, Ford had 2.5 mill and Chrylser had about 1.5 mil.

Add in AMC and it was about 8 million.

With Plymouth (Chrysler's #1 seller in 1970 with sales of about 750,000), Mercury (about 350,000), Olds (about 665,000), Pontiac (about 690,000) and AMC (about 275,000) gone, that eliminates about 2.75 million cars and trucks - so that knocks that 8 mill number down to about 5.25 million.

In 2014 GM/Ford/Chrysler sold about 7.5 million vehicles.

[goatwgn]

Originally Posted by pontiaclarry

Since the 80's, GM has had its head up its butt. They have been too far removed from the market, in general. They do not have a real good feel for what the car buying public wants, how to stratigize its products, and how to promote interest in their products. With Olds and Pontiac gone, they have left an enormous hole in their product line. It is true they had too much duplication across product lines. But the answer is not delete entire lines of cars, but rather reduce much of the duplication. In the early 70' GM had 55% of the domestic car market. Now look at them. They have only poor and ineffective management to blame. I can't fault Cadillac for wanting to separate itself from the stigma of the horrific management decisions being carried out at the corporate level. Chevrolet has always been the lowest priced product. And now with only Buick poised between them and Cadillac, GM is like a bouy in the ocean. They can't even recognize that Buick has always been the sought after product of the geriatric set. Until they get genuine car enthusiast people involved in their product line, they will continue to be out of touch. I was shocked when they dropped Oldsmobile. Then I was stunned beyond words when they made the preposterous decision to kill Pontiac. But that is how GM of late has sought to fix things. Don't figure out what is wrong and fix it, just kill it. All this leaves me with the overriding question: What is wrong with those people?

X2! That is my feeling exactly.

[goatless]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Yet despite all those problems you claim, no one in the world is selling more cars in the U.S. than GM does.



Back in 1970, GM/Ford/Chrysler (the Big 3) sold about 7.65 million cars/trucks. GM had about 3.7 mill, Ford had 2.5 mill and Chrylser had about 1.5 mil.

Add in AMC and it was about 8 million.



In 2014 GM/Ford/Chrysler sold about 7.5 million vehicles.

So what you're saying then is "Yes, GM has lost market share."


Not really sure what you're trying to get at with this following statement, since each corporation voluntarily eliminated those brands.

Originally Posted by The Champ

With Plymouth (Chrysler's #1 seller in 1970 with sales of about 750,000), Mercury (about 350,000), Olds (about 665,000), Pontiac (about 690,000) and AMC (about 275,000) gone, that eliminates about 2.75 million cars and trucks - so that knocks that 8 mill number down to about 5.25 million.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by goatless

So what you're saying then is "Yes, GM has lost market share."

Sure they did. Ford and Chrysler have also lost market share.

Not really sure what you're trying to get at with this following statement, since each corporation voluntarily eliminated those brands.

The point I was making is that the remaining brands of the Big 3 sold 5.25 million cars in 1970 and that in 2014 those brands sold 7.5 million cars.

GM sold nearly 203,000 cars in January - up 18.3% from last year and 25,000 more than #2. That 18.3% is a bigger increase then Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda or Nissan....