We do not need self driving cars.

Hey, don't worry. The trumpster has said he spoke "very strongly" to the GM CEO. Expect her to say, oops didn't mean that and keep the US plants open. Gotta follow the leader

Why is it bad management to drop car lines that are not selling and not profitable?

And FCA has no small sedans having dropped the Dart and 200. They still have the old school RWD cars which seem to be doing OK. You can even still get a manual in the Challenger.

I have to admit I don't get the CUV thing. Our Avenger has more legroom and more usable space than our Rogue. It rides better, gets better mileage even though it has 100hp more and is better built. (Hard to believe I said that right?)

The Rogue does have more cargo space and for taking the dogs along to the lake it works better, but on a road trip we can fit as much in the sedan as the CUV since you can only stack so high in the back before if starts falling in to the passengers.

I might also be a bit biased because the Rogue is a piece of crap.

Personally I would rather drive the sedan or a larger unit like the Durango. I would rather have a minivan than a crossover. That is a good use of space.

I have opposite POV. I would love to see more coupes, sedans, and wagons. SUVs and trucks have just gotten stupid over the years. But, unfortunately, I must be in the minority.

It's a knee-jerk reaction made at a time when GM is reporting record profits. Let's also say that they have a track record of investing in products that nobody wants and failing to build products that sell well. They can't seem to plan ahead, they can't seem to build with the public wants, and they overreact when they perceive things are not going well.

Mary Barra is being proactive. Design cycles are pretty long, and some of these vehicles were in the pipeline before she became CEO. She’s unwilling to hang on too long to vehicles that aren’t going to do enough for future earnings. So, Barra is pruning while the company is healthy, so she can afford to invest more in GM’s future. As a shareholder, I like it!

It's not that "no one" wants small cars and sedans, it's more so that those who do aren't willing to pay a premium for a US branded version. The love affair with the generic automobile is essentially dead, emotional decisions are reserved for luxury brands/models. No one rolls into their driveway in their new Cruze or Impala soaking in the envy of their neighbors (as used to happen with even entry level "latest" models), that emotional side of the purchase allowed for much larger margins. People now buy such cars because they have to drive something, no more emotional profits to be had. People today are more proud of owning the latest cellphone and thus willing to fork over the emotional premium.

My point is that we can't win a race to the bottom on basic cars, we just can't.

My close family friend was (died cancer 4years ago) 3rd-4th from the top of GM canada, she told me they couldn't compete with small/economy cars because every single GM car/truck/SUV has about $3k tacked on it for pension and benefits. GM only made money on the bigger more profitable vehicles.
At the time she predicted that GM cars would be gone in ten years, she was right, just happened a bit quicker than she thought.

I used to live in Oshawa, still have friends and family there, the writing has been on the wall for the last 10+ years. Almost every year in that time they have shut down a line.

This move seems to be the opposite of what you are saying. They are saying they are NOT going to invest in sedans, which are not popular. Seems like they are planning ahead - stop wasting time on vehicles that aren't selling well and put development money into something for the future.

Great post. It's a different culture now. I do remember when my uncle would show up at Thanksgiving with a new Oldsmobile every other year. It was a big deal and the whole family came out to ooh and ahh. Now, nobody can tell an Impala from a Focus - they just don't care.

I am in that same minority, but the sales all go to the CUV/SUV/Pickups.

Pickups are the new Delta 88 or other big American sedan of your choice.

I have a '14 Cruze diesel that is my 3 season commute appliance. It's comfortable and gets good fuel mileage but it's not inspired , the transmission sort of sucks and it has a penchant for CELs related to emissions. The Impalas were even less inspiring imo. If the close out the new cruze TDs, I may look for a good deal...or not and not lose any sleep over it.

Just read they are killing the CTS-V and ATS-v now too. WTF?

Buick, Cadillac, Chevy Sonic, Volt, Spark, Camaro, Corvette, etc...



Most of the police vehicles around here are things like Explorers.

A little over a third of all vehicles sold are crossovers, roughly a third are cars of all sizes, the rest are pick ups and SUVs and vans. I think there's enough market for a decent car, I suppose the hard part for GM is building a decent one. I've always thought of most of their products as built to a price point, nothing more. Maybe they just need better product planners or better market research.

I went to the grocery store yesterday and the only vehicle that caught my eye as I was walking through the parking lot turned out to be a Buick sedan. Everything else was just cookie-cutter horse**** in dark colors.

Our car is this color.

http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/66857146.jpg

Yeah, we are all gaga when my Dad brought home the new Impala convertible, and the new Firebird, and the new Monte Carlo, and then US cars started to suck.

A 1976 Monte Carlo, copper colored with the swivel front buckets was the last GM mom and dad bought. He always had Mopar maxi-vans for his work (commercial flooring) and they would run 150k to 200k miles with only a timing chain around 90k miles. Started driving Mopar cars then minivans after the MC. After he retired he got rid of the big van for a minivan also.

This new stuff is why we all look at the older cars.

While I’m not questioning your statement about the disparity between domestic and import goods, most of the “import” cars are actually now made in the USA. They just do it better.