What are your thoughts on gm killing off the cruze and impala .

[ckelly78z]

Merry Christmas, GM is laying off 14,000 before the end of the year, not sure if their market share has dipped that much, or just heading in a different (EV electric) direction ?

Maybe they need another government bailout !

[VFR750]

Having bought a 2014 Sonic (already dropped) and a 2018 Cruze (soon to be dead) I can say Chevy is making a mistake.

Both a fun cars. Get great mileage and are affordable to own. Small wheels = cheap tires. Very large inside. The Cruze gets 40-45 mpg on the highway on 87 octane. Sonic is similar.

Advertising

Has GM even tried to sell these cars?

Recession: both GM and Ford will be in big trouble during the next recession because people will stop buying suvs and they will have nothing to sell.

Two good little cars that are perfect for the new driver. Many 911 drivers (small car!) subscribe to the theory of avoiding accidents: teach them welll.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

Impossible to compete with the Korean small/econo cars. No one cares if they're seen in a Korean chitbox or an American made chitbox anymore so GM is choosing to stop punching themselves in the face.

You forgot one minor detail - the Korean cars are better equipped and better made for the same or less money.

Hard to feel sorry for GM, they drove themselves into bankruptcy and were bailed out by the USG, which only enabled them to continue their ways. This should have been allowed to happen years ago. People are still buying cars, they just aren’t buying GM cars.

[cabmandone]

IMO GM and Ford are both fighting the same battle. Their designs are uninspired and you don't get any real value for the vehicle purchased. I bought my son a Hyundai Veloster with the tech package and only 32,000 miles for 10K. I couldn't find anything with anywhere near what the Veloster offered for the money from Ford or GM and honestly after the last bailout I wouldn't buy a GM if it was the last US car manufacturer.

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

You forgot one minor detail - the Korean cars are better equipped and better made for the same or less money.

And I'll add have a better warranty. I just found out the 2013 car I bought my son recently ran out of warranty. 5yr/60,000 mile warranty for the second owner. I wish I would have studied that a bit more because his car has the one known issue of the fan switch going out.

[jcommin]

From USA today:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/11/27/mary-barra-gm-general-motors/2116833002/

Maybe GM will get out in front of changes in the US market.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by BeyGon

I won't miss them, Hertz and Avis will just get some different rental cars.

Ok, you've got a valid point. I've never and would be very unlikely to ever purchase either one. I also see them primarily as rental cars. I even thought the old Pontiac GTO that was sold in the 2004-2006 timeframe looked like a rental car.

Originally Posted by VFR750

Having bought a 2014 Sonic (already dropped) and a 2018 Cruze (soon to be dead) I can say Chevy is making a mistake.

Both a fun cars. Get great mileage and are affordable to own. Small wheels = cheap tires. Very large inside. The Cruze gets 40-45 mpg on the highway on 87 octane. Sonic is similar.

Advertising

Has GM even tried to sell these cars?

Recession: both GM and Ford will be in big trouble during the next recession because people will stop buying suvs and they will have nothing to sell.

Two good little cars that are perfect for the new driver. Many 911 drivers (small car!) subscribe to the theory of avoiding accidents: teach them welll.

I've never driven a cruze, but both of my kids have Sonics (both are in their 30s). You can't beat a Sonic for the price. Lots of features and decent little car for very little money.

[Sooner or later]

I think it is a mistake.

That first time new car buyer is most likely looking for an inexpensive ride. When they buy that low end Kia they may like the brand and be more likely to move up the Kia line for their next new vehicle.

Also, upselling will be gone.

[Gretch]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Far as I', concerned, the old GM should have gone into bankruptcy instead of being taken over by the federal government.

Anyway, no skin off my nose. With the takeover, GM went off my list.

This, guilty or not, GM management went along with the criminal actions of the oloser administration......

an unforgivable crime........... off my list of product offerings, forever.

[Sooner or later]

GM did go bankrupt,

The bigger crime was bailing out Chrysler and selling them to Fiat.

If we had let GM and Chrysler go out of business the entire supplier chain when have followed suit. It would have been disastrous

All bailout money was paid back

[billybek]

GM is closing their plant in Oshawa Ontario.
That plant is said to be GM's most flexible plant, able to manufacture any car or truck that GM produces.
Sad day for those folks in Oshawa.

Edit:
Wonder what kind of value we got out of our bailout dollars
On December 20, the government of Canada and the province of Ontario offered $3.3 billion in loans to the auto industry. Under the plan GM will receive $3 billion and Chrysler will receive the rest. Ford only asked for a line of credit but will not be participating in the bailout.

From another source:

The Liberal government appears to have written off a taxpayer loan to the auto industry in March, but is refusing to say how much the loan was for or provide any other details.

Ottawa has been carrying large, stagnant loans to the auto sector on its books, and repayments have been past due since at least 2010. That was the year that followed a federal bailout of GM and Chrysler that was made in co-ordination with a much larger cash injection by Washington.

The most-recent public valuation of commercial loans that remain in arrears shows a total of $1.15 billion still owed to the federal government as of March 2017.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

You forgot one minor detail - the Korean cars are better equipped and better made for the same or less money.

Why? The answer is taxes. Imported goods are not taxed the same way as goods made in the USA. If only we could level the playing field....

The answer is getting rid of any type of income tax and going to a consumption tax. Then you will see the difference between USA manufacturing and the rest of the world.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

I'm looking into a new vehicle and the RAV4 hybrid gets 39mpg... I'm having a hard time justifying a sedan when I'll get the utility of a crossover without losing the efficiency.

I can see why sedans are going the way of the dinosaurs

My daughter has been driving a Rav4 since she first got her license. Now with two boys and a dog the Ravr4 still meets all their transport needs with very little service.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

GM did go bankrupt,

The bigger crime was bailing out Chrysler and selling them to Fiat.

If we had let GM and Chrysler go out of business the entire supplier chain when have followed suit. It would have been disastrous

All bailout money was paid back

Actually, both GM and Chrysler went bankrupt. The US treasury opened 2 new corporations, along with the Canadian government, UAW and FIAT. These new corps were "sold" the good assets of the "old" corps.

"Old GM" is now called "Motors Liquidation Company".

"NGMCO Inc" was formed and bought all of the good "Old GM" assets and even the name and renamed themselves "General Motors".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Chapter_11_reorganization

"Old Chrysler" is now called "Old Carco LLC".

"Chrysler group LLC" was formed and with FIAT, bought the "good" Chrysler assets, again, including the name. So, it changed its name to Fiat Chrysler.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Chapter_11_reorganization

[GH85Carrera]

PETA will likely be picketing them for killing Impalas!

I guess they killed Pontiac and Oldsmobile wholesale. Soon the only "cars" they will make are Corvettes, Camaros, and whatever the cops can use.

I have to wonder why they refuse to make a new El Camino. I get an average of two people per month ask if mine is for sale. I always tell them no, and add, just what vehicle on the planet can I replace it with? I do NOT want a pickup, like almost everyone else has, they are too big. And the mini pickups are too small. I like the ride of a car, and the ability to haul some stuff when necessary. If they would sell the Holden UTE with left hand drive for a reasonable price, I might buy one.

[manbridge 74]

Seems like the Saturn story all over again as well. You can’t pay people $50 an hour to hang fenders and expect the car it takes 37 hours to build to be as profitable as one that takes 17 hours.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Brian 162

I think the Volt is also on the list.

They are closing the plant that makes the Volt, but the Volt concept isn't going anywhere. GM is still putting millions into development of the drive train. They are introducing a new charging system and improved battery in 2019. The Volt's biggest problem is that, like the Impala and the Cruz, it is saddled with a sedan body. I love my Volt, but I would like it more if it was more SUV-like. The sedan body is going the way of the Cruz and Impala, and a Volt-based crossover SUV is expected in 2020 or 2021.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I guess they killed Pontiac and Oldsmobile wholesale. Soon the only "cars" they will make are Corvettes, Camaros, and whatever the cops can use.

I see more and more Ohio Highway Patrol "cars" that are SUVs. Our town has two police cars, a sedan and an SUV. The county has a mix of both. I am surprised cop cars aren't ALL SUVs by now.

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by VFR750

Having bought a 2014 Sonic (already dropped) and a 2018 Cruze (soon to be dead) I can say Chevy is making a mistake.

Both a fun cars. Get great mileage and are affordable to own. Small wheels = cheap tires. Very large inside. The Cruze gets 40-45 mpg on the highway on 87 octane. Sonic is similar.

Advertising

Has GM even tried to sell these cars?

Recession: both GM and Ford will be in big trouble during the next recession because people will stop buying suvs and they will have nothing to sell.

Two good little cars that are perfect for the new driver. Many 911 drivers (small car!) subscribe to the theory of avoiding accidents: teach them welll.

The big 3 got caught in the 60s and 70s because they misjudged the small car market, the Japanese imports and the energy crisis. What they produced in reaction to this market were some of the worst cars ever made (Commonly known as the car malaise era (1973 - 1983)). I don't think they want a repeat of this or what happened 10 years ago.

I'm a car guy - I don't need/want a pick-up truck, SUV, mini van or station wagon. There is no American offering that I would buy today. I have had German cars for the last 15 years - I like their style. But I'm not the norm and am 68 years old - I'm not who the automakers are targeting.

[javadog]

Bad management. Corporate America is increasingly run by people that cannot make good decisions and they are going to run this country into the ground.

[gwood]

When cars are self driving, most will be rentals.