AAH #6 – Rally Cap Roundtable
May 7th, 2009 at 8:35pm
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You’ve got to check this one out. McElroy and his “After Hours” cohorts Mr. AutoExtremist Peter De Lorenzo and PR master Jason Vines are joined in the studio by Mark Phelan, car critic from the Detroit Free Press to discuss the hottest automotive topics from the past week – and beyond. On the docket and up for discussion, a variety of subjects ranging from Chrysler’s survival to when the car market will bounce back. Also, it seems everyone from the Chinese to Roger Penske is eyeing Saturn now that the General is done with it. And did Toyota get greedy? Plus, we put you in the driver’s seat again with another rousing edition of “Rapid-Fire.” You don’t want to miss this installment of Autoline After Hours, the most candid car-themed discussion around.
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Comments (7)
May 7th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
John
What happened to the marketing stategy for the
Saturn ( Opel ) Astra ? Seemed like a nice
car, Did GM drop the ball ?
May 8th, 2009 at 8:15 am
@ Jim: the Saturn Astra fell victim to the appreciation of the euro against the dollar. It’s next to impossible to build an entry level car in euros and sell it in dollars and still make a profit.
May 8th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Rember the old grouping BOC&CPC (Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac & Chevy-Pontiac-Canada)?
Pontiac’s demise (more particularly, its dealer base demise), will give GM the option of selling a small number of lines of Pontiacs as part of the natural combination with Chevy. In such a stuation perhaps only 2 or 3 lines would be involved (no need to dilute the brand with G5 and G3 merely to provide volume).
For example, the G8 could be sold instead of a RWD Impala. A G6 could be sold insead of a Malibu SS.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:27 am
RE Penske – Saturn: As auto mfg capacity contracts(collapses) worldwide, could not the sales channel become more important? In other words, as cars increasingingly become commoditized and their mfg origin less and less clear, the sales channel and how it is managed and marketed will become more important. Saturn somehow still clings to an ‘un-GM’ image mostly because of a progressive dealer channel. Could we see a time when merchants become the brand? Focused soley on the consumer, and guarantee their private label brands, similar to groceries or warehouse clubs?
May 12th, 2009 at 1:18 am
AAH#6, a fantastic improvement over AAH#5. AAH #6 was informative. AAH#5 was destructive.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I have the impression that automotive companies are trying to differentiate their cars and the big mega companies that can’t change quickly with the market are struggling. The Mini is a huge hit and BMW is not suffering as much as the other companies. The same goes for Hyundai, Kai and Honda.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
I agree, I can’t stand all the tech…It’s nonsense. It make our cars intentionally disposable after 7 years. Why do we have computer chips in transmissions, the old way of vacuum and throttle position worked great! Now these idiotic transmissions won’t up shift when you coast to a light. If I want engine braking Ill manually downshift my A/T!