IfICouldWouldYou?

Enzl is correct about one thing: GM's slamming dealers against each other is unique in this industry. Just look at the Canadian market, for those who want to see where this could end up. GMC and Pontiac outsell many of their Chevrolet counterparts. Cannablizing Chevrolet for the sake of a few sales elsewhere is not a profitable business plan. GM needs to pick 3 or maybe 4 brands and promote those globally. Spend the money globally. Of course, GM is between a rock and a hard place. Getting rid of Oldsmobile was an expensive proposition, but the business model does not justify 8 divisions with low-twenties market share. Death by a thousand cuts. I have friends who are loyal to Chrysler, but will settle for Dodge if that is what they can afford. GM may get a bit of bad press, but over all if 2 or 3 divisions have to go, it will not be the end of the world.

Yeah, and we all know how that turned out...............

Cave? Luxury! I crawled out from under a rock.

The Camry is a nice car. I like it almost as much as the Honda Ridgeline. I think everyone should drive a Toyota.

The parallels are fitting: the Moon Race was about the prestige of America and the Volt will determine the future of GM.

GM screwed up plenty. With the Aura and the new Vue, the Outlander should not have existed. Instead, it should have gone to Chevrolet, to make up for their declining sales of both the Trailblazer and Uplander. Saturn needs to extend its 'green' image, which the Vue lends to, but the Outlander does not. Ford is the one to watch in this race. They have gotten their acts together with the surging 'cross-over' market. Look at the Edge. Even the Escape has been bang on its target market, while the Equinox has lurched along.

Taken out of context, your quote sounds humorous, if unfounded. The Dart was renowned in its time as being reliable as hell: the ChryCo Slant-6 was indestructible. If you are referring to the Volare/Aspen clones, then you would be closer to the mark; however, at their inception, all of Detroit was imploding.

Even slightly below par, Canada is still a cheaper place to build cars. Both sides are sabre-rattling. GM has pumped more than $300 million into Oshawa recently. Then again, if Obama wins and NAFTA is renegotiated, maybe Canada can go back to the AutoPact: you build it here or you don't sell it here.