GM Said to Study New Models Including Smaller Minivan, Pickup
General Motors Co. is studying several possible additions to its vehicle lineup, including a new midsize pickup and a stretched version of its European minivan, said three people familiar with the process.
We get the minivan idea, after all both Ford and Chevy never really competed with Chrysler in this area. The truck idea has us dumbfounded however. The Dakota makes for a great example. The size difference between a “midsized” truck and a full sized truck has gotten blurry with both being similar lengths and width and often getting similar crappy fuel economy. Ford recently announced the death of the Explorer Sport Trac as well. Chevy dropped the ball on the Colorado and Canyon trucks taking away an iconic small truck name in the S10, plus these trucks will be phased out in 2012. Anyone else see the opportunity here? Imagine Ford dropping the Ranger name. Come on GM, you’re on a roll; bring back the S10, a small, reliable and fuel efficient pickup truck. I want a free truck when one of you suits sees this and decides to run with my frigging idea! Windows 7 was also my idea.
Quote from the article:
Source: GM Said to Study New Models Including Smaller Minivan, Pickup
We get the minivan idea, after all both Ford and Chevy never really competed with Chrysler in this area. The truck idea has us dumbfounded however. The Dakota makes for a great example. The size difference between a “midsized” truck and a full sized truck has gotten blurry with both being similar lengths and width and often getting similar crappy fuel economy. Ford recently announced the death of the Explorer Sport Trac as well. Chevy dropped the ball on the Colorado and Canyon trucks taking away an iconic small truck name in the S10, plus these trucks will be phased out in 2012. Anyone else see the opportunity here? Imagine Ford dropping the Ranger name. Come on GM, you’re on a roll; bring back the S10, a small, reliable and fuel efficient pickup truck. I want a free truck when one of you suits sees this and decides to run with my frigging idea! Windows 7 was also my idea.
Quote from the article:
Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre has told his staff to explore adding a few models to its future portfolio. He wants GM’s product staff to consider small, youth-oriented cars for Chevrolet and a large prestige sedan for Cadillac, as well as the minivan and midsize pickup, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified disclosing private discussions. The ideas are under study and may not be built, the people said. Whitacre’s push to fill holes in the lineup shows how much GM has changed since last year’s bankruptcy. Now managed by industry outsiders preparing for an initial stock offering and freed of historic cost constraints, the new company is able to consider vehicles the Detroit-based carmaker once shunned. “New management can look at things from a different angle,” said Rebecca Lindland, analyst with IHS Automotive, a research firm in Lexington, Massachusetts. “There’s a lot of market share up for grabs. It makes sense to look at some of these products.” In June, Whitacre named Stephen Carlisle vice president of global product planning, reporting directly to the chairman. Since then, Whitacre has been asking his management team to explore new product ideas to see if the company can find new market segments and boost sales in the long run, the people said. A GM spokesman, Pat Morrissey, declined to comment |
Source: GM Said to Study New Models Including Smaller Minivan, Pickup
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