GM kills Saturn, Hummer, and Pontiac

As part of their reorganization plan being presented to Congress, GM will shut down or spin off Saturn, Hummer, and Saab. GM will also end Pontiac as a separate division, retaining a few models that will be sold at GMC dealers. It's about time.

In the Roger Smith era, GM reduced the individuality of its brands. In essence, when you saw a car coming down the road, you knew it was a GM product, but until it got close enough to see the badge, you often didn't know which GM marque it was. This was a disaster. The distinctions and marketing differentials the various divisions worked for years to build up were wiped away. Every attempt to re-establish those differences has failed except for Cadillac, which has managed to regain its reputation in the luxury car market, just as Lincoln has been losing theirs.

GM needs two divisions with separate dealer networks: Chevrolet and Cadillac. The Chevy division should have Corvette as a draw, and the Caddy division should sell the Crossfire as its rival. Chevy could sell Chevy trucks, and Cadillac could sell GMAC trucks.

Very few people will miss Buick. Saturn will be a lost opportunity. I hope someone will buy Saab, preferably to return it to Sweden, where it got its original reputation as a superb but quirky car.

Ford has already gone this way: There are Ford dealers and Lincoln-Mercury dealers, with Mercury being only a few models to attract younger buyers. But unless Ford begins to pay real attention to Lincoln, it will lose this brand as well. While Cadillac has finally managed to build some fast, sporty upscale models, Lincolns continue to be huge, clumsy Interstate cruisers. Sorry, but if I had the money for a Lincoln, I would not get one. And I am at the age where comfortable cars are a real draw, belonging to the War Baby generation, before the Baby Boom. If I had the money, I would buy a Jaguar. Why can't Ford build cars that handle like Jags in its Lincoln plants? They once owned Jaguar, so they should know the technology.

Chrysler tried to merge with Mercedes, and is now trying an "alliance" with Fiat. It isn't going to work unless Fiat is able to cut off the entire top leadership of Chrysler and start over. The current Chrysler management still has a "Big 3" mentality, thinking of Chrysler as an equal or superior partner in any merger. They aren't. But that arrogant attitude will ruin the culture in any merged company, as it ruined the merger with Mercedes.

Finally, Americans need to learn how to build luxury cars. I'm sorry, but no matter how realistic the interior plastic looks when it's new, it's still plastic, not wood, and you can tell. And vinyl is not and never will be leather.