Detroit Thinks Small: With gas prices going to stay high, this time it's for real

The Detroit Three are ready to make more cars than trucks again -- the market has already dictated that -- and the C-segment (Civic, Corolla, Focus, Golf, etc.) is the next big thing, with more refined, better-equipped models on the way.

Leading off this movement is the 2011 Chevrolet compact. Combine the now-signature Chevrolet horizontally split grille with "fierce-eye" headlamps and a rakish, coupelike four-door roofline, and you've got the replacement for the Cobalt, coming in two years. At GM's annual meeting, Rick Wagoner dropped all kinds of hints about the car, including the likelihood it won't be called "Cobalt," making that car a one-generation model nameplate.

more:
http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...ars/index.html

 

SUCKS....keep the cobalt

 

Can someone please explain to me why Rick Wagoner is still CEO of General Motors? I wish I could perform that bad at my job and still get to keep it.

Getting rid of the Cobalt name is bad business. Why spend all that money introducing North America to "Cobalt", then throw it away 4-5 years later. Again, just another stupid decision by a horrible CEO.

 

Agreed.

It's no wonder that GM shares recently dipped below $10.00 for the first time since the EISENHOWER administration!

I still think it should be sold short.

 

I just laugh at some of the decisions that goes through that company, and it solidifies the fact that GM is a company that likes to live in the now, and not in the future.

Lets see...
Where was the investment into smaller cars? Why weren't cars like the Beat, Trax and Groove being thought about years ago?

GM needs to invest in small (and not Cobalt small, like MINI small cars) and work their way up. Make a solid, award winning, gas sipping car, then begin to scale that up to the Compact, then Midsize, then Fullsize cars.

The problem I can see, is that GM keeps trying to take a big car, and crush it into a small car, cutting out all the nice, quality items along the way. Why not learn how to make a quality small car, learning how to save weight, increase mileage, maximize interior room, then start building your larger cars using the same formula?

 

I'm feeling lazy and this guy summed it up nicely on another board.

"But with regards to evolving to changing market. If you speak to the mileage issue. Put yourself in the pants of a CEO at any automaker today. You have product from (using GM) an Aveo to an Escalade. Now looking at your numbers coming in people are buying more Escalades than Aveos. Keep in mind, for example sake, you are making 5,000 on the Aveo and $20,000 on an Escalade. And the Escalade is selling 6 to 1 more than the Aveo. What would you build more of? What is the consumer telling you? Again, remember you are running a company that is out to make money, not sell things for fun or what's cool.

For example, pick a car that people think is cool and cute.......... say a mini, ariel atom, (I'm trying to think of something everyone oogles over that is low volume) or say using GM a Saturn Sky. You'd make less per vehicle and yet, the market isn't there that they are selling 500,000 of them yearly either. It wasn't until the shift in oil, that the market shifted to higher mpg vehicles. Until then, everyone wanted the SUV's and such. So, to sit and point the finger solely at the OEM's is wrong."

 

actually dumping the name is a good idea, the cobalt sold like nuts, like the cavalier, did when it first came out


and we still get called cavaliers, having a new name, only bring new car buyers to the lot to look

that way, oh look it just another cavalier, its a right step in the right direction, also the cobalt has been a bad warranty issue for a lot of ppl i know

good on GM

i prefer a fresh face and name than the same old crap over and over and over

 

I guess that explains why you didn't buy a Civic or Corolla.

It has been proven time and time again that keeping a model name leads to brand and model loyalty. And before I get flamed for trying to point at the Civic as an example of this look at how shitty the Civic was when it first came out. Now look at it today. It still has problems (recall on current model for speed sensor o-ring that could lead to wheel falling off) and people swear by them. The only problem I have is that GM doesn't build reputable compact cars, and stand by them.

As for the argument that GM is trying to live by today and not tomorrow, I couldn't disagree more. The problem is that GM has no imagination and still lives by yesterday. Just look at Buick. They want to live off the design glory days of Harley Earl. Sorry Bob Lutz, but you don't fill the shoes. The current Honda Civic is a design marvel. Love it or hate it, you still know what it is. The new Civic has through a wrench into the works of all designers. I once read an article that Toyota was so taken back by the look of the current Civic that they postponed the release of the new Corolla a whole year so that they could give it a new look. Now, GM has realized that they fell short in the design market for younger generations and is desperately trying to right their wrongs. GM = a swing and a miss. Now, I'm not praising the new Civic. I own both a 06 SS/SC and a 07 SS/NA sedan. It was just the best example I could think of.

if GM desided to keep the Cobalt name they only advantage they have in their corner is that the Cobalt has only been out for one generation, therefore there are no trademark details that have to be carried over to a second generation. They could easily claim that the new Cobalt is only carrying over something non-visual from the current Cobalt. I really hope they don't call it a Cobalt. Gm has been known to kill cars after only one generation before. Anybody remember the Fiero. Its lines were only cleaned up, but nothing else changed.

 

...because COBALT name isn't worth anything...most of the market doesn't agree with it being a good name to be connected to.

 

Says who??? Where did the Cobalt sit in sales in 2006 and 2007? I think a lot of people recognize the car and have purchased it. The biggest problem with the Cobalt isn't the Cobalt itself, but the low quality material GM decided to make it with. The Cobalt could have been a much better car if GM tried. Now, where is my in-dash GPS? I can get that in a Civic Si.

 

Just please don't turn to alphabet soup like Pontiac. for trying to sound European. Sunfire > G5 (in terms of the name, don't take that out of context) As for the Cobalt name, meh... they need to stop naming cars after elements.

 

Why? Honda just made it simple and called one the Element so that you wouldn't forget which one to call you car? It seems to be the cool thing to do now. So, I have a recommendation for the name for the Cobalt replacement: Helium. I suggest it because Helium = hot air. And we all know what GM is doing.

 

hahaha true dat

next one is gonna tantalum, god be orginal please, not that i should complain, i just named off an element, probably 3/4 of this site didnt even know existed




i dont know why i ever traded my turbo sunfire in for a cobalt ss/sc though, damn thing was awesome, - the lack of braking power,oh well, mb its time for sleep

 

I'd be surprised if it didn't start with "C".

 

its gunna be the new CAPRICE

 

No, I will sit and point the finger at GM. And Ford and Chrysler as well. I have no problem with them building what makes them the most money. Where my problem lays is in the thinking that oil was going to stay cheap forever, and lets not forget, most of these programs like the GMT-900 and Zeta where put into motion when gasoline was on a rising trend, not a falling. So they knew damn right that when the cars came to market, gasoline prices would be higher. But they went ahead anyways.

Now those Escalades and Hummers, those so-called high profit vehicles, sit dormant on the dealer lot. So what is $20,000 worth when you can't sell the vehicle. Not to mention the massive hit they are going to take on lease returns, when the residual value of the SUV at lease end, will be significantly higher than the market value of the car. So its great that, for a while, they sold lots of these SUV's. Now the market has dried up and GM is left holding the bill, crying that somehow they've been dealt an unfair hand.

While all along, Honda, Toyota and Nissan have been building both quality SUVs, AND small cars. It gives them a diversification GM does not have. The Civic versus the Cobalt, the Aveo versus the Fit, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which one buyers are going to go to.

GM needs to stop treating its small cars like the red headed stepchild of the family. The nicest cars GM make are larger cars, and therein lays the problem. They spend millions on cars like the Camaro, the full size SUVs, the Corvette, but have put little to no effort into their small cars. The Cavalier is the perfect example of this. If they put the budget of say, the Malibu, into making a quality, class leading small car, they wouldn't be in the situation they are in.

Just look at fuel prices. People are buying Cobalts like they are going extinct. And lets face it, SS excluded, the Cobalt is a pretty middle of the road car, its not bad, but it isn't good either. Could you imagine the money they could make if they had a Cobalt that was similar in quality and design to the Malibu? One that you don't have to offer incentives for people to buy? One that will steal sales from Civic and Corolla?

GM played dumb, figured the gravy train of SUV sales would continue for years and years, the GMT-900s and the money invested being the perfect example of this. But it didn't, and now that people are flocked to small cars, GM is putting forth a mediocre face at best. I have faith that they can turn it around, but I still think upper management at GM still doesn't take the small car market seriously. And for their own sake, I hope that mentality changes very soon.

 

Id name it the butthole

"hey dude get in my butthole!"

"DAMN, your butthole is SEXY"

"Man you really need to wash your butthole better"

"Guy's my butthole is leaking fluid all over, what do I do?"

 

2013 Cavalier concept.



Hey Wagoner! Hey Lutz! Wanna save money?

 

Good post Gturismo1, it's the sad reality for our beloved GM.

 

Well said my friend. Intriguing counterpoint to the argument.

 

i personally think they shud just keep it as a cobalt and redesign it. as for the cruze...it doesnt appeal to me performance wise. 1.8 turbocharged with a mind blowing 150 HP!!! awesome...not. keep the cobalt...

 

i wouldnt mind a redesign like they show in the "chevy dream line up" that was posted on here a while ago