It amazes me how poorly managed the big 3 are - ESPECIALLY General Motors and Chrysler. Ford is the ONE American automaker that currently seems to have a shot at turning it around. Right now, I give GM absolutely no chance - and Chrysler's ridiculous lack of productivity makes GM look good.
FORD
Ford, for one, has much less excess weight to drag around. Now that Jag, Land Rover and Aston Martin are gone, Ford only has themselves, Mercury, and Lincoln - Mazda and Volvo operate fairly independently in comparison. Mercury and Lincoln share dealers too, meaning Ford only really has 2 dealer-brand clientele to cater to.
Which may or may not be making it easier for Ford, but right now, they're the ones who are executing a legit turnaround plan. The Edge and new Focus are very hot sellers right now, the Fiesta is soon to hit US shores, and even talks of the tiny Ka coming over have begun. Lincoln, which, except for the poor neglected LS, has been a Ford rebadge-a-thon, is finally beginning to come into its own, beginning with the MKS and continuing with the coming MKR and MKT. The MKS is fairly lame compared to its competition, with a somewhat strange, dated-looking design and a shared platform with the Taurus, and the CTS is still annihilating it, but it is making some sales. Expect the MKT to sell well when it comes out, because it looks like a winner. The MKR will do for Lincoln what the original Cadillac CTS did for the old Standard of the World - put its competitors on notice that Lincoln is back to stay.
The Ford Flex, so far, is NOT selling so well - predictable, concerning the current demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The new F150 is the right truck at the WRONG time, especially considering the cancellation of the more fuel-efficient diesel that had been planned for it. A new Ranger is desperately needed. But the Escape is doing well, and the Explorer is sustainable enough to make a comeback. Both SUVs are of a fairly timeless design that doesn't change much from one generation to another - the new Escape in particular is a clean looking alternative to the quirky stuff that's out there (hello CR-V) that has always had MPG on its side, and, of course, was the first hybrid SUV.
And, of course, if Ford follows through with plans to euro-up Mercury, that brand will be provided with a nice shot in the arm - one that has been SORELY needed for decades and decades. It's bad when the last vehicle they released that wasn't a rebadged Ford was the Villager van - a rebadged Nissan Quest back in the day.
GENERAL MOTORS
Just when I start to think they're figuring it out, they go back and prove that they're still just as incompetent as ever.
They've had a few successes lately. The Malibu is HOT, and sales compared to the old Chevy Malibu reflect that. It's gone from rental garbage to a legit midsize competitor to the Camry and Accord and Altima. The Lambda triplets (especially the Buick Enclave) have been doing well. The Enclave has been HOT - the Saturn Outlook has trailed it a bit, with the GMC Acadia (Outlook twin) pulling up panting but still crossing the finish. The new Saturn Vue has been hot. The Sky and Solstice have done fairly well - more impressive for the Solstice considering the garbage it sits next to on Pontiac lots. The G8 has been making sales, and the new Camaro will do so as well. The new CTS has been hot, and the V-variant, along with engine donor Corvette, have competitors SCRAMBLING to figure out a way to win. Even the new Vibe has been making appearances on the road.
So what do they do? They get complacent, and let it all fall apart again. Let me reiterate it: what Americans want now are new small cars and small SUVs/crossovers. The General has dropped the ball BIG TIME in that regard. The Chevrolet Aveo? An old, crappy excuse for a subcompact. Chevrolet Cobalt? Old. Chevy Equinox/Pontiac Torrent? On life support. Hummer is tanking FAST. Saab is doing next to nothing.
First of all, IMO, there should have never BEEN a "Chevrolet Cruze" announced. Quit changing the name of your stupid compact every time you make a new one. The Cobalt was a good, strong name. Cruze just sounds stupid. But nevermind that, the REAL mistake is putting America on the back of the waiting list. Ford, Honda and Toyota are stealing your lunch money, because they put out their new models, and you didn't. The Civic has literally been flooding the market since it went into its revolutionary 8th generation. The conservative Corolla has been selling like hotcakes, as has the strange-looking new Focus. All three provide something the Cobalt no longer does - some degree of modernity and refinement AND high MPGs. And let's not forget about the updated Hyundai Elantra and Nissan Sentra crowding the market further, along with the sporty alternative, the Italian-looking Mitsubishi Lancer.
You're late to the small-car party, GM. You need to bring the Cruze TODAY, not two years from now.
The Aveo has no place in the market anymore. From the time the 2nd-gen Aveo's come out til now, Honda's released TWO generations of Fit (and flooded the market completely), Toyota's put out the hot-selling Yaris, Hyundai's updated the Accent to keep its conservatively-styled offering current, and Nissan dropped the Versa on us, and found subsequent success. Ford is readying the Fiesta for America, and will have it on the market WELL before GM has any answer. Why? Because GM stubbornly refuses to get on its horse and give us the Beat, or any other alternative in the subcompact market.
The Torrent was DOA three years ago when it came out, and the Equinox is done for. GM has NO excuse for not finding a replacement yet, because the VUE is currently making it rain for Saturn. GM, take the VUE platform, VUE engines and VUE transmissions, put together a couple new interiors and exteriors, and give us our small crossover. It's NOT rocket-science. You're getting killed by the CR-V, Edge, Nissan Rogue, RAV-4, and even the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Compass and Patriot.
The original new Camaro concept was announced at a time when it would have been the second muscle car on the market, after the Mustang. Yet, GM lagged yet again, and got beaten to the punch by the Dodge Challenger and the Hyundai Genesis. They're already making sales. Your tardiness is hurting you, AGAIN. Why is it that Hyundai, Toyota and Honda can get highly-demanded vehicles onto the market so quickly, yet YOU have to take four years to overhype it, pontificate, flip flop, cancel it, reinstate the vehicle program again, pontificate some more, hype it again, redo the interior, change plans a few times, and then release it SO LATE? The Saturn Astra is another example of this, and the lateness, coupled with the high price and inferior MPG, has it rotting on the vine.
I'm not even going to bother mentioning the Pontiac G3 and G5 rebadges. They're too lame to even acknowledge. The G6 is in DIRE need of replacement, and for some reason, the ancient Grand Prix is even being sold as brand new. Hey GM, the Bonneville called and wants its era back.
There is one thing that makes this even worse though. ONE thing that will add to it.
And that is GM letting Cerberus take control of GMAC. Cerberus really wants to get rid of Chrysler, and now, they have GM by the balls. Now that they refuse to do loans to anyone with sub-700 credit, they're getting KILLED, because that's the demographic that bought their cars. People with GOOD credit, who have more of a choice in cars to buy, don't want GM cars, because their products are inferior compared to the competition. They have nothing of value to offer that Ford, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan don't already have. Cerberus will only let one of two things happen: either A: The General buys Chrysler, or B: GMAC continues to choke GM, and GM continues to piss away billions and billions of dollars, watch its dealers close like venus flytraps in a beehive, and watch its sales disappear entirely. GM has almost no way out of this, unless they start cutting the fat, selling off or killing off excess brands, and meeting consumer demand in a TIMELY manner.
Chrysler
The worst of the 3. No small cars now, and now plans for small cars anytime soon. After the Neon was killed, so was the Chrysler small car in general. The Dodge Avenger/Chrysler Sebring duo are UGLY, with inferior power, driving ability, MPG, and interior quality. The Charger and 300 still sell decently, which isn't surprising seeing as they're about the only thing Chrysler has done right. The Challenger is starting to sell, and the Viper surprisingly still has a market. The Wrangler is selling fairly well even despite the bad MPG and tough times for SUVs. And of course, the Grand Caravan/Town and Country twins are selling quite well. Beyond that, it's bleak and it's not getting any better.
The Nitro is trailing its competition, through, as is the 2nd-generation Jeep Liberty. The Durango/Aspen twins are old and LONG overdue for replacement. The Jeep Compass and Dodge Caliber are absolutely useless. The Sebring convertible is a day late and about 10 dollars short. The midsize sedans are HIDEOUS. The Challenger is inferior as far as MPG goes, when compared to the Mustang, Camaro and Genesis coupe. The Dodge Journey is a SLOW seller with nothing to set it apart and really make a person want to check it out or buy it. And, worst of all, the near-future is absolutely EMPTY at a time when the American auto industry needs change.
Cerberus has given up on Chrysler. If they successfully bully GM into buying Chrysler, the once-great (yeah, right) American company will be broken up and killed. Or (preferrably), each brand will be individually sold off and they'll go their seperate ways, left to flourish or perish on their own or under new parent companies.
The future is bright for Ford. They're enacting change, they're actively working to satisfy the demands of today's American customers, and they're aggressively putting out new model after new model in an effort to get the customer's attention.
However, Chrysler is dead. Chrysler WILL NOT survive. Good riddance. And at the rate the General is going, I don't see them surviving either. That's not to say that all of their brands will die nasty deaths all at once (on the contrary, they could seperate and do their own things, and brands on the rise such as Cadillac can finally flourish, while brands with no place can die off, such as Hummer), but the era of the big American car companies is over. Ford shrunk and is still shrinking, but GM is in way too deep. And Chrysler... snowball's chance in hell of turning it around now, unless Hyundai comes in and shows them how to put together legit vehicles and do it within 1-1 1/2 years.
Also posted at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1184237/the_american_car_companies_are_dying.html
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