Quote:
Originally Posted by UCF w00t
Yes, the Camaro can, and I believe will, have a great affect on the future of GM. The Camaro is very much a "halo" car that will bring people into dealerships and make people rethink their anti-Detroit bias. It is a response to almost every criticism people often make of the Big3. Even though the Camaro isn't for everybody, it will make people consider cars from GM when they may have just gone with a Toyota. It's not about the number of Camaros sold (although that will certainly help) it's about the image that the average American has of GM.
|
I know of a few GM people who whole heartedly agree with you. I however do not believe that a company should have more than one "trophy" car. When it comes to Chevrolet, that one car is the Corvette. Every other Chevy must justify it's existence by selling enough units per year to make a profit for the general.
Camaro saving GM? Not a chance. It's not a car that the masses will flock to. Rather, it's a bit of a niche car and as such will sell 200K units at the most (in current market conditions). If someone came to me and gave me a business case stating that the Camaro is responsible for selling the Impala, hence it's continued existence when only selling 50K units, I'd say to them "you're in the wrong business".
Identify the target market, identify the competition, build the best product for that market and sell it at a competitive price. Your goal should be to own your market segment - nothing less. If you don't think you will be able to and need some other "spin" job to support your product's business case, then you should move on.
If you really want to know what will save GM, just look at which vehicles they sell 1 million or more units of. Pick-up truck anyone?....