What's the point of having Chevy, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick, etc... (I'm using GM as an example)
Why not just have one brand and sell everything under that?
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10-03-2009
What's the point of having Chevy, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick, etc... (I'm using GM as an example)
Why not just have one brand and sell everything under that?
10-04-2009
This is where it started:
"Alfred Sloan (GM CEO during the mid-1900's) also established a pricing structure in which (from lowest to highest priced) Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac—referred to as the ladder of success—did not compete with each other, and buyers could be kept in the GM "family" as their buying power and preferences changed as they aged."
That was the original concept. Now it's a way to spread the cost of R & D over a greater number of products to reduce the cost and soak the gullible on luxury brands. For example, your buy a Ford Expedition for $40,000 or buy a Lincoln Navigator for $60,000. The Navigator is the EXACT same vehicle (as the Expedition) assembled on the EXACT same line by the EXACT same workers using componets sourced from the EXACT same suppliers. The Navigator has maybe an additional $2500 worth of content but Ford charged an additional $20k for a net of $17.5k. Honda does the same with Acura, Nissan with Infinity, etc.
10-04-2009
Marketing. People like choices, and when people see that it is named something different, they think its a different vehicle and are more inclined to buy it.
10-05-2009
Exactly. My mom has always hated pontiacs ever since they had a bad experience with a lemon in the 80s. But she likes Chevy cars. No matter how much I told her they were the same she wouldn't hear it.Originally Posted by minichopper6hp
10-04-2009
Basically you swap out for a bigger, shinier badge, and put the dash buttons in unique spots, and suddenly it's a much nicer car that you're willing to spend thousands more on.
10-05-2009
Back near 1900 when most where founded they where separate car companys that got bought out and merged.
10-05-2009
Yup what he said Hell oldsmobile was my great great great grandpappy or some where in there then they sold off there was 3 or 4 lines of cars and trucks formed from my family tree
10-05-2009
Back in the day the divisions competed with each other too, hence why Pontiac used to be called PMD (motor division). GM put the first nail in Pontiac's coffin in 82 when they canceled the Pontiac V8 and went to corporate motors for 83.
10-06-2009
As stated before, limited models for each brand. Buick was the (I beleive) doctors car, pontiac little more pricier and expensive than a chev, etc. Idea, as stated, when done with a chev, moving to a bigger car (nest size or "tier") a cust went to pontiac. Not sure when but that changed to the mentality that chevy would affer their entry level cars all the way up to the "luxury" vehicle and pontiac, and the rest the same. That started the trend of sharing platforms and vehicles, and engines, drivelines, etc thus doing away with the "tier" thing and overloading the market with many diff but same cars thus leading to the slow sales of certian makes, such as plymouth, olds, now pontiac and trimming down the offerings to something that will be like what (I suspect given time) will be back to something similar to what was back in the 1900's. Acura, infinity, and those luxury brands are only available on this side of the water. The "Acura" nsx was a honda in the rest of the world
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