Note To General Motors: Your Customers Have Better Ideas Than Your Employees

I wholeheartedly endorse Paul over at Wizbang’s suggestion for a new Buick Grand National.
And please, GM, keep the Pontiac brand around.

1 Comment

I’d love to see a new Grand National, but I don’t see where it would really help save Buick, or help GM at all.
I’m a born and bread GM driver. Unfortunately, I still can’t name 4 of the 6 Buick models.
If Buick introduced a new Grand National, and stuck with the Grand National heritage, they need throw a turbo-charged 3.8 V6 into the LaCrosse? Or they ditch the heritage and just come out with an all new rear wheel drive vehicle. While they may get some good some good press, and impress some people, I doubt it would be a big money maker. I also doubt it would help sales of other Buick products. Buick, like Oldsmobile, doesn’t really fit in.
Obviously the Firebird/Trans Am and GTO haven’t saved Pontiac.
I will agree that the execs at GM need a good shake-up. While I appreciate the new SSR, they brought in a retro vehicle when retro was already dying.
I think they’re too worried about hurting feelings. F-Body owners were pissed when the Camaros/Firebirds were cut. The new Impalas were a let down. The new Malibus weren’t cool. The new GTO wasn’t good enough.
From a business standpoint, they need to streamline their products. Having so many products obviously isn’t helping their market share. They need to get back to the basics. Find what really works then focus on making the basics better and cheaper.
Of course, they’d probably be a lot better off, business-wise, if they could ditch the UAW.