And "End of the Line" for GM, actually two of them

[NTX5467]

Great comments, Derek.

The reason the center rear seat is not a "real" seating position any more is the decrease in interior width to better fit "international" sizing for vehicles sold in Europe and other such places. Even in the prior "good ole days", there were usually issues with comfort in the rear center seating position. Some rear seats had an extra piece of foam attached to the bottom of the rear seat cushion to help in this respect. For some reason, though, the front seats didn't seem to have these issues.

Back when fuel prices came to be consistently above $2.00/USA Gallon, there were many naysayers who predicted the demise or reconfiguration of the full size SUVs (i.e., Suburban, Tahoe, similar GMC models). Funny thing is that what really got hot, market-wise back then, was the market for USED GM SUVs. There were still certain market demographics of customers who still needed that type of vehicle, although many others had purchased them for other reasons. Things like family size, car pooling, boat hauling, etc. for which a full frame vehicle was usually better suited for . . . make that "full frame, rear wheel drive, and larger V-8 engine", although an SUV built off of the first-gen Oldsmobile Toronado platform would have many advantages over the current rwd SUVs.

So, the market didn't go away, but it did become small enough that all production could be consolidated at the Arlington, TX asssembly plant . . . for all GM SUVs. So much for naysayers.

I was at a gas station in West Fort Worth last evening. At the pumps in front of me was a man in an older Tahoe. Across the way was a man with a new Suburban. The Tahoe owner hollered at the Suburban owner to see what it cost to fill up his vehicle. He replied, after thinking about a "full" refill, "About $88.00". The Tahoe driver sounded surprised as he said it cost him $105.00. I thought . . . how much would that be per month? YIKES!! I smiled when my Y2K Impala only took about $45.00. Obviously, many people will pay that price for the utility and such of the large GM SUVs, which is fine with me . . . I know I couldn't afford it on a monthly basis.

In the World of GM, Chevrolet will always have the most models. Since the mid-1965 addition of the Chevy Caprice, Chevrolet has been positioned as the "Everyperson's car company" with vehicles for "all needs". From what I've read recently, Cadillac will be similar as it models its lineup after BMW, which has "one of everything" with respect to size, too, when the current model lineups are fully fleshed out. Buick gets the smaller Verano, but NO larger car. GMC will continue to be GMC. NO reason at all that there couldn't be a "Big Buick" to partner with the new Cadillac XTS, though!!! Surely, GM has enough development money and production resources to make that happen???

By now, I guess everybody has read that there will be a new Ford Ranger pickup, but not sold in the USA? I even saw something which alluded to the fact that a new GM S-truck might not be sold in the USA, either? Why? Obviously, fuel economy and safety regulations? Labor costs would be moot point, though, due to production in non-USA plants. But GM, Ford, and Chrysler have built vehicles for their Mexico market which were never intended for sale in the USA . . . i.e., Dodge Ramcharger 2-door SUVs . . . so having some of these vehicles built for International Markets rather than USA Markets is nothing new.

In some respects, it seems that the USA market has become "second fiddle" to the International markets. New Buick models shown FIRST in China, for example, rather than in the home market USA. Certainly, the Chinese market is very important to Buick and GM, as Chinese citizens seem to have a love for Buicks, too, which is good. Nothing really wrong with having gala showings of Buicks in China, either! Considering that the USA Buick line-up seems to have a restricted product offering, plus the need to revive Buick in the home market area, plus the need to show current and potential customers that Buick is really alive and well, important new concepts vehicles have been shown in China first and in the USA significantly later? Why not choose a date and have a gala press showing of these new, important vehicles outside the realm of any new vehicle show, then release the press information EVERYWHERE at the same time??? Might be more cost effective and indicate that GM, the global company that it desires to be, is not favoring one area over another. THEN, when the next new vehicle show comes around, make sure the newly-introduced concept gets center-stage billing in the displays. Having the press releases FIRST can help generate more interest at the car shows, I suspect.

Perhaps, as I started this whole thing over the "we need a bench seat/column shift Buick to not alientate existing, loyal, long-time customers . . . as Oldsmobile did", perhaps it might be possible to completely dispense with the shift lever completely . . . using voice controls or a touch screen on the instrument panel's Driver Information Center? Then figure out a way to house vehicle electronics somewhere else than under the "center stack/console" area! Ever look under the console area of a 1970s-era Corvette? OR, considering the push button start on many newer vehicles, perhaps reviving the "pushbutton shift" could be a complementing situation? I saw a paddle shifter add-on for steering wheels which was run by radio frequencies the other day! Put the shift quadrant on the side of the steering wheel, as the cruise control now is on many vehicles, run by radio frequencies, too! Then, with the electronics generally not under the center console, you can still have the same arrangement which we had with the Lucerne, but what went between the front seat sections would be completely bolt-in with FEW electrical connections for eash of assembly. Either the console or the center cushion set-up. BOTH would have similar assembly times, similar costs, so it would be a "no-charge" factory option which could be easily retrofitted via GM Accessories . . . either way.

Now, to influence GM to build the "Big Buick" with just such a "Flex Front Seat" arrangement! Technology is there . . . as is the market, IF correctly handled and promoted!

Regards,

NTX5467