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You are in... Forums > Car manufacturers > Americas > Can GM ever learn to be cool?
Joined:
Dec 06
Posts: 1803
car4mh says:
seant said: “Women are considered deep, Why? Because one can never discover any bottom to them. Women are not even shallow.” Nietzsche
“Women are considered deep, Why? Because one can never discover any bottom to them. Women are not even shallow.” Nietzsche
------ End Quote ------
Nietzsche being unable to discover women's bottoms explains a great deal about his worldview. Given the child-bearing hips and ample derriere of Dr. Porsche's favoured vehicle layout, it was clearly not a visual shortcoming of Austro-German ladies of the time.
AReader said: This must be the week for cool discussions. The latest Autoweek dropped through the letterbox, and look at the cover! They're saying: if anybody can make a car company cool, Lapo Elkann can can. After his camo 458, he hints that his next project will be a pinstripe F12. Google Lapo Elkann for more fashion/celebrity/car pics.
This must be the week for cool discussions. The latest Autoweek dropped through the letterbox, and look at the cover! They're saying: if anybody can make a car company cool, Lapo Elkann can can. After his camo 458, he hints that his next project will be a pinstripe F12. Google Lapo Elkann for more fashion/celebrity/car pics.
There's a definite case of 'car as cool person fashion accessory' versus 'cool car'. If a wealthy yet uncool person applied woodland camouflage patterns to his Ferrari, there would be any number of 'rich idiot defaces Italian supercar in epic display of bad taste' headlines across the interweb. But on the other hand if you've got a proven media trackrecord as an arbiter of fashion then you can be lauded for doing things that a typical Mansory client would be sent to the Hague to stand trial for. Who would have thought Ferrari of all companies needed help being cool? Will Luca De Montezemolo be swapping his elegant suits for streetwear at the next motor show press conference? Could Lapo get Sergio Marchionne to ditch the unflattering knitwear and get a trendier pair of glasses?
kubrick said: Opel's image in Germany is in tatters. The 90s model range's abysmal quality is still lingering, which, coupled with the well-publicised ongoing woes, does its best to sabotage any attempt at re-building the public's perception of the brand. This is particularly harmful considering GM is trying to lend Opel a semi-premium image (which is also at odds with Opel's image during the brand's heyday - even when they were at eye-level with VW, Opel was always seen as the slightly shadier alternative). The fairest comparison would be putting Opel next to Ford of Europe - both aren't considered covetable, but Ford isn't plagued with the same amount of negative publicity as poor old Opel and has the advantage of, at least among enthusiasts, being seen as catering to the keen driver (on a budget's) needs. But since the Zafira lost its uniqueness Opel doesn't stand for anything at all anymore - apart from "building much better cars than they used to". That would be faint praise.
Opel's image in Germany is in tatters. The 90s model range's abysmal quality is still lingering, which, coupled with the well-publicised ongoing woes, does its best to sabotage any attempt at re-building the public's perception of the brand. This is particularly harmful considering GM is trying to lend Opel a semi-premium image (which is also at odds with Opel's image during the brand's heyday - even when they were at eye-level with VW, Opel was always seen as the slightly shadier alternative).
The fairest comparison would be putting Opel next to Ford of Europe - both aren't considered covetable, but Ford isn't plagued with the same amount of negative publicity as poor old Opel and has the advantage of, at least among enthusiasts, being seen as catering to the keen driver (on a budget's) needs. But since the Zafira lost its uniqueness Opel doesn't stand for anything at all anymore - apart from "building much better cars than they used to". That would be faint praise.
Faint praise indeed. How many coolness consultants will it take GM Europe to turn around 20 years or more of lacklustre products and indifferent image in the eyes of car buyers?
Can we think of some examples of a carmaker successfully learning to be cool? Lots of carmakers have died cool, but how many have dodged financial ruin with their good looks and charm intact?
Feb 09
Posts: 1781
seant says:
car4mh said: Lots of carmakers have died cool, but how many have dodged financial ruin with their good looks and charm intact?
Lots of carmakers have died cool, but how many have dodged financial ruin with their good looks and charm intact?
Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse - I don’t think Nietzsche said that. It’s James Dean against Marlon Brando - however hard we try, age gets to all of us in the end, if we live that long, so there are unlikely to be any long standing car companies that have constantly maintained their cool. Morgan has kept a dignified face for decades, but I hope they would be offended if I said they made cool cars. Maybe Tatra almost lived and died making what I consider a cool product, though their final attempts to break into the European market had some pretty embarrassing body kit.. But for most it’s the Citroen trajectory, where they have their day in the sun followed by a long sad decline. And presently it seems that any manufacturer wanting to break into the Eastern market considers it essential to pull down their pants in some way or another.
Feb 07
Posts: 4482
bertandnairobi says:
Kubrick´s remarks on the state of Opel came as something of an eyebrow raiser for me. Having had a jaundiced view of Opel for years I now look with a remarkably benign eye on their works. I thought the German public did too. Far from their quality and design (good catchphrase) being only relatively improved I saw them as being absolutely improved as well. Where have I got this impression from? Mostly from looking at their cars in the streets and thinking "they look smart" followed up by some favourable reviews in the motoring press. None of them are trying to be cool but some of seem to have a certain character which is admirable: the Insignia has grown on me and I rather like the Zafira and Meriva designs which unlike, say Citroen and New Ford, are modern but far from contrived. Evidently Herr und Frau Average don´t see it this way. Sehr kurmisch!
Sep 06
Posts: 1540
kubrick says:
I can't help but feel a considerable amount of pity for the boys 'n' girls from Rüsselsheim myself. Back in the 90s I was at the forefront or Opel bashers - but boy did the General deserve a kicking back than for the sheer audacity to come up with cars as woeful as the Astra F, not to mention the Sintra. Needless to say, this generation of cars brought an end to a great many loyal costumers' commitment to the Hessian brand. Opel's loss was VW's and Skoda's gain.
My view of the company may have dramatically mellowed since, but the neverending woes have prevented Opel from being perceived as being "bouncing back". Even Herr and Frau Ottonormalverbraucher (that's obviously German for "Average") are obviously too concerned with image matters to give a company a second chance based purely on product. Mind you, the odd Antara misstep also doesn't help rebuilding an ailing brand.
I wonder how Bruce and Sheila Ottonormalverbraucher (of the Wollongong Ottonormalverbrauchers) will react to the Opel range when it relaunches in Australia later this year? GM will pitch the Corsa, Astra and Insignia as a step up from the Holden-badged Chevy equivalents and is using the existing Opel branding from Germany, complete with 'Wir Leben Autos' tagline to emphasise the appeal of German engineering. Maybe all Opel needs is a backpacking holiday downunder to find itself.
Back in North America, Chevrolet is introducing a new Impala large saloon at the New York show. It looks like a substantial improvement versus the current Impala, usually found cluttering up airport rentacar parking lots. From the interior shot it is clear that the new Impala can either accommodate a massive travel mug of coffee, or has been equipped with the world's largest cupholder ash receptacle. Chevrolet now has a completely modern car lineup in the US, less than three years after the centennial bankruptcy.
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Mar 08
Posts: 4885
Batty says:
Sadly, this is not the first time that Holden have undersetimated the intelligence of their buyers. For those that think slowly and grunt, an Opel will never be a Holden and for those that may be tempted by the size or style, any instance of an increased price due to a percieved German connection will be rejectedby the market. Why not then just buy a VW or Skoda as Kubrick suggests?
The current Commodore is an excellent car that is just 10% too big and 30% deficient in quality. You accept the compromise because it is so very sheap, but trying to buy one from a dealer after being into any other dealership proves that there is much left for Holden to improve.
Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha.
The Impala looks rather good. At first glance I am impressed.
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