This week, the new CEO of General Motors, Frtiz Henderson was asked if there was any chance the Pontiac G8 would continue to be built, in any form. His reply was “I am not a fan of rebadging.” This reminds me of the guy at the party who tells you “I don’t drink anymore. (I don’t drink any less either!)”
Chevy Tahoe + GMC Sierra = REBADGING.
General Motors is getting out of the badge engineering game, then, or are they? Consider the picture above. It’s a Chevy Silverado and a GMC Sierra. The PR materials likely provide numerous ways that the Sierra is “Professional Grade,” but I think the acid test for rebadging is can you swap those parts that make the vehicle different to the other model? What you wanna bet the entire front clip of that Sierra would bolt right up to the Silverado? If I can turn a Silverado into a Sierra in my driveway in a weekend, then it’s the same vehicle.
Chevy Tahoe + GMC Yukon = REBADGING.
Again, subtle differences here and there, but underneath, same damn thing.
After saying he wasn’t a fan of rebadging, Frits went on to suggest considering the differences between the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain…
Chevy Equinox + GMC Terrain = REBADGING.
You can tweak headlight shapes, grille and mirror design, and even move your C-pillars all day long, GM. Underneath it’s the exact same thing. What’s worse is that the Terrain was dreamt up to replace the wildly popular Pontiac Torrent. Blows my mind to think that GM would commission the creation of another mid-sized SUV to replace a Pontiac that obviously wasn’t selling, but scrubs the G8.
Chevy Malibu + Buick Lacrosse = REBADGING
Without researching even more pointless GM fare this morning, I’m just going to assume (yeah, I know what that does) that every Buick model is a rebadged Chevy. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! The Malibu and Lacrosse are built on the same platform as these two cars.
Opel Insignia and Saab 9-5
Surprisingly, both these cars are based on the same, Epsilon II platform as the Malibu and Lacrosse. The Saab is actually a rendering, as the new 9-5 is still running around incognito. Still the same car underneath, but there are more powertrain options in the Opel (which was likely the first of these clones to be designed) and the Saab looks a million miles away from the Detroit parts bin.
Two of the four are miles apart and actually exciting!
The Opel is likely the original of these last four models. That sort of forward thinking hasn’t come out of Detroit in decades. Saab might have some trouble, but they’ve made arrangements. Funny that GM is actually paying the buyers to buy Saab from them. Here’s two truly hot cars and GM is doing everything they can to dump those brands. Print media puppets might be going on and on about how fabulous the new Malibu might be, but if it’s worth anything, it’s because the Opel was quality.
GMC should be making trucks and SUVs.
If GMC is “Professional Grade,” why compete against the Silverados that are essentially the same thing? Why not have Chevy focus on cars while GMC focuses on trucks and SUVs. Make ALL your trucks “Professional Grade.” That’s the problem, GM, you’ve had to make most of your models CRAP in order to make the top of the line models sell!
Chevy should be making cars. Buick should retire.
Again, we’re talking about the same cars underneath, but the Buicks are supposed to be more luxurious? You know damn good and well you’re not going to enable them to compete with Cadillac, so why not dump Buick and invest all the cumulative resources into making Chevys that look as sharp as possible? Why not ditch the ulta-rigid options package structuring you’ve championed for decades and allow people to get a Malibu with the finest interior/exterior appointments the platform affords or the hottest engine with their choice of a manual transmission over the sloppy, slushboxes you’ve forced everyone into with the larger engines over the years or BOTH.
“I am not a fan of rebadging.”
Nobody is, Fritz. Tell us you’re trying to jump on a trend for smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles (in light of the convenient dollar-a-gallon increase at the pump in the last month). Tell us you’re going to invest in more bullshit hybrid technology that will make cars heavier, handle worse, and less enjoyable for anyone who doesn’t ride a bus or walk right now. Tell us the G8 stands to compete with the Corvette because it’s more practical, has all the performance potential, and costs a third the price! Tell us you just don’t like the G8, personally, but don’t tell us you’re ditching the hottest car you’ve got right now because you’re not a fan of rebadging.
/rant
