Gah , was reading the pdf of GM for its bridge loan(s) and they want to stay with 4 core brands. Sadly Pontiac is not one of these brands , except as a niche brand with lower volume.
One thing that I cant figure out is why people still think chevy is what it once was, I see people driving a variety of chevys, but to me they are a truck franchise now rather than a distinct car brand.
While Chevy has both the Vette and the coming camaro for sports cars, I would think that these cars are midlife vehicles instead of the goto car for kids getting their first vehicle. Just the insurance alone on one of these things must be astronomical for a first time driver, so basically while they probably do have other car platforms , I dont think I can think of any besides the impala.
Unlike Pontiac which I can think of a number of different platforms, and yet Chevy is the average everydaymans car ??
So did you buy your vehicle based on manufacturer or brand, ala just cause its honda , or because its a honda civic.
Brand loyalty in cars is a concept that doesn’t mean much until/unless you’ve owned 2 or 3 new cars. So IMO that means most folks under about 35 don’t really have a formed opinion.
At one time, GM’s 5 car brands had very distinct socioeconomic targets. As other maufacturers grew, and as the middle class got squeezed, the nuance differences between Buick, Pontiac, and Olds’s target markets pretty well disappeared. As well as collapsing down into Chevy territory.
And as you say, the big three have really been 50+% truck companies for the last 15 years, so the awareness of their car brands, other than specialties like the Corvette, is at an all time low.
Hence GM’s current advertising which talks all about the quality, value, mileage, style, etc. then at the end says “Oh yeah, it’s a Chevy. … Surprised?”
Me? I have zero brand loyalty. I buy for the mission. I now drive a sport sedan. The previous vehicle was a utility from before the term SUV was invented. Before that it was a two-seater. Different manufacturers and different brands each. Because no one manufacturer, and certainly no one brand, encompasses the best in all those categories spread over 15 years.
I’ve owned nothing but Chrysler products. My wife and I are probably going to buy a new car in the next year and it will most likely be a Chrysler product. I cannot imagine a situation in which I would purchase a GM product. The only way I would make a Ford purchase is if I bought a truck or if Chrysler goes tits up. In fact, the merger rumors between Chrysler and GM scared the crap out of me because I will not by a GM product–I don’t care if they kept the Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep names, I would not buy it.
Why the hatred for GM? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because (IMO) GM cars are boring. Corvette? Boring. Camaro? Boring. The rest of the line? BORING.
When I was car shopping five years ago, I wanted the same car that I had been driving, a Ford Contour. I really loved my Contour and would have bought another in a flash, but it wasn’t being made.
Since I couldn’t buy a Contour, I went for my second desire–4 or all wheel drive. Now I’m one of the millions of people driving a blue Jeep Liberty when before I was one of the millions of people driving a mulberry Ford Contour.
Fine i can see cars, regardless of the manufacturer being boring. If your vehicle does its job then boring can be an asset. I was more lamenting the fact that it was pontiac that got the axe instead of chevy. When people mention chevy now, its usually its truck division rather than any passenger vehicle. It seems like gm is pinning its future on an iconic brand that has had nothing special in its stable other than the vette. The addition of the camaro has been nothing more than an ansewer to the revitalized challenger and mustang programs of its domestic competition.
My first car was a Honda Civic which I bought because I could afford the loan and because I was influenced by having used my parents’ Honda Accord when I was in high school
I did buy one non-Honda car, a Dodge Colt Vista, and drove it for nine years. While the car functioned well, the cost of repairs was insanely high and that made it very easy for me to stick with Hondas.
I’m now on my fourth Honda (I tend to keep my cars a very long time) and though I won’t be looking for a replacement for at least another four years barring any catastrophic accidents, I’m sure when I do start looking again I’ll start with Hondas.
I could get off the Honda bandwagon should a similarly priced car with good mileage come along but to date, it’s been Hondas for me. Plus the reliability has been just fantastic.
I bought another Nissan Pathfinder because my last one was such a good car.
First I buy what I need. I then look at convenience features that I want and consider cost. Most all of the vehicles that fit into the group I would consider get about the same MPG, so I don’t really pay much attention to that.
Because my Nissans have been so reliable, I will look to them first. But, my Wife and I rotate and only buy one new car every 5 years, so we each keep a car for about 10 years. The issue does not come up very often, but when it does, we ‘shop’ for about a year or so.
59 Ford conv.
63 Jag XKE
66 Corvair spider Conv
3 VWs (1) conv
Chevrolet 4 dr sedan. Can you tell when the kid came along.
Chevy Vega wagon
Ford falcon sprint conv
Dodge Diplomat
2 Merury Marquis
Lincoln Town car
They all went well past 100.000 miles. Except the Vega which was a piece of shit. The aluminum block cracked .
The Town car is my present car. It is a 2001 with 63,000 miles on it.
To me a car is a car. My wife likes big cars. I like small cars with good mileage. I lose.
I think, based on the current economy, that we come to accept the fact that the goto car for kids buying their first vehicle came off the production line 5-10 years ago. I mean, how many parents can afford to buy their kids a brand new car these days?
To me, a car is a means to get from point A to point B, and I like to do that as economically as possible. We’ve owned 3 Fords, 4 Chevys, 2 GMs, 3 VWs, 2 Chryslers, a Mitsubishi, 2 Mazdas, a Toyota, a Porsche, a MG, and a Scion over the last 25 years - the cars in our driveway today include 1 Ford, 1 Chrysler, 1 VW and 1 Scion. Some bought new, some used, some we kept less than a year, and the current Ford (an Aerostar) we bought new 12 years ago.
VW Beetle (parts thereof), Jeep CJ 7, Geo Trakker, Isuzu Impulse (God, I miss this car. Suspension by Lotus), Honda Civic, Mercury Topaz, VW New Beetle, Toyota Matrix (Wanted a Focus SVT, but my parents hated the idea so much they gave me a grand if I bought a Toyota), Toyota Camry. (I really wanted a Mazdaspeed 3)
I have to admit, memories of the Beetle made me buy the New Beetle. Contrawise, the second Toyota came because the Matrix’s clutch was blowing and the dealership sent me a ‘trade in for extra money’ letter, so I let them have the Matrix and they didn’t look too hard at it.
