[DML] Re: DMCH to build Pontiac Solstice?

["delornut" <delornut@xxxxxxx>]

I agree with Mike in regards to the cost and complexity involved in starting up a mothballed auto plant. We can all speculate until the cows come home but none of us really know what's going on here. If I were to make up a scenario I would say that first,GM may sell off the Solstice assembly package but I doubt they'd give up the name Solstice or Pontiac. Auto companies just don't do that. Now let's say Bob Lutz, for example, who pushed for the Solstice in the first place and wanted GM to continue it, decided to try and make it happen but needed a name that would ring familiar with the buying public because GM wouldn't release the Solstice name plate. Houston owns just such a name and that might make a good marriage. I think Stephen has proven himself to be a great business man and he's done far more than many would have thought possible with the Delorean business but let's face facts, he alone couldn't come up with the funds nor the where-with-all to run a full scale auto assembly plant. I doubt anyone could or would risk that kind of capital. IMHO there's something going on in the background, maybe with the Chinese or someone with enough of an automotive background and interest like Lutz or Roger Penske. I'd guess the idea was brought to DMCH and wasn't an inhouse idea to begin with. Of course I could also be all wrong.

Bruce Benson
-

-- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, mike.griese@... wrote:
>
> Taking on the Solstice would be the fast route to bankruptcy for DMC.  Most cars built by auto companies are not entirely in-house designs.  Interiors and HVAC systems come from Johnson Controls or similar outfit, electronics from Delco or Visteon, drivetrains would have to be sourced from somewhere, the factory may only be an assembly site - no body stamping or injection molding facilities would mean buying in parts from somewhere else.  Then there are the issues with a dealer network, advertising, financing, warranty support (who covers warranty work for existing cars?), future development, change management, information technology, worldwide compliance, labor relations, and on and on.  Plus, who is going to want to buy one of these once they have been cut loose from GM?  You can't assume that the current sales rate would be maintained or that the current dealers would stay on board, since Saturn is closing down and Pontiac is disappearing as a marque.
> 
> --
> Mike




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