off topic. Oldsmobile

[Mark Fearer <mfearer@xxxx>]

 I am forwarding an e-mail from a Pontiac list. I feel that most of us
will find it to be interesting, especially the very last sentance.

--
Mark Fearer
vin 3072


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 19:00:44 -0600
From: Mark Potter <potter@xxxx>
Reply-To: poncho@xxxx
To: poncho@xxxx
Subject: [poncho] Re: I guess it's true....

We had shorter life cycles for automobiles back in the 1950s and 1960s,
but they were lengthened in the 1970s due to the high cost of developing all
new models, not to mention increasing federal safety and emission control
regulations. Also, the downsizings that came in the late 1970s through the
mid-1980s were very expensive due to the wholesale switch to
front-wheel-drive and need for new engines. I agree that GM kept a lot of
old cars well beyond their useful life cycles. Examples included the 1968
Mako-Shark Corvette design that lasted all the way to 1982. Also the
second-generation Firebird/Camaro that debuted in mid-1970 and lasted all
the way to 1981 - but that design sold like hotcakes in its later years,
particularly from 1976 to 1979 - so GM felt justified in keeping that
F-body. Original plans called for the F-body to be replaced by the
Vega-based Chevy Monza/Pontiac Sunbird for 1976, but the Camaro/Firebird
sold so well in 1974-75 that the older design was continued as the last
survivors of the original ponycars while the newer cars were intended as
Mustang II-competitors, whose sales were well below expectations. The
continued success of the "older" Firebird/Camaro design led Ford to bring
back a "real" Mustang in 1979.
In 1982, GM brought out its front-drive A-body intermediates (ie. Chevy
Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Olds Cutlass Ciera and Buick Century), which would
last a whopping 15 model years or so - by which time only the Cutlass and
Century remained. However, they did not sell as well as their older
rear-drive G-body counterparts (which they were designed to ultimately
replace - but would carry on all the way to 1987) including the Pontiac
Grand Prix, LeMans (1978-81) and Bonneville (the mid-size Bonnie of 82-86).
The older cars sold better as gasoline became cheaper again and demand for
V8 engines (which the front-drive A-bodies didn't offer) rose. The G-body
Cutlass Supreme coupe was at that time the best selling car in America all
the way to the end. After that time, the GM-10 front-drive Cutlass Supreme
sold only a fraction that the older rear-drive version had - one of many
factors that eventually led to the announcement that Oldsmobile would be
dropped. With that, the Cutlass Ciera became Olds' biggest seller and was
hardly the car for the division to be chanting "This is not your father's
Oldsmobile." - or should it be grandfathers.
As we're now lamenting over the demise of Oldsmobile, it should be
remembered that Pontiac nearly met a similar fate at GM back in the early
1980s after the recesssion and energy crisis drastically cut into sales of
Firebird Trans Ams, along with the replacement of 400 cid V8s with turbo
301s in 1980-81, and the rest of the Poncho lineup wasn't setting the world
afire - a far cry from the 1960s when Pontiac held its grip to third place.
During that dismal early 1980s, Oldsmobile held its grip to third place and
even came close to toppling Ford for second place and even Buick was way
ahead of Pontiac. In 1983, for the first and only time ever, Mercury outsold
Pontiac. That same year, Pontiac pinned its future hopes by introducing a
slogan that would carry the division for the next few years - "We Build
Excitement." That theme was later enhanced to "Driving Excitement."
Pontiac's comeback began in 1984 with the reinstatement of the
full-sized car thanks to the Canadian-built Parisienne (really a Chevy
Caprice with a Pontiac grille, two-tone paint and different taillight
lenses - for 1985-86, the Parisenne got 1981 Bonneville taillights and side
trim), more horsepower for the Firebird Trans Am, the new 6000 wagon and
increased production of the 6000 STE, and ... the introduction of the Fiero,
which, more than any other factor, brought more showroom traffic into
Pontiac dealerships than they had seen in years. Despite the Fiero's lack of
power on first-year models, the carps about the Chevette/Citation suspension
components and later, the well-publicized recalls, all of which led to its
ultimate demise after 1988 - this car would sell well initially and draw in
would-be buyers who ended up leaving the dealership in a new Firebird,
Sunbird, Grand Prix or even a Parisienne Safari. Later, the Grand Am would
further enhance the division's image and become Pontiac's hottest selling
car, which it remains to this day.
The important note was not so much the sales success of Pontiacs, but
the marketing and imaging. The division did a tremendous job in the
mid-1980s and later in promoting its products. By 1987, Pontiac overtook
Olds for third place in domestic car sales and probably still holds that
position to this day (very competitive with Toyota and Honda) - just like in
the 1960s. Oldsmobile lacks any real marketing expertise and has become a
non-mobile image-wise. If Olds had the leadership that Pontiac had in the
mid-1980s, it probably wouldn't be on its deathbed. What Olds really needed
was a marketer, or car-guy, such as Lee Iacocca or John Z. DeLorean.
Mark


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