PREMiERdrum Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Buick's Chief Marketing Director Rodger McCormack did a live webchat this week to discuss what's coming for the TriShield. Link to full transcript below, but here are the highlights: -5 seater Crossover coming soon (Theta-based "VUEick) [Theta also underpins the Equinox, Terrain, and SRX] (rumored to be called "Encore") -Compact sedan coming (Delta-based sedan) [Delta underpins the Cruze, along with the Chevrolet Orlando] -Coupe, Convertible, and Wagon "under consideration" -Regal is currently not available with remote start (!), will be offered next year. LINK - Full Chat Transcript So, Buick - Cadillac - GMC dealers will have 3 Theta crossovers and 3 Lambda crossovers fighting for showroom attention when all is said and done. Does this not seem redundant to anybody else? Further, this will mean that each of GM's 4 surviving US divisions will have versions of the Theta crossover [Equinox, Terrain, Encore, SRX] and of the Lambda crossover [Traverse, Acadia, Enclave, forthcoming Caddy Lambda (rumored Escalade replacement)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Good thing Isuzu is out of the US, or there would be an Isuzu Theta as well. Don't forget the SAAB CUV will be on Theta-Epsilon (TE - SRX). The GM folk would point out the Theta and TE are "related" "but not the same platform". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 (edited) Good thing Isuzu is out of the US, or there would be an Isuzu Theta as well. Don't forget the SAAB CUV will be on Theta-Epsilon (TE - SRX). The GM folk would point out the Theta and TE are "related" "but not the same platform". Yeah, they insist that the so-called Theta "Premium" (TE) is so different from Theta, until you look at what's actually modified. Theta TE differs from Theta in the same way that D3/Taurus differs from D3/Flex. There are differences, but it's still the same platform. Funny you should mention Isuzu and Saab, as I've been looking at the Theta and Lambda projects as the GMT360 program all over again (TrailBlazer, Envoy, Bravada, Ranier, Ascender, 9-7x). And, while we're on topic, does GM's platform strategy make sense to anyone? They base 3 of 4 vehicles off each platform (one for each brand), but they're always 3 or 4 different versions of the same type of vehicle. Delta: Cruze / Excelle (Buick Cruze) Epsilon: Malibu / Regal / Aura / G6 Super-Epsilon: LaCrosse / XTS / Next-gen Impala (rumored) Theta: Equinox / Terrain / Encore / SRX Lambda: Traverse / Acadia / Enclave / Caddy Lambda Compare to: C: Focus / Escape (Kuga) / MKLincoln CD: Fusion / MKZ / Edge / MKX D3/4: Taurus / MKS / Flex / MKT / Explorer I would think that the Ford strategy of building multiple vehicle types off of each platform would help to "hedge your bets" in case of market shifts. Even if crossovers fall out of style (unlikely, but for the sake of the example), the Fusion / MKZ would still be paying towards the CD development (even with decreased Edge sales) and the Taurus / MKS would still be paying towards the D3/4 development (even with decreased Flex / Explorer sales). However, for GM to weather the same shift, the Theta and Lambda programs would be in jeopardy because that's all that those platforms were meant to be. So, I guess, the question is: Does it make more sense to have more, specialized platforms or fewer, flexible platforms? It is surely more expensive (and challenging) to design a platform to be flexible enough to underpin several different types of vehicles, but I can't believe that the additional costs of development would be enough to cover the costs of another unique platform. There I go again, trying to apply logic to GM's strategy. My bad. Edited July 23, 2010 by PREMiERdrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 The only thing is that the CD3 cars and CUV are a bit more removed from one another then you would think. I'm sure this is going to change in the future though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 The only thing is that the CD3 cars and CUV are a bit more removed from one another then you would think. I'm sure this is going to change in the future though. Yeah, I know that the differences from CD3 Car > CUV are pretty big, but I was trying to angle this towards the next few years (Including the Escape/MKEscape/Kuga in with the Focus on global C, for instance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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