Saw on the news yesterday, that GM is doing what marketing specialists consider sales suicide. Placing the competition's product next to yours.

An experiment is kicking off this week in north Texas, and several other markets- whereby the Saturn dealerships have Honda Accords and Toyota Camry's on the lot for consumers to test drive, right next to the 2007 Automobile of the year, Saturn Aura- to do a side by side comparison. This will allow the customer to decide if Honda and Toyota really are better cars, better built, and have more features than American cars today.

Ballsy... But that reflects how confident the general is in their new cars. They went on to say Ford is readying a similiar campaign in certain markets, pitting the Accord and Camry against the Fusion.

Ford did this 5-6 years ago, with the Lincoln LS, when they had an Audi A6 and BMW 525 on the lot, so the potential buyers coudl do a side-by-side-by-side comparison. The LS was a sweet car, but- I guess it lost, since Ford doesn't make it any more. I think they should have kept it in the line up, and as upgrade beyond the MkZ, and beneath the badly in need of a major redesign Lincoln Town Car.
The Saturn Aura / Pontiac G6 are sweet cars- but they are sold by relatively low-volume Gm dealerships. THey need a Chevy version/price point- of this car, to really move units. If a GM brand is going to match sales with Toyota and Honda, it's Chevrolet, not Pontiac or Saturn- of which there are fewer dealerships, and fewer still- of the Saturn brand.

 

My stepdaughter has a G6 - it's a nice car, but it does not have the build quality of the Japanese competition. It has a few annoying issues, relatively minor. Yes, I know the Camry and Accord are assembled here.

 

Good for GM !

Everything I've read about the Aura sez it's a really good vehicle and can hold its own. I hope that works for them, and actually, what do they have to lose? If it works, it's a great PR move, if it doesn't . . . no real harm as the general perception is "meh" at best.

I saw the concept at the shows a couple of years ago and it was impressive. Seen a few driving around here, and while not as tricked out-fancy as the concept, it looks good.

 

they have the ***** to put it against the jap cars, but not enough to put it against a fusion

 

Bleeding Ford blue sometimes affects the areas of the brain that control reason. It's not his fault.

 

An aura??


hardly luxury.

yeah they have a luxury package for it, but the rest of the ones ive seen have been less luxurious than the fusion.


edit: the camry goes up against the fusion though..

 

One of the commercials around here makes me laugh every time I see it. There is this goober talking about how better the fusion handles than the other two test vehicles. Well, no kidding. The fusion they are testing is AWD. Of course it's probably going to handle better.

 

I'm sure GM will compete with the Fusion (I have a Fusion too- 4-banger, FWD- love it) too, but- the goal here is to denounce the notion that Japanese cars are still better than American made cars.

Yes, I know the Accord and Camry are built in The USA (While the Fusion is built in Mexico), but- GM's point is to go against the "foreign" nameplates, as opposed to an also wounded (but, maybe not as badly as GM) Ford.

 

I dont want to read about any problems bighersh is having with his *****