Keeping an old brand viable is sometimes no more difficult than packaging. Here, a specialized Willys Jeep Wrangler, which according to a Chrysler LLC release dates from 2004. Basically, it’s a Wrangler, but it comes specially packaged, with a Willys decal, and Army paint colors and tires. The Willys package was about paint, styling and [...]

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just off the headlines. The massive shutdown of dealers ordered by the Obama administration was a massive failure. Not that you couldn’t have noticed by just talking to some of the dealers themselves. I recall running into a group of repair guys from Sarasota Chrysler-Plymouth, which is now Sarasota Suzuki Mitsubishi. This [...]

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Sadly, we don’t think we will be getting to ANY of these this summer, but we nevertheless thought it would be useful to publish a list of some top corporate and factory museums to visit this summer. Take a break and enjoy America’s industrial legacy. And to all those companies that have shut down their [...]

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LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – I recently attended the NHRA Winter Nationals and noticed that the most popular body for those outrageous funny cars seemed to be Pontiac. So when I asked another spectator why, he simply said “they have the best aero-dynamics.” My horse sense told me this was likely to be true. Wow! I [...]

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Thoughts on some current news items: Proctor & Gamble just released its revived collection of Rochas, under the leadership of Marco Zanini. Proctor & Gamble shut down Rochas in 2006, and brought it back. The Wall Street Journal noted last week that its “nutty wide heels” and such targeted the exuberant woman who wanted to [...]

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So what does a GM dealer that used to have a Saturn or Saab franchise do now that these brands are gone? Some are going solo, as used car and repair dealerships. Many Chrysler dealers are affiliating with NAPA, or going it alone as used car dealers, too. My solution would be to offer any [...]

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We came across the below statistics from the website www.gm-volt.com. It turns out that the dead brands of General Motors accounted for one in six sales at the ailing U.S. automaker. Writes their editorial: Looking ahead, GM has a couple big issues. For starters, Pontiac sold 30,000 odd cars last month, which leaves them with [...]

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General Motors thinks it has killed off the Pontiac. And what a brilliant move that is. Let’s see, you need to sell MORE cars cause your company is broke, and you cut out yet one more product line? And then cut out even more dealers? Thankfully, though, the brand will hang on with collector clubs. [...]

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We know that CAFE fuel standards are the culprit in killing off bigger cars in the U.S., but its manufacturers who are responsible for killing off the word STATION WAGON in their marketing. And so, brands like Volvo and Volkswagen now own the upper middle class consumer. We found a sort of antidote. Its the [...]

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DETROIT – Not that I really like Pontiacs these days. They’ve not been interesting for a long time. But now, there are serious discussions that GM will announce that Pontiac will be shut down as a brand. Frankly, it doesn’t make sense. If Pontiac sales stink, then so do Buick. And for that matter all [...]

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