Just before the Detroit Three presented their loan guarantee/bailout proposals to Congress, Motor Trend learned that General Motors would shift Opel's design language from Saturn to Buick. Now we know why.
In the short period between the credit crisis beginning in mid-September and the Capitol Hill appearance in December, GM hatched a plan to weed down its eight North American divisions. It will try to sell Saab and says it's progressing on a deal to sell Hummer. It will "explore alternatives" for Saturn. That sounds like plans to kill off the division, although Saturn's 400 dealers are considered the best franchises in the corporation. And it will "downsize" Pontiac into a "specialty" car brand, to remain within the Pontiac-Buick-GMC sales channel.
Thus, merging Buick design with Opel make even more sense. With plans for a big splash with the new Chevrolet Cruze, which launches in Europe this April, a full year ahead of its North American debut, GM will push Opel's image back up to a middle-upscale brand. Opel wouldn't be as upscale as Mercedes-Benz or BMW, but would target the lower end of Audi -- or where Audi has been until recently.
The change also makes sense for GM's Chinese strategy. Opel Corsas and Astras already are badge-engineered as Buicks there. Like the current Opel-based Saturns, Buicks for China and the U.S. would be designed with different grilles and trim to distinguish them from European Opels. There is a history here: Opels were designed in Buick's studio until the late 1960s. With its voluptuous lines, the new Opel Insignia in fact would make a better Buick than a Saturn.
This comes with a huge caveat: The strategy was being developed as the Detroit Three got a second chance at a loan guarantee bailout, the request now inflated from $25 billion to $34 billion. GM said it needed $4 billion to get through the end of 2008 and another $4 billion just to make it through January. If GM has made it this far, its future calls for a North American middle-priced channel consisting of Opel-based Buicks, a small fleet of sporty and affordable Pontiacs, and more crossovers for GMC.
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