Saving the company. Slashing GM's Brands and Sub-brands.

The Chevrolet line goes from the Aveo (starting at about $12k), to the Malibu ($26k+), to the Express passenger van ($33k+), to Avalanche truck ($36k+), to the Corvette ($106k+). Also, you'll find some really ugly things in there too like the "HHR" and the "HHR Panel" ($19k+). Remind me again ... what does the Chevy brand stand for?

If I were in GM's shoes, I'd redefine each of my master brands with a big butcher knife. I'd be really clear about what each of them mean. Then I'd cut the snot out of their sub-brands that don't support that. For instance:

• Chevrolet = Affordable cars, whether you're a young kid buying a first car, or a family buying a practical car.
• Axe the Avalance truck, HHR, Equinox, Traverse, Cargo Van, Passenger Vans, Suburban, Tahoe, Colorado, Silverado, Avalanche, Equinox, Traverse, and ...
• I might be left with the Cobalt, the Aveo, the Malibu, and the Impala. I might include one family-sized SUV/ Crossover, like a modified Trailblazer, or a redesigned (and good) mini-van that could reasonably compete against the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, and the Kia Sedona (I don't think GM even makes a mini-van anymore. All you'd have to do is look at any school drop-off zone between 8:30 and 9:00am to get an understanding of the importance of a mini-van).
  
• I'd cut down the options on those - for instance the Cobalt would only come in a 4 door model. (The two door model would only be available as a Pontiac ... and Pontiac would only sell the two door model.)
  
• I may even axe the legendary Corvette. At a minimum I'd change it dramatically so that it fit into the brand mold of "affordable". It might be sporty and affordable, which would mean dumbing it down a lot. Alternatively, I might toss it over to the Cadillac label.

Chevrolet would drop from a confusing 32 vehicle line-up to a sensible 5 to 7 vehicle line.

Let's pick apart the Pontiacs. They currently have 12 models.

• Pontiac - Sporty fun, performance cars.
• Axe the G3, the Vibe, the G5 Coupe (too similar to the G6 coupe), the G6 Sedan, Torrent (an SUV in the Pontiac line - blech),
• You'd be left with the G8 (a sporty sedan), G6 Convertible, G6 Coupe, and the Solstice. I'm on the fence on an SUV/Crossover on this line. Maybe the Torrent could make sense, but not in its current format.

Pontiac had 12 models ... now they have 4 or 5.

The 3 Buick's would die. Why bother with them. 3 models down to zero!

Cadillac currently has 14 models. 14! Are they nuts. What is a Cadillac when you have 14 versions of the darn thing.

• Cadillac - "You've made it." People will notice you've made it.
  
• Axe the SRX Crossover (it's just ugly and isn't premium enough), the Esclade EXT (buy a truck if you want a truck), the Esclade (which competes with the Esclade ESV), the DTS (it competes against the better looking STS, and isn't premium enough), the XLR convertible (don't worry, there's another model that will be kept)
  
• Keep the STS V6 only ($47k+), the CTS-V ($60k+), the STS -V ($84k+), maybe the Escalade ESV & Hybrid (SUVs) ($65k), and the convertible XLR-V ($106k+)
• I might even swap the Corvette into the Cadillac line up and dump the XLR line.
  

Cadillac would drop from 14 models to 5 or 6.

A quick slash at their other brands ...

• GMC = Trucks. They currently have 21 different models. I'd slash that to 7 or 8, including: a large passenger van, a cargo van, a smallish SUV, a large SUV, a small pickup, a mid-size pickup, and a large pickup. There may be more options in this line, including 2 or 4 door cabs on the larger truck.
• Hummer = GONE. (3 models down to 0)
  
• Saab = GONE. (6 models down to 0)
  
• Saturn = Technology leader. The brand would become the "Smart" or "Mini" for GM. They currently have 8 vehicles. That would be slashed to 2 to 3, along the lines of a 2-seat zippy fun electric commuter, a 4-seat zippy fun hybrid, and a flying car (just kidding on that one ... but if GM wanted to play, Saturn would be the "play" brand).
  

Total ... GM started with something around 100 vehicle brands. I'd have them down to about 28. On top of that, each sub-brand would have its own standard power train, and those would at a minimum be hybrids. Power trains could be shared across product lines. For instance the 4-door Chevy Cobalt could use the same power train as the Pontiac G6. GM could limit the engines if necessary to allow the brands to be differentiated.

Recognizing that the dealerships want to be able to sell a variety of different vehicles so that they can attract a variety of customers, there are options available to make things work for them. If you look at how Mini is sold by BMW in Canada, there are many BMW dealers who carve off a piece of their showroom and make it an entirely stand-alone Mini dealership. GM dealers could do a similar thing with their big and ancient showrooms. Throw up some glass walls, and make "boutiques". In a given dealership, one boutique would sell Chevy cars, another would sell GM trucks, and another might sell the Saturn line.

There are lots of advantages to this slash and burn practice:

• Focuses the brand. The general result of focusing the brand is that you end up selling more. So, production may not go down at all. GM's production and sales may actually go up!
  
• Reduces cost dramatically. You don't have to design, engineer, repair, and warranty the dramaticly huge number of product variations. It would be cheaper and easier to build, sell, and service cars. This strategy wouldn't make GM the low cost producer. The reality is that they still have lots of legacy costs, and are competing against startups from Korea and elsewhere with lower cost structures. But, it goes a long way to helping them survive.
  

What do you know, there are Michael Porter's business strategies showing up again. Focus and Cost Leadership.

There you go President Obama. :^)