Well, some of you may have heard, but I'm posting this anyways....I apologize that this is non-tech, but I think it's something important.

GM is killing the Oldsmobile line after '02 (approximately). The best overall car line GM has IMO, it's killing. Anyone who doesn't agree with me hasn't driven an Aurora, Intrigue or Alero.

This is another example of GM making it's own damn products extinct, just like the F bodies. When was the last time you saw a decent commercial for either product? In the time I was watching the news, I saw 3 Kia commercials, 2 Hyundai commercials, 2 VW commercials and a Honda one. Where's GM? 28% of the new car market and they can't put ads on TV?? WTF?? VW has 2% market share and their ads by far outnumber ALL of GM's lines!!

Sorry, I had to vent. Another good product bites the dust because GM can't see past the end of it's nose. If this keeps up, in 10 years, I may do the unthinkable...

I might buy a Ford. I'm losing faith in GM....and there's no person who's a more die-hard GM fan than me.

 

i agree, i thought olds was really making a stong push with the alero, aurora, etc. my buddy's parents have an alero and i thought it was an extremly good car considering what GM has been puting out lately. they practically tried GIVING those cars away, but apparently to no avail. i never understood the bravada though. i mean if you are going to buy that vehicle (blazer/jimmy/bravada), even though they are all the same, you are going to choose the one with the chevy or GMC name on it. i mean, how often do you see a bravada??? oh well, maybe ford will RECALL itself into bankruptcy....hehehe, hey i can dream can't i??

 

Don't get me wrong here I really like some of the new models like the Aurora and some of their family cars but come on: how many vehicles do we really need out there. How many lines of cars does GM really need to create? Oldsmobile has been dying slowly these past 5 years but started to make a come back this year, somewhat. I don't want to get flamed for my opinion but I think this is as good of a move as Jeep canceling the Eagle line. They just weren't selling so get rid of them. That's my thoughts.

- Mike Harvey -

 

Well, if it don't make dollars than it don't make sense....

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1991 Firebird Formula, 305, TPI, Auto...stock till I get some money!!!
Former owner of an 88 2.8 Firebird....RIP

[This message has been edited by dudelovett (edited December 12, 2000).]

 

I like OLDS i WANT a olds 442=) my mom has a 92 olds cutless supreme 145,000 miles only problme she ever had was a seal going waterpump, alternator and tats it and its a nice car ive raced it and it beat a riceboy.. Would hers be worth money its a cutless supreme S all options and special options delaers have never seen ??? its bone stock too

 

well,FastRS, i think that it could turn out to be worth something, but none of us will probably ever live to see that day. In another 20 years or so, the collector cars will most likely be the 3rd gens, and the early 4thgens will be were we are now. The 2nd gen fbodies will be where 1st gens are now, and the 1st gens will be more valuable than anyone can afford. Now, the only problem with the Olds car line, (modern cars, not old 442's.) is that they're basically considered family cars, and i'm not sure what the demand for a 20 year old family car will be in the future. Eventually though, it'll probably be really rare, and our generation will be on of the few that still remembers the name Oldsmobile, and can smile when thinking of the rumble of a 442 coming down the strip. "tear"

 

the reason GM doesnt have many advertisings for the f bod is becouse its not a very practical car. How many people wanna spend 32000$ on a car thats only able to be drivin 6 months out of a year. How many ferrari and lambroghini ads u see?

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1989 pontiac firebird
bright red exterior(just repainted)
grey interior
5 spd
305 TBI (stock)
WS.6 formula wheels
3.73 posi rear end
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system: 2 10" MTX thunder 2000 in a Professionally done custom bandpass box.
Blaupunkt CD player
Blaupunkt 4x6 and 6x9
600 watt rockford fosgate 4.6 amp

http://members.aol.com/j007golden/Mikey89.html

 

As long as we are reminiscing on 442's, let me dream back to my late uncle's 69 442 convertible. Spent a couple years restoring it to perfect condition. Bright yellow, black top, leather interior, gold wheels, from the pics, this car had everything (my mom told me about it and showed me the pics since I wasn't even thought of yet). First day he had it done, he drove it to school, and some stupid WOMAN ran a stopsign doing about 40 and totalled the car. THE FIRST DAY IT WAS DONE!!!! My mom said she cried all the way home on the bus.........
I would have too.
Anyway, about the Olds going bye-bye thing, I agree with Mike Harvey. How many car lines do we really need? I understand that the cars are cool, and nice, and sometimes fast, but if they aren't making money, why keep it around?
But I guess I would think that since I don't look at Oldsmobiles like I look at f-bodies.

Vman

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1969 Camaro
383, Corvette heads, 700R4
Resto is in progress

1988 Toyota 4-Runner
aka the Parts Hauler

 

Part of the reason that Oldsmobiles aren't selling very fast is that they are fairly reliable cars and a lot of people get kind of attatched to their cars (we wouldn't know anything about that though would we?), so they don't get rid of them.

 

the only oldsmobiles i ever liked....the 442 and my nieghbors 1970 cutlass dragster


oldsmobile couldve saved thier asses. but they only made cars that an older mature crowed bought....i cant wait to see buick go ......im gonna throw a party when that happens.....a car company cant survive just making 4 door sedans

 

In response to GM not advertising the Camaro. I've seen comercials by Pontiac advertising the Trans-AM on TV. I've even seen Viper commercials from Dodge in Canada!?!

These cars do their advertising out on the street anyway.

Just my 2 cents worth, so nobody needs to bite back telling me that I'm wrong or anything.

Also, it isn't yet final that the F-bodies will be killed off, is it?

Rob

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1987 IROC-Z Auto (LB9)
Black/grey with the stance of a streetfighter

Mods
Custom exhaust. 4 Inch pipe from the headders all the way back to a single muffler at the rear. No Cat.

Future mods:
K&Ns
RAM Air
New Underdrive pulleys-either March performance pulleys or Auto Specialties Performance
Air foil

 

It Seems like all the manufacturer's are ditching carlines these days. Up here Ford ditched Mercury & Chrysler was rumored to be ditching Plymouth in Canada (Haven't noticed if they have or not,but who cares, they're pieces)

 

jason, where did you hear that gm is axing olds? this is news to me.. i cant believe it.. i cant see why they would drop one of their best selling lines, next to caddy, olds is one of GM's flagships.. on a happy side, why would they be building olds concept cars if they were gonna drop the line? as far as the fobdy (go sign the petition at http://camaroz28.com/savefbody/index.html if you havnt yet), there are no deffinates yet.. the majority of the rumors ive heard is the camaro may take a breif break till 2005 when they will be redisigned to look like older models, retaining the front engine, rear drive setup.. while the pointiac side continues to produce their fbodys, in a limited number for special purposes (ie, MMS firebirds, etc).. to add some evidence, look at the monte carlo disappearing for awhile, and even the vette went bye bye for a year in 83', then they brought it back better than before.. once again, this is all rumor and heresay.. just hope gm doesnt make a big mistake...

 

scoob,
It was announced all over the news yesterday. Olds will be phased out within the next 5 years.

canadiancamaro,
Plymouth is oficially dead everywhere (I believe).

Vortex and Mike,
I totally agree GM has too many car lines. Wanna kill one? KILL BUICK!! Hell, their core customer base is gonna be dead in 5-10 years anyways! Who's gonna buy a Buick then? They're too mushy for today's market.

'85f-bird,
You're dead right...the last of the Olds's really WON'T be collector cars because as you said, they're family cars!! It isn't like an '02 Fbody...something that will have enthusiast appeal. An '05 or whatever Alero will be that, and not much more...

CaliCamaroRS,
You're right too...at the dealership we DID try giving them away...we had 0.0% financing and no payments for 1 year, and now we have 0.9% for up to 5 years!! And we can't sell hardly any...people want Pontiacs. Why? How many Olds ads do you see, and how many Pontiac? I'd say at least 3 times as many. GM is a victim of it's own goddamned ignorance.

Here's what I find stupid....GM tells people it's cancelling a car line 5 years before the lights go out. BAD IDEA. Why? Who's gonna wanna buy a car that'll be extinct soon? It isn't like buying the last of the Fbodies...it's a family car! Sales are gonna flop.

I have proof too...Plymouth sales dropped by over 50% after Chrysler announced it was axing it.

Like I said...I hate GM. I hope it's ignorant decisions come back to bite it in the a*s...not enough to sink them, but enough to teach them a lesson.

 

Well, maybe since GM is losing a line, they will pay more attention to the others. More money could be put forth into newer developments...see where I am going with this? Big block Camaros again, all-wheel drive Vettes, you know, things of that nature.....Couldn't hurt.

Vman

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1969 Camaro
383, Corvette heads, 700R4
Resto is in progress

1988 Toyota 4-Runner
aka the Parts Hauler

 

Either that, or they'll build more and more trucks, put big blocks in those, and help drain our natural resources so badly that gas costs $10/gallon, all so people can cart their kids around to soccer practice, or go to the supermarket, in a stylin', new for 2002, big block, Behemoth XXL!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Tom, I think you've got the right idea. I too am afraid the exact same thing will happen. Although, the SUV market it staring to slow a bit. However, the car market overall is cooling off. Who knows if interest in SUVs is waning or not...

At least GM and Ford are coming out with crossover SUVs that are designed to be used the way they people actually use them...as tall station wagons with good snow traction. The Ford Escape, Pontiac Aztek and the upcoming Buick Rendevouz are 3 good examples of the crossover breed that gets better MPG, rides quieter and isn't as bouncy.

The Aztek may look funky, but take it from me...go drive one!! They drive like a car, and if you can get used to the style, they are a great vehicle.

Until they catch on big, every time I see an Expedition or Excursion being used as a soccer-mom-mobile, I'll just try not to get too pissed off.

 

Vortex,

I'd like to think that GM would actually do things like that with the extra capital they'll have from cancelling Olds, but they won't. GM lacks the inspiration that made them the behemoth they were in the '50s, '60s and '70s. GM used to be the pinnacle of style and innovation. While they still have arguably the greatest powertrain lineup in the world, their style and marketing leaves something to be desired. Don't get me wrong, cars like the Grand Prix, Intrigue, Corvette, Monte Carlo and Aurora hit the nail on the head in terms of their market. (Although the Intrigue is falling way short of sales quotas.) But then you get cars like the Bonneville SSEi (ugly-*** nose), Aztek (too funky for a true mom-mobile), Cavalier/Sunfire (dated engineering compared to Neon/Focus), even the F cars (same basic design for 8 years, Camaro looks like a wider Mazda MX6, Firebird has an ugly-*** nose) that leave a lot to be desired, and make you wonder what the hell GM is thinking.

What they WILL do is take the $$ saved from the killing of Olds and pump it into nice fat salaries for the head execs, and give stockholders nice big dividend checks. Then, when Ford and Chrysler become the #1 and #2 automakers, they'll wonder where all the customers went.

Chrysler makes the best-styled cars out there currently...GM could take a lesson from the resurgence of Chrysler.