Why is Holden exporting Chevy's and why don't we get them?

HotRodSaint · #1 (**permalink**) 06-22-05, 11:16 PM

This is America. We like baseball, apple pie and Chevrolets. At least we used too.

Baseball went on strike, and lost it's fans.

Apple pie was found to be too fattening (so we switched to Krispy Kremes?)

And Chevrolet, well, they don't make the cars we desire. Actually they do, they just choose not to sell them to Americans. Not a big enough market for American cars in America I guess.

But you could go to South Africa, Australia or Saudi Arabia and find good old Chevy's. So what gives? Do you guys really want us to buy Honda's and Toyota's? Are you still in the business of selling 'American' car's to 'Americans'?

Get your act together!! It ain't rocket science (well at least not the marketing part of your business).

http://www.gm.com/automotive/vehicle...rldwide_sites/

BeelzeBob · #2 (**permalink**) 06-23-05, 11:17 PM

They sell nicer Buicks in China.. Go figure...

ben72227 · #3 (**permalink**) 06-24-05, 09:01 PM

It's the same reason they don't sell the Cadillac BLS in the states. I mean, that would be a GREAT 3 series fighter - it looks a lot nicer than the current CTS, and it is small too, which would be good since GM doesn't (currently) have any nice small cars like BMW and the others do. Cadillac could really compete with BMW and sell small luxury cars like the BMW 1 series (not in the US yet, but next year) and go up to competing with the 7 series if they tried.

But you see HRS, as Bob Lutz said, GM makes cars for "American Tastes", which means it has a 4-gear automatic, it's FWD, and it's ugly as sh*t. (At least the cars that normal people can afford, i.e. Cavalier, Sunfire, Aztek)

SurferTom · #4 (**permalink**) 07-07-05, 09:36 AM

I agree that GM Australia makes some nice cars. They made an updated version of the Caprice that was a nice car. The SS had 340HP rear wheel drive, independent suspension and all the goodies. They could have sold many of these cars in the USA instead they come out with a wimpy V6 Impala SS. The US gets the hand me downs.

http://www.gmarabia.com/content_data...caprice_ss.htm

Cadence · #5 (**permalink**) 07-13-05, 03:57 AM

You mean, the "Wimpala", right? At least that's what some state troopers call them....

Politics run in everything I guess. But Bob Lutz hamstrung the STS, by giving it the jelly bean effect

. Same with the GTO. A nice sized rock to the noggin would do Mr. Lutz some good I suppose.

I'll continue to hold out hope for the STS and the GTO to get some geniune makeovers, so that they can reclaim the agressive look that many fans have learned to adore over the years.

And finally, I hope some of the tuners will get ahold of the STS-V and awaken the true beast within. Just because it came form the factory as it is, it doesn't mean it can't be improved on. Just ask BMW and Mercedes.

semiauto · #6 (**permalink**) 07-21-05, 02:29 AM

Why do the people in countries that wanna kill us get better cars than us?? Damn you GM!!!

chevyorange · #7 (**permalink**) 07-27-05, 11:52 PM

Why did you have to post this and remind me.

I think I'm going to be sick.

95Concours · #8 (**permalink**) 07-29-05, 05:56 PM

Unfortunately is just not GM, FORD does the same thing.. One prime example, the Ford Falcon sold in Australia and other countries... Really nice looking four door car, with several engines choices, one being a turbo inline 6 and another being a 5.4 V8, both have gobs & gobs of power... Ford gives us the tired outdated Crown Vic, the rest of the planet gets the Falcon... Theres a reason why GM & Ford are in a sales slump, they keep giving American's cars that they think we want.

http://www.ford.com.au/range/falcon/models/xr8sedan.asp

Cadence · #9 (**permalink**) 07-30-05, 07:01 PM

And that's the saddest part of this issue. Americans know what they like in a car. To have a company dictate to the customer what they should like in a car, is alot like having your mom telling you, you can't have that candy, it has too much sugar in it.

I don't even care for Ford products, and the only other car I could see myself driving, other than the Mark VIII, is the XR8. But I guess Ford is making the assumption that we have the Mustang, why would america need the XR8 Falcon?

SurferTom · #10 (**permalink**) 08-05-05, 10:14 PM

GM has missed the boat on a number of new models. They try and hide other models that they don't want us in the USA to know about. Or they bring out models that most any sane person off the street would say UGH. (Aztek?)

They most likely use so-called focus groups to evaluate designs, but where do they get these people that must be far out in left or right field, and definitely not mainstreamers?