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GM's Euro Makeover

GM's Euro Makeover

By TCC Team's avatar TCC TeamTCC Team July 15th, 2008

Saturn Astra

Saturn Astra

Enlarge Photo


If you'd like to get a look at the future - at General Motor's future, anyway - stop into your nearest Saturn showroom.

There you'll see several models that were developed in a close cooperation between GM's U.S. brand and its flagship European subsidiary, Opel. While the recently updated Vue shows significant changes made for American buyers, the compact Saturn Astra is, for all intents and purposes, the same car you'll see roaming the streets of Paris and blasting down the Autobahn in Germany.

What's under way is "a pretty radical shift," says the General's vice chairman and "car czar," Bob Lutz. Going forward, he adds, we American motorists are going to see a "more European lineup than ever before in our history."

There are several reasons why this is happening, and the makeover will show up in several different ways.

The why is simple. For several years, to give him credit, Lutz has warned that if gas hit $4 a gallon, we'd see consumers radically shift their buying patterns. And as his colleague, GM president Fritz Henderson, said on Tuesday, the changes we're seeing now are very likely permanent.

If you thought the build-up of the light truck market, starting in the late 1980s, was fast, you ain't seen nuthin'. Full-size pickup and SUV sales have absolutely collapsed. Dealers in much of the country are just about giving those vehicles away. (Great news, as a friend of mine declared, if you absolutely have to have one.) Suddenly, passenger cars - especially some of the smallest and most fuel-efficient - are hot, along with the latest generation of car-based crossovers.

Sure, if fuel prices go back down - indeed, even if they stabilize, and consumers get used to paying four bucks - trucks will bounce back, but as Henderson said, the recovery will be nowhere near what we saw as recently as 2006, when light trucks grabbed half the market.

Since American motorists traditionally bought trucks and larger cars, it was much harder for GM, and its domestic brethren, to consolidate global product development. Now, however, it makes a lot of sense. And if you can design an Astra for the U.S. and Europe in one fell swoop, you've saved yourself anywhere up to $1 billion in product development costs.

Now, don't assume what you'll see at a Chevy showroom, never mind Saturn, Buick, or Pontiac, will always be the same here as over there in Europe. Even if high gas prices force Americans to downsize, our tastes are different. We're less into station wagons and hatchbacks. But GM is getting a lot better at coming up with a few sheetmetal variations that otherwise share the same components under the skin.

Another difference: Europeans don't traditionally link size and price. So instead of buying a $30,000 SUV, they'll pay that for a smaller, but functional crossover or wagon. Indeed, in Switzerland, the average transaction price for a new automobile is a whopping $42,000.

So you may see a Chevy sharing much of its basics with an Opel, but the American version might lack a lot of what in Europe is basic, standard equipment. Saturn AstraEnlarge Photo If you'd like to get a look at the future - at General Motor's future, anyway - stop into your nearest Saturn showroom. There you'll see several models that were developed in a close cooperation between GM's U.S. brand and its flagship European subsidiary, Opel. While the recently updated Vue shows significant changes made for American buyers, the compact Saturn Astra is, for all intents and purposes, the same car you'll see roaming the streets of Paris and blasting down the Autobahn in Germany. What's under way is "a pretty radical shift," says the General's vice chairman and "car czar," Bob Lutz. Going forward, he adds, we American motorists are going to see a "more European lineup than ever before in our history." There are several reasons why this is happening, and the makeover will show up in several different ways. The why is simple. For several years, to give him credit, Lutz has warned that if gas hit $4 a gallon, we'd see consumers radically shift their buying patterns. And as his colleague, GM president Fritz Henderson, said on Tuesday, the changes we're seeing now are very likely permanent. If you thought the build-up of the light truck market, starting in the late 1980s, was fast, you ain't seen nuthin'. Full-size pickup and SUV sales have absolutely collapsed. Dealers in much of the country are just about giving those vehicles away. (Great news, as a friend of mine declared, if you absolutely have to have one.) Suddenly, passenger cars - especially some of the smallest and most fuel-efficient - are hot, along with the latest generation of car-based crossovers. Sure, if fuel prices go back down - indeed, even if they stabilize, and consumers get used to paying four bucks - trucks will bounce back, but as Henderson said, the recovery will be nowhere near what we saw as recently as 2006, when light trucks grabbed half the market. Since American motorists traditionally bought trucks and larger cars, it was much harder for GM, and its domestic brethren, to consolidate global product development. Now, however, it makes a lot of sense. And if you can design an Astra for the U.S. and Europe in one fell swoop, you've saved yourself anywhere up to $1 billion in product development costs. Now, don't assume what you'll see at a Chevy showroom, never mind Saturn, Buick, or Pontiac, will always be the same here as over there in Europe. Even if high gas prices force Americans to downsize, our tastes are different. We're less into station wagons and hatchbacks. But GM is getting a lot better at coming up with a few sheetmetal variations that otherwise share the same components under the skin. Another difference: Europeans don't traditionally link size and price. So instead of buying a $30,000 SUV, they'll pay that for a smaller, but functional crossover or wagon. Indeed, in Switzerland, the average transaction price for a new automobile is a whopping $42,000. So you may see a Chevy sharing much of its basics with an Opel, but the American version might lack a lot of what in Europe is basic, standard equipment.

Tags: Industry, General Motors, Opel

Posted in: 2008, Chevrolet, Saturn, Astra



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Responses (7 total)

  1. By HDFL #1, Posted: 7/15/2008

    You wish. We just came from a vacation in the mountains in western NC and the dealerships are packed with Ford and Chevy pickups going nowhere. The average country family has a truck or SUV. We were amazed by the long distances (we live in Atlanta and WE thought country distances to the local store were lengthy). The country lifestyle is bound for a huge shock. They better start moving to four-cylinder utility vehicles soon, or else they'll really suffer. Ford and GM are missing opportunities to educate their customers and bring a better utility lineup to the US. And we're not talking about Astra or Corsa, but about Combo, Movano, Vivaro, Transit, etc.

  2. By  Paul Eisenstein #2, Posted: 7/16/2008

    HDFL, If anything, what surprises me is GM's continuing reluctance to embrace high-mileage diesels, but for the biggest of their pickups. This technology could prove a major selling point for buyers who might be forced out of a pickup, SUV or even a van that they really need. (Large families, trailer to tow, etc.) In real world driving, I've seen the new Mercedes diesel SUVs, even the big GL, getting upwards of 30 mpg, and not just on the highway. Hmmm...a Corolla or a bigger truck with nearly the same mileage?

  3. By db #3, Posted: 7/16/2008

    "We're less into station wagons and hatchbacks"
    Why do I keep reading this by auto journalists? I love hatchbacks and wagons. Some of the european brands do a awesome job of making them sexier than the sedan counterparts. What's wrong with versatility. Must all cars brought over from Europe be sedans? Bring me the hatchback version of these cars, along with the diesel's and watch them fly off the lots.
    Also, as of GM's last press release, they have no plans to bring the Beat to America. What was all the voting for a subcompact on their website all about then? Didn't American's vote that model over the other two, why would we not want you to bring it here then? I think their excuse was that it wouldn't meet safety regulations. Its a new car! You must have just started the design phase, so design it to meet US regulations from the start!

  4. By  Paul Eisenstein #4, Posted: 7/16/2008

    Sadly, DB, I agree with you. I had a number of wagons, when I was younger, and continue to love the format. I am, indeed, quite pleased to see GM announce it will build a wagon version of the Caddy CTS. But studies...and market results...show that wagons are just not something that clicks with modern America. Same with hatchbacks...sort of. Ironically, you could call SUVs and minivans hatchbacks. And perhaps, as we downsize, the flexibility offered by a hatch will win a new audience. I think the same may happen with wagons. But I said that when the Dodge Magnum came out. So don't use my tip, here, when you visit your bookie.
    Paul E.

  5. By Jean Livernois #5, Posted: 7/17/2008

    "If anything, what surprises me is GM’s continuing reluctance to embrace high-mileage diesels,"
    I guess it is a question of knowledge. Too many people are not realizing today's diesel engines are no longer noisy, stinky and shaky. Next time you are stopped next to a Mercedes Bluetec, lower your windows and listen to the "music".
    Peugeot and Opel are both testing hybrid diesel that should deliver 3.8 litre/100 km or 62 mpg. Does it sound nice to your wallet ?

  6. By Ed #6, Posted: 7/17/2008

    It is a KOREAN makeover too, Daewoos are marketed in the US AND even more in Europe as.. "Chevys".

  7. By Kurt #7, Posted: 7/18/2008

    Interesting. My first car was an Opel Kadett wagon and I've never been without an Opel since 1981. After 27 years of driving Opels it's amazing to see the ridiculous SUV craze ending and Opel coming to the rescue of GM, if it's not already too late. Station wagons, hatchbacks; bring them on, SUVs were essentially overgrown versions of the same thing.

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