Automotive WI - General Motors reorganizes its marque portfolio much earlier compared to OTL

With a Post-War POD up to the 1973 Oil Crisis, what if General Motors begin streamlining and phasing out certain US marques (whether due to low-volumes or reducing product overlap) as part of reorganizing its marque portfolio?

Which GM marques would likely be phased out and on what basis, also could the remaining marques be capable of adequately taking over the positions of the discontinued marques?

Additionally what impact would such an action have on GM's status among the Big 3 US carmakers and could such a streamlining of its marque portfolio have benefited GM in the long run?
 
GM didn't hit its peak market share in the United States until 1982, and as GM was organized along the lines of each division being an independent entity that reported to the corporate HQ, you'd have to completely re-organize the corporation as a whole at the height of its prosperity. I'm not sure that's even possible.
 
Still (Cadillac aside) which of the marques within GM were relatively low-volume for an ATL GM to consider ditching?
I don't know if GM knew or had it started but in China Buick is GM,s biggest seller. First get Rid of the GMC lines any small adjustment could be enough. I can't decide on Cadillac either drop it or go Europe luxury. Buick up scale a little but leave a little sport feel in a model or two. Keep Oldsmobile bye Pontiac and give Chevrolet a little more sport. Do that or make every car a GM a GM Toranado a GM Skylark you get the picture. In any senerio dump Saturn.
 
I don't know if GM knew or had it started but in China Buick is GM,s biggest seller. First get Rid of the GMC lines any small adjustment could be enough. I can't decide on Cadillac either drop it or go Europe luxury. Buick up scale a little but leave a little sport feel in a model or two. Keep Oldsmobile bye Pontiac and give Chevrolet a little more sport. Do that or make every car a GM a GM Toranado a GM Skylark you get the picture. In any senerio dump Saturn.

Not about all the marques being rationalised into just GM (or GMC) despite Ford and Chrysler managing it, however ATL GM whose marques from early on are composed of just Chevrolet and Cadillac (possibly Buick) would be interesting to see as they have occasionally sold cars in Europe and have more of an international presence compared to GM's other in-house marques.

The question how did Chevrolet sales for example in the US compared to other in-house marques such as Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile / etc under GM from the post-war period up to the 1973 fuel crisis?
 
he question how did Chevrolet sales for example in the US compared to other in-house marques such as Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile / etc under GM from the post-war period up to the 1973 fuel crisis?
1972 Sales
Chevy 2.4M
Ford 2.2M
Olds .76M
Plymouth .75M
Pontiac .70M
Buick .67M
Dodge .57M
Mercury .44M
Cadillac .26M
AMC .25M
Chrysler .20M
Lincoln .09M
Imperial .01M

During the '60s, Chevy was the sales leader for 8 years of the decade with Ford leading twice.
Pontiac was a Solid 3rd place for that decade as well, with Plymouth 4th.
5th was typically Olds, Buick and Dodge
As the '70s started, Ford was sales leader, with Olds moving up to 3rd or 4th.
 
1972 Sales
Chevy 2.4M
Ford 2.2M
Olds .76M
Plymouth .75M
Pontiac .70M
Buick .67M
Dodge .57M
Mercury .44M
Cadillac .26M
AMC .25M
Chrysler .20M
Lincoln .09M
Imperial .01M

During the '60s, Chevy was the sales leader for 8 years of the decade with Ford leading twice.
Pontiac was a Solid 3rd place for that decade as well, with Plymouth 4th.
5th was typically Olds, Buick and Dodge
As the '70s started, Ford was sales leader, with Olds moving up to 3rd or 4th.

Thanks marathag. While it is doubtful Chevrolet would be able to move upmarket and take over from Cadillac, maybe it could theoretically take over from Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile with an earlier POD?

While it was the case that each marque within GM was an independent entity that reported to HQ as mentioned by TheMann, perhaps an ATL GM ends up seeking to integrate the likes of Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile into Chevrolet followed by Holden as well as Opel and Vauxhall being re-branded as Chevrolet. It would also potentially allow the European, Australian and other GM overseas divisions to produce their own competitive market specific versions of Cadillac at the top of the range, with Ford in turn likely being influenced to do the same with Lincoln.
 
While it is doubtful Chevrolet would be able to move upmarket and take over from Cadillac, maybe it could theoretically take over from Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile with an earlier POD?

Buick-Olds-Pontiac were very loyal, and glad that their platforms were different from Chevy.
In '74 GM started to push 'Genuine GM Parts' but BOP folks didn't like paying premium $$$ for Chevy Platforms with slightly better trim.

Many considered it almost defilement to pop a hood on a Pontiac and see a Chevy small block sitting there.

IMO, GM would have been better to define the Marques better than to make a larger Chevy, like no Camaro, just make Pontiac Firebirds, while Pontiac wouldn't have the Ventura or Olds the Omega, that would only be Nova. Buick would be the upscale with the Skylark.
And so on.

Chevy Chevette and Vega, but no Pontiac T1000 or Astre, no Monza but only Buick Skyhawk and Pontiac Sunbird
You want each Brand to be more distinctive, no more corporate cars but back to divisional ones.
 
While Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac owners were very loyal, the trouble with GM fully differentiating it's marques is that it is merely delaying the inevitable automotive trend towards platform sharing and commonization of mechanicals to reduce costs as well as wasting money that could have otherwise gone to improving its products and making them competitive against foreign rivals.

Though GM pursuing a domestic ATL "One GM / One Chevrolet" strategy is unlikely, GM could benefit from less product overlap down the road by reducing its marque portfolio earlier on.

Also when did brand loyalty among Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac owners start to decline in OTL?
 
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Also when did brand loyalty among Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac owners start to decline in OTL?
mid '80s.
That's when there was little difference between the platforms, and you couldn't tell them apart anymore by 1984.
Pontiac sales peaked in 1984, Olds in 1986,after being the #2 Marque in 1983. They sold half as many cars in 1989 as they did in 1985, and a third by a decade later
 
Would it have been possible for GM to at least implement an earlier partial elimination of divisional autonomy among its US marques during the 1960s to 1970s similar to what Roger Smith did in OTL from 1984?
 
Would it have been possible for GM to at least implement an earlier partial elimination of divisional autonomy among its US marques during the 1960s to 1970s similar to what Roger Smith did in OTL from 1984?

No. GM was flying high. Why fix something that isn't broken. Small imports, just a fad that should peak and then decline in a few years.

You need the Oil Shock of '73 to drive the point the GM was rotting from within, and then the 2nd Shock to think about doing something about it
 
No. GM was flying high. Why fix something that isn't broken. Small imports, just a fad that should peak and then decline in a few years.

You need the Oil Shock of '73 to drive the point the GM was rotting from within, and then the 2nd Shock to think about doing something about it

Was thinking in terms of the US marques utilizing each others engines a lot more then they did compared to OTL as well as spinning off existing engines designs to produce variants that would better prepare GM for the fuel crisis.
 
Was thinking in terms of the US marques utilizing each others engines a lot more then they did compared to OTL as well as spinning off existing engines designs to produce variants that would better prepare GM for the fuel crisis.

You'd have to get GM to think about the possibility of an energy crisis....which they didn't. They didn't think the imports would be a threat either, because aside from a handful of expensive luxury cars, all the imports were smaller cars and the management at GM (and Ford, Chrysler and to a lesser extent AMC) all were certain that when customers moved up from their small cars they would get the customers back.
 
IMO, GM would have been better to define the Marques better than to make a larger Chevy, like no Camaro, just make Pontiac Firebirds
There's something to be said for that, but, conversely, it means it takes longer to pay off the tooling. More than one model with (more/less) common panels means more profit. The proliferation of G-bodies had to make a bundle for GM.

Plus, it makes finding wrecking yard replacement (& upgrade swap) parts much, much easier for hot rodders.;) (If you can pull a Cad radio & know it'll fit your Impala dash, or pull the hood off a Regal & know it'll bolt on...)
 
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