Industry Report: GM's Bob Lutz Considers Dumping One Brand to Curb Losses

New Strategy Won't Allow Overlap of Buick, Pontiac and GMC Products

As General Motors' market share continues to slide southward and profits seem out of reach, the automaker may phase out one of its

Bob Lutz commented that one of GM's weaker brands may have to go if sales projections couldn't be met. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

many nameplates. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, always willing to show his cards to the media, sometimes much to the dismay of those who work alongside him, commented Wednesday that one of GM's weaker brands may have to go if sales projections couldn't be met.

Which one would it be? Just to refresh your memory, GM produces Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn vehicles in North America, plus Adam Opel in Europe, not including the U.K. in which it rebadges Opel as Vauxhall, and Holden in Australia. It also owns a significant portion of Isuzu (only sold in the U.S.), a nameplate that now sells rebadged GM SUVs and soon a facelifted Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon pickup truck, plus Suzuki, Subaru and Fiat. Did I miss any? OK, Daewoo, but the brand has pretty well been eliminated from anywhere but South Korea, so it's a moot point.

While GM has reduced its involvement in Fiat measurably, and is aligning more than ever with Subaru, seen in its new Saab

The nameplate to get the axe will come from within the North American market, if it comes at all. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

9-2X and upcoming Saab 9-6X, based on the new Subaru Tribeca, its Opel and Vauxhall brands have been in dire straights for years. Just the same, GM isn't about to ditch them just yet as the move would represent pulling out of the European market, except for a few Daewoos sold as Chevys (sold as Buicks in some Asian countries by the way), a trickle of new Cadillacs and rivulet of Saab models. Holden does reasonably well in Australia, and therefore the brand should remain untouched.