We don't have to speak German

"El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!" (lightningzone) 12/22/2013 at 16:58 • Filed to: None

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...to know that GM is already trying to direct Chevrolet buyers to Opel.

Kinja is shrinking pictures, by a lot.

Not nice.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 12/22/2013 at 17:03

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Opel is too upmarket pricewise for the average Chevrolet buyer. Not gonna work.

Manuél Ferrari > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 12/22/2013 at 17:06

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I don't know much about Opel.

Are the cars priced somewhere between Chevys and Caddys?

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Manuél Ferrari 12/22/2013 at 17:06

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Their cars are becoming closer and closer to the German Big Three these days. Think Buick.

Manuél Ferrari > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 12/22/2013 at 17:08

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I see.

GM has so many brands. It gets hard to keep track.

Funny how different GM and Ford's badge strategies are.

duurtlang > Manuél Ferrari 12/22/2013 at 17:09

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They're priced like Fords, Toyotas and Peugeots in Europe, but they're sold as Buicks in the US (Regal, Encore and Verano are Opels). Chevrolets are priced slightly below Opels, but also tend to offer less. The only ones that sell are the Spark, Sonic/Aveo and Cruze.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Manuél Ferrari 12/22/2013 at 17:12

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Indeed.

Manuél Ferrari > duurtlang 12/22/2013 at 17:12

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I didn't know the Regal is an Opel.

So Shaq does marketing for Opel without knowing it.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 12/22/2013 at 17:17

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Hmm, just checked the UK website of both brands, to make an idea. The price difference between Vauxhall and Chevrolet is not that big.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 12/22/2013 at 17:25

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£ =/= $

Gabor Vajda (@Gabor_V) > Manuél Ferrari 12/22/2013 at 17:25

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Moreover, a very large chunk of GM's R&D comes from Opel. That's why it's totally incomprehensible why GM wanted to shut Opel down a few years ago.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 12/22/2013 at 17:27

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Both prices are in £.

On some models, Chevrolets seem to be a bit more expensive.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 12/22/2013 at 17:30

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I checked the Portuguese sites for Opel and Chevy and it seems that the Trax is indeed more expensive than the Mokka. Probably Portugal's different, displacement-based taxing (Chevys generally carry smaller engines than identical Opels) must be the reason for the bigger difference here.

duurtlang > Gabor Vajda (@Gabor_V) 12/22/2013 at 17:33

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That's what I argued at the time as well. I guess it was just rhetoric to please the home front. At the time I argued getting rid of Opel/Vauxhall would be the end of GM after a number of years. Now I'd argue getting rid of Opel/Vauxhall would result in a heavily shrunken GM with only the vehicles remaining that have RWD or RWD biased AWD, so Cadillac, trucks and muscle cars.

Anyway, GM isn't letting Opel/Vauxhall go, they're discontinuing Chevrolet (in Europe). A very wise move, one they could've taken a few years ago.

Manuél Ferrari > Gabor Vajda (@Gabor_V) 12/22/2013 at 17:34

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I had read about that before. It did seem very odd that GM would consider shutting Opel down or selling it off if a lot of its R&D comes from Opel. If you kill your R&D you kill your company.

duurtlang > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 12/22/2013 at 17:38

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And this is exactly why discontinuing Chevrolet in Europe is the right thing to do. The limited price difference resulted in cannibalizing sales as they tended to be sold at the same dealers, and given Opels slightly better name and better vehicles it was obvious Chevrolet wasn't going to work out in Europe. Not like this. I really don't understand what GM was thinking a decade ago when they decided on the future strategy of the freshly rebadged Daewoo brand.

Gabor Vajda (@Gabor_V) > duurtlang 12/22/2013 at 18:02

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The argument at the time was that Opel cost too much for GM. Fuckin-a it cost too much, because it was designing cars, platforms and solutions executable in plants all around the world.

It's like saying: "Yes, and I would like two cheeseburgers without cheese or the burgers if that's cheaper."

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 12/22/2013 at 18:17

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El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 12/22/2013 at 18:42

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Well, this is frustrating, even if you click expand, it is still small/smaller than the original.

Tristan > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 12/22/2013 at 18:59

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This is BULLSHIT. One day they're selling opel, the next they're axing Chevy. GM is stupid.

BTW, VAG manages to have TWO value brands, why the hell can't Opel be a VW and Chevy be Skoda/Seat?! Then bring in Caddy once it's ready?