I'm heading up GM and we're relaunching Saturn as an EV brand with the same focus on build quality, element of employee ownership and labor structure and product development that isn't pigeon holed to existing GM chassis and drivetrain platforms.
I'm heading up GM and we're relaunching Saturn as an EV brand with the same focus on build quality, element of employee ownership and labor structure and product development that isn't pigeon holed to existing GM chassis and drivetrain platforms.
The return of knobs and dials and buttons. Everyone I talk to is daunted by the smartcar touchscreen apps stuff and they just want a vehicle that doesn't need a 12 week course to learn how to operate.
At least that's why they keep pouring money into 20 year old cars.
Take that golden parachute and BOUNCE!
BMW. Back to normal freaking grills.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
I will never use parachute and bounce in the same sentence.
I'm headed to Dearborn - tell the engineers to put the Godzilla V8 (6.8 and 7.3) into the Bronco, WITH a manual transmission. Figure out a way to design the rear seats of a 2 door so they'll fold flat into the floor. Offer the tailgate as a TAILGATE, that drops down. Spare tire holder swings out like the original Bronco.
Use the Ranger/4 door chassis, but with a Bronco front clip and doors, make a Bronco extended cab (NOT A CREWCAB) pickup.
Bring the Everest SUV from Australia over to the States. Tremor, Raptor, whatever.
Bring back the Thunderbird. There's enough Mustangs out there already, use the platform to design an elegant, upscale, highway cruiser that's got some moves in the curves. Echo the gorgeous interiors and dashboards of the early-mid '60's T birds. Bring back some chrome, stainless steel, big, round gauges, metal toggle switches.
In reply to earlybroncoguy1 :
Dont need the T-bird. Need a new Model A. Get everyone moving in something small and affordable.
But what do I know, Im floating on gold
Pete. (l33t FS) said:The return of knobs and dials and buttons. Everyone I talk to is daunted by the smartcar touchscreen apps stuff and they just want a vehicle that doesn't need a 12 week course to learn how to operate.
At least that's why they keep pouring money into 20 year old cars.
It's why that when I decided I needed a truck about a month ago, I searched out, found, and purchased the last of the V8 Tundras. It has knobs. It is outdated and old tech. I love it.
VW - make the old style aircooled Bug and Bus again in Mexico ,
Sell them to 3rd world countries as they work great on bad roads .....
Chrysler. I'd transfer the Pacifica and Voyager to Dodge along with all remaining assets and employees, wind down the rest of the company, and put that poor brand out of its misery.
Tesla: I'd go to Mar-a-lago and tell the President Elect what he needs to do....oh wait....
californiamilleghia said:VW - make the old style aircooled Bug and Bus again in Mexico ,
Sell them to 3rd world countries as they work great on bad roads .....
And they work bad on great roads
Boeing. Get rid of the "not aircraft " people that got them in this quagmire and hire engineers to run the company like they did when they had the guts to build the 707 and then the 747.
Also, since they inherited McDonnell Douglas, build the blended wing body airliner. Set the world on its head, again.
Mr_Asa said:Take that golden parachute and BOUNCE!
After 30 years in the auto industry, this is what is mostly done anyway. Not all of them, but quite a few had no clue how to actually run a company. But they all got rewarded for their failures, very richly. Most of them got more in one day than the combined integrated salary of people who were forced to be retired when I left. Quite a bit more.
Nice gig to fail at.
Mazda. I'd give each of the Miata team members a high five. That's all I'd do.
Tesla
I'd give away all my shares, apologize to the developers and engineers, and resign.
Then when I'm back to being me, laugh my arse off.
alfadriver said:Mr_Asa said:Take that golden parachute and BOUNCE!
After 30 years in the auto industry, this is what is mostly done anyway. Not all of them, but quite a few had no clue how to actually run a company. But they all got rewarded for their failures, very richly. Most of them got more in one day than the combined integrated salary of people who were forced to be retired when I left. Quite a bit more.
Nice gig to fail at.
How can that be? We live and operate in a meritocracy! /s
Ford would be bringing back SVT and away with this "Dark Horse" branding nonsense :P
Nobody's taking the Jarts, Inc. job and bringing back Jarts?
Bob Costas.
Porsche;
I'd build a hot hatch that retailed for 50K..........and then laugh at all people who said it wouldn't work.
Toyota. The Toyobaru is good, but it can better....
Toyota just has to stop being cowards. This will be a recurring theme. They don't want to build any sporty cars unless they can get another manufacturer to go with them. In this case that means getting saddled with an overbuilt Subaru chassis and a Subaru engine that gets explodey on track. If an ND can be built at 2100lbs it should be possible to make a new AE86-like car under 2400lbs. Engine can be the new 2.0L I4 being made for the FT-Se, with an EV option based on the same chassis. Battery pack would be I-shaped going through the trans tunnel and branching out in the fuel tank and engine bay area.
Next the Supra gets the same engine with a turbo and an H-pattern manual as an I4 option.
Next a new Celica, this will only have hybrid and EV options because it's a rally-oriented car and the traction advantages of individual wheel-motors are huge, and the massive acceleration will be very useful. There are rumors they're already working on something like this.
FT-Se gets less touchscreen, more knobs, and round steering wheel option.
GR Yaris gets sold in North America. There are customers with stupid money for all kinds of ridiculous things, why not?
And to keep this company around in the future they're going to stop being a bunch of stodgy old dinosaurs and get more EVs in their lineup of commuter cars.
I want to be Elon Musk for a day. Bring back the Tesla 2 and build a bunch of them including a stripper version for $15,000. Just crank those puppies out for 20K a piece. Then hire Lotus to build a new roadster and build a jacked up off road version of the cybertruck and sell it for stupid money. Call it an ElectroRaptor or something like it.
Give everybody at SpaceX a bonus and leave them alone. They are doing alright.
Then change X back to Twitter, move the whole thing to Vail, Colorado, kick out all the Nazis and moderate the hell out of it.
Buy a Formula One team and re-name it to Team Tesla.
Trade the Gulfstream for a custom Airbus 320.
I would take over Standard Motor Products. Set up a line of USA-made, no corners cut repair parts with the first ones aimed at enthusiast cars. Priced at about twice what a made in China part would cost but delivering premium quality - no substituting sand for potting compound, no cutting out the temperature adjustment circuit of an alternator voltage regulator to save 50 cents per part, use 1% tolerance resistors if 5% tolerance resistors could easily put your output out of spec, etc. Some repair parts have hit a reputation as bottom of the barrel and I believe there is a market for people who will pay extra for good quality.
In fact, I've been working on trying to do that as a side project already starting with Mopar voltage regulators. The list of what I wouldn't do is based on actual cutting open a stock-replacement part from the local parts store. I'm still trying to scrape the money together for an initial production run of a single component, but if I had the resources of a big parts company behind me...
Stellantis. I loved Mopars as a kid and it's sad to see where the company is now. Plus, I'd rather lead a fixer-upper company than one on the top. When you're at the top, you only have one way to go.
I don't know that I'd pick any one in particular, but it would be publicly traded. I would make an announcement that our main initiative for the first half of the next fiscal year is to take all the blockchain out of our product and replace it with AI. Then I'd sell a E36 M3load of shares and retire.
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