Automotive Playbook was invited by General Motors to be their guest at the 2010 North American International Auto Show this past week in Detroit. It was an incredible opportunity and an exhilarating experience. Although a guest of GM, I had more than enough of a chance to attend the rest of the show and examine what the other major manufacturers, sans Nissan/Infiniti and Porsche, had on offer, as well.
My take on what Ford and Chrysler, the Germans, Koreans, Japanese, and the more minor players showed and announced will be coming soon. GM, however, gets the first set of analysis.
At this year's show, GM was down to displaying 4 "core brands" - Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC - as opposed to the eight they had last year. It was extremely important that GM put its best foot forward, as it had a terrible 2009 involving a bailout, a bankruptcy, and big managerial shakeups. Because of my lack of concision, the Chevy and GMC perspective will be up in about 3 days. For now, here's Buick and Cadillac:
Buick is seen these days as the "wild card" brand. Few in the industry seem to understand why GM kept it, and what it stands for anymore. Fewer still see how the brand can overcome the old person's car image that has been associated with the brand for a couple of decades now.
