Word: gm
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...market. Says Michael Dale, president of Jaguar North America: "The economy is wonderful, Wall Street is doing great, and people want to buy a car that feels like more than just transportation. Frankly, you're just not going to get that in a Firebird." John Smith, general manager of GM's Cadillac division, puts it another way: "Baby boomers have always been a relatively self-indulgent generation. Now that they're becoming empty nesters, the luxury segment is benefiting...
...GM, which pioneered the luxury segment in the U.S., is aggressively pushing to preserve its eroding lead. Last year the company rolled out the Cadillac Seville STS, which blends the raw power and agility reserved for its Chevrolet Corvette with a cabin as quiet as the best European and Japanese sedans. And in Detroit this week executives are introducing what they trumpet as "the future of Cadillac" in a concept car called Evoq, a two-seat roadster with a supercharged V-8 engine, boasting such features as a voice-activated navigation system and e-mail that flashes everything from news...
...safety and entertainment represents the new lap of luxury. The BMW 740i, for example, can be equipped with a navigation and traction control system that acclimates from driving on normal pavement to moving through a winter storm with the touch of a switch. Road-weary travelers might prefer GM's sophisticated stability system, which uses two-directional sensors attached to the car's suspension, steering column and brakes to keep the car on its intended course. Mercedes last year began offering near obstacle detection, which uses radar to alert drivers to objects close...
...corporate toes back in the water. Last year the automaker had to halt construction of a plant in Thailand that was to produce a sort of upmarket Opel, mostly for export to other Asian countries. "Frankly, the market disappeared for that car," says chairman John Smith. But now GM is reviving--though also downsizing--its plans. Instead of 100,000 midsize cars a year, it intends to produce 40,000 seven-seat multipurpose vans annually. GM has also concluded what Smith calls "a strategic agreement" with Japan's Suzuki to "work together in the lower end of the car market...
...GM is continuing to build a plant in China, but Smith notes that in other countries the economics no longer favor constructing new American-owned factories. "Today," he says, "there is available capacity that you can buy, or possibly you can acquire a company or merge." Other U.S. companies agree, though they are following different strategies...