Word: subcompacts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...week another one was added. Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac suddenly got a baby brother. In GM's boldest plan yet to counter Japanese imports, Chairman Roger Smith announced that it would set up an entirely new company, called Saturn Corp., to produce its long-planned line of subcompact cars. Smith called Saturn "the key to GM's long-term competitiveness, survival and success as a domestic producer...
...that because of higher costs and a foreign-exchange rate that favors Japanese exports to the U.S., it is now almost impossible for an American auto company to build a car in the U.S., sell it for less than $7,000 and make a decent profit. GM imports some subcompact models for sale in the U.S. from Japan's Suzuki and Isuzu, and it has plans to bring in more from its South Korean partner, Daewoo. GM is also manufacturing small cars in a venture with Toyota in Fremont, Calif...
...models are in short supply, since Japanese manufacturers have agreed to quotas on their shipments to the U.S. That gives dealers a chance to make tidy profits. Kramer Motors Honda in Santa Monica, Calif., for example, adds a $2,000 markup to the $6,300 sticker price of the subcompact Honda...
...effort to broaden its market and appeal to younger buyers, Cadillac launched the subcompact Cimarron in 1981. More like a Chevrolet than a Cadillac, the $13,000 vehicle has failed to excite luxury-car buyers. Now General Motors is turning to a leading Italian car stylist in hopes of developing a sporty new Cadillac that may fit in better with the division's sumptuous line-up of Fleetwoods, Coupe DeVilles and Eldorados (sticker prices: up to $35,000). Cadillac has asked Sergio Pininfarina, 57, to design a two-seat convertible, named the Callisto after one of Jupiter...
Tippett believes AMC's future is in its connection with Renault. That link began in 1979, when the French automaker acquired a small interest in AMC. It now owns 46.1%. The companies together brought out the subcompact Alliance in 1982. It was an instant success, and 126,008 were sold last year, or 65% of AMC's total. That helped pull AMC back from losses of $645 million from 1980 through the first nine months of 1983. As Tippett candidly told last year's shareholder gathering, "If it wasn't for Renault, there probably wouldn...