Bob Lutz popped up this week to tell readers of his excitement about the Chevy HHR Open Air (do you think that's a good name?)
What caught my eye? Lutz's smooth transition between being a senior corporate executive one week and just a good car salesman the next. This week, he's the latter.
When I look at the Open Air, I see a Chrysler PT Cruiser knock off. Take a look. A dead ringer, 
right? And, listen to Lutz's description of the car:
Why has it gotten so popular? Let’s start with the fact that it looks pretty darn good. The HHR has character. People are drawn to its unique exterior, which is the result of crossing a 1949 Chevy Suburban – the original utility vehicle – with the much newer Chevy SSR.
OK, so it's a knock-off. But that doesn't deter Bob. He goes on to talk up the cars capacity for customization (another big feature of the PT Cruiser):
There’s almost nothing you can’t do with it, and our people at the show returned with tales of nearly every variant imaginable. Surf mobiles, pro-street, urban, canyon runners, you name it. Whatever the taste, there was a flavor of HHR for it. Color pallets [sic] ranged from the huge OE pallet to flat tones, two tones and every color the painters can mix. Some displayed new wheels and lowering kits, some were converted to panel rigs, and some were stuffed with audio equipment. It was all music to my ears.
Personalization's a big trend, so you can't blame Bob for being hot about it. He's in sales mode.
Well, what's my point?
GM's not gonna pull off the turnaround through "me too" products. I know there will be people who'll buy the Open Air, and Bob claims many of those are "conquest sales" (taking buyers away from non-GM models), but is this GM's new core? Is this what they'll use to leverage themselves back to prosperity? No. It's a nice small win (I guess) and at GM these days it's good to celebrate wins of any kind.
But "back to the future" knock-offs shouldn't be tops on GM's agenda. Where are the killer hybrids? Where's the Camry killer?
Where's the vehicle that will finally get me out of my Audis and into something with a GM nameplate?
Tags: GM Fastlane Blog Bob Lutz
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