For big brands, the most direct way for enterprises to turn losses into profits or improve profits is to close or sell those unprofitable brands and stop producing niche models, thus reducing operating costs and putting more resources into more profitable brands and models. So in the last ten years, many classic car brands and models have to leave us.
Hummer?
Disappearing time: 20 10 year?
Hummer was originally a brand of General Motors. The most famous model H 1 comes from HMMWV(High? Mobility? Multipurpose? Wheeled? Vehicle), that is, the civilian version developed from "high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle". Therefore, the military style of H 1 is very obvious, and it has many hard-core off-road equipment that civilian off-road vehicles don't have, such as portal axle, four-wheel double wishbone independent suspension and central V8 diesel engine. , you can pass the road that 99% of the models on the market can't pass.
H2 and H3 respectively adopt Chevrolet Silverado and Colorado pickup chassis, and replace them with gasoline engines, which are completely civilian vehicles. Before the financial crisis broke out in 2008, the shortcomings of Hummer's high fuel consumption were not obvious, but it was loved by many celebrities and rich people. Although few people can afford it, it is very popular.
But after the financial crisis broke out, many rich people had to tighten their belts to live a tight life, not to mention ordinary people. Hummer's audience and sales volume are not large, and it is difficult to fill the brand's operating costs by relying on its own profits. In the crisis, the losses caused by minority brands are more obvious. General motors could not protect itself, and no other company took over this unprofitable brand, so Hummer brand had to close on 20 10.
Although Hummer brand cars are tall and powerful, which is the "dream cars" in many people's minds, a brand with such an expensive car is beyond the reach of most people, which is not enough to support the brand's survival, especially in difficult times. This is the inspiration of Hummer.
Pontiac
Disappearing time: 2009?
Pontiac is a century-old brand with a long history. Although it was shut down by GM in 2009, which was slightly different from the original time line, Pontiac's last ten years of life was a very typical case of business failure. The editor himself loved the brand subjectively, so he forced his way in.
Pontiac brand is the first manufacturer of large-displacement luxury cars and muscle cars to keep pace with American brands such as Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. Its bonneville, Firebird and other models are very classic, the displacement of V8 engine is above 6, 7L, and Pontiac's design is very brand-specific, and each car is full of personality.
However, the three oil crises in 1970s and 1980s greatly reduced American users' desire for large-displacement vehicles, which led to the decline of Pontiac sales. In order to increase profits, GM began to implement the platform strategy in the 1990s. Many of its different brands just changed their shells or labels, and different brands lost their individuality, including Pontiac. Many Chevrolet and even South Korea's Daewoo MPV and compact cars are OEM for Pontiac.
This makes people's impression of Pontiac change from a manufacturer who originally focused on large-displacement muscle cars to an "OEM manufacturer" who produces grocery cars. Although this rebranding operation saves the R&D and operating costs of enterprises, it has a very negative impact on the image of a single brand. Moreover, since Pontiac's car is no different from Chevrolet or even Daewoo, why do consumers buy a grocery car with the logo of the muscle car brand and then drive to the streets to be teased?
Since GM's "show" operation, Pontiac's image and sales volume have deteriorated year by year. The financial crisis in 2008 was the last straw to crush camels. The brands that were originally sold only in North America were basically hopeless for export. Although other brands under GM have the same problem, considering that Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac have higher status in the hearts of Americans, they can only reluctantly give up what they want and close the Pontiac brand.
Saab?
Disappearing time: 20 1 1 year?
Saab started by building airplanes, and the cars produced later also had very obvious airplane elements. All its models are equipped with turbocharging, and this technology is also brought from the era of piston propeller aircraft. In that era when self-priming cars were the mainstay, Saab's turbocharged models had great torque and wide continuous speed, so they had very strong mid-range acceleration capability.
In addition, Saab's handling and safety can also be called the uncrowned king of the automobile industry. This is because Saab models use a lot of high-cost and high-strength steel, and spend a lot of money and time on manufacturing technology and adjustment, which makes Saab open and then open even if it only has front-wheel drive models.
This also makes its active and passive safety performance, especially the strength of the body structure. In many rollover accidents, the roof of Saab is as strong as a roll cage. But Saab never publicizes its safety advantages, because they believe that driving safely and avoiding accidents are the fundamental guarantee of safety. There is a saying in the world that you can only understand why Saab is so expensive if there is an accident.
However, Saab's bad luck began in 2000, when it was completely acquired by General Motors. At this time, GM's strategy of playing the platform and changing standards is in full swing, and I hope Saab can become one of them. However, the stubborn Swedes secretly don't play this game, and the leopard cannot change its spots. Besides the general platform and other brands, the materials and adjustment of Saab models are still the old methods.
At this time, Saab is still a good car in terms of products, but the problem is that the financial crisis is coming and the cost of automobile production and manufacturing is greatly increased. However, Saab's business situation is unable to make ends meet because of its niche and high price. More importantly, GM has been dissatisfied with Saab for a long time. Saab is not an indispensable core brand in the group and has been burning money. In the end, Saab's assets were sold by GM to many takeover companies, and the brand could only go bankrupt on 20 1 1.
Opel?
Sold: 20 17?
Opel is also a German automobile brand with a long history, which was acquired by GM long ago. Moreover, in GM, Opel brand has always played the role of technology output, especially the research and development and adjustment of chassis platform. For example, Buick Regal and Yinglang XT, which we are familiar with, are actually shell-changing or label-changing cars of Opel Insua and Astra.
However, Opel has never been concerned and valued by GM's father, and GM's attitude towards Opel is far more demanding than paying. The most obvious reason is that in order not to interfere with the sales of Chevrolet and Buick in the United States, China, Russian and other places, GM will let Opel withdraw from these markets and confine it to Europe.
In the financial crisis, Opel was lucky not to become a retired brand because it assumed the position of technology export within the brand, but the German-born Opel was obviously not the son of American GM. Due to the long economic crisis, GM still failed to fully recover, and finally decided to stick to the strategy of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. Opel was finally sold to Peugeot Citroen Group of France.
Opel can be said to be unlucky or lucky. Unfortunately, it was acquired by GM and almost scrapped by a platform car. Fortunately, Opel was not fooled by the general strategy like Pontiac, and maintained its own technological uniqueness. At the same time, it is not as stubborn as Saab, and it makes maximum use of common resources. Therefore, it was taken by PSA and was not closed by GM like other brands. Bian Xiao sincerely hopes that Opel will get better and better in the future and return to China!
Mercury?
Disappearing time: 20 10 year?
Mercury is one of Ford's high-end brands with a lower positioning than Lincoln, and has produced famous models such as the Grand Marquis of Mercury. But like Pontiac owned by GM, the development of Mercury after World War II was gradually destroyed by Ford's platform strategy.
Especially after entering the 2 1 century, many models of Mercury are actually just the same platform models of Ford, completely losing their brand personality and soul, and their sales are sluggish. Therefore, when the financial crisis came in 2008, Ford, facing bankruptcy, had to get rid of this unprofitable drag bottle first. 20 10 mercury brand closed.
Dodge viper?
Production stoppage time: 20 17?
1989 introduced the Dodge Viper, which has a short production history, but it is one of the top sports cars in the United States that can be as famous as Chevrolet Corvette. There is no doubt that poisonous snakes can circle countless powders all over the world because of two aspects, one is big and the other is fast.
First of all, Viper has been equipped with a V 10 self-priming gasoline engine with a maximum displacement of 8.4L This engine is improved from a truck engine with a maximum horsepower of 650 horsepower and a torque of over 800 Nm. As the saying goes, "there is no substitute for large displacement", this engine can provide sufficient rear acceleration force for Viper, perhaps faster than zero, with a straight line of 400 meters.
Tell me quickly. Although the viper drags the long front of the car and looks heavy, its control is actually very sharp. Its ACR track version of Viper's newberg Beling lap speed record has been maintained in the production car for a long time, completely abusing a European and Japanese sports car. Of course, the Viper only has manual gears to choose from, and there are few electronic auxiliary systems, so it is doomed that high-level drivers cannot perform.
However, the reason why such an awesome viper stopped production is still inseparable from the financial crisis in 2008. Since then, Chrysler Group has been devastated and finally acquired by Fiat. After Fiat bought Chrysler, the state was not much better. A high-tech, money-burning, inexhaustible sports car like Viper had to reluctantly give up what one favours. In addition, Fiat even wants to sell its own son like Ferrari, so it is not difficult to imagine why the adopted son of Viper stopped production.
Toyota reiz?
Production stoppage time: 20 19?
How classic Toyota Reiz is, I believe all readers are very familiar with it. Bian Xiao is not in this class. However, some people may think that the discontinuation of Reiz by FAW Toyota in China two years ago means the global delisting of Reiz. Actually, it is not. The last remaining Japanese version of Reiz was not discontinued until the end of last year.
Why did Reiz withdraw from the market? The reason is simple, one word-old. Most parts of the whole vehicle were made more than ten years ago. Old design leads to lack of fashion sense, old engine leads to high fuel consumption, old platform leads to small space, and old technology leads to insufficient structural safety, all of which make Reiz less and less competitive, which is also proved by the decline in sales of Reiz. A smart company like Toyota will continue to burn money if it doesn't stop production?
Bmw 3 series GT?
Production stoppage time: 20 19?
Let's sum up the BMW 3 Series GT. The reason why this car stopped production and withdrew from the market is relatively simple, in one word-ugly (of course, this is only my personal opinion). Nobody buys the ugly ones. If nobody buys them, they stop production. Don't think that my writing is anticlimactic, as simple as that.
Write it at the end
From these disappearing or selling car brands and models that have been discontinued and delisted, we can roughly sum up a truth, that is, feelings and markets are often contradictory. Whether it is a manufacturer or a consumer, the two can only choose one. As a profit-making organization, even if some brands or models were not well managed before, it is understandable that they were cut down for the present and future survival of enterprises in business. As a consumer, if you really like these classic cars, it would be a good choice to buy a second-hand car. Don't think about reviving these brands. After all, few of them played well in the revival. Let's take a look at an "expensive" fake foreign devil brand that recently sold advertisements in the elevator, so I won't call the roll.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.