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Despite strong profits, GM still fighting flat market share

Looking at the progress General Motors has made since it entered bankruptcy, it's easy to forget that the company still has a long way to go before it's the juggernaut it once was. A recent report from Reuters points out that, while GM is making money, it isn't making any gains in terms of US market share. Quite the opposite, really. Consider this factoid: In 1963, nearly half of the cars sold in the United States were from Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC or Pontiac. Now, the company's US market share is stagnant at 17.9 percent. That same number is half of just Chevy's 1963 market share. This is all despite GM going on a binge replacing or updating its models. "Market share increases are not instantaneous," Mark Reuss told Reuters at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. "We've got a lot of baggage. Don't underestimate what people though of us, or these brands, through these hardships and 30 years." The reasons for the stagnant market share are numerous. Reuters points out that retooling of factories and a focus on limiting incentives are both good things for profit, but not necessarily for market share. There's also the troubling turnover of the brand's marketing department. These issues don't change the fact that Chevrolet has lost 1.4 percent of its market share in two years, and that Cadillac - arguably GM's most improved brand overall - has lost 1.2 percent in the same period. Part of that can be blamed on GM's avoidance of fleet sales in favor of more profitable customer sales. "Our focus has really been on retail and that's where we've got the growth," said Alan Batey, GM's interim global marketing boss. "We want to grow GM and that means growing market share and profits, but it's not at all costs," Reuss said. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: paul bica - Flickr CC 2.0 Earnings/Financials Buick Cadillac GM GMC sales profits

Cadillac to ditch China-only LWB models for global 'right size'

We often think of Buick being General Motors' poster child in China, but would it surprise you to hear that Cadillac is just doing a bang-up job in the People's Republic? It's true, the Standard of the World is on fire, and it's doing so with a surprising group of buyers that are going to push through globe-spanning changes for the brand. Cadillac's average buyer age in the People's Republic of China is just 34. Yes, younger buyers dominate the Chinese market, but according to Reuters, Cadillac's young buyers want to drive and they don't want the typical businessman's German-badged sedan. Cadillac understands this, and is setting about to exploit it with a shift in its Chinese strategy. According to President Johan de Nysschen, the company will begin moving away from the China-only, long-wheelbase models, like the ATS-L. Instead, it will push for a global "right size" design, along with some stylistic changes. "You will see a softening of some of the hard edges, and more three-dimension styling on the side of the car," de Nysschen told Reuters, while noting that the cars will still be "instantly recognizable as Cadillac." Even without these changes, though, Cadillac has bucked the trend in China. At 17 percent, the company's sales exceeded the PRC's overall market growth of 7.3 percent by a significant margin. In fact, Cadillac's 2015 gains outpaced the overall market growth in China over the past three years, as the brand jumped to nearly 80,000 units. And the company is hoping to push that even higher, Reuters reports, with President Johan de Nysschen targeting a 25-percent increase in 2016. Related Video:

Cadillac gives ATS, CTS new V6 for 2016

Replacing the existing 3.6-liter V6 in the Cadillac ATS and CTS is... another 3.6-liter V6. But this one promises higher output, while consuming less fuel, and making less noise. Like the V8s in the CTS-V and Escalade, it's got cylinder-deactivation technology to cut it down to a four-pot under lighter loads, as well as automatic stop/start, and comes mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The new engine produces 335 horsepower and 284 pound-feet of torque. That's a modest improvement over the 321 hp and 275 lb-ft mustered by the unit it replaces. But it also delivers an approximate improvement of nine percent in fuel economy and eight percent in carbon emissions. That's what we'd call a win-win, even if it's a modest one. Of course, those ATS or CTS buyers attracted to higher efficiency will still likely go for the 2.5-liter inline-four or the 2.0-liter turbo four. And those more inclined towards performance will be tempted by the 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 in the ATS-V or CTS Vsport – or the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 in the CTS-V, for that matter. But those customers looking for the best of both worlds will surely be pleased by the improvements the new atmospheric V6 and 8-speed gearbox bring to the table. Related Video: New Technologies Boost Efficiency for 2016 CYLINDER DEACTIVATION AND START/STOP SYSTEMS BEGIN PRODUCTION ON ATS AND CTS PRODUCT LINES 2015-10-09 Renowned for luxury and design, Cadillac has recently added dynamic driving performance to its list of attributes. Now as 2016 model year production begins, Cadillac adds new fuel-saving technologies. Active Fuel Management and Automatic Stop/Start technologies, and widespread use of a new 8-speed transmission, are combining to raise fuel economy ratings and reduce emissions in Cadillac's portfolio. Cadillac's all-new six cylinder engine contains Active Fuel Management, or cylinder deactivation, technology enabling it to seamlessly switch from six-cylinder to four-cylinder operation under certain light-load conditions, while maintaining excellent performance. The new 3.6-liter engine is part of the 2016 ATS and CTS product lines. Additionally, the Cadillac Escalade luxury SUV's V8 will shift to four-cylinder operation in many daily driving conditions, as will Cadillac's all-new high performance CTS-V sedan.