After observing the Big Three and how they are failing in the market. I have an idea of what each company needs to do to turn themselves around.

1st DCX: They need to make a new economy car to replace the Neon. The Caliber does NOT fulfill that market segment because it hardly gets note worthy fuel mileage. Make a small lightweight compact, with nice interior at least as good as the Calibers, give it a normal four-speed auto with a 5-speed manual designed for economy only with the 1.8L and 2.0L World Engines. Then offer the 2.4L with the new 62TE transmission that way it can benefit from both acceleration and fuel economy improvements over the 4-speeds, and give it a spaced out 6-speed manual or the same 5-speed manual. Then offer the SRT-4 with a 6-speed manual geared for preformance and make a roaster model to compete against the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice.

Take the new Avenger and Sebring and readjust the axle ratios until the base I4 gets 33-34mpg on the highway that way they have not been defeated by Toyota, Honda, and Pontiac in the fuel efficiency department. Give Sebring the 6-speed automatic since it is a Chrysler and not a bargin fighter. Give the Avenger a fuel economy focused 5-speed so then they could possibly offer similar EPA numbers as the Hybrids without the extra expense to the customers. Lose the 2.7L, it has a bad reputation and install the 3.8L and give it a taller axle ratio. Again give the Chrysler model the 6-speed. The 3.8L is a very smooth refined engine with plenty of power that will satisfy the mainstream customers. Only offer the HO version of the 3.5L offered from the 300M Special. Modify the V6 line so then they can add a spuercharged model that would bench make the performance in that class. Of course make manuals available in the upper level engines as well.

Offer the 3.8L instead of the 2.7L in the LX cars and use the 4.0L instead of the 3.5L. Offer a slightly detuned version of the Bluetech diesel in all LX cars with taller gearing for fuel economy.

Offer the Bluetech diesel with taller gearing in the Dakota, Durango, Ram 1500, Commander, and Nitro. Offer a smaller Bluetech diesel in the Sebring/Avenger, Liberty, Wrangler, and minivans.

GM: Give the Cobalt a smaller base engine with taller gearing so then it can compete against the Corolla and Civic. Give Buick a larger line-up of cars since it has a reputation for reliability and bring back some performance to shed the old man's car image.

Give it a version of the G6, Aura, Malibu. Give it the base I4 with the new 6-speed through the line-up, then give it 3.5L with VVT, give it a more powerful version of the 3.6L, and top out the line-up with a turbo 3.8L. Make sure the interior is better than Toyotas, and just a step below Lexus's interior.

Give the LaCrosse a RWD mid-sized car platform, give it the supercharged version of the 3.8L as the base engine, the 5.3L DOD with VVT as the next level, and top out with the new 6.2L. Try to make the interior better than the Avalon's.

Make a new Grand National on the Zeta platform. Give it a turbocharged 3.8L for the base engine, offer the 6.2L, and finally the 7.0L Z06 engine. Again the interior must be between what Toyota offers and Lexus.

Give Pontiac a super car that could compete against the Viper. Give them that concept Grand Prix from Australia. Give the G5 a larger version of the engine they are using in the Solstice GXP and offer it in both of the cars so then they can compete against the class leaders like the Evo.

Add a smaller diesel to all their SUVs and trucks.

Ford: First thing is first, kill the Crown Vic and any other cars on the Panther platform. Bring over the Ford Falcon from Australia, and make a Mercury version. As for Lincoln, give it the platform and give it the GT500 engine for the middle level and modify truck V10 to try to compete against the premium Mercedes and BMW engines.

 

it seems that youre putting a european/japanese approach to the big three....alot of talk of fuel economy combined with quality and comfort, as well as big performance from small motors. that is just not the american way.

 

Precisely. If the traditional American way was still working then I would suggest we do it that way. Now that I have more time I will add my second step plan to appeal to those who prefer the traditional american car.

DCX:

Plymouth is resurrected and will have the cheapest interior for the sake of cost reduction. The Cuda is brought back and offers the 3.8L as the base engine (it can't be worse than the slant six was in terms of performance, so it will be acceptable). It would get the 4.7L H.O. as an option and the 5.7L WITHOUT MDS for the AAR model.

The Fury is created on the LX platform. The base engine is the 3.3L with the cheapest transmission and reliable they can match up to it, then the 4.7L L.O. (Low Output) is the next level), and a detuned 5.7L HEMI WITHOUT MDS is the top level. This gets nothing better than a 4-speed auto. The Breeze is brought back. The base engine is the 2.0L and the only optional engine is the 3.3L.

It would receive the compact car and have bland interior. It would offer all the engines the Dodge got minus the SRT-4 model. It would offer a 5-speed manual and only 4-speeds.

GM:

Chevrolet division:

Chevrolet division quits the silly marketing plan of trying to compete against the Japanese and makes cheap cars again. The Impala name is dropped and the W-body car is renamed what it really is "The Lumina." The engine offerings in the Lumina are changed from the 3.5L, 3.9L, and 5.3L to the 3800L series III, and a lower output supercharged version.

The Impala is reincarnated back into its true form as a true full-sized RWD car. The base engine is the 3800 series III to compete against the budget versions of the DCX LX platform cars. The next level gets the 4.8L from the trucks and the SS gets a NON-DOD, NON-VVT 5.3L.

The Malibu loses the 3.9L SS model.

The Camaro gets the 3800 series III for the base level, the normal 5.3L for the Z28, and a detuned version (the output of the Autralian 6.0L 362hp & 391 ft-lbs) of the 6.0L in the SS. The Camaro only gets 5-speed manuals and 4-speed automatics.

The Corvette goes back to having a 4-speed.

The interior on all the cars are cheapened for cost cutting purposes.

The Pontiac division:

Pontiac division takes their gloves off and goes straight for performance. I already listed about the G5 and Solstice.

The G6 adds a 6-speed manual option for all engine levels. The 3.6L is dropped in favor of the supercharged 3800 series III. The GXP model receives a larger engine bay that is filled with a 5.3L DOD like the one out of the current Grand Prix.

The Grand Prix as I said gets the concept based on the Australian Holden Commodore; however, it remains a larger mid-sized car but not a full-sized car per sey. It offers a supercharged 3800 series III with a 6-speed manual or auto as the base level. The GT model gets the 5.3L DOD with the 6-speed auto or manual. The GTP model gets the detuned 6.0L with same transmission choices. The GXP model gets a full output 7.0L LS7. Available in coupe again as well.

The Bonneville is reintroduced on the same platform as the RWD Impala. It receives the 5.3L DOD with a simple 4-speed as the base engine. The GT model gets the detuned 6.0L with a 4-speed auto. The GXP model gets a supercharged 5.3L with a 6-speed auto or 6-speed manual.

Buick division:

Buick quits the stupid French naming crap and goes back to its heritage. The LaCrosse is renamed back to the Regal and no other changes are made from what I wrote earilier.

Buick makes an aggresively styled full-sized (Buick sized) RWD car called the Roadmaster. The base engine is the 5.3L with DOD with VVT, the next level offers a detuned 6.2L V8, and the top level offers the full output 7.0L. They all offer 6-speed autos.

The unnamed smaller model would be named the Century. The Skylark would be brought back as a Buick version of the Saturn Sky

 

hmm..it is all very interesting, but i dont agree with some of your opinions, but that is life.

i do completely agree that plymouth should be reincarnated as the dcx performance line.

however, i like the styling of some of the current caddys.

the buick brand and about dead, and i see no point in them trying to keep it going. when i worked for dodge, we got these automotive industry magazines, that had all sorts of fun facts. one was that the average new buick buyer is something like 68 years old, thus making buick the oldest in that category...second was caddy i believe, followed by mercury.

not sure on why you want the vette to have a 4 speed? the manual transmissions of yesterday were brutal for performance, which is why there was so much effort put forth on performance automatics. we were considering putting an 833 in the demon, but having spoken to some older dodge manual owners, ive decided against it.

not to be rude, but i couldnt care any less about the non-performance models from GM like the lumina, so i really cant put together a useful opinion..ive had a long day.

 

That's fine. I'm not sure if I was clear about this but the Vette would still gets the T-56 Tremec 6-speed manual.

I guess I should have clarified that the changes I meant to do to Caddy was not to the exterior (except for the DTS, I hate that car). I like the CTS and STS just fine, I just think they should be more competitive to MB and BMW.

That is fine if you don't care about the non-performance models. I just didn't want to leave anything out.

The last two things I will add that I forgot to was the LX and LY cars would receive a 7.0L (426) HEMI with Dual-VVT (for the sake of passing emissions) and would offer a supercharged version of this engine.

The Viper replaces the tired LA/Magnum based V10 and pickes up a new V10 made from the new HEMI based off of the 6.1L model and offers Dual-VVT to pass the emissions. The base level doesn't have a name (as it shouldn't). The first optional level offers a supercharged V10 called the R/T 10 model, and the final optional level offers a twin-turbo V10 called the SRT-10.

There now I'm finished.