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OLDS IS DEAD

13 December 2000

OLDS IS DEAD...another TACH'er Letter


Bob,

     I will be brief. I am 29 years old. My family has been buying
Oldsmobile since the 50's. I grew up with my grandfather's mint '76 Olds 98
and my parent's Cutlass; I currently own a 99 Olds Alero GLS. I also worked
in sales at a GM dealership. I am shocked and disgusted at the thought of
losing the Oldsmobile line. I personally think GM's marketing department is
at fault, for starters. Oldsmobile had great numbers upon the release of the
Intrigue and Alero. The problem I saw was lack of  creative advertising. GM
had elaborate ad campaigns for the Pontiac Grand Am and Chevy Monte Carlo.
It is all about name recognition and an ad campaign that touches the
consumer on an emotional level. The ads produced for Oldsmobiles needed to
bring recognition to new products and were less than eye catching.
     Also, GM ruined Oldsmobile by poor designs in the 80's and phasing out
Oldsmobile's flagship autos. Worst of all, the last redesign of the Cutlass
completely betrayed its heritage. AND although I own an Alero, HOW DARE THEY
put the 442 badging on an Alero!!! Oldsmobile has, in my opinion, the
highest quality product in the GM line. I will buy a new Oldsmobile before
it is phased out, and this may sound irrational or childish, but I will
never buy another GM product after that.

Brian
Ashtabula, OH