Chevy's Future After Bankruptcy could be rather grim for Chevy for several reasons. First, problems with being associated with a parent company(GM) that is notorious for making bad vehicles will hurt Chevy's ability to stand out in a crowd of US automakers fighting for survival. GM's long-term debt problems also make one wonder if Chevy may become one of the next brands GM might consider selling off in order to reduce long-term debt obligations. If they did, GM might have to say "good-bye" to an American icon that brought such great cars like the.. well..the Camero!
Then there's the problem of a bad US economy's impact on future care sales. When the economy starts to grow again, consumers will be looking for much more bang for their dollars in everything they purchase--especially big ticket items like vehicles. There's nothing to convince people that Chevy has the products or the brand loyalty in place to withstand the changes needed to make cars more enticing in this changing US market. If Chevy is banking on the new Volt to get them out of the doldrums, they are sadly mistaken. It will take a much more robust and dynamic selection of all types of vehicles to convince value-driven consumers a Chevy is a vehicle worth owning.
Furthermore, Chevy (as well as GM, really) has to convince a nervous buying public that they will actually be around in 5-10 years to handle any problems that these new vehicles that supposedly have value could have. What if you need to take your Chevy to a dealership for service or to honor a warranty? Will Chevy be around to do those things? GM(and hence Chevy) haven't begun to convince anyone that will emerge from bankruptcy as better companies. That's why it'll be very hard for Chevy to turn around because they ride the coat tails of their parent company, GM. So if GM has any problems in the future, they could be passed on to Chevy with dire consequences.
Finally, Chevy has image problems that go beyond a parent company who's notorious for making bad vehicles. Since when has Chevy made a "cool" vehicle that people would feel hip and cool driving? Don't count the Camero or the Impala--They are SOOO 20th century that it's not even funny! Until they do, Chevy could be in more trouble than people realize or want to think is possible.
Ronnie Tanner is a contributing writer at SW Engines. He writes about
Chevy Engines,
Chevy transmissions and other industry specific topics.
