GM Predicts Oldsmobile Sales Decline for 1997

09/16/96

Reuters has reported that General Motors Corporation expects to see a another drop in Oldsmobile sales in 1997. The division expects new models to make up lost ground in 1998, however.

Oldsmobile General Manager John Rock told reporters that GM predicts 1997 calendar year sales to drop to 330,000 vehicles, the division's weakest performance since 1961. The corporation estimates that 1996 sales will ring in between 340,000 and 350,000 units. Oldsmobile sales in 1995 dropped to 387,545 vehicles.

Oldsmobile was founded in August 1897, and has survived to become the oldest nameplate in the U.S. auto industry. The division's sales hit their peak in 1985 at 1.07 million units, and have declined steadily ever since.

Oldsmobile expects a new Silhouette minivan, an all-new Cutlass mid-size sedan, and a new Intrigue mid-size sedan to revive its aging product line, but also expects the model changeovers to limit production and availability of the vehicles. Rock explained the division's take on its situation for 1997 by saying, "The good news is the new cars are here. The bad news is the new cars are here."

When the new models hit the showrooms, Oldsmobile plans to reduce low-profit fleet sales and concentrate on increasing retail sales to 265,000 units in 1997. The division expects this year's retail sales to reach 240,000 units. Olds hopes that 1998 brings retail sales that exceed 300,000. For 1999, the division is eyeing retail sales of 350,000 to 450,000 units. Rock maintains that 1999 will be Oldsmobile's real test year, as it will have replaced its whole product line by then.

Part of Olds' strategy in the coming years will be to change its image and attract import buyers. "If you just keep thinking about Oldsmobile as big old luxoboats and traditional domestic cars and a great alternative to a Buick, then I've wasted a lot of time and a lot of the company's money," said Rock. He referred to the division's new line-up as "a product line to be reckoned with."

The new Silhouette minivan will be the first new product Olds introduces, reaching showrooms this fall, along with two other new minivans from GM. The Silhouette, starting at $20,000, will be the most up-scale of the trio. Olds plans to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 Silhouettes annually, a drastic improvement over sales of the current, plastic-bodied Silhouette vans, which are expected to come in at less than 8,000 for 1996.

In November, GM will start producing the Oldsmobile Cutlass, a new mid-size sedan that recycles the division's most successful nameplate. The car is designed to compete with Honda's Accord and Toyota's Camry, and will probably carry a price between $15,000 and $20,000. Olds officials have said that the top-end Cutlass--V-6 engine, automatic transmission,leather seats--will compete with a base four-cylinder Camry, price-wise.

GM will start production of the 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue in February 1997. The Intrigue will be a slightly larger, more stylish sedan in the low- to mid-$20,000 price range, and will replace the current Cutlass Supreme. The car will use GM's mainstay 3.8-liter V-6 engine instead of the 24-valve 3.4-liter V-6 that GM had previously earmarked for it.

In 1998, Oldsmobile will replace its compact Achieva and large 88 Royale. The Alero will be slightly smaller than the Cutlass, and the Antares will become Olds' new entry-level luxury car, with a price that puts it between the Intrigue and the $35,000 Aurora flagship sedan.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel