And look how well Ford is doing with its badge engineering....
Caddy is NOT a race car
Saturn is NOT a performance brand.
Saturn was brought in to fight off the gathering low buck imports. Well since teh late 80's, the low buck imports are now big buck imports that carry advanced engines and drivetrains with other gizmos at a good price.
Saturn, on the other hand, is still a low buck import fighter...why?
Saturn is going for the VW/Honda/Acura crowd of entry level sporty luxury, and they are being equiped to do so. Great move
Pontiac on the other hand must move itself to a RWD bias platform, and now that Pontiac, Buick and GMC are now cosiderd to be one brand, there will be less sharing.
As for platform sharing, its the best thing to do in the world, and everyone else is doing it.
The Sloan ladder no longer applies when there are so many more choices out there. It worked well when there were only a handful of American car companies, and GM rulled 50% of the market, but it no longer applies.
As for SS on Wrong Wheel drive cars, SS has always been the top performance of that brand. Every SS out there fits the mark of the best handling car in its group and one of the best in its class. Cobalt SS is a fantastic little compact, and will be joined by Malibu, Trailblazers, and many others.
Stop making the SS badge some sort of super duper icon that is untouchable. Half the SS cars of the 60's are considerd dogs now.
As for Caddy, they are matching what the rest of the luxury world is doing, and going sport. Want a soft cushy ride, buy a Buick. Want sport and luxury? Caddy is the place.