6 Cars That Will Save GM

by Jerry Edgerton
Sunday, November 21, 2010

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Can General Motors (NYSE: GM - News) once again reign as the world's largest automaker? Will investors in Thursday's IPO look like geniuses or dupes? And will taxpayers see a return on their $50 billion bailout? It all comes down to this: Do you want to buy one of these six cars? If you -- and a few million others every year -- see a good reason to part with your hard-earned money in the following slides, then GM just may rise again.

Chevrolet Silverado

While it's the sleek sports cars and green gas sippers that get all the press, pickup trucks haul in the profits.

Although not redesigned as recently as its arch-rival the Ford F-series, the Silverado remains among the top-selling vehicles in America. And J.D. Power analyst Jeff Schuster notes that pickups have led this year's recovery in sales -- both the Silverado 1500 version often bought by individuals and the bigger work pickups going to contractors and other small businesses.

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Cadillac CTS

As GM's market share slumped over the years, so did Cadillac's image as a luxury brand vs. German and Japanese competitors. But Cadillac has come a long way from 1980s disasters such as the Cimarron. Leading the sleek new parade are the CTS sedan, wagon, and, for 2011, a coupe. Reviewers like the CTS combination of comfort and sporty performance. And, like a luxury car should, it has a high-performance version, the CTS-V. With a 6.2 liter, 556-horsepower V-8 -- take that, Germans -- the souped up CTS stands up well to European competitors in race track test drives. Whether the CTS suits your tastes or not, it's dripping 'tude, something most GM offerings have lacked for decades.

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Chevrolet Equinox

The Equinox gives GM a worthy competitor in the compact SUV category against sales leaders Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Reviewers have given it high marks for being almost as roomy as a mid-size SUV but with gas mileage (22 mpg city, 32 highway) that rivals many sedans. Buyers seem to like it, too. Combined sales for Equinox and its corporate sibling, the GMC Terrain, are up 169 percent compared with a year earlier. Having a compact crossover contender is especially important, since sales in recent years have been moving to these vehicles and away from bigger SUVs. And the high mileage here will help GM meet new federal requirements.

Buick Regal

The picture is certainly worth six words: This is not your father's Buick. In resurrecting its Regal nameplate and putting it on a car that is not the least bit stodgy, GM is making a strong statement. J.D. Power and Associate analyst Jeff Schuster predicts that the Regal will, as intended, lure in younger buyers. "Is that really a Buick?" was the reaction of reviewers, who said the crisp handling could challenge luxury sport sedans like the Audi A4, even while selling at a lower price. Regal follows the already-successful Buick LaCrosse, whose strong sales contributed to GM's bang-up third-quarter results. On its website, however, GM still feels the need to explain that the new Regal has "modern, aerodynamic lines." The next step for the once-great company: Reaching the point where it doesn't have to tell people that.

Chevrolet Cruze

Television commercials show the Cruze hunting down its rivals with tag lines such as "It's Civic season." Cruze -- adapted from a car already popular in Europe -- is GM's first strong entry in the compact segment dominated by the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. "Cruze is a crucial model because it is the biggest launch since the bankruptcy," says J.D. Power's Schuster. And with its EPA ratings of 24 mpg in city driving and 36 on the highway, Cruze is essential to GM's strategy for meeting the strict 2016 federal average mileage requirements.

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Chevrolet Volt

The beneficiary of years of publicity about plug-in electric cars, the Volt will begin silently rolling out of dealerships in December. Despite a brief controversy about its credentials as an electric car, the Volt has an advantage over its main plug-in competitor, the Nissan Leaf. When battery power runs out, the Volt has a back-up gasoline generator that sends power to the electric motor and extends its range up to 300 miles -- three times that of the battery-only Leaf. Volt won't turn a profit anytime soon, but it should burnish GM's image as a company bringing out high-tech, green cars. "Volt will be a buzz creator, bringing in new customers who might not otherwise visit a Chevy showroom," says analyst Jesse Toprak, of automotive site TrueCar.com. And GM's top line will get a charge from GE, which recently announced it would buy 12,000 Volts for the corporate fleet.

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