We'll pretty much keep the momentum going we have now, which is very strong," says Lynn Meyers, general marketing manager for Pontiac-GMC, about her 2001 goals for the division she has led for two years.
In 2000, Pontiac will sell about 20,000 more vehicles than it did in 1999. GMC, during the same period, could set its eighth straight sales record.
"We're feeling pretty good about that," says Ms. Meyers. "We have to keep hustling for the rest of the year to make our numbers, obviously, it's a pretty competitive industry, but we're pushing hard. We'll have a good year."
Pontiac, says Ms. Meyers, is without any all-new products in 2001, but it will have some special 75th anniversary packages to sell in the spring.
It's freshest vehicle, the Aztec, is "building momentum," says Ms. Meyers, although initial sales of the unusual looking vehicle have been below expectations.
New product always is important, but Pontiac's bread-and-butter cars - Grand Am (220,000 in sales) and Grand Prix (150,000) - continue to deliver for the division, accounting for some 55% of its volume.
"We have a slew of product for GMC," Ms. Meyers says. "We have the new Sierra C3, which is the first continuous all-wheel-drive full-size pickup in the market. The Yukon XL will have a Denali model. They're shipping now. And we have the all new (mid-size SUV) Envoy, which is our first vehicle that's fully differentiated from our sister divisions."
Sierra pickups (200,000 units) and Yukon SUVs (about 100,000 units) are GMC's biggest movers. "We'll sell another 80,000 Jimmys this year, which is an all-time record," says Ms. Meyers.
She says, "I feel good about our products. And if our products are good, our dealers are excited about them. They're excited about the Pontiac products and they're very excited about the new GMC products that are coming along."
