Buick and OLds.

[Paulaurora]

www.nytimes.com/1988/10/11/business/company-news-buick-or-olds-gm-wants-it-clear.html

[wfooshee]

That article lists exactly the problems GM had in the 70s and 80s. When each division was actually a separate division, with its own lines of cars and engines, it made sense to have divisions. When they started to share platforms and drivetrains, it became rather ludicrous, and the only reason it continued was the dealer network. Can you imagine GM voluntarily going to the dealers and saying, "We're consolidating all the divisions into just two or three, so most of you are out of business tomorrow." That's what ended up happening, eventually, but it took terms of a government bailout to get it done.

Shared platforms? How about Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac J2000/2000/Sunbird/Sunfire, Olds Firenza, Buick Skyhawk, and Cadillac Cimarron? All the same car, just differences in trim and fascias. The platform was even used in foreign divisions, by Opel, Isuzu, Daewoo, Holden, and Vauxhall, and imported to Japan as a "Toyota" (so we could get Toyotas as Geos.)

The linked article notes the marketing difficulties the shared platforms embodied. Well, duh.... how the hell was Cadillac supposed to sell a Cavalier??!??!

[plato442]

The J-body platforms were another product of atrocious 80's look imo

[wfooshee]

But they were the epitome of GM's problems of the day. Wasn't just the Js, either. Everybody had a B-body, everybody had an N-body, blah blah blah.

[plato442]

Right, the design of the times were a low point in design. But everyone was rolling out the same look including ford and mopar.

[Paulaurora]

Sometimes i think OLds could of been better without GM.