So, with the whole GM bankruptcy thing starting to settle, there’s a few things that need to be said about GM’s relative positioning, and inter-competitivity AKA product overlap. Yes, they’ve done an excellent job of learning from their mistakes; their new products are orders of magnitude more appealing -in my personal opinion- due to exterior design, higher quality interiors, and improved fuel efficiency. And yes, they’ve shrunken their conglomerate, cutting out quite of few of their “souring” brands (Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, to name a few).

Though they’ve come back to successfully focus on their four core brands, GMC, Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac, there is still too much product overlap. During the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games, sponsored by GM, I was able to witness this firsthand.

At one point I saw, parked in a row, three different GM vehicles. These were the GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, and Buick Enclave, all in white. It was like an awkward party moment where three of your friends show up in the same shirt, distinguished only by the varying degrees of disgust on there faces. Luckily the Cadillac SRX, got the memo and was able to skip the party. If you didn’t get the metaphor, these SUVs are all similar to the point of excess, sharing the same platform. Differing badges and slightly altered bodywork set them apart.

The Cadillac is marketed as upscale, it’s positioning clear: power, luxury, prestige. That all makes sense to me. But the Buick, marketed as slightly upscale? Huh? Throw in the GMC and Chevy with no distinguishable positioning I will accept and you’ve got a self a nice mess of overlap. Note that each of these separate vehicles come with a host of trim and engine options. This does not apply solely to this model, it’s appears over the whole product lineup.

Yes, GM has greatly improved it’s thinking, but the problem still exists. It could be doing much better; four brands is still too many. Keep Chevrolet. Keep Cadillac. You’ve got your economy cars, and your luxury cars. Modeling japanese brand strategy (Toyota-Lexus, Nissan-Infiniti, Honda-Acura). Or if you insist on four brands, keep them out of each other’s way and give each an exclusive model.