Guys, I think we could be missing an important aspect of the Raptor — and its possible competitor from Chevy/GMC: the halo effect.
To start, I know that the Raptor is, in fact, profitable to build and to sell for The Blue Oval. I had a chance to look at some numbers recently and boy are we mistaken when we think these companies are operating at record-slim margins.
But even if the Raptor were a loss-making vehicle, I believe that its pure existence would drive sales of other F-150s, since not everyone is able to pay $45,000+ for a Raptor. The model brings excitement to the brand and to the nameplate and you can think through the rest.
This is why Chevy and/or GMC needs such a truck. It doesn’t need to be a direct rock-crawlin’ and desert-stormin’ Raptor competitor, but it needs to look striking, be capable, and carry the exclusivity proudly.
PS: @bmfk It’s hard to admin for me as well, but GM is not the world’s most popular automaker. Toyota is.
What we need to consider is that GM’s sales in China — which are greater than those in the U.S. — aren’t entirely GM’s. GM counts the sales of its joint venture partners, Wuling and SAIC, as its own — which isn’t accurate. Strip away Wuling and SAIC sales in China out of GM’s global sales numbers, and GM is far behind Toyota in the numbers game.
