Croc

I forgot to mention in this thread I've met and somewhat know one of the original members of Oingo Boingo, Richard Gibbs. His son and I are friends and went to USC together, and we were both Founding Fathers for our fraternity chapter.

When the 2nd gen Aurora came out, it was hailed as the best GM car that was also about to be discontinued.

No. Your timeline is mixed up. The 2nd gen Aurora had been on sale for a year prior to the announcement of Oldsmobile's discontinuation. The Bravada launched concurrently with the announcement to shutter the brand.

Although I think if the Aurora was going to have a "traditional" Oldsmobile name, it would have been "Toronado."

An excellent post overall, Croc.

Thank you. As for Aurora--new car, new mission. Plus, can you imagine the kvetching from all the hobbyists if GM debuted a FOUR DOOR TORONADO?!?! ZOMG!!

The original Aurora was inspired by the Toronado, mainly the rear taillights. Other than that, I've never seen the similarities. Also, Toronado was a pretty damaged name at that point--sales were incredibly disappointing in the late 80s and early 90s--I would not have saddled the Aurora with that baggage, personally.

I don't know about lead the demise, but I think one of the last nails in the coffin was renaming the mid sized car Intrigue instead of keeping the Cutlass name. That name carried 30+ years of solid history with it, bad marketing move. Instead of modernizing the Oldsmobile brand, it was remade into something unrecognizable by its core of loyal buyers. They left.

I can agree with this. Had the "Cutlibu" been named "Ciera" it would have been the car for the "old guard" of buyers. That car IMO should not have been produced, at least in its half-assed form. Had it been given more distinctive styling and more interior differentiation from the Malibu, maybe it would be a different story--but it should have been called "Ciera" as it replaced the Ciera in the lineup from a positioning standpoint.

Intrigue being called "Cutlass" certainly would have helped things, and it was a damn good car. I forget the trim level (GLS?) that debuted the 3.5L, but that could have easily been called "Cutlass Supreme" without any problem--and it would have been true to its name: the supreme, sportiest version of the Cutlass.

I don't have a problem with any of the other new names, though. Alero was much better than the previous names for that segment of car in the division, and Aurora did not need to be bogged down with perceptions of "Eighty-Eight" or "Ninety-Eight." Those two are IMO the most boring, unimaginative names in modern history, and it truly boggles my mind that they lasted as long as they did.

The 1986 Taurus and Accord and 1987 Camry led to the death of Oldsmobile. GM let its mid size cars get stale by the mid 1980's. Also, large car buyers shifted to SUV's, hurting the 88 and 98. Charts of car sales show that Oldsmobile hit its peak in 1984 and the decline started in 1985, from which Oldsmobile never recovered.

I don't have a problem with the 88 Cutlass Supreme. That was a good car, and it did a good job for the 10 years it was on the W platform. Several of my friends in HS had convertibles, and they loved them.

Really, IMO the death of Oldsmobile was due to trigger-happy management closing the doors on the division two weeks after the new, stylish GMT-360 Bravada debuted. The new Aurora was getting rave reviews, the Intrigue was holding its own in the press, and while the Alero needed to be updated, that would have been within another year to year-and-a-half.

Granted, I LOVE my Aurora, but I honestly don't see how the brand was really given any chance to rebuild. GM isn't shuttering Saturn before the completion of its product renaissance, but it did that to Oldsmobile. And all the money GM lost in the dealership buyouts? That's the cost of stupidity--as far as I'm concerned, I wish they'd lost even more money on that deal.

Hey, I don't eat at McDonalds; I think their food is disgusting. The only thing on the menu I can eat without feeling sick is the filet-o-fish, so you can bet if I'm stuck at an airport, and McD's is out of filet-o-fish, yea, I'm going somewhere else for something. There is literally nothing else on the menu I will eat.

I can haz mah chiken wit watermoln?

Wow, that's racist.

The 1985 Oldsmobile 98? Are you kidding me? Look at sales numbers for the Cutlass Supreme, say from the 1980s through the early 90s. Huge hit. If anything, it was the stale products of the early 1990s that did Oldsmobile in. Think Cutlass Ciera, Oldsmobile 88, Oldsmobile 98, the 1997 "Cutlibu," and the Silhouette. The Ciera was on the market, virtually unchanged, for ten years. The 98 and 88 were very close in size and nearly identical to the Buick Park Avenue and LeSabre. The Cutlibu was a Malibu with a different front bumper and extra plastic on the rear. The Silhouette was a close on the Trans Sport/Montana and Lumina APV/Venture.

Ciera, 98 and 88 all skewed to an older demographic, and the lack of freshness coupled with geriatric styling kept the brand from maintaining and increasing sales. The Aurora, Intrigue, and even the Alero brought some much-needed youthfulness and upscale interiors along with much better suspension tuning and overall driving dynamics, but the lack of promotion and impatience with the new lineup on the part of GM CEOs led to the brand's demise. Almost everyone involved regrets the decision to fold the brand as the sales evaporated and failed to materialize at other GM divisions, and Oldsmobile commanded pricepoints Saturn could and can only dream of.

What, you haven't seen

before?

It only seemed appropriate as the last few posts were complete non sequitors.

Hell, just get a Southern Style Chicken sandwich meal. Those are good. This $h! of "if I can't get no nuggets, I don't want NOTHIN'" seems a bit ridiculous.

Are you serious? You're telling me that in all your years on this earth you haven't gone to a place wanting ONE thing you think they do really well, they were "out," and you left with nothing? Seriously? It doesn't happen often for me, but there are certain places I only get one incredibly good thing at and I think the rest of their stuff is pretty "meh"...and inevitably once or twice a year I'll go somewhere and choose to go to a 2nd choice because the original was "out" of whatever I was looking for.

I like toitles.

Cars are very, very complex these days, so things like a computer being defective is bound to happen. 3 bad experiences is a row just makes it frustrating.

True, but I would much rather have a problem involving a sensor, or a computer, than something like a defective mechanical part, you know? With a software issue, it's generally confined, but with hardware--well we all know a blown headgasket often requires much, much more than just a replacement gasket.

They wouldn't give her her money back. Isn't that a robbery in progress?

Yeah...honestly my reaction is that the THREE calls were excessive/abuse of the system, but I don't know what else I would have done in that situation, especially if speaking with the manager weren't productive.

Maybe her town has a non-emergency number?

It's kinda funny how things work out, I suppose it's hit and miss sometimes... an elderly friend has a 2003 Malibu and she loves it, wouldn't dare trade it for the new one; go figure.

Well, since he/she is elderly, my guess is that money is an issue, and it just isn't practical to trade in for a new car every 5 years, especially for senior citizens. I would be floored if the reason your friend wouldn't dare to trade in had anything to do with a perception that it's somehow junk.

Wow, some people need to calm down. I'm so, so sorry GM isn't perfect and has sold a few less-than-optimal cars in its day. Heaven forbid we ever talk about it here

Again, not to be insulting, but with regards to the G6: you DID test drive it and research it prior to buying/leasing it right? You weren't one of Oprah's "winners," right?

The G6 does not have that quality feel to it. I would expect it to be a POS. The new Malibu, on the other hand, would surprise me if it had widespread problems because it actually seems like a great little car.

So no, it isn't that it isn't GM's fault, I just don't think the comparison is valid. On the one hand, you have the 2003 Malibu and G6, which have been eviscerated in almost every car review they have been in, and then you have the new Malibu, which has received near-universal praise. Two completely different situations, IMO.

Uh oh, Josh didn't seem to have learned from his "shelved" fiasco that fake news doesn't sell!

Go home, please, and take your BFFs Unkle Kracker and Kid Rock with you!

I remember once waaaaaaay back in the day checking his address on Google Maps, and literally it was right next to a freeway interchange in MI. Like imagine a "corner lot" bordered by two freeways, and his was within like 5 houses of that point.

Bahahahahaha. It's OK tho, he likes it up the rump so he would fit right in @ prison when they indite him.

Hmmm...now that you mention it, the headline is much more likely to read:

"GM SPENDS GOVERNMENT BAILOUT ON CHIPPENDALES AND BLOW"

PBR all the way

Joshiepoo would be a great CEO for GM, imagine the keggers at the RenCen. And I bet JoCaine would be there too!

HAHAHA the headlines would read "GM SPENDS GOVERNMENT BAILOUT ON STRIPPERS AND BLOW"

No reg, the Solstice was destroyed in a drunken driving rampage. Now it's just too much Coors (or is that too high-brow for our Joshiepoo?)

Valium (Diazepam) works great. You can get them in Mexico for CHEAP!

4 banger/6 speed

They replaced the computer. He said they called GM, and that was were they think the problem came from. We'll see if it happens again.

No matter what, my confidence has been shaken.

Honestly, I'd much rather have a car that needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. And a bad computer? Those are rare, and an easy fix. Keep us updated; I'm not easily impressed, but I have only one complaint about the new Malibu: no rear seat armrest. Other than that, no flaws I can find.

Hmmm. That's odd, but the new Malibus certainly don't have a bad rep, so hopefully this is a one-time problem, and he has many happy years of driving to look forward to.

I'm with toesuf on this one--more info needs to be obtained.

As for the G6...well, I've been pretty vocal on my feelings of that car on this site. Caveat emptor.

I've seen Nicole Richie walking down Melrose Ave., same area I once saw Tate Donovan.

I saw Victoria Beckham driving her damn Prius in Beverly Hills, looking completely discombobulated.

I saw the chick from the band We Are the Duo (or The Duo) outside a restaurant in Manhattan Beach once (not really famous, though), and about five minutes later saw Charla (of Charla and Mirna) from The Amazing Race down on the pier.