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The powerful engines and interior inspire me. Too bad gas isn't still $1.50/gallon.

GuionM on the Camaro Z28 board seems to hint that the next generation Impala will use a stretched Epsilon 2 platform, while the Zeta RWD platform will be used for a more upscale Chevrolet sedan. At least this is what he seems to hint at.

Age 41 Ford Focus, Mustang, F-150, Escape Volvo S40, V50, XC90 Chevrolet Cobalt, Corvette, Silverado, TrailBlazer, Avalanche GMC Sierra, Envoy Pontiac Solstice, Vibe Cadillac CTS, Escalade Hummer H2, H3 Nissan Altima, Maxima, 350Z Honda Civic, Accord, Element, S2000 Acura TSX, RSX, 3.2TL Toyota Tacoma, Rav4, Prius Scion xB, tC VW Jetta Mazda 3, 6 Audi A4, A6 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Wrangler Chrysler 300 Dodge Ram BMW 3 series, 5 series Subaru Outback, Impreza

I think that the Torrent will be dropped before any of these. Ultimately, I think that GMC will get all of the crossovers to be sold by Buick-Pontiac-GMC, except for possibly the new Buick Lambda (hopefully to retain the Rendezvous name).

I think that you will have to look at Buick, Pontiac, and GMC as one large division, since all three will be sold at the same dealerships in most cases. Between the three names, you will still have a full lineup. Pontiac will have Vibe, Solstice, G6, GTO, and I think it's looking more and more like the Grand Prix will survive. Buick will have a couple sedans and a Lambda crossover. GMC will have it current lineup, plus a Theta or two, the Lambda crossover, and maybe a Lambda minivan.

Zeta is back - http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...wtopic=1081&hl= By 2010, I expect Buick's lineup to consist of Lucerne (Zeta), LaCrosse (Epsilon II), and Rendezvous (Lambda), and that's it. I think GMC will get Theta instead of Buick.

I don't think that Cadillac needs both the BLS and CTS in the U.S. However, with a slightly different grille, the BLS would make a good next generation Buick LaCrosse, in my opinion.

http://europe.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=8696

According to this article - http://europe.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=8696 - this will be identical to the next Saturn VUE.

To be fair, I think it was Trevormac98 and SS427 upset with Evok, not Wildcat.

http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54443 Since there is a copyright on this article and it is only available for subscribers, I will just quote the following three paragraphs: "Six months after General Motors halted plans to use its Zeta rear-wheel-drive car architecture in North America, the company has revived the program. " "Queen said initial plans for Zeta stretched the architecture beyond its limits for some North American vehicles. "We needed to reassess and reconfigure the program," he said." "A GM spokesman said no product plans have been approved and that GM still is studying design themes, performance characteristics and variants for Zeta vehicles." Cars may debut by 2009 or 2010. No 2007 or 2008 Camaro.

GM should have never started Saturn to begin with. All the resources used on Saturn in the early 1990's starved the other divisions of needed product. But the dealers are good and deserve a chance with more attractive product. Saturn will be OK, as long as the Aura and Outlook are not overpriced. Price the Aura competitively with the Ford Fusion and price the Outlook competitively with the Freestyle, and Saturn will be OK. But price them against Acuras, and I think there will be problems.

Well, I am no insider, but it appears to me that Pontiac and Buick will mostly be a collection of a few cars to be sold by GMC dealers. GMC is the strongest brand among the three and will expand to FWD/AWD crossovers. The recent Automotive News issue that outlined GM's product plans for the next 3 or 4 years did seem to indicate that GM is studying a replacement for the Grand Prix.

Most of you young people will be husbands and fathers before GM has any small RWD cars that hold more than two people. I think it would be ideal if GM had four main platforms - large and small FWD platforms and large and small RWD platforms - all of which are capable of handling a wide variety of engines and be used as coupes, sedans, crossovers, and roadsters.

The automakers have lots of roomy, relatively efficient alternatives to SUV's coming out over the next few years (Lambda, Edge, the new little Jeeps, the new Thetas, etc.), so I think DeLorenzo is being too hard on them.

Talk about a nice roomy trunk.

We have known these guys for about 5 years. They have proven to be accurate time and time again, and we trust these insiders implicitly. Sometimes they may seem abrupt, but they are good guys.

The days of cheap oil are over, and I see nothing wrong with the Patriot and Compass. Jeep can't rely on Hemi powered Grand Cherokees, and even V6 Libertys aren't very fuel efficient. You young guys are going to see the same things happen to the auto industry that some of us saw 25 to 30 years ago.

Uncle Dave is now Mule Bakersdozen LS. Hudson posts only at GMI, and although he is an insider, most of his posts are nitpicky debates, not insider information.

Jackson is about 180 miles away from Biloxi. Some areas of Jackson still have no power, more than a week since the hurricane, even though winds were only about 60 mph here.

The 3.5 in the Impala is only .6 second slower to 60 than the 3.9 and is more fuel efficient and should be enough for most people.

I am not an engineer, but I don't think that Kappa can easily be adapted for a small 4 seater sedan or coupe. The Kappa platform is very similar (according to the last C&D) to the Corvette's and was engineered for only $250 million. Kappa was clearly designed to be nothing more than a small 2 seater. GM would have to engineer a brand new small RWD platform. I think it's time to stop dreaming of a Kappa based sedan or coupe.

The 3.9 is only slightly faster than the 3.5 and only slightly more fuel efficient than the 5.3, so I wonder why GM bothered. I would only be interested in an Impala LS or an Impala SS, depending how much I wanted to spend.

In Jackson, MS, we cannot even get gasoline. When a station does get gas, there are three and four hour lines to get gas at $3.29/gallon.

I had no power from 3:30 p.m. on Monday until 6:30 p.m. yesterday. However, I am back to normal now and went to work today. Gas lines are about 2 to 4 hours long. Many areas of my city still have no power. I am about 180 miles from the coast. We have a lot of tree limbs down. The Gulf Coast of Mississippi is completely destroyed; the situation is worse than Hurricane Camille in 1969. Residents of New Orleans may be unable to return for 2 or 3 months.