bcs296

Ugh. Everything is always "Next year, next year." I heard that about the 6 speed on GMT900's and check out that sexy 4 speed it still has.

Chill out. There was no "bashing" in my post. If I wanted to, I could point out the fact that I never specifically said the Malibu would be behind the competition, but referred to GM product in general since it always takes so long to get on the road (which was the main point of my post anyway). But yes, the Malibu is an example of that. The Camry, which will have been out for a year when the Malibu finally gets to dealer lots, will be quicker than the Malibu. It will get better mileage than the Malibu. You can get REAL navigation on a Camry and have been able to on the Accord since at least 2004. I'm sure if I spent some more time I could come up with more. Now you don't have to get all upset. I'm for GM as much as anyone else on this site and would buy a Malibu over an Accord or Camry any day (although the Accord's 6 speed w/ V6 is appealing). I'm just pointing out why I think GM needs to start setting the benchmark a little higher, a little further into the future because it just takes them so damn long to get a product out after we see the initial design. I mean really, how much different is the 'Bu going to be from the Aura feature wise? Does it have Bluetooth? Because the Accord does.

I think the Accord is nice enough that the Malibu is going to have a hard time against it. Speaking of the Malibu, why is it that we have been hearing about/seeing the '08 Malibu for so long now (much longer than the '08 Accord) yet the Accord is already available for the media to drive and will also beat the Malibu to dealer lots? This is typical of GM and very frustrating. By the time their product hits the road it's already behind the competition.

I don't think there is any reason to worry about GM selling the technology to the Asians. To me, this is just an extension of GM and Ford working together which, IMO, is not a bad thing at all. It makes sense to sort of help each other out in order to balance the financial disadvantages they have when compared to Toyota and friends. We can't count on the currency manipulation to stop nor can we count on the UAW to make the changes needed to put the Big Three on an even playing field. While GM, Ford, and Chrysler are still individual companies, they do not need to be concerned so much with competing against each other. As sad as it is, I think they NEED to work together (should I go so far to say as a team?) to some extent or else they will just plummet farther. It's about survival now and that means doing what it takes to show the Asians how it is done. If that requires the sharing of resources, fine. Ford is currently in a much worse position than GM. It may be expensive for them to buy the Two Mode from GM but it is certainly cheaper than designing its own system from the ground up. Better still, they can implement it a lot sooner than if they had to design and build it themselves. The hard work is already done. The deal would help GM financially, save precious time that Ford doesn't have, and give two of the American automakers a leg up on the competition in terms of fuel efficiency. I see no problem here.

Toyota's quality is slipping as evidenced by recalls and user reviews. Toyota has (and will use) the cash to simply buy market share. Some people (cough, toyoguy, cough) can't wait until America is run by Japanese companies.

Toyota cares way too much about people's perception of them as a "green" automaker. They will use the 3.5 + electric motor so that they can say, "Look, we made a car that performs better than a Corvette and gets 35 mpg!"

Ahh. I can't wait to see the CTS-V destroy this.

What's your take on it? I became progressively more angry as I watched it. Pissed at the government, pissed at the oil companies, and pissed at GM.

LET'S NOT FORGET ONE THING. Toyota is selling as many cars as GM with TWO (2.5 if you include Scion) brands. GM doesn't have the cash to be spending on redundant brands that don't sell. If the time comes, Saab will probably be discarded one way or another. I, too, think that the money would be better spent on GM's compact and midsize cars.

Damn, I just threw up in my mouth a little...

No Bluetooth. Obviously they still haven't weeded out all the boneheads from the design team. Typical poor-GM-decision-making right there.

LOL, chill. The g-body had its day for sure but it's old and uncompetitive now, no matter how you spin it. They aren't BAD cars, just not competitive.

I'm not surprised at all by the bashing of the Sebring, I don't think it is pleasing to the eye at all, interior or exterior. I am surprised, however, by the bashing of the Avenger. I think it's exterior styling is awesome. It is far more aggressive and distinctive than any other midsize car but still looks handsome. You see an Avenger and could never mistake it for anything else. The interior is not mind blowing but it is somewhat stylish and clean and the car has nice amenities. If I was going to buy a V6 midsize car, the Avenger would be hard to beat. I'm also surprised by the Hyundai bashing. Hyundai is making some very nice cars today, even if their exterior styling is boring and copied from Honda/Toyota. When the Veracruz beats the Lexus RX350 in Motor Trend, you can't honestly say they are doing half bad.

That about sums it up. On paper, it's all there. In the face of the competition, the interior isn't as stylish, the N* is getting old, and I think the exterior would be great if it fell somewhere between the '08 refresh and the '08 CTS. Still, the updates to the '08 make a great car even better.

Delayed Malibu, delayed Impala... As if GM's product cycles weren't long enough. Just confirms that the guys upstairs still don't know what the hell they are doing. What a disaster. I'm going to go buy a Camry.

True story.

Maybe a Camry, but that's a relatively heavy, midsize car. On summer gas, I could "flog the everloving piss out of [my 97 Civic], idle for long periods with the a/c on, and get caught by every redlight" and I would be hard pressed to get 25mpg or less. Then I could fill up, drive like a calm, reasonable driver and get 36-37 on the highway. Anyway, there's too much hair splitting here. Europe. 'Nuff said.

Then the issue is not whether or not there will be RWD cars, but instead how many LARGE cars will be around. No 4 cylinders are going to power a Zeta. Once again, the automakers are being punished because Americans like big cars. Large cars != good gas mileage... This is simple physics. Advance technology all you want, small cars will get better mileage. The only way Americans are going to buy small cars is if they have to, and they only reason they would have to is if they couldn't afford filling up large cars. No automaker is going to stop making large cars and lose sales because the government wants them to.

Would someone like to present an explanation as to how RWD automatically translates to poor gas mileage, because I'm not seeing the correlation. There is no reason to assume that every RWD car is going to be V8 powered. I want to see what the new CTS and STS will get with the DI 3.6 and 6 speed. Even better, I'd like to see what the V6 G8 will get. V8 or not, RWD offers a better driving experience. Traction control, stability control, and *gasp* SNOW TIRES defeat the argument for FWD. If you live in an area where snow is a concern for you, you should have snow tires or at least good all seasons anyway. Think I don't know? Check my location.

Sometimes I begin to think it's hopeless. It doesn't matter if you have the best car in EVERY segment if nobody knows about them.

Sure, the Ford twins might be outselling the GMs 2 to 1, but guess what? I've seen TWICE AS MANY ADVERTISEMENTS ON TV FOR THEM. I'm starting to notice a trend here... You wonder why GM dealers are running their own aggressive ads.

That's what you get for buying a 3800 powered car.

Exactly. I'm not really sure how the Solstice, G8, and possible GTO/Firebird/RWD G6 are going to destroy Pontiac.

You have to be kidding, right? This statement made absolutely no sense. Questionable, at best. That's ok, though. We'll see how the new M3 compares with a 500hp CTS-V.

FWD HAS NO PLACE IN THE CADILLAC LINEUP. PERIOD. END OF STORY.