riviera74

The real issue is weight of these newer cars, period. If all carmakers removed 500-700 pounds of excess GVWR, that would solve their CAFE problems quickly. The increasingly porcine nature of most new cars thanks to increased safety standards is the real reason high MPG is hard without a detuned 4cyl. The choice is simple: more MPG or more safety features.

This is depressing. More and more people are switching to 4cyl engines, mostly because of gas prices. I hope that those little engines are more reliable and worth the cost now vs 10 or 20 years ago. What is even worse is that midsize cars are going 4cyl ONLY. Is the buying public going to have a lifestyle similar to that of Europe where 3cyl and 4cyl are everywhere and a V8 is impossible to find?

A 4cyl Malibu for 2013. OK. That takes care of the Sonata, and most of the competition. A V6 only Impala I guess is a good idea. I could use some actual pictures of this new Malibu everyone seems so enthused about.

The link isn't working for me... anyone else have this problem? Anyone have another link to use? I just tried it. It works just fine. Good thing that that wagon was never released: poorly executed.

I almost bought a BB Torch, but I went with an iPhone 4 (16MB). Highly recommended (with a case around it). I never got around to ditching my landline I have had since moving to my present residence nine years ago.

How is the driver's seat in that Camaro? You know, positioning, comfort, support etc.

Ford no longer has pushrod engines? Not even in their rather popular F-series pickups? When did that happen?

A long-wheelbase MY 2013 Malibu is what the MY2014 Impala will be? That is rather lame. I mean, Impala will sell in its intended market, but why must anyone pay north of $35K for a real RWD GM car other than maybe a Camaro?

They are already selling them in Europe and Australia now. Which diesel engine are they using in the Cruze right now?

That is an understandable error. Personally, I would go for the V6 model instead. I am not sure (other than 37mpg) what the benefits are for getting the eAssist trim level.

I wonder how many Cruze diesels will actually sell in the good old USA. I suspect this will be a much easier sell in Europe than here.

So what is going into the MY 2014 Impala? Is it RWD? A really great car? Inquiring minds need to know.

Sigh. I guess it's MY2013 or MY2014 for me.

The primary reason Toyota and Nissan have done a relatively poor job at selling trucks is a combination of brand loyalty AND they simply do not understand what it takes to make their trucks attractive to Americans, especially in rural areas. Anyone can make the case that GM, Ford and Chrysler did not understand small cars well enough in the last 40 years or so to make them competitive versus the Japanese. (Only in the last three years have GM and Ford invested enough and released worthy small cars.) I know a guy who bought himself a Toyota FJ Cruiser and he likes it. The reason is that he already went through a rather piss-poor Dodge Dakota and would never buy one again. As for what makes a GMC a GMC, I do not really know. But it should be differentiated MORE from Chevy trucks period. Excluding the Acadia and Terrain, MSRPs on a GMC truck are a little higher in price than the Chevy equivalent. Customers deserve more for their dollar than that.

Exactly! The interior is identical to last year's model. A new engine and transmission alone does not a good MCE make. Interior improvements on this Impala, STAT!

Maybe the UAW should focus on converting foreign-owned plants to UAW plants instead and grow their membership that way. Then again, that would actually make sense. UAW has seldom made any sense since at least 1980. GM needs fewer plans working at capacity, not more plants running at 50% or lower capacity. More sales and more profits first last and always.

While it is unfortunate that the eAssist models have smaller gas tanks, that is the point with a gas-electric hybrid. I doubt that a Prius's gas tank is actually as large as a Corolla's, for example.

While it made more sense to buy a Park Avenue (or even a LeSabre) in 1991, a lot of Baby Boomers went for the ES250. Why do you think that the ES350 & RX350 are best sellers in their class? Toyota/Lexus won that war a long time ago mostly because of GM errors and the slow response of the Germans, not much else.

You think that's bad. Hop into a 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham or a same model year Buick Park Avenue! The Lucerne is almost sane by mid-1970s standards.

How is the Cruze selling compared to direct competitors such as Civic and Corolla and Elantra and Focus?

How about a Zeta-based RWD Impala, since GM is bringing the Caprice in as a police vehicle?

Just because they made plans does not mean they will execute them: e.g. Chi, Ultra V8 etc. I could make the case that the SRX ought to be a Buick, but that is what the Encore is for since there is a massive hole in Buick's lineup. No such hole for Cadillac. Cadillac's hole is a RWD large sedan (i.e. a flagship). Escalade will not sell outside of North America, and since international sales do matter for GM, an XJ/7/S-class fighter is mandatory.

Can GM build a really good 3 cylinder engine though? That is the question. Once upon a time, their 4cyl engines were awful in the USA. Since the Ecotec family came out of Russellheim, they are much better. Can they build a very good 3cyl? I don't know.

I have a question: how can GM improve the ATS and the CTS to be best in class to a point where otherwise non-Cadillac owners switch to Cadillac?

OK, thanks. When does the Gen V small block come out?