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riviera74

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Everything posted by riviera74

  1. riviera74
    Dfelt, I could not agree more. I would go one step further. Close all Opel plants for at least one year, then open those that are economically viable. This will require breaking the overpampered unions in Europe. Other carmakers in Europe should do the exact same thing. (BMW and VW don't need to for obvious reasons.) Times have changed and European unions must adapt to the new economic reality imposed by bad economies and worse banks and the Euro.
  2. riviera74
    Good news all around about the Cruze. Now if only they could straighten out the Malibu. . . . .
  3. riviera74
    Perhaps they were thinking that few would noticethe Eco model and then forgive them once the regular 2013 Malibu came out. #Fail on that strategy. Wrong market, piss poor timing too.
  4. riviera74
    Unfortunately, stupidity does not respect state lines. We have quite a few Ohioans living down here in FL. Then again, we have plenty of home-grown stupidity too.
  5. riviera74
    That is disappointing. The only silver lining is that the Chevy SS and El Camino replacement are (or will be) built here in North America. Australia is great and all, but we need the jobs and work here.
  6. riviera74
    Seems like a rush job to me (the car, not the review). I wonder what would happen if this were delayed six months. . . . .
  7. riviera74
    I am not sure about that, given the near-worship of DOHC in the last 30 years or so.
  8. riviera74
    I would say that in certain latitudes solar is good for electricity generation (especially down here in FL, as well as TX/AZ/CA/NM). The problem is that solar power is not good enough for baseline power. Only fossil fuels, geothermal, nuclear and hydroelectric are good enough for baseline power to power entire cities. Solar can be good for an electric car, if said car has enough battery to handle long days without sunlight. (Also, can an electric car survive a Detroit winter?) How does Germany get its electricity during the dead of winter, when sunlight is relatively weak? Most likely nuclear power, which they should keep. Should more homes in the Sunbelt have solar power? Yes, because it makes economic sense, not because of some misplaced love of the environment.
  9. riviera74
    Yes, electricity can come from anywhere. We should ditch coal for nuclear right now, particularly generation IV plants. Transpotation is the real issue of course. Currently, there is no energy source out there with the portability and energy density of petroleum and its distillates. Solve that and you can deliver the USA out of fossil fuel dependence, perhaps forever.
  10. riviera74
    Rear-drive is still unappreciated by the masses. Jaguar is making a turbocharged 4cyl? Brings back memories of the late unlamented Jaguar X-type.
  11. riviera74
    So the new Malibu has issues. OK: given that GM has vehicles in other segments where they are class-competitive or class-leading, this is a non-issue. Of course Honda, Toyota, Nissan and VW will push out their best efforts in the midsize market. Why? Because that is where 50-75% of their revenues and profits come from. If GM were VW USA or Honda of America, I would be very very worried. Does GM need to push out a better Malibu? Yes, preferably right now. Is a poor showing on the Malibu going to kill GM? No, but Europe can. If this were 2006, where product overlap was rife, I would be very concerned. Does GM need more car people, especially in the executive suite? Absolutely. But GM needs profits and cash flow more. Right now, that is where GM is putting its emphasis on. Besides, the Malibu is not even the most important vehicle in Chevy's lineup for families: that is reserved for the Equinox and Traverse.
  12. riviera74
    Any type of fuel based on foodstuffs is patently stupid. This is even before the drought that is affecting farm yields here in the USA this year. Corn-based ethanol is stupid and the EPA should scrap the mandates that require it to be blended into our gasoline. If you want ethanol (read E85), then use something else that humans (and livestock) DO NOT consume. There are plenty of alternatives to corn. If ADM cannot adapt, that is their problem. Also, we should completely end all farm subsidies because they are a waste of money. If it were cheap to convert all vehicles to natural gas, then it should be done. Or do we have to have all of our refineries shut down and/or on fire for that to happen? Current technology is designed to burn fossil fuels and nothing else. Short of a real game-changing technology, CNG is currently our best alternative.
  13. riviera74
    I can see Hyundai focusing efforts on one V8, but just the R-spec? Is that wise?
  14. riviera74
    Whoever can do this on a wide-scale could become rich. I'd love to cut out the middle-man and order a vehicle online, only to see it a couple days later. A flat rate for each trim line, all with the same options could make things less expensive. Yes many Americans would love to skip the dealer experience entirely, but strong franchise laws in each state prevents such a transition. Ideally, buying a car would be more like buying something from Amazon.com, but state legislators need their daily bribe and kickbacks.
  15. riviera74
    Is GM really better off ditching pushrods for DOHC in their cars? I know that the 3.6v6 DOHC is in every car that is not equipped with a 4cyl DOHC engineered by Opel. Why are pushrods being relegated to trucks, Camaro, and Corvette only? I will always swear by the Buick 3800 Series II/III engine as fabulously torquey and just great all-around. While my '99 Park Avenue Ultra was getting its transmission rebuilt, the DOHC 4cyl in the 2012 LaCrosse with eAssist was a smooth if peaky 4cyl with little useful torque. The engine in that LaCrosse sounded a lot like a Honda engine in a Civic. I am sure that the 3.6v6 in a LaCrosse or an CTS/SRX/XTS will sound better in city driving, but I am unconvinced that pushrods are necessarily bad, especially from a torque perspective.
  16. riviera74
    Nice to hear, Sixty8panther. I have always wondered why Lincoln wants to be as mushy and as poorly defined as Acura. WTF is Ford doing to Lincoln?! Dearborn is literally taking it on the chin from a debt standpoint and punishing Lincoln for it. Not good, especially given Mercury's final 15 years around. The Honda/Acura model simply does not work. Eventually everyone finds out that there is no reason to go upmarket in your automaker if there are two nearly-identical models in your stable with no real differences at all. At least with the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger/Challenger there are real differences that any driver can appreciate. My LincolnTouch and a waterfall grill are not enough to differentiate Lincoln from Ford. Period.
  17. riviera74
    Whistleblowers are your friends. Cheaters are your enemies. That is "Winning with Integrity".
  18. riviera74
    Hyperv6 is right. Too bad that an XTS would probably ride/drive better as a RWD limo/hearse.
  19. riviera74
    There is not a single car I have bought that I did not test drive first. Why would anyone skip the test drive? It is a car, not a video game. . . . especially if you are going from one car maker to another (say Hyundai to Honda), or one type of car to another (say minivan to Camaro).
  20. riviera74
    Uh, hell no. This is why care.com exists.
  21. riviera74
    In other words, Lincoln now is what Mercury was about 12-15 years ago. Great lack of vision, Ford.
  22. riviera74
    Europe will always be protectionist. Americans on the other hand. . . . . want cheap Chinese-made everything. Keith Crain is right about GM's moves in Europe, but I think it does not go far enough. Opel and Vauxhall have a large issue and a large impediment. The issue: the European auto market is comatose at best, and it will probably implode any day now. The impediment: very strong European unions and sympathetic governments make it nearly impossible to dispose of excess plant capacity and too many brands. I remember GM shuttering at least half a dozen plants back in 2008 because they had to. Roger and Me was about GM shuttering plants back in the mid-80s (in part). Why won't Europe allow auto plants (or anything else) be shut down other than through BK/liquidation?!
  23. riviera74
    Not sure if the late Roger Stempel came back as a VW executive, but that may well be the case in VW products I guess. I thought he was around in spirit at Hyundai/Kia, except they keep improving year after year. Mitsubishi perhaps?
  24. riviera74
    I thank the whistleblower for exposing this crook and stopping this madness. One question: can GM get out of this contract?
  25. riviera74
    That Harris poll correctly points out one thing: perception lags reality by at least a decade. A LOT of Baby Boomers Hate GM and have never forgiven GM for what they saw in those cars back in the 70s and the 80s (and at times the 90s). Once those generations of cars are completely gone (which may happen sooner than we all think), things may change. More importantly, Honda and Toyota will have to fall off quite a bit for at least 15 years before any real change happens in perceptions. The worst part is that Hyundai and Ford may end up being the biggest beneficiaries of all this in the medium to long term. When CR starts listing failures in Honda/Toyota/Nissan products consistently over a number of years, then we know times have changed. Then again, the question will be moot if Europe implodes and GM is taken down by that comatose market.
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