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riviera74

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Everything posted by riviera74

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. riviera74
    Whistleblowers are your friends. Cheaters are your enemies. That is "Winning with Integrity".
  4. riviera74
    Hyperv6 is right. Too bad that an XTS would probably ride/drive better as a RWD limo/hearse.
  5. 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).
  6. riviera74
    Uh, hell no. This is why care.com exists.
  7. riviera74
    In other words, Lincoln now is what Mercury was about 12-15 years ago. Great lack of vision, Ford.
  8. 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?!
  9. 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?
  10. riviera74
    I thank the whistleblower for exposing this crook and stopping this madness. One question: can GM get out of this contract?
  11. 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.
  12. riviera74
    Let's be honest: the Omega (and cars like it) are why Oldsmobile sank after 1987 and died in 2004. In those days, anything less than a Cutlass Supreme were cars to be avoided. CS/88/98 were the ones to buy, period. I hate the direction the X-cars pointed GM towards. The first W-bodies were too small in 1988, but that got fixed in 1996; the FWD G-bodies were way too small from 1985-1993. The clarion call of that Omega was from Roger Stempel: Make it Cheap, Make it Common. This is why Olds was slowly murdered in its last two decades!
  13. riviera74
    The old committee system was one part of what led GM to BK. Nuke that now. If you don't believe me, look at Ford. Ford has a clear vision and a clear direction and Ford can and will execute it. GM in some respects still needs that. The marketing people (especially) and product planning people are not doing GM any favors these days: fire them and start again. There really is too little cohesion at GM and that is one thing the General needs right now.
  14. riviera74
    Two words for Spyker from GM: Drop dead.
  15. riviera74
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18862393 Even with Japan inc. back online, Europe is still an albatross. VW owns Europe in a way that GM used to own the USA (1930-1968). Unlike the USA, Europe stubbornly refuses to allow real restructuring in any industry, least of all cars. It is past time to euthanize the union-run auto industry in Europe for good.
  16. riviera74
    Quite true. Now if only he will do something about Opel and Vauxhall. Like toss them both into the bin.
  17. riviera74
    What has Ed Whitacre actually done at GM? Moreover, NOBODY worth his salt should miss that epic failure and slow-going GM lifer that is G. Richard Waggoner! If Wags had been replaced with a real leader ten years ago, GM either would have avoided bankruptcy and/or at least minimized its effects. Wags is the reason GM had to go to BK. Wags is the reason GM needed loans from the federal government in order to survive BK. Wags was a fundamentally awful leader who is a living reminder of the Peter Principle. Good riddance to him!
  18. riviera74
    Horse, I could not agree more on the whole weight thing. The problem is is that EVERY CAR these days is overweight by at least 500 pounds. Most Trucks could stand to drop 750-1000 pounds easily. Safety matters, but so does fuel economy. Compared to 25-30 years ago, every car seems too heavy nowadays. Somethng has to give. The first automaker that can make a safe car and have it weigh 500 pounds less than the competition AND not be overpriced will have almost everyone beating a path to their door.
  19. riviera74
    When BMW and Mazda wanted fewer dealerships, they bought out the dealers they wanted gone. Mr. CEO will have to do the same because of very strong franchise laws in every state.
  20. riviera74
    Why ditch the Econoline when it is by far the best-selling RWD fullsize van in North America? Maybe sell the new one alongside the Econoline to gauge interest, but replace it? No.
  21. riviera74
    I think I know why this Opel will end up a Buick and not a Chevy: MINI and FIAT are not known for being cheap. Chevy is known for being cheap/value (depending on your point of view). A subcompact Buick based on this car may be a good idea. Now if only Adam Opel/vauxhall can be ditched on the cheap (in order to save GM for the incipient failure that is Europe). . . . .
  22. riviera74
    Since the 2014 CTS will be on Alpha rather than Sigma, what are the advantages of the new platform over the now-deprecated Sigma? Will Alpha spread beyond the CTS and 2014 Corvette?
  23. riviera74
    Given the lack of snow and humidity, I figure that California (and the SW USA in general) should have no issues with rust or oxidation on cars at all.
  24. riviera74
    They knid of have to drop the Aero name because of Saab. It is also difficult to explain Aero vs. HFE. If you don't believe me, ask Mazda how tough it is to explain Skyactiv. When I first of Skyactiv in a Mazda commercial, I honestly had no idea what they were talking about. A lot of people probably felt the same way, hence why Mazda has serious sales problems. Chrysler needs HFE for one reason: their fleet is very strongly biased towards gas guzzlers. I really like the 300/Charger and I really wished GM had a real answer for that without having to get a Cadillac CTS (Challenger is covered by the new Camaro.). Chrysler badly needs not just a Dart HFE, but a 200 HFE and a Journey HFE too. Ideally, Chrylser would cut about 500 pounds out of each model, which would solve their fuel efficiency problems stat.
  25. riviera74
    Since the 2013 models are coming out in about 90 days or less, expect heavy discounting on the 2012 models to make room. Some models are worth the wait ('13 Malibu); others may not add much to the party ('13 Cruze, '13 Impala).
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