riviera74

Retiring baby boomers? You mean the generation that largely ditched GM starting in the 70s and never returned? Actually, XTS pricing is rather sane and the feature set is worthy for the prices offered. The only thing I would have changed is that the XTS should be the next generation Lucerne and have Cadillac get a real RWD luxury car above the CTS. The Spark is just fine. Maybe I am shocked by the pricing since I actually remember when cars that small retailed for under $10K. Oh well.

The Impala interior is the best thing ever to happen to this car since the switch to FWD. The exterior is OK. About time GM spent the money where it matters most.

A 2012 Silverado using switchgear from 2001 or so? Really? The truck(s) need an interior upgrade, especially since they produce the most profit.

Why does the 2013 XTS and the 2014 Impala look a lot alike from the side? Should they not look somewhat more different?

Massive kudos to the interior upgrades. So the exterior is a little bland.... so what? GM put the money where it belongs -- the interior. External generic styling is not the disaster some people here are making it out to be. It was not that long ago that GM cheaped out on interiors and put their cash in external flash. Good thing that lesson has been learned (and the trend reversed).

But what should the Equinox and Terrain target: the RAV4 or the Jeep Wrangler?

I suspect there were two problems with these Chrysler (and GM) engines 35 years ago. One: Detroit-area engineers lacked the experience of making good if not great 4cyl engines, and that often took 5-10 years to sort that out. Two: Detroit-area management and executives were never willing to bet the farm on small engines at all, and go all out on making the best 4cyl engines around. Remember that the Germans and especially the Japanese were always 3cyl and 4cyl masters because they started very small and seldom went big. Going in the opposite direction is always much harder. This is why today's GM and Chrysler 4cyl engines have their roots in Europe to a significant degree. There simply is no substitute for experience.

Are 9-speeds really that efficient? I remember that Lexus was going to 8-speeds and MB was going to 7-speeds relatively soon if not right now. One question: what are the gains from a 6-speed transmission? Is a CVT really that bad?

Midsize BOF not in the US? Next thing you'll tell me is that Morain OH will not reopen to make them. It is time for it to come home, with a diesel engine along with the gas engines.

Why keep both Chevy trucks and GMC? Simple: they do not have the same clientele. I read a poll a couple of years back that found that if GMC were to disappear, those buyers would switch to FORD, not Chevy. Why is that? Since GMC truck buyers are not Chevy truck buyers, it makes no sense for GM to leave all that cash on the table.

True. The only (partial) defense I can make is the switch from RWD to FWD requiring a new name. The Accord was never a RWD car and the Camry replaced the RWD Corona in '83. Chevy is the worst offender here, but that is mostly because the (car) product line is confused. The trucks (all three domestics) are mostly quite consistent over the last 30 years or more.

But dfelt, that would actually make sense. There was a reason that Nissan Ditched Datsun back in '86.

They could just cancel and defund the program entirely, but that would require taking action rather than complaining all the time. The only thing worse are the tax breaks for non-conventional vehicles, which should also be repealed for the same reasons: waste of taxpayer dollars and an excessive distortion of the auto markets.

No need for a hybrid at the prices an SRX or a Lexus RX are selling for these days. A hybrid would be a poor value. Besides, that is what the Chevy Volt is for, even though it is an E-REV not a hybrid.

Two points: Buick and Cadillac are NOT the same since they do not sell similar vehicles (e.g. Buick has no RWD; Caddy has no Enclave while Buick has no SRX). Second, what's up with those residuals? What is this, 2005? I still remember when Buick had at least ten models and deep discounting. Now they have four models. How does the Regal and LaCrosse have such poor residuals after only 36 months and/or 45,000 miles off a lease? That leads me to another question: are Buicks overpriced/overproduced or is the competition perceived to be that much better?

Given that Europe is economically volatile, why is GM doing this? Why not just find a way to boot out (or radically restructure) Opel and Vauxhall? Why does GM need this alliance? What can Peugeot provide that GM cannot?

A minimalist car for Gen Y. Hmmm. Not a bad idea, but they also might want to customize everything too. Also, it seems what our intrepid poster wants is a $10,000 car that anyone his age can afford. At this point, no automaker in the West can make an affordable $10,000 car. A long time ago, I had a 1980 Buick Regal with a 4.9L V8 and found and read the original receipt. It was bought December 1979 and the price was $9800. I still remember commercials for cheap pickup trucks that were around the same price in 1990. In 2012, how do you get to a $10,000 NEW car? You can't. Between safety features, extra weight and the demand for more features in a smaller package, our current landscape is biased up towards $30,000 rather than $10,000. If you want anything that is actually worth driving, $10,000 suddenly becomes $25,000 very fast. Now if the USA could reduce safety standards to 1980 levels, then $10,000 is no longer nearly impossible without the large sacrifices made from driving. I do not see anyone pining for a $10,000 Chevy Spark, but there are a lot more (desirable) Mini Coopers running around where I live. Those Coopers are seldom below $25,000. Balthazar's idea is sound, but that might bring a $25,000 car to $18,000. Ideally, an automaker would build a new $8000 stripper and then add features individually to bring it to $10,000. Now, who can make it profitable?

They can keep the Orlando in Canada for all I care. Only if the Mazda 5 and the Dodge Journey actually sell in large enough numbers in the USA to undercut larger models (especially the Equinox!) should GM deliver the Orlando to the USA.

Given that we are now in an era of packages when buying a new car (as opposed to buying one feature or another on the spec sheet back in the '60s), is it possible to tell GM, Ford etc. to just simply ditch the fog/perimeter lights for good? If these lights serve no real purpose, why bundle them at all in any vehicle? No CAR should have them. I could see a truck with a high center of gravity needing them, but nothing else. SRX no, Escalade yes. If the automakers are going to have them, they need to make these perimeter lights fully functional rather than looking cute bordering on vestigial (and essentially useless).

Camino is right about the EPA and its rules. Of course, the best answer would be to get Congress to have these rules rescinded, but they need to be bought off first. Worse yet, I was reading in the last few days that natural gas is cheaper now than it was 5 years ago and that there are plans (by several companies) to export it to other countries to make more $$$ since natural gas prices are a lot higher elsewhere than here in the USA. As for the EVs on the market now or within the next 24 months, I have two questions. Will they work in Detroit or Minneapolis in a harsh winter? And how fast are we going to upgrade (and possibly replace parts of) our electrical infrastructure? The grid in some places are 50 years old or more and it is in poor shape as we speak. No reason to put electric cars charging to a grid that dates from the Eisenhower administration.

I agree, but do you have the millions to contribute (read: bribe) congressmen to do the right thing? If not, it is a pipe dream. . . . . for now.

I have the view that the Genesis and the Equus should have their own dealer network separate from Hyundai. Did Toyota and Honda sell their LS400 and Integra cars beside Camrys and Accords? Absolutely NOT. Toyota and Honda are better off ever since they created Lexus and Acura respectively.

When this is released, there will be one obvious question: why buy a Volt again?

Kia is now the low price leader. This is basically what Plymouth used to be compared with Chrysler from the 1950s until 2000.

So the kids are not into cars as cars? OK then, such is life. Most of us remember life pre-Twitter, pre-Facebook and pre-cellphones: they do not. A 21 Y.O. would see a car as little more than an appliance for getting from point A to point B. I knew a few when I went back to college, and they are far more interested in other things. I doubt kids HATE cars, as much as they are indifferent to them. In a compact city, cars are expensive and possibly unnecessary. In Florida, they are mandatory, unless you want to be dependent on local buses..... bad idea. As for cars getting to be too expensive, that is true. Compare a fully equipped 1980 Regal at $9000 brand new to a fully optioned 2012 Lacrosse at $38,000 brand new. Despite cash for clunkers, I still see plenty of used cars around here for sale for the better part of two years after the program ended.