gmcbob

I like my 2008 Vue so far - I've put 18000 miles on it and the more I drive it, the more I can honestly say that I like it. But at the end of the day, I really miss my old pick up trucks. So for giggles I went and test drove a new Z71 with the 5.3L V8 and the 6 speed auto during my lunch hour. Compared to how I remember my 2001 and 2004 Sierras, I thought it felt a little bit sluggish off the line, despite more power than my previous trucks. It didn't feel like a vehicle that can do 0-60 in the mid 7s. Perhaps the 3.42 axle ratio kind of holds it back a little bit? I just couldn't get over how I felt as if I really kind of had to dig into the go pedal a little bit more than I would have liked to get it moving. I've actually driven a Tundra recently, and I certainly didn't have that same feeling as I drove it around. And like I mentioned, I don't remember my older 01 and 04 GM trucks having that kind of sluggish feel off the line either. I'm also a little disappointed that GM doesn't offer the rip roaring 6.2L/ 6 speed in anything but an LTZ Crew Cab. That engine should be offered across the lineup. I want just a regular extended cab LT with the Z71 package but with the awesome 6.2L - but you can't do it that way - which kind of sucks.

Yeah, I really wonder what happened with Caddy this past month. To lose 53% over the year before is just plain horrible. GM needs to beef that "brand" up big time. They need that smaller Alpha based Caddy here like yesterday - along with the CTS Coupe and a replacement for that large fwd tank on wheels otherwise known as the DTS (i.e - a real honest to God rear drive flagship that can compete with the Lexus LS and GS models would have been a no brainer - say, like back in 2002 or so?????). Cadillac is a one trick pony right now (CTS) and it shows. While I really do like the current CTS a lot, I still think Caddy is a shining example of how GM totally screwed themselves up over the last dozen years or so. I just can't get over how GM has really let Cadillac go so far down the pooper when it comes to lineup "depth". Un-freakin-believable. There was no reason they should have let that happen over the years. They essentially let the (Asian) imports totally have that extremely profitable and prestigious market. Wow. Unreal. Caddy isn't the only luxury marque surprise for me though for July. I'm a little shocked to see Infiniti down so much. It could be argued that Infiniti has a somewhat superior line up of vehicles compared to Caddy, but they only sold 1000 more cars than Caddy did last month. I truly hope that they put a solid effort into completely restocking that brand with compelling, innovative models that can live up to how great that division once was. It's an important brand - it needs more models - all of them as good (or better) than the current CTS.

I just jumped on the Acura website and looked at the pricing for the TSX. Once you start loading one up with the all of the cool options, it starts getting real expensive. Buick has a MAJOR perception problem though and I just don't see this being a real easy task for GM. (convincing young professionals to drop $30k on a small Buick). This new Buick has to be really awesome - and marketed very cleverly.

I actually did watch some crazy show on the History Channel not too long ago on how the Mayan calendar basically predicted that the world was either going to drastically change or come to end in December of 2012. Quasi interesting but silly. This whole thing with the Supreme Court putting a stay on the Chrysler/Fiat dealer is kind of wild. I'm on the edge of my seat. I tend to be a bit of a pessimist, so that part of me is saying that it's over for Chrysler now. But, I also have this feeling that the SC won't let Chrysler completely liquidate.

On that note, I hope we're all still around in 2012!

This is good I think. At least personally I'm hoping this means the value of my 2008 Vue won't tank as badly as it could have. I still think GM should be keeping this brand under their own umbrella though. Despite recent sales declines (which every mfg. is dealing with), the brand has a decent reputation on the customer service end of things. And like I've said before in other posts, Saturn can bring in buyers who normally wouldn't consider another GM car. Hopefully GM can continue to supply Saturn cars well into the future. It would be pretty sad to see Saturn totally take off (in terms of sales) without GM being able to get a little bit of the credit (and money) from it.

But that could be because it's being heavily discounted and those in the "know" are trying to grab them before they're gone. This car needs to be a 2010 Impala or Caprice IMO. (with modern Chevy type styling of course)

This is something that I sort of knew already, but I didn't know the exact numbers. "Beyond quality, trendsetters typically shun Detroit-brand cars, a problem that is especially prevalent among highly educated buyers who also tend to purchase higher-margin vehicles. Car buyers who are college graduates account for 70% of European-brand car sales in the U.S. and 55% of Asian brands -- but only 39% of Detroit-brand car sales, according to J.D. Power & Associates." This kind of makes sense though (and if you think about it, there really isn't that big of a spread between the 55% and 39% numbers between Asian and American brands). You have a lot of workers that supply parts and services to the auto industry that don't have a degree that are still tied to the auto industry - so they're going to buy American because their job more or less depends on that industry. Moreover, you have a lot of people that live in rural areas that don't have a degree that perhaps don't have access to an import dealer. Also, there's a lot of non college educated people out there that may have their own businesses (construction and/or real estate type businesses, etc..) that probably tend to buy trucks and full size SUVS because the need them. We all know who does that best, right? All of this aside though, the D3 MUST figure out a way to get college educated young people who just have regular office jobs to consider their cars. I actually think Ford kind of does the best job of this, but this is an important demographic that all three of the domestics really need, and bad. Ironically, some of my closest and best educated friends and family (three with Masters degrees) drive late model domestic cars and trucks.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflas...0527_888775.htm It's going to take some outstanding product and marketing to get young people thinking about Ford, GM and Chrysler the same way they think about Toyota, Honda and the other import manufacturers as we keep moving along. I tend to be a realist, and my gut is telling me that things are probably going to be very ugly for the Big 3 over the next year or two, maybe even permanently (except for Ford perhaps), but I still have a little bit of hope left. I'm down here in Texas, so I'm pretty far removed from the Big 3 stronghold area (Midwest) but I still see young people driving newer domestic cars and trucks (trust me, I have to sort of look hard, especially in the more affluent parts of town, but I do see it). The stats on California in this article are amazing. I think it's crazy here in Houston how popular import manufacturers tend to be nowadays, but whenever I'm visiting California, I'm blown away by the sheer lack of presence that the Big 3 have on the roads - it's actually uncanny to me. The Big 3 can win over young people, but they're going to have to be very, very clever about it. There's an opportunity in this to really wipe the slate clean. My 15 year old nephew likes my 68 Impala - a lot. His parents own a Toyota and a Nissan. There's mojo in the older domestic stuff - and it resonates well with young people. Take that and somehow convey the message that the new product is the best in design and character from that era, with the best of technology and innovation from this era, and it could work. I think there's a solid opportunity with the Camaro to bring a lot of 20 somethings into Chevy showrooms over the next year or so.

I like the 6 speed in my Vue, but I do think it kind of hunts a little bit more than I'd like it to if I'm going up a grade (depending on how fast I'm starting out). Also, it tends to do a little awkward "lurching" type motion at very low speeds (like when I'm stuck in slow moving traffic). Nothing too crazy, but it does feel a little sloppy when it happens. I'm 99% sure though that nothing is wrong with it, I just never experienced that in my 4 speed equipped GM cars.

I was a little surprised to see the Chevy dealer that used to be Bill Heard Chevrolet become "Classic" Chevrolet when Bill Heard went out of business earlier this year. From what I understand, Bill Heard was one of the worst dealers in the country.

I've gotten myself on some 70s progressive kicks at times. Some of the strangest yet most interesting 70s Prog Rock comes out of the UK I think, but if I can find some more US 70s Prog Rock bands I'd love to listen to them. On my iPod currently I have quite a bit of 70s and early 80s era Genesis, King Crimson and a band I discovered through XM Radio a few years ago called Gentle Giant. I do have some Kansas too.

Continental Airlines

Interesting to see that Lexus fell harder than Caddy - and I mean a lot harder. If you look at the numbers for April, Cadillac sold almost the same amount of cars as Lexus, with fewer compelling models (okay, with only 1 real solid compelling model, the CTS). Might not mean much, but I've always viewed the success of Lexus as the real tell all sign of how good Toyota is at pulling the wool over people's eyes.

So this was probably a day or so after I bought it and I took it over to my parents for photos. For some reason I didn't look very happy. hahahahaha! What's interesting about this next one was that many years later I ultimately ended up driving that GMC Jimmy that was parked in front of the Camaro in the photo. When I got the Jimmy from my Dad (for painting his house) it had about 75000 miles on it. I ended up putting about 70000 miles on it myself before it got ruined during Hurricane Ike. I wish I had more pictures of this car at my house, but I have no idea where they would be. This was my 1988 Cutlass (it was a hand me down from parents). This was taken during college when I drove it in the mid 90s. Yes, for one year I was the proud owner of a brand 1997 Thunderbird LX 4.6L. That car was actually really nice when it ran. I had it back at the Ford dealer so much that I think I drove Taurus rental cars that year more than I drove it! I ultimately traded it in on the Camaro. The Camaro on my awesome road trip from the fall of 99. On the way back down into Texas I drove straight down I-25 and stopped off at Truth or Consequences, NM to take a break. I'm surprised I even had this photo in the box of huge mismanaged photos that I have. This was my folks 1986 Pontiac Parisienne that they bought brand new in 1986. I drove it for one year in high school (11th grade I think). It was a Brougham with wire wheel covers, fender skirts, etc, etc...I believe it was fully loaded. I want to say it was also ordered with an optional heavy duty radiator and a better gear for towing, but I'm not sure. Some of you Pontiac fans may be able to tell me if that was even available, but I remember thinking that car had it. It was actually a pretty fast car believe it or not. I thought I'd throw this one in for fun. It was my Mom's car. My parents bought it brand new in the summer of 1992 while I was still in high school. Needless to say I was very jealous. It was a 5.0L V8, but it was only an RS. I remember being a little baffled that my Dad didn't get the 92 Z28 Convertible (still a 5.0L) but with the better injection system (the 5.7L was not available in the Convertible that year).

I know, this really blows man. GM has already essentially given the full size luxury car market to the imports by starving Caddy and Buick of a proper, large rear drive V8 car. And now, as soon as they started going back to their roots and offering a larger, more "affordable" rear drive car (G8) that appeals to a lot of true car enthusiasts, they're basically forced into killing it. Totally sucks IMO. If they were smart, they would keep the Zeta platform going and sell a proper full size RWD sedan as a Buick and a Caddy here in NA. Think about the profit that Toyota, BMW and Mercedes make on every single LS460, 7 Series and S-Class that's sold. I'm sure those cars are quite profitable. That is a market that GM basically had all to themselves before the imports really started becoming popular here. GM basically just gave that entire market away. Hey, Tim Geithner should "approve" of GM building at least one V8 powered rear drive large sedan for North America, right? After all, I read that he drives a V8 powered Lexus LS460.

So, what is going to happen to the G8? Will GM just not have a rear drive sedan in NA outside of Caddy? Will they sell it as a Buick or a Chevy? Any ideas? I'm guessing they're just simply not going to have a rear drive sedan here again (other than the STS and CTS).

It was really cool - and very, very fast. The next time I talk to him I'll have to ask him exactly what he did with that car (it's long gone now). He heavily modified it during the time he had it too (I couldn't even begin to tell you what all he did, although I knew at one point he tried to do some of the "deeper" work on the actual inside of the LS1 himself, and ended spending a lot of money having a professional mechanic fix some of the mistakes). I also remember having multiple conversations with him during those days about the differences in performance between individual stock Camaros and Firebirds right from the factory. I'd love to find that car today. I really wish I knew what happened to it. It was so fun to drive and that LS1 had an absolute amazing sound at full throttle.

I agree with Jerry on this. I get a sense that of all of the writers out there commenting on the Auto industry he seems to have the best mix of being a realist along with still having a pro-Detroit stance. I like reading his columns. GM isn't going to go away - but they're going to be a total and complete shadow of what they even are right now I'm afraid. It seems that the only way to profitability now is to shrink themselves down into a 12-15% market share company. It's a mindset that I'm sure many of the employees and especially a lot of the "old timers" in management and in labor are going to have a real tough time grappling with. They have no one to blame but themselves though for so many different reasons that everyone on this board already knows and discusses frequently.

Now I'm listening to Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats

Thanks

I'm building a model beach life guard chair on my kitchen table for this crazy cake my wife is making for a party listening to a guy called Jim O'Rourke - album is called "Insignificance".

This truly blows. I really think the G8 is awesome and probably would have sold pretty well in about a year when the economy starts picking back up. Will they sell the G8 as a Chevy now? Any speculation on that?

I think what my buddy in College Station bought wasn't the Trans Am, I think it was Ram Air WS-6 Formula Firebird. It was a black 6 speed with chrome wheels. I loved it because it had the Ram Air and the WS-6 package, but it wasn't a Trans Am. The day I bought that Camaro back in January of 99 (it was the last 98 on the lot at the dealer here in Houston), I looked at a 98 Mustang and a Trans Am. I remember the T/A being a wee bit too expensive and the Camaro being just within the realm of my budget the way that one was equipped. I do remember driving the Camaro after the Mustang and realizing that I just had to somehow come up with the extra money to have the Chevy. The Mustang didn't compare. hahahahahaha. I had my heart set on a manual (mine was a 4A), but I think because this was a 98 and they were sort of anxious to let it go, the deal just sort of worked out right. In the end I don't think it mattered much because I enjoyed the car immensely anyway.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I haven't posted it anywhere. The photo itself is going on 10 years old, but I only started fooling around with the scanner in the last year or so, so I don't think I would have had it posted anywhere other than just now. The 4th Gen f-bods truly were great cars for the money looking back on it. That car was insanely quick for it's time (even by today's standards it's super fast), and my highway mileage was very good. I thought it was crazy for GM to kill that platform back in 2002. It was a bit of a stretch for me financially in those days when I was in my mid 20s (insurance, premium gas, etc, etc), but totally worth it. I pretty much left mine totally stock other than cutting out the air box and sticking a K&N filter in it. I also used Mobil 1 oil (oil changes were a pain in the neck in that car). I didn't really drive it very hard, but a few pretty strong "runs" with some other car nut friends stick out in my mind. One run that took place on a random weekend in College Station involving a friend of mine in his then new 99 Mustang GT prompted him to go out and get a 2000 Trans Am not too long afterwards. Ah, to be young and stupid - how I miss that sometimes.