G. David Felt

In short GM needs to focus on their strength and have a marketing company that can build the story of each divisions strengths. Chevy - Value, Built like a Rock trucks. Long lasting. GMC/Buick - Professional Grade, Luxury step up from Chevy, growth vehicles for your Growing Career. Cadillac - Luxury standard to show you have arrived. A marketing plan that would actually show how each division can help people meet their needs for their life style choices is sorely needed. I believe you can have great product and have an advertisement that covers a life style that can be addressed by the trucks, or SUV's or cars and invite people to stop by and test drive a ride that is right for them. Have the dealerships train and focus their sales people on better job of qualifying the customer and you will find more satisfied customers. Today's customers are looking for a certain life style and want to know what works for them. Perfect example is Subaru does a great job of advertising their whole company as a auto company for those living the great out doors. So even a person who might be grossly over weight and never would go out to the woods but wants this image style will go to look at the Subaru. I have plenty of coworkers who seem to fit this mold in owning a Subaru but have never been out of the city with it. GM can do a better family advertising than they are currently doing in my personal opinion.

PS4 or Xbox One, this is a battle no different than Apple versus Windows. The interfaces will be loved by some hated by others. Where Apple's Interface I find confusing, non-intuitive and over all worthless to me, I can enjoy the windows or to a lesser degree Linux better. Right now nothing really has impressed me about what I have seen on the PS4. This could change once I actually can get hands on time. XBox One I can say that many people will be really surprised just how great it is when it hits the market. Perfect? no, but Microsoft has for the last few years been using the Kinect camera's and software to map everyone on their campus to help perfect the way you interact with it. Since going in and out of the buildings, accessing rooms, etc. The Kinect is a revolutionary jump forward when it came out and again will jump ahead big time. The ability to interact with the games without having to have a control in your hands is part of the future. Sony as does WII has a long way to go to catch up. I will say that the full story is not out yet on Xbox One, Microsoft does not always do the best marketing and sharing of the details. Stay tuned as Microsoft is not done with their focus groups and they are listening to people feedback. The Xbox online experience is far superior to anything Sony has had to offer to date including keeping your profile and personal information secure. This XMAS season should be exciting for fans of either PS4 or XBOX One.

Very Cool Engine, overhaul it, turbo or supercharge it and you would have a sweet Engine

My daughter would love to have this if it came with a Volt Hybrid AWD drive-train. I actually hear from more and more people that want a CUV AWD Hybrid. I think there is great potential for this who ever brings it to market first.

Drew, While I have to agree with you that this was probably Intentional, this is to me common sense when you want to spend millions and buy up a distressed asset from a large company like GM. They should have had a better assessment of this before going in and being surprised by GM saying NO. I still believe that we will see another consolidation of the world wide Auto Industry in the next 2-5 years.

Non Issue and Spyker is grasping at straws to try and figure out how to survive in their own stupidity.

Having seen this auto at the Seattle Auto show last Nov. I thought in person the fake wood trim looked fine. My big issue is the bloody metal rings on the dash. They reflect on a sunny day into the glass and provide bad glare that will fatigue people who go on long road trips. Also I have to take issue with these MID SIZE CUV's being called Large.. They are anything but and clearly compete against the Dodge Durango mid size. SUV/CUV. Having since driven one at the dealership, I totally agree that this engine while it gets the job done is underpowered for the weight of this ride. They either need a Torquey Diesel or at least bump up the HP and Torque by 50 each. With all the safety gear being required, they are going to have to accept lower gas mileage with more power to move these beasts.

Black Knight I have to totally disagree with you in this regards as the XBOX is a very efficient system for what it does and allows and easily out does the the Phillip CD-i, Playstation or Wii. You can suck on the Linux turd of life all you want but their open source crap has still not made it the standard of the world and folks can piss all they want about Microsoft, but they built a MultiBillion dollar industry that employees millions of people generating millions of paychecks and by the way brought Standardization to an electronic device that billions now have in their home. Fact is that UNIX had it's chance in the Early 90's, I was with Digital Computer who led the way to build a standardized UI and a standardized OS based on the best of everyones version. Sadly everyone was so pig headed about who had a better UNIX that the whole project exploded and everyone built their own terrible UI that never really made a difference. Then you have the LINUX Turd. This came out with much potential, but everyone swore it had to be 100% open source and as such you now have a fragmented LINUX Turd World that will never replace Windows. Apple has come closest after multiple restarts and almost deaths of the company over the last 20+ years and still what seems intuitive to some is a mess to others. Some folks can easily work on both windows or mac systems, then you have those that are confused by Windows and finds Mac easier. Then you have the majority of people who find Windows easier and Mac a confusing mess. There is plenty of room for all to survive and operate but at this time you still only have one industry leading Giant. Microsoft's glory days are really behind them, Apple is in the midst of them now and the next big thing will be on the horizon. You can hate the company all you want, but is it really the company or the fact that you lost out on building a career and making money on the growth of what the majority find to be the best game console out there?

I agree, I think if GM was to move to a $29,995 MSRP for a base VOLT we would see far more VOLT's move out the door. $29,995 plus the gov $7500 gives one sweet ride for for $22,495. I could then see thousands of these move every month and this would drive the technology into other versions. I still believe that GM is missing a HUGE opportunity to have a Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade on this system.

Forbidden

Yet Europe just as here in the states have realized they have maxed out the potential to tax to hell the size of the engine and with more hybrids and pure electric auto's coming, moving to a system based on taxing on miles driven is a more logical way to support the highway system.

Building brand equity is a concern with GM, I agree. The Cobalt name only lasted a year before they went with Cruze (but to be fair, Cavalier did last several generations). I'm hoping that when the new Caddy flagship comes, they revive STS. People who are at least somewhat familiar with Cadillac know that STS is the car slotted above CTS. A new name would likely leave them wondering (see Lincoln). Valid points but then we need to ask is this a bigger issue of GM marketing over all as in SMK's comment, I never see advertising for the S series just the 3 series and corolla. In fact, the whole BMW line and MB line really pales in comparison as they built up the marketing as the name plate equals Luxury and as such your entry is the 3 series to BMW and C series to MB. I do not see television or print advertising for any other market segment auto except these companies SUV's. The only time I see a print / some other form of advertising for the other segment auto's is either in the luxury magazines or at specific places that only cater to the upper 1%. I would say GM needs to have a balanced Marketing approach for all models in Chevy/Buick/GMC and then with Cadillac, they market the hell out of ATS and entry CTS/Escalade and then focus the high end products to the proper 1%. This does not mean you do not occasional mix in a V edition in the background of the CTS or ATS marketing images, but I do agree that GM has run through a number of name plates recently rather than realizing how much loyalty they build up by building up a name plate that inspires confidence, quality and Reliability.

Yea, I can go for a 1 or 2 year old lease or demo unit and not take the hit in the wallet. I think I have bought my last new auto since the hit is not worth the single or two digit mileage and new fresh smell.

Nice ride, Interesting to see the Double Pedal break.

Crumple

This would be a sweet ride for you Drew. Interesting is I built both a 2013 and 2012 model on Chevy's web site and the 2012 came out $185 higher than the 2013 and this included their 4000 or 5000 discount. Then with the fed tax credit, you still end up at about 32,500 for a fully loaded VOLT. Not bad, but still need to do more I think. Hopefully it will help move auto's.

G. David Felt - Editorial Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com What will it take? Oil started the year at over $100 a barrel and now hovers around $94 a barrel. Oil may fluctuate but continues to stay close to $100 a barrel. Refined Gas production being sold overseas keeps the average consumer paying $4 plus a gallon and people continue to complain about Green House gas emissions and the lack of being able to afford the gas cost. Natural Gas on the other hand continues to increase in production keeping prices right at $4 per thousand cubic feet or about 30 cents per gallon before government tax's giving one a range from a low of $.60 a gallon to $1.85 per gallon. As one who fuels at his own house and pays 85 cents per gallon this does make one wonder "What will it take?" What will it take to get people to switch to CNG or Compressed Natural Gas? What will it take to get someone to consider buying a CNG auto? What will it take to make a dynamic shift in the type of fuel people use in the US? In today’s news there has been states making huge moves to incent residents to change their autos. Perfect example is Colorado that just renewed their credits of $6000 to go on top of the federal government’s $7500 credit. This give a resident of the state of Colorado a $13,500 rebate off the price of a all-electric, plug-in hybrid or compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Dealerships in Colorado are heavily advertising this with clear signs of let our finance department get you your rebate on your new car. According to the State of Colorado: “With the tax credits available (through 2015 currently), Coloradans would pay an additional $275-$2,400 for a PEV instead of a comparable internal combustion vehicle (ICE). By 2017, the price difference without taxes is expected to be $3,600-$11,000. The tax credit defined in this bill helps consumers to purchase cars they otherwise might not. As a consequence, they can recoup the savings on gasoline by approximately $1,319 per year, and a savings of $244 per year on maintenance costs. According to one survey, if the PEV purchase price were the same as a comparable ICE vehicle, 60 percent of consumers would consider purchasing the PEV. When that purchase price is higher, only 26 percent would consider purchasing the PEV. The financial impact for the new Colorado incentives from the tax credit extension is estimated by the state at $2.4 million in fiscal year 2012-13, $5.2 million in FY 2013-14, and $5.9 million in FY 2014-15.” Is this a wise use of state tax dollars? With 27 states and Washington D.C. offering some form of incentive, should the local governments be doing this to push consumers towards the Green revolution of autos? With North America having the largest natural gas reserves in the world, should we shun the rest of the world and make the full switch to CNG as a stepping stone to a greener country and towards pure electric auto’s some day? Currently Colorado, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina and Washington State provide some form of rebates, credits or exemptions. Nine other states offer non-financial incentives for hybrids or alternative energy auto’s. As a person who sells Fuelmaker Home (CNG) compressed natural gas fuel systems, I do have a financial interest in seeing things move to natural gas. Not only is CNG 50-75% less greenhouse gas producing. It allows auto’s to still cover long distances something a pure electric auto is incapable of. They burn so clean that the engine itself has a much longer life give one to have to change oil less often, the maintenance is much lower on a CNG auto. I do admit the upfront cost tends to scare some with the basic home fueling system running about $5000 installed. Yet with 257 million auto’s on the road with average age of 11 years, one looks at close to $30,000 in fuel cost over 11 years versus $4000 for natural gas based on an average 15,000 miles driven. So is the estimated $21,000 dollars savings not a good enough reason to move to natural gas on top of the up to two thirds less greenhouse gas production? So this comes back to my original question, what will it take to change America? Sound off on your thoughts about this area of the auto industry? View full article

SWEET, Pics Please once you get the new baby!

I agree with ZL-1, they seem to have forgotten that Chevy is a value brand get your foot in the door not a luxury brand. Personally I think this vehicle as packaged right now is about $5000 too much. Yes I know some would say everyone else is in this price point, but still I think these mid size sedans are over priced for what you get.

Dink

Which begs the question... do you believe that GM will be able to render a better Turbo 6 than BMW is putting in the new M3? FYI, by starting with a conventional V6 the GM engine already has some disadvantages -- not being able to use one larger turbo instead of two smaller ones for greater efficiency and responsiveness, not being able to use a sequential twin-turbo setup efficiently because the exhaust exits from both sides, etc. On the other hand, GM already has a V8 engine that is better than BMW's Turbo 6 or Turbo V8s. Better as in -- lighter, smaller, similarly powerful, no turbo lag, no less efficient and cheaper to build. To not use it in the ATS-V will be like folding a pair of aces in a poker game when the flop has no pairs and is not a flush magnet. But then, people have been known to do that... LOL I agree Dwight that I would rather have a naturally aspiration V8 over Turbo anything as I have not seen solid long term reliability in the Turbo it to the moon world of 4 & 6 bangers. I think the ATS V can do better with a V8 than a bi-turbo V6. Yet Europe's Cast control system of taxing on Size makes that hard to do for a global car. BMW has sold the world on their Turbo system and as such the Lemmings Marketing people are just following along and have sold GM executives that this is how they have to go. Yet GM could have broke new ground by using a proper V8 with 8 spd tranny and done a creative job of marketing to show that this is the better way to go. At this point, the direction is set so it will be interesting to see how it falls out. If the Bi-Turbo V6 shows itself to be reliable and hold up to abuse, then Caddy will have another winner on it's hands. I personally want the V8, but then the ATS is not built for me, but the average 5'8" tall person as it fails the interior test. I cannot sit up straight in the car and no one can sit behind me so it is not useful as a 4 door sedan.

Good to see holden has a future.

OUCH, that hurts, no wonder I did not get flamed. Glad to hear it was only 30hrs of posts lost.

Bondage