G. David Felt

Funny I just saw a commercial last night here in Seattle about Fords having more trucks with over 250,000 miles than any builder in the US. They show a very old ford truck from the 40's or 50's I think that this guy restores for his father.

Over all not an impressive commercial.

I do love the Our Country, Our Truck tag line. This and the Built like a Rock are great lines about GM's trucks. Kinda why I own multiple GMC's.

Uh oh, someone call the cops! The trim from the door doesn't line up.  They better fix that for production. It looks like it might line up on the passenger side, but it's hard to tell.

Everything else looks great though:

-The cargo area looks HUGE (w/3rd row up)

-Exterior is great, even in the so-so color

-The greenish interior we saw was nice, but I think I like this black better

-Fit and finish (aside from the driver's side door wood and dash) look excellent

I wish they would have taken a pic of the rear seat, though.

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Where exactly on the drivers side does it not match up? It looks all level and matched up to me.

Last Spring while I was in Copenhagen for a tradeshow, I had bought for my wife a CTS and the dealership delivered it to her work. They pick it up and service it and return it. The Caddy Dealerships or more specifically, SandBurg Caddilac in North Seattle on Highway 99 does this as normal service and have always done this to take care of their customers. Another reason I stick with GM

Personally while this is a great engine, it would seem based on the Horsepower and Torque that GM is just keeping status quo instead of leading the way with a Class Leading Engine.

Unless they Plan to take this engine to over 300 Horsepower and 300lb Torque for the CTS. That would be class leading. But only a short time as I imagen we will need to go to 350/350 or better.

I will take a V Series Escalade. That would rock as it is perfect for us big guys that want performance but in an Auto we are comfortable in.

I bought my parents an SRX and they love it, yet while it is a Great Auto, Many people love the front end look, the blocky back end has not been well received.

many people say it is too station wagon on steriods for them. I have had two coworkers who ended up getting the FX45 as they did not like anything else out there. They did test the SRX but the back end was too blocky for them and ugly.

To each their own. The SRX is a great vehicle but needs the updated interior the CTS is getting and a bit of change in the back end. IMO

IMO this is an ugly auto. Just got back from Frankfurt and did not really see anything that got me excited except a raised Chevy Dually truck that a lady drove down the road by my hotel. I figure probably from the military. But this just does nothing for me.

Plus why does everyone feel we need an Opel rebadge here to win sales and market share. The current GM offerings are working and seems to be going in the right direction.

I'd rather see a good CVT than an 8 speed transmission, but I guess an 8 speed would have its advantages.  Want to bet Toyota turns out a 12 speed automatic by 2012?

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Drive a Dodge Caliber and you would change your mind. Worst Idea ever. My wife and sister in law was not impressed. Even my sister who drove one as she liked the look was not impressed with the RT. She ended up getting a Mazda 6 only to regret it and now wishes she had the CTS like me!

Over All just like the computer industry, those that put 8 speeds out will find lots of sales and leadership. Does not matter that it might not have a valid case for it. Yes allot of Torque and 6 speed is plenty, but the marketing message you can have with an 8 speed will outsell everyone and making money is what this is all about.

GM Must build and sell the 8 speed in Caddilac, Buick and the Vette. This is the right thing to do. Plus it GM needs to show this kind of leadership as it will truly bring in sales now and down the road.

There are some spy pics of the CTS accompanied by both last-gen and current-gen 5-series BMWs. I believe GM has realized that the size liability exists.

Do you know if GM can use Fiat's 2.4 diesel I-5? If it fits, it might be an interesting alternative for Cadillac.

How well do 520d sell int he UK? They're quite a hit here in Portugal as executive saloons, because we are taxed on displacement.

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Man I feel sorry for you, IMO it is stupid to tax based on engine displacement. Tax on the value not the size of the engine. If you can afford the more expensive auto, you should get to enjoy the engine. After all you already can afford the auto and the insurance and maintenance and what would be the gas bill to go with the engine.

Trust me, living in seattle I love, but we have way to many *&%$# Tree Hugging, Granola Munchin Hippy Enviro Nuts that have taken California emissions standards and took them status quo and made them even worse. Both Oregon and Washington thought WOW, CA is good but we can make it better and all they really did was *&%#$(@ up the process and cause more problems than it is worth.

Example, If you take a old Leaded Burning auto and put in a modern engine running unleaded, according to the NEW NEO SS of washington, you can be fined, imprisoned and your auto taken and destroyed due to it no longer being true OEM.

What morons these people are!

Heart is OK, nice but not really igniting my fire for Caddy.

Crest is awesome, I really do like this one. That is pretty hot!

Damn, Guess this means they will waste the space under the hood of the new SUV's and miss out on a butt load of sales by having the duramax in the new SUV lineup. Some people just do not seem to get it.

Just make it a standard feature now! People will love it and not want to go back to regular radio any time soon.

Never under estimate the germans, they will make fine front wheel drive tranny's.

AUTO REVIEW

2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS

'Big Gulp' on wheels for those who don't mind gas pains

PrintE-mailDisable live quotesRSSDigg itDel.icio.usBy Ron Amadon, MarketWatch

Last Update: 7:15 AM ET Aug 12, 2006

DARNESTOWN, Md. (MarketWatch) -- How you feel about the high-performance Trailblazer SS -- no, make that very high -- all comes down to gas prices. If you're in the camp that feels they're no big deal at current levels, this limited-edition SUV might just ring your chimes.

The SS means that GM's performance guys took control of the project -- and they did a lot more than just shove in a big V8 under the hood.

The first Chevy SUV to wear the SS badge packs a Corvette-derived 6.0-liter, LS2 V8 that bats out 395-horsepower and yields zero to sixty accleration in 5.7 seconds. It's tied to only a four-speed automatic, whereas rivals have smoother five and six speeds.

Yet for power buffs (like us), this one is a hoot with a seat-of-the-pants feeling that it's much faster than the stats say it is. If this really matters, look for about the Trailblazer SS to average 14 to 15 miles per gallon -- if you are good, really good, that is. See slide show.

But GM went further still, cranking a healthy dose of handling into this 4,552-pound vehicle. You actually will have to drive it a while to get some idea of how good the handling is -- far better than would typically be expected from such a vehicle.

Once your confidence is built up, you'll find that the SUV's performance suspension, refined at Germany's famed Nurburgring, is really rather spectacular. It's a far cry the old days when Detroit would simply shoe-horn a hulking V8 into a vehicle and hang the handling.

Inside our test truck, options galore included heated leather seats. We felt that the design of the interior looked a bit dated, but the controls were generally easy to figure out.

It came with $11,770 worth of options, putting the bottom line at a hefty $40,305. Major items included the $5,195 SS package, for which you get the big V8 as well as all-wheel drive, a limited-slip rear axle, performance seats, and nice-looking polished cast aluminum wheels measuring 20 inches and with six spokes.

Again, if a prospective buyer isn't bothered by pain at the pump, then the SS Trailblazer is simply a gas to drive.

Comments? [email protected]

Ron Amadon is an auto writer and morning news anchor on the MarketWatch Radio Network.

Gotta Agree with totally, it really is a sweet ride, just wish you could find a 2WD only model rather than the AWD or 4x4 SS models and get a really fast fun 30K ride. Guess as the dealer said, will have to special order it. They feel everyone wants either 4x4 or AWD. I disagree. My suburban is 2wd with Posi and it is after all my customer work an SS version of what they could have done. plus it handles great off road and at the boat launch. No need for 4x4 or AWD.

So other than Toyota and GM dudes bashing on each other. Back to the thread. This does, wether it is world wide or North America only show's leadership by a company that is working to be more responsible to the world.

Leadership comes by working to build a better place for the workers, the environment and still being profitable.

GO GM!

Course being First and that Toyota does not have this yet.

Very nice, but way to Similar in my book. Their should have been a bigger seperation at birth of what they trucks look like.

As for me, I would take the GMC over the Chevy as it looks way better. The reverse of the SUV. Chevy has the better looking SUV were as the GMC SUV is just plain ugly.

Crazy, seems they are truly improving but not yet there to being the Worlds best. Keep working GM.

The GMC Is HOT, This is a Truck I could drive with the Duramax and 6 speed allison along with adding the Banks 6Gun kit. This will be a killer on all those over blown, noisy Powerstrokes and Cummings.

Go GM!!!

Now we just need an updated Smilie with these new looks.

Considering it's a LeSabre and a Park Avenue rolled into one, they should be selling about 15,000 a month.  And they need a bigger margin over the Charger, which is butt ugly while the Lucerne is pleasing to the eye.

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I so disagree with you. The Lucerne while a nice car is just another boring conservative dullmobile. The Charge is hot, this is a love or hat car. Some thing GM has yet to realize. Perfect case in Point is the Escalade, no longer a distinct hot ride, but a clear rebadge of Tahoe and Yukon. Yukon, what the hell is up with that ugly Auto. Only SUV they got right was the Tahoe. Even the Avalanche they just did a dumb copy of Tahoe. No longer distinct vehicles that will sell but a blander tho much higher quality product line.

By all merits, I took my coworker who was a nissan only owner due to his father who worked and just retired from Nissan and we test drove all 3 SUV's. He needs a larger vehicle for family, camping and towing. We'll clearly the New Yukon Denali is the one to get. Not much differant than the Escalade. Only a few items missing but much cheaper for the Denali XL over the ESV here in Seattle.

Yet the design of the exteror is butt ugly.

The only Vehicles they have right in my book are the Caddilac CTS, STS, DTS and XLR along with the Corvette, Tahoe and New Camero. The Cobalt also is a must mention for a hot ride. Other wise currenlty the new vehicles are just not that inspiring. My dad just bought a Colorado and while nice it is far short of what it should be. Interior trim is a disapointment, Exterior fit and finish still needs work.

Born and raised american in Seattle will continue to support my american companies to keep the profits here but also a strong critic as I know GM can still get better.

Last Grip, when will they wake up and put that ugly onstar / satellite antenna in the middle of the roof rather than over the driver. This truly looks like an after thought, cheap ass job done by Best buy or circuit city. This should either be center in the front or center in the rear to clean up the exterior over all apperiance.

T - Technology

O - Older n

Y - Your

O - Old

T - Teacher

A - Admires

S - Sucky

C - Cheap

I - Imitation

O - Ocassionally

N - Needs Towing.

Anyone else have a take on what these two words stand for.

hah, kind of like when you find the onion ring with your french fries. 

my cars been stalling out for no known reason lately while im driving or sometimes if i turn it off and run into the store it wont start for 5-10 mins.

of course its over 15 yrs old and 100k but ill take a radio reboot anytime. 

the worst part is trying to explain it to someone.

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This sounds like your carburator is boiling over so it vaporizes the gas and then you are having to wait for it to cool and start. Usually this is a problem with your float in the float bowl on the carburator. I would have them look at the settings or a new carb as this is not uncommon on misset floats on the carbs.

Vapor lock is another common problem with carbs on cars that run for a few minutes and then turn off and they will not start back up again till you let it sit. Again, an issue with the float in the float bowl, the jets and mixture setting on the carb.

My input on this problem I have seen on many auto's.

While I like the center stack in my Wifes CTS, how about shrinking it down. At 6'6" tall, it really cramps my legs. Even the new STS with it's center stack cramps my legs. These units seem to eat up vital interior space for us big guys.

Nice Truck,

I just wish GM would put all those ugly antenna's either in the middle of the back of the truck or in the middle of the front but not off to one side, it looks hideous like that.

These Auto's are already being sold here. There is a company in Kirkland Washington that is selling the smart cars. I see a number of them here on the east side and around Redmond.

UGLY these Coffins on Wheels need to be kept out. The last thing we need is more ugly, slow death box's. IMO

Car is very nice, the sun roof Rocks. Being 6'6" this allows us tall guys to have a sun roof, otherwise we have to delete that option.

Looks good as is. Rock on GM!

What you do not want to pay more for less from an american auto company????

Yea I stopped by as the wife really likes the H3 and we looked. I was surprised to see every H3 and H2 running from 5-10K below their MSRP. The dealership said it was Hummers Red Sticker Summer Sale.

So they had a near fully loaded H3 MSRP $35,465 stickered at $29,999. Great deals for sure and was pleased with the inside room. The test drive was very underwhelming. This thing was slower than a slug.

The H2 was nice and they had many that were almost fully loaded for $50K way under their msrp. So I have to figure that GM is doing some quite heavy discounts.

Wish they had the Duramax in the H2, I would grab one now.

Course just think how many H3's would be sold if GM would put in the Baby Duramax V6 that Isuzu has running around the world. I checked a couple medium commercial trucks out while in Japan last week. Nice Package and they really move. The H3 then would beat the competition in HP, Torque and Milage. This would be a market segment Owner.