oldshurst442

Hey Reg...

Instead of giving me a -1...when that post wasnt even directed towards you....

Therefore....

However...you should

Because...

Casa

1. I know you are that commercial. God bless you that U are still a proud American. I LOVE Americans such as yourself....Ive told you that MANY times that I RESPECT the shyte out of you!!!! And one reason being that YOU TELL IT HOW YOU SEES IT. You shoot straight!

So....what the hell happened to the Americans that I LOVED between  the 1940s-1980s and today?

This is what Im talking about:

Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best

What happened to the pride?

Why is it gone?

2. I understand why the compact car for Cadillac...

    I just dont feel that segment is worthy for Cadillac to be in....

    I have pride for Cadillac. And I KNOW that this aint the 1950s anymore and I understand that gasoline prices and displacement taxes are high in many parts

    of the world where Cadillac needs to compete in and sell...and I also understand that many countries dont have football field wide roads for huge American 

    Land Yachts to roam around in...yet I still think this segment cheapens Cadillac Prestige...

    You dont see Rolls Royce and Bentley compact cars do you?

    We saw 1 Aston Martin compact....it did not do well, did it?

I dont care where that compact car came from...

Reality is, Aston Martin DOES sell small cars

But Aston Martin's small cars are no where NEAR in the same league as a BMW 3 Series...with the sole exception of a M2 or M4...and that is only in performance measures...in quality and in luxury...the Bimmers leave a lot to be desired as compared to the Aston Martins...

And THAT LEAGUE is where I want Cadillac to be in...the Aston Martin league...

If Cadillac needs to become more Euro flavoured....I reckon they need to be more of this Euro flavour...rather than chase German econobox compact crap....

I really dont look at gauges and judge them for "quality"...

Especially in econobox cars....whether its a Focus or Cruize or BMW 3 Series and ATS..

OOOPS.....sorry....that last two cars are supposed to be "entry level luxury"....

God, I HATE THIS SEGMENT MORE THAN I DO CUVs!!!

Partly because I KNOW how pathetic this segment is and how its just a marketers bullshyte way of selling dreams to idiot poseurs that probably dont have 2 cents to rub together because they buy everything on credit and everything is on lease and NOTHING belongs to them while owning their sole to the banks while trying to tell someone that they are somebody....with lies and deceit...with fake Michael Korrs watches that are made in sweat shops and entry level econobox luxury!!!

True luxury costs money!!!

ANY Chevrolet should NEVER cost more than ANY Cadillac....with the SOLE exception maybe...MAYBE...the Corvette....MAYBE the Corvette....even then...Cadillac cars should cost MORE!!!

Im on YOUR side Casa with this and with Cadillac...I just choose to argue it differently than you....from a different angle...

M3, ATS-V, C63 AMG...

Yeah....HUUUUUGE difference when talking about compact luxury personal coupes/sedans....be

Maybe U should have said that...as THAT is the ONLY way I could accept U not giving a shyte what your passengers say when they ride in your M3/ATS-V/C63 AMG...

Because THOSE versions are all about THE driver....

The more plebeian versions....well, they are designed to haul...people..."in luxury"....in "ENTRY LEVEL LUXURY"....

Thanx for acknowledging where I was getting at when I quoted you with my rants afterwards...even though it took CCAP to get the gist  of things and while U decided to quote him and ignore me....

Ill take that anyway U present it....Victory is all mine!

U know....clown suit and all....

PSS:

Ive said this before...

It aint this car that led the Cadillac resurgence in the late 1990s...

It really is this car

And its NOT looking back!!!

Cadillac DOES make GREAT products now....

It aint ONLY SMK that is blinded by German "engineering"...

The problem is...how does Cadillac reverse that trend?

Personal luxury coupes like these?

PS: on the track stuff, people dont care!!!

Or like a REAL personal luxury coupe...

Because the little bullshyte cars have NOT moved the needle....

The 'Tweener CTS Sedan did, not the coupe....and the current CTS is a confusing proposition...

All this time....it was a 3 Series fighter, now its a 5 Series fighter...

Its Confusing for Cadillac guys, let alone normal douche bag Audi and BMW guys...

And....dont give me times have changed BS...

While times have changed from what was THE car to own...

...all of a sudden...the times have returned where Cadillac took a right turn at Alburque...

This being the right turn...

And while Cadillac FINALLY got it RIGHT!!!

The people dont want sports sedans anymore...

Even BMW ACKNOWLEDGED it...

But BMW's "M" has weight behind it....and BMW plays to its strengths from time to time...

Cadillac too...plays to its strengths from time to time....but not nearly enough...

Cadillac needs these PRONTO!!!

And there is NOTHING ELSE to say about it!!!

You guys could bitch, whine and find excuses for the ATS...its a failure because THAT is NOT what the people want from Cadillac....

Call it CT3 and make it bigger....people WANT a CADILLAC...not a CT3...

If that means real names with real sheet metal....so be it...

I hope JDN know what he is doing...

Volume sub ATS cars better NOT fail....because I have a feeling, this is the end of the road for Cadillac if JDN's current plan fails....

CT8 is moth balled....

THAT is NOT good news from where Im standing...

People want to see a CT8 so they could drive off in there CT3 DREAMING about a CT8....but if a CT8 does not exist?

What do people dream of owning Chez Cadillac then in being inspired to own a CT3?

The latte shop in NYC is NOT that answer...

TESLA accomplished in a relative short 5 years what Cadillac has being trying to do with Allante since 1990...

I aint gonna acks Casa nuthin'.

I don't give a shyte what BMW does with their models....

I do care what Cadillac does wit ders...

Cadillac hit a sweet spot in size with 1st and 2nd gen CTS all to piss it away....

BMW grew their 3 Series to COMPETE with the CTS of old....

Cadillac BEAT the 3 Series and Casa and Cadillac don't even know it!!!

The ATS is what the 3 Series was...and what is that?

Well, acks Casa what HE thinks of the old 3 Series...and THAT is what the ATS is...

There shouldn't be ANY excuse for the ATS....

Who gives a phoque what the BMW 3 Series did or does???!!!

What Cadillac does concerns me!!!

Oh and Drew...

A personal coupe or sedan is a bigger car than a former 3 Series or ATS...

A former 3 Series car is a compact sports sedan.

THAT is what the Germans do...or did.

Personal Luxury is what Cadillac did...

And should enter that market again...

Casa mentions that a CLS also has crappy back seat space...well...the CLS is a PROPER PERSONAL LUXURY SEDAN/COUPE...

A 4 Series Grand Coupe is also a GREAT and PROPER PERSONAL LUXURY CAR...

An ATS is what an old news 3 Series car was....

The CURRENT 3 Series car is what an OLD CTS WAS....

Its too bad that Cadillac abandoned that market in favor for an old news market...

You know?

Cadillac needs volume cars too.

Yet, who the hell wants a Cadillac when Cadillac has NO quality PERCEPTION cars?

Who is gonna fork over money  for a reasonably priced Cadillac when many dont view Cadillac as a "gotta have it" brand...

BMW and Audi and Mercedes could get away with craptastic compacts because all 3 Germans have this brand cachet thing going on...so a CLA and a BMW 2 Series and a Audi A3 sell....Maybe Audi a tad less then the other compacts...

But Cadillac....has NO car to be coveted by ANYBODY....

The Ciel, The Sixteeen and the El Miraj were DREAM cars that were only for show....yet THESE are the cars that woooooooed the people...

Showing  non-existent show cars and then trying to sell ATS models is NOT the way to build lust....

Cadillac NEEDS to build that LUST car in order to sell the volume cars....

Porsche....succeeded in selling the volume cars, because they already have the lust cars...

Cadillac phoqued up with the lust car in the XLR....going back to the Allante as well...

Cadillac needs to build up to that again, I understand that, but...an ATS/CTS, V or otherwise and a CT6 are NOT what the people lust over at Cadillac....

What to do?

Hopefully JDN has a clue....

But a Starbucks Cafe lounge thing in New York City is NOT that answer either!!!

 

 

I have also said probably 100 times, I don't think the ATS back seat hurts sales.  Even the smallest trunk in the class probably isn't hurting sales.  The car has other problems that hurt it, and the badge and marketing are bigger issues than the back seat.  

 

Case in point, the CLA has an even more useless back seat than the ATS, and the CLA outsold it last year.

i think the rear seat hurts the sales with traditional Cadillac base.  You still have a lot of those people you need to sell to.  Those who grew up believing luxury meant a basic minimum amount of comfort / space.  I hear people take pot shots at how small the ATS is when i go to the auto shows.  We all tried to hide how much the rear seat problem hurt the outgoing Malibu and now look at the awesome press its getting for correcting a primary flaw.. interior SAE measurements always mislead.  The ATS is plagued by many of the same typical GM rear seat packaging problems where the front seat is too low, the hardware is intrusive, and the floorpan (probably due to where the bracing is) has pitifully small actual footwell areas.  Couple that with narrower greenhouses, fighter plane diving rooflines, ridiculously small and narrow door openings, and tank humps that stick out forward of the actual seat itself, even for the smaller, wedging yourself into an ATS backseat requires gymnastics training and inspires claustrophobia that an MRI tube could match.

 

The ATS is the classe of car that one buys and has to show off to coworkers.....where you bring coworkers to lunch here and again.  You're going to have the occasional 6 footer back there.  I can't believe the high level execs at GM let that pass and go to production.....grounds for firing IMO when they should have demanded all of that be reengineered for more space.

 

GM can't punt on these packaging issues very much more.  If anything it shows piss poor engineering, can't meet structural demands and preserve ample space at the same time.  They make a sturdy frame for the car to ring the 'Ring......but then its so overbuilt and bulky that there's no back seat space to indulge co workers in a chauffeur drive.

 

 

 

Hold up.. Show off to co-workers?? There is nothing aspiring about owning one.

 

Furthermore the idea that piss poor engineering is present due to an INCH less legroom in the rear sounds ridiculous. In fact.. the legroom of the ATS is only an issue NOW.. because the segment leader decided to go bigger. The 3Series is suddenly a family car.. which means that anything not sized exactly like in interior dimensions is lacking in engineering kno-how? Preposterous!!! Even worse is that people are supposedly buying these cars so they can "indulge Co-workers in a chauffeur drive"   Its a non-issue because again.. the boys at Cadillac , like the boys at Chevy heard your whining and are making the change to mimic the size difference of the 3series. I fully believe that they will be capable of doing it while retaining the weight and handling superiority. 

 

 

 

For the last quote, Casa has a solution....he gives no phoques for what others think of the back seat area and they could all walk home for all he cares....

To me...that is just trying to save face as he knows Cadillac flubbed the ATS in that area.

The ATS is still a 4 door sedan, meant to carry....passengers.

 

I was ALWAYS hard on the Bimmer 3 Series and the Audi A4 for them being claustrophobic  compacts selling at such high prices because sheep bought them....I aint about to go soft just because Cadillac copy and pasted that formula for the ATS...

For the Malibu it was worse, because the Malibu is a  FAMILY hauler with not much family space hauling aspects....

 

 

 

Listen Bud.. U don't kno me.. so stop thinking that U kno my mind. The truth of the matter is that I really could give a rat's ass about passengers comfort level in the rear of my car as long as I'm comfy in the front. Same thing for what choice of music I choose when they get in.. I'm listening to what I want.. if they don't like it.. put their earbuds in and turn it up to 10.. cause I'm blasting my $h!. 

 

The ATS's supposed size issues in the rear will be taken car of after all the bitching from people who probably can't buy anyway so what's your issue? The CT3 is a relaunch of sorts and will rise on the back of a car that won quite a few awards with exception.. to the all important.. back seat one. Cause suddenly.. U lonely mofos have so many friends to tout around that U are trying to stuff them all in the backseat.. of a compact car   

 

That is all cool and all..YOU are THE quintessential  Cadillac customer that Cadillac NEEDS to cater too...

Remember this commercial?

OK then....U know what is phoqued up?

Cadillac trying to sell COMPACT CARS!!!!

What are U smoking to tell ME that U dont give a shyte about anything and anyone yet U want to own a toy car like an ATS???!!!

Cadillacs are big, brash....

And THAT is how people want them!!!!

Hell, even the XTS outsold the ATS and the CTS...

I KNOW the CT6 will do fine, just because its a BIG Cadillac...but it could have used more brashness...

As far as the competition goes...

Dont U think that when the 2nd generation CTS hit the streets, and was quite successful, did BMW decide to enlarge the 3 Series?

Cadillac, I believe, started a trend with a BIGGER back seat....

Yet you too Casa, are too BLIND to see that a small back seat was NEVER ideal...

'Twas Cadillac that started THAT trend, only for Cadillac to take 2 steps back, because Cadillac marketers FOLLOW instead of LEAD...

Cadillac was too STUPID to realize that THEY are the ones to START a BIGGER back seat in COMPACT LUXURY cars....

Also....SPACE is a LUXURY that EVERYONE COVETS and EVERYONE has the SAME definition for...

Many may not like wood, or chrome....

However, SPACE is a LUXURY that EVERYONE WANTS EQUALLY....

And...ironically...CADILLAC is the ONLY top tier LUXURY MAKER that has built a REPUTATION on...SPACE...

Starting with Cadillac V16s of the 1930s to El Dorados in the 1950s and 1960s to the 60 Specials that started the bigger is better trend of American Luxury to the Escalade ESV of today....

So...please, dont try to justify a toy car ATS...

Yes....Cadillacs are cars to be chauffered in...

En Espagnole....but pictures say a 1000 words...

 

 

 

 

 

More specific to the ATS, is Cadillac touted the weight savings as the big selling feature of the car, just like they did with CTS, just like they are now doing with the CT6.  But none of those 3 cars sell well.  It is like Cadillac thought if they build the lightest, best handling car then it will be a sales winner, and forget to finish the rest of the car.  Meanwhile, the Escalade which has zero weight saving measures or handling abilities outsells the ATS and CTS.  They need to re-examine their forumla for building cars.

 

 

 

What I put in bold is U being FULL OF $h!. Cadillac didn't tout the weight savings as a selling point.. they touted the handling capabilities due to lighter weight and chassis engineering as a selling point.

 

The Escalade is an established vehicle in a segment that quite frankly it pretty much established. Even tho it was no the first (Nav) it was the one that became the icon way early on. ATS is brand new.. 1st generation. CTS literally segment jumped. Neither have all the variants that the competitors have either. From a sales point of view.. that could.. and I kno it seems crazy.. effect sales. I mean walking into a Cadillac dealership to buy a convertible ATS and not finding one could push that buyer to go over to BMW. People like U need to stop being stupid. My patience is thin

 

And I have said for years Cadillac needs more models.  Why is there no ATS and CTS convertible?  They got a Camaro convertible out pretty fast, same chassis.   Cadillac is like GM's step child that never gets what it needs, because they are too worried about building more Buicks.  Buick got a convertible, Buick has 3 crossovers.  Cadillac 1 crossover, 0 convertibles.  That is a joke.  Cadillac doesn't have a sports car above Corvette, yet BMW, Mercedes and Audi all have $100k+ sports cars.   And why, some GM unwritten rule that nothing can be faster than a Corvette.   They'll put a supercharged V8 in a Camaro, why not make a 600 hp ATS-V with all wheel drive, 10-speed automatic, awd and launch control.  Where is the V8 full size sedan at Cadillac that was teased back in the Ed Whitacre era, the full size V8 coupe?  We got the 4-banger CT6 instead, and the El Mirage, was in fact, a mirage.

 

Cadillac is lost, makes me wonder how close they were to the chopping block back in 2009-2011......

 

A4 may not sell much but Audi sells a lot of A3's now too...and Q1's, Q3's, Q5's.....

 

XT5 should help Cadillac get back to something but they need 3 more crossovers pronto and then i think also get the sedans figured out.

 

Looks like Jaguar and Volvo have come back from the dead and maybe the only hope for Cadillac to come back is to send the entire operation to an overseas country to fix it.

 

I read earlier in this thread that Cadillac listened to the traditional buyer for too long.

While I agree to that, Cadillac has also IGNORED one type of traditional buyer too..

And if they actually produce it one mother freakin' day, Cadillac will INSTANTLY re-acquire what they one had....

And the car in question is along the lines of a Ciel, El Miraj....Sixteen.

That is TWICE that even Jeremy Clarkson on his show praised and WANTED Cadillac to produce these cars....

The Sixteen first then the Ciel.

Listen to the episode...all what James may says with Jeremy is ALL THE QUALITIES that people ASSOCIATE CADILLAC WITH...which ironically, the Escalade oozes, which is also the one vehicle that people lust over at Cadillac...

Better than a Bentley is what Jeremy said about the Sixteen...

While SUVs and CUVs are the CHEAP way to sell VOLUME....cars like a Sixteen, Ciel, El Miraj are the REAL way to people's hearts...

Stinkin' Rich MoFos  ALL OVER THE WORLD are WAITING on Cadillac DESPERATELY to build such a vehicle....

THESE are the REAL traditional Cadillac buyers..the stinkin' rich asshats that give no phoques about anything and anyone....THESE folk are what Cadillac needs to focus on....

Proof?

Well, the Hummer brand is long gone...

The Hummer H2 sold just as equally well as the Escalade, maybe even better...

And we all know who bought those Hummer H2s, self indulgent pricks with too much money too spend.

And lets be honest, the H2 was as luxurious as a seedy motel on the outskirts of Las Vegas where one goes to bang a 2 dollar whore...

The Escalade after the H2 was gone just took off like a bat outta hell...and let us not forget...same Chevy platform for both....to this day....

Imagine what a REAL Cadillac engineered and luxury laden Sixteen AND Ciel AND El Miraj would do for Cadillac's  image....

Sure XT1 and XT2 and XT3 and XT4 is needed for volume....

But Sixteen and Ciel....and DONT call them CT8/9....is needed for....PERCEPTION...

CT3 and CT5 and CT6....that is little league baseball...

Keep the CT3, CT5 and CT6 for volume, but the REAL cars JDN needs to focus on are the REAL Cadillacs people are waiting upon...

One step at a time I guess...

Just my opinion.

 

I have also said probably 100 times, I don't think the ATS back seat hurts sales.  Even the smallest trunk in the class probably isn't hurting sales.  The car has other problems that hurt it, and the badge and marketing are bigger issues than the back seat.  

 

Case in point, the CLA has an even more useless back seat than the ATS, and the CLA outsold it last year.

i think the rear seat hurts the sales with traditional Cadillac base.  You still have a lot of those people you need to sell to.  Those who grew up believing luxury meant a basic minimum amount of comfort / space.  I hear people take pot shots at how small the ATS is when i go to the auto shows.  We all tried to hide how much the rear seat problem hurt the outgoing Malibu and now look at the awesome press its getting for correcting a primary flaw.. interior SAE measurements always mislead.  The ATS is plagued by many of the same typical GM rear seat packaging problems where the front seat is too low, the hardware is intrusive, and the floorpan (probably due to where the bracing is) has pitifully small actual footwell areas.  Couple that with narrower greenhouses, fighter plane diving rooflines, ridiculously small and narrow door openings, and tank humps that stick out forward of the actual seat itself, even for the smaller, wedging yourself into an ATS backseat requires gymnastics training and inspires claustrophobia that an MRI tube could match.

 

The ATS is the classe of car that one buys and has to show off to coworkers.....where you bring coworkers to lunch here and again.  You're going to have the occasional 6 footer back there.  I can't believe the high level execs at GM let that pass and go to production.....grounds for firing IMO when they should have demanded all of that be reengineered for more space.

 

GM can't punt on these packaging issues very much more.  If anything it shows piss poor engineering, can't meet structural demands and preserve ample space at the same time.  They make a sturdy frame for the car to ring the 'Ring......but then its so overbuilt and bulky that there's no back seat space to indulge co workers in a chauffeur drive.

 

I AGREE TO THIS REG 100%

These quotes here is what MANY GM die hards will ignore and/or cover up and make excuses for:

I hear people take pot shots at how small the ATS is when i go to the auto shows.  We all tried to hide how much the rear seat problem hurt the outgoing Malibu and now look at the awesome press its getting for correcting a primary flaw.. interior SAE measurements always mislead.  The ATS is plagued by many of the same typical GM rear seat packaging problems where the front seat is too low, the hardware is intrusive, and the floorpan (probably due to where the bracing is) has pitifully small actual footwell areas.  Couple that with narrower greenhouses, fighter plane diving rooflines, ridiculously small and narrow door openings, and tank humps that stick out forward of the actual seat itself, even for the smaller, wedging yourself into an ATS backseat requires gymnastics training and inspires claustrophobia that an MRI tube could match.

 

The ATS is the classe of car that one buys and has to show off to coworkers.....where you bring coworkers to lunch here and again.  You're going to have the occasional 6 footer back there...

 

GM can't punt on these packaging issues very much more.  If anything it shows piss poor engineering, can't meet structural demands and preserve ample space at the same time.  They make a sturdy frame for the car to ring the 'Ring......but then its so overbuilt and bulky that there's no back seat space to indulge co workers in a chauffeur drive....

 

For the last quote, Casa has a solution....he gives no phoques for what others think of the back seat area and they could all walk home for all he cares....

To me...that is just trying to save face as he knows Cadillac flubbed the ATS in that area.

The ATS is still a 4 door sedan, meant to carry....passengers.

I was ALWAYS hard on the Bimmer 3 Series and the Audi A4 for them being claustrophobic  compacts selling at such high prices because sheep bought them....I aint about to go soft just because Cadillac copy and pasted that formula for the ATS...

For the Malibu it was worse, because the Malibu is a  FAMILY hauler with not much family space hauling aspects....

Agree with Drew...would be wise to get the plan if you bought it...

 

Most of these bad boys get leased anyways....not sure if I'd buy one used anyways. The 3.6 is very hard of oil, and most owners barely get the oil changed. That, and they suck gas....there are 2 of these monsters on side side of my family alone! They hold up well for those who care for them though...

They do hold up well from those owners that actually take care of them.

My partner's wife's 2006 GMC Acadia was bought the first year it came out, its still going on strong and she loves it to death.

He...has bought recently a Tesla Model S, she....refuses to part with her GMC Acadia.

 

It doesn't matter if 90mph is normal for a Zafara driver, just the fact that it can do it is enough. An insignia driver, certainly can be doing 90 regularly.

I've driven on the autobahn a number of times. In the free zones with no speed limit, anything under 80 and you'll get run over.

That sounds like my kind of highway.  

 

I got it now....

The fact that the car is capable of achieving 90 mph regularly is of concern to the German Government..yet I also understood what you previously said about the necessity for the shutdowns for the engine to be protected....

SMK...that is a tad different than what VW has done...

So...as it stands, its only VW and Audi with a smidgen of Porsche (VAG--short for vaginas) that has cheated...

As for the "my kind of highway" statement...

It would have been my kind of highway too...

Unfortunately where I come from, drivers are too self centered for those kinds of speeds with no end in sight as our Quebec society does not teach proper driving ethics and proper driving skills and our government lets infrastructure  deteriorate  before repairs are done....and the politicians dont have the hindsight to engineer the logistics and the technology to sustain the safety and the upkeep for the entire system to succeed which includes on ramps, off ramps to joining other highway systems WITH a speed limit, rain drainage, snow removal, banked corners for higher speed sustainment, fast accident removal and ambulance accessibility and traffic flow redirection and direct/live communication etc...  

If any one of those things are not executed with perfection, major daily fatalities will happen.

The Germans may be known for over engineering things, but they are also known for being meticulous in their engineering for the little details...and the autobahn highway system works so well in Germany because of all the little but extremely necessary little details involved.

Im sorry for the rant.

I felt I needed to clarify  the  LADDY FREAKIN DA  youtube link I did....even though it was a joke I wanted to make sure that you guys know that I have the utmost respect for the German engineers (civil and traffic engineers and others) and the autobahn.

Im not always Rock Rock 'til I drop.

Michael has got me to continue until I get enough....

I wanna be startin' something

Because the way he makes me feel right about now...he's knocking me off my feet.

With grooviness.

wooooooooooo....the autobahn...

Just kidding.

A little levity never hurt anyone.

But...would an Opel Zafira's owner be doing 90 mph on the autobahn...

Before you answer that question...because the way you responded with this quote:
 

90mph on the AutoBahn is pretty standard.

 

 

Short. Direct. To the point.

With a confidence in the tone of your typing, because I could sense your experience with Germany through the internet airwaves...

I get the feeling that yes....yes...an Opel Zafira owner as a matter of fact WILL drive his mini-mini-van 90 mph on the autobahn...

To which I have this to say...these Germans must be crazy

Yeah Drew, I thought about the same thing as you.

Not in so much detail, but 90 mph stuck to my thought process.

I kinda figured....who drives at 90 mph legally anyway and anyhow?

And at 90 mph, I assume that fuel consumption and air pollution is probably very high for any engine as compared to driving...55 mph._{(The original fuel saving CAFE speed limit in the USA.)}

I also realized that a Zafira is a mini-mini-van....so I dont think it be doing 90 mph on the autobahn either during normal usage....

But...it is what it is and like I said, if Opel's president statement is true, then he has nothing to worry about.

I imagine its become a formality for the German Government to question sentences that contain diesel and computer software "shutting off" stuff.

Anyway...let Sammy Hagar soothe us from that horrid time period when CAFE thought they were doing good.

And....FERRARI Flat 12!!!

Honestly.. I could care less how comfy someone is in my car.. if they have that much of an issue sitting back there.. they can get their asses out and walk. f@#k 'em

Well, I almost agree to that.

If its free loafing dimwits that Im transporting, then I agree 100%.

But if its my kids..sure kids tend to be free loafers too, but...hey...they are MY kids....

With that being said...I dont hang around moochers any more.....I put those freaks aside a decade ago plus when I decided to get married....

And now, its only my wife and kids in my life that Im with every single second that I can....which means, the cars that I tend to buy, need to be 100% comfortable for everybody anywhere in the car...

And hence why the 2012 Buick Regal GS lost out to the 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD...

And hence why the 2013 Buick Verano lost to the 2013 Ford Fusion.

Two sales that would have other wise gone to Buick.

I LOVED the Regal as much as the TL...the Acura did have a naturally aspirated 300 horse V6 going for it too though....I LOVE me some V6 engines sometimes...

My wife LOVED the Verano as much as the Fusion....but when discussing which car best suits her needs, she already had a Mazda 3...which was slightly less tight mind you than the Verano, we went for the Fusion instead...

One could justify the German Government's skepticism toward's this....

VW  killed it just about for everybody  when diesel and software are mentioned together....

Its up to Opel/GM to provide answers...if what Opel president Karl-Thomas Neumann said is true: "We at Opel don't have any illegal software"....then Opel/GM, himself and maybe others like computer programmers and engineers  have nothing to worry about...

I second that...Im glad you had a fine road trip.

What is this "hard stop in July on the tires as they won't pass inspection"  you mention?

Love the power of OHC, truly an amazing engine ( design )...too

Dear Mr. FordCosworth,

  Is this post a simple case of whatever monkey see, monkey do?

  I mean, it bothers you soooooo much that a poster loves pushrods that you have to reciprocate a post like a child?

  Grow the phoque up!!!!

OHC and OHV engines exist...and both do a fine job when engineers make them do those special things that they do when engineers get their calculations right..and MY statement applies to BOTH OHC and OHV engines.... and they CAN co-exist without you trolling....

I mean....can YOU exist at CheersandGears without the dumb childish responses?

You actually have a lot to offer....like Wings....but you wreck it with your trolling...just like Wings...

Do we really need to read your childish antics everytime there is a post that goes against your logic?

Because...while the ignore feature is available to all of us to use....you too, could use the ignore feature and ignore all that oppose YOUR logic...

Because, the way I figure it...why should I be the one to use the ignore feature...it seems that YOU are the one that gets irked when someone goes against YOUR logic....so logically speaking....so we could avoid childish posts....USE THE IGNORE FEATURE SO YOU DONT HAVE TO READ THE POSTERS THAT ARE OPPOSITE OF YOU...and that way, all of your posts will be insightful...hopefully...

I always liked the Allanté.

Preferably with the Northstar of course.

I much prefer the Buick version as a coupe and the Pontiac Bonneville SSE as a sedan.

and the Oldsmobile version aint too shabby either. For that time period that is....

And yes I realize that what I posted are all versions of 1987 and 1988 vintage and not of 1986...

And...I also realize that the C, H and even the K platform of that time were not the same platforms, but they were indeed related...

So...with all that badge engineering and cutting corners from that time frame with GM and that particular car in question....Id rather the 3.8 V6 rather than that 4.1 liter V8 in Buick coupe and Olds and Pontiac sedan form.

I dont want that Cadillac at all....so JEERS for me!

Hey Rougeriver...thanx for the HNIC nod...

This year....so much for Hockey Night in Canada, eh?

With that being said, I want the Saint-Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup this year!

And I much a appreciated  your story about your dad and Habs Great #9.

I got my own story about Maurice to share.

Sometime in the early 1990s, before the old Montreal Forum was dismantled, I was walking in front of it with my then girlfriend...she was a fresh conquest. When we reached the front doors, and who was walking out? 

Yup...Mr. Maurice Richard...

My girlfriend and I stopped to let the old gentleman walk by as I stood, speechless and in awe, when finally words came out of my mouth.

I shouted to her:

"DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS?"

"No." she replied coldly.

"NO???!!!" I barked back.

"He is MAURICE RICHARD!!! Just THE best hockey player to EVER PLAY THE GAME!!!"

He heard me say that to her. He looked at me, smiled at me ever so slightly, tipped his fedora hat at me and continued on his merry way.

A couple of years later, the Habs move their house to a brand new location and building, and he passes away. Im still saddened by that last part.

PS: I loved your pocket rocket reference!!!

PSS: Detroit has a great #9 of their own.

I dont have any stories about Mr. Hockey to share, but I do know he is extremely sick. For awhile now. He is still getting those Gordie Howe hat tricks....

1 goal.

1 assist.

1 fight.

Continue fighting Mr. Howe!!!

Im beginning to warm over with the styling of the R32. Its a little raw and rough around the edges styling wise as where The R33 and R34 have dialed it in.

Like I said, the R32 is slowly captivating me. I saw a couple of them over the week-end and they...look good. Id say as good as a GM G-Body from the 1980s. A tad less refined and stylish, but very comparable.

The R33 and R34 are just superbly done...

Performance wise as well as styling design!!!

The GT-R...I NOW find it ugly.

When it came out...what? A decade ago?  I liked the styling....liked...not loved....the design did not blow me away, but it was...likeable.

Over the years though, I fell outta love with...

1. I realized that its a HUGE car...muscle car proportions. Usually I dont have a problem with that, however, the GT-R IS kinda the continuation of the SKYLINE bloodline...INFINITI G35 aside, Skylines are smallish Japanese flavoured muscle cars...

The GT-R is a....well...its a start of something new...I could respect that too....HOWEVER...

2. The car is too digital for my tastes...too Playstation 4 Grand Turismo 6 for me to respect it. Its fantastic for what it is. Not my style is what Im saying.

If I want a big car, a muscle car, Id just get the biggest baddest muscle car there is...a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Its the real deal. I dont care if the Hellcat aint as fast or doesnt turn the corners as well. It does the one thing I want it to do FLAWLESSLY...and that is it being one bad ass ride. A REAL muscle car ride. Complete with a big honking loping V8. You cant say that with the GT-R...

3. The GT-R is soooooo digital...its impressive actually, however, hell will NEVER be unleashed unless the GT-R's GPS acknowledges its on a racetrack.. With the Hellcat, Satan is riding shotgun with you at all times.

I do have to say though, if Nissan does decide to electrify the powertrain on the next gen GT-R, then it would definitely  befit the persona of the car, its all electronic performance anyway...its a personality trait that I could start respecting the GT-R again.

 

Honestly, you really have to be an ignorant fanboy to argue pushrod is better than OHC. Period.

 

Honestly, If one REALLY wants to be honest about it.....

One has to weigh all the positives and all the negatives of BOTH and one has to consider what is his engineering requirements before one makes a conclusion...and not a conclusion of what argument  of which is better than the other...but a conclusion of what works BEST for YOUR ENGINEERING REQUIREMENTS....

 

When one does not look at it that way, one is ignorant no matter what type of fanboy one is...

I dont want to insult you or nuthin', but that what you just spew ......was one ignorant statement.  PERIOD.

I know one thing buddy...

That pushrods work damn well for Chevrolet...in the context that Chevy uses them!!!

 

 

Hell...it even works DAMN well for Dodge

 

and the Hellcat for what Dodge wants it to be...

 

 

 

And if you want to deny any of that...

Ill just redirect you to YOUR comment.

 

Honestly, you really have to be an ignorant fanboy to argue......