PurdueGuy

I completely agree, but I don't think you can say that Opel wouldn't work in the US because Opel as Saturn didn't work. Each approach comes with a different set of customer expectations. That said, I think it's a bad idea for GM to have another brand in the US when they just worked so hard to get rid of some, but I also think this whole thing is pure speculation and GM just wouldn't do it. Buick will keep getting select Opel rebadges, and that'll be that.

I mostly like the Sonic better, except for one thing... when I showed pictures of the Sonic to a friend, they immediately said "it's an aveo!" While it certainly is the replacement for the Sonic, it sounds like they've done so much right with it that it'd be nice if it had more differentiated styling to go with the new name.

I can't see using the Fleetwood name. I prefer the "real" (non alphanumeric) names, but when I think Fleetwood, I think of an extra fat looking Deville with fender skirts. It just feels "old". I could see using some of the other classic Cadillac names, like Eldorado.

True... and that can be hard in a heavyish vehicle with only a 4. At least with the 3800SC, you can get around on the 6 cyl without struggling to keep up with traffic. Every four I drive, it seems like I have to drive them like I stole it just to keep up with traffic. From a quick google search, it looks like the juke is under 3k lbs. That's heavy for a small car, but pretty light for a CUV. The Juke is kind of in-between, as I found from some reading that it's based on a widened & raised Versa platform. There's certainly no lack of power for the size & weight, and while driving in a way that keeps it out of boost will result in sluggish driving, that's what you're going to be doing around town anyway.

I wouldn't be surprised if early on they did give it away, until it became a really notable cost to them. Early on when actual use of the chargers is semi-rare, they may just take the hit for the green image. But your point is still valid, electricity isn't free, and if electric cars become more than a tiny fad, there won't be many/any places to just plug in without a charge for your charge. Question becomes what the mark-up might be. Just cuz the electric company might charge, say, 5 cents per kwh, doesn't mean that a charging station will.

While I really, really don't like armorall's common super shiny greasy nasty stuff, I have had good experience with their cleaning wipes, so I'd be tempted to try that.

It's a boosted vehicle, to get good fuel economy, you're going to have to drive it in a way that generally keeps it out of boost.

So I test drove one of these today. I was out seeing what kinds of hatchbacks/wagons I could find in the $10-15k range, and the salesperson wanted to show me the Juke even though it was out of my price range. They only had one, and it was one of the apparently pretty rare FWD manual trans models. It had some extras, and was priced at about $21k. Took it down a twisty road with the salesperson, and while I didn't really beat on it, I didn't hold back either. It was a lot of fun to drive, rode quite well, and had a nice punch to it. It's not sports car fast, but it's way zippy, handles pretty well, is very easy to drive, and would be a blast to drive daily. I'm still not sold on the front end styling, but it's so much fun that I don't think I'd care if I owned one. Being a tightwad, however, I won't be buying one. Plus, there are a lot of great vehicles at ~$21k.

I think platform sharing is fine if the platforms are good enough - drivetrain differentiation would be more valuable IMO. You can take a platform & put a more sophisticated suspension under it for the upper brand, etc.

At first glance, I like it. The more I look at it though, the more overdone it feels, stylistically.

*thumbs up*

Everything electronic is pretty much weatherproofed in the engine compartment anyway. Throw a plastic bag over anything major, and go at it with a pressure washer if you want. A little effort not to directly spray electrical stuff isn't bad, but it's generally not likely to cause problems. Easier to reach surfaces - it's amazing what a wet rag and maybe a little soap will do.

The larger HHR would give you more room and right now a cheaper price on a low mileage used one. The Sonic would have better MPG and a little better quality since it is newer. I would like to see them let GMPD so the tuning on this car and see what they can get out of it. No need to call it an SS or what ever but a real good tune on this car would be interesting. The graphics on the one above with brown metalic paint would sell in Cleveland as the Browns edition. Yeah, the HHR is the more useful vehicle, but I'm in a quandry where a regular HHR won't have enough fun factor for me, so I'd keep my SC2 to autocross & tinker on. Part of me wants to get an HHR SS or something else that's autox worthy and not have one more vehicle. It would also let me take a car that's vinyl'd up for my biz & advertise with it by autoxing it. Given a bit of time for there to be some used Sonics (say, late next spring), I could probably get one cheaper than a good used HHR SS.

The FWD sportback is 150hp, 2734lbs (manual trans) and is rated for 22/30mpg. That's pretty sad. Unless pretty much all users are consistently getting notably better than that, there's something wrong with this formula.

I want to like Suzuki. I've been looking to decide what vehicle I want for my biz, and have been considering pretty much any small hatchback. I thought maybe the SX4 would be great, until I saw it's fuel economy ratings. I know it's awd, but 31mpg highway for a car that small with 143hp is sad at best. Maybe I should see if there's one around I could test drive, but I'm honestly underwhemled. On top of that, you get to look forward to dealing with harder to find parts for a low volume vehicle. Seriously, for most US brands, each MODEL has to sell more than the entire Suzuki brand does to be considered to be not a complete flop.

Pretty sure I like that render better than the hatch. Bring it here!

How in the world is Suzuki still operating in the US as such low sales rates?

I agree, but it's often a blurry line. IMO the only completely clear defining feature of a wagon vs hatch is a 3rd row, which hasn't existed outside of SUVs & crossovers for quite a while that I'm aware of.

A 3 door would be hot. At any rate, I could see myself in a used turbo 5dr in a year or so for the right price if I don't go with an HHR sooner.

I generally get high 20's low 30's in the SC2 with a lot of zippy in-town driving. Personal best is 39mpg on a road trip, and it wasn't babying the car at all, I was tearing up & down a mountain pass, and enjoying some "spirited driving" on a snaking road alongside a river in the mountains.

When they go beyond using their free speech and into doing something that actually works against the rights of others. They're a screwed up bunch for sure, but to shut them up and take away their free speech is to open a path toward everyone losing rights.

Cruze wagon in the US please.

I think that custom vette is hot. Couldn't care less about the getaway though. lol

Astra

If you change Escalade to Lambda, you change the character of the vehicle, and risk defiling its image. And that's a big risk, as many of the people who you'd associate the Escalade image with may not want one if it were just a big crossover. You can take a decent selling high margin vehicle and turn it lame in a heartbeat. With 3 out of 4 brands already having Lambdas, I'd say stop now before it just becomes the same old GM, rebadging each product for every brand. (Not that I feel like the Lambdas have been blatant rebadge job, I think GM has done a reasonable job of differentiating them. But I do have doubts they can do an adequate job a 4th/5th time, and people will hold it against them even if it is properly differentiated.)