Cadillacfan

It's an interesting concept but I think GM needs to show us that the production vehicle will be as high of quality. Now, I understand the interior will never make it to production as is, but the rear-hinged doors should make it since the new Opel Meriva, a vehicle on the same platform will be offering it.

I've seen the pics of the XTS. I'm going to tell you all right now, give it at least 30 minutes before you draw your conclusions.

Uh oh...Perhaps it's better looking in person...

As for today, it was all about the Focus. I think a lot of the other automakers wanted to hold off on their big products as to not be overshadowed by Ford.

How quiet is it driving at highway speeds? Having a good deal more interior space than the sedan, one would assume that it's a bit different in the cabin.

Also: Is the rear lift gate one solid door or can you open the glass separately? How well does the lift gate protect you from the elements?

Buffalo, NY

Where specifically? Was that in Cheektowaga or Tonawanda?

Hey, we're going to have the Alpha platform so I wouldn't count out a small RWD coupe or roadster from a sub-Cadillac brand in a few years. GM's going to want to reduce the cost of the platform somehow so it makes sense that they'd try to make as many variants on the platform as they can.

I think that would've been a bad idea. If anything, I think would give GM more of a incentive to eventually ditch the Pontiac brand if they didn't do it already. First reason why this wouldn't work: GM would have to sink a lot of money into restyling each car both inside and out to make them as different as possible from each other (remember, Pontiac and Buick were sharing a dealership and they would've continued to do so). This would drive up the costs of the car and they would probably never make most of their money back. Second reason: in order to be sold under the Pontiac brand, they would have to dumb down the Astra and decontent it to keep costs down making for a less than spectacular product.

I think Buick will do just fine selling the different Astra variants since it's already trying to improve it's image among the youth.

I still think GM was right to ditch Pontiac. The brand was a shadow of its former self. Though it was showing signs of a resurgence, With the new CAFE standards and GM's massive debt (both of which lead to the premature death of the G8) Pontiac never stood a chance at truly recovering.

Well, first things first. They have to make the Aveo replacement into something desirable before they go shoving the Spark down our throats, and they already have a strike 1 with news it will be a five-door only.

Shoving down our throats?! Why is offering a new model in a growing segment equate to GM forcing us to buy something that we don't want? This is one car in a full lineup of new Chevrolet cars that vary in size. You'll have plenty of options. You DON'T have to buy it. . Some people like cars like this... I know.. it's so weird that other people have different opinions than you, isn't it? Why is it so horrible that GM's considering them important to growth of the brand? You really aren't making a lot of sense.

Honestly, I wouldn't drive anything smaller than what I've got. The Spark is ugly and Americans, as a rule, are not comfortable in tiny penalty boxes. Studies have shown that people who traded their comfortable vehicles for tiny ones as a result of the $4 gasoline spike are remorseful. If we have another spike, and people feel they are forced into these pedal cars, the result will still be the same... a bunch of unhappy owners. It is a no-win for any manufacturer.

How would you like to be in charge of trying to market something like this to Americans? Something you KNOW they do not want? It's impossible.

And Satty, please move soon. I like you when you're a smartass, but not an a-hole.

With all due respect, you don't speak for every American. If every car built required 100% public support or catered to the most buyers, we wouldn't see great cars like the Camaro, CTS-V, CTS Wagon, or the Corvette. Instead, every car would look and drive like as plainly as a Toyota Camry. I'm not saying you're wrong believing that most people would prefer to buy cars that were large and comfortable but, the reality is that not everyone can afford a $15,000 compact car or want to spend a lot of money on fueling up their car. Smaller cars, as a rule, get much better the mileage than larger cars. There are quite a few people out there who would think this is the perfect car for them. It would be a mistake for GM to not offer a car in this segment.

Personally, I would never drive a car like this and nobody is saying that GM should only be building cars like this, but it does serve the growing city car segment and people will buy it if the need it... even if they don't want to.

Okay, so apparently you can get the TSX in a neutral color, but no wood.

That TSX interior is to garish for my tastes. This Regal will blow away the competition.. but there are too many people out there who will continue to deny how much of a great car it is simply because it's a Buick.

Please discuss the possibility of a Chevrolet Spark being added to Chevy's US lineup.

I think it's a horrible idea, and an ugly little POS car.

Not everyone will like the styling of this car but why is it a horrible idea that GM wants to bring it here? Toyota and Kia both have vehicles entering this city car segment soon and the smaller Smart car is already selling pretty well. Gas prices will soar again as soon as the economy rebounds completely and people start buying again. GM's lack of good compact and subcompact vehicles during the time when we had $4 gas prices is what got GM helped lead the company to the problems it had last year at this time. Shouldn't GM be prepared?

I'm glad that this stays much closer to the Insignia than the Chinese Regal does. Some of the visual changes, although limited, managed to take away that expensive European flair of it's Opel cousin. I still hate the fact that, like the European manufacturers and the cars they import here; GM had to raise the suspension of this car in order to drive on our crappy roads in North America.

My question: What will happen to Frank Weber, chief engineer for the Volt who just left to take a senior position at Opel when it was supposed to be sold off?

Will he stay with Opel under GM or leave? I hope GM allows him to stay so he doesn't go off and develop a better volt-type car for BMW, Mercedes, or VW.

Wow, I feel really bad for all those Saturn dealers who were patiently waiting for Penske to take over. Now they're all going to be unemployed by the end of the year especially at a time where the automotive market is in such chaos.

I hope some other foreign automaker looking to set up shop in the US will step in at the last moment at least so all those jobs will be saved... but I'm not holding my breath.

For the past 5 years, I've been saying toyota is going the way of the old GM. I've enjoyed the start of the fall and will enjoy the upcoming total free fall. Remember: At first people still bought and believed in GM products.

Couldn't agree more. You'd think they would learn from past history but they're so focused on expanding and being number one, they are the new old GM.

While I'm not a fan of keeping GMC, the numbers speak for themselves. The problem of both Chevrolet and GMC offering essentially the same vehicles remains. That needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. The next generation GMC vehicles not only have to look unique, but be unique. The brand should offer something that no other brand within the GM family offers.

With gas prices expected to rise dramatically when the economy improves, GM should look to phase out either the Tahoe or the Yukon or at least move one of them on a different platform. The same goes with the Suburban and the Yukon XL. Since GMC is doing so well, it would seem more likely that Chevrolet would cut it's models and focus more on crossovers.

I think I read Penske was just looking at Renault or it's South Korean arm Renault-Samsung motors.

I definitely see a lot of Audi TT in this. This vehicle looks pretty good. Which is very rare to say of any Peugeot vehicles or any of the other French automakers which seem to be very comfortable designing extremely quirky vehicles these days.

The Buick dealership near my house has three of these out in front. Looks even more amazing in person. There certainly were a lot of people out in front looking at them too which is amazing considering it's a Buick dealership and most people under the age of 80 wouldn't be caught dead there.

I liked the M45's body more

It's ok, but the design is too busy, the front fascia is not very attractive, and I don't like the BMW M-series-like flappy ground effects.

Now that I think about it, this is the vibe I'm getting from the front

Ha! I feel the same way. Although I think the rear tail lights are less Hyundai Azera and more 1999 Mazda Millenia/ Mercedes CLS.

I'm really not digging these new generation Infinitis. Their designs are becoming very bland and derivative. The G35 was watered down and I just can't get myself to like the new FX35/45. They took a very attractive SUV and gave it a shark snout. Don't even get me started on how boring the EX35/45 is to me. This styling issue isn't just a problem with Infiniti but with Nissan as well.

Nissan was really on a roll a few years back. Now they're getting inconsistent and a little ugly. The 370Z and the GT-R are exceptions but the new Maxima has a love-it or hate-it design and the Murano is only good from certain angles and the front is definitely not one of those angles.

Ugh.. I could have gone to this! Although, we had all of those violent thunderstorms come through the area on Saturday, so I'm sure the fun would have been short lived.

I think they need to give Saturn more money for advertising. I have not seen one Astra commercial. I haven't seen any recent Aura commercials either. The only Saturn commercial I've seen is the new VUE commerical, but it's nothing that gets people to consider it over the competition.

Umm.... Zeta II?

I thought Zeta was dead?

And no V8?

That'll be a joke. And don't give me any of the V6s are powerful enough or no one will buy a V8 bull$h! either. Hide and watch. At this price point, V8s will still sell and MB and BMW will still be leaving Cadillac in the dust.

Zeta is dead only for the Impala and some other vehicles that were scheduled. Cadillac is still using it because it needs it to survive. GM wouldn't kill the platform after years and years of development. They'll probably figure out ways to cut down on the weight though.

Anyone notice it's right hand drive?

Quite a few people noticed this. If it was actually RHD and the photo wasn't reversed, GM clearly has big plans for the new Equinox. Perhaps this will replace the Captiva globally or at least be sold as a slightly smaller companion (only two rows of seats).

Though, from all that we've read about the Captiva, it's not really the best choice when comparing it with the mid-sized SUVs from the competition.

I like how GM is slowly making Chevrolet a global brand like Toyota. Sure, there will be models that are only for specific regions, but overall, you get the same type of styling and idea.

Too bad Ford can't seem to figure it out yet.

DTS.

The most recent styling update was nice, but it's nothing more then a squared-off Buick Lucerne and therefore, doesn't belong in the lineup.

It's understandable that this guy's complaining that GM didn't spend a lot on the interior, but I get the feeling that this journalist would be complaining if GM didn't bother bringing it here. This car may have a few quirks that Americans may not like, but it's better then any other American branded compact and is more attractive then all of the domestic and foreign vehicles in the same class (with the exception of the Mazda 3).

Ford is still struggling with an out of date compact and enthusiasts are still scratching their heads and wondering why Ford says it's impossible to bring the Euro Focus over but GM is able to bring the Astra over with no problem.

We all know Ford is strapped for cash right now, but you really need to spend money to make money.

Looks like something Hyundai would make.

I like this vehicle. We've all known for a little while that GMC was getting a Zeta-based pick-up type vehicle and I think most of us assumed that it was going to a Holden with GMC grille pasted on. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of effort GM put into this concept and hopefully, we'll get a production vehicle that is extremely close... if GM decides to go ahead with something like this.