toesuf94

I am with enzl on this point: Why do the big three shoot themselves in the foot at a launch? Example: The Japanese come out with a car embracing the latest blue-tooth technology...GM not so much. The GMT-900 utes should have offered Bluetooth from the get go. Hell, every new model since 2003/04 should have had this feature standard. Instead, as a GM On-Star subscriber, I get a lesson in ebonics when I am offered turn-by-turn Nabigation, and a phone that has to be separate from my cell if I want hands free. That sucks! Before I get blasted, I am a GM die hard dyed in the wool owner...6 right now! It is inexcusable that a feature that is already standard on the Jap cars that we all sit here and bash is offered as standard equipment - or at the very least an option. This is just a small example of what I feel GM failed on - I know they can do better than the Cobalt/Canyon/Ion/Trailblazer...if not, then they deserve to loose. I realize that each of those four examples were developed at the tail end of the restructuring...if they screw up these replacements, then I shudder at the future. They had better be perfect or better. Now, back to the Toyota bashing: What I am pissed about the press not jumping all over is the fact that Toyota is experiencing a catastrophic failure of an engine component that by all rights should be the LAST thing that should fail on one of thier products and it is barely a whisper. I have heard time and time and time again how great and reliable the overhead cam 8 cylinder motors are in Toyotas...now to have a camshaft failing on a new truck that is this vital to thier world domination to me is inexcuseable. The new 6 speed tranny fails...hey, it is new. They have been building this type of engine now for YEARS...you would think that they know how to do it by now! For it to be having major failings...and if you honestly believe the cool aid that it is only 20 engines, I have an ocean to show you in Iowa! To me the press and the world should be asking this: If a component in an engine - new displacement or not - is failing - then what else is going to be breaking in areas they are NOT accustomed to...say HD Springs, Ball joints, Drive shafts, Transmissions...This is the point that I think everyone is missing. Toyota is experiencing failures that it should not be in areas that should be bullet proof. So why is noone asking what else is wrong at the big T?

http://blogs.automotive.com/6204930/miscel...what/index.html Follow the link above for an example of what is pissing off the people on a pro GM board...even on a blog discussing Toyota offering incentives on it's new truck, see how it is spun: "Our take? What's the big deal? Sometimes even we, as members of the press, get disgusted with 'exaggerations' of this brand or that. While Toyota doesn't have as many incentives as, for example, General Motors or Chrysler, it does run them, albeit more quietly than many automakers. (We still wonder, though, why Toyota priced the new Tundra so high. We're eagerly awaiting our media vehicle to see what's changed enough to justify the strategy. That, or the world's second largest automaker is banking on its reputation a bit too much.)" The Domestics always get brought into the fray when they should only be discussing the topic - which in the blog I link to is supposed to be about TOYOTA...

I brought this up in another thread. Two of my neighbors bit on the deal. One was only in his car 6 months and the pulled him ahead in his Avalon. The other guy is a camry owner that was only into his lease for a year. He went with an '07 as well. I found it odd that these two recently purchased cars would be the target of a pull ahead so soon. Seems like a great way to get low mileage trades in, but those are going to compete directly with the Rental returns that are starting to show up on the lots already. Enzl: Do you seriously feel that the Avalon is a more credible/presentable car than the Buick Lucerne? I personally have never seen a worse interior on a car since the chrome dash of the Dodge Aries 600 than the one on the Avalon. I know it is subjective, but the Buick (to me) is the prettier/ better car. And it gets better mileage to boot. And Tundra sales are in the sewer here in Cedar Rapids - I drive by the lot daily on my way to and from work...they are the same trucks sitting out front that were there last month. The GMC dealer next door cannot keep Sierras on the lot! Now that I have said that, it is time for the people of this board to stop whining. I think we are all pissed because Toyota is better at the game than the domestics are. Toyota's people are better at squashing the rumors before they start - the PR machine is hitting on all cylinders...and GM is barely even putting the gloves on to try to fight. GM cars in a lot of cases deliver BETTER fuel economy than the Japanese cars do ( and can use REGULAR GAS to do it! ) but people all have been brainwashed into thinking that Jap cars = gas mileage/ American Cars = Guzzlers. GM needs to get the fight in it's belly that you guys have here - the eye of the Tiger if you will - and get out there and bang the drums! Fight the fight and dispell the rumors and myths that are causing us to fight here on this board. The cute local adds about who has the bigger # of manufacturing plants here and Natural Gas Busses versus Prius there are not getting the job done. It is time to go toe to toe, apple to apple, and put it all on the table NOW. GM and the domestic's PR machines are getting schooled by Toyota's right now...I just hope they are learning something in the process. (Toyota didn't hire Clinton's team after he left the white house, did they?)

Willpower. Do not have it. I am up to my eyeballs restoring a 1957 Buick wagon right now, and can tell you honestly that I am still looking for a car that I can drive right NOW. Have a tempting offer on a '56 Bel Air. Still want my '86 Berlinetta Camaro with digital dash. It scares me to think what it would be like if I had disposable income...how many cars will I own!! As for the Mini Cooper S...I would love one. But I will never EVER put my kids in one. Their heads are on the back window!! The proposition of getting hit is too scary for me to have them in there. Same went for our New Beetle. Great little car. No way was I letting my kids ride in it any more. Gas Mileage be damned!

so, technically Mercedes would have the best sales month ever by selling 479,501 2006 Commanders and Rams all at once, right? I wonder if that counts as a fleet sale? In all truthfullness, glad to see that they did not have a terrible month, and I was never a big fan of the merger anyway. Cannot wait to see the Challenger back on the road again.

So where is the line where they sold $16B in debt to a bunch of Canadians? Or is that under Mercedes Benz sales figures?

Tell her! There is nothing worse than standing in your garage waxing the car 5 years from now asking yourself what could have been. Regret is a word that goes many ways: You may regret never knowing, or you may regret hurting the other guy/her. But the worst regret ever is the question never asked. The words 'What If?' have haunted me for years. Just my two cents...

Our local GMC/Saturn/Buick dealer cannot keep the Acadia and Enclave in stock...people looking for those are wandering over to the Saturn shop and picking up an Outlook. They are delivering 1-3 a day! The Acadia is flying off the lots here in Cedar Rapids. I have asked a few of the buyers and they all love the trucks and are happy to report solid 20 mpg in mixed driving. That is really quite good for such a big truck. Way to go GM...keep it up.

zero down, $169.00/month...they don't care what it is...but you are right; 'tis a $h!box.

I bet the guy in the commercial with the 100,000,000 ton cargo container hanging off the cliff is changing his drawers knowing that he was one 'metalurgical failure' from taking a bigger plunge than marriage!

The doors on the Olds weigh more than the entire Maxima! My Grandfather had two of these - comfy, quiet and cool!

oh, you are so not alone in this one. I have been searching for a cheapy unappreciated ride from late 70's to mid 80's for the wife to putz around town in. Perhaps a 79 - 81 Buick with the 3.8 turbo? The aforementioned Berlinetta Camaro is ALWAYS on my radar screen...if I find an '86 in black with t-tops and a digital dash - damned right I will buy it. I tend to stay with the RWD cars as I have never liked the FWD stuff from any maker...but might be willing to 'suffer' with a clean Trofeo... Hell, our '82 Buick Lesabre with the 3.8 would pull 30 mpg all day long when tuned up. That is a big, safe, UNSEEN car around here any more. Most were crushed long ago here in the rust belt. Good move passing on that 'bu. too rough, even for the $$$. There are better ones out there...and with gas at $3.50 a gallon, people will look past the 'big iron' that we all love for the 10 year old hyundai or Honda on the back lot. Keep a weather eye on the horizon and I am sure you will soon be sporting a proper boat from the past.

How can they stand there and say that it may only affect 20 motors? How can that possibly be? How many volume manufacturers make camshafts in batches of 80? Who are they trying to kid!!!

Sadly, you are not alone...I even go so far as to peruse junk yards when the time allows and I am in a relatively rust free area of the country...and I always cruise the lots when I am out of town. And I also hate it when salespeople get pushy, jog after your car as you drive the rows. I know you hate how they act...but do as I have done; make a game of it! See how far they will chase you on the lot. I love this on particularly hot or rainy days. They give this great look of disdain when they reach the car and get my " no thanks, just looking!" Makes it kind of fun. I only deal with places that do not have the buzzards lined up out front. If I get chased in the lot, I leave. Simple as that. Add to that the fact that I know more about the product than most of the idiots there, and I really don't have time to talk with them anyway.

Our neighbor is a Toyota guy - he cannot tell you why, he just is. He just took delivery last Fall of the new Avalon. Oddly enough - he just received a 'pull ahead' letter from Toyota Motor to move him into a Newer car! His has only around 8,000 miles on it...little early for a pull ahead? Read on! Another friend of the family had a 2006 Camry that he leased last year as a closeout. Guess what he just got - A PULL AHEAD letter from Toyota buying him out of his lease and putting him in the 07 Camry! He took the bait. I can hardly think that this is a coincidence! So, my question in this: Has anyone else seen/heard or experienced this? Is Toyota trying to move cars to boost numbers in the overall deliveries to maintain the # 1 spot in the US/ World? And is this in effect shooting themselves in the foot by lowering resale values and flooding the market with late model cars at high discounts? I have an Enterprise lot down the road that is selling ex-rental '07 Camries for $16k and change. Is this not what nearly decimated the domestics over the past two decades? So, what is your take on this C & Gers? Curious!

Nice looking car - GM would be lucky to have such a stylish auto in the line up...but BMW called...they want their decklid back! When did BANGLE go to work for Opel?

I am going to get killed for this but here it goes: The return of the Berlinetta. To include Heated leather, NAV, IPOD interface, Tilt and telescoping column, power everything, sound deadening above the Z/28 - in other words a true LUXURY Camaro. Available in either convertible or coupe and with ANY of the available engine trans combos. In other words: A Camaro that could compete with the M3 BMW, Infinity G35, Mercedes CLK...the luxury Coupes. Fast when you want it to be, but sophisticated enough that you could take your boss or a client out to lunch in it and not be asked where your mullet hair extension is. In other words, a Coupe that you could use daily...and still have fun with it. And, if by some odd chance that while at that lunch some ricer or poser pulls up next to you at the light, you can still show them your tailights! :twocents:

Stunning. I don't know if I like this or the G8 better...probably will be happy with both. Of course the G8 V8 GT will probably be cheaper. I just love how the Art and Science has grown up now...it looks crisp and refined now.

They cannot keep the old system unless Verizon keeps the ANALOG system on line - which they will not do. The old analog system is being shut off. GM has no control of this short of buying out Verizon wireless. I agree with the 'what ifs' that you posted, but the truth of the matter is: GM has no control over the carrier shutting down the analog system that carries the signal for the older, NON-UPGRADEABLE systems. The big point here is the guys car is 12+ years old. The technology passed it by. Now he needs to go buy a cell phone and leave the automaker who is not at fault (other than being a tad shortsighted) alone!

Yup! Go find one now before the rush!

In the immortal words of Sherriff Bufford T. Justice of Texas " OOOH FUAH!"

Two Words that I have not considered in a Pontiac for my entire life (besides the Trans Am) "I WANT"!

I am starting a class-action lawsuit in the spirit of this guys thinking - who wants in? It will be against Microsoft/HP/Best Buy - They sold me a computer knowing full well that it would be made obsolete nearly immediately upon purchase. I think I will ask for $100 Trillion Billion dollars. Further, I will also begining litigation against Mr. Marty McFly and Dr. Emmet Brown for the Future invention of flying cars, flux capacitors, and an alternative energy source known as a "Mr. Fusion" device that I will have to fit to all of the vehicles in my fleet in order for them to operate in the year 2015. I am seeking free installation or upgrades to each of my cars, as thier invention and use will make my cars obsolete. While it cannot be proven that they did invent such cars, they did advertise and popularaize thier use in a movie that could only be called a thin viel of an advertisement for the future. I am stating these two examples as reference to how stupid it is for a guy with a 16 year old car to expect it to run forever or for the technology in it to not 'expire'. Should all the people still driving cars with a carb be allowed to sue the manufacturers for an upgrade to fuel injection? At what point is the manufacturer no longer responsible for 'progress'?

can anyone make out which side the steering wheel is on?

I am with Big Blue on this one. Who cares. GM was # 1 with bloated fleet sales and record poor resale values because of it. As far as the quality rap that GM has had over the years - I can say that NO GM PRODUCT EVER LEFT ANY MEMBER OF MY FAMILY ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN 30 + years!. My brother cannot say that about his Toyota. We have seen the future on both sides: GM's quality is up, profits are up even with less units sold. Toyota's sales are up and recalls are at record levels. It sickens me to see so many Americans buying a Japanese car, but at least my Tahoe stands out on the road with all the me too Camry's. Does anyone else sense the jubulation in the press while reporting this? Like it was them that toppled the giant that is GM? It seems like they are so happy to be saying that the largest American company has fallen to the Japanese. Well, now that Toyota is the # 1 automaker in the world, will the bullseye be placed on them - let's wait and see.