turbo200

it's possible the regal and lacrosse base pricing situation will create demand at fleet levels...however all the signs we are seeing are pointing to a more disciplined GM in the making. it would be nice to see generic models created for fleet sales, compact, mid, and large....there goes your names, and call them chevrolets to further publicize the brand. all that being said, recently a report said GM would limit lacrosse production in order to retain value in the brand. if any brand should have fleet models it should be chevy, and it should not be mainstream models where fleet sales can hurt resale. if any fleet sales should be buick or cadillac they should be true luxury models reserved for higher price brackets at the local enterprise. all that being said and hoping GM is aware of this... regal should be priced at the $24k-$38k price bracket. this is a way to retain former lacrosse buyers who bought the car at discounted rates in the lower 20's. in addition, holding the line on pricing this way guarantees a true premium step up from a similarly sized Malibu. correspondingly, quality must be high. it's good the insignia design is very likeable, exterior-wise, and represents luxury well. they should hurry the insignia/regal to market by early next year, to capitalize on any buick buzz. insignia opc HAS TO COME HERE, at least for enthusiasts. what an awesome car, and what a way to continue redefining the buick brand. decontent the equipment, make it affordable, don't make a malibu SS [unless it's a decontented LNF 2.0 6 spd], and market it with a desirable performance name. GNX has cachet and a nice ring to it. the name should sound good, like OPC or SS.

where can i catch full episodes of top gear? [aside from bbc] just got done watching clips of the cts/vette reno trip, want more.

for a very long while, I have felt decommissioned, physically ill, down and out, oppressed. for better or worse, i don't go to doctors when this sort of thing happens. i take it as it comes and don't come to harsh conclusions one way or another. there are other things i attribute it to. the good thing is i think it's starting to turn around.

very nicely put. in order to cover some of it, we first endure self-discovery and self-analysis....both of which are rarely ever a bad thing. it's unsettling to go on ignoring, but even those who believe they are ignoring soon enough discover what's around them is impossible to ignore. i think the few things that bring about a settling are coming soon. concern inevitably leads to answers. if concern didn't exist we'd all be oblivious and never progress. "this too shall pass." [somewhere in the Bible] every once in a while a thought or idea is passed. a common sentiment is shared, and somewhere God is saying, my people are once again growing to a point.....the point where a shared or common ideal starts to spread in many. the point where understanding dawns a light on a point that has been shooting around the person/people, and now they're finally starting to get it. as with everything. this season passes, we'll endure something more, and collectively we'll come to a greater understanding. soon enough there will be those who come to understand enough to pinpoint exactly where we should all be going and the how will come to us individually.

urban landscape is dense and congested. the real scene is involving dynamism and upscale demeanor in a car design. the unique pleasantness of Saab is endearing and needed in this class of cars. CTS and G37 are not only bought by people with sporting intentions, but also those that want a competent luxury car with a luxury class ride, ample power, luxury settings, and upscale looks and features. this will be a standout because it stands out. similar to CTS in that it looks like no other but does so in a quiet fashion and strays to conservative values. singling out the CTS and G is spot on....this 9-5 is a competitor to premium entry level luxury like TL and its ilk....almost 5-series/E-class without the steep pricing. that is where saab probably will price it, also right along with where it's already been priced.

add lighter weight and the future doesn't look so bleak after all. the 3 will continue to be thier mainstream model selling well over 100k units in the future here as prices for the other models continue to rise. 5 base will probably be near the 300 hp, with close or over 30 mpg......and lightweight.......very nice

I love what BMW does. z4, 1, 3 awesome. but the four cylinders and diesels they sell in Europe won't fly here. unless they plan on remaking BMW into a more plebian brand. or they tack on a bunch of money for the diesels. more likely they will use turbo fours and concentrate less on SUVs, outside of the high selling X5 and X3, which makes the recently introd X6 all the more of a dud.

why doesn't GM just take opel into bankruptcy? would help to get rid of all the excess capacity....at this point, the impact on consumer sentiment wouldn't be such a big deal. if they lose opel anyway, might as well try and maintain whatever consumers possible and regrow at a later point. rather than losing a key foothold in the european territories?

"Sergio has a policy that if it does not turn your head when driving by then it is not worth making." this thing may work after all.

I don't know if it's just that the details look really good when you're right next to it, and from afar it becomes more generic and those duplicated styling cues stand out.....maybe the stance is more interesting up close..........when viewed at a glance it casually blends in with traverse and other chevy design.

for all those against Lutz. here is your pre-Lutz GM design era.

definitely not it. that was the concept lutz made for the g6. that's the perfect version of the production version we got. this concept is more the sexy expressive car I was talking about in my post above. GM really doesn't have brand that fits this aesthetic at the moment. unless they just decided to replace buick with opel [which makes a lot of sense if GM holds onto opel completely].

it was a lot more outrageous than the current one, probably fitting for Pontiac, and a lot more awkward, cumbersome and clumsy like the Aztek.

given the cohesiveness of the design teams....the balance of car design at GM.......the significance the raw appeal a car has.......the way the design team has been turned around......and the results we're seeing now in excellent product......nothing more can be said than Bob Lutz has done his job exceedingly well. if not for him we might still be stuck with concepts like this. and product like this

This press release and communications are very promising. Ironically, GM finally is listening, it took bankruptcy, but they are seriously incorporating the good ideas presented here and elsewhere by regular people. even going as far as mentioning beaurocracy and culture--not the primary subjects widely talked about in the media, but definitely on the fan sites. I'm looking forward to this new approach. for the future I'm looking forward for new product announcements soon. I'm looking forward to the return of the luxury rear drive performance sedan and coupes that will bring Caddy to the top, and create respect for the company as a whole. I'm looking for the world class small cars, with still more original, more focused, and more empowering design appeal than astra and cruze [already good looking cars]. i'm looking for them to solidify middle-class sedans, continue on an emphasis towards luxury there. I'm looking for increased focus on better driving and more efficient trucks---that means serious changes to the 900 lines, that will take money, but will drive them well into 2020 with forward thinking design. I'm looking also for the relaunch of a brand destined for sexy design. Pontiac used to be the ideal for it. affordable and aspirational. Buick is premium and sedate. A sexy brand to evoke Italian design would be wonderful....down the line, say 2016.

it may not be owned by GM, but it's sourced from there, complete with powertrains and suspensions.

saab manages to be distinct, classy, timeless, elegant, unique, and trendsetting while holding onto tradition, being detail rich, and not going overboard. it's going to be one of the best looking luxury cars our there. the profile and shape of the wagon are hot. it's form over function and holding the hand on styling that gets saab where they are.

I haven't had time to check the link you posted. but you seem to be against the idea of gamma agile buick CUV. I think the notion of a car that challenges the existing mold of what a buick should be is exactly what they need if they ever intend to appeal to a broader audience. a really cool, visually dramatic and sporty, highly upscale CUV with a turbo'd engine lineup and electric propulsion is exactly a game changer Buick needs.

rumors abroad [from another site] set this as the basis for the Buick CUV. you can see there are exact points shared without trying too hard. according to initial press, the agile is based on Aveo [gamma] platform, making this truly a compact CUV the equinox and other thetas cannot be due to their size. very interesting if this is what comes out. this would be a good move instead of plopping out another theta or TE rebadge job for Buick. there are already too many crossovers coming from GM [given the need for cars], but this would enter a unique category and attract younger buyers. a couple turbo high mileage hi po engines would complete the recipe, say the 1.4 140 hp turbo from cruze, and a 2.0 260 hp DI. the other major choice would be electrical motivation. thus this would become the luxury high end high tech youth CUV offering. small families and singles looking for more space apply. a VW tiguan alternative. with the right interior and exterior style, this could help Buick's move into a younger market.

they're only rims, so personally I wouldn't find this to be such a good deal. you can find a set of tires for ~$200, but there's a lot more hassle involved, considering you can find online sets of wheels/tires for $700 that are new and very eye-catching and sporty. the tires will make the most difference in ride quality/handling, so we really cannot infer how much a difference he wil actually see. on the appearance side, I see them on cobalt's a lot, they seem pretty dull and don't do much to bring out the good character line and stance balt has. i would go for a mutli-spoke bbs-style wheel, but really the style is limitless and balt's fit in with a lot of different style. think about what you want to do, the wheels you choose could really make the balt a lot more likeable. some small mods could make this car a lot more suitable to your taste. intake, new paint job, wheels/tires.....together will run you no more than $1300 if done right/researched.

no, a jetta could not. and save your money for a more attractive set of aftermarket rims, or a better set of chevy rims. the new ss turbo wheels are great, and i find the old ss supercharged wheels with the gunmetal finish pretty attractive. there's also the ss wheels used for the standard ss back in 07, not the ss supercharger. or you could look for something not supplied by GM. unless you like these.

kia or chrysler sebring.....don't know about korean car lineup for the most part.....hard to find unattractive sheetmetal these days, yeah there maybe unattractive features like too much usage of chrome or weird headlights, a design is so much more than weird fascias.

new GTI is fast becoming the most appealing new car on the market for me. yet GM has nothing in the small sport coupe, small sport sedan, small practical and sporty sedan [Mazda3], and cruze needs an SS model.......when will any of these happen? when will GM have any of these, or the large luxury sedan G8 sized with great caddy style. the cts is not yet stale, but being the only model puts a lot of pressure on this design. what about a really good jetta competitor, guess that'll be the upcoming astra sedan. with GM, entering the exciting segments the market has to offer always seems like a future prospect or a never gonna happen prospect.

okay let me restate my last point of that post you quoted. from a layman's perspective, the criticism that GM needs a design reawakening is credible. yes GM has great design, sky/solstice, GMT 900s, malibu, camaro. aside from camaro and malibu, no mass market cars have been remade. therein lies the problem. as for perfection in design. GM does not have a long way to go, but I'd like to see them further the balance in their design. I want to continue to see more attention to detail on form. example: enclave is aging poorly, imo, it's still attractive, but it's not so balanced, it could have lasted longer if it didn't look so fat, for example.

by the way. technically venza won't serve as competition, since technically speaking it is a higher class and more expensive. but it will be cross shopped......venza is a better looking car imo, but that is high praise, imo, because both are very attractive designs. when strictly talking engineering, the GM product wins, thanks to a highly efficient engine, but both are pretty great cars. design wise i find the interior of equinox very appealing, but to call it more appealing than venza i'd have to see it in person, venza, in person works awesome, again, imo. so it would in preliminary consumer battles register a draw........that is until you see the price. in that regard, and considering the elegance of the equinox design, it is no longer a cheap trasnport device gussied up with chrome wheels like before, the equinox is the winner. EDIT: did this before your last response, olds, and this isn't meant as an attack or anything to you