Intrepidation

What they could do is keep BPG, and cut models that overlap. Specific models that fit the brand can be made for them. There would be less per brand but the 3 brands together could create an entire linup. Pontiac: roadster, small sporty car, medium RWD sporty car Buick: luxury CUV, medium premium FWD car, large premium RWD car GMC pickup and SUV or CUV Doesn't sound like a lot, but you could easily keep the brand focused, without having to try and fully develope it, since teh three brands together would make one. That would make it: Chevrolet, Cadillac, BPG, Saturn/Saab. That would be 4 brands, if you grouped Saab with Saturn, since they're both Euro.

I was refering to the automatic.

Do what? The interior is NG LaCrosse only in the sense that they are inegrated and the designs are not limited to square radio anymore. There is actual freedom and emphasis on design. As for the transmission, I hope like hell it gets a 6-speed. That would make it a class exclusive.

Climate change has been going on since the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago. I'm not saying that overzealous pollution is good and isn't having any sort of effect, and I think we should use moderation, recycle, and all of that good stuff. However, this global warming hysteria exactly that: a blown out of proportion tool used by a few nutcase scientists, and more importantly politicians, to scare the gullible populous.

I sware, that entire region should be wiped off the face of the earth. All of those trigger-happy psychos just make the world a more tense place than it needs to be. I remember some group of them became so made over a European comic strip they burned flags and shot guns pointlessly in the air...over a drawing? Please.

I still think the MCE for the Camry should be the Aurion. That fixes all of the styling quirks (on the outside) the Camry has. As for inside. I sat in one once. I wasn't blown away by it. There were some cheap areas, but in tan it looks alright....better with the 3-spoke wheel. It's not a horrible car but it's not worthy of being the best seller. There are simply better cars out there (Accord, Malibu, Altima). If you want to talk about retarded seats. The N-Body malibus have the worst backseats I have ever sat in. I know it's not apples to apples, but I just felt like sharing.

I heard they tested a few more missiles today.

I would rip off the Cruze badges and put Cobalt badges on. Problem solved. Seriously though, this is name is something I would expect Kia or Hyundai to make up, which no compliment.

But Toyota is the most respectable company ever! "Obviously this was the man's own fault, having not ever bothered to check the time and take breaks. He was simply too obsessed with the amazing and highly desireable Camry to stop working. We are sorry for his loss, and out of the kindness of our hearts, we will donate money to the family." Love, Toyota

I'm loving that interior. I think if it really is named Cruze, and I buy one, I'll debadge it and put Cobalt badges on.

Yes, because clearly forest fires didn't exist before "global warming".

Yup, that's why I said "uh-oh"

That's not the issue here. The issue is that GM has had years to fix its brands and make them focused and profitable. Now that that was finally starting to happen, along comes CAFE and "panic mode" sets in. Instead of being rational they throw away everything but the most economical car. I'm not saying economical is bad, in fact I am happy to see it. However when you build a car that has no relation to the brand it represents the brand becomes pointless again, or when you want to kill off the car or cars that have the greatest chance of bring that brand back to relevance. You can have frugal cars, you can have frugal sporty cars, and you can have some not so frugal sporty cars. It's all about balance and not panicing.

How was the center stack to use? I haven't fiddled with one yet, but there are a fair number of buttons. I don't care about the number of buttons, just curious about the learning curve.

I still want to know the ratio of products people were considering. That would be more telling than who wants or plans to buy a Pontiac, it's what they'd consider. I know the answer already, but it'd be nice to know for the other brands too.

Funny thing about the interior: I liked it better when I first saw pictures of it but over time and after seeing it in person it looks and feels cheap.

Please explain how that's "juvenile ", or are we just pulling BS reasons out of our asses today?

LOL I just fixed the typos. Takes longer because IE7 has no spell check feature.

Someone needs to explain to me how a G6 coupe"feels like a Pontiac" Is the cheap interior? The poor proportions? (some people don't seem to care about such things though), the fact that the Accord coupe is probably a better car to drive, and looks better inside and out (in addition to being of much higher quality). Maybe it's that gawd awful Street Package which gives it a set of beaver teeth and shiny wheels, and a massive spoiler, but no real performance upgrades? Sorry. I'm not buying it. You could swap the Malibu's front end on it and have an ugly Chevy coupe. If we were to go buy what truly feels like a Pontiac, the Solstice is the only car in the entire lineup that qualifies. Even then, it's full of compromises, which include the somewhat clunky manual transmission, and by nature having limited appeal, not to mention the cheap interior. The G8 may not have been born a Pontiac, but it has all of the right qualities: excellent proportions, world class handling, stylish and clean interior, and excellent engine options. To top it all off, there is no other car like it in the NA GM lineup...something no other Pontiac can claim title to...not even the Solstice. I think Pontiac can have FWD cars, but it has to be done right, and the G6 is not an example of "done right" AWD and a RWD model or 2 should be included. But whatever, it's been decided the fate of Pontiac I'm sure, so we'll just have to wait and see.

This is the thing. Zeta should be utilized until Aplha is ready. Since Alpha is no where near ready and we have geniuses wanting to kill the last of the Zetas, there'd be no replacement for at least 4 years I bet.

Uh oh

I do realize that, and I can see why some brands may need to be cut, or product be reduced, but this isn't a new problem. back when GM had more cash it dumped it into trucks and SUVs instead of trucks, SUVS, and cars. Now the shift is too cars. What happens when the market shifts to something else? The other problem is, even if you cut brands, and you stick Saab and Saturn with Buick, you'll have problems just as much. Saab and Buick are more premium, and Saturn is supposed to have a premium image now too. You'll have at least 3 EPII products in the showroom, and maybe 3 or more Delta II. There will still be product overlap. And if you don't have variety you're just selling the same thing under a different wrapper.

You never know. There's a group of very dedicated car nuts in Chrysler, who are responsible for such cars as the Charger and Challenger. If they could make a business case for a Rampage I bet they would at least bring out a concept. I really hope Chrysler can get it's other segment entries together, because if they put the same effort into them as the Challenger/LX cars/Ram, they can pull through. On another note, I've been torn for a long time over which would buy/buy first: a Camaro or a Challenger. I love both, but in light of this I don't know if I could buy a car that the company which gave birth to it doesn't stand by it and show pride in it. Chrysler does.

Variety is the spice of life. When you have too many versions of the same vehicle (like say Epsilon) you get accused of badge engineering, or more importantly, too many similar products that compete with each other. If you put all of your eggs in one basket, and the market shifts again, then you're caught off guard and unable. Having a variety of products and flexible plants you can quickly adapt to market fluctuations. History is going to repeat itself.

Nice man. Once I put the new doors on my car I plan to do some long overdue detailing myself.