balthazar

>>"Rightfully agree with you Balthy. Not trying to be rude, but this is a Forum of making GM better and honestly I do not give a F### about other car manufacturers. "<< Just so long as you realize that harping on GM 'to make them better' simultaneously singles them out and makes them appear worse. I've read countless posts from you where I got that specific impression, irregardless of your intention. If other manufacturers' subsequent generations are ALSO getting heavier and heavier, how is GM doing wrong and everyone else is doing fine? >>"The same should have been the case with the Kappas..."<< The Kappa is a 1-generation platform- how did it get 'heavier'? There's nothing to compare it to. CTS's weight is right in line with what most people (erroneously) compare it to over at BMW- the 5-series. Again: BOTH could lose weight: (overall lengths: 190-ish")- my '64 Catalina at 213" overall weighs right about 3800 with less than 20 lbs of plastic, a full frame and real sheetmetal.

>>"It's kinda sad too, because China used to have some great culture and civilization before they fell to the Commies. "<< Unfortunately, there is no correlation between history & culture, and manufacturing ability or common sense values.

Awesome plane, one of my favs. Saw one a few years ago at an air show @ McGuire Airforce Base here in NJ- it was (IIRC: the replica of) the Memphs Belle. Saturday I was working outside when I heard very different engine sounds up above, coming from some distance. Was a B-25 that cruised low overhead, then flew over again about 5 minutes later. A pistonic symphony. Saw another (different) B-25 fly over 2 years earlier.

While you're at it, what's this week's Pick-6 numbers, t-200?

Nothing wrong with trying to steer your neighbor away from frustration & disappointment! Good job, S8!

>>"The entire GM lineup, save the GMT900 Pickups, Colorado and Canyon, and Corvettes could use a diet pill. These vehicles are at least 200lb heavier than they should be. "<< EVERY manufacturer's lineup could use a diet pill, not just GM's! Especially with more aluminum than ever, and everything you touch being thin plastic, a car the size of --say-- a passat would be 3000 lbs max, instead of reaching over 3800.

My father did a lot of work on the F-22's engines for the U.S. Navy/Department of Defense. It's an amazing piece, to be sure.

>>"I don't see exactly how quality is divined by such miniscule proportions."<< Some people are drivers, some people are diddlers. Grille looks fantastic- much richer and more detailed than any of it's competition. Interior should likewise reel many new buyers in. Looking forward to a considerable reshuffling of the segment's marketshare numbers.

Delta station 5 minutes from me today: $2.47

>>"What's amazing it's a 2002 concept. It's so current, it could have been done yesterday."<< Huh?? 2002 IS yesterday, both figuratively and stylistically literally.

'57 Lincoln 4-dr hardtop '53 Buick Special 2-dr sedan '55 Plymouth Plaza 4-dr sedan '55 Chevy 4-dr sedan '61 Olds 98 4-dr sedan

'Proved' by whom??- ever hear of a device called a linelock? How about 'power braking'? Trust me it's possible, I've seen it numerous times. ANY vehicle with marginal brakes & high torque levels has the potential to overpower it's brakes.

GXT+ >>"Around were I live there seems to be a lot of Buicks going through fences, houses, stores, etc. I don't think Buick has a problem with run-away acceleration. I think they have a problem with old buyers. "<< Monroe Twp NJ, 08-14-07 ~ "Barnet Dower was traveling north at about 4pm Tuesday when he drove through a marked parking space. He went over a curb, struck a tree, went over a second curb, then traveled across a roadway, over a lawn and up a driveway, striking a corner of the garage at 195 Newport Rd, police said. The vehicle continued thru the garage door, striking a 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass parked inside. Dower continued eastward before striking the rear wall, knocking the garage off it's foundation. The vehicle became lodged in the garage wall. A township construction official declared the garage unsafe." Mr. Dower is 89 and was driving a toyota camry.

>>"...GM and American cars will lose credibility, "<< The thing you 'kill-all-the-middle-marques' types always gleefully overlook is, purposely & obviously imploding 3 or 4 marques ('all-fleet Pontiac to death') would be a catastrophic image nightmare/death sentence. How can you have all the answers yet miss that mile-wide & on-fire factor ???

>>"...its not that pillerless hardtops are unsafe, even for side impact, its just that they're naturally less structurally sound than an identical pillered car and the structural changes necessary to make it as rigid are beyond the financial means of most manufacturers."<< Horse-puckey. It's far less involved that engineering a convertible, and a great many manufacturers rubber-stamped the R&D bill for that. Engineer the next gen Model X as a hardtop from the beginning, and there's almost no additional cost (in addition to a pillared model, or retro-fitting a pillared model into a hardtop is another, more costly issue).

Which is the half that thinks $2000 handbags and cat acupuncture are good ideas?

>>"I never said that ALL Italian cars looked amazing either."<< No, you didn't, but you seemingly offered that factor up as support for the $200K pricetag. Ferrari & alfa are galaxies apart in reputation; I don't see alfa being Italian as helping here. >>"if current reliability standards are to judge, then technically all German marques ought to have left recently."<< Give VW a bit more time. :wink:

That's a great post, Camino! x3 : "All of this mental masturbation about killing brands is utterly pointless, it isn't in GM's plan - get over it."

Fiats used to be here in the U.S. market- no one went "ga-ga" over them in the least. Pretty sure they were Italian then, too. 'Gorgeous'- no. Clearly, Myershift, you are an alfa cheerleader; for your sake --if the 8c actually makes it here, perhaps you'll get to see one one day. To me- alfa is a failed brand that had to pull out of the U.S. market for building crappy, uncompetitive cars. A twice-as-rare, twice-as-attractive, full-blown exotic @ $500K wouldn't even begin to overturn that, IMO.

Waitaminnit, did I heard DLR singing right around the time he got canned from NY Radio? Can't remember: was it in a country-esque vein? Whatever: it was solidly awful. What's the recent prognosis on his pipes- does he have any steam left or no?

Flybrian= >>"I'm sorry"<< Wasn't so bad as all that: real base trim 4-dr yet had the Super Six 2bbl, 1-tone (bronze), painted roof, no vinyl bodyside moldings or extra trim, a real GI type, esp after I put fat blackwalls & the bullethole 'cop caps' on it. Just after I got it, I pulled up at my regular junkyard and that car cleared the place out. Took about 5 minutes before the guys crept out- they thought it was an IRS bust. Dad picked it up: 8 years old & only 8K on the odo - it was brand new. After x-years passed he gave it to me: I only had it titled in my name for about 6 months before I replaced it with my next daily driver: 09. 1964 Pontiac Catalina (still own)

01. 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix (still own) 02. 1964 Pontiac Catalina Ventura 03. 1956 Buick Super Riviera 04. 1978 Plymouth Volare 05. 1959 Buick Invicta (still own) 06. 1959 Buick Electra 07. 1973 Dodge Charger Rallye 08. 1965 Pontiac Catalina 09. 1964 Pontiac Catalina (still own) 10. 1964 Mercury Park Lane Marauder 11. 1965 Pontiac Bonneville 12. 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix 13. 1957 Ford F-250 StyleSide 14. 1994 Ford F-150 XL Special (still own) 15. 1972 Buick Riviera 16. 1965 Pontiac Bonneville 17. 1940 Ford COE (still own) 18. 1963 Chevrolet Nova 19. 1946 Ford pickup 20. 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD (still own) Average model year owned: 1963.9

While on the subject here; what's the down-low on the 3.1 & head gasket issues. Wife's '03 3.1 GP just turned 70K and the rumors make me uneasy- I'd like to trade it in. Are the '03s any better? If not, @ what mileage does the problem become a real possibility?

My wife owned a '98 with the 3800 SII. It was the first batch of production, too, so it had a few problems over it's lifetime (A/C head unit was replaced under warranty, 1 or both rear power window motors was replaced, and I had to repair one rear seatbelt retractor), but no other issues. Car was comfortable, had good power and it is missed today. Traded in with 105K.

The proportions are just too far off- they have zero flow. I was looking at a slammed '50 Ford yesterday- the front & rear clips look very good on the original shell. The 'Studebaker' S-10 conversion looks really good, but that's a full-rebody, isn't it?