balthazar

In '06, GMC also offered a 1500HD 6.0 (300/360) in addition to the 345/380 6.0 - not sure exactly what '07 offers. Add in the 2500- and above series and you can also add the 8.1 and the 6.6. What; toyota doesn't offer a 3/4- or 1-ton line...? not GMC's fault.

Northie- those are 5" tips, right? I have a Flowmaster poster in my shop of a '68 Chevelle standing on it's rear bumper- I believe that car had a 4" system and a stupid amount of power (1200?? I don't remember). 5" pipes under cars with under --say-- AT LEAST 1500-HP is a complete waste of money, not to mention a gross weight penalty- with no benefit whatsoever. You need to be putting out enough power... pushing enough air to justify the weight of such a system. 3" true dual systems behind 700-hp have been proven countless times. N/A street cars just don't need that much flow. 750-hp would do just as well power-wise with 5-in pipes as it would with 10-in, which is to say it would do measurably worse than with 3-in. How the hell anyone could even FIT 5-in pipes under a GTO- I have no idea. Ocn : I could give a better opinion if I knew what was on there now: it's a circa 310-hp 5.3 with a single pipe, right? What's the pipe measure in diameter both before and after the cat? If it's a single pipe after the cat and you are going to a dual after-cat system, you need to maintain the same cfm over 2 pipes- I would not go larger than the pre-cat pipe or you may encounter scavenging / backpressure issues.

Is that a factory toyota pic? 'Cause the photo quality absolutely sucks on it, while the GM photo is quite nice. This should shut up those who cannot stop bashing GM Photographic for a few minutes. GMC looks trim & fresh and contemporary- the toyota looks bloated and pug-nosed. Great little brochure- wonder why they stopped at mentioning only those advantages? Only thing that always bugs me is 'GMC building trucks for over 100 years' when GMC was organized in 1911. There was nothing with that name prior to 1911. 2007 - 1911 = 96. ???????

It was 'The Newest Car in Fifty Years' and is my all-time personal favorite. You might have blanked-out the name on the intake manifold...

I haven't driven an electric PS vehicle yet- but the problem is moreso the snugness of the door opening; as it is the GP has to K-turn to get into the garage. Are car dealers open tomorrow?

Good & welcome news- thanks m84!

Checked out the Edge yesterday- I really like the exterior design & proportion, interior is roomy (even behind the 2nd row) and it's comfortable... but it's too wide. No power folding mirrors; not even on the Aviator! Garage opening is about 92", so 87" means the Edge is out. Escape I didn't care for at all. Equniox is 71"- excellent. I'll check the 'nox & the Vue (72") & Outlook (78") this week. Pretty sure the Outlook is too large, tho. Thanks to all for the feedback.

A load of pure, contradictory crap. They are entering faux camrys to sell.... tundras, because that makes good business sense. Maybe the connection is the IBC V-8 with a carb underhood. No... waitaminnit.... Wow. Luckily for me, NASCAR hasn't meant anything since they raced versions of street cars. Give me DVDs of 1959 to maybe 1972, thanks.

I followed the comic books as a kid- and the previews for GR look decent to me. I don't mind Cage, either. I wish I could get to the movies more than twice a year... :sad: The Abandoned looks pretty cool- I groove on that stuff.

If toyota's NASCAR team is suspended for cheating, 'toyota cheated' ; the article title is fair. Frankly, the idea that toyota entering NASCAR is going to win sales is what's inaccurate.

Of course- the red Protosport 4 above is a Pontiac.... >>"Oldsmobile and Buick had commercial chassis and 'Flower Car' body styles-I know Oldsmobile also had a Sedan Delivery up until about 1950 (I don't remember if Buick ever had one or not), and the Olds Toronado also later, circa 1973-78, lent its chassis not only to those 1970's GMC Motorhomes (heavily advertised in magazines such as National Geographic), but also to Flower Cars-"<< Flower cars have always been aftermarket coachbuilt... at least after the 1930s. No factory 'flower car' type vehicles from Buick or Olds from the '30s thru today. I highly doubt the '70s GMC motorhomes used Toronado chassis, but I could be wrong on that. Powertrains, yes, but those motorhomes had to be relatively monsterous in weight compared to the Toros, and as well-engineered as the Toro was, I wonder if it was over-engineered enough to reliably carry a 6 or 8-ton body.... Pontiac had an RPO Sedan Delivery style from '49-53, but Olds's '50 SD was a one-off prototype- not regular production. Buick and Olds had numerous trucks, but they were all before 1925.

One I remember seeing in a magazine that was a real plate, and it's by FAR the best ever:: FAA QUE

Edge is wide: 6 inches wider with mirrors folded (they had better be power folders!). I would think the Vue is too small for us. No mazdas- terrible owner retention speaks volumes for the brand and the cx-7 is too new. Does the 3.4 have any reliability issues or problem areas?

Ironically to my prior conviction, in considering a replacement for my wife's '03 GP, I am.... shopping with a tape measure. We have a tight-ish 90-degree turn into the 1-car-wide garage door opening, and with the GP at least- it is on the tight side. GP width is 72" and the mirrors do not fold. We would consider either another mid-size sedan or a crossover/small SUV. Space, economy & reliability are primary concerns. I don't pay enormous attention to modern vehicle specs- I had thought the Vue & Equinox were on the same platform- I see now that they're not. Vue is quite petite; must be Equinox & Torrent are siblings, right? GP is: wheelbase: 110", overall 198", width 72". Equinox has very comparable specs here: wheelbase: 112", overall 188", width 71". Vue is much smaller: 106"/ 181"/ 72". What are the potential/actual pros & cons on the 'nox?

Something of a managable exterior size with room for 4 inside and decent economy. Mid-sized sedan or crossover. Replacing my wife's '03 GP.

Boy- daimler (mercedes) really screwed up ChryCo, huh?

Right; this is the level of innovation and leadership GM used to have- great to see it coming back full force. wha?? this is new!

After working 30 of 31 days in January, I am back on 'regular' time (5 days a week). To tell the truth, I feel like I'm slacking off....

I believe this is correct (and I will address RWD cars here): >> An open rear drives one half-shaft only. >> A limited slip, or 'LSD' sends power to the wheel with better traction via clutches (or at least, it used to- not up on recent LSDs). >>A 'posi' is locked; ie- both half shafts are directing power to both wheels all the time. Often makes for 'scrubbing' of the rear tires in tight turns (the inner has a much shorter arc to travel than the outer). >>A locking diff is the link between the 2: normally open but able to lock up as a 'posi'.

With the Solstice & G8, perhaps Pontiac will start to get 'it'. The alternative is giving up.

Might I suggest you read up on GM and it's history. I would suggest you start with Sloan's book My Years With GM. Tho it's a difficult read, that's good advice. croc- according to Sloan : >>"The list for the still-dominant touring cars in 1924 was as follows: Chevrolet, $510; Olds, $750; Oakland, $945; Buick 4, $965, Buick 6, $1295; and Cadillac, $2985. The most obvious gaps in this line were between the Cadillac and Buick 6 at the top, and between the Chevrolet and Olds at the bottom. ...From the strategic standpoint at that time, however, the most dangerous gap in the list was that between Chevrolet and Olds. It was big enough to constitute a volume demand and thereby to accomodate, on top of Chevrolet, a competitor against whom we then had no counter. ...On this reasoning, we made one of the most important decisions in the history of General Motors, namely to fill the gap above Chevrolet with a brand-new car with a new six-cylinder engine."<< The 'so-called Pontiac car' was administrationally recognized around November of 1924. When the Pontiac debuted, it's '26 touring car was priced at $825, nicely filling the gap between Chevrolet's $645 and Olds' $950. Pontiac built it's last V-8 in 1981, tho purists will grit their teeth and correct you with '1979' (I'll go along with that). With the corporate engine mandate of 1982 and a muddled re-organization, Pontiac Engineering had little to nothing to do. If it is this time period that you claim Pontiacs were 'a virtual duplicate of Chevrolet SS'... a case could be made for that (tho there were hardly any SSs in this era, IIRC). Before that, tho, there were no 'Pontiac SSs'.

Offered lots of times- but never did any drugs. Only smoked 1.5 cigarettes. Been plastered countless times (some to the point of passing out) when younger, tho as with many things- age slows this indulgence down. Haven't been drunk without question in about 2 years at this point, but I've pencilled in heavier drinking for the future.

Reg- you so cute! I could afford a G8, but I chose not to spend that kind of money. I no longer see any wisdom in buying new- the depreciation on ANY new vehicle is a financial hammerblow to the temple. I'm not ruling out another new purchase- but the price tags for what serves my needs & desires are no longer palatable. Finance? - I have zero debt and I don't want any. >>"You, Balthy, Ocn, and few other dissenters aren't going to make much of an impact."<< Not trying to, but I hope you realize neither will the "60%" who love the G8 unless they sign the bottom line. Croc- >>"Pontiac has always been the least-defined of the GM brands...it never even fit into the Sloan hierarchy."<< Actually, Pontiac was developed for two reasons: to realize economies of scale with Chevrolet, and to fill a gap in the Sloan Heirarchy. For the bulk of Pontiac's history it possessed at least as much and for a good while; more defintion than Olds- here I would say that would cover 1955 thru 1990. From Northie's great pics in the other thread, it's clear the G8 is completely contemporary and yes, it's appealing. Ocn, evok & I are simply holding Pontiac up to a higher standard for multiple reasons. Perhaps --and as I've stated: I hope so-- the G8 will do well in the market, but held to a higher, more heritage-cognicent standard, it would do even better. Pontiac has more brand heritage than Chevrolet, Oldsmobile & Buick (tho not Cadillac)- is the G8 all it can be, all it should be?

Everyone has their opinions, moltar- to me, remove 'FWD" and insert 'BMW' and you have mine.

'77-79 Pontiac Safari- fondly remembered. Another: '70 Pontiac full-size (ours was a Catalina 400 4-dr sedan in Pepper Green), but these are no where to be seen anymore. A few years ago I saw a '70 Bonne 2-dr hardtop and it was period FANTASTIC.