balthazar

You WILL be clarifying #58 before posting #59, as you oathed in blood to do so first. I feel foolish even reminding you of this, the consequences being what they are.

Let's make every feature superior to every single other competitor's features in an all-out pissing contest, just like when that was done by the .... .. . . .... .. ...... .. .... . . . . . . . . . ?

>>"GM was proud when the HHr came out because of the complex stamping process used on the HHR fenders. I think it was something to the effect of multiple stamping and enormous expense and quality control process that was required to get the shape and level of consistency and quality of those pieces on the HHR."<< Too bad the dies for the circa '41 pontoon fenders were not still around- same degree of difficulty there, too.

Here it is again for those who've missed it the other 2 dozen times: toyoda counting scion sales as 'toyota' sales. Is it a separate division or not- and what other qualifier than brand name is there for determining this??? Get consistant or get bent, toyota.

>>"Pontiac is the maker of rental cars, and have one genuine hit in the past five years: Solstice. Five years is a long time to go without cars that are perceived as relevant."<< Anyone who gives a f**k about Pontiac had better hope that the bulk of consumers don't make their decisions based on past perceptions alone, or the Division is dead.

>>"GM can not be hip. The brands themselves need to convey their distict appeal. It should be easier to turn around a brand than a company. It is also easier to disassociate the company from the brands as they have done an excellent job with Saturn and Saab."<< This has always been a mistake. GM has run ads touting their myriad of divisions since the beginning (I have one from 1919), but they were always few & far between. The "GM" mark was on seat belt buckles & door edges for decades, and in the corner of print ads since the late '60s but again: that is a subtlety. But that is what it should be. When a manufacturer has general public favor, the parent corporate logo spreads good will. When the manufacturer is dogged with negative public opinion (and I am not the least convinced that the doom is quite so foreboding as portrayed above), that corporate logo is an albatross and a catalyst for the factually-loose to damn each and every product & division unilaterally with an opinion bazooka. With "GM" currently at a low point in public opinion, putting GM badges on vehicles (tho themselves quite subtle)... it's just not the right time. Each division needs to stand on it's own perceptionally. Media articles should never read 'GM did a good job on the Buick X....", but 'Buick did a good job on the Buick X...." The sentiment continually erodes divisional identities, as it has done since roughly the mid '80s. At this point, it would take years to de-emphasis "GM" back to where it was circa 1965, which is the proper dosage of the message, IMO. Nevertheless, I would 'throw the lever' to start that process, were I in charge.

"Suspicion Breeds Confidence" "Trust in haste, Regret at leisure" "Information Is The Key To Prosperity" "Care for a little necrophilia?"

Anyone can be found to downplay any interior, period. I've slammed Bentley' interior handily here- it absolutely blows for $360K. >>"GM sold millions of GMT800's so I doubt anyone cared."<< Must've sold on ergonomics and functionality, which it has in spades, which obviously overpowered any superficial subjectives of the touchy-feely crowd. I have no problems with mine, and I understand it's not the primary purpose of the vehicle: I'd rather the dollars go into all the over-engineered components underneath anyway.

Facts are always greatly appreciated. Hype is a fetid smoke; thanks for being nearby to open the window, Ven.

How can you dismiss 25 years of outright multiple-stage corporate-sponsored lies over life-threatening design defects? Again- I point to the longevity of the Vega in the media- a car out of production for 30 years and Chevy/GM is still taking low-blows about. Mitsu is Here and Now. I for one will not relent: mitsu is Dead Car Rolling; Godspeed the flames.

Dodgefan- I've never ever heard of anyone flushing their crankcase when switching to snythetics. How could they NOT be compatable? Is Jiffy Lube flushing oil galleries for your $20 oil change? Do a standard oil/filter change and put in synthetic (if that's what you want to do) and don't worry about what's in there now. daves87rs is right: tho synthetics may up your change intervals, many oil filter brands have downgraded construction quality and you would be well advised to change more frequently that recommended/prompted. A good rule of thumb in my book is 50% of recommended (ie: recommended- 12K, change at 6K).

Domestic Car Sales : -19.5% Domestic Truck Sales : 0.1% Import Car Sales : +34.6% Import Truck Sales : +48.1% Anyone know what's going on??? Are American honda plants getting off-time/slowdowns?

There are hardly any tundras or sequoias in central NJ either. Still waiting to see a tundra towing.... something. As a sidebar- quite a few STSs...

It's staggeringly amazing how quickly the media & public are forgiving mitsu for one of the industry's worse public relations disaster in history... yet I still read media references to the Vega.

Does the alarming car sales drop (down nearly 11%) have anything to do with the shift towards more imported hondas??? Keeping the numbers up at home; that sort of thing? Interesting possible indication that the 'American' face of honda is a convience & marketing tool, rather than a true community mindset as so often portrayed.

Toni- subtle proportion changes or sharpness of the points are not 'different' emblems (by design) in my book. The logo has 100% of the same elements & color as it had in 1969. In fact, I had thought that perhaps the star was recently eliminated, but I checked and obviously it wasn't. Different locations & surfaces & treatments will dictate slight alterations in the Arrowhead, as to be expected. But the design has not changed since '69 ('64 if you eliminate color).

A Lambda is a possibility, tho I think they are larger than she'd prefer to drive. We have a tight-ish 90-degree turn into the garage and the Outlook is 6" wider than the GP. :sad:

The traditional Pontiac Arrowhead first appeared for MY '59, and on the cars it featured a white field. In '60, the emblem was redesigned with a more shield-like shape with small 'wings' and different internals. In '61-63 the outer shape returned to a narrow triangle with a 'V'd top. It was predominently silver with some black & white angular detailing within. It was not until '64 that the traditional "59" Arrowhead reappeared, always in all silver with a thin black outlining and the star. The red field first appeared on the '69 GP (which was the same year the Arrowhead was first used in print advertising), and the Pontiac Arrowhead has not changed since then. The one in the pics in this thread is interesting to me- not the all-silver treatment, which has been pointed out- was used in the '60s, but the outer shape: the first time different in almost 50 years. How the 'internals' will differ with that notch in the V --if at all-- has me curious. The G8 overall will be interesting, tho I cannot dispell the hunch that I will be reading more than one sentiment eerily-similar to those subjectives about the GTO's styling.

Well... it is good, I suppose, to learn where one's breaking point is. After tomorrow, I will have worked 30 of 31 days in January, only taking my B-day off {panicing; ocnblu scans his master list}. Some days were as light as 5 hrs, some as heavy as 11. Apparently, 29 days is about it, as I saw a few instances of failed processing & motor skills today, which is not good when you're a neurologic surgeon. Just kidding: I'm a contractor and have been working on interior renovation of a residential home. It's actually been enjoyable (nothing like being your own boss), tho the creeping brain fog of the past couple of days is a bit offsetting. One big plus: no pesky checks to take to the bank Anyway- if I can continue with this level of income for the rest of the year, I can recind my mantra of 'buying brand new vehicles is a collosal waste of money' and get my wife a new car. Tho it fits us well & has been dead reliable as expected, it's time for her '03 GP to move on. I need to get up to speed on the CUV segment...

I heard you can't get the 'Turbo Fluid' for these anymore...

>>"...Chryslers. I think it's a '65, but I am not certain. Did the headlight covers make production, or am I thinking of a concept car?"<< Only the '65 300 and 300-L s had glass-covered headlights. The Ls also had a light-up grille emblem- I dig that, baby. '66 fed regs prohibited the glass covers for '66, IIRC. If it's a 300-L, that's a rare beast, tho not particularly valuable relative to earlier 300 letter cars.

Check your math.

GMC looks great- and I agree on lowering the rear. 'Short' combos look better level, but I liked my F-150 RC/LB with 3/4-ton springs being about 2" higher in the rear. Now- is that a '65 or '66 Chrysler next door?

'Stop squirming!!'

Don't know if it'll bolt up, but I doubt it. It's also a physically massive trans- too large for cars. >>"...but under hard throttle you're going to feel the shifts with a 4 speed a lot more than with a 6 speed. The 4 speed has huge spacing in between gears compared to a 6 speed."<< #1: there's nothing wrong with feeling a car shift- many consumers have complained pointedly about CVTs because of the lack of this characteristic. #2: a 6-spd absolutely can still shift harder than a 4-spd- it's moreso in the clutches as opposed to the ratios. #3: some 6-spds merely add a ratio past 5th gear- therefore gear spacing can remain comparable.