balthazar

It worked in 1965 because a Bonneville and an Impala were COMPLETELY different cars!!! It doesn't work in 2005 because the cars are different yet still too similar, and that fact is repeatedly trumpeted to the high heavens by the press. Proof of that?: by association & extension, we have this:

>>"Ninety years later, the same structure is in place"<< FALSE. >>"Even during the 50’s, each brand had no more than two wheelbases and three body styles."<< FALSE. >>"Buick and Olds stayed true to their roots, offering two to three big cars (aside from the Cadet experiment)."<< Wha?? Is this a reference to the Chevy Cadet program of the early '50s? It wasn't even close to production! How would this brain-damaged squirrel have even heard about it?? How is mention of it even topical? >>"Cadillac is still perched at the top of the market, but their line shows little commonality (save a bit of “bling” here and there)."<< FALSE. >>"For every Chevy, there’s one or more up-market counterparts it dare not exceed."<< FALSE. >>"Acting like it’s still 1955..."<< FALSE (& unsubstantiated). >>"It restricts Pontiac, GMC and Buick to marketing cars “better than Chevy” (a standard that keeps slipping lower)."<< FALSE. >>"It detaches Cadillac, Hummer and Saab from the ownership ladder. In fact, GM’s brands don’t just steal sales from each other; they pull each other into a pit of mediocrity."<< FASLE (and laughable). >>"...GM could fold their products into Chevy’s portfolio. The top trim sedans in the largest two sizes could be called Buicks, while a Pontiac would denote a performance model."<< Talk about 'discombobulated'! The idiocy of this barn-buster is staggering. >>"...GM would have to transform all Chevy and all Pontiac/Buick/GMC dealers into Chevy dealers, all selling the same full line."<< What about those people who refuse to buy a '"Chevrolet"? If you don't think there are any, explain GMC... and that's just one marque. What about the near-endless flow of negative 'see-we-told-you-Rome-is-burning' articles from self-centered and self-righteous 'journalists' who will only focus on GM's continuing "decline", all accompanied by faux hand-wringing and 'remember-when' recollections now that it would truely be Too Late? What is the price tag on that bit of image 'efficiency'? >>"This brand consolidation would allow GM to offer a car for every “purpose” and most “purses” under a single roof."<< No it wouldn't- where is saab, hummer & Cadillac's price ranges? Are those Divisions discontinued, or is the 'disassociation' there fine & dandy? >>"...it just might work."<< No, asswipe, it wouldn't. Get your facts straight, filter out the artery-clogging hyperbole and came back with another 'solution'. How can you guys even get past this sh!tstain of an article to react to it???

Without checking, I believe teh GLS is indeed the top model. My wife had a '98, when both the marque name & the trim levels were not badged. Even tho it was a first year/ first production run, it was still a great car that we miss. 3800 II.

>>"There's a reason people will spend that kind of money on a Bentley (or Rolls, or Maybach, or Ferrari, etc.)"<< Common sense isn't one of them, nor is a realistic idea of value. But sure. And yes; nice leather & wood adds to the vehicle's "value", but of course it can never add even $75K to the price of an already $75K car. What does the roughly $200K portion of the bentley's tag tangibly deliver? Anybody know??

When I went to school in central Detroit, I was amazed to see -right out my 10th floor window- numerous blocks of waving grass. Oh, the sidewalks, paved alleys and telephone lines/poles were still there, but the buildings were gone. There were also a great volume of standing buildings waiting for nothing else but the wrecking ball. Still, for an urban explorer at heart, Detroit can be fascinating on an entirely other level.

Oahu is very nice, tho it's not terribly different that any other upscale shore resort as far as attractions. I went some years ago, spent 5 days on Oahu on Waikiki, toured, Diamond Head, flight over the Big Island and all that, but much preferred the next 5 days in Maui. Maybe the 4-star hotel was part of that, tho. Drive the perimeter, but watch for the 200-foot deep potholes... BTW- you could 'hike the volcano' on Maui, tho I hope you're in shape: Haleakala is over 10,000 feet to the top. They do offer this free 'road' deal instead....

Answer already posted earlier:L-A-Z-I-N-E-S-S

Dunno. Perhaps much like cars, they're told what's 'cool' by the companies with the most ad dollars.

Ya. Right. I'm - figuratively - somwhere close behind 'blu.

That's not what he said; he said value- for the money spent, the bentley is a major disappointment. Look at the interiors. The convert costs $360K, looks like maybe $75K hope the other $285 is in matching luggage in the trunk. $285K for a badge is rape & robbery rolled together with a sound bitch-slappin'.

There were 2 artists who did all the drawn Pontiacs ads from '59 thru '71. One --Van Kaufman-- did the backgrounds, the other --Art Fitzpatrick-- did all the actual cars- you can see their initials in lower corners of most all their ads. Fitzpatrick did other auto adwork prior to Pontiac, Merc was another marque. Easily the best illustrated auto advertising ever; one's with raindrops are just killer. Check it: http://www.fitz-art.com/home.htm

The Fonz was the real deal. I read in a passing mention that he owned 47 '49-51 Mercs; damned if I know where a single one got to. He moved to VA for his last few years and passed in '99 at only 61. I wouldn't be surprised if it was cancer from smoking & sanding bondo without a mask for 45 or so years. He built very rough but totally cool sleds. GMTG- I'm not originally from the NB area (Hopewell), but I've lived here about 13 years. I've heard about the Fossils show- checked out their website but haven't made it there yet. I'm writing down the dates &'ll make an effort.

There's no accounting for taste.

About once a week I scrape mazda 3s out of my wheelwells. Thanks to my Allison and my driving skills I can easily get over traffic...

Walt- if you've frequented shows in & around NJ, maybe you remember this guy?:

I do favor domestics and snub imports- esp japanese and german vehicles. I take pride in my snubbery.

RE: wheels- gotcha. Are there visual differences in different vintage Cragars then (assumedly a few generations), or is it a date code thing? I may be the closest C&Ger to you (No Bruns)....

Right- they were sister divisions.

I love the GT Hawks- A gold '63 was very nearly my first car. That occasion was when I first discovered the phenomina that pschycologists call "The Studebaker Effect". Walt, not dissing, just curious: how did you come to choose those wheels and what's you opinion on the factory Avanti wheelcovers? Next time this show is happening, post notice- I'd like to swing thru.

>>"i remember as a kid, jump in the old hudson, and make sure we get a good running start... or else we had to back down the hill"<< Why couldn't you go forward down the hill?? All right- no one is going to bite so here I go. Pontiac wasn't called anything before it was called Pontiac. Pontiac was it's own division from the start. Pontiac could NOT have been called Oakland when Pontiac & Oakland co-existed. Pontiac & Oakland were organizationally-grouped, but their own divisions. The only thing they shared was the assembly plant... for one year. This misinformation is spread all over- I guess it just gets repeated instead of getting researched.

These sure sound like ad headlines as opposed to brand taglines. Huge difference.

Bottom line: it's not reliable data.

Norseman is still on board the Andrea Doria. Tech did not exist then, and would be tremendously expensive today, to bring a car up whole from a shipwreck. Of course- add to that the cost to refurbish it and the loss (from a business standpoint) is the far easier way out.

ocnblu= >>"Someone older will have to answer the second part. Balthy?[/b] :AH-HA_wink:"<< Someone older than you, blu? Pfft- I don't think so. >>"Well, it was Oakland before it was Pontiac, I know that much."<< Nope. Impossible. >>"Why was it created?"<< To improve Chevrolet's economies of scale by sharing basic parts and to plug a price gap in the GM divisional hierarchy.