balthazar

I fail to see how acknowledging that 'Hemi" has become a frontline part of the American Lexicon is evidence of a "We're smarter than other car companies" attitude. Where's the correlation? In fact, any claims that the 300 was a sign that Chrysler Group was 'Doing Things Right' all came from the media & the consumer, as far as I ever saw; not DCX. >>"...Jeep Commander - which is the winner of our 2006 "Answer to the Question that Absolutely No One was Asking" award"<< Dear God, how did the VW phaeton get snubbed???? >>"...Jeep Compass (our leading nominee for our 2007 "Answer to the Question...")"<< Smells like an agenda.... So the bottom line seems to be that the current mess (to what degree is still unknown) is due to established Daimler figureheads, or was Duhlorenzo trying to avoid saying that directly?

"...otherwise a rather conventional gearbox." OK- maybe it's not a $6000 transmission after all. Reminds me of the '48 Tucker- one of the trans offered was an electric pre-selector gearbox.

When my charity check shows up in the mailbox from someone more fortunate than me, I'll scrap together a few bucks for someone else. Until then, I am my own #1 charity. It's all relative, baby.

Conventional automatics already do this.Perhaps this unbelievable complexity could be warranted in a ferrari, but in a VW???

>>"...twin exhausts on any vehicle that does not come with a V-8"<< That's twin exhaust tips, so it really doesn't matter.

June 23-25. &#036;h&#33;- can't go. Packing for vacation.

What's truely hilarious is that we --as enthusiasts in general-- spend even 2 seconds reading their drivel. Watching paint dry is more benefitial.

Ahhh; now I see. Why were trucks omitted from this chart? Are they 'niche'? What are the numbers for passenger trucks and what would the reason be for segregating them? I can see the arguement back when the vast majority were used by farmers, contractors and 4x4 nuts, but that hasn't been the status quo for many many years. 25 years ago (1980), trucks were only 29% of domestic output. In the last few years that number has reached 54% of the entire USDM. In 1980, exactly 50% of Ford's F-100, F-250 and F-350 came with an I-6. Think even for a second that anything close to that installation rate is achieved with the 2005 lineup? Can you even get a 6-cyl in an F-250 in 2005?? Now factor in the greatly increased volume (581K vs. 900-someK). This is where the vast majority of the V-8 buyers have gone. I guess that wasn't as obvious as it should've been...

F-150 FX-4 Ram Charger / Magnum Um-mmm.... To be dead serious, if GM, FoMoCo and Chrysler went belly up tomorrow, I would buy vintage in a heartbeat.

These 'who's-going-to-the-big-car-show' threads NEVER list dates. Why is that? I have a new long-distance vehicle, I may be up for road trips that were off my list before. Need to know when in order to schedule things.....

>>""Years ago they used to call someone a mechanic if they had a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. Today, everything is computerized. You can't work on a modern car without a computer.""<< Sad. >>"Geise Buick was launched at a time when automobiles were far simpler and the number of makes and models was a fraction of what's available today."<< The opposite is true- there were a far greater number of makes back when they started thru the '20s than now- the comparison is not even close.

siegen= I've never seen GM recall coverage be any more than Toyota/Honda etc, it might have been in the past though. You weren't around for it; it was murder for decades. It might mean the media holds (or held at one point) GM to a higher standard than other makes. So a problem will get more coverage because it's a bigger deal. If this was the case, surely the media undoubtedly holds toyo-onda to a higher standard now- you cannot even begin to deny that. Let's see the scale tipped the other way, you know; to support your theory. When GM recalls stop getting attention won't that put them on the same level as Kia? Just a thought. LOL. No.

It's those little unsolicited compliments that really reaffirm that You Did Good (not to mention they can take a bit of the edge off what you paid to do it). I remember bringing the bare shell of my '59 back home on a trailer. Guy in a muddy, lifted Jeep (not exactly the same enthusiast demographic) screeched to a stop in the street: 'Wazzat- a Plymouth?' 'Nope: '59 Buick.' 'Awesome!!' I smiled the rest of the day.

I'd rather read a vehicle review from 2 chimps. Waitaminnit.....

Lovely diatribe above from 'roo on assembly plants; but that is far from the majority of respective corporate profit investment. Tiny portion of a much bigger picture.

Wow- you made a great choice! Really compliments the lines so much better than 'Fridge White.

O... M... G! I can actually see parts & portions of the motor that do.... motoring stuff!I was beginning to think that rubber hoses and plastic shields were capable of internal combustion in & of themselves!

Right: I can't explain it either. Let's ask the media to explain it- there has to be some reason they turn a shoulder to reality. Actually, GM is selling about the same volume of vehicles over a long period of time- percentages can indeed be wildly misleading. There are no "GM" vehicles, tho there are individual marques. Some of those have ranked higher than toyota numerous years, a few you may have heard of: 'Cadillac' and 'Buick'. Thank you for tossing the good apples in with the fuzzy ones and calling the whole basket bad...

I don't oppose a 'pairing' of saab & Cadillac in overseas dealerships, but please God: no actual product 'pairings'.

My dad's mitsu's trans blew up and would've cost more to repair than the car was worth. He junked it at 75K. His subsequent LeSabre ran flawlessly to 135K by the time he upgraded to a newer one. My dad's just dying to return to japanese vehicles. We can play this dumb-ass game all month.

Guess the reports of a more stable, competent chassis on the part of the Solstice weren't wrong.

I would've actually cried.

WHAT??? IT EXISTS?!?!?!?!?!?! must.... have.... more... information.........................................

'94 F-150 300 I-6/ auto: 16 combined previous daily driver: '64 Catalina 389 V-8/RHM : 14.5 combined Hoping for 19-20 combined from the DuraMax... if I can keep my foot out of it. I have no problem with these numbers.

whoa-whoa-WHOA! Are all these the property of GM, or 'on loan'? That's a much bigger collection that I expected- very nice. Sigh- wish I could get up there again... Any word on XP-75 yet?? The LeSabre 'threw' me for a long time, until I saw enough pictures of it with people to learn it's true scale. It wears the lines of a much larger car, not something more akin to a Corvette.