balthazar

>>"Why are Detriot Diesel engines known as Detriots, instead of GM or Chevrolet engines as they really are?"<< I am not particularly familiar with DD, but I don't see why you would state the engines are 'really Chevy or GMC'. DD was a separate division of GM, which would mean the engines were no more 'Chevy' than they were 'Cadillac'. Even if they were actually used in Chevy/GMCs only (GMC offered diesels beginning in '38, Chevy didn't offer any until '52)- they were not manufactured by either division. Autonomy, a great thing. DD was created by GM in 1938. I believe even from the beginning, the engines were used in a wide variety of non-GM marques all over the world. I think that is the root of the reason in it's naming; to 'allow' unrestricted market access, but that's only a guess. This is not at all to say that a more 'GM' name would cause any problems, but GM had only been the #1 automaker for 7 years at that point and there was a great deal more competition and many more established HD/truck motor manufacturers already in place. BTW- DD did indeed have a 2-cycle 3-cylinder diesel, tho '3V53' could not have been it's designation; this was in the '30s and it would've been of an inline configuration. Come to think of it, a V-3 has to be pretty much impossible from a balance standpoint. (awaiting contradiction...)

Nissan? Part of the "American Auto Industry"? In what solar system? More baby seal clubbing from the media.

Why not? The PT model-line just about outsells the saab brand worldwide. saab could use that kind of volume to realize a profit for a change. Get the little bell over the showroom door a-jinglin'. Maybe a retro coupe loosely based off the late-50s saab; you know- the one all hunched over like a bug taking a crap. I see where subaru got their 'new' corporate face from...

Death is coming...

No- this was in the '60s- to figure out how to make real power, undoubtedly. And yes- I'm sure mercedes has learned much about building automatics from GM- many have tried to better them in the past and failed.

Was never a huge Stones fan, but they sounded as well as could be expected with a 4-minute set-up time. God- they're all on the Heroin Weight Management Program, eh? Think Mick'll hang it up when he hits 65 in 3 years?

>>"Lows: Ancient five-position tilt-column"<< The complaints get more and more nitpicky and in turn: laughable each year, what with the majority of the running complaints addressed and buried. This may be the biggest indicator of Just How Far We've Come of any of them. Too bad the 5th grade writers can't leave the "ancient" stereotypes alone.

Mercedes used to tear down Pontiacs, I don't see why lexus wouldn't be tearing down Chevrolets.

Don't believe in any of it. Haven't looked at a single one since I was in my teens, and I didn't believe in it then. If there was some sort of fact or truth in them, there wouldn't be 900 sources for horoscopes, there'd be 1. And it's all worded so ambiguously that 75% can apply to 75% of the signs on a given day.

An ongoing thread or website would be cool, but I need to maintain progress at a steady pace. Between work & family that has not proven to be consistantly obtainable. Might be better to just... take 'em as they come, so to speak. I need to mock up the front clip, you can bet there'll be pics then. But lots of other tasks won't be so dramatic: fuel line fabrication, for instance. I will probably rebuilt the center link & paint the trunk interior & the rest of the passenger compartment next. I'll toss in a few pics when there's something to see. Thanks for the encouragment- this is certainly where my heart is. There is NO modern car I would rather drive than this and there never will or could be. I'll try and get a few more as-she-sits pics up tonight.

>>"When do you hope to have it finished by? "<< Hm-mmm, 2009 is the car's 50th anniversary. Let's just say I am cautiously optimistic.. >>"Are those the stockers, or did you install minitubs? "<< Rear wheelwells are stock, but the car has been, in effect, backhalved. >>"What is your rear suspension setup? "<< Truck Dana 60. 4-pinion posi, 3.73 gears, 36-in custom ladder bars, Panhard bar (<-- all tucked up within the frame & invisible from all but the worms), Hiem ends, HAL QA1 adjustable coil-overs. Ladder bars have 4 front points of adjustablity and about 8 in the rear.

Today balthazar is happy because today my brother, a good buddy and myself reinstalled the body of my '59 back on it's beefy boxed frame!! So good to have my pride & joy back in only 1 garage bay! No problems to report, no mishaps, only 1 of the 16 bodyshell mounts requiring a bit of prying to align. All new rubber bushings & bolts/washers. Body has 2x3 steel tubing inside the rockers: much like another set of frame rails. This baby is going to be stiff! Even with no weight on it, she sure sits pretty on those 315/60-15 rears. Rear tires fill the wheelwells to perfection. Car height matches factory as it sits (57") but will drop 2 more inches I predict, once done. Only 700,000 details and fabrications left to go! I could bubble on all night about the operation and my joy, but I won't. Here's the only pic my wonderous japanese camera was able to snap before going into it's normal status : dead.

Oh yeah! I remember- it lasted about 5-years... and only encompassed certain models... ahh; the good ol' days!

Why...... is...... there...... no...... past reliability...... info...... for...... the...... HYUNDAI?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Past hyundais have had dreadful, awful, far-below-industry-average reliability- but there's no mention of that here! Why? Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy? Why? CR seems to think an unfavorable past model speaks volumes for a redesigned, current one. Is this past info being ommitted as a conscious decision or an oversight? Hm-mmm; I smell the smelly smell of something that smells.... smelly.

I agree: the design approaches by the koreans & germans are drawing closer & closer to the exact same thing with each passing year. This minivan thing has more cut & panels lines than a Rubik's Cube and looks like an angry insect. Are those supposed to be exposed screws in that lower front panel?? Awful.

Let's hope Nesbitt pulls off something a lot more cohesive than the designed-in-a-dark-toolshed sonnett pictured above. BTW- how much is this 'pure concept' costing?

That would not be a reasonable assumption. The question is really quite immaterial. I have not examined his career and results, still; any opinion is really a wild guess: different brands in different states of health & image in different markets & segments. BTW- a lot of the investment saab has gotten has been squandered with needless twiddledicking on their part: re-engineering fasteners & attempting to minorly re-engineer transmissions (thankfully disallowed by GM). Saab didn't know how to properly allocate funds after the '80s and they haven't learned anything since.

Just one from a lo-oong list of significant developments by GM that the entire industry soon adapted.

So-oo the assumption is that everyone knows of all these defects & complaints? I doubt it- and the posts here seem to reflect that quite well. Even non-'sheeple' can make more intelligent decisions given more accurate information. No reason to suppress it.

And when a single car mag reviews the same make/ model BMW 3 times in 1 year, the reason is what again??The major auto rags don't review Pontiacs as a rule, tho ocassionally they do slip up.

We have a number of members here readily considering imports as next purchases in addition to members who already own hondas. You were unaware?

>>"How did you get that compiled list? I could only get full paragraphs when I searched at that site (did you just summarize each?). "<< No- the listing came from another site, not NHTSA's. >>"FYI... all cars have problems, so, uh, yeah... "<< Right you are.... but some consumers don't know (or want to admit) that. It's a good public service to remind everyone, especially for those automakers for whom reality is widely separated from perception, don'tcha think?? wink!

Well, that's it then, mitsu is back and B-I-G, baby! 4 out of 6 months of sales increases, where's GM's sales increases? The asians have done it again- mitsubishi is nearly more American than Ford or GM now, much more reliable and durable, too. Great styling, why can GM give us such great styling? Because they can't because GM sucks, that's why. Ancient POS wallowing V 6-8-4 Cimarrron land yachts that fall apart in your hands! You can pull the interiors right apart, I've done it! I love GM as much as the next guy but mitsubishi, WOW!!; great aspirational cars & trucks, many class-leading. Take note, GM!!

So everything allegedly at the 'end of it's life cycle' is now "anitquated"? If you truely believe this is accurate, I had better F-ing see this term tossed around liberally at everything foreign that nears the end of it's life cycle, too. Can't say that's happening tho, why is that? nissan VQ has GOT to be 'extinct' in comparison.... It's quite hilarious how deeply some bite into the marketing 'carrot' called "NEW!!". Ahh- the power of cheese...

Not Buick; Buick was all 8s in the '50s. Gonna give a total guess here: Hudson Even tho Hudson also had a straight 8 in the '50s, it was the 6 that was the performance motor and the one that won so many races. Long live the 308!