balthazar

Cadillac right about 1982-83.

Anyone here in the market for a super clean & straight '90 454SS pick-up?? My buddy is a neat-nit mechanic and he's selling his. 14K invested, wants 12K for it. Lowered, no damage, no rust, no dents, perfect interior, rims, lots of new stuff. Looks great in, out & under. Needs nothing other than a A/C charge. In central NJ.

I said "before The Sale", meaning 1989. Dude- you were 4 years old. Me, a was already heavily into cars and I can assure you, automotive publications, popular references, 'street buzz' all ignored saab. They got a tiny bit of notice via print ad carpet bombing in the mid-late '80s, but they were never first string considerations OR aspirations for more than a handful of consumers. It may sound harsh, but it's true, I'm afraid. hudson- I agree; saab does not have the appeal nor the ability to sustain a full lineup.

More owner complaints; civic~ 2001: Transmission may suddenly pop out of 2nd gear while under way or refuse to shift into 3rd or 4th gear. Transmission leaks. Vehicle rolls back when stopped on incline. Sudden brake failure. When brakes applied first thing in the morning, they don't 'grab'- results in extended stopping distances. Leaking front struts: poor handling & front-end noise. Incorrect speedo & fuel gauge readings. Airbag warning light constantly lit. Loose door latches. Interior lights dim when A/C is engaged. Water leaks into trunk thru taillights & onto driver's side carpet thru door or firewall. 2002: Airbags fail to deploy at 15MPH head-on. Nokia cell-phone electromagnetic signals may cause sudden acceleration. Vehicle continues to accelerat with brakes applied. Cracked engine block causes oil leaks. Vehicle rolls backwards on incline (auto trans). Car was in Park on incline and rolled away. Vehicle downshifts on own. Sudden failure of front tie rod end. Complete loss of steering. Seat belts do not fully retract. Windshield cracks.

Well, one of Pontiac's targets in some segments is nissan, and we all know nissan botched the launch by not having all models / engines ready from the start with the altima. So it's really more like flattery than 'botchery', right? Emulating nissan here?

Honda has set up a secret “goodwill” warranty program that may save 2003-04 CR-V and Element owners millions of dollars in windshield replacement costs. The ‘goodwill’ warranty is contained in a technical service bulletin filing the automaker recently made under the United States government’s TREAD act. Honda’s confidential bulletin clearly states the manufacturer has a serious problem with cracking windshields that suffer from factory-related mistakes. Unfortunately, while Honda has this secret warranty extension in its back pocket, dealers are telling owners to seek payment from their insurance companies, resulting in higher insurance premiums for affected owners.” This stonewalling behaviour is unusual for Honda, but thoroughly documented in angry reports of owners found on the U. S. government’s NHTSA “Consumer Complaints” website (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/). Just like the company did with its engine and transmission problems, Honda must put out a press release recognizing its defect and extending the warranty equally to all owners.

saab voted to allow their company to be sold to GM; you get that?? Whatever beef you have with GM over saab since... make sure you give due credit to those who made it all possible in the first place- those who ran down saab to the point of 'hooking' on the open market streetcorner. Saab was never 'cool' or 'hip' or 'premium' or 'upscale' or any of that before The Sale- not in this country. And "euro" had little credibility beyond a few german brands. They were 2 things and 2 things only as of the '80s: wierdly ugly, and they had turbos. Beyond money, saab likely wanted to get in the GM nest because of GM's extensive forced induction experience. They sure weren't bringing anything to the table themselves except open hands. Fly is nailing the situation down tight; the rest is spin.

>>"...key missteps with the vehicle that also may have stunted sales. Among them was the decision to introduce a four-door sedan before a well-received coupe version was available in showrooms."<< Yeah; that altima coupe has done really really well for nis.... waitaminnit. >>"It also didn't help that the original press pictures were in that horrible green color at awkward angles:"<< Yeah- a 3/4 front shot is terrifically awkward. No oneever looks at or photographs cars that way. >>"refreshening... You know... to actually make it competitive "<< Yeah... 'refresh'... to make... 'competitive' uh-huh. Because it's not competiing with anything as the 11th most popular car in the U.S after 1 model year. Yupper-doodle!

Kia- doing dumbass things... but for you.

You may be right: a BLS may indeed sell very well. And I'm sure mercedes' bean counters said the same thing when their compact hatchback was green-lighted for production... a vehicle that seems to be panned by most accounts for it's mere existance. I know I was shocked by the lil' cheapie when I walked up on one in a parking lot a few years ago. I disremember; is this the "c-class" or "A-class"?Cadillac has stated they do not wish to lower themselves into the arena of 'affordable compacts' (or some such sentiment), and that the CTS would be as 'low' as the division would go in terms of segments. Cadillac is healthily profitable as is; a similar grab for sheer sales volume is not and should not be what CMCD should focus on. Leave the mantra of 'In a perfect world, there would be a mercedes in every driveway' to DCX. Part of being a premiere marque is at least some degree of exclusivity, no?

Of 19 vehicles, I've only owned 1 Chevy: a primer-grey '63 Nova convertible. It was a largely stripped shell/subframe with a load of parts with it. I sold it inside of 3 weeks, but then again- I bought it to flip it. No one needs to see a pic, right? Only vintage Chevys I have any desire to own would be a '66 El Camino or maybe a same-year Chevelle- I seldom see those relative to other years and I abhor conforming to what's popular. Otherwise, I could never own-to-keep of those listed above- too common. Current Silverados sure are nice trucks, tho. I am eager to ley my greasy fingers on a GMT900 Silverado....

Undoubtedly that would depend on the property owner's desires- it is not likely to be public land- even so: I am certain the random felling of trees would be disallowed. Keep in mind it only looks like anything more that woods from the air...

Correct: no higher HP version of the '58 Edsel 410. Merc wins for '58.

Thank you; that's it! I forgot, Walt, that you were an 'insider' on this one. Today: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.668600,-...12435&t=k&hl=en Walt- I remember seeing a red hardbound Studebaker reference book in the Detroit libray many years ago. It sticks (partially) in my mind because it had very cool pics of unusual stuff... I'm thinking perhaps illustrations of prototypes... or was it trucks.... can't recall. I'd like to pick up an authoratative volume on Stude- any recommendations?

Gosh golly; no- I said B-I-G! Biggest Auto Ad Ever (to my knowledge); bigger than the CTS above.

No; really, it's a really big auto ad. B-I-G. Maybe the biggest ever?

Is this theory anything like blaming GM for saab's long-running woes? Or the arrogance of blaming GM with commentary such as 'Car X doesn't have a glove box lamp, no wonder GM has lost half of it's (historic high) market share!!!!!' This degree of broadbrush whitewashing is never deserved and never objective. Constructive criticism is fine as long as the treatment of the industry remains balanced. Oops. Arrogance Boulevard is a 2-way street.

Studebaker-Worthington Leasing Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of State Bank of Long Island (Amex symbol STB), a billion-dollar plus commercial bank based in Jericho, NY. 1852-2006 = 154 years. Working on the other....

The World was told they were ready for the VW phaeton. They turned away because It Was Wrong, not because the car was bad. Kia is still Wrong... It kills me that all I read is; 'they've gotten so much better...' yet that half-thought is seldom accompanied with it's mate: '...but quality is still frighteningly bad'. Hm-mmm; rather notable difference there. Cadillac & Buick's warranties are piece of mind bonuses on vehicles reknown for high quality.Kia's towering warranty is a lunge at consumers yet leary of one of the worse quality nameplates in automotive history. One hopes the eventual buyer's 'experience' is not augmented by 'mitsu-san' treatment of complaints: ignore, bury & lie for 25 years...

Always makes me smile: Now we're doing 120, as fast as I could go, The Rambler pulled alongside of me as if we're going slow, The fellow rolled down his window and yelled for me to hear, 'Hey buddy, how can I get this car out of 2nd gear?'

Wrong: Cadillac still provides a commercial-spec FWD chassis with HD suspension, wheels, steering & brakes, increased structural reinforcements & extended wiring harnesses under the Cadillac Master Coachbuilder program. Includes W20, V4U and B9Q livery and pro-car chassis's. Still no factory limo unfortunately but it's a lot more than merely an aftermarket conversion company chopping a 'street spec' Deville (those are done, too). ZR3 Escalade-chassis vehicles are a separate offering.

... a really large auto ad. It's pretty big. What's it for and where can you find it?

Gave my brother a hand in cutting the bellhousing off his PG trans today. Bolting up an SFI-approved Ultrabell plus using a CSI composite trans shield over that, since he had it laying around. Now anything that blows will hit the road instead of the roof. His Firebird went 11.1s on the previous 400, should be low 10s on the new one. I need to order an UltraBell for my Buick, too, only $215. Big bore undersquare torque motors are hard on transmissions.

I was rummaging thru my Memroy Box and came upon this one from my past. I had no hesitation as to what to do at the time and would do the same thing today given the same circumstances. BTW- I left nothing pertinent out: no shifty uncle, no POS car, no alternate price. Not meant to trip anyone up (or to flush out the conspiracists among you). I merely thought this an interesting exercise to see how different people might react to an unexpected situation involving their best/very good friend. A sliver of amateur psychology to satisfy my own curiousity. Thanks to all who have replied so far.

I am merely referring to what was posted here: "...this is just a big compact as its based on the Saab 9-3" "...Oh and it is a Saab rebadge not a Chevy!" You also failed to correct the above when you posted: "...But it doesn't LOOK like a SAAB, and SAAB has so little market presence the comparison prolly won't be noticed." The factor of concern here is that it's will very likely will be lambasted for being 'badge-engineered' (whether saab or Epsilon-derived) which would help Cadillac out HOW?? Media called the late '90s W-Bodies 'badge-engineered' exclusively when they shared nothing anyone could see on the exterior or interior beyond the windshield. Why (other than stupidity?)? Why did we not read "badge-engineered" in every article on either the camry or the es300 when those were so obvious? The media. Right now Cadillac has an exclusive in the Sigma platform & the Northstar (tho the latter's exclusivity is unfortunately eroding as we speak). The CTS and STS are unique and that's as it should be and traditionally has been. But SH!T- we all read a mention or two of the Cimarrron in reviews of the CTS!!!! -separated by TWENTY years and 100% of it's parts! How is it you cannot see what would happen to a BLS concurrently platformed with a Chevy & a saab?? You're kidding, right??