VenSeattle

Thank you! I'm regaining my sea legs. Plenty of new features and forum categories. I intend to stick around. I'm tired of my sabbatical. :-)

I never saw the 200 as anything special. It's not an appropriate sibling to the 300. They look like they're built by two completely different manufacturers. One is a generic jelly bean and the other is a brick. And for the price, you can get a well equipped 300 for the price of a well equipped 200. The lower trim levels of the 200 have this dull charcoal colored interior and matte finished plastic where the wood would be surrounding the instrument pod on the upper trim levels. It just looked low rent. I saw several 200s at AVIS, Hertz, and Enterprise. I can believe the dealers' argument that FCA were inflating sales numbers. For comparison, the current Regal is nicer than the 200 and it's about to be replaced.

Nope, the Impala was 3400 and 3900 by then. The last year of the 3800 was the 2008 Lucerne... that was the last North American vehicle to carry it. Impala dropped the 3800 after 2005. Nope, the Impala was 3400 and 3900 by then. The last year of the 3800 was the 2008 Lucerne... that was the last North American vehicle to carry it. Impala dropped the 3800 after 2005. That's the first thing I thought of. The 3800 has been out of production for years. It was also never offered in China AFAIK.

Never allow this person to present another product to the public, again. I think the "exclusive leather" comment was the pattern of the perforation of the leather. The comment he made about haven't been in the back seat yet threw my patience with his stammering over its limit. Overall, it's a very nice vehicle. Small market though. I like the folding rear seats, interior color choice, the quality of the execution and follow through. The buttons don't bother me much.

Don't forget Buick was just assigned a new chief stylist, Bryan Nesbitt.... He's arguably GM's highest profile designer. Buick's directions with be international and not just for one market. I personally think GM wouldn't have placed Bryan in this position if Buick had already peaked in target markets. With a dedicated team focused on Buick's lineup and design strategy, I can see Buick being reintroduced to Australia and Europe. I personally believe Chevrolet should be reintroduced to Europe. Vauxhall and Opel should be absorbed by Buick. The European Dealer network should convert to Chevrolet and Buick dealers. One of the main reasons why Buick continues to survive in the US is because it can demand a higher purchase price than Saturn and Pontiac could with similar product. Chevrolet would cover mainstream pricing in Europe and Buick would be able to price itself towards the premium and luxury markets which Vauxhall and Opel continue failing to penetrate.

I have to agree with Cmicasa with both Buick and GMC. Buick needs to grow in the premium segments that are on fire. The Verano, Encore, and Envision are perfect products for Buick at the perfect time. Buick needs to be easily comparable to the premium competition and seen as a legitimate player. Buick and GMC do not and will not overlap with their CUV offerings. I do not foresee a person cross-shopping the Terrain and Envision. They're just completely different, even in Denali garb. It's the same reason Acadia and Enclave are successful while sharing the same showroom floor. GMC and Buick are both premium brands but their products target completely different markets. Buick and GMC combined are on target to sell over 700k vehicles a year through their dealer chain. That’s amazing for two brands that don’t make a lot of PR noise. If anything, GMC needs to continue differentiating itself from Chevrolet's offerings. Buick could use coupes (Cascada is coming, but a Regal sedan and coupe and/or Riviera coupe based on alpha would be excellent) and a proper flagship sedan positioned above LaCrosse (based on Omega to share cost development as has been rumored in the past) to properly compete against the Hyundai Genesis, Kia K900, and other Non-Cadillac segment contenders. Buick needs a proper replacement for the Park Avenue in China. We need one here too.

Congrats to the Encore being a runaway success! It looks like Enclave is on pace to beat last year's sales total. Ther Verano is outselling the Acura ILX more than 2to1. I look forward to see how the Envision is received here in the US. It's not official yet, but it'd be crazy for GM not to sell it here in the US.

Very beautiful Regal. Looks great in black.

Almost a year past and I'm just now seeing this very kind and thoughtful post. I humbly thank all of you for remembering my birthday last year. I'm sorry for my absence. It's been a rather tumultuous 12-18 months. I'm intact for the most part. I will say that GM has definitely seen a worse 12-18 months. Now, If I can just rebound as well as GM has (so far). Yes, I've been following GM and the industry even while I've been away from C&G. I don't think I'll ever quit. I was initially excited about the IPO, but that was silenced by the report on ineffective reporting practices. I'll need to read up to see what all of you have said about this issue. I'll see you guys in the forums and hope to visit more regularly going forward. Thank you again for the kind wishes. They are most appreciated. VenSeattle

I'm with Verizon and have the Blackberry Tour... Absolutely love it! I'm also signed up for their HP mini with built-in VPN/wifi/etc... great alternative to the smallish tour screen and perfectly sized when a full laptop isn't required. Service has been perfect in the PacNW over the past 4 years that we've been with Verizon. I'll report on coverage with the new BB on the East Coast and in Europe after the next few months testing it out. Seriously though... if you don't need to instantly manage a dozen email accounts, web identities, etc while having 24/7 uninterrupted access to company db's, crm's, etc then a BlackBerry really is overkill. It's perfect because I use it for work and personal, but many may find it tech-heavy. Honestly, I'd probably have an enV3 if it wasn't for work. My dom partner has the enV Touch. He loves it and hates my BB. My business partner is about ready to convert to the Tour. hehehe.... oh... I can't use touch screens... they have problems detecting my fingertips. No big loss IMO.

Lexus is potentially making the 3.5l V6 available for their LS flagship. Gas prices will be up again by the end of the year, and this time it might not drop like before. I don't see this really as a bad idea providing they make the 2.4l & 3.0l both available on the CX & CXL, and the 2.4l and 3.6l available on the CXS. Then the 4-cyl wouldn't come across as a bottom feeder/budget buy. Can the two-mode system work with the 2.4l? or just the HFV6 family?

does anyone know how much less the 2.4l ecotech engine weighs compared to the 3.0 or 3.6l v6? That will impact performance numbers. I read the article understanding the mpg stats were actually estimates, not EPA reg.