BuddyP

Boy they're sure stretching out there.

GM better hit fuel cells harder than ever, you can only do so much with hybrids. Toyota is beating them to the punch, but hybrid tech can only go so far. Fuel cells will be the next turning point, and with the money GM already put into fuel cell research, they better beat everyone to the punch!

Lutz for CEO!!!

SWEET! I love dyno videos!! How about a 8 turbo LS-1?http://www.teasdesign.com/lateral-g/8xturbodyno.asf or a TT 515 v8.... http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/videos/...15bbctthigh.wmv

As far as the fuel issue, it's all based on how the ignition is programmed, when it picks up the lower octane it retards timing, hence lower power. If the ignition did not make any timing changes then in actuallity the car would be quicker with the 87 octane vs premium fuel. It's just timing dragging down the power for reliability issues.

Yeah I was suprised it went this long. Deffinatly a neat truck, but impracticallity and price hurts it the most for sales obviously.

well, I did cruise along at around 40-45 mph for a decent distance, so if it did kick in to V-4 mode, I didn't notice it or feel a thing, even in the gas pedal. But you really couldn't hear the motor at cruising speed anyway.

I never really hammered on it, but did do a quick kick down and then let off, never got above a 45mph zone so wasn't pushing it too much. But seat of the pants felt right about the same as my Av. When it kicked down it seemed crisper than the Av. You could hear the motor pretty good when getting on it but was very quiet when at cruising speed. Never noticed if the DOD kicked in or not. I thought there was supposed to be a light on the dash that told you when it did but apparently it doesn't. We were actually talking about that when I was driving it. I would have like to take it down the highway or a flat road and see if I could notice but wan't able too..... Did I mention that it was nice, tight and stable in the curves??!! Just how quick does the motor drop 4 cyl. anyway? Does it take awhile after cruising speed or does it kick right in as soon as throttle movement stops?

That's the nice thing about being buds with a salesman LOL! Drove a TB SS a couple weeks ago and now the new Tahoe. It was a White 4X4 LT1 model (17" wheels) with black leather interior. The 17" wheel design isn't the greatest in my mind but looked ok I guess. Exterior looked nice as usual. Could see a little warping at the bottom part of the rear bumper plastic. Front end is pretty low due to the spoiler. Interior had it's ups and downs, Although I looked over 2 LTZ Hoe's at NAIAS I can't remember the differences enough to compare between those and the LT1. Interior overall looks a lot nicer than the GMT800's, nice tight gaps, nice buttons. Upper portion of door panel looked decent but not fond of the large one peice solid plastic panel that makes up the bottom 2/3's of the door panels. Same with the sides of the console. I like the felt like head liner in the GMT800's better over the smoother GMT900 head liner too. The other gripe is how it looks unfinished between the 2 second row seats. Another thing I noticed was that the A piller blocks more view than the A piller of the GMT800 (BTW, I'm comparing this to my '03 Avalanche). Other than that it was very nicely done, seats were comfortable, maybe not as supportive as my Avalanche but were very comfy. Center console lid is at right hight to rest elbow on and was covered with leather. Quietness seems right on par with my Av. I didn't notice it to be any quieter but wasn't any louder either. Had comparable wind and motor noise. Tire noise was less but that will vary from one vehicle to another. Steering wheel feels nice and steering it relatively tight. Deffinatly stiffens up in the corners and handles nicely. Chassis feels very solid. Was a bit more jittery over studder bumps in the road but the longer wheelbase of my Av may contribute to the difference there.

I did miss quit a bit while I was there but also saw a decent amount to say that I thought GM was on par (or better than) most of the other comparible vehicles in the interior design/fit and finish dept. The new Civic is no better than the Cobalt, the new Tahoe is 10 times better than the Armada (or Infiniti's version), the Ridgeline was a joke for the price they are asking. I really had to put deep thought into how the media could bash GM's "materials/fit and finish" over the imports??

LOL!! Here's somewhat of an ass shot that I got of her when taking a pic of the interior of the car!

Oh boy, don't even get me started on that thing! Was checking this thing out at NAIAS pretty closely since it was truck of the year and all...Horrible cheap looking and cheap materials on the interior, no load or towing capacity to speak of... for a low average price of only $32k!! And the gas milage isn't even great at 16/21. Why not spend the same amount on a nicely loaded full size extended cap and get more motor, more towing and hauling capability's all for the same milage and price??? Sorry to deviate from the original topic...

Oh hell yeah!! http://www.lateral-g.org/movies/MuleW2W.wmv http://www.lateral-g.org/movies/2005hrpt.wmv

For the most part I had the similar thoughts you had. The majority of the show was no different (mostly with the jap booths, MB, BMW and Audi). What my biggest problem was with DCX was the horrible interior designs. Dodge was by far the worst, pretty amazing for the company that turned around the US auto industry in the 90's due to design. Fords setup was pretty similar to last year. I did expect more from GM's booth. The last few years they had the 2 story platform that you could walk up and around that had motor and manufacturing info and below it a stage with short shows about the future of GM... none of that this year. I didn't thing it was too cramped with cars though. Seemed like a lot of open space compared to some others. Other than the Camaro concept there was nothing out of the ordinary to draw the masses to their booths. Funny thing though, is every year the big 3's booths are always packed with people compared to the jap booths, yet they are much larger contenders when it comes to sales.

It was at the show on Monday the 16th

after reading through that link and seeing fbodfather make several comments of "but if it's the fastest/quickest..." I hope they kept the Challenger in mind. At 425hp it if comes in at the same weight, it's going to show it's tailights to the Camaro. Would like to see the Camaro stay around 3500lbs. That's where the current Mustang is at. And the new Shelby Mustang is going to be up around 3800lbs. If the efficiency is there on the Camaro and weight stays down, it has a chance of nipping at the heels of the Shelby Mustang.

I love my Av. It's perfect for me because I needed something to tow with and wanted 4 doors. The sealed rear bed was the iceing on the cake plus it rides and drives great! Am anxious to see the detailed '07 Av pics released.

Funny thing happened while me and my fiance were setting in the Saturn Vue Redline. We were in the vehicle with the doors closed (windows were down) and she made a comment about no cup holders (the plastic insert was removed) and that there was only one DC outlet. Nobody standing near would have heard us talk at a lower voice leve. A few seconds later the Saturn rep comes over and tells us that the cup holders are removed because people would steal them and that there was another DC outlet down underneath were the cup holders would set... just got me thinking, maybe GM is listening and taking notes on what people are saying about the cars at the show? It would be a pretty good idea in the sense that they could hear peoples true thoughts vs having people tell them what they want to hear on camera or microphone. But then again maybe it was just coincidence. Mmmmm.....

After setting in a Vue redline at the autoshow I thought they were quit nice. Nicer than the Escape anyway. The Green Line Vue looks like it would save on average of $300 per year in gas assuming being drivin 15000 miles a year. If less than $2k extra in price it take 5-6 years at 15k miles per year to break even. But you are helping the enviroment.

Cool, I made front page news LOL! No problem on the pics. Here were my first 2 attempts, the one isn't too great but the other shows a few more componants at a different angle. If I would have thought about it I would've taken a pic of the underside of the CTS as a comparison pic.

You think the media will bash the guage pod and compare it to the last Grand Am's pods?.....Nah!

The complete car is in working order. It's pratically production ready. It was the red Camaro at LA that was just a push model.

It's late and I'm tired so I'm going to make this breif.... Although I saw pretty much everything I'm going to focus on the big 3 Dodge (Chrysler) - SRT vehicles looked pretty cool on the exteriors. Dodges interiors overall (all vehicles), to bluntly put it, sucked. Not at all impressed with the company that turned around the big 3 in design in the mid 90's when it comes to this area. Very cheap/cheesy looking interiors, interior design and dashboards. Dodge Caliber was a disaster IMO inside and out. Amazed they could bring something like this out to production (said the same thing with the Charger last year). Dodge is capible of a lot better with their vehicles. Challenger was pretty cool, not as nice as the Camaro in my opinion, but that's just my opinion (like all of this post LOL). Ford - Didn't get over to Lincoln/Mercury. Ford Fusion is a nice looking car with a nice looking interior (same with Ford 500). The Fusion (Mazda 6...whatever) should be a good all around seller for them. Upgraded Exploder was ok inside. More cramped than a Trailblazer but the 292hp V8 should be a decent motor and make a nice package. The decked out F-250/350's are pretty sharp. Mustang interior I'm still just so so on. Super Cheif concept reminded me of the GMC Terradyne from the '98 auto show (or whenever it was). Sure was big, pretty extravagant interior. The Reflex...not sure still what to think about it. kinda neat on the exterior, interior is something yet to be desired. Ford GT looked cool as usual. No Mustang Shelby 500 at the show. GM - Camaro = Awsome!! Tahoe was very nice. The Tahoe LTZ's on show both had the center buckets with 3rd row seating. Nice interior and dash!! However, not sure what happened between the 2nd row buckets??? you can see the carpet overlap and against each seat in the center looked like a couple 2x6's covered with carpet on the floor??? Like there was a seat there and was taken out for some reason. Just unfinished. Other than that interior was very nice. Personally I would prefer no 3rd row and to just have a full bench for the 2nd row. Nice tight gaps, great fit and finish! Hope GM didn't rush this too soon to the market. wierd to know there is a '07 vehicle on the dealer lots in the middle of Jan '06. Yukon's very nice, still not sure about he headlights though. Escalades looked great! Enclave, as in the pics on this site, looked just as good. There was a Dk Blue Sky on show, looked awsome. GM didn't have as nice of setup as the past few years. Not sure what happened. Tahoe Hybrid sure looks different with the wheels and ground effects/skirts. Not sure if it's in a good way or not. Z06.... what can I say, $68,000 car to compete with $200,000 competitors!!! GM's interiors overall were pretty nice compared to all the vehicles at the autoshow (domestics and imports - malibu, Impala, G6, Torrant, GTO, etc.). Again, GM's interiors and interior material was NO WORSE than ANY other import of comparable price (exclude Mercedes/BMW/Ferrari, you know what I mean). Here's a link to my post that has some pics of the Camaro http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...?showtopic=5005 Others - Ridgeline with some options... $32k???? Ouch! I'd rather have a nicely opted TB with the extra HP, towing capacity, 4X4 and room for that price. Or add a couple thousand and have a 2wd Avalanche. It had some neat features but cheap cheesy looking interior and somewhat cheap looking exterior gave me no interest in it at all. And for the Civic Si, it looks decent inside and out, but the Mags don't DARE compare it to domestics and then bash the "interior materials" of the domestic. The materials on the Ridgline and Civic were no different. Sure the Civic has 197hp but at 8k RPM makes NO torque. For a grand more the Cobalt SS outperforms it in ever aspect except gas milage, and that's only by 1 or 2 mpg. Nissan had stickers on their 350Z that said "300hp, 25mpg", all I could think of was the Z06 at 505hp and 26mpg. Nissan Armada/Titan, yuck on the interiors (looks and materials, suddenly my '03 Avalanche interior looks a lot better dispite bashing by the media). Still don't care for the exterior design either. Not even a close comparison to the Tahoe. Still love the looks of the Infiniti G35, interior could use an update though. Didn't make it over to Toyota. Was tired by then and didn't have the interest. Did want to compare interior fit and quality though. Ok, if I think of more I'll post later, I'm tired... good night! BTW, for $h!s and giggles, My Avalanche 4X4 loaded with 5 people averaged 19.1 mpg to Detroit and Back (2 hr trip each way) and that includes driving around downtown D-town.

Just got back from NAIAS. Of course the Camaro was on the top of my list of cars to see. Looks great in person!! I was so so about the interior pics I saw on here and other websites but after seeing it in person it looks awsome!!!! After seeing the Challenger and the Camaro, the Camaro was SO much nicer inside and out. A lot better interior and more design/design features on the exterior. But the exterior will really come down to whether your a Mopar or GM musclecar fan (personally I liked the Camaro quit a bit more than the retromod Dodge). Here's some pics I took of it, got a half assed shot of the rear underside too (notice that the exhaust does not cross each other like the computer rendering pic showed that was unofficially posted around the net awhile back). Enjoy!......

I was checking out the "Fridge" at NAIAS today... Wow... $32k with decent options???!!! Kinda pricy if you ask me! Give me a 2WD Avalanche for a couple thousand more. Or a decently decked out Trailblazer with more HP and towing capacity (and more room and 4x4) for the same amount. There is no better deal $$$$ wise for the ridgeline. Cheap interior, cheap looking "truck". There is some neat features and little design details but that's where it stops. Not impressed at all considering the price!