BigPontiac

I'm curious to see the G8 in person as well. The concept wheels on the car pictured make a huge difference! I'm still not sure about the hood scoops, but otherwise IMO the G8 looks far less "cartoon-y" than the CTS-V. Bring on the GXP with the 6-speed manual!

Nice job!

Putting that back to stock doesn't look like it would take much, particularly since he has the original wheelcovers. That was a really nice Toro before someone pimped it! I'm surprised it doesn't have dark tint windows and curb feelers...

I thought GM only had brands these days, not divisions in the traditional sense? I'd have grouped Pontiac, Buick and GMC brands into a single "division" if I were guessing as a GM outsider.

Saab? Hummer ?

So maybe GM will build Zeta's in North America for export to China, etc? Honor the terms of the UAW contract, exploit the low value of the US dollar, just not sell them in the US to avoid CAFE... The Buick Enclave already paved the way for this type of deal (aside from the no US sale). This would allow them to build the Camaro, but get economies of scale for production.

But G6 is easier for Avis to print on the key tag than Grand Am. Shows Pontiac marketing finally realized who their customer was. The current GP can't die soon enough for me. If Pontiac hadn't wasted the name on 4 door rental cars starting in the late 80s, they could have used the name "Grand Prix" on the Monaro when it was imported into the US instead of calling it a GTO. Would have made a great successor IMO to the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ.

It's unfortunate GM can't accelerate the deployment of the 6-speed autos in the 1500s rather than discount them.

Article My favorite quote: BOB LUTZ, GM's vice chairman of global product development: "Now that we have the 35 miles-per-gallon fuel economy mandate by 2020, I am hoping that in 2008 'Professor Doktor' David Friedman (research director, clean vehicles program, Union of Concerned Scientists) and his 'highly-qualified' band of allegedly concerned, self-proclaimed scientists will turn their energy toward showing the world's automotive industry exactly how those numbers, using existing technology and 'costs of a few hundred dollars at the most' can be attained with a vehicle selection that even remotely resembles the cars and trucks Americans want to buy today."

I think some of this depends on the car and the buyer. The guy who bought my dad's 2006 Acura TL 6MT w/Nav lives in TX -- he saw the ad on Autotrader.com and had the car shipped back to TX from CT. The buyer specifically stated how hard it was to find a stick. My Dad's 2003 VW Beetle Turbo S 6MT was sold on eBay to a buyer in Iowa. On a truck it went from CT to IA. And when I sold my 2000 BMW 323i 5MT the first question people asked was to confirm it had a manual trans and not an automatic. All 3 cars were gone in 30days or less. Marketing and sales go beyond the local market these days for buyers looking a particular product. Even CarMax will bring in inventory from other stores if a buyer is interested. My friend's 2004 CTS 6MT he sold to CarMax sold locally in less than 2 weeks! In contrast, my local BMW dealer has a CPO 2005 330i twin to my car that has an automatic instead of the manual trans. It's been on their lot for 6mo+ because buyers looking for the 330i with the performance package want a manual trans.

How did the repairs turn out? Pictures?

Autoblog has the GM press release posted about this now. link

Hopefully the 2009 Sierra makes the list for getting bluetooth. Couple that with the 6 speed auto and maybe I can finally buy a new truck.

It's back again...

Link to Article GM Hits Million-Sales Mark in China Date posted: 12-21-2007 SHANGHAI, China — When General Motors edged Ford Motor more than 10 years ago to become the preferred partner of Shanghai Automotive, critics maintained that it would take decades for GM to recoup its initial $3 billion investment in the Shanghai GM venture and the jointly operated Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC). Turns out it only took a single decade. In fact, GM's China operations have been profitable since the early years. And now, with SGM and PATAC marking their 10th anniversaries in 2007, GM has achieved an even more remarkable milestone: It has become the first global automaker to sell more than a million vehicles in China in a single year. Sales have rocketed in the past five years. Back in 2002, the U.S. automaker felt fortunate to sell 100,000 vehicles in China. Since then, GM has invested another $3 billion in its China operations, including a stake in mini-vehicle manufacturer Wuling, which it operates in partnership with Shanghai Auto. GM now assembles a broad range of vehicles in China and sells them under the Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac brands. What this means to you: No surprise that China has become Buick's most important market. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent

I expect the cookie stuff to be a little flaky until you can set everything up with the real domain name, etc. Otherwise the FastCGI configuration and overall board performance seems excellent now. I like the page generated stats like MyYahoo used to do too. Any plans to upgrade to IP.Board 2.3 as part of the conversion to a permanent home?

Hmmm, I did that (using Firefox 2.0.x). Everything seemed to be working fine, however in this actually thread minutes ago when I clicked on the previous page number it errors out and I have to sign-in again. Anyone tinkering with settings or something?

Original Article eBay Auction MSN Article 'Knight Rider' Car Being Sold On eBay Last Owned By Slain Real Estate Developer By DAVE ALTIMARI | Courant Staff Writer December 20, 2007 In the 18 months since Andrew Kissel was slain, creditors have been circling what remained of the Greenwich real estate developer's financial empire. Now, after banks and other creditors have laid claim to more than $30 million they say Kissel owed them, the last of his possessions is ready to be sold: an original KITT, a computer-driven Pontiac Trans-Am used in the "Knight Rider" television series starring David Hasselhoff. Always a car aficionado, Kissel had purchased one of a handful of the specially designed Trans Ams that were used on the mid-'80s show, which launched Hasselhoff's career and a legion of KITT lovers. KITT was the computer brain of the jet black car that talked to Hasselhoff in the series and got him out of many scrapes with bad guys. The car was extremely fast, and bullet-proof. "It's the last thing he ever owned," Greenwich attorney Patrick R. Gil said of Kissel. Gil has been the administer of Kissel's estate, charged with selling off his few remaining assets and trying to satisfy creditors who were out millions when Kissel was killed in his home on April 3, 2006. The crime is still unsolved. Gil thought he had finally sold off the boats, cars and other "toys" that Kissel accumulated, until he discovered the "Knight Rider" car. Kissel apparently purchased it in 2005 for $69,000 through an auction house in California, Gil said. Kissel, 46 when he died, either forgot about the car when some of his legal troubles started or decided not to bring it back to Connecticut. Gil is now trying to sell the car on eBay. It has been listed for a couple of days, and although Gil set the minimum bid at only $20,000, no one had bid as of Tuesday afternoon, he said. "I'm a little surprised because it is a unique car," Gil said. "My understanding is that there were only four of them made specifically for the television series. I expected some 'Knight Rider' lovers to jump on it." Kissel was days from starting a 10-year federal prison sentence — for forging documents to obtain more than $16 million in loans from banks and mortgage companies — when furniture movers discovered his body in the basement of his Dairy Road home in Greenwich. He had been stabbed four or five times in the back. His hands and feet were bound in Flex Cuffs and his T-shirt had been pulled over his head. Police have yet to make an arrest. Because the house was protected by a gated security system, police have speculated that either Kissel knew his killer and let him in or that the killer was familiar with the home and knew the code to unlock the security gate. Police have interviewed Kissel's handyman, Carlos Trujillo, who may have been the last person to see Kissel alive when he stopped by the home about 6 p.m. the night before. Trujillo's attorney, Lindy Urso, has acknowledged that one police theory has Kissel hiring Trujillo to kill him. Urso has denied that Trujillo was involved in the slaying. According to that police theory, Kissel hired Trujillo because he couldn't bring himself to commit suicide. If he had killed himself, his ex-wife Hayley Wolff Kissel, and their two children might not have been eligible for a $15 million life insurance policy. The insurance company has refused to pay Hayley Wolff Kissel the $15 million, and a federal lawsuit is pending. Andrew Kissel was the second member of his family to die a high-profile, violent death. His brother, Robert Kissel, a wealthy banker, was killed by his wife, Nancy, in Hong Kong in 2003. She poisoned his milkshake.

Less than people probably make jokes about Pontiac Azteks I'd imagine. Buell is majority owned by Harley Davidson. The Harley V-Rod (VRSC) is interesting in its own way as well.

Or you could stay in the USA and just buy a Buell.

HHR SS or Saturn Astra XR? VW Rabbit?

My dad's old 2004 Buick Ranier CXL AWD came with Michelin Cross Terrains as OEM, they were terrible in the snow and he ended up buying a set of winter tires for it. The Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's have been awesome on my Sierra.

The AutoBlog version: HHR SS First Drive

If the goal is to curb the consumption of gasoline, a gas tax would seem to be much more effective...but politically unpopular with the voters. CAFE is ill conceived, much like letting hybrids (optimized for stop and go traffic) use the HOV lane with only a single occupant in the vehicle.

This made the 11 o'clock news on my local CBS affiliate.