NINETY EIGHT REGENCY

I am hoping for a perfect end to your situation. It was really sad seeing the newer photos. You will recover and things will be okay. Wow... You will indeed get past this.

These photos are nice. It was a pleasure to view them.

I totally understand. I know my Toronado is rare and it was hard to come by. The option package I have is rare. When I do go looking for Toronados, most are Trofeos. Then it becomes and issue of quality and condition.

I hope you are finding some closure Roger and I know how frustrating this is during the holidays and your birthday. I really do. your thread. I just know how painful it is and how you feel. Please let us know what happens. You know who it is, it will be fixed and it can be fixed. This is not the best way to spend a holiday and a birthday. You have people here who want to help you.

Yes. Right in the heart of the west coast market where Ford and GM are disregarded and laughed at. Now their beloved Toyota is being exposed for what it is. I hope it continues. Honda was just busted for lying about gas mileage. It annoyed me how for so long people blindly would run to a Toyota dealership and buy these cars because of what someone said, and because of the "Toyota Lie" they all believed for so long. The funny thing is GM and Ford did have quality cars during the rough times. No one noticed.

Happy Birthday. I wish you the best and hope you enjoy your day!

Congrats to your mother and I enjoyed the photos. I really did. I wished GM would make something for Oldsmobile people or still had new Oldsmobiles to purchase. It is nice just looking at your photos and knowing the story behind them.

and.... Big Ed is not finished yet.

Best wishes and happy holidays. You will indeed be blessed.

GM picks Microsoft's Chris Liddell as finance chief Chrissie Thompson Automotive News -- December 21, 2009 - 11:11 am ET After more than 4 years at Microsoft, Liddell is joining GM. DETROIT -- General Motors Co. has appointed Chris Liddell, Microsoft Corp.'s finance chief, as vice chairman and CFO, replacing Ray Young. Liddell, 51, has served as Microsoft's CFO since May 2005. He had previously announced he was leaving the software company on Dec. 31. The hire brings another well known auto industry outsider to GM's shifting senior executive team at a time when the automaker has been struggling to close deals to sell key assets and regain sales momentum in the U.S. market. GM has been operating since July with a new board vetted by the Obama administration and, since the start of December, under a new chief executive in Ed Whitacre, who had spent a career at telecommunications provider AT&T. GM had been searching for a replacement for Young since at least September. Young became CFO in March 2008, taking over for Fritz Henderson, whose Dec. 1 ouster elevated Whitacre to the interim CEO post. Before joining Microsoft, Liddell was CFO at International Paper Co. He has also served as CEO of Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., a New Zealand wood and paper products company. "Chris brings a depth and experience to this job that were unmatched in our search for a new financial leader," said Whitacre, who is also GM's chairman, in a statement. "We're also looking to his experience and insights in corporate strategy as a member of the senior leadership team in helping our restructuring efforts." New Zealand native Liddell, a New Zealand native, holds an engineering degree from the University of Auckland and a master's degree in philosophy from Oxford University in England. Once Liddell joins GM, Young is staying on as vice president of international operations. GM said last week he would report to international President Tim Lee beginning Feb. 1. Young will lead the unit's finance activities and have other roles “clarified in the near term,” GM said. The international business comprises Latin America, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. The search for Young's replacement tested the salary caps placed on the bailed-out company by U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg. He cut cash salaries for the top GM executives by 31 percent and allowed only one executive, aside from then-CEO Henderson, to make more than $500,000 for 2009. GM has not identified that executive. Whitacre said last month the salary limits made hiring from the outside difficult. He urged a reconsideration of Feinberg's limits. The pay czar later said he would be open to flexing the limits for new hires. A GM spokesman today declined to say whether GM had gotten lenience from the government on salary limits for hiring Liddell from the outside. The spokesman said the company might post more information in a regulatory filing.

Spyker makes new offer for Saab; GM will evaluate Dutch sports car maker says 11-point proposal addresses GM's concerns PAUL MCVEIGH AUTOMOTIVE NEWS DECEMBER 20, 2009 - 8:46 AM ET UPDATED: 12/20/09 2:36 P.M. ET MUNICH -- Spyker Cars NV said it had submitted a new offer for General Motors Co.'s Saab two days after GM said the brand and its 218 U.S. dealerships would be shut down. Spyker CEO Victor Muller said an 11-point proposal had been handed to GM addressing each of the issues that arose during due diligence after the Dutch sports car maker originally bid for Saab. Muller said the new offer would remove the obstacles that were standing in the way of a swift sale of Saab to Spyker. "We're very confident we have put forward a proposal that can convince GM in time," Muller told Reuters in an interview. "The jury's still out. We will see what happens next." GM responded in a statement saying: "Following Friday's announcement that GM will begin the orderly wind down of Saab, GM has received inquiries from several parties. We will evaluate each inquiry." GM said it would not make further comments until the evaluations have been completed. GM decided to close Saab after the collapse of last-ditch talks to sell the money-losing Swedish brand to Spyker, a small sports car builder. "We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter, and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer," Muller said in a statement. Muller said: "We are very confident that our renewed offer will remove the impasse that was standing in the way of an agreement on Friday, and this would still allow us to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM of December 31." He said the new offer eliminates the need for a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan approval before the year end, which will allow the deal to be concluded within GM's deadline. "Our efforts are based on our passion for saving an iconic brand that we would be honored to shepherd, and the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of loyal Saab employees, suppliers and dealers around the world," Muller said. Monday deadline Spyker said its offer is valid until 5 p.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 21. A Spyker Cars spokesman declined to comment on the financing of the deal or the due diligence issues that arose. The primary backers of Spyker -- which last year sold 43 cars at prices of at least 200,000 euros ($287,800) -- include Russian banking tycoon Vladimir Antonov and his Convers Group, which has almost a 30 percent stake in the firm. Jeroen Willard, an analyst at Dutch brokerage AEK, has said that for Spyker -- which has struggled for years -- to finance the deal it would likely issue shares to its Russian backers. Spyker Cars said if a deal could be agreed, Saab would provide it a global distribution network, production facilities and solid engineering, sourcing and R&D, while Saab would receive financial backing to compete as a global brand. Reuters contributed to this report.

I hope it works this time. I hope they can get the deal done....

I must say I am enjoying the positive comments in this thread. It is good to know others view gays favorably. I just wish the gay in the community would treat each other better.

I remember that commercial. GM used to sell a lot of Caprices back then.

GM'S Whitacre reports first payments to U.S., Canada AUTOMOTIVE NEWS DECEMBER 18, 2009 - 4:08 PM ET DETROIT (Reuters) - - General Motors Co. CEO Ed Whitacre said GM has paid $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $192 million to the governments of Canada and the province of Ontario. This is the first regular payment for GM of the $8 billion of bailout debt that the company says it will have paid off in June. Whitacre on Tuesday said that automaker would repay its government loans by June, the first time a GM official had set that short of time to settle the debt. "We are grateful for the support the governments have provided us. We look forward to continuing repayments through June 2010, at which time the balances will be paid in full, assuming no downturn in the economy or business," Whitacre said in a statement. GM said last month that it would repay the government loans back from a $13 billion escrow account containing cash left over from the government bankruptcy financing that established a new company in June. GM emerged from bankruptcy on July 10, when Whitacre officially became chairman. He took over for ousted CEO Fritz Henderson on Dec. 1. Next June, should GM keep to its scheduled payments -- and Whitacre said today that it would -- it will have cut its current debt in half.

I decided to rewrite a song about this: You Better Face It Toyota...It Is Over.. Hit it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGOlDAvw0ng Face It, Toyota, it Over When you look at a Toyota and its ugly as hell And the buyer turns away Sitting at a corner Toyota dealer And theres nothing much to say Does media have to draw you pictures Does the media have to spell it out Face it Toyota, the free ride its over Wo-oyeah, its over When the buyer glances at his watch And it isn't late And you try to amuse him And he doesn't concentrate Just how plainly can the media tell you Do they have to shout out loud Face it Toyota, its over Whats the use in hanging on As being number one slowly slips away from you Don't go along for the ride Keep some semblence of pride There's really nothing you can do There's nothing you can do Toyota So the time has come, I know, for that last hurrah Guess you have to go on living, when its easier for Tundra to rust and die Get the strength enough to take it Take it like a Camry should know, I know, I know its over It's over

I understand. I guess you feel the same as I do then. You bring Oldsmobile back or do a Oldsmobile by GMC. I feel what you are saying. Yeah, the last affordable rear drive before the G8 at GM was in the 1990's. This is the up hill battle GM is fighting.

What if GMC was no longer just a truck brand anymore? OOD or PCS puts a picture of a GMC UTE in is profile. A long time ago I thought what if GMC started selling cars and changed their slogan to "We are not just trucks anymore"? PCS is telling without telling you guys with his visual hits and phrases like he gave in this thread. IF GMC sold cars too Oldsmobile and Pontiac people would not be offended. I even heard Bob Lutz make an off handed comment like saying "Pontiac by GMC". What PCS is saying is wait and believe. They are working on it. It is how they get it to you. It may not come in the form of a Chevrolet or a Buick. I could be totally wrong.

Japanese cash for clunkers program draws criticism 12/10/2009, 4:24 PMBY MARK KLEIS Detroit’s Big Three automakers are voicing concern over Japan’s version of the cash for clunkers program, which declares virtually all imported vehicles ineligible for government rebates. The Big Three have taken their concerns to the U.S. Government in a call for action. Japan has recently launched its own version of the cash for clunkers program in an effort to spur its economy and shore up struggling new cars sales which are down 34.7 percent from their peak. However, unlike the American cash for clunkers initiative, Japan’s program specifically outlaws the eligibility of imported vehicles from the program. In a letter jointly written by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler to the deputy U.S. Trade Representative, the automakers called the Japanese program “another example of Japan continuing efforts to discriminate against imported vehicles.” The letter also said, “We urge the U.S. government to make clear that it cannot tolerate this outright discrimination, particularly at a time when it has provided substantial direct financial support for Japanese automakers in this market.” By contrast, the American cash for clunkers program held no restrictions on imported vehicles and netted 319,300 sales for Japanese automakers – nearly half of the total 690,114 sales generated from the program. Although the Detroit automakers are pushing the U.S. Government to urge Japan to consider more equitable terms, the potential sales for American automakers in the Japanese program are considerably less than what the Japanese automakers were able to obtain in the U.S. program. American-made autos imported to Japan account for less than five percent of total sales each year. Japan is offering a $2,830 tax cut for vehicles 13 years or older towards the purchase of a new fuel-efficient vehicle, and $1,130 for those who purchase a qualifying fuel-efficient vehicle without scrapping an older vehicle. The program is capped at approximately $3.7 billion in potential rebate funding.

Buick's "Premium" Compact Sedan Spied with Less Camouflage in China:( new photos) http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/12/buick-compact-sedan-spied-with-less.html

1991 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Touring Sedan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cok3qfkNLNI 1990 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzt3DW_ff-E

Those are the same seats from the Toronado. Oldsmobile used it on the Ninety Eight Touring Sedan and Toronado. My Toronado has those seats. Congrats to you Brougham-Holiday. That car has potential. You can restore that car with effort,time, patience and money. I did not care too much for the GM cars from the downsized look alike era, but I did like the 98 Touring Sedan and the Bonneville SSE from that era.

Happy birthday Black Viper. I wish you all the best.

That is Grand Prix Brougham. Two things I notice that tell me it is: 1. The steering wheel 2. The seats. I see the pillow seats offered on Brougham. That car can be fixed and put back to proper condition.

It is interesting watch as the changes take place at new GM. This is shocking so many people. Were that they that repressed and uptight? I also feel they were out of touch with todays reality in a major way. I also get the feeling if you spoke up at GM in the past, they booted you out. Now they want you to dress comfortable, be productive and more. Are we experiencing a revolution at GM?