Z-06

[source: Car And Driver]

In Canada, this car is sold as the Allure because, in French-speaking Quebec, "lacrosse" is slang for pleasuring oneself. Given General Motors' desperate financial situation, there are those who believe Buick's continued existence is a sort of corporate self-gratification. But the Enclave proved that people are willing to pay a premium for a stylish, well-executed Buick, and the 2010 Buick LaCrosse should please more people than just those inside GM.

Heritage Reinterpreted

Even if its shape seems a bit like an Americanized Lexus GS, the LaCrosse presents a new look for Buick, with a plunging line stamped into the body side that's the strongest commitment to Buick's signature "sweepspear" in decades. The front end is boldly styled, with aggressive creases and bulges in the hood and a wide-mouth grille that definitely says "Buick," but might also ask, "Excuse me, do I have something in my teeth?"

Chrome is everywhere. It's on the shiny hockey sticks that separate the taillights from the trunk; on the big, ovoid grille; on the portholes—which have migrated from the fenders to the hood—and on the door handles, which might be a bit much. Chrome body appliqués are tasteful in no book we've ever read.

Far East Influence

Inside the LaCrosse, however, is a design that is original, adventurous, and spectacular. A stitched material arcs from elbow level on the door panels up to the top of the dash in a dramatic sweep. At the middle of that arc sits the radio/HVAC stack, nestled inside a chrome horseshoe and fashioned from a handsome combination of expensive-looking plastics. Huge audio controls seemingly sized for arthritic hands and octogenarian eyes live on a separate island floating in the middle of the stack. The radio-preset buttons push down like piano keys.

Even the door pulls are things of beauty, looking like lobster claws wrapped in leather (we're not sure who'd wrap a lobster claw in leather, but you know it's happening somewhere on the internet, and that someone is, um, "self-gratifying" to it). Their placement farther aft than in most cars does make for an uncomfortable reach, and we had a couple of close calls in parking lots when wind almost blew the doors into an adjacent car before we could quickly find the pulls.

Back-seat passengers will find themselves in similarly attractive surroundings. The back seat is also spacious; it's upsized for the Chinese market, where this car is expected to be a hot commodity and an estimated 40 to 50 percent of owners will never drive themselves. Bigger Americans will find it a pleasant place to pass the miles, as well, with both longitudinal and latitudinal space on par with the segment's most voluminous sedans.

Old Habits Die Hard

It's not all beer and skittles inside, though, as we did catch a few lingering whiffs of cheapness. The most glaring is the in-dash info screen on cars without navigation. When a high-res, high-contrast screen can be found on a $200 base Garmin or TomTom navigation system, a pixelated display that looks like a refugee from a '70s calculator is inexcusable in any car with upmarket aspirations. The screen looks especially cheap compared to the beautiful, multifunction display tucked between the speedo and tach.

We were also disappointed with a rear-view mirror that suggests GM will never understand how to gracefully shape black plastic, as well as the hard plastic used to form the exceptionally shallow map pockets and glove-box door. We also noticed a slight vibration from the seat coolers—which are among the most effective we've ever experienced—when the car is stationary, but it was unnoticeable once we got moving.

Surprisingly Composed, Yet Pacemaker Friendly

Perhaps more surprising than the interior design is that the LaCrosse is a pretty stimulating place to be while in motion. While nothing about it is outright sporty, neither is it a wallowing pleasure craft. The steering feel is rubberier than that of most sport sedans, but it's pleasantly weighted and offers a degree of feedback absent in Buicks of the last forever or so, and we doubt Buick expects many LaCrosses to go autocrossing anyway. Dive into an on-ramp at seven-tenths, and the LaCrosse feels competent and its body stays mostly flat, but a full-scale assault will reveal the LaCrosse's inner Serta, and speed gives way to howling understeer. Adjustable dampers with a Sport mode are available, but they weren't fitted to our test car. The brake pedal is likewise firm, but goes soft under a heavy foot. Braking to a standstill from 70 mph takes a responsible—but not particularly aggressive—181 feet.

The direct-injected, 280-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 pulls hard to its near-7000-rpm maximum and whisks the LaCrosse to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds, all the way sounding smooth and strong. Some torque steer does emerge when driving in anger, but it is far from unmanageable. The six-speed automatic transmission is a tad slow to swap gears, and although there is a manual mode, it isn't the sort that inspires people to actually use it. We also noted particularly long travel between Park and Reverse that had us double-checking our gear selection in parking maneuvers.

A Sign of Things to Come?

A quick look under the hood suggests—and a quick call to the powertrain engineers confirms—that two more cylinders are an easy fit up front. Sadly, the days of the gratuitous V-8 are probably gone for good. A 182-hp, 2.4-liter inline-four will be standard on base CX models later this year. The CX starts at $27,835 with the 3.0-liter V-6, which also powers the $30,395 mid-level CXL (all-wheel drive adds nearly $2200 to the CXL). The top-of-the-line CXS has exclusive access to the 3.6-liter. Base price on the front-drive-only CXS is $33,765, and our lightly optioned test car rang up at $36,130.

The LaCrosse just may be proof that Buick's best days are yet to come. A bit derivative on the outside but simply stunning on the inside, this is the first Buick in some time that is gratifying to drive. You might even call it alluring.

As much as I do not like watching reality shows, this got caught my eye because he grew up in the same town as my girl. Great humility and spirit. I hope he wins.

What is a good affordable scanner with an Auto Document Feeder that can scan about 50 pages a go, and has a decent image quality and an excellent software? Films and other stuff scanning capability will be a plus, but more than anything I want to scan my magazines and get rid of the paper crap.

I found this one:

HP Flatbed ADF Scanner

What do you guys think?

Gorphil, please let us know in detail about your actual driving experience. Do not hesitate to write as much as you can.

Keep on posting.

Keep em. But no support from the companies in any ways whatsoever. They should be on their own. Let the fittest survive.

This GPS my friend has can load and play MP#s via an SD card, which is nice...n need to buy a new mp3 player if i can have both.

GPS is pretty useless around town, but for big cities and trips its invaluable I find.

Since my car is older, I can get the in-dash RB1 unit for around $300 if I so desire, which is much closer to what most mid-grade portable units run.

Sprint Navigation Rocks. Get out of the car and start walking and it will take you places too. And the phones come with 16GB MicroSD, and plus the phone. No need of being worried the car will get broken into for putting the portable unit on the windshield.

Like it or not as much as it does not make economical, ergonomic, or business sense, consumers want navigation systems built-in the car. Possibly because GPS units are #1 stolen vehicle accessory, and many people are lazy to remove from the windshield. More than that an in-built one is theft free.

I have heard many people complain about the Malibu and Camaro lacking GPS screens.

Smooch

I did not have any problems, Bill. Did you restart the computer since you had the problem - possibly some cache problems for your IE?

Youtube is a great tool for tying a tie.

Yeah, I learned three different knots there.

Never going to another wedding again. I think I've gotten Jill to agree to my idea of having a small, informal ceremony for only our immediate families, then having a huge reception.

God I hate weddings too. My mom used to say, if you do not go to others' weddings others will not come to yours. I said fine by me as I am going to elope. Fiancée, agrees with elopement, life has become simple.

After spending 2 hours in the 95 degree heat with hellacious humidity, I was in no mood to hang out in a second rate restuarant with 90 other people who had spent the last 2 hours sweating to death.

Next time only go to the reception.

[source: Wall Street Journal]

By JOHN D. STOLL and NEIL KING JR.

The new General Motors Co. exited Chapter 11 protection Friday morning, with the auto maker emerging as a leaner, more-focused company after only 40 days in bankruptcy court.

What will the new General Motors look like? Sharon Terlep and John Stoll discuss the new streamlined automaker, which will emerge significantly lighter in debts, stock, brands, and employees.

In a Detroit press conference, GM Chief Executive Frederick "Fritz" Henderson announced the birth of a "new GM," committed to quick action and a renewed focus on consumers.

"Today marks a new beginning for General Motors, one that will allow every employee, including me, to get back to the business of designing, building and selling great cars and trucks and serving the needs of our customers," he said in a press statement issued Friday. (GM press release)

"Business as usual is over at GM," he said.

The quicker-than-expected reorganization could represent a major accomplishment for the Obama administration, which committed $50 billion to GM as part of its bailout of the U.S. auto industry.

The chances of a sustained turnaround hinge on a revamped board of directors the government has installed, in particular the new chairman, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. The former AT&T executive, who spoke briefly at the press conference, was hand-picked by the government's auto task force. He was charged with keeping a tight watch over GM management and its performance, something the administration believed the previous board didn't do enough of.

Mr. Whitacre was in Detroit on Thursday meeting with Mr. Henderson and other top executives to "give them a pep talk and set the tone," one person who attended the meeting said. "His message was that there are big expectations across the board."

The first official board meeting is slated for the first week of August, when all the directors are expected to drive GM products and spend several days talking about the company.

Mr. Whitacre and the directors of the new GM will be overseeing a dramatically slimmed-down company. The auto maker is exiting bankruptcy with $48 billion in debt, down from $176 billion when it sought Chapter 11 protection on June 1. It is going forward with just four brands -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC -- and will sell or close Hummer, Saturn, Saab and Pontiac. By the end of the year GM expects to have 68,500 employees, down from 91,000 at the end of 2008.

The transformation was the result of a bankruptcy stay whose brevity caught nearly all observers by surprise. The Obama administration had said GM's trip through court could take as long as 90 days.

"Unprecedented, unbelievable, breathtaking -- all the adjectives apply to this case," said Donald Workman, head of restructuring for the law firm Baker Hostetler, which was not involved in the GM bankruptcy. "There's simply no precedent for the speed with which the government got this through court."

Many of GM's toughest restructuring measures, including the ousting of former Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and the bankruptcy filing itself, came at the behest of the auto task force. The task force head, former Wall Street financier Steven Rattner, appointed Mr. Whitacre with an eye on pressuring management to follow through with the remaking of the company.

That would be a significant change from how the company was run in the past. Under Mr. Wagoner, who served as chairman as well as CEO, directors mainly communicated with him, and rarely interacted with his inner circle.

In an early sign the new board plans to take a more activist approach, top executives have been told to expect directors to interact regularly with top managers, much the same the way private-equity firms take hands-on roles when they restructure ailing companies, a person familiar with the matter said.

The board is expected to weigh in on a management shake up Mr. Henderson has begun preparing. One management move the board is expected to approve is keeping longtime product-development czar Robert Lutz at GM to head the company's communications and marketing.

Mr. Lutz, 77, will continue to consult on vehicle design issues. He announced his retirement early in 2009, but recently came to an agreement with Mr. Henderson allowing him to stick around indefinitely

In an email Friday, Mr. Lutz said the move will allow him to focus more intently on his roots in the auto business. Although educated with a focus on marketing, he had been overseeing GM's efforts in product development since 2001.

"It's the other half of the business that I didn't have before, and I found that somewhat frustrating," Mr. Lutz said. "My entire academic and professional background is in marketing; I was practicing without a license in product development."

Later this month, the U.S. government, which is taking a 60% stake in GM in exchange for the money it has given GM, is expected to name four more directors to serve on the 13-person board. Canada, which has given GM $9 billion in aid and will own 12% of the company, will name one director to the board.

The United Auto Workers health-care trust, which owns 17.5% of GM, has already named its representative to the board -- Stephen Girsky, a former auto industry analyst who in the past has served as an advisor to both GM management and the UAW.

The new directors replace several who were closely associated with Mr. Wagoner, including the lead independent director, former Eastman Kodak Co. CEO George Fisher.

Six current GM directors will remain on the board. They include former Coca Cola & Co. Chairman Neville Isdell; former Northrup Grumman Chief Executive Kent Kresa, and former Ernst & Young Chairman Phil Laskawy.

Although GM emerges from Chapter 11 with much less debt and lower costs, the board will have to grapple with a number of challenges. It remains heavily dependent on trucks for most of its profits and it's still losing market share to foreign rivals. It will also lose control of its critical Opel unit in Europe when it sells its majority stake.

Mr. Whitacre is coming into the chairman job with no auto industry experience. But some people who know Mr. Whitacre said he's up to the task.

"He's very tough, which is called for in this situation," Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and a longtime associate of Mr. Whitacre's, said. "He's not going to let things remain how they are...this was a very astute pick."

GM, despite its larger scope and international complexities, ended up having a far smoother ride than did Chrysler, whose own Chapter 11 process was plagued by an acrimonious spat with creditors.

Still, the administration remains sensitive over claims that it trampled over existing law in pushing the two companies through Chapter 11. "Every step that General Motors and the U.S. government took during this complex process was in full compliance with U.S. bankruptcy law and established precedents," said Mr. Rattner, the principal member of the administration's auto task force.

With GM beginning a new life as at least a temporary ward of the U.S. government, Obama administration officials have pledged to pull back from day-to-day interactions with the company.

GM is still going to be looking for help in Washington, though. The company said earlier this year that it was seeking $7.7 billion in Energy Department loans to push ahead on more energy-efficient cars. To qualify for the money, it must be certified as "economically viable" by the U.S. government, a step that could happen within weeks.

—Sharon Terlep contributed to this article.

Show cars are like a tarted up Julia Roberts whore in a movie. They may look good on film but nothing like the crack whores you see on Cop's. Reality suck so get used to it.

How different was the production Camaro from the concept? A lot?

It looked like Julia Roberts on the Show floor and also likes one on pavement floor. Same goes to Enclave.

The apologetic and excuse finding mentality of GM should stop. Accept screwups and move on to correct mistakes rather than repeating them and finding more excuses.

Oh the Tundras are DOHC's?

Hot off Toyota's Own Website:

5.7L DOHC 32V i-FORCE V8 with dual independent Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i), Horsepower: 381 hp @ 5600 rpm; Torque: 401 lb.-ft @ 3600 rpm; aluminum block with aluminum heads, Acoustically Controlled Induction System (ACIS) -- dual stage intake manifold, Compression ratio: 10.2:1, Emissions: ULEV II

Manual or Slushbox?

And we wonder where our F Bodies went.

Chris and Cory, did you get all the exhaust pipes this time, unlike the Lambo?

[source: Wall Street Journal]

By SHARON TERLEP

Rick Wagoner, who is still employed by General Motors Corp. almost four months after his ouster as chief executive, will learn "very soon" when he'll be cut loose from the company and what he'll receive as an exit package, an Obama administration official said Wednesday.

Mr. Wagoner, forced out of his job by President Barack Obama amid a federal rescue, remains on GM's payroll making $1 a year and receiving the same benefits afforded to him during his tenure as chief executive.

GM is keeping Mr. Wagoner on staff -- albeit only technically -- as the government decides on pay and benefit criteria for the company's top officers, obligations that will be the responsibility of the new GM once it emerges from bankruptcy protection, company spokeswoman Julie Gibson said.

Ms. Gibson said pay and benefit packages for executives in post-bankruptcy GM are still being worked out by the Treasury Department and won't be determined until after the company exits Chapter 11.

Mr. Wagoner's pay is a delicate issue for GM, living on federal funds as it prepares for a second life as a government-owned car company. GM and Treasury want to avoid the criticism other government-dependent companies faced over rich pay packages to top executives.

Mr. Wagoner, who agreed to work for $1 a year as part of his fight to win federal funding, could be eligible for pensions that were worth around $20 million, according a regulatory filing at the end of 2008. The amount includes benefits accumulated over Mr. Wagoner's 32 years at GM.

The benefits are in a salaried pension plan and a separate pension-like plan for executives. GM can't unilaterally change the qualified salaried plan, but $19 million of Mr. Wagoner's $20 million in benefits are in the executive retirement plan, which the company is free to alter.

The U.S. government will become majority owner of the post-bankruptcy GM, to be called General Motors Co.

Executives who were already in retirement when GM entered bankruptcy protection face a different scenario than Mr. Wagoner and GM's currently employed leaders. They will take deep cuts in their medical benefits, life insurance plans and pensions as part of GM's bankruptcy reorganization under changes rolled out last month.

Yah....next time will be August 8 if you use European date formatting, though..

Well who lives there?

Pontiac 2+2

Pontiac 2000

Pontiac 6000

Pontiac Astre

Pontiac Aztek

Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac Can Am

Pontiac Catalina

Pontiac Chieftain

Pontiac Custom S

Pontiac Executive

Pontiac Fiero

Pontiac Firebird

Third-generation Pontiac Firebird

Pontiac G2

Pontiac G3

Pontiac G4

Pontiac G5

Pontiac G5 Pursuit

Pontiac G6

Pontiac G8

Pontiac GTO

Pontiac Grand Am

Pontiac Grand Prix

Pontiac Grand Safari

Pontiac Laurentian

Pontiac LeMans

Pontiac Montana

Pontiac Parisienne

Pontiac Pathfinder

Pontiac Phoenix

Pontiac Polaris

Pontiac Pursuit

Pontiac Safari

Pontiac Solstice

Pontiac Star Chief

Pontiac Sunbird

Pontiac Sunburst

Pontiac Sunfire

Pontiac T1000

Pontiac Tempest

Pontiac Torrent

Pontiac Trans Sport

Pontiac Ventura

Pontiac Vibe

Pontiac Wave

At 12:34:56 07/08/09.

indeed, its projected to fly until at least 2040 according to some sources. its joked as the pilots grandfathers plane.

Why fix something which is not broken? It is a great aircraft.

Pubes