Z-06

[source: Left Lane News] Buick to Get Next-Gen Astra In 2011 General Motors will cut ties with its Saturn brand by the end of the year, but that won't mark the end of Opel vehicles in the United States. Saturn currently stands as GM's Opel import division, but that responsibility will soon switch over to Buick. Although rumors of an Opel-ized Buick have been swirling for some time now, GM' Product Board has officially signed off on the plan, according to GM Inside News. However, the first Opel-sourced Buick product will not be based on the Antara (Saturn Vue) or Insignia as first thought, but rather the Astra hatchback. The Saturn Astra hasn't exactly set the sales charts on fire, but GM is hoping for a different outcome when Astra switches over to the Buick brand. Unlike the current Astra, Buick will be getting an all-new model designed with the U.S. market in mind. The new Astra will roll into Buick dealers in late 2011 as a 2012 model, although the Buick version won't likely wear the Astra nameplate. In order to keep costs in line – a major problem with the Saturn Astra – GM will produce the Buick Astra in North America. GM has yet to officially decide on a production location, although the company's Lordstown, Ohio and San Luis Potosi, Mexico plants are the early frontrunners. It remains unclear if both the three- and five-door variants of the Astra will make it into Buick's lineup. Although there has been a lot of talk about GM's plan to sell Opel, that decision won't affect future Opel-sourced Buick. GM is actually looking to sell Adam Opel, not GME Europe AG. GM Europe owns the rights to all of Opel's designs and engineering, regardless of what happens to the Adam Opel brand.

Happy Birthday Sir.

[source: MotorAuthority] Electric Supercharger Offers Diesel Efficiency for Gas Engines Less Carbon Emissions Compared to Similar Gas and Diesel Engines Existing hybrid technology uses electrical energy stored in a battery to power an electric motor connected to an internal combustion engine, but there are other ways of harnessing electrical energy to help save fuel. Engineers in the UK have developed a new system where electrical energy can be used to drive a supercharger and boost performance. Conventional superchargers are powered by a belt connected to an engine. As more power is dialed up, the supercharger draws more and more power away from the engine and in turn burns more fuel. Last year, British firm Controlled Power Technologies (CPT) revealed an electric supercharging system developed for small fuel-efficient engines that does away with the belt system. Dubbed the Variable Torque Enhancement System (VTES), the system is ready for mass production and can be applied to all types of petrol and diesel engines including those already turbocharged. CPT has now teamed up with German powertrain developer AVL List GmbH (AVL) and together the companies have unveiled a petrol engine with the same CO2 emissions as a similarly powered diesel. The particular engine was a 2.0L four-cylinder petrol unit with direct-injection technology and 197hp (147kW) and 295lb-ft (400Nm) of torque available. When fitted in a Volkswagen Passat, the electrically-supercharged engine produces CO2 emissions of 159g/km. The regular 167hp (125kW) 2.0L TDI diesel version on the other hand emits 165g/km, while the 197hp (147kW) 2.0L TFSI petrol model emits 194g/km. CPT has also signed a deal with Switched Reluctance Drives Limited to start developing OEM units for sale later this year but so far no carmakers have announced plans to use the electric supercharger.

Gotta agree there. Testing the Solstice and Cobalt back to back there is some difference in the tuning. Cobalt does feel a little more refined than the Solstice and does a remarkable job hiding its FWD handicap. It is a tad bit slower, but a little bit more fun to drive.

True but the overall design was nothing to talk about either.

In reality, the real weight gain for the ZR1 compared to the Z06 came from the supercharger and the fact it was little more over engineered compared to the Z06. Furthermore, Z06 was engineered with C6R and therefore gained the advantage of better weight savings, although some of those did get transferred to ZR1. I agree with you that it is a balance of money and weight for the same structural rigidity. But look at Cruze, it is about 30% structurally rigid than the Cobalt, yet saves weight by about 60 lbs. The point is GM can DO IT. It does not feel like doing it partly because it cheapens itself in the details. A diversified Alpha can handle the same power of the Zeta and GM does have the capability to, but not the resources (it did few years back, but squandered it.) My point with this Camaro has always been one. It is such a beautifully balanced, strong car, with performance, fuel economy, and handling belittling the lighter competitors and despite being approx. 10% more heavy than them. Imagine what it would have been if it weighed the same?

Honestly, can you explain how? Yes IRS did add weight compared to the old Camaro, but even with leaf springs Corvette has been a dragon killer in the handling department. How can added weight make a vehicle better performing than a vehicle with stronger strength material?

Deséele una vacaciones muy felices

Dear God. The charm is reduced on that Zeta with the front license plate. I am glad I live in a state which does not require one.

That still does not disprove my point that the old Camaro was incapable of handling immense horsepower and no additional strength was needed in the current one to handle the same.

That is the real answer. The real Alpha RWD which can slay anything from slanted H's to the rondels. Till then we have to live with the heft called Zeta, which is not at all bad.

But still does not die.

It was two months ago. I actually test drove one. I do not know about one now.

Yes. Very quick and it can dance.

Reg, previous generation Camaro was 400lb lighter than this one, was structurally less rigid, yet handled the ungodly horsepower people put into it. So no, weight and handling insane amount of horsepower are mutually exclusive. The problem is that, Zeta was not the right platform for the Camaro. Camaro needed a lighter platform, but GM did not have one that time, hence Camaro went on Zeta light. The wheelbases of the Camaro and Genesis are within an inch, yet the Camaro is eight inches longer. That is where the extra weight went into. It is even 6 inches longer than the 69 Camaro, which the current car idolizes.

The basic assumption here is GM has a strong marketing and PR team. Oh wait a minute!

More like 150k. Like others say, keep it. Even after 120k on the Lumina, when I eventually changed the coolant, the color looked good.

Magic self destruct yet outlast Celts. Go Magicians.

[source: Wall Street Journal] GM's China Sales Hit Monthly Record in April BEIJING -- General Motors Corp. said its sales in China hit a monthly record in April, rising 50% from a year earlier on strength in its Buick and Wuling brands. The strong performance in China by the U.S. auto maker, until recently the world's biggest by output, contrasts with its struggles in its home market. GM is racing to restructure outside of bankruptcy court in the U.S., and is expected this week to accelerate talks with the United Auto Workers union and move toward closing about 2,600 dealerships. GM, which posted record China sales of 151,084 units in April, has two joint ventures in the country: passenger-vehicle maker Shanghai General Motors Corp., a 50-50 venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., and mini-commercial vehicle maker SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., a three-way partnership with SAIC and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co. The popularity of GM's smaller vehicles in China underscores the impact of government measures to boost demand for autos, said CSM Worldwide analyst Yale Zhang. China in January halved the purchase tax to 5% for vehicles with engines of 1.6 liters or less. Sales of the Buick Excelle sedan, which is available with a 1.6-liter engine, more than doubled to 22,078 units in April, GM said. It also sold more than 50,000 units of the Wuling Sunshine minivan. Mr. Zhang said GM's sales were also lifted by the launch of the Buick Regal midsize sedan in March and the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan in April. But the boost from government incentives, which also include subsidies for rural residents to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles, will likely wear off in late June, Mr. Zhang said. "The traditional weak season will start," he said. About 9.4 million vehicles were sold in China last year, a 6.7% increase from 2007. Sales began weakening in July but improved this year, rising 3.9% in the first quarter to 2.7 million units. GM's sales in the U.S., meanwhile, slumped 33% from a year earlier in April to 172,150 units. Overall light vehicle sales in the U.S. fell 34% last month, according to Autodata Corp.

[source: InsideLine] Why the Genesis Coupe Shoulda Been a Pontiac This semi-regular column is written (in his own blood) by an automotive sage and noted malcontent, known as The Mechanic. Mercilessly beaten as a child with rolled-up back issues of old car magazines, our free-spoken hero developed a unique "for your own good" take on cars and the auto industry, along with an unfortunate habit of setting himself ablaze. Later, after a distinguished career as an automotive journalist and magazine editor, he cast off the reins of his musty oppressors, carved out his superego with a plastic spork and became The Mechanic. Man, what a couple of weeks. Between the swine flu and every single company in America except ol' Edmunds Inc. declaring bankruptcy, I'm ready to fire up the kerosene generator and find my way in the dark for a while. Live off the grid, as they say. I could probably do it, but not without the DTs. The things I would miss the most are the cars and my iPhone. Don't laugh. I'm not really a techie, but I just got this great app. It's called Get a Life. You share it with your iPhone-addicted friends and it kills them. Which brings me to Pontiac. It's been sentenced to death, as I'm sure you've heard, and I'm not really that cool with it. Fact is, it shouldn't have happened. Pontiac's demise wasn't fate. It was murder. Cold-blooded murder. A result of bad management, and proof that people who don't like cars shouldn't work at car companies. Don't get me wrong, it's a mercy killing. Poor thing was suffering. The G3? Give me a freakin' break. Glad to see it go. But I look around the industry and see cars being built by other car companies and I think, "See? That should be a Pontiac." If they were, maybe Pontiac would be kickin' ass instead of pushin' daisies. What am I talking about? Well, let's start with the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. $22,000. Turbo engine. Rear-wheel drive. It should be a Pontiac. Talk about a modern-day GTO or Firebird. Or the Mazda CX-7 and CX-9. Both are affordable, attractive, strong-performing crossovers that look good and allow dads who can't afford a BMW X5 to have a little fun while they're hauling the kids to Chuck E Cheese. Both should be Pontiacs. Then there's the Mini Cooper. Small. Economical. Affordable and fun. A premium small car for guys who don't want just an econobox. Guys with big ideas and expensive taste but limited resources. Values once at the core of Pontiac in its heyday. For a more mainstream small car I think the Mazda 3 (yes, another Mazda) with its two body styles and Mazdaspeed variant would fit the Pontiac mold well, but the Civic and Civic Si would work as well. How about the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8? Our fictitious successful Pontiac would have a true muscle truck, and the Jeep runs with the $100,000 Porsche Cayenne Turbo and Mercedes ML63 AMG for less than half the cash. A modern-day Bonneville. Hmmm, what else do we need? Oh yes, a sedan. Kidding. I would keep the G8 around in all its forms -- V6, GT and GXP -- but I would add the wagon and a coupe to the mix. And by coupe I, of course, mean the Camaro. There would be a Pontiac version of the Camaro, essentially making the G8 a subfamily of Pontiacs, much like Land Rover is doing with the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. And if you have a coupe, then of course you cut off its roof and make a convertible. Seems like a fine lineup of machines to me. Each is fun, affordable and high in build quality. They are both desirable and aspirational, but also obtainable. Sure, everything will skew male, but many of these products appeal to women as well. And there is not one in the bunch that doesn't put a priority on dynamics. That said, it's too late. Pontiac is going to that big boulevard of cars in the sky. And this list of would-be Ponchos is just one man's feeble attempt to set the world right. What do you think? Would such a lineup have saved Pontiac? Doesn't really matter anyway, since we're all going to die of the swine flu by summer. -- The Mechanic Inside Line, Contributor E-mail me at [email protected].

[source: MotorAuthority] Fiat ranks last in UK JD Power survey, bodes poorly for Chrysler Chrysler's vehicles, like all of America's cars, have improved greatly in recent years. But not-too-distant memory reminds us of the Le Baron and even of another ill-fated Italian tie-up and its Maserati-branded spawn. So Fiat's poor scores in the most recent JD Power survey in the United Kingdom gives cause to wonder if the Fiat-Chrysler union might ultimately be a tragic one. Fiat's role in helping to save Chrysler post-bankruptcy was applauded by President Obama just days ago, but already the naysayers are building their case. And unfortunately, it's shaping up to be a decent one. The latest JD Power figures put Fiat at the bottom - 28th of 28 - in UK satisfaction rankings. Lexus, Skoda, Honda, Toyota and Jaguar filled out the top 5 spots, while Citroen, Kia, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Fiat rounded out the bottom five. Which is a roundabout way of saying Fiat's cars aren't exactly renowned for their reliability in Europe, nor are those of sister brand Alfa Romeo though the brand wasn't separated in the results list. The last time either car was sold in the U.S. they had developed and suffered from a reputation for unreliability that ultimately contributed to their retreat from our shores. Now the continued poor performance of Fiat in markets where it's already established calls into question whether the Italian company will be able to turn things around at Chrysler, or whether the partnership will just degenerate into a downward spiral of poor design feeding poor execution. On the other hand, Fiat also makes brilliant cars like the 500, which slots into a segment where Chrysler is completely absent. Will the synergies make both companies better than they are on their own? Or will the Fiat-Chrysler partnership make the DaimlerChrysler era seem like a golden age?

Loopholes on the Death Bed A lawyer was on his deathbed and he called to his wife. She rushed in and said, "What is it, honey?" He told her to run and get the Bible. Being a religious woman, she thought this was a good idea. She ran and got it, prepared to read him his favorite verse or something of the sort. He snatched it from her and began quickly scanning pages, his eyes darting right and left. The wife was curious. "What are you doing, honey?" she asked. "I'm looking for loopholes!" he shouted.

[source: MotorAuthority] GM Confirms It Will Sell Saturn Rather Than Phase It Out Phased Production Halt Likely in August If No Suitable Buyer Found Before July Below is the official statement from GM: General Motors is proceeding to the next step with respect to the sale of Saturn, confirming today that it is in talks with a number of potential buyers and that it will look to secure an agreement with a specific buyer by the end of the year. While no other details were revealed, late last month we heard about a new investment group by the name of Telesto Ventures reportedly planning to buy Saturn outright and source its own models from several overseas suppliers. Under Telesto's proposal, the overseas models would not be branded as Saturns, but would rather be sold under various brand names. A spokesman for the investment group has previously mentioned that the Saturn brand would become "similar to a Best Buy model in that customers deal with Best Buy because of the customer experience not because they are the only place to buy a Samsung or a Sony TV". GM manager Jill Lajdziak has also revealed to Automotive News that the struggling Detroit 3 carmaker was trying to find a new vehicle supplier for Saturn by September 1. Furthermore, Lajdziak confirmed that GM will halt production of Saturn vehicles in August, should a suitable buyer not appear by July. There will not be a blanket halt on all production, however, as the altered production volumes will "depend on the model and the level of inventory".

Like insert special items, fonts, links etc. Fixed it. Since we changed our I.P. address, firefox No Script was not recognizing the site as cheers and gears.com. How is our data backed up? Raid 5, or 10?

Looking Good. Seems to have lost the BB Codes on top. What system are we on?