Z-06

Toy is walking on tight ropes. On one side concentrating on making itself green, building vehicles like this or the Turd platform is making them gas hogs, some greenies are realizing that (Finally!!). Their main agenda is to sell by numbers. And they are doing it regardless of whether they are selling green, blue, yellow or red. I think they will be a very frustrated bunch if they do not gain # 1 this year they are seeking for. I honestly do not think GM needs a supercar in that territory. The Z06, ZR1 are more than capable of handling those snob mobiles, provided they are constantly upgraded.

Yes that was one helluva truck. Chevy needs some mojo in the Truck Lineup.

GM and some of the people here underestimate the market for a manual transmission and or Navigation System.

My point is ignoring smaller markets of 2% or may be 3% in each and every car segment makes a loss of a lot of sales in a whole picture. GM should give an option of manual transmission. Yes it may be a small market, but there is a market. If Epsilons in Europe have that capability, how much development dollars are going to be spent to get that here? As GM is mostly globalizing the platforms, it is not too difficult is it? People who are going to buy the vehicle with manual transmission know what they are looking for. Look at MAFKU's case, he bought the CTS with 2008 with manual transmission. He had to special order it, which meant that he could not haggle too much on the price as he could have on the automatic. Even if it may be only 5%, but those 5% will bring you as a dealer and GM more money than the automatic would, wouldn't it? Even BMW's. Acura's and others who offer stick shift, have higher transaction prices than similarly equipped automatics. My example said what NON-BOARD MEMBER WANTED not WHAT I WANTED. In the 60's what percentage of the total market were FWD? Not many, people still lived and drove in the snow belt. They did not have stability control and other nannies to help them, did they? Yet RWD lived and thrived? Why are people now wanting FWD? Because change of perception that Japanese manufacturers brought in the 70's and American manufacturers followed. Take a look at BMW 116i and MB A150. Both compete in the small luxury vehicles. BMW is RWD and MB is FWD. Both are almost equal in weight, power and torque performance. Following are the fuel economies: MB A150: Combined Fuel efficiency: 45.8 miles/Imperial Gallon BMW 116i: Combined Fuel Efficiency: 48.3 miles/Imperial Gallon Off goes that argument that FWD are more fuel sippers. Just like Toyota is best in quality, the perception that FWD are better than RWD in snow has got stuck in the people's mind and if I am not wrong it might have began from the 70's, not did I experience that, you could help me with it as you were old enough to look and experience cars at that time. A company seperates itself from the others when it convinces people that the different product they built is superior or equal to the other products the people are currently using. Current GM lacks that, and it is a point to work on.

CPO Acura TSX. CPO Saab 93 CPO BMW 3er CPO's are a good deal. Most of the time they are off lease, so single owner, and have less miles.

GM has never offered their biggest motor in the regular pickup. I never understood why. A 6.0 in the Regular Pickup would be a blast.

Agreeing to drive Opel minis and micros with no RWD enjoyment of powertrain, is like surrendering the freedom and independence this country has given its citizens. Yes, the driving habits should change no doubt, but not by force from the outsiders, the force should be from within.

I totally agree.

Get your info straight buddy. DOHC 32 Valve 8 x 3 = 24 not 32, right?

Humans are herd creatures by nature. That is why cheers and gears is in existence. We are a "small" herd of our own.

What greenies forget is that the human population went from 1 billion to 6.5 billion in about a century. Isn't that a 650% increase in CO2? Yet nobody is crying foul to control population. That is the main cause of problem. More people= More cars, More food, more fertilizers, more cows, less natural forests, less trees == More pollution DUHHHHH!!!!

This is what you needed.

The amount of research dollars spent on the Zeta platform and given the financial crunch of GM cannot justify GM NOT having a volume RWD car that can bring in Volume. And for those who make the argument for the FWD boat, and citing low volume of Chrysler RWD example. 1. Even in when there was a brawl in the 70's by the big 3, Chrysler never sold the volume of a RWD GM. There are fans who would like to have the nostalgia back. I think the volume a RWD GM will bring is certainly more than Chry mobiles. 2. What Lutz may imply is that if he is looking for fuel sipping vehicles forget about small blocks. I am totally for twin turbo DI V-6 to help fuel economy and give the power of a V-8, while maintaining the RWD configuration. Add to the fact, the Diesel V-6, and the 4.5 V-8 may be the uniqueness. I do think that GM needs a 3.6 diesel, not the 2.9 of the Cadillac, producing about 300hp and the 4.5 can be tweaked to close to 350hp. 3. For those who make the argument for Impy being a FWD to compete with Maxima, Crapalon, etc., and using the low volumes as example, my argument is how do you know based on the volume of Chry RWD, and those POS FWD, that a car which has a halo name, was a mega seller in its history, has a great platform, has a loyal fan following will not command volume?

It looks like the Hyundai Tiburon Humped Mitsubishi Raider.

First of all a I-6 and a V-8 is a superior engine when you compare it to the NVH of a V-6. By comparing BMW I-6, to a Pushrod V-6 and expecting it to be as good as the I-6 is assinine. Go and sit in a Infiniti. That VQ engine is depressing. It sounds like a eunuch howling while having his balls cut. It amazes me how it has won the Ward's auto best engine for this long. The 3.1 in my lumina sounds much sweeter than the VQ. It seems like you have never sat in a Pushrod V8 driven car, and yet you are clamoring it to be bad. I have driven the Mercedes Benz E550 and honest to god, I love the LS6 for its manner. And Mercedes has been raved for having a very good DOHC V8.

May be it is time for you to get this.

It is UGLAYYY. Yes it will have a turbo. C&D reported that to be the case.

That sounds like an assembly line robot not a thinking executive. Panel Gap = 3mm <Enter> Panel Gap achieved It is the accountants and the middlemen scrooges who destroyed GM in the 80's and 90's. If it had not been for Wagoner and Lutz and co. it certainly would be FUBAR.

If you look at the history of edmunds and their love for the GTR, it might well be the most humped car by the website. They have been following it like groupies, throwing bachelorette parties, arranging striptease for the car, reporting first information of the web, reporting first first drive, and now the first full test. Considering that they never ever get close to what other car manufacturers claim for their vehicle's 0-60, I highly doubt this number. With the power to weight ratio a little worse than the Porsche 911, burdened with AWD, 0-60 may be enhanced by a stirring launch control. The fact that this power to weight ratio shows is from this comparison Z06 0-60 3.5s, Quarter mile 11.6s @ 125mph. It may be a good car, but it is not as scintillating as edmunds calls it out to be.

Camino, I totally understand that you WANT something bigger. But do you NEED something bigger?

Had Mr. Fly got time for writing what we discussed with GM at the Miami Autoshow. I specifically asked Mr. Clarke about the prospects of a RWD car. He said to keep the minds and eyes open for what to expect in the near future. He did indirectly mean that there are other RWD coming apart from Camaro, G8 with more focus on the enthusiasts. Now if they are Zetas or Alphas it is anybody's guess. To me spending the stratospheric amount of money on the Zeta does not make sense if it can only feed a Camaro, Holdens, Middle East Chevies, and limited G8s. That platform needs one money maker with a volume close to 250k.

Not surprising. I was guessing about 675 hp, under rated with the amount and type of hardware existing.

Well lack of Nav cost two surefire sales for the Malibu. 1. My foster uncle, who has long given up on GM vehicles and only buys foreign cars. He was looking for a midsizer for him and my aunt, as their crapolla is old and he wants to get on a roadtrip heading to Western States. I asked him to consider the Malibu. He spewed venom on GM and I defended GM saying on how far they have come. He had almost struck a deal with Honda Accord EX-V6 with Nav. But he went and test drove the LTZ. He absolutely Loved it, but the no Nav was a deal breaker for him. He is not a techno guy, but a good ol' country boy with a spend thrift attitude and who lived the American Dream. He told me that he preferred in dash navigation, as you do not have to be worried about being stolen, looking tacky, and being a pain to hook them with battery or chords in the 12V plug. I agree with him on all those counts. 2. A new chinese recent grad student joined our company, and was planning to buy Nissan. He had been told by his friends that Japanese vehicles are the best. I asked him to consider the Bu. He is totally opposite of what my foster uncle is. The dude reeks geekness and first to get a new technology attitude (the guy waited for 72 hours at Best Buy to get PS3 while finishing his PhD thesis). He thinks he likes sporty vehicles and says that he has knowledge about vehicles. Think and says are the most important words there. He wanted a Knee-Shin Altima V-6. Again I asked him to look at the Malibu. He test drove the 2-LT and said it was as fast as the Altima. He liked the comfortable seats, and the interior ambience. Again for the geek the no Nav was a deal breaker. As much as I agree Nav is a waste and may not be practical. Things are changing. As from my example, there are two people from different race, background, education, age, family status, demanding the Nav for different purposes.

Mr. Drew and Mr. Joe congrats. I think Editor/ Reporter is fitting for Mr. Joe especially, as I enjoy reading his Random Threads, which reminds me you have not posted one for a while. And also his threads about information of fuel research, and other important updates in auto industry. Mr. Drew has been fantastic with helping C and G with the problems of the server. And is temporarily providing 69.89.21.67's penis for Cheers and Gears to pee through.

Long term you are probably right. But in shorter goals and achieving them we will definitely see a decline in the horsepower war if not total annilation. Like I said I did not mean that we will see 90 hp vehicles, but will are not going to see BMW beat Infiniti, then getting beaten by Lexus who in turn is beaten by Caddy by 5 hp every 6 months. GM tacitly admitted the chance of this regulation passing through by 1. Pushing Volt, alternate fuel vehicles 2. Delaying RWD I think it was a great foresight. It is bad for us, but a good decision for GM's survival. I am sure, others will follow the suit. As much as we blame GM and American manufacturers in general, nearly 50% of our market is SUVs., trucks, crossovers, etc., if only 48% of the whole market is occupied by big three, who supplies the rest? All the others do. When they feel the heat of this law, do you think they will still keep beating this pseudo war of a number that does not mean anything substantial in real world? Not trying to correlate with one isolated case, but the decline of hp started with rise of fuel prices, drop of stock market, start of recession in 1970s. After 35 years we are seeing similar pattern. But again that does not mean we will see it happen the exact same way. This is not doom and gloom. Oil needs a competitor. It will not only help the consumers but also the oil. People fail to realize the fact that more than gasoline, lot of important medical, civil engineering products, etc. come from oil and will have no alternative if crude vanished. By whoring it out on transportation, when other options are easily possible if researched you will be helping yourself in long term. I will still reiterate, push for alternate fuels will only help in keeping oil till we die and having fun vehicles that run on it.