Z-06

That is indeed beautifully done.

cheaper to build. This sums up Cadillac, not "standard of the world" That is how the 4,300 lb 5er is the Ultimate Driving Machine, because of cheaper to build it by platform sharing. That is how Bentleys share platform with lowly Phaeton.

This car is going to be a sleeper and a mile-eater. I feel like test driving one too.

VW was correct Americans like cheapness. Just look at the Jetta sales. Those enough helped VW propel clear of the 4 car lineup of Subaru, which it had hard time to pass.

Bob Lutz's new book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591844002/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cheeandgear-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1591844002">Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=1591844002&camp=217145&creative=399349" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> will go on sale on June 9.

C7 is coming in 2013. For one MY MCE with those changes is not necessary. That MCE should have taken in 2009, but then again bankruptcy did not favor such. GM needs to really start MCE culture seriously. GM produces a product and lets it rot too long. CTS has not had MCE in 2012, which is its 5th MY, other than few grille job here and there.

No, not teaching anymore since I was laid off last June and was unable to find another teaching position by September. I've been a contingent worker (aka "temp") with my wife's pharmaceutical company since early October, and hopefully the project I am working on will go permanent this summer and I get offered a full-time job. Otherwise, temp it will be for now (there's even more lay-offs this year in teaching, so who knows if that will be an option too?). I do have a 2nd P/T job (originally just a seasonal holiday job), working retail at a local Toys R Us store. I took it for the holidays to earn extra $$ for shopping, but they asked me to stay on after the season (only work Sundays, but added a couple of Saturdays this month). I put in my notice and my last day there is Sat. 5/7 since I was promoted in my pharma job that came with a 27% pay increase Fire Police are the members of a fire department that go on location with the firefighters/EMTs and basically do three things - (1) protect the firefighters/EMTs on scene, (2) protect the public from danger, and lastly (3) preserve evidence at the scene. Most calls that my dept's fire police respond to are vehicle accidents, and it's our job to set-up cones/detours and direct, or re-direct, traffic around the accident scene. On occasion I've been told that we will also respond to structure fires to detour roads, but also guard a structure after the fire is extinguished until the fire marshal has completed his investiagtion (in NJ, the fire chief or marshal "own" your property until 48 hours have passed since the fire was put out or until the investigation has beem completed; as long as a member of the dept is on property, the fire dept owns it - usually fire police are the ones left in this duty). We also assist traffic duty at community events, setting up crosswalks and directing people to parking areas. A lot of calls the dept gets are for traffic accidents right off the NJ Turnpike (Exit 5) or Route I-295 (Exits 45 & 47) in Westampton, Burlington County - I know, it's like the old Jersey joke, "What exit do you live off of?" Not a glamorous job compared to what the firefighters and EMTs do, but at my station all the volunteers get along well and treat one another with respect. We all have a job to do and respect what each brings to the table. There are a lot of members that are not from my town that belong there, because this comaderie doesn't exist at their hometown station (from what I've been told). I joined because I wanted to give back to my commnity in a way that didn't involve <direct> politics Roger, what a fantastic opportunity. Good luck with it. Little did I know about Fire Police.

^ +1

A $50k-100k sports car shouldn't be sharing interior parts with $20k econoboxes. Typical GM cheapassing... I agree with your assessment of GM's aversion to MCE. But steering wheel sharing? BMW and MB blatantly us the same steering wheels through their individual lineup. That is cheapassing too. What is wrong if the steering wheel is shared provided the actual mechanics of it works fantastically?

They do when it's the Mercedes S-class. Problem is Cadillac needs credibility, which could be gained with a successful flagship, however, the flagship probably won't sell because of their brand image. They are sort of in a lose-lose. Cadillac ain't Mercedes. Even then the S is still not their profit center. Cadillac needs to do as BMW did with the 3 series. BMW was a niche car till the 70's and then were maketed well. This whole deal was built on the back of the 3 series cars not the 6 or 7. Build quality cars people love in volume and at prices that they can afford. Then once you gain their trust then offer the more expensiver stuff. If you can't get someone to get out the 3 Series to get into a CTS or the ATS they still have some work to do. You win their hearts and trust with these cars and then you build on it. Cadillac is close to gaining the rep they need and they just need more buyers now. The next gen CTS and the ATS should be about right and prime to make a dent in the market. At least in the states. Just because you can build a $100,000 does not win cedibility. Getting more people to take a chance on a class leading $40K Cadillac will win more credibility than anything else. I think they have learned this from the last two attempts at a 2 seat roadster. SMK is right. S class, not C-class is MB's cash cow. Put it this way - the cost of design, engineering and development of a new vehicle is more or less the same regardless of the size. To make profits on smaller cars volume is important to make profits on larger cars pricing is more important. That is why BMW is putting 5er and 7er on same platform to make sure development costs are kept minimal and profits are maximized. Traditionally for Germans the 3er has been BMW's meal tickets, S Class is Mercedes' cash cow.

They do when it's the Mercedes S-class. Problem is Cadillac needs credibility, which could be gained with a successful flagship, however, the flagship probably won't sell because of their brand image. They are sort of in a lose-lose. How can those be used in the same topic? Hyundai has ZERO credibility and brand image when it comes to luxury.

Perhaps, but using which platform? Kappa was based on the Corvette's Y-body (at least conceptually) making it extremely inflexible. GM would require a) to develop or redevelop such a platform, or b) adapt the smaller RWD architecture (Alpha) for such a vehicle. I think that dynamically both solutions would work equally well, so the choice comes down to cost: where does GM get the biggest margin from? A small sporty coupe needs to be light, though...I doubt if Alpha (if it ever sees production) will be very light..(maybe at least 3500lbs?) The lower end of the Alpha size range is supposed to be very light. Yes my understanding is that Alpha is extremely flexible. It is up to GM as to what it does with Alpha.

Yaris, Versa, Fit, Fiesta, Sonic, Accent, XD, Rio... what am I missing Mazda 2.

Well the entire idea of reorganization was to be flexible and comprehensive enough to have no holes in the lineup. May be the Chevy concept was a precursor and study for the small RWD kappa replacement.

Good write. I have a couple of comments: It is a 1.4. The engine and transmission pairing is other way around.

The cat and mouse game for the VE is worse than Congressional debate.

So from under $20,000 when the first concept hit to comfortably priced above the scion tC, which is $19,000. First non-vanilla car to come from Toyota since the Ice age.

Because they are tuned for torque and as a result are able to get good fuel economy while providing a fun drive. Having a torque curve that drops off early in the rev range does not equate to better FE. Variable camshafts and other mechanisms can adjust how an engine breathes, allowing it to achieve high efficiency in both low and high rpms. In a Camry a low-rpm powerband is acceptable, since it isn't designed to be in the high rpm range and it is cheaper to forgo those breathing technologies, but for a BMW it is unacceptable! That is half of the story. The E90 BMW 330i sedan had 260 hp prior to getting the 335i twin turbo N54. The engine was detuned to put into the 328 moniker cars. BMW went on cost saving spree using the 3 liter engine for lower siblings rather than having a smaller 6 cylinder.

What will Caddy's version be? OnLink?

I do not think it is impossible. The current LE5 2.4 equipped Malibu gets 33 mpg highway. With the new DI 2.5 and likely transmission modifications, a 6-10% jump in fuel economy cannot be considered unrealistic. Yep 35mpg hwy should pretty much be the new norm in this class for new designs the next few years and it should be a given with the new engine. Hopefully it doesn't gain all that weight associated with the Regal platform. That is the part I am most worried about. However, since Regal and bankruptcy GM may have had chance to work with stronger metal alloys that can reduce the pork.

I do not think it is impossible. The current LE5 2.4 equipped Malibu gets 33 mpg highway. With the new DI 2.5 and likely transmission modifications, a 6-10% jump in fuel economy cannot be considered unrealistic.

I do not like the pictures - seem to be too overdone. But based on those, I will give the car a solid 7.8/10.0 design wise. It is easily the most handsome car in its segment. Kia comes a close second, however the grille just gives it out.

Patiences Paid Challenger (Virtue) Congrats Sir.

For parity with the Camry and Accord, the Malibu needs to lose 250~300 lbs. Help me out understanding this one: Camry 4c/6a - 3307 Accord 4c/6a - 3395 Malibu 4c/6a - 3415 He probably might be referencing with respect to Regal, which is on EP II just as the new Malibu and is 250-300 lbs heavier than the cars you mentioned.

It does?