smk4565

Could be the Beat or an Aveo replacement. It kind of reminds me of a Suzuki. What country were these photos taken in? It could be a car just for Eastern Europe or Brazil or other developing nation.

Well by original I meant the squared off ugly thing from the 70s-80s, since that is only post-war car with Lagonda attached to it.

The original was probably the ugliest car of the 80s. This is far worse.

They will shrink to zero brands if they don't do something, because they are deep in debt and haven't made money in years. Size or market share was how the old GM got it done, that won't work, PROFIT is all that matters now and in the future. They fell further into the tank when Oldsmobile died because they didn't drastically improve Buick and Pontiac. Products like the Enclave, 2010 LaCrosse, G8, Solstice should have been on the market in 2004-05. Instead GM dumped money into Hummer and pickup trucks, and W-body cars while Chrysler did the 300C, Japanese did crossovers like the Pilot, Highlander and RX350, Mazda had the Miata, Nissan the 350Z, etc. Now GM comes 4 years later with crossovers, rear drive sedans and sport coupes. It is 4 years too late. GM has been following the market, rather than trendsetting, so their overall lineup hasn't been that desirable to many consumers in a while, and thus the deep discounts to mode metal. So the answer is fewer, better products. Spend $1 billion on the new Malibu for example and make it best family sedan in the world. Rather than $4-500 million on the Malibu, then some on the Aura, some on the G6, Grand Prix, LaCrosse, etc and end up with 4-5 mediocre cars.

The G8 represents GM product mismanagement. They had the Zeta platform and chance to make a flagship Chevy (like what the 300C did for Chrysler in 2005) and possibly a Buick version Either or both could have been GM's Genesis that got people to rethink the brand. Instead they did what was easy and just imported the G8 from Holden, but importing it is costing them too much, and the interior is behind a higher end Camry/Accord or even Malibu LTZ. Not to mention Pontiac's brand image is damaged from years of rebadges and fleet sales. There is just too much product overlap, too many dated products still in the lineup, and not enough real winners that will sell without a rebate and hold value. Until 100% of GM's lineup is Malibu, CTS, Silverado, Corvette like products, sales will keep tanking. Saturn and Pontiac have just become Chevy clones and can go away. A Zeta sedan or Kappa roadster would sell better with a bow tie on it anyway. GMC I was never a fan of staying, but Buick dealers on their own would go out of business. I think GMC should be the commercial truck, work trucks, etc and cater to businesses, let Chevy cater to families. Otherwise GMC does luxury SUVs and Buick does cars only. But they don't both have to do one step up SUVs from Chevy.

But notice Edmunds and Motor Trend didn't include a Cadillac in those comparisons because Cadillac has no credible entry into the mid-level luxury sport sedan segment. And you are comparing the G8 to the same 5 year old 5-series. And wasn't the CTS supposed to challenge the 5-series, why is Pontiac? The G8 is a Charger with better handling, that is all, it is no 5-series. Doesn't mean it is a bad car for the money, but it isn't an elite sedan.

But that Jaguar was on the Car and Driver 10 best list, Automobile All Star list, and won comparison tests by Edmunds.com and Motor Trend. It is an award winning machine, and that was with the old 4.2 liter engine, with the new 5.0 is is going to be even stronger. Jaguar sales were up in 2009 while everyone else went down, so the car is doing it's job.

Cheap plastic interior, like the GTO (or Astra or Catera) it doesn't quite have the design or features to really fit the American market. Such as no Nav system.

GM can try to spin it, but down 53% overall and 43% down in retail is really bad. The Lucerne was down 73% and DTS down 68%, yet they want to make a front drive big Cadillac? No one wants big huge front drive luxury cars. Hummer is embarrassing; they need to go away. I think that is the G8's best month ever, big discounts or fleet sales? I don't like the G8 because it is a Holden clone, but a zeta Chevy sedan designed specifically for the American market could do well, especially when Chrysler folds and they can pick up Charger/300 sales.

At the rate they are going, the CTS will be the "last ever" rear drive Cadillac. That is sad.

G3 is a Chevy Vibe it a Toyota G5 is a Chevy G6 is an 04 Chevy Malibu Those can be bought elsewhere. G8 sells 1,000 units a month, and they could sell it as a Chevy if they wanted. Solstice/Sky are niche products that GM can't really afford to do anymore.

I live in a snowy place, although mostly it is just 1-2 inches, only a few times a year do we get 4+ inches. But I still see a lot of Mustangs, Corvettes, Ford Panther platform cars, the old CTS, 7-series, Lexus LS, and Mercedes without 4Matic. People that care about driving dynamics will buy RWD, they won't get scared away.

The S-class suspension virtually eliminates body roll, pitch or dive with hydraulics and air springs, which goes beyond what the Vette's magnetic shocks can do. The S-class can vary it's ride height also, it is a suspension beyond what GM has at the moment. To go for the S-class, the chassis, engine, transmission, and suspension would have to be done from scratch almost. That costs a billion dollars easy, that is why they are going to make a $45,000 front diver instead and have the Lexus IS and ES type overlap in price, but going for 2 kinds of buyers.

Agreed, the MKS is $38-47k, Cadillac may have to price the DT7 overlapping the CTS. So the SRX and DTS are basically moving down market. They don't have the motor or the 7-8 speed tranny to go after the high end sedans. So the question becomes will Cadillac be able to fend off Hyundai who has a rear drive platform, modern V8 and has a more powerful V8 and 8-speed on the way, and the Equus sedan may come here also.

Zeta was developed with the Commordore and other large rear drive cars, it was never intended to be specifically for Cadillac. An aluminum suspension isn't enough most luxury cars have that. To go after the S-class would cost GM as much as the 08 Malibu and Volt combined, so it isn't going to happen. 2012 is still a long way too, the STS and DTS will be really dated by then, Cadillac won't have much customer base except for the CTS, and a big front driver isn't the way to win new customers.

Killing Pontiac saves GM because every dollar they would have spent on Pontiac can be spent on the Cruze, Malibu, and Impala, basically doubling the budget behind each car, then the Cruze, Malibu and Impala will have actual retail sales that turn profit, not fleet dumps.

Zeta wasn't the answer for the DT7 (bad name) anyway. It isn't a premium platform, it is a Holden/Chevy/Pontiac platform. If they want to go after the S-class and 7-series they need a platform solely for that, otherwise there is no sense in trying. The solution for Cadillac then becomes Sigma needs upgraded, and CTS pushed to a $47-60,000 price class, and Alpha platform (unique to Cadillac) for a small sedan/coupe/convertible in the $35-50k range. If they can get a rear drive version of the volt, that would work also, and Cadillac doesn't do full size anymore. Building more land barges with mush suspension like the DTS will just continue to kill the brand.

If they gave congress a big FU then they would be in bankruptcy already. The only thing keeping them afloat right now is the $13.4 billion that Congress gave them. The decline of GM is part legacy cost and part uncompetitive product. The legacy costs have become unsustainable at almost any level of sales. They lost market share over the years because the product wasn't good enough. If they had by far and away the best midsize sedan they could sell 500,000 a year and get sticker price. But in 03-2007 they had the Malibu, G6, Regal, LaCrosse, Grand Prix, etc and those are just average cars that needed $3500 cash back deals to sell. If they cut brands, and make the remaining brands twice as good they can gain market share. Now if they cut brands and leave the remaining 4 as they are, they are in trouble.

I wonder if they had filed Chapter 11 a year ago before burning through most of that $19 billion in cash, if they could have reorganized. Now they are so deep in the hole, it may be too late.

Ecoboost Mustang would be good, because the current engines are dated. The Camaro has to haul an extra 400 or so pounds over the Genesis and Mustang, which could hurt the V6 Camaro in acceleration and handling. But I thought the V8 Camaro was going to be around $30k, so that will offer a lot of straight line performance for not a lot of money.

This also shows that Cadillac has zero focus. Are they a performance brand like BMW, or are they going for geriatrics like Lexus? Are they a truck brand or a car brand, going for Tier 1 $50-100k or 2nd to 3rd tier like Lincoln and Acura. They don't know what direction they are going in, they are just doing what is cheapest and easy. Unfortunately, cheap and easy won't beat Mercedes.

It is Quattro awd only, but the engine is still longitudinally mounted. And the A8 is probably the worst of the top end luxury cars, the 7-series and S-class are far superior.

I applaud Hyundai for having the guts to make rear drivers, and they are getting it right on the first try, which is more impressive. They may have been a joke 10 years ago, but they aren't now, if they improve over the next 10 years, like they did over the last 10, they are going to be force to be reckoned with.

The Genesis Coupe seems to have great performance specs for its price. I sat in it at the auto show, the seats are good, and it is good interior for a $23-30k sports car, obviously it isn't as nice as the Infiniti. The real competition is with the Mustang, RX-8, 370Z, Camaro, etc, and I think the Genesis Coupe interior, looks, performance, price etc stacks up very well with them.

AWD adds weight and doesn't necessarily help performance. Jaguars are rear drive, the 7-series was always rear drive only (awd will be offered) Lexus LS460 is rear wheel, Genesis is rear wheel, S-class is has optional awd. Rear wheel will always be the superior drivetrain, that is why the Corvette isn't front wheel or all wheel drive.