FUTURE_OF_GM

I've always been an in the closet BMW man. And their hydrogen ICE program is going a long way toward healing any hatred I might've had for them. I'll do you one better: I absolutely LOVE the new EVO, but don't tell anyone! I have this image as an 'anti-import - GM only redneck' to keep

My guess is because they think the spy shots they claim are of the BRX (and are actually of the Equinox) share the same stampings. Typical auto rag ignorance.

Umm... I don't know what you guys are smoking, but the ass shot is what sent me over the edge. It's wide and mean looking like a 60's Chevelle or GTO. The concave trunk conveys strength and brawn because it "pushes" the edges of the car out. Besides, why should everything look "normal" Geez, I can tell that most of you grew up loving the bland jellybean cars.

Interesting... I can definitley see their point. I know a "family" dealer here that started out selling Cadillacs and eventually bought Pontiac and GMC franchises. GM kept hassling him about trading his Cadillac franchise for a Buick franchise from a dealer up the road (I'm sure money was involved too) The Buick dealer also sold Saab, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Porsche, VW and Audi. Subsequently, GM had also tried to sell him an Oldsmobile franchise back in the day. Apparently GM, in an attempt to lift Oldsmobile off the mat, tried to pair that franchise with Cadillac. The dealer told me that the 'project' didn't get very far. Finally, the dealer I know just flat out bought Saab and Buick from the other guy. So now his dealership (a rather small location) sells Buick/Pontiac/GMC and Saab/Cadillac. Ironically, our Oldsmobile dealer in town (which paid Oldsmobile no attention -- literally, what few models they carried were always shoved in a back corner of the lot next to the service center) shedded that franchise and purchased the Mitsubishi franchise from the original Buick dealer.

I have a friend like you. He's 'cut' as hell and eats everything in site. Makes me so jealous

When I filled up in Gastonia it was $2.99 for regular and that's in comparison to $3.09-$3.14 in Charlotte (About 25 miles away). It's amazing how such a short distance makes a big difference.

Well, I am but the idea is to try and find somewhere small out that way. When the GF becomes an architect she insists that Cali has the type of stuff she wants to concentrate on and I wouldn't mind getting a job in the hot rod industry out there. I bet the car culture is insane! As for GM moving... I hope GM isn't seriously considering this. Wagoner and Lutz must be completely de-balled now if the noobs from GME have that much influence. It's safe to say that I would not buy GM if they moved out of the country AT THIS POINT. Then again, I'm becoming more of a BMW man everyday, since GM can't man up and give use any AFFORDABLE desireable cars for a prolonged period of time.

Well, the problem from a sociological standpoint is that the coasts now control the culture of the entire country. READ: I agree that the east coast is just as responsible for producing pop culture "$h!" as the west coast.

You make me so happy to be a GM fan

Meh... Sounds nice, but who can tell? I certainly hope Chevrolet and Cadillac aren't sharing stampings. I'm sure it'll have the Malibu nose with Opel-esque headlights and tailights. FWIW, an Equinox Sport runs around my neighborhood and I never realised what a hot little ride that thing is. It's really grown on me!

The black one has my name all over it! I can see the Crossfire similarity as well, for better or for worse.

I'm not so sure about that... Buick has always been a brand with soild reliability and with depreciation a lot of those VERY reliable previous generation Centurys and Regals are finding their way into the hands of my generation to a lot of avail as far as I can tell. Now, does that rachet up the coolness factor of the division? Not really, but it provides a solid foundation for GM to build on. (If GM ever will)

And therein lies the flaw to your post. Buick is no longer for the masses.

I was a fan of that as well. I would've made a Buick/Cadillac/Hummer channel. Then Saturn could've been put with Saab (Where it belongs) And Pontiac/GMC could've been a step up from Chevrolet. Maybe I'm mistaken then.

Well, it's not only pop culture. It's politics as well.

Like it or not... This is the image that your state portrays to the rest of us. Is it right? Probably not. But it's there none the less. BTW, I've thought of moving to Cali when I get my degree, probably somewhere close to your area. I'm not sure I could stand the people though. If I'm going to prison, it's going to have to be for a good reason

I agree about the H2. Maybe GM could bring it back as a hydrogen vehicle? That'd be a cool twist on things. I'd say slow sales and gas prices killed it, not CAFE. Well that, and now that GM has the better selling H3 and a complementary H3 SUT, it kind of makes the H2 redundant. GM makes too much money off the thing to let CAFE kill it. That's fine by me though, I'd rather see Hummer focus on more capable products that better support the image that the company is slowly, and unfortunately, losing. GM needs to take the $$$ for the H2 update and throw it at making the H3/H3 SUT and H4 even better. (Yeah, I know the H3 truck is not technically an SUT)

It's like griffon keeps saying. Soon the B/P/GMC channel will be outselling Ford and that's not a bad position to be in.

READ: More of the same... Conformity is certainly WRONG even if it is worldly. this is a HUGE reason why other cultures hate the western world and specifically the US. And they should IMO! For example; why should Japanese children try to conform to american standards of beauty? There is a huge study right now about how badly MTV, and other american networks that promote typical american stereotypes of beauty etc, programming affects Japanese children who, no matter how hard they try, cannot conform to the blonde/blue eye' beauty stereotype that our culture clings to. Why should we conform? Why can't we appreciate local culture AS WELL AS worldly culture? I'm from the south and I'm stereotyped as being stupid based on how I talk. Why? I'm better educated than many, yet I should try to hide the fact that I'm from the south because of the 'official pop culture opinion' now.

Pop culture. It's a simple concept that sociologists have studied for years now. The media (pop culture) is largely controlled by LA/California now that all of the communication industries have consolidated and we have better access to information. It's really a sad thing for our culture because it is becoming so homogenous as more and more of individual places/people is being lost. For example; local radio used to be a big influence on culture and music. But now with companies like Clear Channel, local radios no longer exist en mass, and as a result the programming, which comes from the coasts, is homogenous.

I really don't understand the appeal of being in the middle of a city. I live in the middle of a city now and it stresses me out really bad. I need tons of personal space, I guess. The city is gray, concrete and steel with poverty, trash and more people per foot than I care to count. What exactly is appealing about that? I'd much rather be in a small town where I know my neighbors, can go outdoors and be left th hell alone or not be in the way of everyone and their brother. (I'm being serious, not sarcastic. I would like to know why it appeals to some of you so much)

You've been sipping that SoCal kool aid for a bit too long, my friend. There is a proud heritage of hard working, family oriented and historically significant (on the manufacturing front)people/places in the midwest. I hate to break balls, but this is exactly the attitude that CARBIZ was talking about. To me, it's a feeling of superiority (which walks a fine line of discrimination) based of geographic location. If anything, I'd say that California is a cultural wasteland. With the constant negativity and greed of "pop culture" there combined with the gang mentality and drugs that are spreading from there to the middle of the country and the general anti-american sentiment, our culture rot seems to be starting on the coasts and moving inward. Why? The heartland has plenty of history and appeal. Sure, London or Paris might be a stretch, but the "heartland" isn't chopped liver. Yet another "american" that seems more loyal to other countries than his own.

Currently: $3.17 for regular and around $3.30 for premium. 10 days ago when I came home for spring break it was $2.99 for regular. Of course, that was right on the SC line and it's always hella expensive comparatively here in the mountains. The gas station around the corner went up to $3.25/gallon a few days ago. At the same time, the cheapest place in town dropped to $3.17. It'll go bust soon IMO. Our economy can't sustain greed like this and what goes up must come down in economics. Is it going to come down a lot, probably not, but it'll come back down eventually. +1 on the "I don't care" front here... I have my Focus that I can get 35MPG out of all day long. The V8's hardly drive 500 miles per year. :shrugs: And if I can afford gas now on the money I make as a broke college student, then I'm certainly not worried about it once I get out.

I think Saturn had a lot to do with it. But it's almost as if that was the plan all along. I also think the devastating strike of 1998 had a lot to do with the death of Oldsmobile. I remember Olds officials saying that the turnaround was actually picking up momentum, especially on the back of the then just introduced Intrigue, until the UAW strike killed inventory. After the strike, the momentum never returned. Poor marketing had a lot do with it as well. I distinctly remember an article with a Dodge dealer who said he experienced quite a few people coming into his dealership looking for Intrigues, and especially, Auroras. Remember, Dodge was the "hot" company back then. The decision to switch logos with little marketing support as well as the decision to remove identification from the cars were HORRIBLE moves. I remember reading about the Aurora in Car & Driver and not being very sure what company it was from, when it first came out. I did know that the car was beautiful! I think GM was very impatient with Oldsmobile and didn't allow the division enough time to show results. But then, I look back and wonder how bad of shape GM would be in now if it had to support another division through the last 5 years of hell. That's why I emphasize patience in all of my posts about the "damaged brands".

+2 That's what I mean when I always preach the "focused division" thing. There is absolutely NO reason why every GM division needs to be all things to all people. That defeats the purpose of having multiple divisions in the first place IMO. In certain segments in the meat of the market, I think multiple entries can succeed. For instance, the G6, Aura and Malibu will be fine once Pontiac gets a more focused G6. The Lacrosse is already out of the picture since the new model will be leaps and bounds above what we hav today. As for the Lambdas.... Hmmm... That's a hard one. I thought 3 was enough, but I can also see why the Traverse was greenlighted, with the Outlook not pulling the volume it was intended to.