FUTURE_OF_GM

I always thought Holden owned Austrailia and had always heard tyhe sotries about Toyota "struggling to build anything the Aussies wouls want to buy." Oh well.... It's nice to know that I can move to Austrailia and still buy a decent car if Washingtons car nazis get too bad. Better weather anyway.

Excellent!

No kidding... My gay roommate gets laid at nothing. Us straight guys have to "work for it"

+1 Pretty soon we won't be able to fart without violating an air pollution law.

I think Hummer could sell a lot of these. The brand is still prime for expansion but the question is; how much does GM want to preserve Hummer's cache?

I am thus far anti-G8.... But Pontiac needs a hit desperately and I hope this is it... The line up is starting to look pretty decent now. The G8, possible wagon, ST and GXP versions, a refreshed G6 line soon, a new Vibe, facelifted Solstice with a targa or coupe option. Maybe it'll eek by yet

The only thing that seperates Lexus from Acura is snob appeal... You can presumably turn up your nose to everything else on the road if you're driving a Lexus. Whereas, Acura doesn't even have that same cache, much less anything else. Just wait until Lexus quality falls some more, then we'll start seeing them at the bottom of surveys because suddenly, it won't be that special to drive one anymore.

Typical asian arrogance... 1) With only 2000 responses, why are they wasting their time anyway. 2) How in the hell does Ford, with all of the negative propaganda about quality/gas guzzlers/etc, still rank 3rd in this import biased survey. It's called PASSION The Acura division has the literal appeal of a new computer (Especially with all of the techno junk) Sure, it's stylish... Sure, it's cool... But are you as passionate about buying that new dell appliance as you would be a Burberry scarf? Nope. As much as I love spitting on Acura, this survey shows more than anything else how UNRELIABLE and INVALID anything out of Consumer Reports really is.

Funny you should mention that... Recent genetics testing of CD (Conduct Disorder, the main precursor to Antisocial Personality Disorder) children has hinted that children with CD have similar profiles. Basically, we could *PREDICT* if a child is at the very least more "at risk" for being a bad person than other children. At the most, taken to a wild extrme, we could fully diagnose a child with the disorder based on a genetics test alone The research stops short of drawing definite conclusions for fear that someone (or some organization) will take the conclusions and use them as a basis for discrimination or even detainment. And FWIW, I certainly believe there is a culture war going on in this country. What is the main source of fuel you ask? The media of course! When you tune in to your favorite news cast, do you actually get news or just propaganda with a fact or two sprinkled in? There's your answer.

Not sure if I can, but I'll TRY narrowing down my selections based on a few of the categories. Supercar: Chevrolet Corvette ZR1/Chevrolet Corvette Z06... The Z06 is more my personality (raw, tempermental, flashy track car) which makes it the front runner until I see performance specs on the ZR1 (Which looks more luxury oriented) Other options include the Ford GT, Aston Martin DBS or a Bentley Continental GT Sportscar: Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 or SS, whatever the top option car is. Other option: Mustang Shelby GT500 KR Sports Sedan: Dodge Charger SRT-8 Other option: Pontiac G8 GXP as long as it improves on the looks of the car. Luxury Car: '09 Cadillac CTS-V Other option: The hot version of the new Jaguar XF (If there ever is one) Family Vehicle: It's a dead heat between the Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave and Ford Flex Just for fun: Hummer H4 or Pontiac Solstice GXP Truck: GMC Sierra Denali or Ford Super Duty depending on what I needed the truck for. Economy: Dead heat between a Dodge Caliber SRT-4 or a Chevy HHR SS Panel Other options: Chevy Volt a hot version of the Euro Focus or a hot version of the Saturn Astra Everyday Daily Driver/Winter Car: 2002 Trans Am WS6, otherwise it's a dead heat between Chevrolet Malibu LTZ, Saturn Aura XR and a Mercury Milan Project Car: Oh god... This is gonna get lengthy... My Camaros of course.... Other than that, off the top of my head and in no particular order: '63 Corvette split window, a random '70s Corvette, '69 Camaro COPO or true Z/28, a Corvair of some sort, '67 or '70 Chevelle SS, '66 Nova (cracker box), '59 Impala or El Camino, a B-59 of my own, '53 Buick Skylark, a GNX, '59 Cadillac Eldorado, a '60ish Cadillac of some sort. '53-'55 Oldsmobile, '70 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 W-30, '55 Pontiac Safari wagon, '67 GTO, '70 GTO Judge, '68 Firebird, '69 Trans Am, '71 Trans Am (the 455 option would be nice), '69 Mustang (428 Cobra Jet would be nice), '70 Mustang, '73 Mustang, '61 Lincoln Continental, 49 Mercury or Buick led sled. '69 Dodge Charger, '70 Plymouth Superbird, etc. etc. (I'll stop there -- That's not even including trucks)

I had a '91 Lumina with the 3100... Had 250,000 miles on it, was smooth as a top and got excellent gas mileage! I seriously think that car has been the best car I've ever owned fuel mileage wise. I never officially measured my mileage, but I'd estimate it in the 30's easy (I do quite a bit of highway driving) The Focus I currently have gets about 35+ on my trips back and forth to Charlotte.

Umm... Yeah... That's the point of a blog such as Cheers and Gears. I've never denied that most of my posts are 100% opinion. In fact, just like my bias for GM, I've touted it and built a name for myself on it. GM was well ahead of their time in LARGE (Read: Very profitable) SUVs. Maybe the author should've been more clear, but I'm sure he talks out of the other side of his mouth when it comes to GM SUVs and the environment. Since, according that faction, GM created and forced the SUV wars onto an innocent unsuspecting public. The Blazer and Jimmy were good first attempts that sold enough to justify the investment and probably made profit for the company. (I have no idea how well they sold --Nor do I care to look it up, because I don't need it to prove my point) My point exactly. GM killed the Corvair, Nadar did not. It's not. It's snobbish to think you're better than others based on your brand preference, as my original post inferred. The comment (by the 'journalist') wasn't directed at GM in the first place, it was directed at people like me. 'Ignorant young rednecks' who buy (and/or restore) these 'flamboyant' cars that should be erased from existence for *GASP!* having a bit of personality. THAT'S why I took it so personal. Especially given the fact that while I'm restoring said cars and actually building on a financial investment/asset, this guy is probably driving around in something like a Corolla that is depreciating faster than he can pay it off. Yet he has the nerve to turn his nose at me. (Another curse of being a 'journalist' -- horrible pay) Do you excel at your job? Do people look the other way when academic publications make "small errors" or exhibit bias? I'm certainly good at my job, and I can bet that *IF* I were a factual source of information, I'd have my proverbial sh*t together. But, simply because it's GM, this natural sense of laziness and regurgitation of poor information seems to be accepted as normal practice. FWIW, I rarely ever say anything positive about a 'positive' GM review. If that were the case, then you wouldn't be harassing me about being negative and nitpicking bias in a thread about an extremely positive article on GM. Like I've said from day one; 3 months of puff pieces does not make up for years of ignorance. Yes, GM does deserve criticism and I criticize GM a lot, but those posts seem to go unnoticed because otherwise no one could whine about posts like this.

I'm still for my idea of just using human blood... I'm already plotting a roadtrip

Sure... I'll buy that. * Actually, I wasn't pointing any fingers, it was just a random comment.

Get used to it folks... Each year more freedom is taken away. Honestly, I wouldn't mind some restrictions on VERY lude activity in bars. Of course, around here it's gotten so bad that people are openly doing cocaine on the tables in some places. (This happened the last time I was out in my home town) Profanity is one thing... Open use of cocaine is another I guess.

And therein lies the problem... Because Detroit has been chastised for so long about "failed technology" they are (were) afraid to take any risks. That's one reason why the asians were ALLOWED to be viewed in such a positive and innovative light. Technically, the ONLY technology the asians can be credited with is hybrid tech IMO. Everything else they've ripped off from Europe and america and improved upon it.

After being VERY impressed with the car in the Edmunds spy shots, I feel kinda let down now. There is something that's turning me off, I just don't know what.... Maybe it sits just a bit too high, or maybe it has just a few too many lines... I'd love to see it in silver, as I find cars with lots of lines appeal to me in silver because I can follow the bigger picture a little better. Meh, either way it's an impressive piece and should knock 'em dead!

Nothing more than an attempt at justifying sub-par engineering. And while we're talking about other brands... FWIW, this Hummer concept is what the Ford Bronco should be like as well IMO.

I agree! I wouldn't mind having both 2 and 4 door versions since the 4-door Wrangler is selling so well. This thing is effing awesome! I love it!

We've had some nice 60 degree weather here the past few days... But before that we FINALLY got a little bit of snow! Brought the kid out in me again.

That's awesome!!!

Umm... WHAT?!?!?! If *ANY* company capitalized on the SUV boom, it was GENERAL MOTORS. Back handed compliments from the companion article; "GM's 10 Most Significant Cars" 1) That "unstable rear suspension" was the same engineering found under the ass of a Porsche. Nader just wanted to make a name for himself and apparently was smacked by a Chevrolet when he was a kid. "The first of several failed efforts at new technology." 1) I don't think any GM technology can really be summed up as a failure (Excepting the 8-6-4, maybe) 2) GM phased out the Corvair for one reason: The CAMARO got the job done better and cheaper. Ok? So muscle cars are juvenile and music such as The Beach Boys is "bad pop music" This snobbish bull$h! is one reason why I can't stand the press... Nobody gives a f*ck if you think you're cool because you drive a VW Phaeton and listen to Bach. Just because I drive a Mustang and listen to MetallicA is no reason to think you're any better than me. I'll place money on me being smarter anyway. (I'd put my IQ/college scores up against any of these hacks)

FINALLY!!!! Saab shows some potential.

I think the truck area is where GM will benefit from diesels the most. I know my family would LOVE to replace our V8 truck with a light duty diesel that would probably serve our towing needs better anyway. Hopefully the new light truck diesel will spread through the line very quickly.

The Camaro will be my first new car purchase... I'm pretty certain of it. Except, I want the top option car which might mean I need to restrain myself for a year or so. Then I can tell Congress, the greenies and the lot of everyone else to go F*()&^% themselves in 3 different flavors!!! (My 3 Camaros)