FUTURE_OF_GM

No big anniversaries that I can think of for me this year... Actually, I'm probably the happiest I've been in a long time. School is progressing nicely, I have excellent friends, loving family and a girlfriend that cares for me. I have 2 places I call home (finally) instead of home and "where I stay for school" The summer was packed full of heavy metal events and peaceful car shows (The two things that make me tick) I started learning guitar (again, finally) and am about to pick my violin back up after a 13 year hiatus. GM is on a roll, MetallicA is about to release a "follow up to And Justice For All" which is my favorite 'TallicA album... Yadda, yadda... Looking back: My best year was probably 1998... Got my license and my first Camaro (Which has quite a story behind it if anyone has 20 minutes of boredom to spare) Dale Earnhardt (One of my biggest heroes) won the great race. I was young, free of responsibility, well known and popular. (Those romantic high school days, with the perfect 'small town' atmosphere) And gas was .98/gallon. My worst year by far was 2001... Dale Earnhardt died, and with him a little piece of me did. (Yep, you might think it's dumb or cliche, but the beauty is; I don't care) MetallicA broke up and James Hetfield (Another one of my heroes) went into rehab. Oldsmobile was phased out. The Camaro was phased out. My family was betrayed and my dad lost his job. As a result I 1) went into deep depression and had to quit/flunk out of college to pay the bills 2) I got so bad with reckless behavior, confrontation and general bad thoughts/actions that I had to enter therapy as well as anger management. But, as a wise man once said; "The human battery runs off of both positive and negative energy. We're just really good at the negative stuff." (Extra points to anyone that knows who)

That sucks man, sorry to hear it. It seems from your posts that you're one of the nicest guys here, so I couldn't imagine anyone blatantly disrespecting you in the first place. But for them to come into your house and act that way is just unbelievable. Meh, if it makes you feel any better I had a lot to look forward to this year as well. What, between my bouts with depression, the constant flow of alcohol and meth on one side of the family and the other side thinking they're better than you and absolutely too good to associate with you; the holidays were, at best, exhausting. [/Dr. Cox Rant]

Remember how everyone here whined about my rants on the power of the media to shape the ignorant consumer... This is exactly what I was talking about. People believe anything they read, because they are too lazy to research the facts and the corrupt media plays to whatever source pays the highest price.

And destroy the economy. I've had a lot of change in my life and NEVER has it made my life better. ESPECIALLY when the change is forced instead of voluntary. If anything, that just makes people fight it more. Why the hell should I 'reform' my life because China is too dumb to see the future. I'm so tired of my country having to whore itself out because of other countries actions. Here's a novel idea: Why doesn't CHINA change it's actions instead of us sacrificing what little freedom and pride we have left? As an american (yeah, right, to hell with this country) I'm so tired of being THE ENEMY, yet responsible for making sure the world doesn't destroy itself. Know what? It's gonna happen anyway! 1) Yes, we should lead by example... We should take the intelligence and creativity we had not even 20 years ago and show the world that we can once again pull our country together and INNOVATE. Show the world that ANYTHING can be possible if you have the will and talent. By REGULATING this and sacrificing THAT (for the good of the people---BULL$h!, for the good of the wealthy is how that should read) we are leading by example... IF we were the Soviets. But, then again, this kind of leadership should come natural to COMMUNIST China. 2) This is going to sound bad, but I don't plan on having children and I don't really care about anyone elses children... THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM; people can't keep it in there damn pants and feel that it is their 'right' to continue to over populate the world. The planet will not sustain all of these souls forever and that point is closer than we think IMO.

I agree... I don't live extravagant in any other way and I will ALWAYS have the option to drive a V8 until they take mine away. And the only way they'll do that is with guns and my termination.

I'll throw some more gas on the fire: What about the Impala name? It's NO secret that a large part of the Impala's success is because of the equity in the Impala name. It's not prestigious, but it does convey "good, solid, car for the money" to the consumer. How will an upsized Malibu account for that? I'd be willing to bet that most of the car buying public has a negative connotation with the name Malibu. This isn't a major issue, but it is something to consider since a few of the more vocal posters think the Impala name should be put in storage.

POST OF THE YEAR!

Thank you very much!!! That's a constant fear of mine in this age of downsizing for the sake or downsizing. Some of us have a hard time fitting in a car at all.

I think so... AS the SUV market continues to erode/fragment, large cars will be a big beneficiary IMO. It might not be the boom that the SUV market experienced, but sales will be solid.

It just occured to me... Maybe this is where MT picked up the whiff of an Alpha car for Chevrolet. Maybe the idea of a FWD Impala and RWD Alpha sedan is being kicked around to try and appease both enthusiasts and our dumb-assed legislators. Not to mention, an Alpha Chevy would probably spread costs around pretty well. I'm not so sure I'm a fan of Alpha being given to Chevrolet. BUT if a Zeta sedan becomes exclusive to Pontiac, that might change things a bit. This is especially true if the next gen Camaro moves to Alpha (Which has been rumored) and makes Zeta entirely Pontiac exclusive. ** By "exclusive" I mean exclusive to this part of the market. I would certainly hope that neither a Cadillac Zeta nor a Buick Zeta would be heavily cross shopped with a Chevrolet or Pontiac Zeta. If it is; GM hasn't differentiated the products and/or divisions well enough.** Just some food for thought.

I'm pretty indifferent on this one... Naturally, I prefer RWD. BUT I DO NOT want Chevrolet to lose volume and sales just to satisfy a few enthusiasts like myself. I'm fine with upgrading to a Pontiac or just buying a Camaro -or- maybe AWD Impala anyway. THEN AGAIN: We could always have our cake and eat it too... Why not develop a new FWD Impala and import a few thousand RWD 'halo' sedans (Caprice, Bel Air, Biscayne, whatever) Unlike the G8, conservative styling might serve a Chevy flagship well. To differentiate Pontiac give the G8 better styling, better materials and better driving characteristics/performance. My main concern is that the FWD Impala will lose the "heritage cues" that were supposed to be so attractive on the RWD car. I hope this doesn't happen.

Merry Christmas!

I certainly hope not... And I don't understand why anyone at GM would be in that frame of mind. RWD doee not automatically equal poor fuel economy. I think we've just been conditioned to think that way over the years. Oh well, no RWD = no GM car in my garage. I've done the FWD thing for long enough now.

Is there a such thing as 'enoguh cars'? I'm confused.

LOL, I'm 'hellbent on bringing the stars and bars back' simply because it's my avatar? Gotta trim the fat somehow. I did.

Accords aren't that common here yet either... I've seen one or two in Charlotte and that's it. I've actually seen more CTS' on the road than either the Accord or 'Bu. (Probably close to 10 now) Maybe it's just me... I've been pretty distracted as of late (With the horrible semester and all)

I agree... I'm very kind hearted and I'm not even sure if I agree with the death penalty. But the absolute burning hatred I feel for people who PREY ON THE INNOCENT AND DEFENSELESS overrides my kind hearted nature. I think, for people like this, it should be an eye for an eye. He killed an old man by beating him with a sharp object. As such, he should be dispatched in the same manner.

I haven't seen any on the roads here or in Charlotte. I went by the biggest Chevy dealer in Charlotte and they only had 4 on the lot. I did see one in a driveway here (My home town) come to think of it. I think the new 'Bu is a very striking design (Especially for it's class) It's actually one of the 2 or 3 midsize sedans I'd look at buying. It was gorgeous.

Boo-Hoo... I got pissed off at the world and gave up on my fellow man a LONG time ago, but that doesn't give me the right to go kill an innocent and helpless person. I hope this guy burns. He deserves much worse than he'll get. But at least he didn't 'off' himself like that worthless coward at VT or the coward that shot up the mall. At least we can make this guy suffer a bit.

I think the comparison of the Mini to the HHR is a little unfair considering the difference in history. Mini was already established and reveled. Not to mention, I'm willing to be that most Minis sold are the more expensive variety (Who would own a plebian Mini?) as opposed to most HHRs which are entry level.

You KNOW I'd have your back... And yes, I too am only one step away from "building a cabin in Montana." :AH-HA_wink: :rotflmao: Count me in! Texas is 'on the border' with me (YAY! PUNS!) I like some of their ideology, but not all of it. It's where Cali was 10-15 years ago; except it seems to be the other extreme

I didn't put the ad up. Most yuppies here buy Toyotas, Hondas and the occassional Subaru, VW or Acura. The mid premium and premium brands are usually reserved for the "old business guys" (Old being 45 and up, and yes, I know that isn't really 'old') Besides, just because someone is mainstream doesn't mean they can't be qualified as yuppie. Another interesting note: Mazda seems to be big with the college people. Of course, a friend of mine bought a new 6 for way below sticker, so maybe that's why.

Gasp!... What a surprise!

If you want an H3, buy an H3. Who cares what everyone else thinks, such as 'also rans' who drive mid-size sedans. I really don't see why an H3 is so "absurd" for daily transportation considering what else is on the road. What's absurd is the fact that we get judged as good or bad based on what we choose to drive. It's nothing more than acceptable prejudice/stereotyping. With an H1 I could understand, but an H3 and even an H2 are perfectly fine.