FUTURE_OF_GM

I'm not so sure this is a good idea... 1) Do you seriously think that the price of oil will ever come back down? I highly doubt that the oil companies will stop lining their pockets simply because demand decreases a bit. Not to mention, if this is "peak oil" (What about the promised investments in new refineries? What about the HUGE deposits found in the gulf?) then what makes you think supply will ever catch up with demand even if demand is decreasing? 2) Careful what you wish for with the 'electric car phenomenon' I'm sure, soon enough us performance car fans will be screwed out of our cars one way or another either through lack of an infrastructure or legislation banning them (Yes, I do think the enviro-losers will go that far) Wishing our cars as 'indulgences' will only serve to accelerate that IMO. I'm seriously scared about fuel right now. I love my cars, especially my classics, and I'm worried about their future. It's one thing that makes me happy (I don't have many things that do) and the loss of that would not be a good thing.

I can think of 2 things to call it... 1) An SVT Focus 2) A Mercury It be a great way to stir some mud about the Mercury division and could begin to distance that franchise from Ford by giving them a superior and differentiated (somewhat) entry level product.

Well, I guess that's smart on GM's part... I mean, it's not like they need any positive PR or attention in L.A. or California in general for that matter. (Much sarcasm implied)

Blah X 100... I'll even go as far as to say that the latest GTO looked better than this. The orange KILLS whatever sophistication the design had in the first place and those wheels are atrocious. I kept thinking I'd seen them before and then I remembered. The Ion has a similar design with the lego block center cap. The G8, so far, seems to be about as exciting as shredded wheat. I certainly hope I'm in the minority because I want the car and Pontiac to succeed. The dynamics will no doubt be there, but the look seems to be back in the 90's

+1

We do... The Volt and Ethanol are two examples... (Remember, I said reduce CO2, not eliminate it.) In a few years we will hopefully have batteries that will allow an Escalade to achieve 70 MPG (A GM quote) Anyway, my point was the tried old argument of why doesn't the government subsidize new technology and promote innovation as opposed to regulating everyone into a place NO ONE wants to be. First it'll be our cars, next will be our houses. It's just another means of political control. I agree 100%

Awesome!

Maybe I should revisit the first albums. Everyone I talk to says: "What, I can't beleive you don't like the old stuff" especially given my tastes. Oh well, "A Little Piece of Heaven" is a masterpiece IMO despite what people say. I'm sure it'll cause a huge backlash from the hardcore fans -- which IMO, is all the better and a lot of the appeal. Music, especially metal, is supposed to inspire emotion.

And why exactly should that "action" be forcing people to buy smaller cars? Why can't that "action" be innovation and technology? We seriously have the technology right now (Or a few years away) to reduce CO2 emissions, yet everyone insists on lording over those 'awful car people' and their 'big honkin' pollutin' SUVs and sports cars.' Oh wait, I forgot, this country doesn't innovate anymore. We just 'manage' other cultures innovations and sell/move the small parts of our society that do innovate to other countries.

It's an excellent read, but will anyone in Washington listen? I doubt it... They've been out to get Detroit for years because it symbolizes "all that is wrong" with americans.

"A Little Piece of Heaven" by Avenged Sevenfold. FWIW, their new album is probably one of my favorite albums of all time now. It's pretty much everything my vision for my metal band is; dark, theatric, twisted and experimental (mixing in all of the extras from violins to pianos to steel guitar, etc.) EXCEPT I'd probably go heavier with the music. M. Shadows (their lead singer) sounds so good now that he actually sings as opposed to screaming like a lil' bitch (ala their first albums --- which I hate for the most part) I guess blowing your vocal cords will do that for you

I second that... BTW, you could always just go retro :AH-HA_wink: to satisfy your RWD needs. I figure it'll be at least another 5-10 years before the enviro-weenies start forcing us to give those up.

Do you honestly have your head that far up your own ass? I should be "smart enough" to deny my own heritage for the sake of making some yuppie happy? I don't think so. I don't live or die by the politically correct and frankly I couldn't care less about the people I offend. Post modern?!?! LOL See comment #1. If you're not intelligent enough to seperate terrorism from history, then you shouldn't even have the right to be a part of the debate. So the root of this is the fact that you do not like me? You're willing to discriminate against me because you do not like what I stand for or who I am? And you call me the bigot? What's so awful about it? Many men died for that flag fighting for what they believed in, should we automatically kick dirt on their graves just because the flag represents different things to different people? Do you kick dirt on the grave of Billy Durant because the GM logo has come to symbolize poor quality? Do you kick dirt on the grave of Washington because our country's flag represents what most of the world now deems excessive and evil? I thought about taking it down just the other day (Because it's been there for a while and I was ready for a change) But now I think I'll leave it up for a long time. :AH-HA_wink: 1) I think most people are smart enough to know the truth 2) It's not like I give a damn what people on an automotive blog think of me in the first place. I live my life as I see fit. I need no one, I need the approval of no one and as a matter of fact, it really gets my rocks off to be counter to everything people like you cherish so much. Oddly enough (GASP!) I'm secure enough not to really care about judgments passed on me by people who do nothing but 'follow the leader' especially when those people are faceless, nameless text on a website built for hobby.

I think it should start with the Volt and be rolled out to every GM division. Meaning every division gets and exclusive plug in hybrid. For instance: (Off the top of my head) Chevrolet gets the Volt GMC could then get a plug in Sierra or Yukon Hummer could get a plug in H2 or HX Buick could get a large plug in sedan Cadillac could get a plug in that is CTS sized Pontiac could get a performance plug in Saturn could get a small plug in SUV (the Vue) Saab could get a plug in wagon

LOL. Good thing I'm not Lewis Black. It's pretty hypocritical to sit there and bitch at an admin (One who has spent MANY hours working hard on this site) about allowing people to speak freely, then turn around and attack me for doing just that. And why? Simply because you are not open minded enough to seperate a bigot from a historian. (Especially given the fact that I went out of my way to make my stance clear on the issue in the lounge) This is a perfect example of the conformist mindset that is destroying EVERYTHING in our country. This " be free but think as I think" -or- "live your own life, but only if it's as I live mine." A more appropriate description here would be "judge, but only as I judge" as it's somehow in style to criticize my southern pride and discriminate against my choice to fly the flag for the sake of NOT discriminating. Has it ever occured to the 'club' here that seems to hate me why I do and say some of the things I do? In my mind, I'm always 'right' Facts are facts and will be reported as such. (From C&G at least) We're not saying GM is gravy, but they do seem to be making progress. And it gets pretty old when certain people constantly try to throw a line of into the positive news just for the sake of pointing out 'why GM still sucks' (I thought we got rid of that punk evok?) Just take a look at the Malibu threads for god's sake. The car is getting excellent reviews (As I said it would, remember, "begrudging but good") and all people can talk about is the lack of some f*cking $2000 Nav system. Give me a break! FWIW: Northstar might've stepped over the line a bit, but take it from me (I used to be an admin and one of the reasons I wanted out was because of my strong opinions/bias) it sucks to come here and see the company you basically volunteer for day in and day out be 'trashed' by a few people who probably shouldn't even be posting on a GM BIASED board anyway. So cut the guy some slack, ehh?

Personal taste: 3) The Cadillac CTS 2) The Chevrolet Malibu 1) The Buick Enclave *Honorable mention: The GMC Acadia Materials-wise, probably the CTS.

LOL FUnny how the anti-GM people here "jump right on it" telling us why GM will still fail when GM shows a few signs of success.

I think it is to an extent... I think Detroit should cash in on it by staying true to their heritage (No, not retro designs, rather the personalities of the companies) Modern america is very disturbing to some and they want something that reminds them of what america once was (READ: more simple times) so they flock to things from those simple times. (Old cars, antiques, small towns, fashion, art, etc.) Not to mention a lot of people are finally figuring out that classic cars are assets as opposed to junk with the collector market booming like it has for the past 7-8 years.

That statement right there is the meaning behind this entire situation. Hillary doesn't give a rats ass about the environment (Nobody does in Washington) She's merely trying to get votes. In May 2006, being 'green' wasn't favored among voters, but now that it is and politics = business her advisors have told her to whisper exactly what the public wants into it's ear. So now, we have this 'tough stance' on fuel economy that isn't about the environment or foreign dependence on oil. It's about pleasing the voter who is pissed about paying $3/gallon for fuel. I can't wait for the day that exciting cars are no longer produced. I guess the liberals decided that they couldn't kill Detroit, so they'd just kill the car entirely. It'll be funny to see how much of this is actually implemented when the reality of the situation proves that these politician's mouths are writing checks their asses can't cash.

OMG, I think I just had an orgasm over Dodgefans desktop! Sweet!!!!

This is an increasing concern of mine. The hobby is getting so 'overpriced' that a lot of people are 'shopping' classic cars now for theft. I had a friend with a 64 Corvette that had been on the cover of a few magazines. He came back from a show where he had met quite a few people, dropped the trailer (with the car in it) at his shop, locked the hitch and everything up only to come back the next day and find everything gone. My cars are very secure when they're at home, but on the road they'd be easy to break into and steal. For that very reason I've thought about installing both a disabling switch somewhere as well as GPS systems. The only problem with that is, GPS systems generally run about 3000-5000 for a good one and that's NOT pocket change by any means. I think this guy was just some weirdo though, but I would keep an eye on things for a while. If he has access to a state database, he could run your tag and find out where the cars are relatively easy.

And yet again, the new 'standard' from GM somehow gets relegated to barely average... And, just like I've always said; it's all based on "subjective"

Nothing is ever going to be as good as the original, but if the original were a 10 then II would be about an 8, III would be a 9 and IV would be a 9.5. II is probably the most intense and bloody, which is one reason I rate it lower as I'm into the psychological aspect, but not the gore. The opening scene is phenominal though. III is more about emotion and IV is background. The whole mother thing is up in the air I think. And I rather enjoyed Freddy vs. Jason for what it was, for the imagery if nothing else. Ya know... I've always loved Zombie and I was really into his music around the time Hellbilly Deluxe was released. Not surprisingly, House of 1000 Corpses is probably in my top 10 movies (Since it was made around the same time but couldn't get distribution until a few years later) I just love the really dark, theatric and weird stuff he pulled off during that timeframe. To me, 'House' isn't about violence at all. It's about weird, horrific, innovative, 'off the wall' different story and film making. Not surprisingly, I hate The Devils Rejects because it was just a slasher flick with no substance. (And Zombie acknowledged taking a different direction with it on purpose) I tell you that to relate it to Halloween. For months I was stoked about Zombie and Halloween teamed up as one. The original Halloween is probably the, or a benchmark for horror movies. It wasn't about the blood, the scare was created through suspense and imagery. So I expected the best of both worlds; dark, weird, innovative movie techniques with a storyline that was very psychological as opposed to brutal killing. What I got was just another trashy overly bloody slasher flick that just steps all over what the original Halloween was about. The actors sucked, the language and mannerisms were just trash (I'm all for a bit of profanity and such, but when it's just blatantly obvious that the characters are just being trashy for the sake of trying to 'creat the storyline' it's too far) There was nothing innovative at all about the wayhe shot the movie and I think it generally lacked substance. For months Zombie talked about "character development" yet did NOTHING OF THE SORT in the movie. Sure, we watched that ugly kid get scared for life and kill a few things but we never got to look into the conscience of the character and actually see why he is evil or how he thinks. [/end soapbox]

Yeah, in a nutshell. Ethanol does burn faster (hence less range) therefore it would take something like a 10 acre plot of land per year to fuel one car. I'm pretty sure there is a grass biodiesel that is much better, but I can't remember the name of it right now. I'm also excited about the methods being explored that use the corn as well as the stalk. It'd be great to have a fuel based on parts of the plant that aren't consumable, not to count the plant fibers store more energy anyway.