FUTURE_OF_GM

Jesus booyah, you're freakin' ripped! Must be nice... LOL

All I'm saying is; why can't the thing express SOMETHING? The hallmark of great and memorable cars is DESIGN. I wish Saab the best with this and I think it is attractive, but it's not phenominal. (And BTW, the Taurus is a little bland, especially the SHO)

EXCELLENT READ!!!

WTF is the big deal with this? It looks straight out of 1995 and I'm sure it'll sell that way too. I can't believe that everyone thinks this is so great. I guess the import lovers among us have been conditioned to love BLAND (SAFE). Since that's what most of them are and what this is.

This car will not replace the Aveo. It will (should) slot below the Aveo.

Absolutely. If they could distill this mojo into every car they make, they'd change the world. I had a friend tell me last night that he isn't a car guy because he doesn't understand why cars are no longer objects of design like they were in the 50s and 60s.

How 'bout yellow and purple? Like this:

But rememeber, we're not allowed to own SUVs anymore... That's blasphemy!

I know, right? I'm getting so tired of the "G8 is going to die tomorrow" bull$h!. I guess the media wants to make it a self fulfilling prophecy... You know, like the cancellation of Pontiac drum beat and the GM bankruptcy talk. Say it enough times and people will believe. I guess the G8 was just too good for the market, so they have to kill it.

For the love of god, I hope this is someone just talking out of their ass... GM would be remiss to even consider selling ANYTHING in China or India IMO. That's suicide and it's business 101. You don't sell that which funds your existence. GM will NEVER rebound here like they will grow in China, despite all of the political and media sweet talking (no doubt by some only to SEE GM fail) Then again, selling the sh*t that makes money seems to be Wagoners answer to everything, so whatever, I guess. GM ---->

While I do agree about the AWD, I certainly think an SRT-8 Charger would allow me to have A LOT more fun than this SHO (which is very impressive in it's own right --- I was just hoping for something more on the visual side)

SWEET!!!!! I'd buy the hell out of that!

LOL... NEVER! Even the most staunch "environmentalist/fundamentalist" won't drop his/her snob appeal long enough to use that logic. Remember, in america, it's all about "me" and that pertains to even charity and saving the environment. Re: the car. WOW! It looks... Just like a regular Taurus! I am impressed by the engine, though.

That's a very ugly.... Opel.

Nice! The only things that bother me are 1) the small wheels and 2) the placement of the side marker light seems like an afterthought. Hopefully this will do good things for GM. (Although I'm sure the journalists are busy thinking up reasons to maintain the import stronghold on this segment)

Sure, I'll give you that. But it was a cultural war that GM was destined to lose anyway. The media would not allow GM to become the sweetheart of the eco-weenies. The media WILL NOT allow that now. They're already talking sh*t about the Volt and posing the question "Should GM be investing in the Volt with gas prices at record lows" EVERY 5 seconds. Just wait until the car debuts. One journalist will find one stupid little flaw, and then all hell will break loose around that as all the other 'yes men' rally around the same little flaw until it's an epic news story that scares a large majority of sales away. Look to the Solstice (the image leader of the "GM revival") for proof. The car is maligned now because of poor placement of door handles...

I agree... And even Californians showed some love for Pontiac recently (The GTO was a huge success in Cali) *I'm sure someone will come on here and shoot that comment down, because we all know that unless GM (and by extension Pontiac) sells 2XX,000 of and given model, it's an instant failure.* Oh, and I think NC is still a flat registration fee of $20-25 as well.

Because he believes, as do some of us here that global warming IS a crock of $h!. What? He's not allowed to have an opinion? Oh, I forgot, opinions aren't popular anymore, especially in California. (I'm not trying to be mean, but do you realize how ridiculous it is that Lutz off the record comments got blown out of proportion like that?) Lutz could do much better had GM given him more power and $$$. What Lutz did was make WINNERS out of relatively crappy platforms and builds. (Save G8) The LaX was a done deal when Lutz arrived, all he did was tweak it and hope for the best. The platform for the Solstice had been laying around GM for 3-4 years. Lutz just took the math and made it into an actual concept. The GTO was older than dirt before it even came here. Like the MS2000 Impala and W-Body GP, what Lutz and GM engineers did with so little was amazing. I think there's a tree somewhere that needs a hug (Your first comment in this post explains why you hate Lutz, the rest of the post is filler) Okay, 1) GM will never recover unless morale within the company improves. For all of it's failures, GM has just as many successes (in different levels of the business) Have you ever met a CEO that didn't talk up his company or take pride in what he sells?!?! I'm real tired of everyone blaming the fall of GM on Lutz and the current management. Are people really so short-sighted that they didn't see the writing on the wall 10-15 years ago? (LONG before these people ran the show) GM has been in perpetual decline for DECADES an it's going to take more than one "car czar" to reverse that (if it even CAN be reversed)

You know, I was thinking; first John Heinricy, now Lutz. Looks like all of the car guys are leaving GM. Some of those cars would've sold volume. And so what? GM knows how to sell volume (See GMT900) That's not their problem when it comes to internal company policy. GM needs to reform it's decision making process before it's too late (I think it probably is too late, though)

Maybe I just have a fetish for small, weird hatchbacks.... (I do drive a ZX3 after all)

What tha f**k?!?! The Vibe is MILES and away better than the new Matrix. Lets be a little bit more fair with that photo comparison and pick something besides a base model GRAY fleet shot: The Vibe is clearly the genetics *winner* in this comparison (unless you're blinded by import bliss) I, for one, think the Vibe GT is damn nice. And I think it has HUGE potential that both GM and Pontiac STILL fail to realize in 1) redefining the corporation 2) redefining the brand 3) expanding the appeal of the brand and 4) pumping up the volume of the brand. The possibilities are endless (as they were when the original Vibe was introduced and hyped, then botched) but as usual, GM's ignorance is blinding them completely. I would be VERY happy with a Pontiac that consists of a sexy G8, pumped up Solstice and a Vibe GT and higher Vibe line. In fact; give me a Vibe GXP with some performance mods, a bit more aggressive nose and about an inch bigger wheels and I'd be HAPPY to replace my daily driver.

It certainly is very difficult to keep the faith now... And that's coming from me (a man that would physically fight over GM if need be ) I think we're all to the point of apathy and acceptance. If GM comes back, it'll be cool, but deep down we're all prepared for the worst because that's how history has conditioned us to be

So, all those Escalades and Escalade envy that happened for the last 10 years was in vain? I have a hard time believing that people do not connect Cadillac with "best" (at some point in their history) Do people look at 90's Cadillacs and say it? No. But most people know what the brand was founded on and what it essentially is (if not from history, then from the new products and the tie ins to history via those reviews) I just don't think it's smart to "give up" on anything. This culture of defeat is what has gotten GM into this mess to begin with. Do any of you think that the asian companies said "We should settle for whatever and know our role in the market." after many failed attempts? HELL NO. They keep building, perfecting and reinventing the brand or product until it becomes what they envisioned. I just don't get this learned helplessness that Detroit adopted a long time ago about "well, this is the best we can do." and "it's inevitable that our business model is shrinking." EDIT: Exactly! They refuse to take the value of what they've accomplished and build on it. Instead, theey would rather start all over with a weaker company, worse reputation and less resources. It's suicide.

Typical european... Times get tough and he runs away.

Another excellent post from guionM on cz28.com Have fun circling the drain GM, I'll always celebrate what you WERE.