FUTURE_OF_GM

OMG... Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! (Sorry, '68 Firebirds are one of my favorite classic)

The WHOLE population, once the media starts their tirade.

My guess is no... Not to mention, since Cadillac was (supposedly, according to sources here) so pissed off about Pontiac supposedly treading into it's turf, isn't Cadillac going to feel the same way about Buick? Especially if it shares the same basic platform? My opinion is that Buick does NOT need Alpha (here in the states) Buick is going after Lexus and Acura, not BMW. Furthermore, if GM thinks for a minute that this TRANSITION of Buick is going to be easy and only going to take a year or two, they're as ignorant as always. You cannot completely change the identification of a 100 year old division and expect success overnight. Oldsmobile proved that, Cadillac is proving it. And Saturn (a relatively youthful brand in comparison) is proving it also. I say; give Buick the TT AWD Epsilons and give Alpha to Pontiac. (where it belongs anyway)

I know... But keep in mind that EVERYTHING GM does is half assed... So that makes my point all the more relevant.

Why not? Seriously... None of this "GME hates Pontiac" stuff. We does it NOT make logical sense to share products with Pontiac?

And just think, this is GME's 'most fabulous product'

LOL... I fear for Buick then, given your recent track record... Catera did NOTHING for Cadillac, L Series did nothing for Saturn... Then an entire line up of Opels did nothing for Saturn. looks like Buick is in trouble.

From an earlier thread:

Priceless...

Does this mean no Alpha for Buick? Last I heard Alpha and Delta II are roughly the same size. This could be successful as long as it isn't close to the Cruze in content, styling or features.

Would look good as a Pontiac G6 successor (assuming GM is serious about the niche performance thing) Opel is so perfect as low end Pontiacs... Too bad GM is so dumb.

There are still some rusted bits left. Nothing major. There is also a steam engine wreck on one of the mountains. One of the old mining companies had a derailed train and decided it was too costly to remove it. (I guess) On a related note, I've tried to research the old mills there in Elizabethton but haven't found much. They're still standing but badly in need of renovation. (Although I'm sure they'll be demolished instead... Eventually)

Good thing I wore my boots... 'Cause the sh*ts gettin' deep in here.

Basic: Equinox Mid lux: Terrain Luxury: SRX It's as simple as 1.2.3... And it perfectly follows the new core brand strategy. And so what? GM has 4 trucks on a platform... Big Deal. Just think, had GM kept Hummer, the HX would've been on this platform too. (Saturn doesn't need the Vue and the 9-4X, if Saab sticks around, needs to focus on something drastically different than the SRX. Say, efficiency or performance)

And this is magnified by the fact that (To once again borrow my favorite evoq quote) "GM marketing couldn't sell water to a nomad."

I know you're a classic car lover. Ever go to the Elizabethton cruise ins? Every saturday night in the summer, they take over downtown Elizabethton. I LOVE that place... The town and mountains are so beautiful! If I go home for the summer, I make it a point to drive over there a few times. (It's only about 40 min to an hour away from my house) Yessir... The range I live on is shared by Mt. Mitchell. I can almost see it from my back yard. That's some rugged terrain too (in terms of the appalachians) Lots of history up there including a few old plane wrecks from the old Black Mountains air field. The planes would take off from the valley and misjudge the height of the mountains because of the fog or get caught in whatever storm was sitting there at the time and crash.

Hmm.... Well, if I go the "real new" route; (not likely now that the economy has taken a sh*t --- I'm not that crazy about taking on debt now) probably a Camaro SS, HHR SS or G8 GXP. If I were to go the "new" route (meaning newER car) I'd be looking hard at 00-ish Mustangs, a few GTOs or that oh so evasive 2002 WS6 Trans Am that I've always wanted. Or I could cheap out and get a nice, used 3 door SVT Focus and mod the hell out of it. The GF and I actually pondered very hard (and test drove) an 04 MACH 1 to replace her Cavy. It was a beautiful car, black on black leather, stick, Mach audio, after market exhaust with an H pipe. Only 70,000 miles. But we decided that it wasn't a good idea for her to have a car payment while still in Architecture school, so she bought another Cavy instead. (It's a nice car tho) If I were to go the "old" route, there is no telling... I've always wanted a '67 Chevelle or GTO. I'm meant to have a '68 Firebird. I really want a 59-62 Cadillac, Buick or Impala (or all three) maybe a C2 or C3 Corvette. 68-69-ish Mustang fastback. A '69 Charger... Hell, this list could go on forever.

They've been doing that here as well. Too bad we never hear about the Koreans "BRIBING PEOPLE TO BUY THEIR PRODUCTS" GM hands out rebates and it's a bribe. Hyundai gives away a free car and it's f*cking "good business"

I'm pretty sure the Astra will come here... The question is; as what? I don't think it should be a Buick because it's too small. Pontiac would be a natural fit, but the Astra amid G8's and Solstices might be a little weird. So, IMO, GM should make the Astra the TOP OF THE SATURN LINE. I agree... Even though a lot of the old names were soiled. In retrospect, I think adopting new names (and then for some reason refusing to market them) was suicide. Especially when the media got in on it and started 'building' bad images for the new names before they even had a chance.

And by the time we get to that point, all of the pundits will be saying "GM needs to find a way to consolidate everything into Chevrolet and about 12% of market share." You can't cut your way to success. The business is too cyclical. Re saturn: Why not offer the dealers a chance to combine with B/P/GMC? That way, any dealers that want to stay through a restructuring of Saturn could attain a B/P/GMC franchise. And any dealers in B/P/GMC that are worried about lost volume can add Saturn small cars. For the buyer, the transition from a Saturn to a Buick would be seamless (since they'd both be Opels underneath) It would bring a younger, more trendy crowd to Buick and help it's rebirth. GMC could complement Buick as the mid-lux truck brand and Pontiac could complement Buick as a premium (meaning more stylish and pricey than Chevrolet and Ford -- you know mid market) sports car brand.

Sad to see it go, but it was always a half assed effort anyway... Of course, it might've helped if GM had promoted the car any. I'm worried about Cadillac. It should strive to be the standard of the world again (a position they can attain IMO). But so far we've got a cancelled XLR, a cancelled SRX in favor of a GM corporate product (although i think this was a good move, most are divided on it) NO replacement for the STS or DTS and Epsilon being debated AS the replacement, the CTS coupe on hold, Alpha and any prospect of a BTS on hold, NO Northstar replacement, no architecture for the CTS to graduate to and a rumored Lambda Escalade. Sounds like Cadillac is about to be sh*t again... :angry2: On a positive note, I'd like to see either a Cien type car or a convertible CTS. And I do think that Cadillac, especially now that it's name is pretty good, needs to concentrate on getting the core stuff right first and then stuff like the XLR. We need a super Alpha line, a CTS that is fresh every 2 years and a true 7 series competitor. Then we can work on stuff like the XLR.

Wow... That sounds almost as naive as many GM fans (including myself) circa 2005. Talk about 'justifying'

That is a very pretty drive.. The roads in the mountains are one reason I bought the Focus. It does great in the curves. I have many "out of the way" roads around my house that I could recommend. Another good road is the route over Clingman's Dome from Cherokee NC to Gatlinburg TN. Absolutely beautiful.

I guess this makes sense... Personally, I'd rather have the coupe than the wagon, but whatever.

+1... Looks plenty attractive to me too.