Camino LS6

Here are two things I believe we ought to be doing instead of holding pissing contests over how folks live their private lives or how the latest round of regulations will keep us safe and insulated from the world. 1. An all-out national effort to become energy independent via new fuels and technology with immediate real world applications. I'm talking about removing any regulatory road blocks and incentivising the mission. I want to see an all out push with real deadlines for certain benchmarks. Success should be judged by the percent of oil consumption displaced by the new fuels and technologies. Push this in every way. 2. The other aspect should be a project that stirs the soul and expands the boundaries of human experience in a way that all of the world will be in awe of and feel a sense of pride in the possibilities for the entire human race. Of course, I am talking about space exploration. We should already be out there with regularity finding out what we haven't yet imagined. And I am talking manned exploration - humans need a frontier to take them away from the petty bickering over the finite scraps of old resources. We have already lost so much valueable time. It is way beyond time that we, as a nation, had some ambition and the drive to do what hasn't been done. The bigger things that can, and have, moved the whole Earth forward. It's time to do big things, things that only a nation like ours can do. Instead of wallowing in our own stagnant details and divisive, yet meaningless, squabbles. We used to know how to lead by example, and need to do so again. Or, just take our ball and go home.

He didn't actually handle that knowledge effectively though...

These folks are a potential threat to the gene pool.

I'm just going to say it. The US needs to "grow a pair" on so many fronts, or just start to fade away into the mists of history. I'm tired of all the screwing around with BS and minutae, let's actually do something meaningful for a change. Grrr. And ,hey, let's act as a nation for once instead of a bunch of shallow bastards that can't see beyond the end of their own noses.

I've met a few "Newfies" and have no problem there. But dude, bagged milk is sooo weird! OC: You should visit Montreal - I highly recommend it.

Just a few observations on what I see as the possibilities for the coming decade: - There is a very real possibility that both Chrysler and Ford could founder and ultimately fail. - Toyota may have serious trouble responding to market shifts in a timely fashion given their ponderous size. I see increasing quality and PR problems in their near future. - The Koreans will pull way back or leave our market entirely. - Smaller European brands will exit our market. - GM could potentially be a big winner or a major loser depending on how the cards are played. But this coming decade should decide its fate. - Nissan will have a rough time of it, and may shrink its US presence. - Honda will maintain or improve its position. - The Chinese effort to enter the US market will founder and fail. EDIT: An Indian concern will penetrate our market - and succeed.

I think over the next decade, we will see a great many businesses go away - and well beyond automotive brands. The changes are going to stun us.

I think we've beaten this topic to a pulp with this thread. I think every viewpoint has been posted and analyzed at least twice. Perhaps we should let it rest a bit. Just a thought.

Won't work in common-rail, modern diesels like my Duramax - yet. I will do this asap when it becomes realistic to do.

The number one imperative of western culture right now is alternative fuels leading to energy independence. There is no greater need nor beneficial change than making this happen as fast as humanly possible constitutes. All the stops must be pulled out and the prioroties shifted to this one end until the job is complete. We can either define and produce the energy advances the world requires, or settle into a new paradigm of has been nations cowering like junkies before the blackmail of oil producing nations. Time's up! Decide.

Very clean. Just a few years older and it would have had more Pontiac DNA without the Chevy mutation.

How many lifetimes would it take to... Ah, nevermind. I would be in heaven in those yards. Simply beautiful.

I couldn't function without a truck. That said, a G8 ST could have done the job nicely as well. :AH-HA_wink:

Diesel has jumped again to $4.26/gal.

Minor detail - easily fixed. Sounds to me like the underside of the car was never washed.

That was me until about age 40, still not what you'd call fat. I am certainly thankful for the metabolism and genetics that allowed for it.

Thanks. Downloaded and ran it - seems to have done the job.

This problem keeps coming back. I'm guessing it is some kind of spyware? PITA!

For me, it all comes down to two things. GM has to quit flip-flopping on good plans and pick up the speed of implementation. The constant second-guessing and hedging of bets keeps holding them back. The zeta cars should already have been here for a year, and Alpha should be debuting by next year. The W bodies should already be a memory, and the new sales channels should already have been solidified not only in reality, but also in public perception. Those are the flaws and errors, not the number of brands.

I'll leave my objections to California out of this except to say that moving operations to an expensive state would be foolish. A major GM design center already exists in CA (as it should). Moving GM HQ out of the US would only serve to stroke the egos of those within the company that have the hubris to congratulate themeselves. Moving HQ would create huge expense for no gain and distract from the truly important work that needs to be done.

Cool. I'd dump the woodgrain too, but I see his point.

I told you Borger and I agreed on this topic. :AH-HA_wink:

But ultimately it was GM's biggest money pit. Just imagine if that money (10 billion ,was it?) had been spent on improving the core brands. we would have had better cars sooner, and some might still be wearing the Oldsmobile badge. So, what now?

Saturn is one of the few topics Borger and I agree on. The Saturn venture was one of GM's most insane decisions. Not too surprising though, given those in charge at the time. The real question is, what now for Saturn? Can't change the past.