Camino LS6

Thanks for the clarification. I don't agree with the marginal description, although that certainly is the trend.

If smaller = better, I don't have a problem with that. Being #1 in volume seems an empty title anyway. It's profit that counts.

You mean a "rolling speed bump"?

Wow! this hydraulic system sounds fascinating, gotta link?

Kind of funny for manufacturers that have such a wide acceptance of the buying public to have not made even one model that appeals to me. There seems to be something that they just can't quite grasp which comes naturally to the domestics. Hopefully, the domestics will really capitalize on this.

Guess what? In general I agree with you. I do feel that GM has not fallen to the level of blip in the overall economy yet and that a catastrophic ending isn't how things will go down. A true failure of GM would take decades anyway and by the time it might occur GM will by definition be nothing but a blip should things go that way. The current situation is most certainly a crisis (maybe GM's biggest and most important) but it isn't the end game. It would seem our disagreement is a matter of timing and degree. Even our views on the outcome seem to be in line.

You have the tact of the average patch of poison Ivy. No need to get haughty and mysterious, if you have some bit of knowlege you think is so relevent, then spell it out. Your WWII reference is so vague that I can think of many interpretations for it . Obviously, it is some sort of buzzword for you that I'm not aquainted with, your assertion that I have no grasp on history is equally vague. Why don't you clarify and support your remarks, thereby adding to the discussion. I have no desire to be in a personal spat with you. I would, however, like to know just what you mean by your comments and summary judgement of my knowlege of history. I accept that you have a perspective on the automotive industry that I do not, but to dismiss my ability to decode your cryptic references does not indicate a lack of perspective on my part.

What we are dealing with here is purely hypothetical anyway, and likely moot as GM will use its considerable array of options to avoid bankruptcy effectively. So doomsday won't be coming any time soon. What we will likely see is a slow methodical evolution of the situation with an attendent decline in the power of the UAW and an increase of pressure for some form of national health care reform. GM will be fine, just different.

I have to agree with Evok here, it's Rick or ruin. Now or never.

I have a better than average grasp on history,thank you very much.WWIII? I have no idea what you mean by that. You diminish the significance of American manufacturing and its importance to maintaining our standard of living. As far as a GM failure goes, a blip and a disaster are separated by a number of decades and GM has not yet slid to the point where it's failure would be insignificant. GM remains terribly relevent to the US economy despite its financial health of late. Moreover, the cascade begun by a GM failure would have an exponential effect throughout the whole economy. Had I some free investment funds, I would most certainly be buying GM stock right now - I believe that the company is headed for a major comeback very soon.

I've given the "Wawa Report" a few times in the lounge. It's too small a sample to really fit in with these other results, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for a likely lot to get a more meaningful count. The trouble is, cars are always in motion around here and any lot that stays static for very long is usually skewed one way or another. College lots would have more older stuff and lots of folks use the "commuter" car to go to work leaving the "nice" car at home. Malls and other places just don't stay static long enough to count. Maybe a traffic survey from a fixed location would give the best view.

Man, I would love that. It should go on tour with the Blackhawk. This car is just so cool makes you wonder where the talent goes when the manufacturers do "production intent" showcars. I still like the Blackhawk more, but the Efijy is very sweet as well. :thumbsup:

My guess would be rear brakes as the source of the hiss. Can you jack up the car and spin the wheels by hand? If that replicates the sound, I would pull the wheel(s)and take a good look at the brake pads. Could be as simple as some debris caught in there or the "squealer" just starting to contact the rotor.

No, it would mean depression in those and other areas of the country. And a systemic decline in the entire nation's economy. It would be the final knock-out punch to manufacturing in the US which will marginalize its position in the world at large. The paradigm shift from producer nation to consumer nation would be assured by the loss of the domestic auto industry - there would be no turning back. We are already in deep trouble on this front and our mortgaged to the hilt society leaves us all looking like UAW members facing the end of the national gravy train. Our levels of debt public and personal, and our lack of export vitality all point to our standard of living becoming unsupportable in a hurry. No, I don't believe that a GM failure would be the root cause of the disaster I'm laying out. But I do believe a failure of the domestic auto industry at any faster pace than 2-3 decades will push us past the point of no return. Fortunately, I also believe that GM will not go bankrupt and that, albeit a bit late, we as a nation can and will head off the disaster.

OK, let's clarify what we are talking about here. Bankruptcy or complete failure and liquidation? Both will have far reaching effects and will touch every citizen of the US in a negative fashion. Even the lesser scenario of bankruptcy and re-organization would immediately throw Ford into a tailspin and its own bankruptcy. Could we all get past that and emerge stronger in the end? Maybe. But the agony during the transition would hold very high costs. A complete failure would be several orders of magnitude worse. The last time I saw some figures, about 900,000 people either directly or indirectly have a paycheck because of GM. Think about the effect of losing those jobs for a minute. That says nothing about such things as its effect on financial markets, other domestics, housing values,tax bases, pressures on gov't. supported social services,Gov't guaranteed pension and banking comissions,the US trade deficit... You get the idea, this would not be a walk in the park or a blip in our economic reality. It would be nothing short of a paradigm shift for the nation as a whole.

The El Camino stat holds true for 1966 as well, I believe. From 1964-1967 El Camino could be ordered with all or almost all SS equiptment other than badging. Only in 1968 did Chevy finally offer an "official" El Camino SS, and there was one offered every year afterward all the way to the end of production in 1987/88. I believe it is the longest consecutive run any SS model has ever made.

While there is the occasional domestic or foreign model that gets my attention, there has always been at least one GM model available that has suited my needs perfectly. I'll grant that the number of GM models with the power to part me from my money has often been few, it has always been at least one more than the asian manufacturers have ever had to offer. To date, no asian manufacturer has ever built any model that I would actually spend my money on. That's right, nothing past or present from Toyota, Honda or their ilk has ever appealed to me in a meaningful fashion. This is not a case of loyalty, just plain fact. The future looks to remain exactly the same in this regard.

All the best, Walt! You did a fine thing by creating this site, it has held my attention since the day I joined(12/31/01).

DEAD WRONG! and part of the problem.

Pretty cool, but it looks very strange with the top off.

That's a matter of perspective - it depends on your age.

Now that makes more sense, must have been a typo. As one word, I could barely even pronounce it.

Best Idea I've heard all day. Done.

What else does Buick need? Velite. And maybe,just maybe, a small entry-level RWD sedan/crossover.

And what, exactly, is "lithiumion"?