SAmadei

I don't see where the bringing up the El Camino was necessary here. El Camino was "struggling" due to being based on a 9 year old design on a 23 year old chassis that was being discontinued. In fact, El Camino sales didn't tank until the latter part of 1987 when the end of the line was obvious and many people didn't even know that it was still being sold... otherwise, '80s El Camino sales range from about 45K to 24K. The '80s numbers aren't far off from the '60s numbers. The biggest dent comes in '82, when the introduction of the S10 steals 15K sales, no other introduction after '82 seems to affect the El Camino sales. When I say El Camino, I am including the GMC Sprint/Caballero version in with the numbers.

Well, that's all fine and dandy, assuming... - You are willing to lose your steering wheel controls. - Are willing to cut up the back of the radio slot to get it to sit flush. - Don't mind if it does not match the GM interior. The problem really is that GM insists on using the stupid 1.5 DIN opening... which NOBODY makes a direct replacement for. I do like the new adaptors that include a 0.5 DIN shelf, but most 1 DIN head units are too long to fit flush... so they either stick out 1-1.5" or you have to remove the rear mount and usually most of the rear of the console slot. Getting the steering wheel controls to work is easier nowadays, but is generally a $100-$200 extra expense to add the adapter. A few radios do include this, but you need to do some homework. Also, if you get real fancy, and have one of those big flip open screens, you have to ensure you don't have it blocking your climate controls on some GM models... not a problem with the GP, but on the Bonneville and some others, people have to swap the head unit and HVAC positions. Personally, I feel more 1 DIN radios have controls that are too small and displays that are very gimmicky. So I like the stock head units. I'd love to install some Monsoon units in older cars, but the Monsoon requires a CAN bus. :-(

In some cases. Did your backlight burn out in one shot or did it burn out in stages? In one shot indicates to me you have a radio like the older cars which use this bulb., However, looking at some '04 GP radios, like this one: Have 3 bulbs... and require some soldering to replace. In any case, Corvetteradios.com sells the bulbs and has instructions to replace much types of GM radio lighting.

Anything with a real trunk looks good to me lately. ;-) Actually, I've also always like the Mirada and 2nd gen Cordobas as well.

Generally, in the later GPs, I believe you can actually pull much of the dash apart without tools... I forget if the under steering panel needs to come out first, but its all generally held in place with clips. As for the radio, there are a few different ones in the GP, and I'm not sure which you have. The ones similar to the older GPs have the smaller backlit LCD readout and uses a fairly hard to find bulb. Its actually pretty easy to fix these, if you can find a bulb. They sell them on eBay and at the dealer. Sometimes its a good idea to run a soldering iron over the bulb contacts if the pads look worn. The newer radio uses soldered in LEDs. They can also be fixed, but its a bit trickier. There are some guides online. The Monsoon radio, I'm not so sure how that one works inside... yet. The radios can be swapped pretty easily, if you go that route. Make sure that the TheftLock has been unlocked. The lighting problem is not super common, but it is common enough... so there is the possibility that your newly installed radio will eventually have the same problem.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply they are difficult, but much more work since you have to tear open 4 doors. Also, since doors get slammed all the time and are held together with retainers that tend to get broken or damaged, I don't like pulling apart door unless its absolutely needed. GM cars get creaky and fall apart fast enough without, say, the guys at BestBuy helping it along while putting in upgraded door speakers with a giant prybar, sawszall and 2 miles of electrical tape. ;-) Your welcome. The steering wheel sounds like a good upgrade that you will enjoy. I don't know what kind of pricing the dealer and you have worked out, but opening four doors up can be a laborious proposition, and I'm not sure its worth the upgrade. Especially knowing that GM wants $2-$3 for each tree retainer they break at the parts counter. Back when I got the Bonneville, it had a broken driver's side mirror and the dealer offered to fix it. I also asked them to fix the plastic molding on the rear door. Well, both required opening up the doors... and everything was fine for about 2 years. By then the goo they used to hold everything together started to drip out of the interior parts and everything start rattling. 8-0 After taking it apart to inspect, whoever took apart the door broke clips and retainers left and right... and didn't bother replacing the retainers... just goo'd everything together...so I had to clean it all up, replace most of the clips and hunt junkyards for a few pieces. Many doors I've opened myself suffer some damage or looseness if I don't replace every last retainer, so if the dealer does the swap make sure he does. For me, I now need a compelling reason to open the doors up... something broken. ;-)

Swapping the wheels isn't too hard... you just need a steering wheel puller... $10-$15 at your local Parts place. Disconnect the airbag safety wire under the dash (bright yellow). Typically, you'll have a few screws (Torx (on new ones) or phillips) in the back that hold the airbag/cover. Under that, there is a big nut. Remove that. Mark the position of the wheel and shaft. Put the puller on, crank it a few times, and it comes right off. Use the big nut to push the wheel back on. On a good day, its a 10 minute routine. I'm assuming here that the two wheels are sharing typical GM parts bin parts... I.E., the same steering wheel controls, etc. Also, if you buy the wheel from a junkyard, I've found that a lot of junkyards are a PITA about separating the wheel and airbag, since some are kind of a matched set... the airbag and cover are packaged together... but having a spare airbag (granted, one with the wrong emblem) can be a bonus later. Doing the door latches is more work, and I'm not sure it would be worth the hassle.

Fisher has been around for a while as a coach builder. Fisker has been around since 2005... 150 Tramontos and 150 Latigos. Hand built and I'm sure stratospheric pricing. Likely 1/4 the volume Boyd has done over in a similar period of time. Fisker is not experienced yet as a 15K a year volume automaker... there will be teething problems. But I like what they are doing... building a larger American car with style. I can live with some warts... like the pesky electric drivetrain. ;-)

I generally agree, but there are a number of different bolt patterns today that are very close. For example, I recently found that the '94 on Mustang bolt patterns (5x114.3) are close enough to the H-body pattern (5x115) that they fit, since most rims have 1~2mm of play around the lug nuts. And it turns out there are TorqueThrust-Ms (Mustang) which therefore would fit on my Bonneville for a somewhat old school look... but aren't as concave, and have similar offset. And considering that there used to be rims with slotted lug holes, I wonder how much of a problem it would be to elongate the lug holes 2mm to fit, say, 5x120 on 5x115... but one has to have the proper lug nut and mating surface, as well, if doing that... preferably flat. Also assuming that the lugs or surface prep is hidden, so the lugs don't appear off-center...

Fiskar makes scissors. Fisker makes cars.

This is a big reason why I like it. Wide, low and relatively long. Probably as long as one can expect in this era. I'm a little disappointed by the VAST console... that is eating up a lot of space... I hope the seats are not as narrow as they look. Guess I'll have to check it out at the NY auto show. I hope they don't shorten the convertible/coupe too much...

Hopefully there is a bit more security in place there than that. I realise its always been somewhat like this, but it still makes me more likely to change the tumblers around...

Last gen Maxima has a slight flying buttress going at the rear...

I hope so, as well. When I recover financially, the Fisker is going to be very much on my short list... especially if they get the coupe going. I'm just a sucker for an American-made big coupe with a split grill.

It don't take much... overusing an electrical accessory too long on a really hot day, etc. Its nice that you located the fusible links, they can be tricky to find in some cars, even as disassembled as the 'Vette is. I agree with WMJ on replacing them with inline fuses where you can find them easily later... or at least circuit breakers... but breakers can lead to diagnosis problems if you forget you put them in... but you can drive home after they cool down. ;-)

I'm not talking about this year. Buick to Use e-Assist Across Entire Lineup This is what many were discussing in that thread... that future Buicks will be straddled with the added expense, complexity and weight of e-Assist and its trunk-robbing battery pack. Now, if opting for the optional manual transmission is one way to opt out of e-Assist, thats a win-win for some people... but offering something briefly after the enthusiasts have long yearned for it, then snapping it away seems more GM's modus operandi for the last few decades. Don't get me wrong, perhaps GM has a plan to offer e-Assist with a manual... after all, GM has offered cruse control with a manual, which will always seem particular to me... but most likely, either the discussion in that thread is wrong about e-Assist being spread across the future Buick lineup as a standard feature or any manual Regal will be short lived. If its the latter, I question the value of this cred so late in the game. GM won't bring us a proper Zeta to the public, or drags it feet for half a decade to do so, when most of the car has already passed Fed regs as a G8, but they will push a new drivetrain through Fed regs that will find very few buyers and likely be short lived.

How is the manual going to jive with the eAssist that's going to spread across the Buick board as a mandatory option? Or does the manual perish just as Buick gets a tiny bit of "street cred" for offering a manual?

As some point, I feel that people who have been raised with too much tech from too early of an age are going to rebel turn away from tech. "Tech" is a fad that comes and goes... and right now we are in a fairly long period where tech is in vogue... at some point, simple will become desirable again. Granted, there will be a lot of tech packed into that simple, but we won't have tech for tech's sake. All this unnecessary tech comes at a price... if not just money, but pollution and privacy. At some point, tech will meet severe resistance on these fronts. If tech trumped all, velcro shoes, digital watches with calculators, picture-in-picture, flying cars, etc. would all be commonplace. It not always a case of "catch on or get left behind"... schools with computers are not leading to smarter students. In fact, I recently got done reading "The Dumbest Generation", and while it is kinda dry and not completely convincing, and its still fairly dire. "Left behind" are people who can update Facebook all day, but can't figure out how to do much else in Real Life that don't involve going to Walmart, McDonalds or a bar. My cat knows how to work my computer. He turns it off. It can be quite annoying, but sometimes I think he might be the smarter mammal. Won't be able to find their way home. Won't have any money. Won't be physically fit enough to walk home. Won't have safe water or food once they get there. Yeah, our over reliance on tech is great. All this said... average new car buyer is late '40s. Just put this Mylink across the GM line... you're going to do it anyway, and I feel that GM is selling short the older people who want this tech for the benefit of 20-somethings that only barely buy new cars anyways, let alone GM cars. What I find antiquated about this is that it has to be a "system"... just come up with simple integration without gimmicks, like a "climate control app", and works easily with most cellphones or other gadgets. Its all bluetooth, USB and WiFi anyway... technologies 10-20 years old. Powermat... gimmick. Remember, you need an expensive, bulky sleeve designed for your phone to use that.

If I was forced to buy a similarly sized sedan, it would sit unused, as I could not physically drive it without using a sawzall on the B-pillar and removing the driver's side doors and seat... THEN I could drive the car from the back seat. However... I prefer to drive something with doors, unless I'm delivering bulk products.

It makes me ill to look at, but its a coupe. That puts it ahead of everything GM has below, what, $23K? If someone put a gun to my head and I HAD to buy something new and cheap, it would have to be a coupe... sedans are just too tight. This Civic would be on a very short list... unlike GM's non-existent coupes... but I'd probably take the Kia Forte coupe first. I morn the passing of the Cobalt, G5 and G6 coupes.

Yeah, so do I. The multifunction stalk just does not have enough printable spaces to thoroughly document all the features. I guess we need to label the brake and the accelerator pedals with international glyphs. I believe Toyota is claiming this is the problem with their unwanted acceleration problems. Next, we need pictographs on the the outside of the doors, like airplanes... I mean, we can't be TOO safe, right? I guess all brake lights should be shaped like octagons. Well, I guess even icons to document everything don't really help enough... people STILL refuse to use their turn signals.

This is why I like being able to have interchangeable batteries. And a Hotshot in the trunk. Thats works as a spare battery in a pinch.

Its truly unfortunately that Welburn's time at the top has been during such tough times, but he still has to do the nearly impossible. GM didn't start posting yearly losses until 2005. Impala redesign should have been started by 2003. Assuming GM needs 4 years, GM could have prioritized it to be out by 2008, even under financial stress. IIRC, the Impala has been GM's 2nd best selling car during this time. 3rd at worst. Even so, during rough times, a business must protect its future as much as possible. For GM, Design and Engineering is most of that future. If GM starved Welburn and crew, than someone near the top, perhaps Welburn himself, per needs to fix it ASAP, without needed a BK and a reshuffling of the deck chairs. We've known since 1996 that GM had truck-tunnel vision... letting first fullsize cars disappear.. then pony cars... then minivans... then coupes. When GM had money, I'm sure it was "design more trucks". Well, that was a disaster, long term. Nonetheless, redesigning the Impala did not just come up as a surprise, it had better been in the project queue for a decade and the BK police did not raid the design studio and seize all the ideas. Welburn's people had better learn to work faster... especially if the next Impala turns out to be barely more than a stretched Malibu.

My vote is for a fullsize coupe. I have the last year 1981 Bonneville coupe... its only a matter of time before I find an elusive 1987 Caprice coupe. Yeah, they aren't the biggest coupes, but are big enough to be spacious and small enough to parallel park without a problem. However, these are the kinds of cars that the growing women influence of design destroyed... I don't know one female that can stomach driving a big car anymore. I wonder if anyone has looked into buying the tooling for the Panthers... to continue as a niche maker of taxis and cop cars. Yeah, definitely not the same. Of course, I feel the Panthers' handling is a glimpse of 1960, not the 1980 that age of the platform would dictate. I actually felt the last Panther I drove was beyond being an awful handling car, yet was not as floaty as as I was hoping for. 15 year old Caprices are more capable and have a more comfortable ride at the same time. The last Panther I drove also got poor scores from me for fit and finish (and I'm not real picky about that), power and a transmission that seems constantly confused. I fear Ford's has let the Panther die from lack of updates _and_ of substandard parts in the last few years. I feel the same way, but the way the laws are written, the only "cheap" way to get a 2 door hardtop is a hardtop convertible.

GM should have known the Impala was long in the tooth in 2003, and had a replacement ready by 2008, when the other W-bodies died... well before the BK. Speaking of the BK, I like the way people think that the BK has pushed GM development back 5 years. It hasn't. Typically, up until the BK its business as usual, but under more financial stress, but the design department is somewhat distant from that storm, assuming the paychecks still get cashed, the electric stays on and the art supplies are present. The BK lasted, what, 4-5 months... certainly not a simple BK, but it was funded by the government in the meantime... I've never heard that GM send the design staff on furlough. After losing brands/projects, those design groups got more talent and after the BK was sorted, had funding. Its been 20 months now... the BK excuse is getting old. ...and some here still believe the real solution is currently driving around Australia.