CARBIZ

The Silverado interior is truly GM's Achilles heel, but then that can be said of most of GM's vehicles! The inside of the F-150 is much nicer than the Silverado. However, in most other respects, the new F-150 is just playing catch up with what GM has had since '99 (hydroformed steel frame, etc.) As usual, it is the media that is driving this. Just because they are bored with the Silverado and the Titan is the flavour of the week, doesn't mean the Chevy is crap.

My opinion doesn't count. It is the customer's opinion that counts. You see, I deal in realities because I deal with the public at all levels. I don't deal in fantasy, or "gee, wouldn't it be nice" wishful thinking. We had an SS Cobalt sit for 3 months, while all other dealers sold out theirs. The reason: OnStar and side air bags. NOw, I am sure the lousy $400 for the airbags wouldn't have stopped people, but the combination did. We learned our lesson and don't order them with it any more. On a $30,000 Equinox, it isn't as sensitive. But on a $15,000 Cobalt, you bet it is. You also forget that GM tried the high road with ABS. Every vehicle had them for years and years. Nobody followed suit. Not your precious Toyota, not Ford, not even the vaunted Honda. It put the Cavalier at a serioius price disadvantage with the Civic, Escort, etc. Now I WISH the public believed in safety. I am from the snowbelt area and I BELIEVE in ABS and air bags; in fact, it was the reason I chose my '91 Caprice over the Previa (among other reasons, too). If safety was EVERYTHING, don't you think Volvo would outsell GM? Clearly, safety isn't everything. There are other factors, price being a BIG one. I WISH ABS, 50 air bags, stabilitrak and OnStar were legally mandated, but isn't government intervention wonderful?

The only way a company can give exorbitant pay raises is either by raising the price of their product (can't), increasing sales without increasing costs (virtually impossible) or by increased PRODUCTIVITY. Where is the increased productivity? By the very nature of their needing to increase the number of members to boost their own salaries and usefullness, unions are at odds with increased productivity, except where it is expedient for PR purposes to appear to be for increased productivity. And unions will fight tooth and nail about hiring new people at a lower rate because it creates a precedent. Oh, they can package it as "educating" the students on the benefits of organized labor, but the fact is they don't want the city to put its foot in the door of lower wages. It is sad to be on the outside of this argument and watching the Big Two implode because of legacy costs. We can all argue about whether Roger Smith started this mess and all the gold plated health insurance and pension plans that previous boards agreed to, but the fact is that the Titanic is going down and all the unions want to agree to is where the deck chairs are going to be put and who is going to carry the damned things!

Like I said, I do this for a living! I spent an entire afternoon with the Corolla, Civic and Cobalt. If you compare the mid-ranged vehicles (not the leather seats and all the gadgets) the Cobalt and Corolla come out about the same, but the '05 Civic just sucks. Put your biases aside. The '05 was an engine with a 10 year old design around it. I have no doubt the '06 will be "better" than the Cobalt, just like the upcoming Ion will be better than the Civic - and so on and so on. Besides, the sum total of a car is more than just the feel of its knobs. What about automatic headlights, oil life monitor, side projector beam lights, etc., etc.? Timing belt versus chain. This argument is getting tired.

I don't know about teachers in the U.S., but the teachers here are spoiled. I have 3 aquaintances who are teachers. They all make over $55k, they all get the entire summer off (unless they want to teach summer school, in which case they get PAID more for it), they get two weeks off at Xmas and another two weeks off for Spring Break. It breaks my heart to hear them complain about having to mark tests at home or show up for parent-teacher nights. Oh, and their union has negotiated "professional development" days and other time off for upgrading. It is the union mentality that is the problem. Toronto wanted to hire students to clean the parks this summer and to cover city works employees days off. The city wanted to pay them $10 an hour - not bad for a summer student. WRONG. The union insisted that they get $19.23 just like the rest of the cleaners and parks workers. I could go on, but this argument is futile because people IN the unions think the rest of us have our heads screwed on wrong.

The Corolla and the Cobalt were the only two small cars that passed the side crash test last year, but both had to be equipped with side air bags to pass - they both failed without them. Neither of them offer side air bags as standard. I suspect GM is watching what Toyota and Ford is doing, not what the other makes are. Perhaps Kia/Hyundai is trying to get noticed with all their air bags, but their sales are so far under the radar (at least in the U.S.) nobody is paying them attention. Then again, GM and Ford ignored Toyota and Honda 25 years ago, too.

God strike me dead, but I actually like this Civic. It clearly isn't the base vehicle, though. How many of these loaded babies will they actually sell? Around here, their base vehicle is their biggest seller. I suspect once the pictured Civic is priced out, it will probably be up around the price of a base Impala.

The lack of accountability and responsibility at the top is a disease that is sweeping corporate America. Who qualifies to sit on the typical board of a major multi-national corporation? Are there any engineers or marketing types or anybody that even knows anything about that particular business sitting on the board? Doubtfully. All lawyers, bankers and bean counters. Ever since Walter, Henry and Durant passed on, the auto companies boards are largely run by people from outside the business. And what happens to these people when they run a business into the ground? Why, they show up on another company's board of directors! We keep on being told that big is better and that companies must be the size of Wal-Mart or General Electric so succeed, but as a nation, what are we losing? When you go to a Wal-Mart (and I am not picking on them) and you complain about something, do you ever get the feeling that anyone gives a s**t? Even if you got the store manager, odds are he/she has only been there six months and six months from now will be gone, too. Until the people in charge either actually OWN the company, or at least can be held accountable, nothing will change. But just to play contrarian, if Boards are truly accountable, nobody will want to be on them because of the legal liability and the lawsuits. Double edged sword. Which then heaps the blame where it truly belongs: the legislators and the lawyers - and us for letting them.

I've tried to stay out of this, but the banter between TheO.C. and gilli earlier serves to illustrate what is at the heart of this problem. Those in the Union culture just don't get it. I am not jealous that I don't have job security or make $35 and hour, or that my spouse will get a full pension for 20 years after I'm gone (including paying for legal fees to transfer the house out of her name when she dies!) - no, I am not jealous. I work very hard. I have an education. If I don't perform over a period of time, I will be reprimanded and even fired - as it should be. I will live and die by my own skills. If I work harder, I will earn more. Simple. I slack off, I get paid less - literally. My sister is a unionized electrician. I used to work for a unionized hotel, and then for the provincial government. Scary. Very scary. An example: nurses complain they are over worked, yet from what I can see it is the paperwork and procedures - most of which is dictated by the unions, that leads to their being over worked. If people don't have the common sense to differentiate between picking up a can of solvent lying on the floor or moving a chair, they certainly shouldn't be in the work force! The unions become their own power. I watch from my 26th floor window as 17 fire trucks and emergency vehicles responded to a high rise next to me. There were 17 vehicles! 1:00 in the morning! I took pictures. I couldn't believe it. A tiny bit of smoke. A hundred workers, standing around, doing nothing. They will all go back to their stations, they will all have an hour's worth of paperwork, and at the end of the year, the City will be told that the fire department had 2,300 calls with such and such a results - all of it BS, of course. Then, naturally, the union will demand more money -raises for all because of how "overworked" they are. It is all BS. The unions make the rules for procedures. Oh, it is all in the name of public safety, but who monitors or oversees when the procedures and regulations are ironed out? My sister is the first to admit that many of the fire codes and electrical codes that she deals with are just over kill. What does she care? If she takes twice as long to do a job because the book says so, then she gets her $32 an hour and does it. Workers compensation, insurance companies, slip and fall lawyers: they are all part of the problem. We are being regulated to death and the unions are right in there, fighting for "safety." You and I are paying for it. It is added to the price of everything we buy. No wonder auto makers are outsourcing to countries where they don't have to deal with all this over regulation. Most states and provinces have labor legislation that says an employer can't force you to do something illegal or unsafe. I know we have been "trained" twice in the past few years with WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) crap. I even have a card to prove I am certified. Maybe unions at one point forced the government to enact this legislatio, I don't know. But unions have outlived their usefulness. As Evok stated, the Big Three are not on a level playing field any more. They can't just pass their added costs along because Toyota, Honda, etc. don't have to pay them. If the unions want to remain relevant, focus on certifying the Japanese manufacturers, or at least convincing the public that they should buy American. Real American.

No Metro, please!!! The Aveo is light years ahead of the noisy, thrashy and under powered Metro. I will grant that the Suzuki engine did have a solid reputation for longevity, but the car was a joke. Those who don't like the Aveo aren't giving it a fair chance. 107 lb ft of torque. Fully independent suspension. Lots of sound deadening under the hood. With the 5 spd, they are actually fun to drive and decent on gas. I admit the automatic is awful and much worse on gas in real world conditions. GM should divorce itself from Suzuki. It only cheapens Chevrolet to find the same car on Suzuki's lot (Swift +, Verona). A beefed up version of the Aveo 5 would be welcome. We've sold a few with a cool looking ground effects package with front scoops, etc. Would be nice to back it up with a supercharger or something. I know GM-DAT has legal entanglements with Suzuki. It would be nice for GM to take over. THese cars sell well in south Asia and India, whose markets are growing fast. Americans better get used to these cars. At $4 a gallon, they start to look real good.

Anybody who knows me knows that I would never ever buy an imported car (whether German or Japanese); however, if Satan ever tempted me (and I won the lottery), this car would definitely be it. GORGEOUS.

I don't know.... I kinda like it: Buick Mastercard. Sounds better than Ford Hertz.

When you say "current" model, do you mean the dated 2005, or the newer 2006 because there is a significant difference. At our testing facility, it was unanimous that the (2005) Corolla and Cobalt were tied for tactile, appearance and function, but the Civic was woefully behind the times. The (2005) Corolla does make a good first impression, but with items like no trunk release on the remote fob, and the vastly underpowered engine, we gave the Cobalt the slight edge. However, the (2005) Civic was dated, plain and not even in the same league. It had so many deficiencies. I have no doubt that the new Civic is far better than the old one - it had better be or Honda won't be moving many of them. The great advantage the Chevrolet has is that there are now 8 small vehicles to choose from at one dealer (and that isn't even counting trim level designations). If you go to the Honda store and don't like the Civic, well - tough.

Don't criticize GM for not making them standard: GM has gone down this road before with ABS that was standard on every car she made, until 2003. People won't pay for safety unless it is shoved down there throat. The proof is that everyone would be CLAMORING for OnStar, but they aren't. I am assuming that most people posting on this board are a little more informed than the average consumer. It is the average consumer who buys the Cobalt or Impala. They will mutter the expected platitudes about safety, but won't pay for them. Power windows they use every day. An air bag - well, who even wants to think about using an air bag? As humans, we have to have our noses rubbed in it (like a near fatal car crash) before we'll do anything. INstant gratification (power windows) or saving for the future (air bags.) If you feel so strongly about this, then pressure Washington (or Ottawa) to make them mandatory, then that will put all the car manufactureres on the same playing field. Until you are upside down in a ditch and can't reach your cellphone, then and only then, will you wish you had OnStar or side air bags, or whatever.

August was a BAD month. I made the mistake of trying to upgrade my computer right around the time C & G went down the first time. Then when my computer was "upgraded" (HA!) you guys went down for, what, a week or so. Then my internet was on the fritz, thanks to Norton, an old (read: non-supported) modem and a crappy install by technicians that I wouldn't recommend a Toyota lover to. Anyway, nearly $800 later, I am up and running. Now, if I could only figure out why all the C&G posted pictures only show up as little boxes with Xs inside them!

Ooohhh, let's dust off our old favorite T-shirt slogans: 1. I won't assume you're gay if you don't assume I'm straight. 2. Heterosexual isn't NORMAL, only COMMON. 3. I hate size queens, but I love their boyfriends. 4. Nobody knows I'm queer. 5. Roll me in honey and throw me to the Bears. 6. I am more of a man than you will ever be and more of a woman than you'll ever get! Well, there are dozens more, but it's late and my closet is full of other things, too.

They are: it's called marketing. An Impala buyer is more apt to be safety conscious than a G-6 buyer. Slightly different target market. Case in point: our first SS Cobalt sat for 3 months because it had On Star and side air bags - nobody wanted to pay the extra money. We've ordered none since with those two features and can't keep them in stock. With finite amounts of money to spend on product development and construction, creature comfort things like automatic headlights, retained accessory power, etc. will score higher on people's lists. When a reporter or market analyst shoves a microphone in someone's face and asks if safety is important, what is the person going to say? "No, I want my kids dead, and while you're at it kill a few baby seals!" Not likely. They'll say what is expected of them, but you get a different response when their checkbook comes out.

O.C., you need to take another look at the Civic. Know what you are talking about. I get really pissed when people make blanket statements like.."especially since the CURRENT Civic is light years ahead." REALLY??? Strange, but a month ago, we were sent to a clinic where the Civic, Corolla and Cobalts were there - just the mid-line models. From any angle, the 2005 Civic is crap. Try standing beside the engine bay with the hood open - you can see most of the wheels through the engine bay, not good for spray and splashing. Frankly, the interior plastics and knobs look like my buddy's '91 Accord. The 2006 may be an improvement - I haven't driven one yet, but the 2005 is no match for the Cobalt. HOnda has been decontenting and cutting costs like crazy. No trunk release on the key fob. Crappy, thin material on the back of the rear folding seat (just waiting to rip or tear.) I could go on. It is my job to know what the competition is doing. GM bashers just won't let up, even when they are licked. I believe GM still has a way to go with interior materials, but they are clearly going in the right direciton: the Cobalt is a light year ahead of the Cavalier and the new Impala is a nicer improvement over the old.

I can only shake my head and sigh. First there was the Equinox Then there was the Torrent. Now the Grand Vitara. I am sure GM must have some logical reason that Suzuki should get a version of the hottest selling Chevy to have come out in years. Please tell me there is. Did Suzuki badger and cajole GM? Did they threaten? Is there some legal reason that GM has to hand the keys to the Equinox over to them? Isn't it bad enough that the Verona and Swift + are already cross-shopped? I can only weep for the future of this company. Clearly, nobody in Detroit gets it. Hyundai and Kia are no longer bit players, let alone Suzuki. This can only serve to further cheapen and erode the once proud Chevrolet name.

I get depressed when I see these vehicles in person. Even Brazil gets better vehicles than we do. Is it just the difference in price of gas? Or is it because in other market GM only enjoys 10-12% market share and must fight for every inch (centimeter, actually)? Perhaps GM North America has been too fat for too long.

How is it that import buyers justify the horrible rust problem HOndas continue to have? In the Great White North, I have yet to see any of the last generation Cavaliers showing signs of serious rust (and they came out in 1995!), yet I've seen many Civics of the same era with rot. Honda's reputation resides solely on its engine expertise, not on its overall build quality. That said, I believe the Cobalt SS-SC and the new 2.4 ecotec will finally show those rice burners what its all about. Or at least they better do that. GM won't get another chance. So far, the Cobalt has been a hit and customers are happy, but if GM does to the Cobalt what they did to the Cavalier, then the company will be sunk.

Not sure what all this has to do with General Motors, or cars in general. My gay friends have always thought me wierd. When we are walking down the street and I flip out, they are frantically scanning the sidewalks for a cute guy; meanwhile, I just spotted a '67 Caddy convertible go by. I've only met one other gay guy who gave a damn about cars. I guess I should be run out of the club for not liking musical show tunes or caring who Liza Minelli's mother is. What's her name again?

Globally, these cars are becoming increasingly important. Most countries are paying over $2 a LITRE for gas (well over $8 a gallon, folks). MOst of Canada is paying $1.10 and up a litre ($4 + gallon) so there is plenty of room for cute, fun to drive small cars. What I have seen of what GM sells in South American and Europe is what we need here in North America NOW. The Cobalt/Malibu, etc. are "Americanized?" What does that mean, exactly? Are Americans that stupid? Why wouldn't something like the Opel Vectra or Astra sell here? GM needs to revisit the entire concept of World Car and get with it. The Aveo will do well, especially if it looks cool (like the Mazda 3) and has some punch to it. The "imports" are eating our lunch because they don't water down their vehicles when they sell them here. [FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]

.....until you ask them to pay for it. Sure, hide the safety features in the price and people will line up, but put two cars side by side - one that is loaded with toys and the other that has "safety featuers," then make the loaded with toys one $15 a month cheaper on a lease and, well, you get the point. Chrysler proved this back in 2001 with their cheapy mini van - it outsold the Venture 2:1 in this market. They both leased for the same price, but the Chrysler had power windows, locks, mirrors, etc. The Venture had side air bags and ABS, but only power door locks, a/c and Cd. Couldn't give them away. Finally, in 2003, GM ditched the safety stuff and added toys - voila! big sales increase.

I am curious, though: how is the HHR doing in markets where the Japanese has market superiority? We have had them in stock for over a month and haven't solde a single one. Yeseterday, a guy came in, looked at it, loved it, but realized that the small Acura is the same lease money as the base HHR with a few toys - yet the Acura has leather and a roof! Apples to oranges, in my mind, but this is the mind set of an import buyer. I still think the HHR will do well, but GM can't treat this as a hot new car and expect to charge 4.9% on the lease when the competition is at 1.9. Not to mention, in this market, Chrysler is giving away the PT.