CARBIZ

It is amazing how simply powerful physical attraction can be. I have a gay friend, who is also in a relationship (well, sort of - he seems to know EVERYBODY at the Y, so I am very suspicious) and although he prattles on and on about 'spirituality' and crap about aliens from space having seeded the earth (yeah, like Chariots of the Gods was written yesterday), I find myself crazily attracted to him. He is Romanian, very well built, but there is just something so animal, so sexy about him. I've told my partner about this silly attraction. It pisses me off, frankly. He is a nice guy, but a bit of a moron, really - yet, I find myself wanting to join the Y (I go to a different, less sexual gym) just to see him naked. My partner does go to the Y with him and sees him naked all the time but doesn't understand my attraction. I've often thought how different our lives would be if we could read minds, or at least sense emotions. It certainly would dispense with a lot of BS and posturing in society. So much strife is caused by the games people play. I've had straight friends say they would get angry if a guy made a pass at them. My attitude to them is,'Listen, enjoy it while it lasts. There will come a day when NOBODY makes a pass at you and you will miss that.'

Really? If MITI has a hand in this, you won't have a choice in 20 years. Try NOT buying a Japanese television today.

Every marketing study I have seen pushes the fact that it is far more effective to build your existing customer base, rather than pursue new customers. Stand alone anything will not survive in this competitive market. Most Lexus dealers that I know of are either immediately next door to or owned by a lowly Toyota dealership. A Cadillac stand alone store cannot survive. This is why the P-B-GMC model (or the now defunct in Canada Chevrolet-Oldsmobile) model is so successful. It affords the opportunity to nurture a customer base over decades. It would be a rare student that would buy a CTS right out of college. To be profitable, a dealer needs to have a well-rounded mix of models. GM may be able to dodge the bullet on having to axe more brands, if GM can successfully meld the dealers into mult-brand stores that make sense. I lost about a third of my portfolio when Oldsmobile went away. Most of those people went to the imports, so I do not talk about GM ditching brands lightly. I LIVED THE PAIN. This is why I now work for a company that is commited to GM and owns several Chevrolet and P-B-GMC and a Cadillac store: I can now sell or lease cross-line. Every GM store that I know of has an entire department of people working to nurture their existing customer base. This simply is a waste of effort when you function on one car line.

What he said. There is a normal Corvette brochure, too. But just so that you know, GM does not pay for these. They used to, but now the dealer gets to pay for them. There has been a lot of downloading of costs from GM to the dealers over the past couple years. Whenever dealers look at tightening their budgets, the brochures are one of the easiest places to cut back. I've had many students come in doing projects and ask for one of each - for Chevrolet that is something on the order of 15+ brochures per kid. And we aren't talking 15 cents apiece, either. Even GM does not hand out brochures at the auto shows any more - and they have a little more money than the average dealer.

I went through the motions of dating girls in highschool, just to blend in. My closest friends knew I was gay. I dated one girl in grade 11 (hint: she was the Metal Queen of the mid-80s) because she was very proper (and actually quite beautiful, too) and I knew she wouldn't want me to 'put out.' I nearly went all the way with a girl when I was 15. She knew I was gay, she claimed to be bi and thought it would be fun. No amount of fantasizing got me through that ordeal. I had a lot of close female friends in grade school, particularly grade 5 & 6. A psychiatrist my mother packed me off to in Vancouver (boy, would I like to meet that quack today!) assured my mother that I was straight. Yeah, right: I hung out with girls because I wanted to sleep with all my male friends! It was too much stress. As I got older, moved away from home (at 17), I sort of surrounded myself entirely in a 'gay world:' parties, clubs, the works. My only real contact with the straight world was my career life. At about that point, I had no real female friends. As I've grown older, I find myself not really liking female company that much. I get annoyed at the sexual inequality women have over men. I find it ridiculous to watch straight male co-workers fuss and fawn over girls half their age. And I also find myself resenting a world where the women demand 'equal pay for equal work,' but often end up not being able to hold up their end of the bargain, or are quick to retreat to the 'helpless-little-'ol-me' charade when it suits them - and the straight males let them. When I moved to a small town and ran my own business for 11 years, being a bachelor, young (and - gosh!) handsome was a liability. I had female customers hitting on me all the time. (I have also since found out, usually by running into former customers in a gay bar in Toronto, that I had a lot of male secret admirers, too.) That proved to be a big liablity in a small town. In the early '80s when I worked at a GM dealership, I was out and didn't care. However, running a very high profile business in a small town, and having a lot of money sunk into it, I was not at liberty to be 'out,' although as the years progressed and my (now ex) BF of 10 years moved in with me in '91, I became out to everyone in town anyway. (If anyone witnessed the two of us in a grocery store together, bickering and whining, they would have known in a second we were a couple.) I guess I have not really met any good female role models in my life. Being sexually curious very early in life also greatly influenced decisions (some regretable) that I made in my early years. In my experience, any of my male friends, 'straight' or otherwise, ended up in the sack with me, usually during camping trips, canoe trips or whatever. Didn't Kinsey suggest that 2/3 of males have had at least one homosexual experience in their life? Well, I must have met those 2/3 when I was in school and university. THE OLD ADAGE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STRAIGHT GUY AND A GAY GUY BEING 2 OR 4 BEER HAS PROVEN TO BE LARGELY TRUE IN MY BOOKS.

I would like to think that most of us on this board, self-designated as 'enthusiasts' know more about autos and the auto business than the average consumer. Over all, I would concede that point. However, the challenge for many of us on this board (and you know who you are) is to a) dispense with the emotion and b) remember for a moment that most consumers don't KNOW and don't CARE. I can't count the number of times idiots wander into our store and ask for a G6 or a Vibe. I want to take a picture at the stunned looks on their face when I tell them that we are CHEVROLET. People are not as emotionally attached to these brands as those on this board would like to THINK that they are. Eliminating brands would be painful and costly. No doubt of that. GM might even lose a few customers (mostly stubborn people, I would think) over it. However, juggling (what - 43 models?) has got to be a Herculean task. Toyota sells as many cars as GM world-wide yet does NOT have as many models world-wide as GM does in North America. I am sure the lawyers at GM have been rejigging franchise Agreements for several years now to reflect the new reality. Franchise laws be damned: the Franchisor has more rights than the Franchisee and they are not 100 year contracts. Long gone are the days of 15 and 30 year contracts. Nobody in business has those any more. There are lots of ways that GM can get rid of dealers. The greater issue is whether GM can (long term) keep a focus on a 8 brands. Frankly, I believe itt is too expensive and confusing. When will you guys wake up to the reality that North America is not the center of the universe and GM could rapidly become irrelevant? I suspect Oldsmbile was an (expensive) dress rehearsal. I sincerely hope the P-B-GMC combination (down there - because we've had it forever) works, but I am not overly encouraged with what I am seeing coming out in the car department for Pontiac and Buick lately. GM is very successful in South America with one brand: Chevrolet. In Europe, only Vauxhall and Opel count. Why do we up here think we are so special that we need 8 brands? I would rather see 3 or 4 very healthy brands, spitting out 'world-class' vehicles (to coin a phrase so popular around here) and splitting the development costs GLOBALLY. Then and only then will GM come even close to being profitable again.

The other night my BF turned to me and called me a pedophile. I said, 'that's a very big word for a 12 year old.' Actually, he's 38. I loved the film. All those old educational movies were a hoot. Some of them were still around when I was in grade school in the late '60s. It does have a very good message, though: pederasts drive Fords and the good guys drive Chevrolets. (And I really do wish the media and authorities would get the terminology straight: a pedophile is someone who seeks sex with a pre-pubescent individual. These were not children who were being stalked.)

Still, considering the number of gay SF fanboys out there, it amazes me that no gay characters have ever appeared on any of the Star Trek series, or even any of the wierd, independent series. I was addicted to Babylon 5 for years, and thrilled when they matter-of-factly sent two of their main characters to Mars, posing as a gay married couple. It was so subtle, I barely noticed it. But then Babylon 5 did have some grittier plot lines and twists than Star Trek ever dared. With all the issues that Battlestar has dealt with (terrorism, suicide bombers, religion, equality of the sexes), it wouldn't kill them to throw in a minor gay character.

Any time a styling trend becomes 'maintstream' it is over. Like a designer friend of mine said when we discovered 'stainless steel' appliances at Home Depot, 'when they start selling it, you know the trend is over." I believe this is why the Marketing 101 boys and girls must be going crazy. There was a time when a mid-size family sedan came with an automatic, power steering and power brakes, maybe two engine choices. Now, if you can get chrome alloys, a nav system, 6 spd. and other 'high-end' toys on a sedan like an Accord or Malibu - why would anyone want to spend DOUBLE for a BMW or Audi? I mean, really - when you think about it, how do you justify the double or triple prices out there? It's not like the additional 'quality' really matters. Most of the posers that buy (actually, lease probably) new BMWs and Audis can't wait to get onto the next Big Thing, so they dump their new toy in a couple years. Consumers need to start thinking for themselves and not getting sucked into what the marketing gurus are telling them to want.

http://www.desrosiers.ca/pdfs/sales.pdf As you can see, the Canadian market is off to a roaring start for '08. Sales across the country are up nearly 14% for the year so far. GM was up 16% for February. Nissan, Mazda Chrysler and Hyundai all actually lost market share, although not a lot. Honda is exploding. I guess some people are finally waking up to the fact that they make better cars than Toyota. It looks like GM is clinging to 25% market share.

Okay, I wouldn't expect Chevrolet's seats to compete with BMWs or Audis. I just saw a customer's Maxx yesterday: the staining on the seats was awful. This crappy nylon material is pissing a lot of people off. Even a bit of water will turn whatever dust and oil is on the seats or door padding into tree rings of stains. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

And filmed in and around Vancouver! Great dichotomous themes: doctors who smoke cigarettes, faster than light technology but cancer that kills, artificial gravity but no energy shielding. They are very liberal about sex (co-ed showers, male-female equality), but not a gay character in sight. For that, you'd have to watch re-runs of Babylon 5, which is the only popular SF series ever to matter of factly present gay marriage as a simple, every day event.

Yeah, when I was in L.A. in October, it was 65 degrees in the city and 90 in Toronto. My partner and I went down to the beach (right next to the oil refineries - very scenic), thinking we could lay out in the sand. Not so much. Too cold for even Canadians.

The Uplander/SV6 twins outsell everyone except the Caravan up here. GM is #2 in minivans. At $19k, the Uplander RWB is cheaper than a HHR. The minivan market is more important than SUVs in the Land of $4.20 a Gallon.

Keep those oil royalty cheques coming! Ontario endured more than 40 years of Conservative rule, ending in 1985 when Bill Davis was defeated by David Peterson of the Liberals. Interesting side note: Peterson promised to bring in government-run auto insurance. He never did. The public threw him out of office after only one term, electing Bob Rae of the NDP party, who also promised to bring in government run auto insurance. He, too, was kicked out of office after only one term. Hmm. To this day, Ontario enjoys the highest auto insurance rates in North America.

+1

Those leasing companies are only whining because they are getting raped with all those BMWs and Lexus coming off lease that are worthless. Canada has every right to set its own rules and regulations. Daytime running lights, requiring French and English owner's manuals: there are costs to running a separate country, not to mention our higher business taxes, real estate taxes and 'free' health care. Why should leasing companies get a free ride, buying cars (and circumventing franchise laws in both countries) and bringing them up here. This is (sigh) again, not news. Sony doesn't allow it. Hitachi doesn't allow it. Why would the auto companies be any different?

Perhaps. What I see is a lot of twenty-somethings whose first car was mommy's '92 Ciera, leasing a new VW, stretching themselves to the limit, then freaking when there is a rattle or noise. Mercedes is plagued with the same perception problems. As many of you know, I don't place must credibility to these surveys, especially CR, because they aren't really random, but it does point to the demanding nature of today's consumer.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/depen...atings-by-brand In this country, not so much. VW is rated near the bottom, literally and figuratively.

I hope these testers aren't so f$#king lazy that they trust the trip computer for their testing! Seriously. The only accurate way to gage mileage is to fill the tank, drive to empty, refill and figure out how many litres it took to drive from a zeroed out odometer. I've been doing that for years and I could get an average of 25-26 combined (American) mpg in the old 2.2 Malibus that I drove on and off. Did this guy have his 300 lb mother in law and his 2 -200 lb spawn in the back seat, each with large Slurpies?

GM is in better shape than 2005. The accounting hiccup of last quarter was expected; it was hoped that it could be avoided, but with the imploding U.S. economy, the Board knew they couldn't keep rolling forward losses in the hopes that upcoming profits would absorb said losses. This is why I am deeply skeptical about lawyers and accountants: they live in world where the rest of us are 'too stupid' to understand what they are really up to. What about that punk in France that burned up a few billion euros - where were his 'accountants?' Enron and others are perfect examples of CFOs and others pulling the wool over investors eyes. I cannot for the life of me understand why contracts and spreadsheets must be so damned complicated. Who knows what the Board and Rick have talked about behind closed doors. The GMAC deal looks like an incredibly smart move on his part, so that may buy him some time. 2008 is going to be a write off, to be sure. Even the mighty Toyota's sales are slowing. It is because of what Lutz, Wagoner and others started doing 6 years ago that GM is in as 'good' as shape as it is now. I guess it was a slow news day for Bloomberg. Maybe the writer's check from Toyota was late this month, so he thought he'd lay in an extra article in case. To refer to the CTS, Malibu and others so dismissively is really insulting. If it wasn't for those (and other vehicles) GM would be in a lot worse shape. I like how he skirts the issue of how the imports completely missed the truck market in the mid-90s. What shape would GM be in today if it didn't 'own' the big SUV market and have the biggest chunk of the pickup market with all those profits from the past decade to fall back on? It also boggles my mind how these news outlets continue to downplay the importance of GM's legacy costs and its burden. Honda and Toyota, being new to our shores, do not have those obligations. WallStreet doesn't give a $h!, but they should. I can't wait to hear them moan and piss in 15 years and Toyota and Honda start whining about all their retirees and health care costs. Oh, that's right: Toyota and Honda don't answer to Wallstreet.

It's a case of perception versus reality. People expect VW to be perfect - after all, it is German engineering. However, like Mercedes, they are not perfect. So where Hyundai's quality rankings (particularly on JD Powers) have shot up, simply because people were shocked when the car actually started; VW's tanked, because although the cars handle great and have that 'quality' feel, they were prone to mostly little gremlins, which pissed people off when they had spent good money for a supposedly well engineered car. I think they largely have their electrical issues resolved, but I still laugh at the number of VWs I see here with a headlight or tail light out, or signals not working.

There are lots of fun cars to drive that get better than 30 mpg. Just not here. Nobody is a bigger fan of gas guzzling, RWD Detroit iron than me, but when it came time to actually buy a car last year, none of the gas guzzlers were in the running. I know were the price of gas is heading, and I don't want to spend half my monthly income just to get to work. A mass of 4,000 lbs is never going to attain 50 mpg, that just a fact of physics. With the direction that engine computers, high energy ignitions, direct injection and the effeciencies of transmissions are going, I believe we will have decent, family sedans that will seat 5 and get 35+ mpg and won't take 20 minutes to get to 60 mph. But they are going to have to shed mass, too.

General Motors has to take their entire Seating Department and fire them. Throw them off a high cliff, if necessary. The ugliest thing about the Cobalt is its FUGLY seats. The ebony sport cloth is actually kinda nice, but you can only get it in the coupe. If you loathe the tan (OMIGOD, the worst ever) or the sea of grey interiors in the sedan, the only way out is to spend well over a thousand bucks to get the ebony leather, which is not bad. Truly, I don't know why GM has been so slow at firing their entire seating department. Even our hapless trainers and District Managers avert their eyes when we whine and complain about the seats. They half-assed fixed them in the Equinox. Even in the gorgeous Malibu, the grey in the LS is FUGLY. The two-tone cashmere and cocoa is beautiful - so there is hope. Whoever designed that two-tone interior probably got chased off the premises for making the rest of the department look bad.

Whose ass?