CARBIZ

GM is not market pricing their trucks in Canada. They are gouging us. Do you know how much we pay for a Tahoe? $51k for a base LT 4WD. The Canadian dollar is at .93. You do the math. I have Avalanche customers coming out of leases and their payment is going to jump $120 a month. We pay more for gas ($.97 a litre, which is about $3.88 an American gallon). Our trucks are substantially more expensive than the U.S. market. I understand that the Silverado and other trucks do okay outside of the Toronto area, but in the city we are having our arses handed to us. Toyota outsells GM (not just Chevrolet!) in the GTA - not by much, but with 39 dealers competing against 21 - well, the math isn't pretty either. YOu do realize that in Canada the #1 selling vehicle for years was the Caravan? That the Sierra outsold the Silverado last year? That the Ram is not a distant third? I agree that dealers should stock SOME Trailblazers, but when a BASE LS 4WD carries a sticker of $41k, freight in - isn't that what you can buy a Tahoe for down there? Corvettes are also dead up here. I know dealers that are stuck with 2007s and trying to dump them for $900 over invoice. Again, would you pay $70k for a base coupe????? I only WISH I sold Chevrolet in the mid-western U.S. Chevrolet is just another 'foreign' nameplate up here, and despite its heritage and history, there is an entire generation of 20 somethings who grew up with Honda and Toyota - to them, Honda is what Dodge and Chevy were to my generation. So, yes: I am ranting. I want good GM-DAT product and I want a 4 cylinder CUV to replace the Tracker. And a kick ass minivan. The Trailblazer was a decent truck in 2001, but it is old and outdated.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but in the land of $4 a gallon gas, the Trailblazer and Tahoe DON'T sell. The Uplander is great when based on price, but not exactly a class leading van. Frankly, I am getting sick of playing traffic cop in directing customers to the nearest P-B-GMC store where they can find TWO (not one) lambdas. Even the customers wonder why there are TWO over there and we at Chevrolet have nothing. The Equinox is getting long in the tooth, has a tiny cargo area and only seats 5. GM screwed up in not giving either a Uplander replacement to the Chevrolet dealers at the same time as the lambdas, or giving the Acadia to Chevrolet and the Enclave to GMC. You do understand that P-B-GMC are being merged under one roof, don't you? Well, look to the north, my friend: we've always had P-B-GMC dealers under one roof and Chevrolet LOST Oldsmobile - so far as dealers whining goes, we got f$%ked up here. The GM-DAT product was supposed to replace our Olds volume, but then Pontiac got the Wave, too and we had to share the Epica with Suzuki and the Aveo with Suzuki as well. We got the Optra 5, AFTER Pontiac sold a $h!load of Vibes. Don't talk to me about dealer whining. I've watched my Oldsmobile portfolio evaporate and I am growing weary of justifying the Uplander's existence.

I have never been, but I would imagine I would prefer North California, based on my orientation, plus deserts are not entirely my tastes. However, I will be in Vegas and L.A. in a few weeks, so I will be able to make a more informed decision after that point, fer sure.

OMIGOD! So, like, do you have bikini clad babes out front to do carwashes, or what??? (Or, dudes, for that matter)

Sadly, in dowtown Toronto I just don't make eye contact any more. (Unless he is very, very cute.) The new mantra for this bankrupt city is keep your head down, eyes to the ground, wear an iPod. Chances are, the person approaching you doesn't want directions - they want money. An Indian woman forcibly stopped me on the street the other day. I was shocked and then ashamed that she only wanted directions. I didn't used to be like that, but then I never used to be accosted every 50 meters for 'change' or 'bus fare' or whatever. Having a big dog helps, too.

I wanna segment busting minivan! Let GMC/Buick and Saturn keep their own trucks, give Chevrolet an exclusive van and put Chrysler to shame. As has been said above, the minivan market is not going away and if GM is to remain #1 in the world, it needs a segment busting minivan for when gas prices continue above $4. Badge engineering sucks, and more than anything has sunk GM to where it is today.

I've had XM for 18 months now. Go with a portable. I take mine everywhere. I usually have XM in my company demo, but the portable can be docked to your home stereo, or used like a Walkman, plus the internal memory is great for capturing favorite tracks for later transter to your computer. I love the portable so much that I rarely use my iPod. If you are a fan of house or dance music, XM is an orgy of such music, plus Fred 44 has all the cool music from the '80s, not the commercial crap. I've never used Sirius, in all honesty. I just have no complaints about the XM service.

The great thing about democracy is that you always elect the politicians that you deserve. Nobody wants to hear the truth, whether it's Global Warming, the war in Iraq, federal deficits - nobody wants to hear it. All we want to hear is that our taxes will go down and services won't be cut. Election after election, we continually vote only for the clowns that tell us what we want to hear. The most successful nations in history are the ones who consistently balanced their military and their economy. Too big a military, and the economy suffers; too small a military, and the successful nation is open to invasion. The U.S. is finding that being the lone policeman on the beat is getting expensive. You are building hospitals and highways in Baghdad, while your own are falling apart.

Well, I am not sure about the show, but I certainly appreciate the posted picture.....

Right you are, Empowah. I remember when I was a kid, my mother walking me to school and I was teetering on snow banks so high that I was looking down on her: that was Mimico (west downtown Toronto) on the mid-1960s. We owned a snowmobile in Bolton in the mid-1970s (about 20 minutes north of Toronto). Now, downtown Toronto rarely gets more than a few inches of snow, and most winters there is poor snowmobiling within an hour or two of Toronto. (I am starting to sound like my grandfather: "When I was a kid...........) However, since carbon is the new whipping boy, I am tired of being lectured to by all the usual do-gooders about how we in the West are raping the environment, using up all the resources, etc. while everyone conveniently ignores the fact that there are 2 1/2 billion Chinese and Indians, whose combined breathing and farting is doing more to damage this planet than we are in North America. Until they zip up their pants and stop breeding, what we do over here isn't going to matter a hill of beans.

Wal-Mart used to be my stop of last resort, but they have basically rail-roaded all of the other department chains out of existence. Eaton's is gone. The Bay is now owned by an American outfit, so their 'discount' chain Zellers is dying a painful death. Canadian Tire doesn't sell toothpaste (at least not yet). Not much else is left. I should add that the electric mixer that I used tonight to make mashed potatoes was given to me by my mother for Xmas - in 1980. It got used a lot more than that damned blender did - and it was made in Canada.

Every decade has to have a fad, and I guess the first decade of the 21st Century is going to be remembered for the Carbon Caper.

Well, as expected, every damned blender at Wal-Mart is made in China, except the $230 Moulinex, but that machine does way too much and I just want to whip up pancakes, for Gawd's Sake! My other half and I went for a drive, it began to rain, so we ended up in the small town where I lived, like 30 years ago, and there was a Wal-Mart there. (So much for progress!) I wanted to buy toothpaste and crap, but he ended up looking at blenders. I overturned every single one, looking at the country of manufacture. I made sure everyone in the store knew what I was doing, too. Some of the companies are clever, because the company itself may be North American (Black & Decker, for example), but the production is still off-shored. We left empty-handed. I know some of these fly-by-night companies don't give a rat's ass, but what about major names like GE and Black & Decker? If all there stuff is crap and built over there, it is going to destroy their reputations. I know the average consumer is pretty stupid, but when a simple device that is used once or twice a month breaks after a couple years, that is outrageous. I looked at rows and rows of sandals, shoes and other apparel priced at $5. Are consumers that stupid? Mind you, judging by the clientelle in that Wal-Mart, we aren't talking the cream of Society! Frankly, I could lose my license as a gay person for even being seen in there. Do people not get a little concerned that a pair of sandals that would have cost $45 20 years ago are now $5????? Or am I just crazy and actually living in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone?

Best fake I've seen in a while, if they are faked. Glad to see that there may be intelligent life in the Universe somewhere, because there blood-well isn't any down here!

Interesting comments from the show room yesterday, in case anyone from GM is listening. A 30 something couple with two kids in toe, came in to look at the '07 Equinox. They had just looked at the Acadia (loved it, but not going to pay $50k for it), then the Vue and the Outlander. They were not impressed with the back cargo area of the Equinox, the cheapness of the fabric. The husband even thought the inside door pull felt flimsy on the driver's door ( alittle cheap looking, but not flimsy, IMO) I didn't argue with any of the points. I was unsuccessful at slowing them down enough to get them to drive one, or actually price it out. Sigh. Back to selling on price, not that I can't do that, but it takes more time. It is easier to impress customers with the overall general appearance of the vehicle. The Equinox rideds and handles great, surprisingly well, in fact. But getting them to drive it after bad first impressions is not easy. I am hoping for a major, major refresh or replacement of the Equinox before those 4 year leases start coming up.

No, that' s a buddy of mine, taking a break from some serious drinking. (I think maybe he fell down!)

So, they get an automatic Free Pass? Reliablility is only one issue and it is purely SUBJECTIVE. Unless CR gets total access to all the manufacturer's warranty data (fat chance), there is no 100% full proof way to prove any of this. There are so many factors that play into 'reliability', such as the rigors of maintenance, the mentality of the typical buyer, the environments in which the vehicle is to be used, etc., etc. I have seen many an import buyer justify $800 'service' trips (like a timing belt on a Honda) because they are considered 'maintenance.' And the biggest flaw with all of these surveys is that they are not COMPULSARY. To be truly effective, a survey needs to be wholly random and of a significant statistical basis. Sending out 90,000 (like JD Powers does) and hoping they come back is not necessarily effective. I live these surveys every day. Customers have flawed memories when it comes to what they did or didn't pay. Recently, I had an old geezer ranting and raving on the phone because of a $350 service trip on his 2003 Impala. He was threatening never to come back and kept commenting what a disappointment his car has been. When I went into his service file, I discovered that in 42,000 km of driving, he had done 4 oil changes, two tire rotations and this $350 service trip, which included a tire rotation, oil change, fuel filter and wheel balancing. When I called him back and confronted him on this, he sputtered a bit then mumbled that he was sorry. BTW, up here, we pay 14% taxes, so his $350 service trip was only $300 to us!

I believe things are much worse than we know. On a personal note, I am making it my own personal crusade to never, ever buy anything made in China again. I vow to read all packages and to switch brands, even give up a product if necessary. I have just had a very ugly morning. I just finished smashing my Betty Crocker blender against the kitchen floor. Although I got a lot of satisfaction listening to it crash down the garbage chute, after it bounced off the kitchen floor two or three times, my partner (who is used to my diatribes by now) and I got into a discussion on the conspiracy that is China. My last blender was handed down to me from my mother. I am not even sure when she bought it, but I would guess sometime in the early 1970s. She used it faithfully (in a family household of 5) for 9 or 10 years, before giving it to me when I moved out. I used it for another 20 years, until a stupid (ex) roommate of mine put the blade part in the dishwasher, causing the bearings to seize, then he burned the motor of the blender out trying to force it to work. (Note to idiot ex-roommate: when electrical appliances begin to smoke, that is not a good thing.) Anyway, I went without a blender for a couple years, then my partner and I went and bought a cool-looking stainless-steel looking one for our kitchen. We use it about once a week, to make pancakes or he sometimes makes lime mousse in it. Well, a week ago, it started acting up. I thought it was just the 'safety' switch (so some idiot child can't accidentally start it up unless the glass bottle part is actually attached), but after fiddling with the switch, it just won't work. IT WASN'T EVEN FOUR YEARS OLD YET. Made in China, of course. So, now I am on a crusade. I don't care if I have to pay twice as much, I will not buy something if it is made in China. If my mother paid $30 for her blender in 1972 (just speculating here) and it lasted 30 years, but I paid $50 (adjusted to about $10 in 1972 dollars) for my blender in 2004 but it only lasted 3 years, which is the better deal? The new a/c unit that I bought in May is already making strange gurgling noises and I have only used it for 3 months. My Carrier (madein Canada) is 5 years old and works fine, and the AirTemp that my father bought USED in 1975, I left at my last apartment in October. IT STILL WORKED. No, no, no. NO more Made In China crap for me. Period.

You are not going to overcome a hundred million years of evolution in a few thousand years of social conditioning. Why are most of the rapists men? Why does a 13 year old boy want to hump everything that moves, but a 13 year old girl thinks it's icky? Why do men love porno, but most women could care less? The list goes on and on. To study sexuality, you need to study gay relationships. Speaking from a position of authority, many women just marry off and disappear into the suburbs or the country. The dykes are more into the cuddling, kissing and 'playing house' aspect of the relationship - plus, their relationships tend to last longer (even decades) than their gay counterparts. Gay male relationships, on the other hand, are more about the sex, the physicality of it, if you will. I have friends who have had THOUSANDS of partners. Me, myself - I couldn't even begin to count my partners either. It is extremely rare that two gay men are monogamous after the first two or three years, but then the same thing can be said about straight men, it's just that they lie about it.

Total hogwash. Same plastic parts. They were completely interchangeable. You can take almost any part off a Cavalier and put it on a Sunfire and vice versa. The Silhouettes were not sold in a RWB version, nor were their any 'value vans' sold. Demographics, plain and simple. A family of 6 is going to trash their $23k Valu Van, whereas the wealthier couple who bought their Silhouette for $35k will treat it better. This is the same reason there are so many Impala SS's on the road from the 1960s, while all the Chevy wagons are all rusted and gone. Same metal, same parts, just treated differently by their owners.

There are a lot of things that Toyota does well, but the Tundra is not one of them. Despite their billions of OUR dollars they have stashed away, Toyota is making the same mistake that GM made 20 years ago when it foisted mediocre product on an unsuspecting public, who at that time was loyal to a fault. The Tundra is over-priced and under built. It isn't that it is a BAD truck, but that Toyota is still just putting its toe in the market by offering only one truck. The Tundra is a decent truck and does many things well; however, for CR to put it automatically at the head of the pack clearly shows their bias. I have never had any respect for CR, but now I will trash them at every opportunity I get, both in my personal and professional life.

Well, when I have to............

Well, not too stereotypical, because the main theme was single mom with 3 daughters and single dad with 3 sons coming together under one roof. Along with other 'trend-setting' shows like That Girl (Marlo Thomas as a single career girl with no husband living on her own - GASP!) and 'Julia' (about a black nurse), The Bratty Bunch was testing the boundaries. However, the 'lily-white' version of middle-America does look a little silly today. I nearly blew a gasket laughing when it was discovered that the father in the show was gay in real life - now THAT really blew down some barriers! But, to frankly answer the question: Toronto looks nothing like it did when I was 14 and growing up. The Marcia Brady's are all fleeing the city, frankly. Drive to the 'satellite' cities, like Oakville, Pickering, Barrie or even further to Cambridge or Kitchener and the ethnic mix is shockingly different. Brampton, where I lived for about 2 years (late '70s) is now about 30% Sikh/Hindu/Muslim and escalating. The area where my parents grew up (Rexdale, in northwestern Toronto) is now 60% south-Asian and black West Indian. I drove through there recently and had to pull my car over because I was overcome with shock at the complete neighborhood change where my childhood memories were. The worst crime in the city is now up in that area. Forget about downtown - I wouldn't walk through most parts of Rexdale at night! I was giving my partner a tour of the city and he was, frankly, dismayed when I showed him my grandparents old neighborhood.

Well, the homeowner's equity balloon is just waiting to burst, to be sure; however, the economics are pretty simple. The U.S. has been outsourcing its jobs, buying 'cheap' imported goods and the only way the world's largest economy can pay for all this is by selling paper back to its customers. So, China has nearly a trillion dollars worth of paper stockpiled? Scary. As to America's 'friends' helping out, I think America is in hock to many of its friends already, although trade with its European and Canadian partners is more two-way. Remember, that America's 'friends' include Germany and France, who already have their own agenda with respect to trading with many of America's enemies. International trade is a complicated mess, but the U.S. has to stop pretending it is 1950 because gratitude ain't what it used to be - they will bite the hand that feeds them!

'87 and newer LeBaron convertibles: nice styling, a useable back seat and okay ride. Forget the earlier versions or the Dodge 600 - or whatever they called them.