jrockb4

Because they looked foolish by not mentioning Diesel's on the earlier powertrain announcements

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...NEWS99/60824015 Just when we thought that GM was not coming to come strong!

Ok I will ask the stupid question of the day, but what is the difference between the Calais - Berlina and Commodore? They all have pretty much the same engine selections and wheel base. I also think that most people would not be able to tell the difference by just looking at them. Can one of you Holden experts enlighten me?

A very pleasing review. I love the fact that for once they pushed a launch back to make sure it is right at launch.

The next Malibu is going to be a crazy success. GM is about to do quite well with this platform. If the Malibu has those sexy looks and gets the reviews that the Aura has been getting for it's chasis and drivetrain so far. Could it be possible for the cars to combine to rival the CamCord sales numbers? Is this the same hybrid setup being used on the upcoming Vue GL? Does the hybrid system add any extra performance to the engine?

I love this line from the National Post: Despite all the positives, there is a "but" -- Saturn Canada has priced the XR at $30,985. That's quite a jump from the US$24,595 price, considering there's less than a 12% difference between our currencies. Though that's not outlandishly expensive, it's a shame since the Aura is definitely the class of this class, which includes the Camry, Accord and Mazda6. It is how funny we have had little to say about this subject compared to the Camaro. lol. But in my opinion this is a much more important vehicle for GM. I am hoping to take one for a drive here real soon and will let you know what my wife and I think. Has anyone else here driven one yet?

I don'tknow how this perso rates GM vehicles in general, but the Aura comes off looking like a surefire winner for the Saturn folks. Fairly indepth and long review. http://canadianautopress.auto123.com/en/in...rtid=67245&pg=1

I agree, but I will say better late than never!!!! I would guess the 2009 date ps waiting for some sort of chasis or platform program.

What time is the event in Traverse City? Is it going to be at the same time?

One, more day, only one more day. This is almost as exciting as Christmas. One of the areas that the new Camaro needs to address is the ever expanding American waistline!! This is critical and I think it is where the Mustang finally put the Camaro into a coma. I know, I know the last Camaro way outperformed the Mustang, but it was not something comfortable for the average, midlife crisis American to drive. The Mustang never got caught up in the sports car low to the ground seats and stayed as a pony car (IMHO), it was actually almost a joke performance wise on many models, but that left it accessible to a large cross section of American buyers. Anyone who wanted something sporty (librarians, accountants, etc :->) found the Mustang to be their car of choice. Enthusiats like the members here can not support 200,000 units a year. I hate to say it, but people like my wife (SRX and 9-5 driver) have to sit in it and feel comfortable.

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608060568 A Detroit Free Press Exclusive states that the Camaro is a go as early as 2008. Expect and announcement Thursday from Rick Wagoner from Traverse City.

Yeah but not to make excuses for GM, but 2005 was an anomaly. The employee pricing the first time around shook up the market. I expect that later this year and maybe as far as next January, the sales totals will jump cpmpared to last year when they were depressed due to the employee pricing hangover.

So if my math is correct an additional 33,000 sales with $1200 less in rebates is over $39 million to the good for GM. Over the course of a year that is a good piece of change $475 million. If the transaction price went up and employee costs go down, there just may be hope Also does this mean that the regions are all out pacing their totals from last year? GM Europe - The region's 2006 second quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 502,000 vehicles. In the second quarter of 2005 the region built 501,000 vehicles. The region's 2006 third quarter production forecast also remains unchanged at 372,000 vehicles. In the third quarter of 2005 the region built 412,000 vehicles. GM Asia Pacific - GM Asia Pacific's 2006 second quarter production forecast is revised at 489,000 vehicles, down 15,000 units from last month's guidance. In the second quarter of 2005 the region built 398,000 vehicles. The region's 2006 third quarter production forecast is revised at 506,000 vehicles, down 10,000 units from last month's guidance. In the third quarter of 2005 the region built 409,000 vehicles. GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East - The region's 2006 second quarter production estimate is revised at 207,000 vehicles, down 8,000 units from last month's guidance. In the second quarter of 2005 the region built 195,000 vehicles. The region's 2006 third quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 217,000 vehicles. In the third quarter of 2005 the region built 207,000 vehicles.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../606280376/1148

Plug-in hybrids would seem to come closer to the true promise of hybrid cars. If GM can move there quickly they may be able to bridge the gap before the hydrogen future. A guy started a company called eDrive (another is Hymotion in Toronto) and it uses lithium ion batteries in a Prius that you plug in overnight, they are saying that by doing that they are getting closer to 100 mpg. That would really make hybrids nice. It plugs straight into a standard 110 socket. Now in places like Texas where the grid is maxed during the summer it could pose a bit of an issue sometimes, but as we are adding some nuclear plants :-> it should be all good before toot long If this is all true then GM would not need multiple hybrids, but only to evolve the current ones.

That is the manual transmission, cool so it will definitely continue as a part of the vehicle line. Any ideas as to what engines they are running? The interior looks great!!! I wonder how the nav will work, or if they are just going to go with the Onstar service offering. Lack of a nav may leave the door open for critics though, unless they put a good marketing campaign together.

http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/live/...AF_1049_gb.html Audi Diesel wins overall (Yes a Diesel won Le Mans!!!) and Corvette driven by Gavin, Beretta and Magnusson win GT1, Astin Martin 2nd and Fourth, C5R takes third.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../606180301/1148 A great article about GM Brasil and the cars they have available. Including CUV's, and small pickups. I drove those vehicles and walked away from the GM of Brazil test track wondering aloud how a global car company filled with so many demonstrably talented and intelligent people could do something so dumb as to keep some of the best small vehicles made anywhere out of a market that's clamoring for those models.

And what about the LX? Isn't it still a Land Cruiser?

I think another issue would be the capacity for GM to build the engines, I do like the idea of a mid level vette though.

So who would have guessed that for the year GM's strongest brands are Isuzu, Saturn, Hummer and Saab If you think I am lying take a look it is true, it's true. So maybe the damaged brands are Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac and GMC. And the brands that are not down much do not have very good lineups to be honest. Is it because to many people they are not GM brands? Is the anti Gm bias that bad? Or is it because they are traditionally low fleet sales brands? Or what?

While we have been waiting for this relationship to bear fruit (GM and Ford), the difference between the 6T70 and 75 seems rather minimal to me. 5 hp and 20 ft/lb, I wonder if just standardizing on the 75 would not have resulted in cost savings, unless it is heavier or has some other limitation. It will be interesting to see how the GM transmissions are critiqued against themselves and against the Ford version.

It seems that every GM vehicle (outside of the Camaro :->) it the most relevant GM intoduction. I seem to feel that same way, they can not afford to miss on any vehicles. This could open the new Sports Activity Vehicle market that GM has been promising us since around the 2nd generation mini-vans. The vehicle that is as useful as a mini van, but cooler like an SUV. Keep your fingers crossed. I like what I have seen so far. Most minivan drivers don't seem to be too caught up on looks anyway, and if you can steal some from the SUV crowd all the better.

http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...08&Profile=1004 To sum it up, they love it. Here is a cut to the gripes. Where the Cadillac STS-V falls short is on the inside: its feels as though the materials are done on the cheap. I don’t know if it is the choice of black zebrano-like wood, if it is the quality of the plastic, if it has to do with the light-colored leatherette material. But it just doesn’t work. That’s the only gripe. The question remains: Will people step up and spend the kind of money this car is asking, even though number for number, and dollar for dollar it would be well spent? If they don’t at least consider the Cadillac STS-V, they’re doing themselves a disservice. http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...E/60519005/1004

That is cool to get an extra 27 hp and better MPG. Hope it gets some positive press to let people know it is out there. It will be even better if these mpg numbers are close to reality.