andy82471

Is the 3.6 liter borrowed from GM ? Or an in house design ? The design looks pretty bland IMO. Really doesn't stand out from other CUV in any meaningful way. But at least it looks decent unlike the Tribeca.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070402/ap_en_...night_rider_car DUBLIN, Calif. - KITT, the flame-throwing, river-jumping, talking muscle car from the `80s TV show "Knight Rider," is up for sale. Restored to its debut-season glory, the modified black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am is offered at $149,995 at a Dublin auto dealership. Johnny "Vette" Verhoek of Kassabian Motors has had the car, officially called Knight Industries Two Thousand, on display for about a month. It is one of four documented "camera cars" used for close-up shots and scenes where David Hasselhoff, who played Michael Knight in the series, was behind the wheel. Although it cannot achieve the 300 mph speeds that KITT reached, soar 50 feet in the air or throw smoke bombs, key features of the star car are intact. Perhaps most important, the red scanner light on the nose glows and makes a humming noise. The car has two working video screens on the dashboard, and the cockpit features buttons that light up in green, yellow and red: ski mode, rocket boost, micro jam, silent mode, oil slick and eject. Most of the buttons don't do anything, Verhoek said. Nor can the car hold a conversation or drive itself. KITT isn't even street legal because of missing smog equipment and other modifications. Whoever buys the car will probably keep it in a private collection, or it may be purchased by a museum, Verhoek said. The car belongs to Tim Russo of Livermore, a Kassabian customer who figured now was a good time to test the market, with the 25th anniversary of the show's debut coming up. Russo purchased the car 10 years ago at an auction in San Diego, and has spent the last decade finding parts to restore it.

Hope this never happens; this could be fatal for the domestic auto industry. Hope that cooler head prevails.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...PDATE/703270444 United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger intimated that a strike was not out of the question as union members prepare to defend their pay and benefits later this year in contract talks with automakers. Gettelfinger said the UAW would fight at the bargaining table, in the courts, politically and "if need be on the picket line." The union chief made the comments during a fiery address to a UAW bargaining convention that kicked off this morning at Cobo Center in Detroit. Some 1,500 delegates will meet today and Wednesday to discuss guidelines for this summer's contract talks with automakers. Gettelfinger also took a direct shot at Delphi. Corp. Chairman Steve Miller, implying that the parts supplier's bankruptcy was contrived to deprive workers of promised benefits. "Steve Miller steered Delphi into a mechanical bankruptcy," Gettelfinger said to rousing applause. "Miller knew nothing about the business and even less about the workers." He characterized the lawyers involved in the auto suppliers bankruptcies as "bottom feeders" and literally screamed to the delegates that bankruptcies are being used by companies to get out pension and other responsibilities to workers. "Our message is to the Steve Millers of the world. You will never do that!" About the potential sale of Chrysler Group, Gettelfinger said equity and hedge funds are "circling overhead like never before." He vowed the union would protect UAW workers during any potential sale. Earlier this morning, 19 protesters convened across the street from the main Cobo entrance as 1,500 delegates stream into the expo hall. The activists bore signs with slogans such as "No more concessions" and "Rights for workers" and handed out leaflets with the same message. They want the delegates to stop accepting pay cuts, layoffs and reductions in health care and pension benefits from the automakers. Protester Todd Jordan, 29, said it was tough for many rank-and-file workers to take the day off or travel to Detroit to participate. He noted that 2,500 rank-and-file members already have signed a no-more-concessions petition. Jordan and other dissident UAW members from the group called Soldiers of Solidarity maintain that recent buyouts and layoffs have severely dampened their efforts. Jordan, a worker at Delphi's Kokomo, Ind., plant, said that at his facility 81 percent of workers there are recent new hires working for half the wages of their predecessors who left for buyouts, early retirements or transfers out of the bankrupt parts company

Wow 330 HP for less than 40 grand. That is pretty impressive. I wish GM would make a sub Corvette sportscar with 300 + Hp and a base MSRP of around 32 grand. Personally, the G37 is a much better buy than the Skyline GTR.

These polls are completely bogus. You can vote as many times as you wish. Dont pay any attention to these unscentific poll.

Wow both Mr. Krinkle and FOG needs to chill out. This kind of back and forth sniping doesn't help. Interestingly, now that gas prices in our area is approaching $2.50 for regular, the demand for Prius seems to be growing as well. My freind, who also happens to be a Toyota salesman, told me two days ago all the Priuses in his lot has been taken and there are four customers on backorders. I guess the price of gas determines everything. GM should bring the VOLT to the market ASAP. That car looks so much better than the Azteck ugly Prius.

This is great news. Good to see at least one American auto company doing reasonably well under very difficult conditions. Now we have to wait and see if the trend repeats in MARCH, APRIL, MAY and so forth. Then we can say for sure that GM is back as a viable company. Let us hope the February figure is not a one month anomaly. One thing that does bother me is the rising gas price. Hope that won't spoil GM's comback party

Let us just face it; there are just too many companies trying to make and sell automobile for a living. And like the rule of the jungle, only the strong survives. It could very well happen that five years from now GM is the only true American auto company remaining. Ford and Chrysler would only be a memory by then. I seriously hope that doesn't happen because fair competition actually benefits the customers. I don't want Toyota and Honda to be the only automakers in the world. That would be very bad for consumers everywhere. I have no idea why a company like Daimler Benz with its legendary history couldn't run Chrysler Motors.

Is it gonna be FWD or RWD ? I hope it is the latter. I think a RWD Honda/Acura will be a blast to drive considering that their FWD cars are almost as good as some RWD competitors. Too bad Honda still doesn't understand the concept of RWD.

Is it gonna be FWD or RWD ? I hope it is the latter. I think a RWD Honda/Acura will be a blast to drive considering that their FWD cars are almost as good as some RWD competitors. Too bad Honda still doesn't understand the concept of RWD.

Yuck, what a hideous exterior. Looks like a RAV-4 mated with a Santa FE . The interior looks nice though I think the Enclave's interior looks just as nice. And what is up with the 5 speed auto, when GM is offering a more modern 6 speed. It is interesting that GM constantly gets ridiculed for offering obsolete transmission; now it seems TOY's tranny looks old and stale compare to GM's new 6 speed tranny.

I agree; the Sierra Denali is a niche pickup that will sell only in limited numbers. I can't forsee too many workers who need to haul and tow lining up to buy the Denali. I hope the 6.2 does becomes an option along with the six speed auto in the Silverado and Sierra models. Also, the 4.3l 195 hp engine needs to go. That should be replaced by the smooth inline 4.2l from the Trailblazer.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070119/ap_on_...s/toyota_recall WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it was recalling 533,000 Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia sport utility vehicles because of potential steering problems. Toyota said the recall involved 2004-2006 Tundra trucks and 2004-2007 Sequoia full-size SUVs. The automaker has received reports of 11 accidents and six injuries connected to the recall, said Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong. The automaker said there was a possibility of excessive wear to a front suspension lower ball joint that could make it difficult to steer the vehicle and stay in the center of the lane. Drivers may also notice more noise coming from the front suspension, Kwong said. Toyota recalled about 775,000 pickups and SUVs in May 2005 — one of its largest recalls ever — because of similar problems with the front suspension. The recall included 2002-2004 model years of the Tundra and Sequoia. Kwong said the company received additional complaints involving newer models of the Tundra and Sequoia, prompting them to issue the recall. Toyota, which is challenging General Motors Corp. to become the world's largest automaker, has aggressively touted its redesigned Tundra pickup as a strong competitor in the lucrative truck segment dominated by GM and Ford Motor Co. The first Tundras built at Toyota's San Antonio plant are expected in showrooms next month. The automaker recently unveiled its Tundra CrewMax full-size pickup truck at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The large pickup will arrive in showrooms in March. With its expansion, the automaker has struggled with some quality issues. Toyota had 2.2 million vehicle recalls in 2005, but showed improvements last year when its recalls fell to 766,000 vehicles. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe has repeatedly vowed to enhance quality controls. Owners will be notified in mid-February of the Sequoia and Tundra recall and dealers will replace the left and right front suspension lower ball joint at no charge to the vehicle's owners. Consumers can contact Toyota at (888) 270-9371 or (800) 331-4331. ___ On the Net: Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com/

Why would anyone pick the Viper over the Vette ? The Z06 beats the current Viper in just about every objective test from acceleration to handling and flat out top speed. And the Vette gets much better gas mileage too. I am sure GM can top anything Dodge has to offer.

I hope you are right. GM most likely will lose the No.1 title this year. The momentum from Toyota Inc. is just too much for GM to overcome. GM will not resort to desperate measure just to keep its No.1 position as the global automaker. That will be a huge mistake. GM's newer product looks very good and if word of mouth gets around about GM's improved quality they could take back the No.1 spot within 3 to 4 years. Turning around negative perception does take time.

Yup. The figures include GM Daewoo.

General Motors Corp. said Wednesday it sold 9.09 million cars and trucks worldwide in 2006, a nearly one per cent decline from 2005, as sales in the U.S. faltered. The world's largest automaker sold 9.17 million vehicles in 2005. Its biggest rival, Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan, has said that it expects final totals to show it sold 9.04 million vehicles in 2006 Looks like Toyota and GM are just about even in terms of global marketshare. Looks like the prediction of Toyota toppling GM to become the biggest auto company is about to come true. It could very well happen when the first quarter production figures are announced in April.

I think the lack of a 6 speed auto and the fact that the engines are basically carryovers ( albeit with major modifications) from the previous generation GMT 800 has hurt GM's chances. Had they offered a 6 speed auto and the 6.2L 403 HP engine from the Escalade, maybe GM would have won. Just my thoughts. MEMO TO GM. OFFER THE 6.2 AND 6 SPEED AUTO ASAP.

I think the point he is trying to make is that for a company like Toyota, 430 mil is equivalent to pennies and nickles we find under the couch.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232598,00.html WASHINGTON — Edwin Black is on a mission. He wants to go head-to-head with the head of General Motors in a showdown at Starbucks. The best-selling author has nothing against the coffee chain, but says he wants a public venue to confront the nation's largest car industry with his charges that GM has addicted the U.S. to the internal combustion engine — and hence oil — and is spelling doom for America. "These are the cigarettes of individual movements. These are the cigarettes of technology. These are eight-cylinder cigarettes. They are killing us," Black said recently in a one-on-one interview. "Stop allowing these health-harming, climate-killing, treasury-destroying, terrorism-enabling, petroleum guzzlers to be made," he beseeched. ................

Why didn't they test the Saturn AURA XR instead of the Malibu SS ?

I believe all manufacturers are using SAE figure since MY 2006. I think.

Memo to GM: Make the 6.2L 400 HP engine and 6 speed auto available in the Silverado. ASAP !!!!!

I think the base V8 needs a displacement boost to 5.0L and 300 HP and 340 lb-ft of torque. This truck might be too heavy for the 4.0 and 4.7L engine.