Robert Hall

That's pretty funny...I managed to get $1500 out of my '88 Bronco II (even w/ the rust and broken drivers' seat, etc) when I traded back in '00...seems like long ago and far away...

..And GM has pretty much axed all the middle rungs--Oldsmobile, and now Pontiac and Saturn. Buick is all that is left.

Yes, esp. in northern climes...it's the opposite here in PHX...a convertible is very much a winter car here..

An uncle had a '71 ragtop and later a '73 coupe, both Centurions..I have vague memories from about age 4-9 of riding in them in the '70s.. I love the fuselage styling of the big GMs of that era...my dream car garage would have a '71 Centurion convertible, '71 Riviera, '72 Impala sport coupe, '71 Olds 88 ht, '71 Catalina or Bonneville, a '71 Coupe De Ville, amongst other '60s-70s GMs, Fords, and Mopies...

I think if I had any classic GM convertible, I'd want a '71 Centurion...I just love the '71-72 B-bodies, and esp. the Buick body sculpting...

Yeah, I just saw it quickly breeze past on the opposite side on the freeway...pretty sure it wasn't a GS..didn't have a blacked-out grille. Had the Buick road mags. Don't see those very often. Rob

An interesting mix tonite on the way home.. A white w/ white top '88 or so Town Car that spotless--looked new...have a soft spot for those, since my Dad always drove them and I drove his to high school occasionally. A white w/ white top '71-72 Buick Skylark convertible, very clean.. A very clean bronze mid '80s Celebrity 4dr, A/C must have been out--had the windows down A worn out faded red late '80s LeSabre, also w/ the A/C out and all the windows down, no rear window, and decklid tied w/ a bungee cord An '00-05 Impala, painted 4 different primer colors. No idea what color it originally was.

First I've ever heard that...I've always read of the Lambdas described as full-size, everything from Autoblog to Car & Driver to Wikipedia. The Equinox, Torrent and upcoming Terrain and SRX are the GM mid-sizers, GM has nothing in NA that really is a compact CUV/SUV, even the Vue is more of a small midsizer.

Happy Birthday!

The Enclave is full size, it's huge. An IS convertible fighter is where Cadillac should be at with the CTS or a smaller model eventually. (I can't see Buick having a $40-50k RWD luxury convertible).

It is what it is. Whatever will be, will be. We are but pawns in game of life.

I've worked with a number of Ys (recent college grads) in the last few years in the Denver area and Phoenix area, and AFAIK, 100% of them drive Japanese (Civics, Camrys, a G37, Priuses). Not encouraging.

Good analogy..I think GM's state currently would be like a ship with a bent propeller, broken rudder, and the whole bottom rusted out, taking on a lot of water, with people bailing water as fast as the can to stay afloat. Lots of good products right now, but lots of corporate problems..the next few months and next year should be very interesting to see what happens.

I predict GM's market share, realistically, will probably be at most 10-15% in 5 years. Can it be profitable at the point? Lots of variables.

I think that 'niche brand' was just spin...I doubt if they really intended to keep it that way..the whole integration with Pontiac into Buick and GMC was to make it easier to phase out than they did with Oldsmobile.

Well, the current LaX and Lucerne are pretty old and outdated, esp. the LaX..the new LaX is coming out for '10, so that should definitely help with the sedan sales. And if they add the Insignia-based Regal and a compact sedan on Delta within the next 2-3 years, that should help. I've wondered if GM has considered a midsize crossover for Buick, but maybe that niche is too full with the new Equinox, Terrain, and SRX coming..

It was inevitable..GM has been trying to wind down Pontiac for years, mostly through neglect.

Happy Birthday! Enjoy.

From the Wikipedia article on Olestra-- Olestra was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a food additive in 1996 and was initially used in potato chips under the WOW brand by Frito Lay. In 1998, which was the first year Olestra products were marketed nationally after the FDA’s Food Advisory Committee confirmed a judgment it made 2 years earlier, sales were over $400 million.[5] However, by 2000 sales slowed to $200 million, largely caused by the unappealing side effects described on the FDA-mandated health warning label "This Product Contains Olestra. Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added."[6] This condition (normally occurring only by excessive consumption in a short period of time) became popularly known as "anal leakage," which can be embarrassing. Sales were so slow that P&G gave up on attempts to widen the uses of Olestra, and even sold off their Cincinnati-based Olestra factory to Twin Rivers Technologies in February 2002.[4] The FDA removed the warning requirement in 2003 as it had "conducted a scientific review of several post-market studies submitted by P&G, as well as adverse event reports submitted by P&G and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (a particularly outspoken critic). The FDA concluded that the label statement was no longer warranted",[7] in spite of having received over 20,000 complaints.[8] When removing the Olestra warning label, the FDA cited a 6-week Procter & Gamble (makers of Olestra) study of more than 3000 people showing that an Olestra-eating group experienced only a small increase in bowel movement frequency.[7] P&G also worked hard in its publicity campaigns to highlight the positives of the additive, even working directly with the health-care community.[9] But, outside of the popular culture disapproval of the product, many consumers simply did not see the speedy results for which they had hoped from a product they saw as being a cure all. This was because Olestra only dealt with the fat component of the overall dietary pattern of Americans. Foods containing olestra do contain calories and many Americans believed that they could just eat more of them to compensate for the fat calories "saved".[10] Eating olestra chips was not a particularly effective way to improve one's diet overall.. ... Proctor and Gamble are marketing their sucrose ester products under the brand "Sefose" for use as an industrial lubricant and paint additive.[15] Because Olestra is made by chemically combining sugar and vegetable oil, it releases no toxic fumes and could potentially become a safe and environmentally-friendly replacement for petrochemicals in these applications.[16] It is currently used as a base for deck stains and a lubricant for small power tools, and there are plans to use it on larger machinery. Olestra FTL!

No..no rush to buy something..need more garage space first..

After dinner, I cruised down Camelback past the car dealers...and saw my first '10 Camaro! Sitting on the front lot of Courtesy Chevrolet, next to the showroom was a black SS w/ huge aftermarket black wheels and a large 'SOLD' sign in the side window. Sharp. Across the street at Coulter Cadillac, they had a slate blue G8 GT (they always seem to have a G8 or two), and two XLRs, one with '$15,995 OFF' on the side in huge letters...

Ya, product-wise, these are great times. In so many ways, these are best of times for cars and the worst of times simultaneously..

Oh, I think GM can and will thrive again..but they will have to find a way to thrive with 15-20% market share...I don't see 50% ever happening again.

Here's a few local ones. 60 Chevy Brookwood 2dr wagon '75 Chevy Impala 2dr ht (I think I've seen this car in traffic) '63 Chevy Impala 4dr ht '72 Pontiac GTO rollin' on 24s, YO! '91 Buick Roadmaster wagon (interesting paint & wheels)

Well, some here do live in the past (or view it with rose-colored glasses), so pointing out the obvious was necessary.. That would be good, but not going to happen given the mistakes GM has made the last 30+ years..