Robert Hall

Yeah, but it looked like a bunch of kids..probably not much 4 wheeling experience. I've done a fair bit of Rocky Mountain trail 4 wheeling in my Jeep w/ buddies in their Jeeps and 4 Runners, and winches, ropes, shovels are definitely necessities, and extra gas and good jacks. Nothing like being on a trail 75 miles from the nearest town and running out of gas or unable to fix a flat. Speaking of Power Wagons, at the gas station this morning, I saw a couple of women in a 1951 Dodge Power Wagon...what a beast. Camo tan, looked straight out of the Korean War.

Hilarious the things kiddies will do...the last couple of minutes there, they really needed shovels to dig away some of the hillside that the front of the Jeep was digging into. I half expected Bubba to back the Super Duty up to far and roll it into into the bog. Interesting semi truck style stack exhaust in the bed of the Super Duty.

Speaking of 5 series, as I was leaving the office, I noticed a current style 5 series in the parking lot--had 5 spoke chrome wheels that looked a bit like the G8 GT's wheels or the Charger SRT8's wheels..

I think it's great news, all things considered.

Maybe, maybe not..since the Charger shares a platform w/ 3 other models (now 2) I would think it would be profitable 4 years in..

Which is GM's fault, of course.

Well, the Charger is in it's 4th year..it's an established model. Maybe it's the economy, maybe it's Pontiac's brand image, maybe it's GM's marketing..but the G8 just isn't connecting with the market as much as it could.

I wouldn't say that, both are excellent cars, but targeting different buyers..the 5- series interior is definitely more luxurious, and offers NAV (which isn't even offered on the G8, I believe).

I'm torn on the Mustang...I prefer the exterior design of the '05-09, but from what I've seen so far, the '10 interior is a huge improvement in materials and content, esp. with SYNC now available. It's not surprising the Challenger is outselling the current Mustang, since the Mustang is in the 5th year of the current design..

I've driven a couple, they seem to ride fine to me and have enough space..

It just says there are more buyers of luxury-brand sports sedans than mainstream-brand sports sedans. The sales #s says mainstream-brand sedan buyers prefer their vanilla FWD sedans.

Not surprising...rebates always seem to help GM sales.

Agreed about the X5... it's my favorite of the luxury SUVs... I've thought seriously about stepping up from my GC to a CPO late model X5, with the 6 cyl. I like the 2nd gen ML also. I find it highly unlikely the FWD SRX will be competitive with the X5, though.

Speaking of the SRX, saw a dark red one this morning in traffic..it really is a great looking wagon. What I've always liked about the SRX is it's wagon-like styling, instead of the lame faux-SUV styling most CUVs adopt (which is pointless on FWD/AWD vehicles).

Exactly...the Lexus RX is mass-market generic entry-lux for women in suburbia. BMW and Mercedes are real luxury, RWD/AWD. There is no credibility to FWD models based on Toyota generics. It really is two different markets, also..the RX/MDX/MKX/new SRX are CUVs, while the BMW and Mercedes entries are legitimately SUVs.

Isn't that the market Buick should be going after? I thought Cadillac was supposed aiming higher, at the real luxury market (BMW and Merc).

Funny..did anyone see the South Park episode about Hybrids and smugness? Was pretty funny.

Did anyone really believe GM was going to go through with the Ultra V8 or replace the STS/DTS with a Zeta model, though? With GM, it's all just rumor until something is real and at the dealer. Based on what I've seen over the years, I'm always skeptical..

As far as Cadillac, I really like the CTS and hope the coupe and wagon make it to market. But they need more models, they can't be dependent on one excellent model and a bunch of ho-hum models. FWD models are not the way to go. I've liked BMW for 20+ years, didn't care that much for the Bangle-era styling, but still overall, like their products. I've also liked Mercedes for a long time, esp. their more premium models--love the CLS, CL, SL and S-class in particular. But my new car budget is more in line with a C-class. I'd rather have a CTS at that price point.

Playing devil's advocate. Sadly, there is a lot of truth in his posts. GM is in dire straits.

Timing, bad economy, lack of advertising. Had this car been out in '05-06, it could have been a hit (had GM been able to produce it without limited manufacturing capacity). It's the best thing to wear a Pontiac badge in a long time, IMHO.

Odd..I would think GM would want a V6 diesel, at least for Europe. I'd love to see the CTS and other cars in the US available with a diesel.

Umm...you are talking about hot rodder stuff...the typical luxury car buyer (i.e. target Cadillac market) doesn't care about any of that. All they know is DOHC = more cams 32 valves= more valves i.e. more = better more complex->more expensive->more luxurious. And a perception of smoother, more refined (which they often are). Like it or not, pushrods and 4spd automatics are too old school for that market. I'm not sure why one would 'worry' about DOHC either, I've never had problems with DOHC engines (nor have I had problems with OHV engines). (My favorite engines of cars I've owned are the Ford 5.0 V8 and the BMW DOHC straight 6).

Internet DVD rentals took off, Netflix has been quite successful... I haven't been in a Blockbuster in nearly 9 years now (had Netflix since May '00). Streaming video is supposed to be the next big thing...

Or a Prius....one world, one Toyota for all! After all, Toyota's logo looks like a T against a globe..