Robert Hall

heh-heh... I do like the Women's Beach Volleyball...but winter has the uber-cool sports like curling, skeleton, and luge...

Sounds like aluminum dust isn't too healthy to be around.. OSHA article on alumnium

Oh yeah..that could be scary, like the old Peterbuilt in 'Duel'...

I thought you were, but I can never tell around here...

Yeah, transverse. 180 would be interesting, though...a transaxle ahead of a north-south engine in the front. Such a layout could have nice proportions (front axle far forward) and good weight distribution, sort of a front middle/ front drive layout.

Yes, that side trim line on the '57 is what the '10 LaCrosse is going for with it's character line...but...something's still missing.

Yeah, something like the worn out green '71 Eldorado in the movie 'The Highwayman'... a serial killer went around running people off the road with it.

Speaking of extreme weather, I know someone that spends their summers in Palm Springs (which is as about as extreme as Phoenix) and their winters in Regina, Saskatchewan (which can get pretty cold, so I've heard).

I hear you...sometimes, I'd love to have a '71 Ford LTD Brougham 2dr ht with a 429 to bomb around in...or a '71 Buick Riviera w/ 455. Or a '71 Chevy Impala sport coupe w/ a 454. Or a '71 Coupe De Ville. Or something from my birth year, 1970.. something restored and in polished, clean shape. I wouldn't want a rusty clunker, though. Something respectable. When I go back to Ohio Labor Day weekend, I'll have to take my Mom's '68 Cougar for a spin..hardtop, manual steering, manual brakes, 3spd manual, 302 V8, no A/C, am radio, mint condition, 65k miles. A pain in the arse to drive, but fun.

Yes, bland, mainstream crap... I guess Toyota has built better blandmobiles than GM has, or least, cars that were perceived to be better.

The problem is, the sales of Toyotas clearly show that Americans want bland..they demand vanilla...thus, GM has been focusing on boring with mixed results for 25+ years...

Different paradigm. The 5-series is a sports sedan, the Vette is a sports car. Apples to oranges. I could see comparing it to various Porsches, though.

Brilliant!! Success is guaranteed.

Sounds like it's truly a world class product that can run with the big dogs.

Remember, the 'G' in GM stands for 'Generic'...that is where they have been for a looooong time. Bland FWD mass market cars for all, with a smattering of good stuff (RWD) in the niches. Reality bites. I hate being so negative, but I don't see much interesting in the future of GM beyond what is out now and coming in the short term (Camaro, CTS coupe, etc) for RWD fans like myself. I don't do FWD.. GM (and Ford) just frustrate me so much... at least Chrysler tried to return to mainstream RWD, but I'm not sure how long that will last. I understand FOG and 68s angst, I have it also, just not as vocal about it.

Maybe there is room for both..I could see a Lambda based model replacing the Escalade...

Kappa probably hasn't met ROI targets. I bet Alpha will disappear--they probably figure Delta II is good enough for compact cars. Gamma II, Delta II, Epsilon II, Theta, Theta Premium, Lambda. That's where the money will go, because FWD generics are where the volume and profits are worldwide. GM NA only has 7 RWD models now..Corvette, Solstice, G8, Sky, CTS, STS, XLR, plus the Camaro coming next year. I wonder how many will still be around in 5 years.. Of course, this is more RWD now than they had 5-10 years ago. I'd love to see GM have more RWD, but I realize the unfortunate reality is that FWD is where the mass market is.

Not surprising...I can see GM trimming back anything that deviates from their core business on car side---i.e. FWD high volume mass market cars. Thus, Kappa, Sigma, and Zeta are probably not long for this world. Sad.

Well, you are in the NE..I guess they all rusted out..

Yes, that would be too mainstream. A van based on the Clubman would be an interesting addition--the original Mini had a van version, I believe (I've got a Matchbox one..

Well, the Germans are mostly RWD (except for Audi) and overly engineered, but they definitely are not 'low in weight'..they are all about the heft. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm surprised Mini doesn't offer a regular 5dr model. The 3dr Mini is probably the only subcompact out there I'd seriously consider...I like it for it's character and style, it doesn't have the stigma in the US of most subcompacts.

Very clean '82 Vette..don't see those often.

I wonder who will have the first diecast of the production version of the Camaro.

Yes..that's why I referred to a hypothetical 2dr one as a phantom...something for another thread.