The O.C.

Thanks man...... No decision like this is ever easy......and telling my close friend (and GM, and roommate) is not going to be easy. I'm planning on having the talk tonight. I just don't know if I have any other choice. My ex did make a good point....If I'm gonna struggle, better to struggle at home. And boy is he right......

Thanks! And you know.....it's not like I wasn't happy here, or didn't have joy.....but it has made me realize how much I do miss those things in my life that perhaps I took just a little bit much for granted.....

Yeah I think so.....will feel good to go home again......

Well, the great Las Vegas experiment is coming to an end! I've decided to go home.....and resurrect my life in southern California..... Basically, ever since The Big Crash that began back in October, I haven't been able to make the kind of money I need to pay 'da bills....and I'm too far behind on my mortgage to keep hoping and hoping that next month will be the month things turn around. I don't have that luxury any more. I made AWESOME money in June, July, August, and even decent money in September. If that trend had continued, I'd probably not be leaving. However, I have a few GREAT opportunities back in Orange County that are offering greater income potential than what I'm realizing right now at a Cadillac dealership....in Las Vegas....and I need that to get caught up. My tenent's lease is up in May, so until then I'll stay with friends for a few months in the O.C. Then, I'll move back into my house. I have to say.....the thought of now being able to go home has been hitting me emotionally pretty strongly. Until I made the decision to go back to CA recently, I hadn't really come to grips with the loss of leaving everything I had....to come to Las Vegas for this opportunity. I guess I was too excited.....but you know, Las Vegas did provide me something that I really needed last year (a job...LOL) and so it was definitely worth the experience. But this morning, driving to work, ironically, "Sailing" by Christopher Cross came on the radio and I was overwhelmed with emotion........thinking about being back in CA........overlooking the ocean, seeing the boats on the horizon........thinking about cruising up and down PCH........Cars & Coffee with my friend Kurt every Saturday morning in Irvine........all my friends that I haven't (physically) had in my life the last 8 months........Sunday brunches at Coyote Grill in Laguna........Thursday nights at Opahs talking cars and men........being home, in my house........and so much more........all the things that were important to me, and still are. My whole support group is there. I never realized how truly important that really is in one's life. It's been a tough last year and a half.....with many downs, but honestly enough ups that I've survived.....and I know I will prosper again. So wish me luck....I know I'll need it.....

Exactly my point. (Take fleet sales out.....) GM designs the Impala for the USA, but more and more people are walking away from Impala-type vehicles for the more modern Asian and European designs. Even the new Malibu is a dramatic departure from typical GM fare.......

Go drive them......regardless of features, the cars themselves simply aren't dumbed-down. A BMW in Europe rides and drives pretty much, if not exactly, like it does here. That's my point.

I don't remember.....but I do remember it was NOT the "Sport" model that was introduced somewhere along the line. But even so, take today's CTS......even the base suspension (FE1) with the 17-inch wheels still has a nicely-controlled, taut ride. You don't necessarily feel compromised because you didn't get one of the two 18-inch wheel performance packages. Used to be up until very recently that GM vehicles with base suspension packages were not very enjoyable to ride in and drive (i.e.....Buick's used to ALWAYS need the "Gran Touring Suspension" option to be anywhere decent to drive.) And I'm not talking about canyon-carving....I'm talking about simply having a somewhat decently-controlled ride with decently crisp responses.

Why do we always refer to GM "designing" or "tailoring" new products for the "American" market? I think the "American market" is showing GM with their pocketbooks that the very products they desire are the ones designed for the European market...... To the best of my knowledge, other than some powertrain options (i.e.....not offering many 4-cyl engines and most diesels), I don't see BMW, Mercedes, or Audi significantly altering the product they do bring over here in terms of chassis, suspension, or features.....

I'll tell you what.....I recently drove a Catera.....one we took in on trade with only 30,000 miles on it. Originally I was intrigued by the Catera.....when getting into one recently, I was shocked how soft and floaty GM tuned that European suspension. It almost felt soft and floaty like a modern-day DTS....! Certainly not the tautly suspended feel I would have expected from a European chassis.... I think they just dumbed-down the European-ness of the Catera way too much......like they were trying to attract Deville shoppers to the Catera, instead of trying to attract those very European car fans that like the way BMWs and Mercedes Benzs drive.

QUOTE (ocnblu @ Jan 29 2009, 06:39 PM) Yup, give 'im a 6-pack of O'Doul's and he's ready to go in no time. Yup.....feed him a 6-back o' beer, and suddenly anything feels good.....

QUOTE (Satty @ Jan 28 2009, 07:53 PM) Oral There, I said it (Sorry, kind of a weird joke that started today) Satty, I bet ur a big ole "six-packer"

That's the same thing I thought at the small Las Vegas auto show......it's like no one puts any passion into the GM displays, or the particular cars they are displaying.....

.....and I heard something this morning about giving tax breaks to individuals that don't file federal taxes....! Like, perhaps, illegal immigrants? Why reward those that don't abide by the laws of this country by filing and paying the taxes that they are supposed to pay like everyone else? Just saw a tidbit....so I don't pretend to understand this whole issue.....but even the tidbit I heard rang serious alarms inside my head....

I agree with Croc.....he brings up some good points about it being a stress reliever, alertness booster, and damn, those morning coffee/cigarette poops are to DIE for.... And other than that, and this is a bit wierd, but I REALLY love smoking a few cigs while I'm reading car mags......something about the two that go hand-in-hand.....don't know why.....

XTube is 'da $h!s man......that's been my new #1 form of masturbation material...!

Me to..... Since working at the dealership, the habit has kicked up a bit.....I smoke a pack about every two days. That being said, I see that I can still stop on a dime.....when I want to.....like when my parents were in town for Xmas, and like when Joe (the BF) came to spend two weeks with me.... It's so wierd.....because I'll stop cold-turkey.....but I don't experience any physical withdrawel symptoms.....I don't shake, get irritable, no headaches, not any of that stuff. I sometimes miss it habitually, but when given a reason to quit (I never smoke around the BF) I can do it very easily..... SO.....if I don't experience nicotine physical withdrawel symptoms, why can't I kick the mental/habitual part of it? LOL Maybe it's like Croc said a while back.....maybe it's just that I enjoy it.....

I've been to Charlotte a few times....most recently back in April for a job interview. Charlotte kind of struck me as Atlanta's quiet little sister. Actually, Charlotte is a bigger city, population-wise, than Atlanta.....but doesn't have nearly as many suburbs so it feels like a smaller city. Uptown was a conglomeration of newly-built highrises with the defacto increase in loft/condo developments in the city center that so many other cities have been building. However, it seemed to me to be a "roll-up-the-carpet-at-5pm" type of city.....at least compared to Atlanta. I didn't get a huge chance to explore different neighborhoods......but it probably seems like a decent place to live.....but probably a little on the dull side compared to Atlanta (if one was looking at a major southeastern city to relocate to.)

You are dreaming if you think current Lexus buyers are going to generally consider shopping a Buick showroom to replace their ES350s..... The ES350 is one of the #1 import trade-ins we get on CTS. Cadillac is here to address Lexus.....not Buick....at least that's the reality of the situation.....not the armchair-quaterback viewpoint....

Lutz really blew it with the STS. Think about it this way......someone leaning towards a CTS will not like an STS because it's not "edgy" enough, and doesn't have anywhere near as nice of an interior. On the other hand, people looking for a full-size Caddy with room and comfort tend to gravitate towards the DTS.....because it's the quintessential Caddy float-mobile sedan.....and STS isn't. STS is simply in a big-time vacuum.....sandwiched by the larger, more traditional DTS and the smaller, sportier, more dynamic CTS. (Just based upon my interaction with Caddy customers over the last 7 months or so.....)

LOL....funny..... Two cities in the Las Vegas valley hit the "most boring" list.......Henderson and North Las Vegas.....both suburbs. The local news station anchors were all bent out of shape around that list.....the thought being....how could suburbs of Las Vegas, that are located so close to The Strip with all the casinos, entertainment, shows, dining, and shopping be on a list of "most boring?" Additionally, when you consider all the outdoor activities available to residents of the valley (mountain snow skiing being less than an hour away, summer lake activities at Lake Mead 30 mins away) the "most boring" list is really hard to understand.....

I'll tell you another thing.....what I hear all the time is "it looks like a wagon, not a proper SUV." Plus, consumers' expectations are simply out of line with GM's pricing. People do not see the SRX as worthy of a $40K pricetag. On the flip side, we'll sell pre-owned ones (2005, 2006) at $18K - $22K all day long. It's been my big bitch with Cadillac since coming to work here. People simply do not see any value (at current prices) in new Cadillacs such as the STS, SRX, XLR, and to a lesser extent, DTS. Even enormous incentives on STS and SRX don't help their case much at all. On the flip side, CTS sells with minimal incentives......many of them in the upper-$40K range as well......because the car is executed to an extremely high level and Cadillac has developed a thoroughly competitive car that demands respect, and conveys HUGE value for it's money. Sadly it will be a LONG time (if at all) before we get competitive, world-class STS, DTS, and XLR models. Will the SRX change consumers' minds like the CTS has? We'll just have to see. However, I'm really afraid that it may not be big enough, or roomy enough, or substantial enough.

Disagree. I went from an '89 Skyhawk to a '92 SL1.......the Saturn was FAR superior in terms of fit-and-finish, material quality, seating comfort, even engine refinement, ride-and-handling, etc. I'll always have a (very) soft heart for my beloved Skyhawk......but there is no escaping the fact that the new Saturns of the day made the J's feel ancient seemingly overnight.

The reason the old-school, BOF, huge, gas-guzzling Escalade sells so many more units than the current SRX, IMHO, is.......BLING....presence....and the statement it makes. While I like the styling direction of the new SRX.......I really think making it smaller than, say, the RX350 is a very damaging decision. If the new SRX comes on the market as anything less than a true Caddy (think a rebadged, FWD Chevy) then it will have been a HUGE mistake. (Keep in mind I don't think the RX looks or feels anything like the Highlander that it shares so much with.....SRX seems to share WAY too much with the new Equinox.....especially in the interior......not good....)

......that is coming soon.....according to the local OnStar representative that visited our dealership........