Drew Dowdell

Its really a weight issue more than anything. The CTS is a porky car for its size. The same transmission (6L50) and engine (3.6 DI LFX V6) gets 30mpg in the Camaro. The Camaro of course is about 300 lbs lighter than the CTS. We were talking about putting the LNF into a CTS size and weight car like BMW is putting a turbo 4 into the 528. The 528 will also have an 8 speed transmission to help overcome the weight.

except that when Lutz did it, he didn't sound like an out of touch asshole. Honestly, I preferred Ed Whitacre. He wasn't a car guy either, but he knew how to pick out smart people and then step back and let the smart people do their thing.

So basically the man is listening to random people in the hallway and making decisions based on that. GM also has the oldest trucks on the block while Ford's are much newer and have fabulous new engines that the media just gushes over. How is it a shock to anyone at GM that GM had to offer incentives while Ford could raise prices? To beat the Germans in China they'll need the right hardware to beat the Germans in the U.S.. They will never beat the Germans in the EU because of that market's brand nationality loyalties.

Their market share started declining a few months before the earthquake.

Opelish interior, Cruze just about everything else, GMDAT did most of the work.

This isn't based on Astra, it's based on Cruze.

I can certainly see the argument that the Dakota was too close to the Ram in price and size. What about a new Dakota off the Wrangler platform since they won't give us that hot Jeep truck we all want?

Anyone interested in the science behind the virginia quake, a very good writeup here.

Nearly every anti-gay group out there issued press releases saying that God caused an earthquake in Virginia because of the gay marriage law passing in New York.

I may have been off in my month count... VP of Buick Sales told me he'd have the Verano in store in time to get them under the Christmas tree.

It sounds like the "lifestyle" truck would be a mid-size suburbia cruiser while a much smaller Dakota is worked on.

All of the order guides are "works in progress" and can change weekly. It is still 5 months to launch. GM has still been twiddling with the order guides for the 2012 Lacrosse and Regal as recently as last week.

One thing that just occurred to me: Wouldn't GM be on the hook for warranty repairs and product support if Saab goes under? I think that's why GM was so reluctant to sell instead of shutter in the first place. I think GM would have to cover it for 10 years after the last GM built SAAB rolled off the line.

well.... 2.5. The 2.4 is going to start fading out in the next few model years to be replaced with the 2.5.

I think this is a car that could do well with a diesel as well, turn up the boost slightly to have it out run the diesel cruze.

So why doesn't Cadillac replace the transmission? I don't think they are unable to produce an 8-speed, but I do think the cost cutter culture still reigns supreme, and I'm sure they believe that a 6-speed is "good enough." And here in lies what holds Cadillac back. That "it's good enough" mentality of GM that works for Chevy doesn't work for Cadillac. they are. The 8-speed will be debuting with the next round of refreshes and replacements.

entirely a gearing and transmission issue.

Sometimes it isn't a matter of Mint supporting a specific institution, sometimes those institutions cut Mint off. I have a US Airways credit card... it has synced with Mint for years. In May, Mint sent out an email saying that the US Airways card will no longer be supported by Mint due to a request from the financial provider. So Mint won't update my account there now. Fast forward to last week, US Airways car released their own app for accessing my account... except it only works on iPhone. asshats

Mint for android is a steaming pile... it's not synched w/ the website, has no way to delete notifications, etc. I've been frustrated enough w/ Mint (both on the phone and the website) that I'm still sticking w/ MS Money for my serious stuff...(though I've thought about switching to Quicken). Mint has been releasing a series of updates for their Android app and it has improved dramatically in the last month or two.

back away from the JC Whitney catalog......

If GM put the 2.0T Ecotec from the Solstice GXP into the CTS, you guys would be screaming bloody murder instead of calling it a "pretty appealing base engine"

Choosing the 3.6 over the 3.0 is about power. The 3.0 is really a mediocre engine in all levels of performance. Cadillac only seems to offer it so people will pay more for the 3.6. Both engines cost the same to manufacture. However, the 3.0 does put out more power than the 3.0 in the base BMWs. BMW pulls the same trick in the 528 and 328. The BMWs get more gears in the box to help make up the deficit.

Oh look, a lay-z boy on wheels.

I think GM already fired a good bit of them. They've had what... two VPs in that position since '08?

The V-Wagon is order only.