Drew Dowdell

Good point. I'd forgotten about that one when arguing in the XTS thread.

Haldex is the system used in the Veyron. If the Insignia VXR can fit the 2.8T then it can fit a 3.6T DI just as well. The external dimensions of the engine are the same.

Woops! There goes the argument that you can't have more than 300hp in a transversely mounted engine.

GM to recall 1,350 Employees that is. This is the kind of GM recall we like hearing about. LORDSTOWN — A second shift is being called back to work at the General Motors Lordstown Complex to meet consumer demand for the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt and to gear up for production of the new Chevy Cruze later in the year. GM recalls 1,350 employees

Employees that is. Via the Vally News LORDSTOWN — A second shift is being called back to work at the General Motors Lordstown Complex to meet consumer demand for the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt and to gear up for production of the new Chevy Cruze later in the year. General Motors said Tuesday it will recall 1,350 laid-off employees in the United States and Canada, including about 1,050 at its Lordstown Complex. The Lordstown second shift will begin work Oct. 5, John Donahoe, GM Lordstown manager, said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Notices to the 1,000 hourly employees being called back to the assembly and fabricating plants should start going out in the next few days, said Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents hourly workers at the assembly plant. UAW Local 1714 represents hourly workers at the fabricating plant. Fifty salaried employees also will be called back to work, Donahoe said. Donahoe, Graham and David Green, president of 1714, participated in the news conference. Returning a second shift to work is the result of great demand for the Chevrolet Cobalt and the need to begin to train and prepare for the launch of the new Chevrolet Cruze in April, Donahoe said. Donahoe said Cobalt sales have benefited from the federal government's "cash for clunkers" program. But he noted that Cobalt sales were up 38 percent in July over the previous year before the federal program got under way. Donahoe said the plant will start producing the Cruze in November in anticipation of the launch. He said production will begin slowly to give employees time to learn their jobs on the new lines for a smooth transition from the Cobalt and Pontiac G5, the other vehicle built at Lordstown, to the Cruze. "We're fortunate to get the second shift, and we anticipate having a clean and efficient Cruze start-up. We are going to have the best vehicle launch in GM history," Donahoe said. There is a lot of excitement in the plant about building the Cruze, Green said. "It [the Cruze] is essential to our survival." Graham echoed those sentiments. This has been an up-and-down year for Lordstown GM, going from three shifts to one shift, he said. "We are very, very happy that this word came down today," he said. It is not only a relief to the employees here but to the surrounding communities that depend on Lordstown GM employees for tax revenues, Graham added. Even with the callbacks, there still will be several hundred employees on layoff, officials said. Also announced Tuesday was increased overtime at the plants starting Friday. Donahoe said hourly workers who work four-day weeks — 10 hours a day Monday through Thursday — will work a fifth 10-hour day Friday and Aug. 28, and probably more of the same in future months. Also, he said, starting Aug. 31, 10-hour shifts will be increased by one hour. Gov. Ted Strickland applauded GM's decision to bring back more than 1,000 workers to the Lordstown Complex. So, too, did Lordstown Mayor Michael Chaffee, who said it is not only great news for the workers at the complex, but it will have a positive ripple effect on area governments and businesses. It will enable the village to solidify its income-tax-revenue target for the year and comes at a time when stores will benefit for the buildup to the Christmas season, Chaffee said.

Kmart was ever a trendy place to shop? I go there when they have their double coupon up to $2.00 days to save money using coupons over $1.00.

I loved the idea of the Magnum, hated it's execution. I've always had a problem with the interiors and ergonomics of the LX cars. Had it not been for that, I might have bought one, though I definitely preferred the 300C Estate.

Kmart is offering assistance to Michigan residents who have lost their jobs. Being a good corporate citizen, Kmart has created their Smart Assist program to lend a hand to the devastated economy in Michigan. They are offering recipients of Michigan unemployment benefits an additional 20% off store branded grocery and drug store merchandise for up to six months. Over 1,000 products qualify for the discount. To be eligible, customers must present valid ID and a state-issued unemployment benefits confirmation. Interested participants can find more information here.

Kmart is offering assistance to Michigan residents who have lost their jobs. Being a good corporate citizen, Kmart has created their Smart Assist program to lend a hand to the devastated economy in Michigan. They are offering recipients of Michigan unemployment benefits an additional 20% off store branded grocery and drug store merchandise for up to six months. Over 1,000 products qualify for the discount. To be eligible, customers must present valid ID and a state-issued unemployment benefits confirmation. Interested participants can find more information here. Discussion here.

Getting burned like that would probably make him run pretty quickly. Would that make him Sprint PCS?

LOL! Z and DF, you guys wanna combine your front page posts?

someone want to clean this up and throw it on the front page?

I would prefer if we don't give Josh the attention he so desperately wants. When I was privately made aware of the post I went over to check it out. There were 7 members logged in over there, all guests. Me and six search engine spiders. All of the recent posts were spam. Even the crickets weren't chirping because they had all died. I like the idea of a C&G drives section. If we can get more traffic and more advertising dollars (remember to click the google ads) we can actually sponsor this type of activity. I would have no problem paying for a member to go rent a GM vehicle for a day and then have them write up an article about it. If we could have this happen where 3 members could get together and review the model together that would be even better. It generally doesn't cost more than $70 to rent a car, so with more google ad clicks, or amazon purchases, or tire rack purchases, it's not impossible. I wouldn't want to limit the reviews to GM vehicles though, it's important to keep an eye on the competition as well. I LOVE F.O.G.'s rants! So much so that I emulate them from time to time. F.O.G. can rant as much as he wants.

What I need for you all to do is take a huge f-ing . I don't know what has gotten into the membership (including a few of the mods) around here since I went on vacation but it appears that you've all gone on the rag. If you have issues with a post or a poster report the issue PRIVATELY! If one particular poster is bothering you use the ignore feature. Stop trolling and stop bashing each other.

Current gen Sebring Convertible. My BF's CRV has rather uncomfortable seats but is otherwise tolerable.

*sniff* what?

From my blog: If the current recession has hit Germany, it doesn’t show. Walking around Cologne there is construction everywhere. New shops going up everywhere. The stores are busy and bustling. Germany has been careful to not outsource it’s labor force to foreign markets as much as we have in the US. If German companies need cheap labor, they set up shop in the former East German territories. This way, at least the GDP stays local to Germany’s economy. Why can’t we do the same thing here? Sure, we couldn’t pay the minimal wages we pay Chinese prison laborers to sew soccer balls with their teeth, but I’m sure there are willing laborers in states like West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, etc. The cost to ship thing from Alabama factories to stores in the US would have to be a LOT cheaper than shipping it from Shanghai. At the same time, we would have an easier time making sure those workers are treated ethically and there are better safety standards in the products they produce. Just ask any Mattel executive about lead in toys and see what kind of reaction you get. Yes some prices will go up. Do you really think $30 for a DVD player is reasonable? It’s time that we start demanding some real quality in the products we purchase.

Do. Want.

scrape the emblems off and what is it? I'll still take the STS thanks.

To have GM actively listen and participate in a forum such as this one so we can tell them when their plans are going to be a boatload of FAIL.

Freezooka.com

I'd go for the Lincoln. More interesting. More likely to go up in value if you take care of it's issues. Interior looks spotless Less overall miles than the Buick

Meh, put all my text books into Kindle format and I'll carry a netbook for taking notes on.

None of the cars that I've purchased have been bad. The worst car I owned was a 1983 Caprice that my great grand father gave me when my Toronado was stolen and totaled. It was in perfect shape with ~140k miles on it. The only reason it gets listed as "the worst" is because it had the 3.8 liter V6 in it. I was outrun by a VW Rabbit diesel. But, for a full size 1983 vehicle, it got amazingly good gas mileage. IF you kept it at 65mph on the TPK you could get into the very high 20s.

I don't mind criticisms of the Lacrosse. I mind intellectual dishonesty. I'd argue that the market is a bit more segmented than just "entry lux". The CTS, LaX, G37, Genesis, ES350, and 3-series are all entry lux. It'd be a fools errand to hold them all to the same measure. Edit: furthermore, if you're going to go on about Buick's average buyer's age, Matlock references then fair is fair for Lexus who's buyer age is only 1 year less