Drew Dowdell

Buick and Pontiac need to lose the dups. The Torrent should never have happened. If Pontiac dealers needed a small SUV to sell, let 'em pick up a GMC franchise and sell the Torrent as a GMC. The Montana should have been a GMC if you absolutly had to have 4 vans. I contend that you don't. The Chevy, Olds <oops Saturn>, and Buicks are more then enough. The Pursuit should never EVER exist in the US. If you need a small car for Pontiac, base it on Kappa. The GrandPrix needs to go. Replace the car, keep the name. The W-body line is the oldest car line GM has now that the J-body is gone. Same goes for the LaCross. D- for effort, B+ for execution. The person who thought the 3800 was a good base engine for the Lucerne should be told to apply to Toyota. The way that person can help GM best is by working for the competition. The 3.6VVT should have been the base, and if that wasn't possible, the new 3900. The Rendevous is great, just don't slip behind. Upgraded engines wouldn't hurt. The Rainier is by far the most handsome of all the TB clones. The interior could have been more unique to Buick, but the exterior is great. If you go around killing TB clones, aim for the Ascender and 9-7x. This applies to all divisions. Quit killing off name plates that sell well. You lose brand equity that way. The Century and LeSabre were two of GM's best selling names. I can understand killing a damaged name like Vega or Citation, but LeSabre? Deville? Regal?

Oh yea... and I'll write out a check right now for a deposit on a Kappa based Cadillac..... who should I make it out to? The SKY is nice... but I wish there wasn't such a huge jump in Roadsters. You have the Solstice, then the Sky, then the Corvette, then the XLR. There is a huge difference between the Sky and Corvette. I like the XLR, but I'm not sure I want to swing the 75 grand for it. A Kappa based Cadillac roadster <mini-XLR> would be great. It would line up exactly with the Z4, SLK, and TT. It doesn't have to be a hardtop convertible, softtop is fine. See if you can squeeze the 2.8 VVT in there...

I was referring to BMW's marketing - are not all BMW's RWD?

[post="901"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Technically, no.

The other ultimate driving machine that BWM makes is FWD.... The MiniCooper.

A few RWD cars are a must. GM doesn't need to convert their whole car line to RWD, but I think each brand needs at least 1 RWD car. I read in an article that customers want the top model to be RWD because luxury makes use RWD.

IMO, here's what each brand needs:
Chevy needs 3 RWD cars (other than Corvette): Camaro, "Bel Air", Nomad (Kappa)
Pontiac needs 3: GTO, Grand Prix/G8, Solstice
Buick needs 2: Velite coupe/convert and sedan version
Saturn needs 1: Sky
Cadillac should have all models be RWD, unless they have AWD standard

From what I've read from owners, the CTS handles fine in the snow. I think RWD cars can handle well in the snow, maybe the LX ones don't handle so well because a large amount of them have the Hemi.

[post="875"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

My CTS is fine in snow, better with snow tires.

The constant ragging on the Chevy Impala because of it's base V6... which now is rated higher and gets better mileage then the Camry V6. The number of pushrod v. OHC debates that I go through is nausiating. One of the arguments the OHC people tout is how OHC is more powerful and more fuel efficient then OHV. At 3.3 litres for the Camry, 3.4 litres for the Impala, and 3.5 litres for the G6 we now see that there really isn't much advantage to OHC.

"Detroit chose to do the right thing, and the Asians chose to take advantage. "

No you are incorrect again.  Why the variability I do not know but the fact that the manufacturers have chosen to re-certify their engine show that they acknowledge there was an issue.  Ford and Chrysler both stated that all of their engines will not be certified to the new SAE standard.

Detroit chose to err on the low side, the Asians decided to err on the high side.

The bottom line is the performance and that has not changes.

[post="438"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

but there is truth in advertising problems. Didn't Ford get raked over the coals for the Cobra and RX-8 incidents?

LOL Thanks man, he's a hottie.

LMAO!!!

Dude, I didn't know you were dating Tom Cruise!?  :o

[post="253"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

LoL I'll tell him that... i'm sure he'll appreciated it.



He is a hottie though isn't he?

We're one of those happy couples that everyone loves to hate and hates to love. We do share a leg from time to time..... we both have 3. ;)

So we're going to start covering e-mail clients now. Outlook Thunderbird Just need a Notes, Eudora, and Pine Browser market is already taken Navigator Explorer Lynx VW (fire)fox Safari

Saw a rental new impala... the interior isn't bad at all... a little buicky... but not bad. Followed a Torrent on the highway for a lil while. Not seeing the huge ass chevy badge on the back is what tipped me off from a distance.

<---- doesn't pick up chicks




I'm on the left, partner is on the right.

1000 bucks on e-bay.... one of the fastest laptops you can buy... yup yup

Gimmie one.....

Oldsmoboi = TheDrewbert