Clownzilla

How about laying off 500 workers in the job bank sitting at home, doing nothing. I wonder if these engineers did that? I'm telling you, the day of doom is coming for the blue collar "workers". Like usa1 stated, these layed off workers were working on future products. Now they will just lag behind, like they have for decades.

We finally got one of these in our dealership. I must say that I like it MUCH more than in the pictures and the articles. I think that GM did a good job given the resources they had. I am up for a new vehicle in about a year and I am split between the 9-5 and the Buick Lucerne..........hmmm..........

The old FJ was the only Japanese car I actually liked......and I like this one too. Too bad they couldn't put the back seats sideways like the old ones (I'm sure thats a safety issue though). That was pretty neat. On the other hand..........the Yaris looks like $%^!

I think that there needs to be more drastic changes. Pontiac-GMC-Buick-Saturn need to be combined into one franchise. Cadillac & SAAB needs to be combined. Opel, Holden, Voxhaul, Daewoo needs to be combined. Chevy can stand alone. Chevy can be the every persons vehicle for the USA. Pontiac-GMC-Buick-Saturn can be the trend setters for the USA (VW of the USA with a much larger lineup). Cadillac + SAAB can be the luxury line. The Non-USA brand can take care of everything international. I know, people will say that this will never work. I beleive this is the state of GM's situation though. They just can't sustain this size. Yes, many people will lose their jobs and/or be bought out, but the difficult process will be for the survival of the future of GM.The cost will the biggest GM undertakings ever. The contracts, the buy-outs, the massive changes involved in changing names, the product changes, etc. It must be done though. Yeah, the Fiat ordeal was terrible. They got themselves stuck in a situation that they could of avoided. On the UAW deal, I think the New York transit strikes + the London Transit strikes are going to make GM negotiotains easier. Public support of unions is shrinking at a faster pace now.

Yes! I agree! I think that the product overlaping & the "everything Japanese is cool" virus are the two other problems. To tell you the truth, I think the quality is getting pretty good. Funny story, I knew someone that bought a Dodge Neon for their 16 year old son because their car salesperson (slick salesperson) told them that there were Japanese parts in it. This was at a dealership in Las Vegas (trend town) but still is a sad statement about American's thought process'.

Don't laugh, but does anyone else see a "little" bit of SRX in the jeep.com picture

What's sad is that the 16 and the Cien concepts look better than concepts I have ever seen from Rolls, Bently, Firarri, etc.. I understand that execution is more important than concepts, but it just seems to me (deep down inside) that Cadillac can pull these two vehicles off and make some cash and MAJOR street cred.

I think this vehicle looks terrible. On the other hand, I understand that this is a concept drawing and I do like the direction GM want's to go on ther design............bold, unique, and risky.

The MX-5 just looks like an 80's Japanese vehicle. The Solstice and Saturn are cutting edge styling! They will dominate the MX-5.

Brazil has been doing E100 for a long time. Sure, they are a GIANT sugar cane producer (source of the ethenol), but they don't have to worry about the world oil economy when it comes to transportation. Now, I'm not a scientist, but I would think that we have enough farmers & farms (subsidized or not) that can grow enough corn to make a big dent in our world-wide oil independence. I think SAAB is looking into something different but promising for the luxury market.

I have said this once and I will say it again. The HHR is quite a bit different than the PT Cruiser. Granted, I like the cruiser (especially the vert.), but the HHR is full of classic CHEVY styling. The PT cruiser is just a vehicle that looks like a classic kit car.

Their showing a 2 seat vert? Even at concept stage, this would be a huge step to bringing SAAB back to greatness!

I was reading in one of the mainstrem automobile magazines that this vehicle actually had better mileage when using Bio-Fuel. Apperently (according to the article) it is almost always the other way around. I think SAAB might be on to something.

I agree! The old front end looked like the front of a Scion Bx if Toyota had designers that knew how to design vehicles. The new Saturn front end (although nice) is missing some of the "it" factor.

WOW!!!

I'm in the "younger person's" market, and I want one of these things BAD! I would of never said that about a Buick a few years ago!

Looks WAY too much like a Rolls from the front. This reminds me of somthing a Chinese car company would do. Blatently steal other people's ideas. Don't get me wrong, the 300 was inspired by Bently but did not look exactly like a Bently. This car (especially from the front) is ALL Rolls!

This is what SAAB needs to do: 1. I don't care where these cars are built. Unfortunately, GM (and many other automobile companies) has to build outside the country of origin to make a brand survive. Fortunately, technology is such that a TRUE SAAB (believe it or not) can be built in Germany or Texas. This just takes proper planning (I DON'T MEAN THE 97X OR THE 92X). One thing that GM MUST do is keep the SAAB designers and engineers. These guys are pretty smart and know how to build a safe, world class vehicle. 2. Make AWD across the line as standard equipment. SAAB can create a niche and make some major cash from it. Subaru is doing well at it but they are not luxury. A Swedish vehicle should be able to drive in snow (even if you live in Arizona). 3. NO SUV's!!!! Make wagons instead. Again, create a niche. 4. Make 8 vehicles from 3 different lines: 9-3 AWD 9-3 AWD Conv. 9-3 AWD Wagon 9-5 AWD 9-5 AWD Conv. 9-5 AWD Wagon Sonett AWD Sonett AWD Conv. 5. Combine financing with GMAC. They are doing this in early January. I have driven a SAAB and work at a dealership that sells SAAB's. I am considering trading in my GTO for a SAAB next year, so I hope this shows that I'm seriously interested in SAAB's future.

I think that even at low volume, this car will help turn GM around. We have 16 people on our waiting list at our dealership. I have seen many of these people and most of them drive imports. Bottom line is that the Solstice is going to get people back that were lost in the 80's & 90's. We will also get their friends, their frends friends...........

I sense a hit to turn into a BIG hit!

Yummmmmmmm!!!!!!

That, or a change in the feature programming (for obvious safety reasons). I still think that would be pretty fun though. Yeah, it would be dangerous, but I laugh at danger!

I agree. They already are VERY valuable to GM but can be much more valuable. I think they need to reduce the price of some of their packages. Sure, they would have to hire more staff, but if a salesperson told me I could make resteraunt reservations from my car via a On Star rep. for an extra $20 a month, I would be sold!

If it were just an engine, this would be good for Hummer. All product releases don't have to rock the world.

Makes sense. Hyundai will be the Toyota of the future. The car is much better (looks and build quality) then it was a few years back. I think Korea is building better products. Actually, I would buy a Samsung product over a Sony product (I would not of said that a few years back). When it comes to cars, I would still have to go with GM.