mjd1001

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They are not theiving. They are filing for bankruptcy. If they were filing simply to "screw over" the UAW, the judge would throw the case out immediatly. Obviously there are some very serious financial issues for the company. Delphi gave the UAW a choice in a way...instead of just having them file, they said they could not file if they accepted the proposed cuts. They declined. Therefore, it is not theiving...it is a company filing for bankruptcy, and the consequences that result from it. Welcome to America, it happens to thousands and thousands of people in other industies EVERY year. It happened in other industries to people I know. It happened to me a few years ago..where I had to start at a new job at just over half my previous salary. It may not seem right or fair..but it is perfectly legal under our laws. To be upset by it is understandable. To say they people should file for bankruptcy to make others pay for it..or to say they should shut down the GM factories by not supplying them is Juvenile. Stuff like this happens..even to people who don't deserve to be in that situation. When people cry and whine about it and say "someone else needs to pay for this" they sound like a 5 year old.

I could not make up to better quotes if I tried to illustate what is wrong with our country today. How can people think this way? Why does everyone feel they are owed something by someone else. It drives me crazy.

I see your point and agree with you to a very large extent. There are just two problems: -first, the train has left the station. I think it may not be possible to stop this now. As you said for those of you who had the vision to see this coming 10-20 years ago, it could have been stopped then. But people didn't want to hear about it then. -if there was a way to stop it now..or at least slow it down..there would be 'side effects' Those side effects would likely prove to be a slower rate of increase in our standard of living. For example...After a DVD player was introduced to the market, we would not be able to buy them for $30 just 5 years later. It might take 10-15 years to get to that point. Or how about Plasma TV's? They would not fall in price as quickly without globalization. Personally I would take prices of new goods going down much slower...rather than the situation we have now. Unfortunatly...dollars are the things that vote now. Those who have them use them to say they want more for less as soon as possible....damn to those who don't have the dollars.

As per my last post....what is happening is not the Third world is catching up to us. What is happening is we are going to meet the third world in the middle...that means their standard of living goes way up..and ours must go down. Things must stay in balance. The only way to stop that is to put the brakes on globalization. However, with how far it has gone already, the U.S. cannot do that alone. We would need the cooperation of China and India and Russia...and I do not think they are going to just stop now and end their growth just so us Americans can continue living at a higher standard then they do. The train has left the station, this is the way things are going to go and there is no way to stop it now that it has started. The only way to protect our standard of living is to not go into debt and learn to live with less than we have now.

This is really about economics on a very macro level. Globalization and free trade is a positive overall over the long run for the world as a whole (on average, and that is key) What is going to happen is people across the world will eventually get paid about the same wage for the same work. The good news is people in China and India would eventually get paid closer to what Americans get now. The bad news is Americans will get paid closer to what those in China get paid now. The clear benefits are to those workers in developing countries, and investors/high level managers who can take advantage of the new open labor markets. That, is a very VERY simplified version of globalization. We are in the early stages of it, and just starting to see where things will inevitably head.

They say it's about time because in many cases, the same thing has already happened to them.

A few months ago I saw or read an interesting quote on what you brought up here, I cannot give the author credit though because I forgot where it came from. When presented with the question about the continuing loss of the USA's manufacturing base...and what that could mean in a future global war, the response was "We'll just throw a service contract at the enemy". Sad but true.

Actually, the fact that what you said is not entirely true is the problem here. For some of America, what you said is true. For other parts of America, there is no such thing as a capitalist economy. The automakers, workers, UAW live in that world (among others not important to this discussion). The Union contracts and the way that BOTH GM and the UAW have structured them have made them a socialistic business. Now the problem is that in the era of Globalization (where the entire world slides more toward capitalism), an industry entrenched in socialism will have trouble surviving.

The most significant thing in that article for me was reading that it will aid in acceleration. I was not aware that the 'mild hybrid' system to be used in the Saturn Vue woudl also aid in acceleration. So if it gets better mileage than a regular 4 cylinder vue...but it gets better performance also, that is a big plus.

Remember, if Japan would ever abandon it's 'manipulation' of the Yen, there might be other considerble consequences beyond the competitiveness of Honda and Toyota versus the U.S. Domestic brands. Sometimes the status quo is better than the alternative, because at least we all know what the status quo is and how it works. Should the Dollar weaken and the Yen strengthen considerably against each other...you would likely have inflation in the U.S. much greater than it is now (if you think gas and energy and food prices are high now, they might be much higher if the dollar weakens). For us in the U.S., American goods would not be any cheaper for us to buy (might actually be higher as GM could stop the rebates because they would be more competitive), but the price of most all goods imported could rise, from large sceen tv's to food. Of course it would stand to reason interest rates would rise considerably, from credit card rates, car loans to mortgages. Also remember the Yen has strenghthen considerably against the U.S. dollar over the last 20-30 years. I is much stronger now than in the 70's and 80's, and, with a few exceptions, has gradually but steadily gotten stronger already over the years. I'm not sure what side of ths argument I fall on. I think Japan should stop their currency manipulation. However, I'm somewhat fearful of the consequences if it did, and I also think the U.S. has to stop their 'currency manipulation' also.

Ok, on second thought with my above post I may be exagerating a bit. However, that thought is one many more people have now about the UAW than in the past.

Let me translate the above quote: "GM is not giving us everything I want and if they don't cave it I won't look good"

The interior looks great. I'd like to see a picture of the couple...or even better yet, the 2/3 door hatchback. Especially with Gas prices going so high and SUV sales dropping, those looking for some added utility and storage room in the back (for small projects), a hatchback would be great.

I also agree that I don't know why the constant comparisons of the Accord and Camry to the Impala. To me the Impala is much larger and a different type of car. The Accord and Camry to me are better compared to the G6 and the Malibu. I think those are the models people shop them against.

I don't want to say it's a waste of time, but I certainly beleive it would be a very low volume car. Is the Cobalt a nice small car? yes. However, it is nice for a car in it's class. If you make it AWD (and give it a much more powerful engine, which would seem a given with AWD) you are moving it a few thousand dollars up the price scale. At that point you are going to be competing in price with the likes of a G6 GT and G6 GTP, even some entry level Monte Carlos and Grand Prixs. You may also be close to the price point of the Solstice and Sky. Is this a bad thing? Maybe not on the surface...but at that price point you are going to be out of the range of many teen-age or college age tuners, and when you get into the group of people who can afford the car, they may opt for the comfort, size, and refinement of the G6 or Monte Carlo instead (with comparable performance also at the price. Remember you will be able to get a 300hp monte SS this year for under $30,000, and you can get the 240hp G6GTP for under $25,000). I'd say build it, as long as you realize it's not going to be even close to a volume car. It has to be profitable almost as a limited supply vehicle.

I had a 96, 2002 Camaro, and well as a 2000 Trans Am. I would definitly buy one, but only if it is still a hatchback.

The thing that gets me is I just don't see how hard it would have been to at least OFFER an uplevel engine in the Torrent over the Equinox. However difficult (or easy) it would have been to do that...I thin it would have been worth it. It would make the Torrent more than just an Equinox that people can buy at a Pontiac dealership (which it is now).

I am obviously in the minority, but I actually prefer FWD to RWD in most cars. I agree with the person a couple of posts up that said RWD is usually superior when pushing a car to it's limits..but not necessarily in everday driving. As a matter of fact, I think in everday driving the FWD cars I have driven seem more "nimble and agile" the the RWD cars I have driven, even when they are in the same class. Also, spending my early driving years in Buffalo NY and having family there, I'll say that in extremly harsh road conditions, slush, ice and packed snow...I'd still prefer FWD over RWD. Sure, advances have been made in RWD and with stability controll and traction controll they are much better than in the past...but I still feel much safer having myself "pulled" rather than "pushed" when the roads are awful..esp if my fwd car has stability controll and traction controll also. Offer RWD as an option on some cars....and of course on the sports cars...but don't take away all of my FWD options.

At first when I saw the SSR, I didn't like it at all, but it has grown on me. GM is trying to sell it as a "limited edition, halo-type vehicle" so no major changes will be made I'm sure...but...Imagine this: Get rid of the retractable hardtop. Make it just a regular cabin like a truck. That will allow it to have a traditional, usable bed, a couple hundred lbs less weight, and I'm sure a few thousand less dollars in price. That is something I would be interested in. A cool looking, slightly more usable, performance oriented Hot-rod truck that costs less than the current SSR due to no retractable hard top.

Any improvement in a car is good. I was hoping the 06 SSR and GTO would get the 6 speed automatic like the Vette though.