OCcarnut

I rest my case. Trust me...if GM could work the "angle" that Toyota is working to with the same degree of success they would. I hope GM can hang on to number 2. Nothing you said is going to save GM or makes Toyota the bad guy. The name of the game is adapting to the rules that exist...if you can't your history. The general buying public does not care about legacy costs or the poor me scenario...too many people face similar competitive challenges in other industries every day at work. Some survive, others cannot adapt and fade away.

And who created this mis-perception that GM suffers from?? Did it just materialize form out of nowwhere?

I cannot believe some of the posts on here...Toyota arrogant?? Arrogance is what got GM into this situation. Legacy costs benefit local communities?? If the company goes out of business because they are not competitive with competitors and there are no salaries to pay guess what...NO money goes to the community. If anybody on this site found a way to make a product cheaper and better than the biggest competitor and make a fortune doing it...you would do it...but now Toyota is the bad guy for doing just that. I would say that some of the people posting on here who are blaming the media, blaming Toyota, blaming the US buying public should probably realize that they are part of the reason GM just lost #1..that is arrogance. Go ahead..start calling me names...

i am glad to see that the whip antenna made it through the freshining...I was worried they might move to a more moden, attractive, roof mounted design...the fact that they left that on tells me all i need to know about all of the other corners that were probably cut...

Another key issue is that there are simply not that many good names left. Most good names are already trademarked for use by other manufacturers, or companies within the automotive "industry". That is the reason that we see so many alpha-numerics. When Suzuki launched the new Grand Vitara (I know, I know), they contemplated calling it GV6..not a bad name...almost immediately that was dropped becasuse of its similarity to the Pontiac G6 and GM would have balked. Similar situation with Audi...the Q7 created an issue with Infinity because they have the Q56. So, not alot of good actual "names" are available and even the alpha-numeric names are getting tight.

I'll take the new CTS thanks.

What a PILE! Just kidding bud. Nice ride...nice pics.

I am a huge Seinfeld fan...my best friend, now deceased, and I always watched it together...so I always had fond memories when I watch Seinfeld..now I am bummed out by the latest events...hard to laugh at it now...

I say build a hot car with a nicely styled exterior, a quality interior, a choice of good powerplant, RWD, a decent residual value so that people want to lease or buy it and the rest will probably take care of itself...no matter if you are white, black, asian, gay, straight, man, woman, etc. If you need a marketing "angle" your goods probably don't stack up on their own merrit...would Madonna ever have sold millions and millions of CD's based soley on the talent of her singing ability? Hell no, she needed an angle and image. Celine Dion, never mind the elderly husband and bad Vegas show, does not need an angle..she has a voice...if you like her music or not.

Actually, for DCX the sky is falling. Ditto for Ford.

And do not forger the best "T" name...THING

This vehicle is NOT designed for the U.S. market...that is simply "spin" generated by the President of Suzuki in the U.S. who btw generates more spin and b.s. himself than all other manufacturers combined. The SX4 is a joint partnership with Fiat and will be sold in many other markets around the world...but I am sure that he slept through any planning meetings that were to determine the needs/requirements of the U.S. market...if he was even invited to attend that is.

Are there any marketing wiz members on here who know what if any pitfalls there would be to reviving the Electra name?

Nick Lachey Dan Cortez Eric Belfour Enrique Iglesias. 'nuff said.

Does anybody know what percentage of the strong sales are retail to real customers and what percentage are fleet sales? Those numbers will paint an accurate picture.

can you say, G-bolt.

These pics are definitely of the new Verona/Epica etc. At last I heard, Suzuki was unsure if they were going to import this model for sale in the U.S. so I am not sure of when/if it will go on sale here.

I agree...this is hilarious! Make sure that you configure the GTI with leather seats too...

A good start but you left out some categories..what about staples like the 3-series convertible and the Jetta? How about a Range Rover for the boys that have some cash and some dogs? How about a Porsche for those that have to overcompensate for being short changed someplace else?

I don't tink they are trying to keep it hidden...seems odd that on a "secret" disguised vehicle that somebody would leave the vehicle unattended, with the drivers side window down and a laptop that obviously has very important data on it just sitting on the front seat.

what is the big deal...this is just another typical SoCal rush hour fender bender.. LOL.

it looks worse everytime that I look at it...

All seems like one giant panic move after another...

How much of the 300,000 sales was to rental car companies offering "six seating capacity" and how much was to actual retail buyers?