carman21

well, can tell you this much if the new Malibu is as different from the current Malibu as the 1997 Malibu was from the 1996 Corsica, hey we are looking at a grand slam for GM. Just imagine a Malibu with a 2.4L 160hp I-4with a 6spd MT or a 5spd AT and a small HF 3.2L 240hp V-6 and a 5 or 6 spd AT or a 6spd MT with an SS model with a 3.6L 270hp V-6 and a 6spd MT. Prices starting at $16k to a top level of $24k. Goodbye Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima. Hello Chevy Malibu. The best part is that a great Malibu leads to an even greater G6, Aura, & LaCrosse. GM will rule the segment soon. We just gotta hope & see!

According to the First issue of Motor Trend Classic Ford's line-up was during the late 1950s, Ford Mercury Edsel Lincoln Continental which Ford rivaled Chevy Mercury, Pontiac Edsel, Olds Lincoln, Buick Contiental, Cadillac Remember that the Lincoln Continental of the 1960s was comparably priced to an Olds 98 or Buick Electra, not a Fleetwood The MKS is really nice and of course the interior will be mostly revised to moderate it a bit

I kind of did say that size was a problem for some but it was also an attraction. Today big SUVs are a turnoff to some and others love them. Please don't be so serious its just a fun debate. Anyway. Poor handling in large vehicles is a result of their relatively greater size. For instance, a BMW 7 series would never be expected to outhandle a 3-series on curves. For comfort, the 7 takes the crown because greater size usually equals greater ride comfort. This may exlain the popularity of midsize cars. Midsizers are more comfortable than compacts yet more agile than full-sizers. Perhaps we have thought out cars. Instead of size or length being a class standard. Perhaps weight is more accurate determination of a car's class. In my system there are 5 classes Half-size cars(ultra-compacts), compact cars(compacts and subcompacts), midsize cars, large cars, and full-size cars. Half-size cars are between 2000-2500lbs. Compacts are from 2500-3000lbs. Midsize cars are between 3000-3500lbs. Large cars are from between 3500-4000lbs. Full-size cars are over 4000lbs. Examples of half-size cars are:Chevy Aveo, Hyundai Accent, & Toyota Yaris Examples of compact cars are:Chevy Cobalt, Ford Focus, & Toyota Corolla Examples of mid-size cars are:Chevy Malibu, Ford Fusion, & Toyota Camry Examples of large cars are:Chevy Impala, Ford 500, & Toyota Avalon Examples of full-size cars are:Ford Crown Victoria & Mercury Grand Marquis (Obviously not much thought was put into the Full-size segment in a while) This theory can be applied for about the last 50 years of automobile classification. prior to the 1950s weights in cars leaned towards the heavier side despite class or application,due to heavy use of steel,so those cars can't easily be classified.

Ok, lets do some math, if a V-6 has 300hp and a V-8 has 400 and the STS-Vs supercharger yields a about 50 % boost in hp over a std engine. So, a V-6 would get 450hp and a UV8 would make about a mere 600hp! WOW!

the UV8 will likely fall around 4.8L and have a range from a 320hp to poss. over 400hp. can't wait

I agree we don't need a car thats 234 inches long like the 1970s Olds 98. GM and others just need to be space efficient like the Ford 500. I think a great size would be around 210-215 inches. pass vol around 120cu ft and a trunk of 24 cu ft. I understand that traditional full-sizers were large and that was an attraction but, there really isn't a need for all that excess weight when you could have great handling instead. As for ethanol, Brazil has widespread use of ethanol and it took only 5 years to jump from just over 1 % to 90%. I think the US can do the same and ethanol burns more efficiently so we would see a 50% jump in fuel economy just by switching from gas to ethanol according to figures from Chevy in Brazil. Impressive yes but, the key to rebuilding the past is thinking towards the future. In the golden era of the US auto industry did Americans look to the 1920s and 1930s for auto inspiration they looked to an optimistic future. This is what made American cars great back then and it will make them great again. GM Fans, If we are what we say we are, we will look to GM's glorious future rather than a long lost past. GM needs to gain back its mojo. We don't want a GM with a midlife crisis trying to relive the glory days, rather GM should think of itself as the child of the GM of the 1960s. GM,Jr is a rich kid that has been spoiled and needs to get his spending under control and his life into focus much like GM, SR. in the 1950s. GM,Jr. will get his life into focus soon and find his place in the market. Like his father he will crush the competition into submission and become the world's best and largest automaker in every market on Earth and be the most dominant player in the US market and will leverage his size to outsell both imports and domestics combined. If you think I'm nuts well look at GM of 1953 and compare it with GM of 1968. Niow look at GM 2005 and fill in the blanks for GM 2020.

I'm 22 and I'd take a Lucerne. I love my Bonneville and the Lucerne puts my car to shame. Go Buick!

I hope failing or unlikeable brands like VW, Audi, Saab, Volvo, Jaguar, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki are dead in 5 years, at least in the US. Mazda has yet to make any real headway since the Mazda 3 and 6 came out, they should go too.

Some of you may remember the traditional Full-size Cars of the 1960s & 1970s.They had big V-8s, RWD, and were well over 200 inches long, usually 210 or higher. Their flaws were their size and their poor gas mileage. The Oil Crisis of the 1970s,the influx of imports like Toyota, Datsun, and Honda, and gov. regulations slammed the brakes on a once thriving segment. Of these cars only the Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, and the Town Car are lone remains of a segment that once dominated autosales for 25 years or more. From 1955 to 1980, 2/3 of all cars sold were considered full-size. During the early 1980s volume collapsed altogether and the top selling cars were all compacts with four cylinder engines. These compacts only got about 20mpg city and 30 mpg hwy, a typical V-6 mileage today. Today the top selling cars are midsizers with V-6s. With predictions of the LS2 V-8 getting over 30 mpg hwy with 400hp with DOD. This means V-8s will soon be entering the sweet spot of 20-30mpg. The V-6 entered this spot about 15 years ago and the V-6 became a top selling engine in cars. If V-8 are soon entering that sweet spot in the next 5 years then by 2026 my the best selling cars will likely be full-sizers. I know the Avalon, Impala, and 300 are considered full-size today. Well, with cars steadily growing in size and people are transitioning back to cars from full-size SUVs. I think that much larger full-size cars with V-8s are likely to appear in the next 10 years. These cars will have lots of room under the hood, in the cabin and in the trunk. These cars will be very different from the full-sizers of old. They will be unibody, a hybrid V-8 that will have DOD(Displacement on Demand) be Camless with overhead actuators,run off ethanol instead of unleaded gasoline, and be mounted to a CVT that drives a super-handling AWD system. Yeah! Progress!

Liberal Politics=Childish Rants :rolleyes: Get over it! Why is politics in this forum anyway? Merry Christmas!! :CG_all: Opps, I'm being politically incorrect, sorry :o :rolleyes: Happy Holidays! :)

This new Camry is obviously a mildly reworked version of the 2002-2006 generation. The Impala saw a more dramatic revamp. Toyota's claim to be all-new is weak at best. I garantee 70 percent of the new car is identical to the old if not more.

Check out the likely competition and you'll see why the next Saturn Vue will be resetting the benchmark in the compact SUV market. Honda CR-V Toyota Rav4 Hyundai Tucsan

I hate to be harsh but, if GM must off a brand it should be Saab. Saab is the least useful brand for GM. Saab has potential but,Buick should be GM's Acura so to speak. GM should sell Saab to DCX or anybody who'll buy it. GM needs cash. I don't think GM needs to kill or sell any brand.

I'll laugh if Saturn builds a Lambda Pick-up and sells 100k in its first year. :) The truck is good but, its ugly.Unibody pick-ups are the future but, I don't think a non-truck company should start something like this,may be Toyota or Nissan or even a domestic. Not Honda, Hyundai,or even VW should bother with pick-ups until there are a proven marketable technology. Kudos to Honda for trying to build an innovative light-truck. Unfortunately, they styled it for the Japanese market. I think in 5 years unibody light pick-ups will become fairly common. Not now and not the Ridgeline. Some interesting points the Ridgeline is said to tow 5,000lbs, and carry 1,800lbs. That is pretty standard for light pick-ups on the market. I don't expect an attempt at a unibody full-size pick-up for at least 10-15 years and HD unibody pick-ups won't exist period. I'd really like to see how well the Ridgeline handles offroad compared to the competition. I doubt it can do much better than the Odyssey offroad, Pretty crappy.

Interesting Olds98, it just might work. Welcome to :CG_all:

It looks kind of prius like

My cousin didn't realize that I am a regular on C&G. So, he just thought he can put his 2 cents in. I made the foolish mistake of leaving my password in memory on my laptop. I'm not going to retract anything he said. Nor do I really care. The Aura will hopefully be to Saturn what the Altima is to Nissan. A game-changing car.

The final display of the Oldsmobile brand in NY was a sad affair. I got a photo with a nice Alero. I got a shiny booklet from the stand. Today I realized that there was a DVD in it and its really cool there is about 15 minutes of film on Olds innovations & Olds history. Anybody else see this?

The look is too similar to the Lucerne yet uglier. I guess I was wrong, thanks anyway !!!TED!!! The front just doesn't look right. May be try Velite lights instead, if you can. Thanks :)

Up up and away, I can't wait! :)

Hello all, sorry, my cousin started this thread I'll set him up with a new account. Again Sorry about that. I was away at college. Anyway, the idea of GMC merging with Saturn is cuning but, totally impractical and besides if Saturn gets any real truck it should start with a Lambda pick-up ala the Honda Ridgeline. I agree with Croc & dutch on this one. Sorry cuz,thoughtful thread but, your wrong.

ahh, I guess not.

Chevy would be the cheapest brand over all. Aveo($9-12k),Cobalt($12-16k),Malibu($16-22k),Impala($22-28k) Pontiac would be youthful but, slightly more expensive than Chevy G2($10-13k),G4($13-17k),G6($17-24k), G8($24-31k) Saturn would be priced essentially like that of Toyota, Nissan, & Honda. Quark($11-14k),Ion($14-18k),Aura($18-26k),Evoke($26-34k) Buick would be as luxiurious as a Lexus or Acura but, much cheaper in price. Signia($18-26k),Allure(26-38k), Lucerne(38-54k) Cadillac would of course be the most expensive and luxirious BLS($25-40k),CTS($40-70k),STS($70-130k),Fleetwood(130-250k), of course these prices a far in the future like ten years,if ever.

!!!TED!!!, I like your chop but, try putting the Lucernes lights with the new LaCrosse grill on this new chop. Thanks.

It looks to me like a mild refresh similar to when the Grand Prix got the GXP V-8 and the whole line got a mild refresh. It looks real good though. I know prist want a Zeta Velite but, can't an AWD Chi or Epsilon cover it almost as well? Anymore pics? :)