Jazzhead

The current Impala is clean and contemporary, and a worthy competitor to the Japanese marques. The RWD Zeta Lite should be positioned as a retro styling exercise - it's competition isn't the Japanese, but the Mustang (and Challenger). A "retro" design, BTW, doesn't have to look old fashioned. Retro cues interpreted in a modern way - like the Mustang - is a market niche that GM is a natural for, but has only just begun to get into with the HHR. It's also a natural for RWD, which is "retro" in itself. A new Camaro updating the classic '69 sounds perfect, an appeal to a complementay demographic to the Impala - and thereby apt to build sales, not cannibalize them.

I still haven't seen a Lucerne on the road but I'm surprised at the number of Lincoln Zephers I've seen - four or five in the last week.

I saw a half dozen Lucernes at two dealers this weekend, all CXLs or CXSs and all with shiny black grilles. I wonder if the chrome grille is a late change that will show up on all models over the next few months. BTW, the Lucerne is a stunning looker, especially in CXS guise.

I saw my first couple of real-life Lucernes this weekend, in several models and colors. The car is gorgeous. It even make me start thinking how big a hit I'd take if I traded my 300C for a black CXS. The best looking large sedan on the road today, bar none. My only gripe is that the CXL model looks unfinished without foglights - the front fascia screams that the owner bought the "downmarket" version.

Each GM brand represents a vast dealer network, a terrible asset to lose. GM shouldn't forget as it cuts capacity that avoiding losses in bad times is only part of the strategy - being able to reap the rewards in good times is even more important. Brand engineering lets GM sell similar products to different demographics. It expands the market when times are good, and helps retain marginal sales when times are tight. I agree with those that believe GM's fundamental problem is a shortage of really good designs. That's changing, but as important as a new deal with the UAW is a class-leading RWD platform for mainstream sedans.

Good looking car - and so what if it's retro? Classic American styling cues can only help the Big Three - certainly trying to out-Japanese the Japanese isn't going to cut it. Each of the Big Three needs to play to its strengths, to produce iconic products that cannot be credibly copied by the imports. The Mustang and the 300C do that, and so does the Challenger concept. So does the HHR. GM's move - to create an original iconic look - is commendable and has done wonders for Cadillac, but none of the art and science design cues have filtered done to the affordable car lines.

I voted for Buick: - Buick for years has had the highest quality ratings at GM - and those ratings are now above most Japanese brands as well - Buick has fewer issues with its core image - comfortable, reliable, powerful and conservatively-styled cars. - Because of that secure core image, it makes a better case to remain a stand-alone car line, offering a unique dealer and service experience. If you force a Buick owner to buy a Chevy, he'll go elsewhere. I've always been an advocate of GM's multi-brand approach to marketing. It allows similarly-engineered products to be designed and marketed to different demographic groups. That's an efficient approach to covering as much of the market as possible.

I drove an '90 Cutlass Supreme for 14 years. Great car; never gave me a lick of trouble except that it needed to be repainted after most of the paint on the hood and roof flaked off. That car drove straight and squeak and rattle-free until the day I sold it - and it only took me one day to sell it!

I like the idea of just selling the G4 coupe in the U.S. A "clone" it may be, but it's only car nuts like us that get worked up over that. But from the perspective of a Pontiac dealer, having two coupe choices (the G4 and G6, actually three if you include the pricier GTO) makes it just that much easier to both attract the consumer looking for a modestly priced coupe, and giving him/her the selection and choices needed to make the sale. If Pontiac is the "excitement" division, then make it the one-stop shop for personal cars, for every taste and price range: G4 coupe, G6 coupe, G6 vert, GTO and Solstice. That's synergy, and that's what boosts sales. I agree the G4 sedan probably isn't needed; it competes too closely with the Vibe.

This is a prelude to the inevitable at GM and Ford. The UAW needs to quickly reopen negotiations and strike a deal - wage and benefit concessions in exchange for job security. This is the real deal - the tipping point has been reached and unless these manufacturers obtain cost certainty, they will simply weigh their other options and produce parts, and soon whole cars, from low-wage countries. The global economy is killing the future of the American worker. Government could help by slapping tariffs on the value of foreign labor in manufactured products, but consumers won't stand for it. The American worker is on his/her own - and the ostrich-like attitude of the UAW needs to change, and look out for the future of this business, rather than just protecting the old guys.

Outside of some government workers, no one has golden benefits like the autoworkers do. The golden goose is dead or dying - done in not so much by GM mismanagement as by this wonderful, race-to-the-bottom, post-modern world of ours. Next year, Malcolm Bricklin brings in cars from China. Either make concessions or the jobs are gone. Stark choice, but that's reality. The domestic content sticker on the new Ford Fusion reads 30 percent. The UAW's best shot is to demand in exchange for those concessions that American assembly and parts plants remain open. Give the employer the cost certainty it needs in exchange for job security. No other deal makes a lick of sense at this point. And a refusal to deal is suicide.

Why do you say "dismal" when there just weren't cars on dealer lots last month? Seems like a temporary situation to me, and the positives (Impala, Lacrosse, HHR, G6 coupe, DTS, H3) all look like they have staying power.

GM seems to have caught a huge break with the HHR - it's a perfect vehicle for the times, with distinctive looks, utility and economy. It will be outselling the PT Cruiser in two months' time, I predict.

Just saw my first Fusion and Milan over the weekend. Impressive vehicles, that appear to be fully competitive with the Camry and Accord,l and priced right. But the thing that shocked me was the domestic content sticker - only 30 percent! It bothers the heck out of me that Ford's second-highest volume product (after the F-150) has so little value added as the result of U.S. labor.

You can't sell cars if there are few on dealer lots. The local Ford dealer has a half dozen '06 Explorers, eight '06 Rangers, two new Mustangs (neither a GT) and not a single Fusion. The local Chevy dealer has just a few new Impys and not a single new Monte Carlo. The employee pricing deal has allowed dealers to clear out '05 inventories, with few '06 models yet on lots. Yup, it will be a brutal September - but not necessarily for reasons that presage future troubles.

The Impala's interior looks fine, and entirely appropriate for its class. AS for the hard plastic lower dash panels, I'm surprised they decided to cut costs here when the equivalent panels on the LaCrosse and GrandPrix have the sponge-soft feel. The softer material should be used, at a minimum on the LTZ and SS.

Having seen a few Impalas up close I agree with the consensus that this should be a very competitive car. The interior is attractive, with the exception of the cheap-feeling lower dash plastic - an easily remedied fix, just by using the soft-feel dash material from the Grand Prix and LaCrosse.

Looks like an Impala to me.

Buick's in transition, but once the Lucy's out it will have two competitive products that can win sales from the large traditionalist audience that is receptive to solid, well made, comfortable and powerful motorcars. All Buick really needs is a Sigma-platform RWD model, that can sell for about $35,000 well equipped.

A union can and should look out for its members' interests. But there is a vast difference in consequences between a union looking out for its members' long term interests, and their short term ones. Saving retirees from having to contribute a fair share towards health insurance, or ensuring golden pensions for the long-service types, are acheivable short term goals, but the price is considerable - when new platforms and products are introduced, they will be made using GM's global resources - in Australia, in Mexico, in Europe, in China. What is the future for younger workers? Where will there jobs be? Does the UAW care so long as takes care of the older guys? Well, the older guys are the problem. GM can't compete against leaner rivals while carrying all those old guys who smoke, binge eat and retire early with full health benefits on the company dime.

Politicians of both parties have trumpeted the "virtues" of the world economy. Manufactured goods are cheaper than ever before, because the stuff is all being made overseas by workers making a tiny fraction of what we pay our own. The American consumer is king. The American worker is screwed. We've made our bed, and now we gotta lie in it. Are UAW wages and benefits too high for the Big Three to compete? Unfortunately - even as compared to the foreign automakers with plants here, who have resisted the golden pensions and health benefits the UAW won in years past when the Big Three were in a dominating position. The UAW can either give back some of this gold, or the jobs will disappear. But the opposite proposition isn't necessarily true - that givebacks will assure American jobs. This is especially so in the case of automaking, where the Big Three have mature foreign operations and relations with foreign suppliers. The trick is that the UAW must negotiate givebacks, in exchange for explicit committments to keep American plants open, and to build future platforms for the American market (like Zeta) here. It is astonishing to me that if I want an American-made mid-size sedan, I can get one from Honda, Toyota, even Hyundae, but not from Ford. A couple of hundred thousand Fusions will be sold here, all built in Mexico. And Wixom will likely close. And it all makes perfect sense to me, and to Ford. When will the UAW wake up, and realize that its constituency isn't solely the old guys on the line, working toward that 30-and-out golden ticket? Once those guys are gone, they won't be replaced, not with Americans at any rate, so long as the UAW ignores the younger generation in its short-sighted approach to negotiations.

Car-based crossovers appear to be the wave of the future. Whether to call such things a "wagon" is problematic. The Magnum's a wagon, but what about the Chrysler Pacifica? It looks like a wagon, but it has a transverse engine like a minivan. The Pacifica's a perfect example of neither fish nor fowl. Check out the buyer's guides for SUVs - some include the Pacifica, some do not. I don't know what the heck it is, except that I sure enjoy driving it!

They should contribute the bonus cash instead to the employee's 401(k) plan account. That way it avoids current income tax and avoids FICA tax entirely - for both the employee and GM. Every little bit helps.