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Evok, with GM's market share probably heading down to 20 percent, would cutting back to just Chevrolet and Cadillac (and eliminating Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Saturn, and Saab) be wise?

I think that they may buy less profitable small cars and trucks, not necessarily from Ford or Chevrolet.

Toyota and Nissan don't depend upon their trucks for profits nearly as heavily as do Ford and GM. A severe drop in truck sales would hurt Toyota and Nissan but devastate Ford and GM.I wonder what truck sales as a percentage of the total market were from 1979 to 1982, when gas prices were very high and the economy was weak.

Not when gasoline hits $5 or $6/gallon in the next few years, as many analysts predict.This is why I hope GM and Ford are preparing to be profitable even if sales of full size pickups and SUV's drop by half to two-thirds.

It was sunny with temperatures in the high 70's or 80's every day. I was alone for this trip and mostly ate fast food or had free breakfast at the motel. I don't really care to go to expensive restaurants alone, and I wasn't dressed appropriately for it. I didn't think In-N-Out was as great as its reputation, but whenever I drove past one, the drive thru had long lines.

I did walk around the boardwalk at Redondo Beach. There were a lot of families out fishing early in the morning. The parking garage had a unique method of paying.

No, the rental DTS had bucket seats. The problem may have been that I am 42, am 20 lbs overweight, and am more comfortable with bench seats. I did enjoy the Northstar V8 and everything else about the car (except the gas mileage).

Isn't the 3.7 based on the 4.7 V8, making it a 90 degree V6? Would it fit in the minivans? I believe the 4.0 is based on the 3.5 and is a 60 degree V6.

My lower back and right leg ached after driving the car for more than an hour. The same thing happened to me last year in a Ford Focus. I did not have this problem with a Hyundai Sonata I rented in April, a Dodge Neon I rented last August, and I have never had this problem in any Ford with bench seats I have driven.

The DTS has some of the most uncomfortable seats of any car I have driven. Except for the Northstar V8, I don't find the DTS any more satisfying to drive than one of the big RWD Fords.

I'd like to see V6 turbodiesels become the most common engine in light and medium duty pickups and SUV's. I'd like to see GM and Ford prepare themselves to be profitable with sales of full size SUV's and pickups falling by half to two-thirds, which is what I think will happen. V8 powered cars are such a small part of the market that I don't think much will happen to upset most people here. 95 percent of Lucerne and DTS buyers would be just as happy with a 300 hp direct injection 3.6L V6 as they are with a Northstar. V8's will always be available in Mustang, Camaros, and Corvettes,although they will be expensive. Most people here won't cry if the Ford Panthers go away, and few will care if the Impala SS also gets the DI V6.

My speculation is that the big Buick will either be similar to the Holden Statesman or just be a luxurious version of the Zeta Impala.

I loved driving on Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon. I didn't care for Venice Beach. Not my kind of crowd. The beach at Santa Monica was OK. Also didn't car for Hollywood, but I loved driving up Sunset Blvd. Malibu was boring, but driving up California 23 from the PCH to 101 was as challenging as some Tennessee mountain roads I drove on late last year. I liked the PCH south of the intersection with 55. If I ever go back, I should spend more time in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. I wanted to drive California 2 in the mountains, but the road was closed. I was given an upgrade to a Cadillac DTS. I loved the Northstar V8, but the seats were worse than those in a Ford Focus I drove last year. The car was hardly better than Ford's old Panther sedans.

I wonder which cars will lose their V8's. I think that the Ford Panthers will be gone after 2010. Only a small percentage of the Lincoln MKS will probably use the Volvo V8. I'm not certain of the latest status of the rumored larger D3 Lincoln. GM's 300 hp DI 3.6L DOHC V6 could easily be used in premium versions of the Zeta Chevrolet and Buick sedans. There are rumors that the Camaro will offer a high output V6 instead of a low end V8. You could see more Chrysler LX's with the rumored 275 hp 4.0L SOHC V6 and fewer with the Hemi. Higher gas prices will eventually cause pickup truck sales to fall dramatically, except for people who need them for business.

That is what Hudson hinted at once.Of course, Lutz has always liked changing names around, so maybe the Lucerne replacement will have a different name.

I speculated on AH-HA's old blog that the STS and DTS should be replaced by one vehicle someday. The current STS is too close in size to the CTS. But Cadillac is years away from having the reputation for a more prestigious sedan.

Thank you for the good information, Croc and Bob.

Even if a V6 or 4 cylinder makes a lot of power and torque, I still prefer the sound and feel of a V8. But by the time I buy my next car, only high end luxury and performance cars will have V8's.

I am flying to Southern California (Orange County & Los Angeles) on Saturday for several days, just to see an area of the country I've never been to before. I am renting a car and plan to just drive around and get out and walk anywhere that looks nice and interesting.

While most people here prefer DOHC engines, I prefer the low end torque of a high displacement OHV engine.

Some of us appreciate much of what you did, but think you should have shown more humility. Only a handful of people here are truly knowledgeable about business and the auto industry.

At every car company he has led, Lutz seems to have a thing for changing car names.The last Park Avenue was a magnificent sedan, except the interior could have used better materials. I wish that GM had taken the old 4.9L OHV Cadillac V8 and moved it to the Park Avenue when Cadillac went exclusively Northstar in 1996.

I thought that sub-Theta was no longer planned and that there was no plan for a new Pontiac G6.

I think high gas prices are a major factor in reduced sales of mid sized SUV's like the Explorer and TrailBlazer, but high gas prices are probably not much of an issue for people who can afford the full size SUV's. However, I would think that high gas prices will reduce demand for used full size SUV's.

I have no problem with the Challenger's size. The sales goal is only going to be around 20,000 to 30,000 per year, and it would be a waste of DC's money to downsize the LX (or LY) platform for a low volume smaller coupe. (And I don't think I am the only one skeptical about 100,000 Camaro sales per year.) Besides I miss the big powerful coupes of the 1960's and 1970's.