Chazman

Honest injun, I was bugging them for something different....

No problem. Actually those rear fender vents were to be made functional on the Z/28 as rear brake cooling ducts, similar to the Z06, before it was canceled.

Not true. The '69 cowl inducted hoods were in fact functional.

No need to bet - just go check them out. Neither the Mustang nor the Challenger have "claustrophobic" interiors. As for the M3: 1) ~ 3700 pounds , give or take, depending on options. 2) $57,850 coupe/$54,850 sedan. 3) 12's

I drove one last week. I'd give it a B-. It was nice enough - strong brakes and motor - but certainly nothing I'd drop $35+K on. The interior is weird and claustrophobic and the car itself is just plain too big and heavy. It's mass plays with my kinesthetic senses, making it not that fun to drive. After I got out of it, I really had no more desire to drive it. That's too bad, because after getting out of cars from the HHR SS to the M3, I couldn't wait to drive them again. I'll wait for the 6th gen.

Here's how it looked afew months ago.

ThirdGen.org has a long thread chronicalling it's restoration. Pretty interesting.

Ooooh. That car is cool.

Interesting thread! It's still looks like the C7's most likely motivation will be a Gen V 6.2. One choice not here - which is still a remote possibility - is a turbo V6.

Cadillac was nice enough to invite me to an SRX test drive. Also available were the SRX's prime competitors: Lexus RX350, BMW X5 and Mercedes GLK. Without getting into all the numbers, I'll just share my driving impressions of all four. First off, the SRX is a really nice crossover. Looks good, and it's interior is certainly right up there with the others - actually maybe even the best. I had afew preconcieved notions going in. I was expecting the the SRX's 3.0L to be woefully underpowered. It wasn't as bad as I had expected, but it was a bit underpowered - actually more like under-torqued. The trans delivers beautifully smooth shifts, but sometimes finds itself flatfooted trying to figure out which gear to put the hardworking 3.0L into. 30-40 more ft/lbs of torque would fix all that I think. The exhaust note is very sweet, and it's steering and handling are spot on for it's segment. Here are some surprises. I really didn't like the RX350 - at all. It's numb and soft and completely uninvolving. It's interior is a step below the SRX's, and it's styling is bland. The BMW X5 is the racecar of the group. Maybe, (oh man it almost hurts to say this), maybe even too much so. I mean, it's steering is very, very direct. It's chassis is firmly tuned. It's brakes very responsive. This is the crossover to buy if the SCCA ever creates an SUV road racing league. The SRX splits the difference pretty well between the comatose RX and the maybe too eager to rock n' roll X5. The GLK is as you would expect. Solid and vault like. It's steering is not as satisfying as the SRX, but it's motor feels much stronger, the strongest of this group. All in all, my intial impressions are that the SRX is a very nice piece. If it could lose afew hundred pounds, it'd be untouchable. Since that's not going to happen, it's really screaming for more power. In my eyes, it totally outclasses it's primary competitor - the RX350. __________________

It should have been a priority years ago. It could have been and should have been, but was killed by shortsighted politics. In retrospect (or even not in retrospect), it was foolish to think that the CTS could compete in the 3/C/A4/IS segment. Now, we still have to wait years for the first direct competitor from GM.

I like the rendering and specs too. I hope the real product(s) can reflect pretty closely to that - especially the specs.

Yeah, I see Alpha as Cadillac's most critical program right now. The program NEEDS to be accelerated. On a side note, the sooner Cadillac gets it's Alpha products (they have priority), the sooner we get a smaller, lighter, 6th gen Camaro.

Couldn't agree more.

I'd give Zaino a try. As was mentioned, it's a system and initially takes some effort. One good feature though, is that it's "stackable". Coats build on top of each other, filling swirls, rather than needing to continually buff them out. Kind of a big deal if you own three black cars like I do.

Congrats Drew! And thanks Walt. I've been here since the beginning when we only had about a dozen or so people. Here's to many more years!

Good to see you back at GM -------I think. The only thing that would make me happy is a speedier development of Alpha. Perhaps you can light a fire under someone, PCS.

Higher energy costs. Fewer jobs. No environmental improvement. Follow the money folks.......

I suspect the same.

Yup, not a chance. Opel simply cannot survive on it's own. And if another European brand buys it, it will be raped and decapitated. If I were running Opel, I'd be doing less celebrating and more thoughtful praying.

I don't know why your celebrating PCS. As screwed up as GM has been - and is - I don't see Opel doing any better alone. Or even with a new partner/owner. 1) Fiat. It's in no great shape itself. Plus it has alot of overlap with Opel. I can see them shutting much of Opel down if they controlled it. And be on the verge of a financial crisis almost immediately and well into the future. 2) BMW. Do you really think the Quandts want that headache? 3) Opel/Daewoo/Holden. I don't know, I could see that working for Holden, maybe Daewoo, but Opel would still be in a predicament. I don't want to get into an argument or anything, but I just don't see your optimism here...

Shocking that such a fine motor car isn't flying off the shelf....

Very possible.

I'm not so sure if AWD availability would have really added that much value.

I just find the HHR SS to be such an attractive product. I don't know if there is something about fitting a boxy breadwagon with a badass powertrain and agressive wheels and chassis - but it really hits a sweetspot with me. And it is so FUN to drive! The only thing I'd change is the front end. It's just a tiny bit overstylized for me. I really wish GM would learn the process of continual improvement rather than replace and start over every cycle. The Orlando, eh. Why not keep improving the HHR with a next gen version, like Mini with their car.