riviera74

Grew up in the '80s.... that's when trucks were trucks, man. That '85 looks like it was fresh out of the factory and looks ready for farm work or a construction site.

Regfootball, the Volt has only been out for a year or less. I would say that GM can wait until at least 2015 or '16 for Volt 2.0 to be released.

Have they figured out the reliability thing yet? Why buy one when you can get an Escalade for about $30K cheaper?

Coal pollutes more and provides less energy than oil or natural gas. As for shifting to nuclear energy and upgrading the electric grid, I am with you 1000%. Our grid is about 60-70 years old in a lot of the USA and it needs major upgrades. The grid needs to be more efficient and more reliable and be much better protected against blackouts and brownouts. That should be our energy policy right now and for the next 50 years. In order to get the best return for a gallon of fuel, the ICE must be made a lot more efficient so that we need less fuel to begin with. Most current engines only use about 20-25% of fuel to power the engine and rest is given off as heat. (Yes, diesels are somewhat better at this.) What if the ICE was 75-80% efficient and only gave off 20% as heat. We would reduce the need for fossil fuels and save billions of dollars over the life of the car. Hybrids do not address this issue at all. Electric cars ditch the ICE and get nearly 100% efficiency. As for the XTS, there really is no need for a hybrid model. Has anyone seen an Escalade Hybrid except at the Cadillac dealer?! Not me.

If the new Chevy SS will pattern itself after the 2014 refresh, it should have a much better interior than the 2008 G8..... I hope.

A lot of midsize buyers will take the 4cyl because horsepower is good enough and they want MPG instead. The v6 will survive, but will be a more expensive option or move to larger more expensive cars. Toyota could simply move the v6 to the Sienna and the Avalon and smaller trucks and let everything below a Camry have the 4cyl.

Wankel engine Small engines have no torque, hence the fabulous rant. QFT.

I like the interior of this new Dart. The exterior is fine, except for two things: the Chargeresque taillights and the squshed crosshair grill. One of the reasons I would prefer the 300 over the Charger is the taillights. To me, those taillights look like a cheap rental at best. They remind me of the rear of a 1994 Camry (which was awful), only this one is worse! As for the crosshair grill upfront, it does not look like it even belongs there. On the Charger it works fine because the crosshair looks like one, which was derived from the 1994 Ram. On the Dart, it looks tacked on and does not belong there at all.

Back to VW. Maybe they should build all of their cars in the USA rather than Europe (especially Germany) in order to save real money. Then again, that would require fully privatizing VW for good.

It is rather interesting that Lexus discovered what parent company Toyota created 12 years ago with the Prius. I wonder why anyone would want to buy a luxury hybrid. Seriously, the Pruis (or the upcoming C-Max) is all you really need in order to say, "I am green." What Lexus ought to focus on is stopping the uglification of their exteriors. The competition, especially Cadillac, is no longer sleeping at the wheel.

You know you're preaching to the choir, right? Go tell the media this when the talking heads start denouncing it. I agree insofar as the media needs to stop coddling Toyota and Honda and now Hyundai. (The talking heads should not denounce the SS when it sells at Camaro levels!) The media needs to be reminded that 1968 is long over and that profitable success is far more important.

I would be remiss if I said I did not want one. I will say that I have to see it at the dealership before I would say yes. Budget willing, of course.

The Boxster itself is a move downmarket, given that Porsche usually sold 911s and almost nothing else when the Boxster was first released some years back. No need for Porsche to create and sell their take on a Cimarron, which will dilute the brand. Panameras and Cayennes (maybe) can stay.

Not Every single Chevy has to sell 100,000 units for it to be a success. As long as it sells at a good price (i.e. not Corvette pricing) and its time on the dealer lot is relatively short, that will be successful. Moreover, Camaro volumes on the new SS should be sufficient in about 3-5 years anyways. Why anyone holds GM to the sales levels of 1968 (or 1985) is bothersome for one reason: there were few foreign cars sold here in '68 and by '85 BMWs were not selling at the numbers they are now.

I personally doubt that will happen again, Oldsmoboi. The 6AT should take care of that. Moreover, I am sure everyone has heard the news that the SS is a go for 2014. If GM is smart, they will build it here in NA soon and make it as commonplace as a Camaro.

Disappointed about the name . Great news on the car though .

I know the LaCrosse is considered a large car, and I guess the Regal is midsize. Is the Verano a compact or midsize Buick?

Look at the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger as precedent. A V6 sedan (and possible wagon and ute) is a wise choice because not everyone and their brother wants a V8. I would probably go for the V6 over the V8 since I do not see a need for the V8. Camino, this is not 1980 when v6 meant underpowered compared to v8 models. RWD and V6 is a potent combination; just ask BMW. I do NOT like the name SS for one reason: SS sounds like a trim level. Or am I sounding like an old fuddy-duddy from the '60s? It should be named Commodore (with SS as the performance trim).

What makes you think that the House will pass that bill? Moreover, what are you going to do about that bill in the House before it is passed?

I wonder if anyone has had issues with the new 8AT in Chrysler vehicles. I do hope that the Pentastar issues you ran into is not a trend.

Call me when the car is at local dealers, please. Sounds exciting, but I will believe it when I can get my hands on one.

If an American car buyer wants German, he will buy a VW or MB or BMW or Audi. While there are certain characteristics of some German cars that might be desirable, not that many people here want German cars. Opel does a much better job at 4cyl and 6cyl than GM has in about 30 years (Buick 231 excepted). The new Regal and Verano are a tad smallish and "rather intimate" for Buick, but the sales need to come in large quantities for it to be worthwhile. As for Opel, right now there is no longer a reason to build car anywhere in or near Germany for a lot of very expensive reasons. If you dont believe me, look at this link.

There are days I miss seeing the E-body Rivieras (My aunt had a 1980 when I was growing up.). I sometimes miss an '84 Cutlass Supreme like one I used to own about 15 years ago. Every once in a while, I see a GM car that predates the megamove to FWD (pre-1985), and I get a little wistful. Then again, some of them are so poorly maintained and/or looked beat up and/or rusted out (in FL no less!) that it makes me sad. Nothing is inherently wrong with FWD, unless you want to settle. A lot of FWD cars are little more than soulless appliances, meant for commuting and little else. This is why I want my next car to be a RWD car. Too bad Chrysler seems to make the only affordable ones right now.

Everyone who thinks this is a dumb move assumes that the XTS buyer is pushing 70. What if the buyer is 15-20 years younger and more tech-savvy? I hate to say this but the LaCrosse may well be better for the traditional luxury car buyer since most other traditional luxury cars are now extinct.

It is disappointing that Honda got the verdict it wanted on appeal. You cannot sue the EPA in state small claims court. That is jurisdiction of a federal court given that the defendant is a federal agency.