CaddyXLR-V

Believe it or not, there are some people who don't like the way trucks drive. I'm one of them. I don't go offroading, I don't tow, and if I did it would be jet ski or 2. But that is nothing the Lambdas can't handle. I'm a big fan of RWD, but if you are in a big 5000 SUV, what good is it? It's not like your going to be drag racing or taking it to the autocross. I would take an Acadia over the Suburban.

No, there is no spark. The gas is ignited like a diesel engine, by compression. But HCCI is a new technology where the gas burns evenly, with no hot spots in the combustion chamber, which isn't even available on diesels.

The Sky looks a lot better. I never warmed up to the ugly Solstice grill. I was driving behind a Sky at night, and I couldn't tell what it was. The rear tail lights made me think it was a much more expensive car. Maybe Holden should be doing the design work for all of Pontiacs cars. They seem to be the only ones I like. (Or GM NA could keep doing them and we can get cars like the G6 GXP) Soon, the best looking car on Pontiacs lot will be the G8.

Here is what Pontiac should have as the G6

I don't care for trucks or SUV, but I can still see the purpose of crossovers. If you don't need to tow anything, and don't need to go offroading, would you rather have a minivan, a BOF suv that gets 15mpg, or a crossover? I'd pick the crossover. The only drawback for most crossovers, is FWD, which doesn't really matter for this type of vehicle. I'd take an SRX over an Escalade.

Exactly. The worst case scenario would be to just give Pontiac, Buick, and Saturn, enough money to stay afloat while fixing Chevy and Cadillac. Killing them would just drain GM of the money needed to fix Chevy and Cadillac, and once they are gone, there is no coming back. Once Chevy and Cadillac are fixed, they should be bringing in enough money to fix the rest of the brands.

I had the same idea to change Saturn to Opel, about a year ago. I believe it was Evok that changed my mind on that. If he said it wont work, then it probably wont work.

That means alot coming from someone who owned an Aztek. Even the Aztek was less embarassing to me as a Pontiac fan than this car is.

My thoughts exactly.

But, you are one person. The average person has no connection with Holden, and doesn't hate them like you do. And whether you care about Holden or not, it is still a part of GM, and if Holden succeeds, that is a good thing for GM. Hoping Holden fails is like hoping GM fails.

Funny you use the Avalon as an example, because the Lucerne outsells it. The Avalon is not setting the market on fire, everyone opts for the cheaper Camry instead. Opel is more upscale than Chevy. In Europe, compact cars to them are our midsize cars. Cars are taxed based on engine size. That forces cars to become smaller, and more high tech, but not cheaper. Is that not the same as upscale?? Their respective markets can not be compared to the US. The US has cheaper gas, and less taxes. VW is mainstream in Europe. In the US it is not. You can't expect a Holden or Opel to be imported here as a Chevy, without increasing the price, and it is not all because of the exchange rates. Increasing the price, means less sales, which goes against your volume proposition for Chevy. As for the talent, money and manpower to make Pontiac and Buick great again, I feel the answer is yes. The cars are already made in overseas markets, and would be fairly cheap to bring them here as Pontiacs, Buicks, and Saturns. The images will follow with time.

Well then lets hope GM learns from it's past mistakes. Cheering on stupidity on GM's part does not make sense to me.

That would not make sense. Images don't get built, or rebuilt, in 10 years. Giving them new product for one generation, then killing them when they don't sell, would not make sense, is very short sighted, and would be a waste of money. GM needs to learn that once it starts something, it needs to follow through, and not give up halfway into it. If that were the case, Toyota would have given up on the Tundra a long time ago.

The problem is not too many brands though. Yes Chevy and Cadillac need to be forces to be reckoned with. But the fact is, even without Pontiac, Saturn, and Buick around, GM would still be short on cash. Killing brands is not, and should not be an option. GM's problem has been acting as a global company. All of your posts refer to the US market alone. But the US market now makes up less than half of GM's sales. Opels make good Saturns, and Holdens make good Pontiacs. Opel and Holden are both priced above Chevy is worldwide, as they should be in the US when they are sold here as Pontiacs, Buicks, and Saturns. ex. the Saturn Astra. This can't be sold as a Chevy with a base price of $16,000, it's too expensive to be a Chevy. GM won't make money selling the Commodore as a $22,000 Impala, and GM can't take Chevy upscale because that conflicts with Chevys core value, which is to be the value, and volume leader. As for Cadillac, when Cadillac is a force to be reckoned with, that would mean taking Cadillac upscale. That will leave a bigger gap between Chevy and Cadillac. That is the area where Pontiac, Buick and Saturn would thrive. No they won't sell millions of cars, but if done right, they would sell for a hefty premium above Chevy. If Pontiacs and Saturns are rebadged Chevys, that doesn't work. But if Pontiacs and Saturns are rebadged Holdens and Opels, I see no reason why that would not work.

Alot of cars already have this anyway. My GTO has avg and instant MPG in the DIC. I will sometimes try to maximize my fuel efficiency (within reason), but then I get tired of driving like a grandma and I downshift and floor it, ruining any gains in economy I just got. But then again, lightly stepping on the gas in a GTO, and lightly stepping on the gas in an Altima are probably worlds apart.

I completely agree. But also, since I realize Pontiac will not be getting a ME Vette anytime soon, I support the Vette going mid engine, as long as the price is kept around where it is. Sometimes, tradition is a bad thing. When you can't improve something because of tradition, that's not good. There is always room for improvement, tradition just gets in the way. There is a limit to what can be done with a front-engine rear drive layout, the Corvette is nearing that limit. GM has already stated a major obstacle is getting the power to the pavement on the Blue Devil. It would be much easier with a mid-engine layout. If it doesn't go mid-engine now, it will eventually. Either that, or it will need a car above it (Pontiac?) but even then, tradition gets in the way, because Corvette has to remain the top dog. The way I see it, to improve, one of those traditions have to be broken.

And GM switched away from that idea real quick :AH-HA_wink: The I6s you described sound like great engines, but I don't think they belong in a Corvette. I'll take one in a Saturn Sky though, if it fits.

I think it looks better than the CTS, and I do want a V8.

That will move the Corvette even further up on the "gotta have it" list for me.

Well one option I want is cooled and ventilated seats, but it's already available on some cars. (I live in Arizona) Dimming windows, like the sunglasses that dim when you go outside. So if the car is off, and it's hot outside, the windows would get very dark. If your driving through a parking garage or driving at night, they would lighten.

I love it. If I wanted a sedan, this car would be my choice. I also prefer having the window switches on the console instead of on the doors.

I like the current gen M45, especially in black. This one looks mostly the same, so I guess that means I still like it.

You should do it, and blackmail him to never say anything bad about Holden again.

GM would be smart to cash in on that fashion statement. Personally, I don't need a big car. I would rather have a nicer compact, than a not as nice midsize. People are spending as much on Golfs, and Civics as GM's midsizers cost. GM needs to offer cars to lure those buyers in. Especially if that's the direction Saturn is supposed to be going. If you want a cheap economy car, that's what Chevy is for, get a Cobalt.

I could see the Astra being used as a commuter car for people who still want something nice, or college students that don't want to be seen in a cheap car(Cobalt, Focus, Aveo, Corolla, Kias and Hyundais), and girls don't care what engine is under the hood. The Astra might even steal some sales from the Mustang.