Shantanu

What makes you think Nissan isn't losing employees already? Tell me this, how exactly is a middle class household on an engineer's or accountant's salary supposed to afford a decent home in LA? I'm not talking about a McMansion here, I'm talking about a 3 bedroom in a respectable school district. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8486137/ http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnist...ivingthere.html LA has the second least affordable housing market in the country. The incomes may be a bit above average, but the housing costs maybe 2-3 times as much. How are non-movie stars supposed to afford a middle class-living? :huh: You can go on a rampage about "corporate greed" at this point if you want, but my guess is that Nissan's engineers and accountants are already paid much more than their counterparts in other cities, but at the same time this may not be enough to afford the same standard of living as others in their field. So they may be ditching Nissan in droves, which is something that would not surprise me. The decision seems to make sense to me on a number of levels, not the least of which is that Nissan is half owned by the French now, and Tennessee is closer to Europe than LA. Also Nissan is the most gas guzzler dependent of the import brands, and their sales have been leveling off in the past few months. They've run out of new market segements to enter. They may be making this move ahead of a probable financial cruch that faces them. On a day to day basis those things matters little to the average person, especially when compared to the major factors of *salary* and *affordable housing* and *decent schools*. It matters even less if you don't have the money to enjoy those things. Not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouths, kid.

I think this is vehicle is more of a return to A&S than was the STS, which completely through A&S out the window. It doesn't make sense for GM to make every vehicle like the CTS. Also that style has become a bit old now, so things have to evolve forward. Still, when I look at the front end with the creased bumpers, and the stacked headlights, it is most definitely a return to A&S. Creases elsewhere on the body probably would not look so good on this vehicle. If you place design philosophy ahead of designing things to look good practically, then you get vehicles like BMW has, with weird Bangle designs across the lineup. But even they have begun to pull away with the new 3-series, because they realize that it does not make sense to have a bunch of cars that all look the same.

That's fine with me. I wasn't that big of a fan of the Cadillac 16. The first Escalade was tacky. It sold well because of the Cadillac name, lack of competition, and the massive amounts of chrome. The new Escalade looks very refined from the outside, without giving up the chrome that made the original so popular. That was no doubt a difficult balancing act, and I'm really surprised they pulled it off as well as they did. This thing will appeal to professionals as well as movie stars. As for the interior, do we even need to go there? It's class leading, period. Perhaps the first time ever GM can legitimatly claim that. The powertrain is no doubt top notch. This vehicle has turned out I think about as well as it could. For me it definitely falls under the "best case scenario".

AH-HA is right. What do you guys want? A flying car?

fudge yeah! That's right Toyota, go back to Tokyo!!! :CG_all: :booyah:

There's no reason for Suzuki to be selling cars in America. They are owned 20% by GM. GM should twist their arm to pull out, and offer to sell some rebadged Suzukis (the better ones) as Chevrolets instead. That way both parties benefit.

I think in the next few years we will see some import brands pull out of the U.S. market. There is too much supply and not enough demand. VW and Mitsubishi are losing a lot of money in America, and at some point they will have to pull the plug if things don't pickup. I honestly don't see a turnaround in the corner for either company, but since Mitsubishi is smaller and weaker, they will likely go first.

Because the American automakers need to go on the offensive and hit back. Would you rather see factory closures and layoff in the United States, or factory closures and layoffs in Japan? There is too much capacity in the auto industry, and some players have to go. Over the past 30 years, the Detroit automakers have played defensively, letting the Japanese and others take market share, sales, and profits, while at the same time shutting their own factories and eliminating brands. Would you rather see Mitsubishi go, or Pontiac go? That is the question.

I think it looks good, actually. It doesn't make sense for GM to keep selling the same vehicle. This looks like a more premium SUV from the outside.

Huh? What about the Edmunds report that stated a little bit of rough road basically owned the truck?

Ridgeline is a psuedo-truck. So what else is new?

I'd love to see Mitsubishi go bankrupt.

Toyota's going to make GM it's bitch eventually. Mark my words. People in Detroit will be speaking Japanese just like people in LA are.

Every month the spin from GM is "Yup, our sales are down, but look at our new models selling well, that bodes well for the future!" Except in the future, the new models will become old models. Look at how Cadillac has cooled down this year, after its impressive momentum from 2000-2004. GM can't come out with new models the same way that Toyota and Honda can. GM's full size trucks and SUVs are rolling turds that should have been updated a few years ago, instead of next year and the year after. Now that GM has begun to move to 7 year product cycles, Toyota and Honda are moving to 4 year on the highest volume products. That's something with which GM can't compete on the retail side. Saab is going to get the plug here in the U.S. Saab 92-X was a mega flop, and the Saab 9-7X has followed its lead.

What an age we live in! :blink:

I've also got some cocaine for the trick or treaters. ^_^ That was a joke, don't call the police. :o

GM's white collar employees have all gotten the shaft. Their pay is pitiful compared to what other engineers are making, and morale is very low. The executives of GM don't make that much money compared to some other companies the size of GM, whose CEO's take home 10-100 times as much as what Wagoner and Lutz are paid.

I bought a Poncho while I was in Mexico last year. I've decided to wear that for my annual night of costumed revelry. Today I realized that I've also got to figure out what to wear underneath the poncho. What kind of pants + shirt combo will look like an authentic Mexican cowboy? :huh:

I'd like to see real numbers on how many (American) Chevrolets and Cadillacs are sold overseas. That would be interesting.

There are no American TV's man. RCA is owned by the French now. That was the last of them. And I'd be surprised if there are any TV manufacturing plants left in the U.S.

The government needs to break the UAW into 4 or 5 different unions. They control 100% of the supply of auto labor that's faced by American manufacturers. How is that not a candidate for anti-trust laws?

Is there any genuine difference between this beast and the Cheby (as the Mexicans call it)?

You didn't get the coupe? Nooooooooooooooooooo!!! :o Seriously though, the G6 Sedan is a good choice. ^_^

Wagoner is a jackass. He ran the company into the ground with his rebates.

All this talk of the GMT-900's being rushed to market is complete bullshit. GM has had all the time in the world to work on these SUVs and trucks. Their existing trucks became stale long ago while the competition launched better nicer vehicles. They've been working on these vehicles since the GMT-800's first came out. Not having any feature due to "time constraints" is a total lie. If the Tahoe is missing an IRS or folding third row seats, it's due to cost cutting, plain and simple.