G. David Felt

+1 Very True, Be interesting to see what he writes.

Partner Swapping

+1 Very True DF In regards to the Drift capabilities of the Cobalt, it is totally doable, just have to remember your back end will not be the one to power through, but I have drifted a few FWD's and they have a fun factor that is really cool, just go try one in a open big parking lot. Like at a a WalMart or Costco.

Nice Job DF, Car does look sharp. :!

Sounds like a 60's wannabe child that never got off the LSD Trip. :rotflmao:

See above for my thoughts on your list.

+1

Nope they always seem to go for the Bacon wrapped Filet! :rotflmao:

Seems people are caught up in the BMW stuff, but Reality check. BMW had to do the free Oil changes and maintenance due to the lack of total quality on the 3 series. I have 3 coworkers here who have BMW's 3 series and are past the warranty and free stuff and the cost of maintenance has all of them looking to dump the cars. Basic tuneup and maintenance averaged $1500 for each of them. Compare that to less than $500 for the same thing on the Cobalt. Yes you said ignor the insurance, etc. but you get a high Fun factor for the New Colbalt SS and much lower long term maintenance cost. Plus I would if it was me buying get the extended warranty. I looked and test drove a colbat SS at the Lee Johnson Chevy dealership here in kirkland WA and not only if I was ready to buy would I get this Pocket Rocket, I would get their extension even though it is a 3rd party, I can take it to a total of 7 years 125,000 miles Bumper to bumper, no out of pocket cost to me for only 1500 additional dollars. They have a $50 deductible if I wanted to go with the $1000 policy but I figure for the extra 500, the first major issue to be fixed would easily make this up. I had this on my Suburban after the OEM warranty ended and the $1200 tag easily paid for the extended warranty I got. Course that one was from 1993 for a new 94 suburban that I still have.

Nope just too much of the Anime going on in these engineers. I swear they are all trying to live in a real PowerBall Z world.

Totally agree with DF, the overhangs are terrible, but this whole auto is just another ugly bland auto from Acura. Will give em cudo's for a few nice touches on the interior but that is about it.

Thanks for the update DF. I really Hope Hummer gets a good new Owner that will realize like the rest of us Hummer owners and the dealer I get service from that the H2 would benefit from the Duramax Engine and allison tranny and the H3 would benefit from the baby Duramax and allison tranny. GM really needs to stop wasting the 500 million spent on research of that baby diesel and bring it to market, they should really point out to the GOV that taking light trucks and SUV's from the mid teens to the mid 20's really does help bring up the corp average for all of GM and saves oil more so than just sitting on the existing engines. In regards to Buick, I think everyone is in agreement that GM needs to be a 3 tier company, just what the mid level auto line will be called is something else. If they really feel they can over come the stigma of the Buick name here in the US, fine keep it and retire the pontiac and gmc name as Buick is the mid level luxury levels of the trucks, suv's, cuv's, auto's and performance for GM. Here is to a better world once GM really gets down to an efficient 3 tier Global company.

Hey Invicta Man, in regards to DF taking credit? Nope, he has only posted twice in this thread and never takes any credit just injects his thoughts like the rest of us. In regards to the edits, that is normal for a forum administrator to clean things up, spelling errors, etc. Keeping the posts on track etc. He is just doing his job and pretty good at that. You have all the credit as you brought us this great blog post to discuss. Thank you. In regards to you comment of two truck divisions. I think you have missed something here, GM is seeing GMC as that mid level auto business. They have the mid level luxuey truck and suv business. They have had in the past excitement machines with the Syclone and Typhoon and so easily you could roll Pontiacs Excitment machines into the GMC name plate and the Buick business again also adds the mid level luxury cars to what should be a 3 tier company. Some of you might want to hold onto the Buick name here, but which name plate has less baggage? Buick still is related by allot of people to the senoirs auto line, Pontiac sadly has gotten the stigma of a slow dying company like Oldsmobil. GMC actually has a solid rep that is much better in marketing than the other two. Getting it to a single brand name to cover the mid level line of trucks, SUV's, CUV's, car's and mid level lux performance is perfect for GMC IMO. Rock on GM!

As much as I would hate to sell an American Company to the Chinese, this is actually a good idea. Sell them the current stuff and run. As I ahve said in many other threads, GM only needs to be a Entry, mid level and Luxury high end 3 tier company. Keep Chevy with the Eco box auto's start the Highschool kids and keep the hardworking blue coller crowd with these and show them the options of growing into the GMC Brand. Rename the 2010 Buick Lacross to the GMC "New Auto Name" Have GMC since they have the professional Grade and Luxury Denali line add a mid level luxury line of cars to compete against Lexus / Infinity. Then Caddy can totally focus on BMW / Mercedes. Benefits is bigger marketing dollars to 3 units that can grow. Add all the great technology as options from the old dead name plates to these three. Chevy and GMC could offer the same killer offroad handling packages that were part of Hummer as an example. I can see LOTS of good coming out of this and in the long term, GM could really focus on a Solid Single Global brand and auto story that could trump Toyota and others.

+2 If they did this right, they could have a complete stepping program for getting High school kids into their first auto at a chevy dealership and move right up the line into BPG and then Caddy and keep a customer for life. Best of luck to them.

Death A coworker died from cancer last night, now I have a funeral to go to. Man what a sucky thing to happen as she was an amazing person, the nicest I had ever known. I wish her family all the best.

Yup started with the caddy's, then will get the suburban and hummer cleaned up and finally the kids Durango and Dakota. Once they are all cleaned inside and out, be all set for spring and summer. Course this coming weekend I am hitting the slopes for some sunny spring skiing. Time to work on the pre summer tan.

Hummer, Saturn & SAAB is what really is the dead meat here and would become vapor. Caddy, Chevy and BPG would be the survivalists. After all you need an entery point, mid point and top end and these three give it, the others do not.

Here is a response from my daughter who is looking to retire her 1999 Dodge Durango to her little brother and get herself a new ride. She wants a mid size SUV/CUV that is AWD. I emailed her the pictures and GM press release about the vehicle. Her response to me: Hi Dad, I really think the car is kind of cute. do you think it will look good with a little lift? and i take it that it isn't a hybrid huh? So here is a 25yr old Female that likes the look. Blows me away as I do not think GMC felt this look was Cute but my daughter does.

for me at 6'6" tall 275lbs I have tried both and do not fit into them comfortably. They are made for smaller people. My cousin has the Vibe, nice auto but not for me. I would have to go with a CUV from Pontiac, but if I could choose any, I would go full size SUV.

Where at one time I did NOT want to think of GM as going Chapter 11, I am now thinking it might be the better option to truly make the rapid fast change needed to get the company right sided and out from under the debt and stupidity of past mgmt decisions including giving away the house with the interior fully furnished to the stupid UAW. I do not blame the UAW for going after as much as they could get as it is their right to ask. I blame GM mgmt for giving in and the Union Reps for not being realistic in setting expectations. No union member should expect to earn high 5 or 6 figure income for a job of assembling on parts. The engineers in GM who design these auto's do not have the income or benefits the Union line people have. This really got messed up in the 80's for giving in to the unions. Piss poor mgmt with the instant gratification and lack of long term planning and thinking is what got them into this mess.

Yup found the above on Yahoo web page about this also. Weird that they say Pontiac and no mention of Buick or GMC. I drove last week on a trip from Seattle to Yosemite National Park. Everyone should visit, Damn that place is awesome. Along the way stopped and checked out dealerships when I stopped for gas and I never once found any Buick or Pontiac dealerships on their own, all were in the now what I would consider is a traditional GMCBP dealership. So What about the rest of those dealerships? You cannot just cut out Pontiac and leave Buick and GMC, maybe you can but then GMC or Buick will need to bring in Performance auto's. I would love to get an updated Syclone or even a new Typhoon. Imagen a new 3.6DI twin Turbo in a Terrain type package!

GM in "intense" preparations for bankruptcy: source Buzz Up Send By Chelsea Emery and Soyoung Kim Chelsea Emery And Soyoung Kim – 44 mins ago NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Corp is in "intense" and "earnest" preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing, a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters on Tuesday. A plan to split the corporation into a "new" company made up of the most successful units, and an "old" one of its less-profitable units, is gaining momentum and is seen as the most sensible configuration, said another source familiar with the talks. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record. Shares of GM fell almost 14 percent on the New York Stock Exchange and its bond prices declined. If the plan goes through, the new GM would be expected to assume some previous creditor debt from bankruptcy proceedings, such as secured debt, said the second source, adding that GM bondholders were likely to lose substantial value in bankruptcy. Certain GM dealer and litigation claims would also be hurt if the new company structure is used as part of a company bankruptcy, said the second source. GM declined to comment. GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson has said the company prefers to restructure out of court but that it could go to court if needed. GM, operating on $13.4 billion of government loans since the start of the year, has until June 1 to complete a reorganization plan. The government has warned that the alternative would be bankruptcy. The company is under pressure to cut unsecured debt by two-thirds, turn half its remaining payments into a union healthcare trust in the form of equity rather than cash, and reduce hourly wages and benefits to match those paid by foreign automakers. Chrysler, owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, is also facing possible bankruptcy. The automaker has until April 30 to complete an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat. Moody's Investor Service said in a note dated Monday that it maintains its view for a 70 percent risk of bankruptcy for Detroit's three automakers given the difficulty of restructuring out of court. BANKRUPTCY NOT AN EASY ROUTE Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement said on Tuesday that the Canadian government must be prepared for GM or Chrysler to enter bankruptcy protection. Some bankruptcy experts say a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing could help GM reorganize by allowing it to restructure its debt and force changes to contracts with dealers, unions, and suppliers. But the process could be disruptive, or derailed, said Patrick Carothers, a partner at Thorp, Reed & Armstrong LLP. For example, if auto-parts makers lose the ability to collect money owed, the industry as a whole could suffer. In addition, GM could lose control over its restructuring as the formation of a new company would be in the hands of a bankruptcy judge, not corporate executives or their advisers. "The dangers of a bankruptcy are significant," said Carothers, who has parts suppliers and car dealers as clients. "I don't believe a bankruptcy is inevitable. There's still a lot of political pressure to save it." GM shares were down 13.66 percent, or 31 cents, to $1.95 in midafternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, after reaching a session low of $1.95 earlier in the day. GM's bonds were steady to slightly lower in late morning trading. GM's benchmark 2033 bond slipped, with the 8.375 percent bond trading at 12 cents on dollar, compared with 12.75 cents before the news came out, according to MarketAxess data. The bonds closed at about 11 cents on Monday, according to MarketAxess data. Last month, GM offered bondholders 8 cents on the dollar in cash, 16 cents on the dollar in new unsecured debt, and a 90 percent stake in the automaker, one person with knowledge of the term sheet told Reuters. (Reporting by Chelsea Emery in New York and Soyoung Kim in Detroit; Additional reporting by Dena Aubin, Walden Siew in New York; Editing by Derek Caney, Matthew Lewis, Toni Reinhold)

Bizarre

Funny as my sister has gone hell bent on Organic food and there was a story I read not long ago that I passed to my sister that mentioned about how 50% of organic foods are worse than foods grown on traditional farms even with modified seeds. Seems some people have taken up land to use for Organic farming without realizing that land was already full of pesticides and other stuff that the plants picked up and boom, you have higher toxic food than the so called normal foods. Organic = Marketing way of charging you more for your normal food. Total BS.