Cadillacfan

Gotta love the new GM parts bin radio/hvac. I think there needs to be a little more variety other then the one going in the equinox and every new GM vehicle, the older style radio seen in the Cobalt, Malibu/G6, Vette, and the cadillac unit.

He meant stealing the thunder or attention of the trucks. The Zeta program is more important to GM then the GMT900 program. Why? Because GM knows how to make trucks well so it's not too much of a stretch to make an outstanding work-horse of pick-up. People know that GM trucks are reliable, so it's also no big effort on GM's part to get people to buy them. Large RWD vehicles are harder to produce for GM because it hasn't produced any in about a decade. So, GM will have pull out all the stops (we hope they do) and make the Zeta vehicles better then it's competitors in every way to make them stand out. What that should mean: outstanding interior/exterior. That's what I think he meant by that.

Interior space isn't really what I'm worried about. The size of the car itself (weight) is the direct result of the heavier platform. The Delta platform is fully capable to serve as the next Astra or another compact car and it's been proven to work well for other GM brands. Why fiddle around reducing weight of the epsilon platform(which is growing in size anyway with Epsilon II) when you can spend the development money on more important things.

Nice pictures. I'm crossing my fingers on this one.

Thanks for showing those photos. It proves that the materials used on prototypes are usually different then the finished product. Moving on.. I found a picture of the Cheyenne concept from a few years back. There are a few styling cues that were transfered over from that interior to the silverado's. Not too many, but they're still there. Oh.. and for all the people complaining it's not a good interior.. how can you tell from just one side shot of a prototype vehicle? Why don't you wait for the official pictures before you judge it.

I'll wait to see the official interior. It's obviously just a rough version of it. Overall, I like that they gave it a more rugged interior. I know that if they gave it a Tahoe interior, it would've scared some people away who were looking for macho truck styling. Also, look at that huge door handle! I think the Silverado is looking better and better. It's a shame we have to wait until the Texas state fair in September to see the official pictures of it. Though, we'll probably see it well before then. Oh.. and GMI has the same picture and they paid for it too. Very unusual.

I hope he's talking about the new Saturns and not the vehicles currently on the road (excluding the Sky and Vue) Though, it's interesting how he thinks the Opel interiors need to be improved upon. I know a few people on here were afraid Saturn would get the same weird dash designs that Opel has been using.

Well, he'd have to want to be a member first. Judging by his busy schedule and that fact that he already voices his opinion through the fastlane blog, I doubt he would post here.

The Acura RDX. Unveiled at the NY autoshow. RDX

Look at the Malibu sedan or the Opel Vectra. Both are Short Wheel Base Epsilons and are definitely midsize. The Long Wheel Base Epsilons are what the G6, Malibu Maxx, and Aura are riding on. The 9-3 may be considered compact by edmunds but it's still larger then the Delta platform and heavier then the other compacts in the segment. Exterior Dimensions Saab 9-3: Curb Weight Automatic (lbs) 3285 Curb Weight Manual (lbs) 3175 Honda Civic: Curb Weight Automatic (lbs) 2804 Curb Weight Manual (lbs) Not Applicable Mazda3 Curb Weight Automatic (lbs) 2807 Curb Weight Manual (lbs) 2762 Look at how heavy the platform is. Delta is the much wiser decision.

I was responding to the poster who suggested shortening the Epsilon platform to fit compact requirements. The epsilon 1 SWB is considered midsize. I stated that shortening it even more would be a waste of time and money when the Delta platform would perform the same exact function. The Astra is updated from the older model but is technically considered Delta because of it being the basis for the North American Delta platform. It may not be called Delta.. but it really is in a lot of ways.

Definately a sign of good things to come. One question remains: Will GM keep trying to shorten it's product development cycle to keep the company truly competitive or will a car continue to take 5 years to get from clay to finished product? That's the real issue here. The solstice took record time (for GM) to get to the streets. Hopefully Lutz will allow the future GM vehicles to do the same.

Welcome to the site pinchefrijolero. While the idea of the HHR offering a panel van variant sounds interesting, I doubt many people would purchase it in North America, which is currently, the only place selling it. Why? The size. I know the PT cruiser offers it, but how many do you see here? Not much. They probably sell more overseas in Europe. This vehicle is alright. Nothing special.

Why add a new platform (which is essentially what shortening the Epsilon, which I don't think is possible, will do) when you have the delta platform doing its job well? Astra uses a modified delta platform and was the basis for the current generation of GMNA compact vehicles(ION, cobalt, pursuit, HHR) A newer version of the delta platform will arrive when the next Astra hits the market The rumors of delta(and epsilon II) offering AWD have been thrown around in a few of the auto magazines in the past few months. I would welcome that. It would allow GM to compete in more compact segments

Is anyone really surprised? We all knew it was a crappy rebadge of the Cobalt and nothing more like they said it was going to be. The torrent, the Montana, and now this really make me wish for Pontiac to be put out of its misery sooner rather then later. The Solstice and the G6 coupe/convertable really give me hope but that's only three models that I like out of the whole brand and that's not a good sign. One can only hope that once the merger of GMC/Pontiac/and Buick dealerships takes place, those three models will be the only ones remaining and thus, allow GM to devote more money to each.

On Saturday, I had pleasure (yes, pleasure) of riding in a 04 honda Accord. It's one of the nicest interiors I've seen in a sub-$30,000 vehicle. Extremely well thought out and of high quality. If Lutz really wants to make the next Malibu great, he should look no further then the Honda Accord for a great example of how a good interior should look and feel like. Now, the rest of Honda's interiors(excluding Acura) are ugly and of questionable quality. I wouldn't look to them for inspiration.

Fit and Finish on the cobalt is not that bad. Quality of plastics.. very below average.

Time for you to get your act together or leave. I'm sure the moderators would agree. People are tired with dealing with you. Myself included.

Please delete my last statement from your quote. I checked it and you're right. I forgot that the DTS and Buick only shared the same platform. I just assumed that the W body and the G body were so similar that they were essentially the same platform.

Or getting rid of it. I'd prefer it if GM focused on it's own Delta-based Vibe and end it's partnership with Toyota since there is no reason to continue. In reality.. the partnership will probably continue for a while so I would assume that your statement is correct.

I just got back from seeing Conan himself speak at the University at Buffalo and he was hilarious. He spoke for about two hours and he was his usual wacky self up on stage. Too many funny things to talk about. One of the many highlights of the show was when he told the students to vote for Tom Cruise to be the next person in the UB speaker series and to charge him on stage with foam bats and just beat him until he stops acting crazy. Another funny thing was how he interacted with the moderator of the questions. The two had a funny chemistry going. Much like how he interacts with Max Weinberg. He also had a few serious things to say about how the media makes people think dumb topics are important and how they look for celebrities for opinions on important topics when they really shouldn't. Other then that.. he was really funny and I totally respect him a lot more now. Oh.. and look for Conan to mention UB during the week! If you care.

I got to drive it. I must say that I didn't like it when it first came out but after driving it, I really want to own one. The interior sold me.

I hope that when the XLR is updated, they give it a nicer looking interior. The current one is nice, but for a $75,000 luxury convertable, it should be outstanding. The new CTS gives me a lot of hope that the rest of the line will improve dramatically. New Key Fob design? Hmm.. sounds interesting. I know the current version for the XLR is different from the rest of GM's vehicles but it should be a little more upscale. I honestly think GM should give Cadillac it's own unique key fobs for all of it's models.

Wait.. haven't they already started working on a more flexible Kappa platform? I think Lutz was counting on the Kappa platform to be a high volume platform all along. He's a smart man. Imagine the potential with a small RWD platform with AWD capabilities. You can kiss Pontiac's FWD days goodbye.

This one is pretty obvious. = & =