regfootball

gas was 2.66 at the pump today. if gas stays close to that for the next few months, there will be no diesel.

well it comes down to this. do they want the tools to move the metal? in the case of me, 99% good to go on a GM car on Sept 30, and now on Oct 1-15 on a 2008 closeout model that is NOT selling, it's 2500 higher. lack of rebates, lack of financing incentive. Ford, same thing. Like I told the guy at the dealer on the phone the other day....I fully expected to roll right into a new lease on an equivalent product. But you give me no options to get the same deal. So, bye bye. It's their call as to whether they want to move the metal. there is plenty of other aggressive competition out there that will lease to me or give me a loan. GM only lost 16% lost month while toyota lost like 30%? This month toyota is 'saved by zero'. GM pulls back like a turtle in its shell. Can't wait to see GM get creamed this month.

read car and driver's review they pretty much wonder the same thing i do. i.e. what's the point. if you want cargo space you don't get a mini, not that the clubman actually has any of that.

sexy wagon for sure!

hey, seriously, GM doesn't want to sell cars aside from that. Look through their incentives, they were much better last month for 2008's. How is GM supposed to sell any cars when the incentives are not as good AND they tighten up the credit?

LMAO. OOPS! fairness to VW, the sto n go captains chairs are unuasble by humans. to get rid of sto no go in lieu of habitable seats is an ok trade off i think.

the dodge vans have 8k in discounts. new vans as low as 17k-18k. routan is not there yet.

wamu won't let me pay my mortgage on the internet unless i set up auto pay. f@#kers. of course chase bought them, and my new car is chase. plus chases wants to grab my credit card debt too.

i used to not do breakfast, now my almost daily breakfast is a target of 250-300 calories in the form of either a quaker 25% less sugar peanut butter chocolate granola bar and a caribou choclate mocha granola bar (250 cal total) or a peanut butter sandwich on one slice of bread or apple or banana and one granola bar or small PB sandwich. i like oatmeal also but it makes ya gassy and you can't eat it on the road.

i actually don't get why saturn couldn't sell the insignia as is, side by side with the current aura. the insignia is premium in comparison. the aura could cover lower prices and have greater volume. the insignia could be the top of the line and could bear a little higher price tag. aura can't totally compete with the likes of the new mazda6 (trust me, sit in one, and you understand that). insignia could actually one up the mazda6. If saturn is serious about going toe to toe with imports, then they need to have the best model available. also, the insignia will just not come off well as a buick. the next astra has similar styling to the insignia. it all makes sense, yet GM won't do it. it wouldn't hurt for them to import 20-30k of them a year, to build the brands image if nothing else. the aura still can be the volume and value car, but the insignia would give it real cred. don't knock the saab/caddy pairing until you've seen them share a showroom. it seems to work IMHO. it means each brand can feed off each other, and it means saab can move down in size if they want. it also means saab can remain fwd based and leave rwd to caddy. i think once the 9-4x and next 9-5 hit the market saab will uptick, unless GM decides to push their pricing even higher. 9-3 should do alright if they would adjust that pricing also. i have ideas regarding chevy and bpg to fit around this but i think i am hlf asleep as i type this. already. saturn wanted to be opel north america...however, they already have butchered the antara interior, they muted the astra's offerings and now they will neuter the chance of getting the best car, the insignia. basically, GM doesn't have a f*cking clue how to keep their head out of their ass (or bankruptcy, take your pick).

if GM buys chrysler does that put them in a position to dissolve dealer agreements? (i.e. cut dealers out of their franchises and consolidate brands?) i could see GM considering this to eliminate ram trucks as competition and gain access to an ungainly minivan chassis. to me the best thing that would come of out of this is putting the avenger and sebring out of their misery and off our roads. In any case I think the best thing for GM to do would be to consolidate Chevy with BPG. this would allow them to cut rebadges and cut number of models from Buick and Pontiac. I would allow those two brands to survive, but allow them to be special and unique and carry the torch for more expensive models in a chevy showroom. Cadillac should be able to be set up and marketed however they see fit. I believe Saab should stay, but I hedge on whether it should be paired with Saturn or Cadillac, I see advantages to either. Saturn needs to continue to be the GM Europe outlet in America (insignia and all). To me though the key is merging BPG with CHevy. Chevy needs the upscale models and BPG needs to be folded into volume oriented setting to survive. At this point, fold Chrysler and Dodge and be done with it. Part out Jeep.

but its a Japanese car. surely they don't ever break down.

wow. someone had their cheerios this morning. all that kinda made sense.

and today we read how lutz says the insignia will not be the aura. translation- the US aura will be cost cut. it becomes really easy to HATE GM for this.

got this in an email the other day, whether its fluff or not, you be the judge...but it is interesting.

that is an unreasonable customer. but i am sure he should at least be able to ask for invoice minus rebates and maybe a little bit more right now.

an email quote from the saturn dealer that only includes payment quotes and not an actual quote on the price of the car? where is the straight forwarded ness there?

to me, from the presentation i saw and sat in, you'd be pushing it to push the prices above 18k on ANY version of this. But I'm cheap. The SX4 by the way feels much more solid and more of a piece as far as interiors and tactile / visual inspection. The Fit has a slight Korean aura to it. Magic seat and all, I'd get an SX4 over this. Of course, I'll need to drive the Fit to substantiate it however.

i suppose mcD's thinks they need to do this to protect the market share of Happy Meals.

LMAO, awesome story. that person sounded like an idiot.

i think the biggest liability in this market for the astra is no sedan. and no advertising. funny, i just got an email from salesguy and he is screwing with me. i thought saturn was no haggle. Jeez. why do you have to be so blunt with these people? "i need you to tell me the price of the car"

cupholders, an armrest, an mp3 jack, some added hp, and less sensationalized press would help.

used car prices are RISING. it only makes sense. people still have to drive the same amount, that said, vehicle replacement should occur on the same cycle, unless they pump more $$$$ into keeping beaters on the road. people returning leases like me, leasing is no longer an option. what is the option to that? buy a new car, which many folks have gotten tight credit. or, buy used because that is the only way they can meet payment. when i bought my used trex a couple months ago, the sales guy said they had their best used car month ever. people can't lease or buy new, but are driving the same amount. what does that mean? Used cars go up in value. Also, repair shops make more money.

auto fashion evolves in cycles. my 95 tbird when i got that, the rage was 'cockpit' instrument panels, complete monochrome interiors (with some matte black plastic mixed in). Nowadays, its a fight to see who can introduce the most colors, contrasts, textures, metal trim accents, gauge hoods, pods, buttons, etc. I think its just fashionable right now, even if chevy picked some odd color choices.

its weird, the last couple weeks I've seen a few G8's every day. soon, decent chance i may have an astra to look at every day in my driveway soon. I am just wondering, you think cadillac might revive the Cimarron and rebadge an Astra ?