regfootball

ok, i basically skipped all of the above posts. here is thing......so GM continually gets bombed for not enough marketing efforts....so then why don't they just come up with more dollars and get it done? we can afford union buyouts still but not proper product support? there is NO repeat NO benefit to cut brands, primarily because of franchise laws but also because look what happened to olds, the market share went out the door. the problem is simple, it's still the product and its not coming out fast enough. If GM has so many brands and models they simply need to spend more dollars on replenishing products faster and better. Having that many brands may be a liability in that way, but to do it right then you must pay the price. The result will be better sales. G6. It sells well, but if it were done PROPERLY and not already like 4 years old, it would do so much better. This goes for all of GM's lineup. Given the chance, the stylists and engineers and manufactuing will pull it off. It's the beancoutners and management dropping the ball. Commit to the brands, focus each one, build great cars....and KEEP THEM FRESH. I give management an F for product replacement. They are doing what Ford did, starve new products.

total congrats ont he car....fine choice. is your gf hot? every good man posts pictures of his gf in compromsing positions on the internet

actually the XWD in the saab kind of revitalizes interest for me some. if saabs had new designs and interiors that weren't crappy plastic, maybe it would help. the 9-3 is too small, also. i think saab needs to exist in a place at or below acura and above vw a bit and compete for the hip factor vw has. if saab can tap any of that and make cars that are more reliable, i think they can actually be healthy here. example, the 9-3 should be a passat killer. saab also needs to emphasize green more than any other GM division. saab needs to be about DESIGN (from the land of IKEA) and right now it hardly comes off as anything ikea like or apple-esque.

zeta has steel suspension components in the rear at least, if i am correct. can you say BRICK? no wonder its heavy.

sell saab or kill it, please GM

a bit more than i hoped. privacy glass should be standard on all. i think it will still be popular....it actually will make the jetta sportwagen seem well priced in comparison. i wish the tiguan had a bit more cargo capacity. the seating is awesome, very upright and spacious and firm. considering you get the turbo, maybe its not so bad. wish it had diesel. a 40 mpg tiguan would be a good wife's car, because this thing will be a MAJOR chickwagon.

my metalhead buddy calls metallica 'lica' now because he says they've pussied out and they don't play metal anymore.

i just waxed. hurts when they pull it off....hurts like hell, especially down THERE. ! LMAO, i used zaino last year. overhyped IMHO. good carnuaba like meguiars or lexol is fine.

there's really no need to kill any brands. we sell 15-17 mill vehicles a year here. we need to have more variety....pujoe, citroen, alfa.....less asian brands IMHO. basically if toyota was whacked down to a size it deserves, there would be plenty to go around.

fusion - made in mexico. not ideal, but it seems to be working. because there is no strike. LOL

these are the people that need to be brought down a couple notches so things can get done in this country. let's start by whacking their exhorbitant pay.

yup

blame the boomers, greenies, liberals, california air resources board and legislature, greenpeace, peta, beancounters, europeans, japanese, consumer reports, your friends and neighbors, the women in your life, high gas prices, car mag books, prius bangers, 'temple of vtec' dorks, etc, and on and on they have succeeded in dumbing down your expectations, just like they have succeeded on jacking up gas so that you will trade your gas hogs for fuel sippers.....they can then jack up the price of gas to double or triple and now they can pass off little 4 poppers as premium cars too because they have fooled the public into thinking that 6 cylinders now is a wasteful luxury too.

too bad honda made this thing so ugly inside and out. its got a lot of virtues otherwise.

ah, you know, consumer electronics went this path. dumb down the product and sell it cheap. don't go to specialized. just market and sell it in many packages, in many places, and make sure its cheap enough so the inventory turns fast enough until they throw it away and get another. make it so we can make it anywhere, and produce it cheap. take the shortctus needed but make sure those ads are hip and glossy. seriously, there are no audiophiles any more, and soon we'll have been stripped of carphiles too. the ecobangers, liberals, greenies, government, and car companies themsleves will make sure to reduce carmaking to sales charts and lowest common denominator. Cars as emotional investment will go away.

138hp is not sufficient when your competitors are faster and the lack of oomph gets noticed in reviews and such. the reality is at 75-80 you still need passing reserves, and many small cars are dangerous in this regard, trying to maintain pace with the rest of the traffic. Unless you're willing to wait for your slushbox to catch its breath before it decides to go or not, or if you're willing to become proficient at 6-3 or 6-4 redline downshifts. any small car in the 2800-3100 lb range with less than about 160hp will be fine up til intown four lane speeds (50-55 mph) after which it really is a liability....the only exception I've really noticed is the big GM ecotecs (2.2, 2.4) seem to have a torque reserve in the midrange that when paired with a stick, seem to not be at risk for rear bumper bashing from others.

Car and Driver has a short take on the vibe GT manual. 0-60 in 7.9, 5-60 in 8.5, 16.0 qtr mile. 22 mpg observed. they called it 'sensible shoes'. Not enough to overtake a mazda 3 but better than a standard caliber. they did not like the steering but everything else they seemed amenable to. they were complimentary of the interior function. I would have liked to see that 0-60 in the 7.0 range....but oh well.

138hp is piss poor for 80mph cruising on US interstates, or good acceleration on suburban 4 lanes. this aint tiny europe here and 138hp is too slow. end of discussion.

i am a ford guy first mostly, and then i may have to go holden g8 before a GME car, unless you can promise me my INSIGNIA they way i want it. i was impressed with the astra here now, spacious, nice interior.....but i can't sign on to only 138hp. Nope. the current epsilon platform cars are too small for my midwest frame. After putting miles on the FIL's 08 GP last weekend, maybe i would even go for a used GXP GP while i can still get one at a deal. An all new 9-5 would be the cats meow, but i sense we'll never see that car.

why Saab doesn't promote their fuel economy is beyond me.

yesterday, some dip$h! boomer broad in a prius HAD to try to cut in in front of me off an on ramp. problem, traffic was going 70, she was going 50.....it was packed bumper to bumper. SHE refused to accelerate because she was trying to save fuel. I am screaming at the top of my lungs "get your fking green ass prius in gear bi-ch!"....finally after a lenghty sequence of pissing off about 10 cars behind her, she stabs the gas and big billows of smoke come out the exhaust...then pause, then finally the car just barely picks up speed and she manages to get up to about 62-63 and THEN she cuts in FRONT of someone in the adjacent lane to get off at the next exit, the dude behind her was at least going 70 and she cut right in front of him, nearly clipping his bumper. stay off my road b-tch. prius drivers. i am going to make a bumper sticker and sell it, it will say 'friends don't let friends drive toyotas'.

simple reason. california and the EPA/feds make it an overwhelming burden to provide multiple powertrain choices.

well, 2/3+ of GM's worldwide sales are outside NA, so maybe this alright. One thing is for sure, with Saturn the way it is now, Americans can benefit. More and more the INSIGNIA is appealing to me.....especially if it has a v6/stick combo.

considering i read recently where like 2/3 or more GM's sales were outside NA, it does seem more plausible every day that the overseas GM may usurp NA GM sooner rather than later. methinks ford may trump GM in this global consolidation game. only 2,3 brands, and the ford euro products will transition well in NA. Opels as saturn is still fuzzy to the general buyng public. on a positive note, aura is up and vibe and g8 did well. i think g8 will meet sales goals. at least until zeta is cancelled. vue uptick is encouraging. i still think outlook is fine as a saturn if they can just hit 2k a month. the whole problem right now in this bitch of an economy with the lambdas is their high prices. hopefully GM is smart and keeps traverse priced good out of the chute and won't make the huge pricing miscue ford is about to make by overpricing the flex. in fact, aura and vue both up means saturns core product is starting to get some love. this has to bode well for retention of the saturn brand.

aspen....up....lol.......journey doin good