regfootball

Toyota sure milked the Prius thing. Since then, nothing but behemoths. Yet folks wait at the door to buy anything with a Toyota emblem on it.

lt5 was expensive for GM because they had no clue how to build an OHC v8 themselves and they had to pay someone to do it. Everyone else, including Hyundai now, can seem to do it economically. But Gm always seems to not be able to solve problems like that. I am still amazed GM ever came out with the high feature v6 or anything more than a 4 speed automatic. But they will probably leave the hf v6 in production as is for like 30 years, knowing their track record for not evolving their product and improving over time.

i kind of wish GM would get over its pushrod fetish in the corvette. a top tier OHC motor in the corvette would be a nice option. for no other reason than the issues you state above. simply put, luxury car buyers are accustomed to the VHS tapes (OHC) and trying to push the betamax on them (pushrod) will do nothing but make them curl their lip and move on. Even if some say betamax had a 'better picture', the form factor and marketing solution of VHS was what people came to expect. most of the people i ever read on MB's bleating the virtues of the pushrod engine are not always the types with Lexus level dollars out buying or leasing new cars every 2-3 years. It's also time for GM to get with the program on all wheel drive, especially in cars like some corvettes and cars like the CTSv. I don't care how fast Carl Lewis was as a sprinter, if he only has one leg working and is dragging his other foot, he's not really maximizing his speed. GM is only married to pushrods because of beancounter cheapness. Less parts=cheaper but if you can't get the desired power and running characteristics for the market segment its time to move on. Until GM can demonstrate for example that a v6 pushrod they build is a better power and NVH solution then everything else, then they ought to dump all pushrod v6's. GM is so slow. They finally dumped pushrod 4's barely yesterday....only 1/2way through dumping the v6 pushrods.....and you know someday they will need to get with the program on most of their v8s. if the electric engine doesn't kill IC engines soon, the ultimate solution will be solenoid or valveless, computer electronic type setup that will not have any cams, etc. they really need to get on that.

workin on a sex farm.........

candy, MMMMMMMMMMMM

leave the pushrods for the chevy's caddy needs OHC

i kinda dislike ruining what the explorer (and trailblazer) is now. A solid, trucklike, off roadable, SUV. If Ford wanted an Explorer crossover, they should get a new name. Oh wait, they basically want to sell off the name. Maybe this means we'll revert back to 'Bronco' for the real SUV's. Can't the dumbasses at Ford put simple paddle shifters on the steering wheel? Jeez........ Forgive me if I'm not all wet over the BORING AS HECK design. I was at the Nissan dealer admiring a nice XTerra yesterday. Methinks I would really enjoy one of those. Too bad these real trucks get crappy mpg. I was really digging an Expedition I was looking at today too. Maybe GM wants Hummer to be the source of the only real GM trucks now. Maybe Ford only wants Expeditions and F150's to be their only real trucks.

oh, so who gets to decide who 'needs' a truck? hey, why not let the MARKET decide. or will we list names and go down the list and vote on everyone?

at the body shop today i listened to the manager dude explain to the person on the phone how badly mangled their explorer was in a brutal t-bone crash. he was saying to them, the important thing is your daughter is alive, the vehicle is not worth anything compared to her being here. he got off the phone and said the explorer was completely mangled and DECIMATED. imagine had that been the mini. this is your brain. this is your brain in a small car. any questions?

I just wanted to let you know its been quite abrasive around here lately and i'm going to be leaving for awhile. leaving........ to go potty and a night snack. then, if I'm tired, I'll go to sleep, and, hopefully, shower in the morning. well, between that and travelling overseas for a few months and relocating and then just PMSing in general. so yeah, i'll be gone for a couple hours.

ours goes to 11

lol. yeah, who's gonna work at burger king

this is big time progress but the buff books and edmunds will simply bleat and moan about how heavy it is. and that it's not a toyota.

how bout a water tax on CA. tax water they bring into their state from elsewhere. use the money collected to fight immigration. or britney's police bills.

check your mail. i got a thing from gm card this weekend. top off earnings promotion, 3000 bucks.

sat in a Vue again today, and a Rogue. The Vue gets hammered in the press due to heft, but the vehicle really feels more solid on the showfloor than the others. Thicker sheetmetal. Sturdier doors. Everything feels less temporary. I think that is worth something. feels roomy. The Rogue is kind of a fun feeling rig, but it is noticably tighter inside than some of the others. In the back seat mostly. Cargo area is a bit tight too. I really like the dash layout though and the seats were comfy. I LOVE the dash vents. They are the standard round vents that are either open or closed and you rotate the whole vent to direct the air. Like on the vibe. Why can't all dash vents be like that? Anyways, i got a real good VIBE sitting inside the Rogue. (no pun intended). Any vehicle that greets you with paddle shifters on the wheel (even with a CVT) has got to be fun. blu, you'd like it.

safety, NVH, solidity, gadgets, electrics, all reasons why the curb weight goes up.

update. gonna choose the dealer's body shop to get my car fixed. Why? cool beans this is, i don't have rental coverage, but they are getting some new 08 focuses signed on for loaner use. So I get a nice 4 day test drive of a new 08 (not euro) Focus. sweet. i get to see how bloody terrible the car really is. I need to email the dude back and see if those units will have sync on it or not.

wow, someone visits GMS?

that episode was a riot.

related C/G topic can we sue california for wasting our tax dollars?

you're still gonna have complete idiots who justify its worth every penny.

there are plenty of worldwide GM products which could support a top tier DOHC v8. Despite the excellent performance and broad application of the HF v6. Cadillacs, of course, but also Lambda top end models (acadia denali), buick (park avenue ultra) and pontiac top end models (g8 v8 dohc SWEET), and even saab. I would even say GM pickups need to get a few of these to battle hoyotha. No cadillac should have a pushrod motor. including ctsv. no buick or pontiac ought to for that matter. between the US and the world, caddy could easily justify design and build of such a device for a period of 5-7 years until it were obsolete (its shameful to carry engine designs much longer these days) either due to performance or mpg. This reeks of classic beancounting. The northstar is like 20 years old. It's time for new and current. FCS, Hyundai has a new v8. And GM can't? Sad. pitiful. Says to me people in charge don't know what they are doing. hoyotha ponies up to redo their engines all the time. they say 'i will build this v6, and this many of them, this is what we will improve, this is how many we need to break even'. Why it's so hard for GM to do it is amazing. It's like they have never built an engine. keep in mind new CAFE is political posturing, it's attempt to generate PR do goodiness by those in office now to appease the liberals who have no idea what real environmental progress is. in 5 years, they could wipe it out with one stroke of the pen.

thank certification costs......safety and crash testing, EPA testing and then another layer of crap for the United Emirate State of California. PERFECT example. They want their own standard so it costs all the rest of us more and is a hurdle to bring the car to market because of it. not to mention setting up parts and repair networks and training, information etc.