VenSeattle

Pauli, go with the Regal. I assume it's an LS or you would have stated it's supercharged. I personally would recommend looking for a GS. 3800, better resale than Century down the road, smaller than LeSabre, nicely designed interior, options/features stated above.

That probably means he'll be available in 2010 around the time Lutz retires. :rotflmao:

The Accord is significantly bigger (interior volume) than the Malibu. Why can't the "stretched" NG EPSII Malibu have unique styling and be called Impala? I seriously doubt the NG LaCrosse will directly target or compete against the Avalon. That is Chevrolet's flagship sedan's market.

Give me a break. You know just as I do there are official "class" sizes and how they are determined. If you choose to ignore them, that's your choice. For those who don't know... http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#sizeclasses Now... The 2008 Malibu is: Interior Volume: 95 cu. ft. Cargo Volume: 16 cu. ft. Combined Interior Volume: 111 cu. ft. Length: 191.8 in Width: 70.3 in Wheelbase: 112.3 in Curb Weight: 3,536 lbs The 2008 Impala is: Interior Volume: 105 cu. ft. Cargo Volume: 19 cu. ft. Combined Interior Volume: 124 cu. ft. Length: 200.4 in Width: 72.9 in. Wheelbase: 110.5 in. Curb Weight: 3711 lbs. So NO! The interior volume of the 2008 Malibu and 2008 Impala are NOT the same size.

That baffles me. Why accept your invitation and then blatantly disrespect you in your own home and in front of family? If they couldn't control and withhold their personal feelings over your lifestyle, they should have politely declined your invitation and made other plans. Sorry to hear this. But still, Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Knightfan... No offense was meant, but it's a known fact that GM's hierarchy was originally designed and is being reorganized to allow for customer ascension among the brands. For GM's survival, overlap must be kept to a minimum. That's the reason behind my comment. Once again, no insults meant to Chevrolet Fans. There will be Impala SS's in the future, regardless if the Impala is FWD, RWD, or AWD... but in the same fashion as the originals... a trim-level on an otherwise bland family sedan. Northstar... Chevrolet needs a large sedan above Malibu. The large sedan market is still pulling in 100,000's of sales. With the Accord and Taurus recently entering the market along with Avalon, Chevrolet needs to own this market, not Buick. Buick will not have a single model in the large-family-sedan category after 2011. Chevrolet needs to take this over and run with it. The days of Toyota-branded vehicles competing with anything in GM's line-up but Chevrolets are numbered. I think this fact will become GM's greatest advantage over Toyota. Think about it.

Is there really a large enough market for that type of buyer to have an entire Chevrolet sedan dedicated to it? Is a RWD Impala what Honda and Toyota drivers want? They don't seem to want a Dodge Charger or Chrysler 300C? Why would they want a RWD Impala? Throw away cars? Not if they are class-leading along side Honda and Toyota. Power and sportiness will contradict the family values and economy that a Chevrolet Flagship sedan requires to survive in today's large sedan market. Chevrolet needs a suitable competitor to such vehicles. Compromising other brands to cover markets where Chevrolet should thrive in and be strongest has been GM's greatest mistake for the past 20+ years. If Chevrolet could have both FWD & RWD large Family sedans, then I would agree with you, but it looks as if GM must choose between one or the other. Where RWD fails over FWD is cost of development and manufacturing. Zeta is expensive. A LWB Epsilon II will be less expensive yet still provide Chevrolet a "class-leading" vehicle for the large sedan market.

Chevrolet must cover the mainstream/mass market. That is its primary role in GM's organization. For the past 20+ years GM has attempted to do this with 4-5 brands (Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Saturn, & Buick.) That must change. Chevrolet must successfully compete in this role for GM's other niche brands to define their own. The last cogs to the Chevrolet machine are the Camaro & new Impala. The Malibu can now hold its own with other midsize vehicles. The Impala can finally become a suitable flagship sedan to compete against other mainstream flagship sedans. Currently, the Impala is priced between $21k-$28k. I believe the next Impala will be priced and positioned close to, if not directly against, the Avalon ($27k-$34k.) So the Impala, regardless if FWD or RWD, will not cannibalize Malibu sales because it will be more expensive and become a suitably premium vehicle for its intended mass market buyer. Now consider this… the only mainstream RWD competitor to the Impala is the Charger. The next Impala must also hold its ground against the Avalon, Taurus, Azera, and Accord. Why not let Chevrolet handle the FWD/AWD competition, and allow Pontiac's G8 to exclusively contend with the Charger crowd? This is what will help Pontiac define itself within GM. This will also help Buick. With Chevrolet able to compete against Camry & Avalon, Buick will be able to target the LaCrosse against cars like the ES350, MKZ, Volvo S60, etc... I think it's time for people yearning for a RWD Chevrolet sedan to "move-up" to a Pontiac or Buick. You want an enthusiast's car? GM has several brands redefining themselves to attract your attention.

I thought the LY cars were delayed until 2013 to coincide the first round of corporate-wide interior improvements announced for 2013?

We already know what Chrysler will be showing... they're hybrids: http://www.ridelust.com/chrysler-steps-out...for-2008-naias/ Unless Chrysler has something else planned for show, 2008 will be very difficult year.

Cerberus Spins Nardelli’s Bankruptcy Talk Turning around Chrysler could be biggest challenge. by Joseph Szczesny (2007-12-24) Link to original story on TCC Cerberus Capital Management LLC had to discard one of its principal operating principles Friday as it scrambled to repair the damage done by some loose talk by chief executive Robert Nardelli. The private equity fund, which acquired Chrysler from Daimler only last summer, had to issue a rare public statement, re-emphasizing its confidence in Chrysler LLC's future after Robert Nardelli indicated he believed the automaker was "operationally" bankrupt. "We remain extremely enthusiastic about our investment in Chrysler. Our underwriting assumed, and fully planned, that Chrysler would incur losses in the near term. Under the leadership of Bob Nardelli, Tom LaSorda and Jim Press, Chrysler is already on track to exceed its multi-year restructuring and recovery plan on virtually all key metrics," Mark Neporent, Cerberus chief operating officer, said in a statement. Generally Cerberus prefers to avoid being drawn into any kind of public discussion about its so-called portfolio. Reviving Chrysler, however, is the most complicated project on which Cerberus has embarked in its short history. "We met with the management team this week and fully endorse their strategic direction and their plan to meet the challenges of the current environment. We are confident that Bob, Jim and Tom are taking the right steps to bring Chrysler to profitability. Our mutual resolve to restore Chrysler to its leadership position as an iconic brand is unwavering," Neporent statement's added. Cerberus doesn't have to issue any kind of financial reports, making it difficult to gauge Chrysler's financial position. Nevertheless, Chrysler is now expected to lose something like $1.6 billion in 2007 and will probably lose money again in 2008, according to information seeping out of the company. The hasty show of support from Cerberus also suggests Chrysler is already missing the services of Jason Vines, the former vice president of communications who resigned in mid-December. Nardelli, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, confirmed that he had told a group of employees recently, while Chrysler wasn't "technically" bankrupt," it was "operationally" bankrupt. "Someone asked me, 'Are we bankrupt?" Nardelli said in the transcript. "Technically, no. Operationally, yes. The only thing that keeps us from gong into bankruptcy is the $10 billion investors entrusted with us," Nardelli said in the interview. Talk of bankruptcy in a business as deeply interconnected as the automobile industry can have unfortunate consequences. Suppliers, dealers and consumers are wary of dealing with a bankrupt manufacturer. John Devine, General Motors' former chief financial officer, told reporters more than two years ago there is no precedent for an automaker filing for bankruptcy and surviving. Cerberus doesn't have to disclose a lot of financial information publicly and after Vines' departure the role of public relations was systematically de-emphasized inside the company. Public relations functions will now be supervised by the executive in charge of human relations and the emphasis will be on product promotion. The question remains, however, whether product promotion can work effectively without a distinctive and stable public image that can reassure an increasingly finicky public. GM more or less tried it the Cerberus way back in the 1990s under Ron Zarrella. The effort failed miserably because GM could never seem to tell a consistent story, while critical parts of the message simply got lost. Meanwhile one analyst, who asked not to be identified, suggested that Cerberus underestimated how difficult it might be to turn Chrysler around. The situation has been complicated by the slowdown in industry sales that began this fall. Sales are not expected to improve until the second half of 2008 at the earliest, according a new report from IRN Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., released Friday. Nardelli announced a series of sweeping cuts back in November but rumors of more layoffs have increased in recent weeks. Chrysler officials said this week no specific cuts are planned at this point. In addition, reports are suggesting Renault/Nissan is now interested in bringing Chrysler into its global alliance. Cerberus apparently is interested enough to have held talks with executives from Renault/Nissan, according to some reports.

2007 has provided challenges that will never be forgotten. Here's to the potential of a new year: 2008! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Remember... the new Corolla was even delayed a year because of the new Civic... Can you imagine what it was like before?

1985... Just 22/23 years ago. That's still within most of the current buyers' life time. It's not really an honest suggestion, but the point is Buick has shown concepts like this before. Considering Buick's market status in China and Buick's repositioning in the US, an exclusive/limited halo vehicle on a shared premium platform wouldn't be such a bad idea if sold internationally.

Hmmmm.... why not three? 1) Mid-engine Corvette 2) A new Buick Wildcat 3) Cadillac Cien

If 2008 ends up being as bad as predicted, I fear Chrysler going down in flames. They're extremely weak in the market at the moment , with improvements still a few years out.

If GMDAT had a plant in North Korea... then maybe

They gave it an Avalon front end? Maybe they'll rename the Matrix = RAV2, Highlander = RAV6, LandCruiser = RAV8 - They're all starting to look similar now. I like the VUE better. Redline even more...

:rotflmao:

Uhm... this means a lot more to the general reading public than that. Lovely back-handed remark on a well-earned accomplishment.

I'll actually admit Bush was a good governor, but a lousy president. Oklahoma won't bomb Texas or send terrorists (OU weekend excluded... hehe) if you piss them off in the process of doing what's best for Texas. Another country will bomb the US if you threaten them. So if California became another country...

Ah... but the window encourages people to peer under the hood where they'll see it's carbon fiber.

You need a positive outlet to channel all of your pent up energy. With your imagination, have you seriously considered writing?

NO $h!! Being a native Texan, I've definitely heard about their own radical/activist movement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas_(group) As an interesting side note... my AM listening friends recently told me all the Libertarians in Texas were relocating to Wyoming to transform it into the first Libertarian state... They have other agendas... yeah right... like New Hampshire http://freestateproject.org/ http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/article...30e00000aac.txt http://www.wyolp.org/ Oh well... The country west of the Mississippi is falling apart, but seems mysteriously well put together :AH-HA_wink:

I found this map online: http://ishgooda.org/oglala/1868lnd.htm I know there are several people over here that want the state to either divide, secede, or what not... I came across the link below years ago. It's a joke/hoax, but I'm sure several states have similar radical/activists who wish the same... http://zapatopi.net/cascadia/ Maybe California would follow Oregon & Washington and be next to secede? So much for manifest destiny...