VenSeattle

About to depart for the in-laws. HAPPY Thanksgiving! Oh... LOL @ Blu's comments.

Yes, but you're mistaking a car that's sold to fleet as a car that could not be sold in retail, implying excess capacity with low demand. That scenario can exist, but it's not absolute. Fleet sales are still business. In general, Enterprise is a customer that can place an order like any other person or company. GM has a strong relationship in fleet sales and cannot/should not excessively restrict or eliminate fleet sales of every new product... especially a product under its volume brand. GM should moderate production of the new Malibu to meet demand while controlling the percentage available for fleet sales. If a new Malibu is available at Enterprise next week, there's no justification to believe GM is doing otherwise. We know production just began and hasn’t reached public demand... but it will soon enough.

Why is Dodge showing a low-slung passenger wagon concept when Dodge is possibly going truck/commercial vehicle only? It just shows how undecided management is about the future product line and the brand's direction.

Yeah, I know GM destroyed them, but it was after the program was over and GM gathered all the research & testing info desired from it. GM didn't rape them away from the owners like the article insinuates.

Completely agree! Thanks for the pics. When I was in Times Square last, they had some awesome advertisements for Cadillac.

I don't know what you're talking about. I'm 6'2" and fit just fine. The 2008 Malibu has more front headroom and legroom than the 2008 Camry.

GM never sold any EV-1s. They were only leased. It's the same approach Honda is taking with their new FCX fuel cell vehicle. Lease only. Honda wants them back. GM wanted the EV-1 back also.

You'd like my view then... my neighbor across the street just bought a new BMW 6-Series. It's growing on me... It's definitely more attractive than the 5-series.

I thought about this after reading Reg's comment... If the Chrysler Group were to be sold off in pieces, this would be perfect. There would be very little (if any) platform sharing and each brand could go to the highest bidder... think about it: JEEP sold off by itself... GM would want it hands down and sell them along side HUMMER. Dodge sold off by itself... who needs a successful and established light truck/commercial vehicle brand? Just about any Asian manufacturer. Chrysler sold off by itself... who needs a turn-key premium car brand in the US market? Hyundai? Chinese? India?

:rotflmao: OHHH MANNNNN! Passsss the popcorn for this! Talk about major brand restructuring.... Hmmm... JEEP = HUMMER Dodge = GMC Chrysler = Pontiac/Buick combined as a single premium entity... (interesting concept )

There hasn't been an official announcement by GM so this could be misleading. This could be due to 3.6l availability or something else entirely different. As a side note, the 2008 LaCrosse CXS is still available on the Buick website. It wouldn't surprise me that they would do something to reduce the amount of powertrain configurations though. When does the 3800 go out of production?

Bigger isn't better. The new Malibu is hands-down better than the previous one, despite the dimensions. The Camry & Accord got away with being smaller in the 1990's because they provided enough room for 4 passengers and 5 in-a-pinch. The new Malibu isn't "the largest" mid-size sedan out there (partially because the Accord sedan is no longer a mid-size sedan) but the Malibu doesn't have to be the largest to be successful at its mission. When looking at the stats, the Malibu isn't as wide as some of its competition, but upon personal inspection it still provides plenty of room for most people and occasions. I had no problem getting comfortable in the new Malibu, nor did I have issues with the interior material quality like the last one. I wasn't embarrassed sitting inside the Malibu at the car show at all. As a side note, I'm not saying the new Accord sedan is bad. It's put together well, but the result has no character. Nothing inside or out spoke to me saying,"THIS IS HONDA." It might as well have been a well-built car under a number of other brands. That's certainly not the case with the new Malibu. IMO, the Malibu has a very strong identity in the flesh (inside and out.)

The Car Connection wasn't as kind to the Sequoia as Edmunds was... http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehicle_Re...181.A13642.html

Taurus can go up to $35k+ fully loaded with memory seats, AWD, etc. It's clearly competing in size/class with the Avalon. The MKZ isn't lacking really anything in luxury compared to the ES350 except perception... oh yeah, and the ES350 is over priced.

If not the CXS, the Lucerne Super will MSRP around $38k. The MKS has some appeal over the Lucerne, especially with AWD available. I'll have to see the MKS in person. I wasn't impressed with the new Volvo S80 in the flesh, so I'll have to hold off to form a stronger opinion. Lincoln's direct competitor for the ES350 is the MKZ. They're the same size (length within an inch; Same weight; interior volume close... MKZ has a larger trunk), same class, and the interior material quality between the ES & MKZ are on par. Both have features the other lacks, such as the MKZhas LED lights, AWD, and now SYNC. The ES350 has... a Lexus badge on a Camry platform (which is Fusion's direct competitor.) As for Buick, the LaCrosse replacement will more than likely be Buick's direct competitor to the MKZ and ES350.

As far as it being a "myth," you should really read up on Buick's history. Buick vehicles have rivaled Cadillac several times over the years. Until the emergence of luxury/near luxury import brands (Acura, Infiniti, & Lexus) in the late-1980s/early-1990s Buick, Oldsmobile, Chrysler, and Mercury were America's near-luxury brands. Buick is in the process of reestablishing itself as a near/mid-luxury brand where it historically and rightfully belongs. GM's brand hierarchy got out of whack due to poor (or lack of) direction in the 1980's & 1990's, but everything is being corrected now. As a side note, most of Buick's cars in China are luxury vehicles. China is the precursor for Buick in America.

Well, Lindsay Lohan needs a cause too you know.

It's being worked on... Don't think it's being ignored or going by unnoticed. We switched hosts in May 2006. They've had technical issues and supposedly overhauled their entire network at once time or another (which also directly impacted us ) but this week has been far worse than recent memory can recall. The staff are in contact with the hosting company and are working to resolve the issues.

Bring on the Buick variant!

Wow... has he been reading C&G? We've been saying this (against some Toyo-proponents) for years...

I'd go for it... makes your brand more of a lifestyle. It was something that popped into my mind when going by the Mercedes-Benz display at the Seattle AutoShow. Mercedes had tons of brand merchandise available for public viewing along with their cars. They sell a lifestyle... not just cars. Take a trip to Germany and receive your new car at the plant... Getting coffee in the morning.... it's all there.

Honestly - I think it's very attractive. The interior reminds me of Jaguar and Buick (except for the steering wheel... looks like it's out of a Chevrolet Malibu.) The exterior and worthless back seat are the things that turn me off the most about this car.

I hope you have a Fun-Filled Birthday!!! . . . . . . . . . . . Here's to you meeting a guy named Fun!

1 - 2008 Cadillac SLS 2 - 2008 Buick Park Avenue :AH-HA_wink: 3 - 2008 Cadillac CTS 4 - 2008 Buick Enclave 5 - 2008 Cadillac DTS Platinum 6 - 2008 Cadillac STS-V/STS Platinum

Bull $h!. Toyota has prided itself, along with their dealers on selling their cars with little-to-no incentives... usually moving their product at MSRP or even at a premium (think Prius... nadda any more). Those days are obviously over. And as large a market as DFW is, it is a telling sign as how tough it's getting for Toyota dealers to move their vehicles. It is also an inside glimpse to why showroom traffic was up in the "Gulf states" according to Toyota's press release. Even if the ads are misleading, Toyota and/or its dealers haven't had to resort to this type of advertising before. You can't tell me 2, 3, 4, or 5 years ago you would see those types of discounts on Toyotas just out for a year or two (Tundra, FJ Cruiser, & Camry.) $8,000 on a 5-6 year Sequoia, fine. $4,000 on a 1 year old FJ Cruiser or Camry? Not fine... And it's not like Toyota dealers are cannibalizing sales from each other. The franchises are carefully spaced apart to allow them territorial dominance... so the only conclusion would be either the competition is getting better or the new products aren't capturing the market's attention. ************** Edit... Heh... Checked the ad after getting home... Next to each vehicle sales promo it states "several to choose from." Go figure, the catch is you have to choose from dealer stock... wow, how limiting. & BTW... the Camry & the Corolla ads were for the 2008 models, so this ad wasn't to just "clear out" old inventory.