MisterMe

It means nothing just to say that you have spy photographs. You have to show them. At long last, here they are.

The Cimarron was technically not a Cadillac. Remember? It was Cimarron by Cadillac. Cadillac's LaSalle is also nowhere in sight.As for what should have been included or excluded, remember that Cadillac has been around since 1902. To include every significant homerun over the past 105 years would make the ads significantly longer than the 30-60 second runtimes that these are limited to. Personally, I have no problem with the ads' including some fumbles. They are part of Cadillac's heritage. Including them brings an air of honesty to the ads. Perhaps, other ads will feature such significant Cadillacs as the Sixty and the Seventy-five. The most important Cadillac for the past decade has been the Escalade. Perhaps, it will be included in future ads. The most important image in the ads is the 1902. This means that Cadillac was here before Ford. It was here before the curved dash Oldsmobile. The implication is that Cadillac will be here for decades to come.

The man who gave us the Merkur (pronounced mare-koor) gets it? What exactly is this it?

If you don't know, it is only because you have not been paying attention. Read and be wise.

According to his biography, Lutz was named GM vice-president of product development in September 2001 and Chairman of GM North America in November 2001. However, he remained CEO of Exide Corporation until he resigned that position in May 2002.

Is this supposed to reassure me? Five years ago, Lutz was not at GM. He was CEO of Exide Corporation.

It may not have been two months, but it has not been much longer than that. Think a month or so before the October 2006 issue of Motor Trend went to bed. Whether or not GM was thinking about it, Holden could not have committed the resources to Americanize the Commodore on spec. The real work could go forward only after Lutz gave the go ahead.

Really? More expensive than Saturn? More expensive than Geo? More expensive than Scion? More expensive than Smart Car?Heck, over the past few decades, there have been numerous new brands introduced to the American public. Some like Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have been from pre-existing sellers. Others like Suzuki and and Kia were new to the US auto market. Most of these new brands came from corporatations with many fewer resources than General Motors.

No, badge it as a Holden. GM has sold Vauxhalls in the US. GM has sold Opels here. If the reports about Commodore are correct, then GM should have no trouble selling Holdens here. Or, am I wrong?

Holden is a joint venture which is partially ownd by GM.If the Commodore is so important to GM in the US, why sell it as a Pontiac? The only objection posted here is selling the car as a Pontiac. Sell it as a Holden and there is no controversy. This car is supposed to hit our shores in February 2007. Between now and then, there is barely enough time to load the cars on the ships, let alone revise the engineering and styling. The faux Pontiac grill and left-hand drive are as much Pontiac as we can hope for. Um-m-m, no. The Sun rises in the East every morning without the Holden Commodore in the US. This is not a need but a desire on the part of Holden management and Bob Lutz to find a market for the Commodore.Those supporting of this move are standing up a lot of straw men. In the average US-built car, there are only $2000-$3000 in labor and raw materials. Cars are transported uninsured because the insurance is more expensive than the cars. But accepting for the sake of argument that the root of all American automaker problems is the hourly worker, this is not what the Holden move is all about. It is about automotive engineering. Holden has a new state-of-the-art engineering center in Austrailia and it needs work. This move is aimed, not at the heart of US hourly workers, but at the heart of salaried US automotive engineers. But, economic issues are secondary to the emotional ones. You cannot sell a good product or even a great product when its potential customers are turned-off by peripheral issues. Coca Cola learned that lesson in the mid-1980s when it introduced "New Coke." It spent $1 millions developing the new formula for its flagship soda. The new formula beat the old in all blind taste tastes. And Coca Cola--new or old--is just sugar water, so what difference did it make? Well, it made a huge difference. When the new formula went on sale, the reaction was negative and it was loud. The buying public rejected New Coke everywhere [except Detroit]. Coca Cola was forced to restore the old formula as Coca Cola Classic. Now, what does this have to do with GM? GM has a different relationship with its customers than do the other auto manufacturers. We tend to focus more on individual brands than the corporation as a whole. We will move up from Chevy to Buick or Pontiac to Cadillac. Even though GMC trucks were virtually identical to Chevy trucks, buyers thought that GMC was better and more expensive. There are many GM buyers who stick with one brand for their entire lives. Bob Lutz built his professional career at Chrysler, not GM. He does not understand this emotional relationship. At Chrysler, you can sell the same model--the Neon--at both Dodge and Chrysler-Plymouth dealers. You can sell American and Japanese cars under the same model name--Dodge Avenger/Chrysler Sebring [American (4 dr)/Japanese (2 dr)]. You can do these things at Chrysler because nobody cares. Not so GM. Just as an example: When GM shifted the Oldsmobile Bravada to Buick to become the Buick Ranier, it did not just rip off the Oldsmobile rocket oval and slap on the Buick tri-shield. GM extensively re-engineered the car to convert it into a Buick. There may be some here who object to this move out of stupidity. However, most of us want GM to put as much care into the Pontiac's Grand Prix/Bonneville replacement as it put into the Buick Ranier.

The Screaming Chicken and cladding are long gone. No one here is begging for their return. ocnblu is exactly correct. The car has to make an emotional connection with the buyer. This new Commodore with the Pontiac beak will be upmarket of Pontiac's current offerings. Buyers who spend that kind of money want more than dependable transportation. They want cars that stir their blood and call attention to their drivers. The prospective car on the cover of the October 2006 issue of Motor Trend does not cut the mustard.

Allow me to join the chorus. Austrailian cars have always looked like bland American cars to me. Supposedly, the development costs of the new Commodore were about $1 billion USD--a steal. Although better than other Aussie projects, the new Commodore's skin does nothing to get my juices flowing. As the proud owner of a 2004 Grand Prix GTP Comp-G, I would love to replace it with the next generation Grand Prix. If it is the Commodore in drag, I may have to look elsewhere.Mr Plow 2500HD, just because a lot of people buy those boring appliances named Toyota doesn't mean that potential Pontiac buyers want them. It seems that Japanese buyers like boring, but competent, cars. It is a shame that Nissan has to remove some of its more interesting styling cues to appeal to this group. Pontiac is GM's excitement division. Let it remain so.

Why are we discussing a rumor from another fan site?