Oracle of Delphi

Ohhhh, I think Pontiac is going to get some freedom! :AH-HA_wink:

Every one of them comes with a little kiss from me! :AH-HA_wink:

Plenty more where those came from.

I forgot the Saab 9 3. Add it to my list.

Pics

So does this peek your interest? There is much more to come, but I never kiss and tell.

Rear seats move forward to create a flat load space of 1.8 meters long.

English

More in depth.

Or this?

You know what they say about a picture is worth a 1000 words, well does this do anything for you?

If you're asking is there a RWD V8 coming from Opel, then the answer is no. But if Opel's existence and it's technology lowers CAFE enough that GM can still make RWD V8's, then you tell me the answer to your question.

GMC Envoy & Acadia Pontiac Torrent, Grand Prix & Solstice The G names leave me cold! Saturn When the models are the same as Opel's. Cadillac CTS & STS

Opel is the future of GM. How Europeans drive today, we Americans will be driving tomorrow. Europe leads the way in diesel technology and as GM's European brand, Opel and to a lesser extent Saab will be pulling the rest of GM in that direction too. I don't think Hybrids are the answer, but I have great hope for diesel power in our future. Opel is using various engines on different Opel models from the 1.3 - 1.9 CDTi ECOTECs. All we need is one small Geo-Political crisis or a natural disaster to make gasoline go to 4, 5, even 10 bucks a gallon, then you will see the true value of diesel and Opel to all of General Motors. You and I are relics from the past who both enjoy V8 power, but where we differ is, you are firmly rooted in the past, where I look towards the future and to me, that future is Opel and diesel engines not big honking V8's from OZ.

Mark Rechtin Automotive News July 30, 2007 - 12:01 am LOS ANGELES -- Toyota's inexorable climb through the sales ranks has led to a popular belief that success in America was preordained for the Japanese automaker. Not so. There have been plenty of hiccups, nervous times and downright edgy situations during Toyota's 50 years in America. For instance, the launch of Lexus has become the stuff of legend. But did you know that there was a staunch cadre within Toyota that wanted to see Lexus perish before it was even born? That Toyota's American brass fought with Japan over building a real full-sized pickup with V-8 power more than 20 years ago? That dealers initially gave the cold shoulder to Toyota's entry into the captive finance market? In a special issue Oct. 29, Automotive News will take a close look at Toyota's 50 years of doing business in America. The issue will examine 25 make-or-break decisions that were crucial to Toyota getting where it is today. Toyota has faced challenges since its arrival in 1957. Its first effort in this country was a spectacular failure. The Toyopet Crown was underpowered, undersized and underwhelming. After selling fewer than 300 cars, Toyota loaded its remaining inventory onto ships and sent it back home. Dealers had to survive on a meager diet of Land Cruisers for five years. It took more than a decade for Toyota to get a sufficient foothold so that its sales were no longer lumped into "other imports" in the monthly charts. Then came 1971, and President Nixon's wage and price controls, the unlinking of the dollar from the gold standard, the elimination of the excise tax on cars, and a 20 percent increase in the value of the yen. As Yale Gieszl, one-time boss of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., put it: "For 90 days, no one knew what to do." And when Toyota cleared that hurdle, other challenges awaited. When Toyota arrived in America, it was too small to distribute its own vehicles. But as Toyota grew, that meant sometimes taking back the franchise from private distributors. In Boston, Toyota's relationship with distributor George Butler unraveled in the courts. Butler didn't take losing the lawsuit well. When Toyota's new regional staffers showed up to take over the operation, all the paperwork was gone. John Turmell, known as Mister Fix-It over his 30-year Toyota career, recounts that none of the new crew even knew where their dealerships were. To make matters worse, when the blizzard of 1978 hit, the roof of Toyota's residence hotel collapsed and Toyota's Eastern Seaboard inventory was underwater in the flooded Port of Boston. Yeah, no sweat. Automotive News believes that companies don't do things, people do things. The articles in the special issue -- derived from scores of interviews with the people who were there when it happened -- will take readers inside Toyota's boardroom. Despite Toyota's carefully cultivated image of a consensus-driven culture, emotions often ran high. Recently, I lunched with the SR5 Club, a group of Toyota retirees that meets monthly to talk about old times. They allowed Automotive News to videotape their memories of Toyota's Wild West days of the 1970s. You can view a snippet of those interviews at www.autonews.com/video. They're a preview of the stories that Automotive News readers will receive when our special issue is published on the week of Toyota's 50th anniversary in the United States -- which, by the way, is Halloween. How American is that?

Automotive News July 30, 2007 - 12:01 am As legislators, regulators and automakers look for ways to improve fuel economy, they must remember that consumers will make the ultimate choices. And that's going to cause a few surprises. One example: Consumers are bidding up the prices of used cars and trucks equipped with fuel-saving diesel engines. That contradicts conventional wisdom, which holds that Americans gave up on diesels in the 1980s. Some environmentalists turn up their noses at diesel engines, but technological advances have made diesels more palatable to U.S. consumers. The Power Information Network estimates that U.S. consumers will buy more than 500,000 diesel-powered vehicles this year, mostly heavy-duty pickups. But sales are expected to double by 2011, when more diesel cars are available. In their quest to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, some environmentalists are betting on vehicles powered by fuel cells. But high-volume production is still way in the future. Other technologies -- such as diesel-electric hybrids -- may offer environmental benefits comparable to fuel cells and at less cost. The message ought to be clear: The government shouldn't craft regulations or tax incentives that favor one technology over another. Nor should automakers invest all of their r&d dollars in a technological silver bullet such as fuel cells. In the United States, consumers will want a variety of choices. In a market economy, that's the way it ought to be.

I would have to agree!

Personally, I'd rather kiss Pontiac goodbye than go with a Holden pretender.

Tank Enough said?

Automotive News - Chrysler group dealers and their lawyers are girding for a fight over the company's threat to yank the franchises of 173 dealerships because of poor sales. A letter this month by J.W. Dimond, Chrysler's national dealer placement manager, said dealers could lose their franchises if they do not meet their "minimum sales responsibility" within 180 days. Most state franchise laws require automakers to give dealers 180 days to correct performance issues before franchises can be terminated. The minimum sales responsibility is a monthly sales target that Chrysler sets for each dealership. Chrysler uses several factors, such as area population and the proximity of other dealerships, to calculate a dealership's sales goal. Many dealers say those targets often are arbitrary and ignore local market conditions. Leo Jerome, a Chrysler-Jeep dealer in Lansing, Mich., said Chrysler doesn't fairly measure his market, which includes two General Motors assembly plants. Most vehicle sales in the market are to GM employees, and "Chrysler doesn't take that as a factor," Jerome says. "There is an overabundance of Chevrolet dealers for the size of the community, Jerome says. "The manufacturer has to come out of its ivory tower and pay attention to what happens in the market." Cerberus not involved The termination letters affect more than 4 percent of Chrysler's 3,700 U.S. dealerships. Chrysler seeks to reduce its retail network, largely by consolidating Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises under the same dealership roof. Article Continues: http://chryslercorporationllc.blogspot.com...es-dealers.html

Oh my, I'm in love!

Oh no, you've outed them!

It has been 15 years since I cancelled my subscription to their RAG! I've not regretted it once since.

Ahhh, I love the People's Republic of Massachusetts!