Flybrian

It was created in 1999 for the 2000 auto show season and was Saturn's very first concept car. The CV1 is a six-door design with rear suicide doors for easier third-row access. Its a five-seater with two jumpseats that drop down (Element) for children. The rear seats slide (Odyssey) and fold completely flat (Stow-'n-Go) to accomodate even a wheelchair. It was powered by a 4-cyl 2.2l Ecotec sending power through a CVT (Quest again) to all four wheels - AWD. It was also the size of a contemporary SL sedan, making it compact and sporty (Mazda5). This again just proves how uninnovative and behind-the-times GM is.

Sounds like an issue with the gas pumps, not at all with the vehicles.

Haypop's recent post in the minivan thread reminded me...

Like the stupid broad who backed into my car and later claimed she couldn't see it nor hear my horn blaring for a good five seconds?

hot in herre

2007 Nissan Bevel Concept Nissan has designs on the Detroit auto show. by Marty Padgett (2006-12-08) Link to Original Article @ TCC Nissan says the concept it will show at the 2007 Detroit auto show in January will be dubbed the Bevel. The Bevel, Nissan says, will be a dynamic, multi-purpose vehicle with a small size, big utility and fresh thinking - including a function-inspired design, a 'command central' cockpit and high-utility interior." Nissan designers in La Jolla, Calif., penned the concept. It makes its debut alongside the 2008 Nissan Rogue crossover at the Detroit show. ---------- P.S. Bevel is a stupid name

Agreed, but for the fact that this is apparently intended for small businesses and those needing utility, not for customization.

Pink

Sounds like the NOS' MOM edition.

Nissan says hybrid will lose money Japanese automaker will produce 'unprofitable' gas-electric Altima for 8 states with strict emissions rules. David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Link to Original Article @ DetNews WASHINGTON -- Nissan Motor Co.'s first gasoline-electric hybrid model goes into production next week, but the vehicle will not be profitable and the automaker is only bringing it to market to comply with California's strict emissions regulations, a top Nissan official said Thursday. "Hybrids today are not a very viable economic proposition," said Dominique Thormann, Nissan North America's senior vice president for administration and finance. "It's still a loss-making proposition. ... It's unprofitable." The hybrid version of the Altima sedan, Nissan's best-selling model worldwide, goes into production Monday in Tennessee and goes on sale next year. The vehicles will be sold only in California and seven northeastern states that also have adopted California's tougher clean air rules: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. In 2003, the California Air Resources Board agreed to drop a stringent requirement that automakers build fully electric vehicles. In exchange, automakers agreed to make more environmentally friendly models -- including vehicles called Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles, or PZEVs. The number of low-emission vehicles required rises yearly based on a number of factors. Nissan is looking at a number of technologies, including flexible fuels, diesels and other options, but is "not putting all of our eggs in one basket," Thormann said. "For these technologies to work, there has to be a customer benefit. Somewhere there's got to be a reason why people will go toward that technology," he said. "They don't want to pay the price for the cost of the hybrid." In 2005, Tadao Takahashi, Nissan's executive vice president in charge of global manufacturing, said the company needed to sell 50,000 hybrids a year to meet emissions regulations. Thormann declined to comment on the company's current expectations. Nissan is using technology licensed from Toyota Motor Corp. for the Altima hybrid. The vehicle is estimated to get 41 miles per gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway -- significantly topping nonhybrid versions. On other topics: Thormann said there are no current alliance discussions with other automakers. General Motors Corp. ended three months of talks with Nissan and its alliance partner Renault SA in October. "The GM ship has sailed," he said. He expects more consolidation in the auto market in the next 18 to 36 months, but said alliances -- rather than mergers and acquisitions -- that allow companies to maintain separate identities have been far more successful. "Fifty percent of cars sold in America are sold by companies that lose money selling cars, and that's not sustainable," he said. "We may be there for another wave (of consolidation)." Nissan, which has more than 14,000 U.S. employees, is running out of North American capacity, Thormann said. One of its two Mexican factories will add a third shift next month to meet growing demand. The company has not ruled out buying a soon-to-be shuttered plant from among the more than 40 that GM, Ford Motor Co. and Delphi Corp. plan to close. Thormann said Nissan will make that decision as part of updating its business plan through 2010. Thormann took issue with suggestions by the CEOs of Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group that Nissan was benefiting from manipulation of the Japanese yen to keep it artificially weak, making imports cheaper. He said that 81 percent of Nissan's vehicles are U.S.-built and that Nissan exports U.S.-built vehicles to some other markets. "We are as American as we can be," Thormann said. "Maybe we should be the Big Four," he said, noting that Chrysler is part of a German-American conglomerate. Nissan, which moved its headquarters to Nashville, Tenn., from California, is building a new facility there, amid a growing cadre of Japanese manufacturers in American South. Kazuhiko Shimizu, a spokesman for the Japanese Embassy in Washington, confirmed the Japanese government had sought approval to move one of its 16 consulates from New Orleans to Nashville.

An IRL Aurora V8 and matching transmission. Ohhhhhboy...

That's going to be extrodinarily difficult. The only diecast of any scale I know the Aerostar to be in is indeed various Hot Wheels color schemes.

Or better get, GM V6s that get mid-/high-twenties.

<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Let me first take this moment to thank all of you who have participated in our Design Competitions this year. Turnout has been great and the creativity shown is simply outstanding. Special thanks to fellow moderators !!!Ted!!! and Northstar for their help in organizing these and getting things back on track after a rough 2005. Its quite a pleasure to be able to host such talent. Moving on...</span> <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Welcome to Sketch Competition #12!</span> The biggest autoshow of the season will be held early next year at Detroit and GM plans to make its presence felt with no less than 5 concept vehicles. Seeing that the General has been light on dream cars the last few years leaves us salivating at the possibilities. We already know what two of them will be - HUMMER's H4 and a RWD Pontiac sedan. Now, you fill in the blanks. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to design what concepts you'd like to see at NAIAS. You can of course make up a concept not yet listed or draw your interpretation of the H4 or Pontiac sedan. Your sketch should include at minimum 2 (two) of the following: <span style='color:red'>-3/4 Front View -3/4 Rear View -Interior View</span> Remember, people will be voting based on the overall presentation of your entry, so the more views, the better, including ones not specifically listed above. Also, if you want to include special features, by all means point them out! Aside from 800x600 size guidelines, remember this must be a GM-branded concept vehicle. The winner will recieve a GM-related prize! Deadline is Friday, December 29th @ 11:59PM your local time. Good luck!

Very well. I'll go ahead and open up #12 to keep things on schedule. Sketch Competition #12 - GM NAIAS Concepts

This guy shares some of your feelings.

4.12.2006 Motor journalists name Corsa "Top Car 2007" Link to Original Press Release @ GM Europe High commendation for the Corsa: It was named "Top Car 2007" by more than 140 German, Austrian and Swiss motor journalists in the "City" category, ahead of renowned competitors like VW Polo and Mini Cooper. "We are very honored to win this award because the Corsa was elected by car experts. The Corsa didn't just convince the journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Earlier it already won the "Car of the Year" award in Denmark and ranked second in the European "Car of the Year" election. Our customers also like the Corsa very much: We received as many as 150,000 orders, more than 50 percent over of our forecast." Beside the award-winning Corsa, the GT ("Fun" category), Antara ("Offroad") and the integrated Flex-Fix carrier ("Innovation") also ranked high in their respective category. P.S. - Read about Corsa's second-place European Car of the Year finish below... Corsa takes #2 spot as Euro CotY

Aura.

Step 1) Top off your gas tank completely. Reset tripometer or note odometer Step 2) Drive until you're under 1/4 tank full. Step 3) Top off you gas tank completely again. Make note of gallons filled and trip/odometer reading. Step 4) Take miles travelled and divide it by gallons consumed. If you're doing this any other way, your not doing it correctly. 17 gallons sounds like the total capacity of your car's fuel tank. Unless you ran it 'till it stalled for lack of gas and ended up with that figure, your math is screwy.

We made mention of this back in our Acadia and Enclave spyshots/video threads, that V8 Denali and CXS trims of those crossovers would have 'UV8' engines.

I still feel that after all is said and done, after all the "Minivans suck balls" jokes have been told, that GM is walking away from a segement it can sell to in some way, shape, or form. What, I ask, is so hard about lowering the ride height on a Lambda and adding sliding doors? A vehicle like this is necessary to retain those people who are GM-loyal and do buy vans.

December 07, 2006 Whither the Minivan? By Bob Lutz GM Vice Chairman Lots of minivan talk going on… let me just make one thing clear: Nobody said GM is getting out of the minivan business forever. We simply pulled a minivan option out of the running for one of our archtectures. We reserve the right to initiate whatever future product programs we feel the market desires, up to and including new generations of minivans if we deem them necessary and desirable. That’s really the key to everything, of course: the market. And we think the case for another new entry at this point in a market is trending away from minivans just doesn't make a lot of sense. Look, the minivan was a great idea, and a fine product. It pulled Chrysler out of the frying pan during some desperate times. But obviously in recent years a stigma has attached itself to the minivan and won’t let go. Same thing happened to station wagons in this country before the minivan came along. And beyond that stigma, the minivan is hurt by the many other choices available to customers. SUVs have been conquesting minivan sales for years, and now crossovers will take even more. Our new trio of crossover utilities — the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave — should not be compared to minivans; they are a totally different animal. But do we expect them to take sales from minivans? Absolutely. Just like we expect them to take sales from traditional SUVs. These vehicles can carry eight people comfortably, have plenty of hauling space, and have a fuel-efficient 275-hp V6. And they have better road manners and vehicle dynamics than any minivan I’ve ever driven. Not that I’m comparing. But if I were, I know what would win! These three crossovers will do nicely in the market for us, I believe, and, for now, we don’t see the need to offer minivans any longer, for many reasons. Do you? Posted by Lutz on December 7, 2006 04:13 PM ----------------- C&Gers, make your voices heard by responding on the FastLane blogs: Wither the Minivan?

I envision an alternate world where John Rambo is named Frankie Sparkles. "God didn't make Frankie Sparkles. I made him!" "You've done enough damage. This mission is over, Frankie Sparkles. Do you understand me? This mission is over!"

Let's do it with a Park Avenue.