Flybrian

That red convertible is a 1960 Meteor Montcalm, by the way, eh?

My local Saturn dealership is fine. Used to be an Oldsmobile lot, so the layout is the same. Its a bit cozy inside, but nothing trashy. I do see construction going on outside, so I guess its realted to this? Anyway, most Saturn lots are pretty new so they're generally rather nice. Most B-P-GMC stores, too. Chevrolet needs lots of work. Seriously.

Man, everyone got me such wonderful gifts in their mind! Heh, thanks guys!

Exactly. I would think its smarter to stay in China, learn from the Western automakers, grow and adapt, prove yourself as a manufacturer, then form a productive alliance with one of them (i.e. Chery and DCX) to provide small cars for the ____ market. An en masse 'invasion' of the American market is shortsighted and needless since we're oversaturated as is.

Actually, this is the car.

I think Sony makes this thing called a Walkerman or something so you can listen to the radio while you're walking around. Check into it.

Actually, I found the models I guess they plan to show at NAIAS... CS6 - GX meets Terraza CS7 - Tribeca meets RX Like their logo? Looks like an L from a distance.

This is the Liebao. Its equipments include ABS, steering wheel, silver bumper, syringe, and a 'stepney.' Look familar? Chang Feng ressembles and distributes Pajeros in China. That's right, they build Mitsuibishis. That should be a good litmus for quality. They also make fine hotel furniture like this chair. Check it out. Clicky

Deadline extended to Saturday, Nov. 25th @ 11:59PM because of the holiday and possible server downtime. Great entries so far, guys!

For the record, a Dodge dealer in Tampa has started filling up a vacant lot two miles away from their dealership behind my company's office with Durangos, Rams, and Calibers.

Chrysler pays dealers to stock up Automaker will give bonuses for every '07 model they take before year's end with their full allotment Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News Link to Original Article @ DetNews With dealers balking at ordering new 2007 model cars and trucks, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group has started offering cash bonuses to dealers who stock up before the end of the year and promised to halt its practice of overbuilding vehicles and pushing them onto dealers. In a Webcast to dealers Wednesday afternoon, Chrysler sales executives acknowledged dealers' growing frustration about the automaker's huge supply of unsold Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge vehicles and implored them to step up one last time to order their full allotment of vehicles for the rest of the year. "We need you to help put us back in a position of strength by taking your November unassigned vehicles and also taking your December dealer orders so that we can get to 2007 really marching," Steven Landry, head of Chrysler's field sales operations, said in the Webcast, which aired on a dealers' Internet site. "We have a plan in place but we need you to come along." After the Auburn Hills-based unit of DaimlerChrysler posted a $1.5 billion loss in the third quarter, Chrysler executives have been under tremendous pressure to finish the year strong and clear out excess inventories of vehicles built without dealer orders, known as the sales bank. But many Chrysler retailers have refused to order new vehicles because their lots are teeming with unsold inventory. Dealers pay financing charges on cars on their lot and interest piles up the longer a vehicle sits unsold, which is the main reason dealers balk at accepting excess inventory. To help allay those concerns, dealers said Chrysler told them last week that the automaker will give them $200 for every 2007 model car or truck they take -- if the dealers take the full number Chrysler has allotted them for November and December. Chrysler also will pay $400 for every 2006 model dealers take from the sales bank. During Wednesday's Webcast, Chrysler executives promised dealers that the automaker will build to demand next year and not pressure them again. "They give you some incentive for the troops to march," said Alan Helfman, a Chrysler and Jeep dealer in Texas who has ordered about 300 2006 and 2007 models. "(Chrysler's) the generals and we're the troops who take it to the battlefields. Fortunately, we have something to fight with in the battlefield." Chrysler spokeswoman Lori McTavish confirmed that the Webcast outlining the company's year-end strategy took place, but said the automaker does not discuss the content of its communications with dealers. "We consider that to be a matter between our dealers and the company," McTavish said. This isn't the first time that Chrysler has promised to eliminate the sales bank, several dealers told The Detroit News. While some believe Chrysler will halt its historic practice of building cars without having orders for them, others are doubtful. For now, the new dealer cash incentives signal that Chrysler's high stockpile of older models is discouraging dealers from ordering 2007 models, which should be rolling into dealerships this time of year. "A lot of Chrysler dealers have physical limitations on their lots so they can't take more vehicles," said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with Edmunds.com, a research Web site for car buyers. While Chrysler is playing catch up and trying to convince its dealer body to take new model vehicles, competitors have their 2007 vehicles already in place at dealerships, Toprak said. That puts Chrysler at a disadvantage because consumers who are comparison shopping new cars and trucks, will go elsewhere if they can't find the 2007 Dodge, Jeep or Chrysler vehicle they're looking for, he said. Dealers can use the $200 they get for taking 2007 models at their own discretion, including adding it to existing consumer discounts. By itself, the incentive isn't unusual, even if it's being offered at the start of the 2007 model-year cycle, Toprak said. But the automaker's gesture comes at a time when Chrysler is trying to shrink its inventory and when some dealers -- still grappling with lots crammed with 2006 vehicles -- have balked at the company's request to order more cars and trucks. "Chrysler is trying to find ways of pushing its 2007 inventory into dealership lots," Toprak said. "That's not quite the norm." One dealer who spoke on condition of anonymity said he does not plan to take more vehicles than necessary despite the automaker's latest deal issued last week. "Our allocation isn't that high," the dealer said, "but we don't need any more cars."

8.11.2006 GM Europe’s October sales up 9.6 percent from last year GM sold 153,719 vehicles in Europe in October, 13,455 vehicles more than in last year’s October, reaching a market share of 8.9 percent. In the first ten months of 2006, GM Europe sold 1,680,951 vehicles, an increase of 9,887 units compared to 2005. In Eastern Europe, GM sold a record 140,211 vehicles in the first ten months of the year, which constitutes a sales increase of 50,036 units (+55.5 percent). “October was really defined by the start of sales of our new Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, which was very successful in its first month, with sales of 21,479 units and an order status of more than 145,000 units,” said Jonathan Browning, GM Europe’s Vice President Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. “Saab is on track for a best-ever year and Chevrolet continues to gain market share and is particularly successful in Eastern Europe. For Opel/Vauxhall, we will continue to focus on our strategy of increasing profitability by deliberately reducing low-margin rental fleet sales.” Opel/Vauxhall sales up by 6 percent Opel/Vauxhall sold 116,121 vehicles in October, an increase of 6,751 units or 6.2 percent from October 2005, reaching a market share of 6.7 percent. With registrations of 1,319,928 in the first ten months of 2006, the brand captured a market share of 7.2 percent. Especially in Eastern Europe, Opel almost doubled its sales from January to October compared to 2005. Vauxhall held its second place in the U.K. sales charts with a 13.3 percent share, up by 0.8 percent compared to the same month last year. A total of 7,201 private buyers bought Vauxhalls in October 2006, compared to 4,795 the previous year, a gain of 3.5 percent in market share. Vauxhall had four models in the top ten: the Astra was in second place, Corsa in fourth, Zafira in eighth and Vectra in tenth. Saab on track for best-ever year In the month of October, Saab sold 6,182 cars in Europe, reaching a market share of 0.4 percent. In the first ten months of 2006, Saab sold a total of 76,551 cars in Europe and enjoyed a 14 percent increase (+9,485 cars) over the same period in 2005. Globally, Saab sold a total of 112,394 cars in the first ten months of 2006, which means that the brand is on track for its best-ever year, keeping up the 7 percent increase compared to 2005 registrations. Chevrolet achieves a record market share of 1.8 percent in October With 31,109* vehicles sold in October, an increase of 7,976 cars or a sales gain of 34.5 percent, Chevrolet reached a record market share of 1.8 percent in total Europe. Sales in Germany increased by 56 percent to 2,550 units, making the country the fourth largest market for Chevrolet in October, behind Russia, Italy and Ukraine. From January to October 2006, Chevrolet sold a total of 279,177 vehicles, increasing its European sales volume by 13 percent compared to the same period last year. Its market share for this period reached 1.5 percent. * Chevrolet figures include vehicles produced by GM Avtovaz for the Russian market and vehicles of US production. Cadillac’s European January to October sales grow by 21 percent Cadillac continued to grow in Europe where 2,749 cars were sold in the first ten months of 2006, a plus of 21 percent compared to the same period last year. Also Corvette performed well in its niche market: from January to October it sold 1,200 cars. HUMMER tripled sales of the H2 and H3 to 1,420 vehicles, from 471 vehicles sold in 2005.

Dinner? Dude, are you living on a boat in the North Atlantic? Its 3PM!

Country Squire

King of Queens is awesome.

Heh...are the dealerships open today?

Speaking of NAV screens, the visual info displays in many of today's imports are really lousy. For example, the one in my Murano rental looked very pretty but had less functionality than my 1996 Olds. How sad is that?

Here's an interesting take on the Lambda decision... Link to Full Article @ Business Week - a good readWith the timeline we're quasi familiar with stating a Chevy Lambda is coming, but not until 2009/10, could it be possible that Chevrolet will get an exclusively-tailored CUV with sliding doors? This would be a good solution, I think. Limit the exposure to loss by making one world-class minivan for the large volume division.

In other news, a Kentucky man dug up a 1987 Plymouth Gran Fury buried in his lawn to make room for a tool shed. No one cared.

GM mulls building Saturns in Belgium No. 1 automaker considers retooling Antwerp plan. November 23 2006: 10:52 AM EST Link to Original Article @ CNNMoney.com BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- U.S. carmaker General Motors Corp is considering building Saturns at its plant in the Belgian city of Antwerp, a spokeswoman said, in a move that could spare workers from reported job cuts. According to Belgian media, General Motors (Charts) planned to cut up to 1,000 jobs at its plant in Antwerp, Belgium's second-largest city. German rival Volkswagen this week said it would slash about 70 percent of its workforce in the Belgian capital. "We have an investigation phase to see if it is feasible to build Saturns in Europe and since Antwerp is an Astra plant then it is one of the possibilities," General Motors Europe spokeswoman Nathalie Van Impe said. The Saturn brand includes a model similar to the Opel Astra. Belgian financial daily De Tijd reported Thursday that such a move would be at odds with the rumored job cuts. Asked about the implications for job security if Saturn production started in Antwerp, she said: "(Job cuts) are not an option in the short term." She noted however that Astra volumes were falling in Europe and the group was mulling options to deal with overcapacity. If volume continues to go down, "we will discuss this with our social partners," she said. GM and it's rival Ford (Charts) have production facilities overseas in an increasingly globalized automotive industry. At the same time, Japanese carmaker Toyota (Charts) is poised to knock GM from it's top selling domestic spot. Finally, fellow Japanese carmaker Honda (Charts) has plants in the U.S.

People need to remember that the IIHS is a lobbying concern for the automobile insurance industry. They have their own agenda by making cause celebre out of a certain feature now and then. Take the bumper bash for example. Why do I care how much it costs to fix? The insurance company is going to pick it up anyway. They're quick to draw the argument that 'better cars result in lower rates.' Have you seen your rates go down in the past ten years by a substantial figure? They should since the IIHS themselves say cars are safer now than they were a decade ago, naturally thanks in part to their efforts.

I understand what he was trying to do - those assholes were being rude, so he was being rude back. But he didn't know how to handle himself and it showed. A better comedian could've said a similar thing and the response would've been applause. It just shows Michael Richards isn't that funny, something I thought for awhile.

4Matic

Hey, guys. To address the recent and growing problems with our server, C&Gs host provider is going to be moving the forum to a better, more reliable server on Friday, November 24th. Scheduled downtime is approx 1 hour, which will occur between approx 5:00PM Friday and 3:00AM Saturday. This will hopefully cure what has been ailing us. In the meantime, I and all the other moderators (except Ven) truly appreciate your patience and loyalty while we work to improve our connection issues. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving! -Brian

Yeah. I'm anxious to see how the Platinum treatment is applied here. If its done in a good way with some real exclusive and rich trimming...ehhhh!