Flybrian

The difference is those cars elevated the concept of opulance by themselves. The 300C today is watered-down, cut-and-paste cues on a body. Paul Wall has a big, shiny grille - it doesn't make him a real luxury car. And if you can even mention the 300"C" and real luxury cars like the V16 and Duesenergs in the same breath, then I have no hope for you.

The original Opera Coupe.

The Charger's interior sucks, but its a Dodge and since Dodge is now low man on the totem pole, who cares? The 300's interior sucks and there's no excuse for that. I'd argue the exterior design also sucks because I can put a $h!load of chrome and an oversized waffle iron on a box with wheels and get a similar result. There's no inspiration, no subtlety, no graceful lines or meaningful little styling tricks - just obnoxious bling and plenty of it. People call it Chrysler's Escalade and to me that's not a compliment. Proper cars have a certain standard above and beyond your typical SUV in terms of design and execution. In this regard, the Charger is far, far more cohesive and one of the best-styled sedans on the road today. The Magnum looks funny. They could make a RWD toaster and I'm sure you'd buy it. For me, its about the total package. There are certain qualities I like and those I would choose over others, but if the entire car doesn't come together as something I'd enjoy driving and owning day after day, count me out. I'm not going to settle for a car with RWD but with possibly the worst 190hp V6 engine on earth swathed in cheap-ass plastic with a hood prop.

The fact is, few American consumers that buy new cars would willingly do without power windows and a/c. This is like saying "screw power-assisted brakes and power steering because I want choice." Its borderline retarded in today's market. Besides, try shipping some cars south of the Mason-Dixon without a/c. See how many you sell.

"Loan or lien reported" means the car was financed, leased, etc something involving a financial institution. "Color noted" simply means color was noted, usually at point of sale or registration. "Carfax isn't worth much more than a cursory glance at a car. The reporting is schizophrenic at best and the information is often confusing. Let me put it this way: I ran a trial CarFax for kicks on my car last month. Apparently, its been in no accidents.

Even better.

Yeah, but its a Corolla. Its not exactly the most stable car on the road.

That's if anyone buys these cars. Remember Daewoo.

Well, at least the Charger. And as long as you don't get inside.

Being spoiled with power windows, that Corolla CE I rented was a pain in the ass, especially when someone forgot to roll up the rear windows. I never really gave it a thought before. And I also find it funny the Corolla XRS has cranks...isn't that the 'underground' peformance Corolla? Or not apparently?

A bunch of odd French cars and a bunch of low-quality Japanese cars. Just what GM needs. As said many times in other threads, the best partner for GM is GM.

Sheriff's department. FHP cruisers have pushbars because they live on the highway. There's no such thing as a high-speed pursuit around here; the locals let whoever it is have their fun at a safe distance and they always try to head across one of the four bridges. They get shut down pretty quickly at that point.

Hello? Yes, this is Olds Aurora. Oh, yes, the ad in the paper. You did? You really found my taillamps? Not bad though. Could say 'V12' a few more times. Gotta love the column shift. Still, with that radar-assisted braking that doesn't work... Stopping on a dime...or about $1000.00 worth. Like None Other.

1) They should've left the cladding off, or at least option. Still cheap, cheap, cheap. Plus, they make the fender-to-wheel gap look huuuge. 2) Where is the radio display? Tell me its not hidden in that popup unit... 3) What's with the chrome piece on the steering wheel? How about embossing X3 on it or something? Looks dumb and lonely otherwise. 4) What a godawfully drab colored interior. God, I need a Zoloft just looking at it. 5) Good to see the pedals from a 1981 Regal are being put to good use. 6) The donut on the steering wheel for the airbag housing looks weird. 7) How about a split dual exhaust to look kick-ass like the X5? Fix the taillamps. It doesn't matter what you put inside the lenses, they're still discombobulated.

Our Sheriff Hemis can kick your Assachusetts Charger's ass...

Your first statement would make sense if you realize what year cars were made in. And anyway, like I said, you've got a range of maybe half a decade there. Those were some great looking cars, but out of the entire period of 1955-1965, there were maybe a handful of really doofy ones, notably the '57 Hudsons, '58-60 Lincolns, and the early 60s Plymouths. In fact, I'd say that last Plymouth convertible you posted shows signs of losing it with its huge, chintzy refrigerator coil grille and two-tone scheme that brings out the horribly oversized wheel scallop best left to the ugly aforementioned Continentals.

Looking back on it, Plymouth really didn't design many good-looking cars. The Fury was one of the few that weren't tepid, anonymous, or horrendously ugly.

I really don't see why you hate this car so much you want it eviscerated from the lineup yesterday. We all know the DTS as it currently exists will die in the next few years. The next DTS/DTS successor will be more appropriate but still be a smooth riding, stable car. As far as Lexus, yes they're boulevardiers, but damn...talk about total and complete disconnected. I test drove an LS430 a few months ago and its the first car I've driven where I felt like the passenger though I was behind the wheel.

Well, fellas, this is going to be our launch topic for the new To GM: forum. So, get your top five to ten most wanted features and try to elaborate on why over the next few days. We'll edit it, put it in letter format, and put up a poll in the new forum. Be sure to vote in the poll and we'll see if we can get some answers!

The sad fact is most cars of this ilk have become victim of auto 'journalist's BMWitis where everything regardless of its size, intention, or design needs to have European handling. As I've said multiple times, I've driven a few BMWs, ridden in alot of them, and I prefer a real boulevardier any day of the week.

Yeah, I've seen images of the Trixx. It looks slightly more like a real car. My thing against the Fortwo is the hideousness of it and the fact that it isn't even that cheap yet.

Um... #1, this is Cadillac news, not GM Corporate News #2, this isn't even news on GMI. #3, these topics are already being individually discussed within our Future Cadillac Models/Concepts Forum

The French people needs to stop wasting their time with silly crap like this and go back to making overpriced food, cars nobody wants, lousy jets, obsolete computer systems, and aircraft carriers that are too short to land planes.

Full article @ Automotive Intelligence News 1954 Cadillac La Carrera Panamericana Race Car Rides Again 52 years ago, Keith Andrews and Blu Plemons competed in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana - the Mexican Road Race. Their privately funded 1954 Cadillac Series 62 coupe challenged the factory-backed teams, beating all of them on the final two stages. Mr. Plemons has vivid memories of that race, recalling with delight the adventure by "5 ordinary guys from Colorado". With a car 'loaned' by a local Colorado Springs independent car dealer (Barry Motor Sales), Andrews and Plemons were joined by three friends to take on a factory team that arrived with 28 mechanics, a doctor, a cook, a p.r. man, four cars and drivers, not to mention two photographers. In spite of the daunting odds, Andrews and Plemons almost won it all. This year a "new" 1954 Cadillac "Carrera Panamericana" has taken shape at GM's Performance Division in Warren, Michigan. The re-creation was a "frame-on" restoration beginning with a vintage car discovered in GM's vehicle inventory that matched the original racer's specs ...even in color. "We made updates that would enhance the vehicle and occupant safety but maintain the original design intent," said Al Oppenheiser, GM Performance Division director of concept vehicle engineering. "We kept the project in-house utilizing the Performance Division Garage, the pre-production trim shop and the show car paint team. For example, the instrument panel is as we found it but the seats and soft trim had to be reupholstered." The Andrews/Plemons Cadillac completed the 1907-mile race over treacherous highways and dusty cart paths in less than 21 hours. In winning the two final stages, their Cadillac averaged over 115 mph for the final 410 miles. "Their performance in 1954 is consistent with Cadillac's DNA" said Kevin Smith, Manager Cadillac Communications. "Cadillac's introduced America's first V8 in 1914, the first V16 in 1929 and the first high-compression OHV V8 in 1948. Today, the V-Series CTS, STS and XLR express Cadillac's performance heritage with power and style". The partnership of GM's Performance Division and Cadillac delivers exciting benefits to people who have a passion for driving great cars. The V-Series Cadillacs, developed by the Performance Division, are some of the most powerful ever, offering levels of style, performance and exclusivity clearly projecting the 'Breakthrough' attitude that defines the brand. Current plans have the 1954 Carrera Cadillac entered in this fall's restaging of the Carrera Panamericana. At the starting line in Oaxaca, Blu Plemons will be reunited with this replica of the car that he and Keith Andrews entered 52 years ago. Andrews, unfortunately, was fatally injured in a crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the 1957 Indy 500. The Carrera Cadillac re-creation is just one of the more than 700 vehicles found in the GM Heritage Collection of historically significant vehicles that date back to the early 1900s.

GM China - in English!Chevy, Buick, SAAB, Cadillac, and Opel.