Flybrian

GM@NYIAS 2008 HUMMER H2 Photo Gallery 2008 HUMMER H2 Press Release

I still think the Envoy is rather handsome, the Trailblazer muscular in SS form, and the Bravada simply classy. However, I think its time for the TB and Envoy to return to their roots. Build the next-generation as Colorado/Canyon companions.

7-passenger TB EXT/Envoy XL are. The SWB ones...debatable.

Cool! A J-body meet! J/K!

Anyone know if these are still around ('56 Impala, '54 Strato-Streak)? If not, then it sickens me that this abortion survived...

Nerds are intelligent; geeks are awkward and have no social skills. I.e. Nerds fix computers, geeks watch too much Adult Swim.

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Maybe he should upgrade his to a Millenia S.

I've seen Park Avenue Ventiports on an Aztek, Chrysler 300, Monte Carlo, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger, and a Navigator.

and a Floridian... 2006 Buick Lucerne CXS Grand Floridian Edition

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You can always post in random forums. Well, I'm not single now, but I was. Do you have any special activities you enjoy doing...fishing, hiking, things like that?

What ruins it is the stupid hood bulge and the aftermarket Buick accessory Ventiports - yes, the exact kind you buy at the dealership. Its actually not horrible.

Welcome to the Choppin' Competition #37 Voting thread! Remember, artists who entered must vote for someone other than themselves. Those that do not vote or vote for themselves will be asessed a two (2) point penalty. Voters, please nominate three (3) entries in this format: 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Each first place vote earns 3 points, each second place vote 2 points, and each third place vote 1 point. Voting begins now and will end Saturday, March 31, 2007 @ 11:59PM. Only those votes cast during that time will be counted. Remember, the 1st place winner will recieve a special GM-related prize from Cheers and Gears! 1 2 3 4 5 VOTE----------------VOTE----VOTEVOTE----VOTEVOTEVOTE--VOTEVOTEVOTE-- -VOTE--------------VOTE---VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- --VOTE------------VOTE----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ---VOTE----------VOTE-----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ----VOTE--------VOTE------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- -----VOTE------VOTE-------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- ------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- -------VOTE--VOTE---------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- --------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- -----------VOTE----------------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE---------VOTEVOTEVOTE-- Good luck to all who entered!

Welcome to the Sketch Competition #15 Voting thread! Remember, artists who entered must vote for someone other than themselves. Those that do not vote or vote for themselves will be asessed a two (2) point penalty. Voters, please nominate three (3) entries in this format: 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Each first place vote earns 3 points, each second place vote 2 points, and each third place vote 1 point. Voting begins now and will end Saturday March 31, 2007 @ 11:59PM. Only those votes cast during that time will be counted. Remember, the 1st place winner will recieve a special GM-related prize from Cheers and Gears! 1 - Pontiac Fiero 2 - Pontiac Firebird 3 - Pontiac Trans Am 4 - Cadillac Eldorado 5 - Chevrolet Corvair 6 - Chevrolet Vega 7 - Buick Riviera 8 - Cadillac Eldorado ETC 9 - Chevrolet Lumina Z34 VOTE----------------VOTE----VOTEVOTE----VOTEVOTEVOTE--VOTEVOTEVOTE-- -VOTE--------------VOTE---VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- --VOTE------------VOTE----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ---VOTE----------VOTE-----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ----VOTE--------VOTE------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- -----VOTE------VOTE-------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- ------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- -------VOTE--VOTE---------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- --------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- -----------VOTE----------------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE---------VOTEVOTEVOTE-- Good luck to all who entered!

Welcome to Sketch Competition #16! We've heard growing rumblings of Pontiac looking to migrate the majority of its lineup to rear-wheel drive platforms in the coming years and one of the prime candidates for this transition is the G6. As the current front-wheel drive Epsilon structure enters its twilight years and a new rear-wheel drive Alpha platform in the works, now is the perfect time to start considering a move that would certainly ignite much enthusiasm for Pontiac's most popular model. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to design the next-generation Pontiac G6 on the RWD Alpha platform. Take into consideration the wide variety of Pontiac traits available before you and remember that this is a great opportunity to reinvent some of them. Some have talked about Solstice-inspired design language or perhaps a front fascia the recalls classic Ponchos of the 1960s Or maybe you want something thoroughly-modern. Also, feel free to explore bodystyles with sedans, coupes, and wagons/hatches. Its all up to you. Remember, though, this car must be RWD and intermediate/mid-size. Your sketch should include at minimum 2 (two) of the following: -3/4 Front View -3/4 Rear View -Interior View 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 vehicle. The winner will recieve a GM-related prize! Deadline is Friday, April 13th@ 11:59PM your local time. Good luck!

Wow. Subtle but nice. Good the see the detailing is back.

Acadian Allure GMC's new crossover builds interest with women By LAURA CLARK GEIST | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek | Published 03/19/07, 1:38 pm et Click here to view Acadia's launch commercial, 'Inspiration' GMC's TV commercials traditionally have featured pickups and SUVs plowing through work sites and deserts, as gravel-voiced announcers addressed a distinctly male audience. So viewers may be startled by a commercial for GMC's new Acadia crossover. As soft music plays, a depiction of a man and woman asleep in bed gives way to images of colorful fabrics, diamond necklaces and luggage that flow through a blue sky and become parts of an Acadia. A female narrator describes the crossover's "advanced amenities, unparalleled safety features, refined styling and better fuel efficiency than any eight-passenger SUV." GMC isn't quitting the guys' club. But with the Acadia, it wants to reach women, who make up 25 percent of all GMC buyers and 42 percent of the brand's SUV customers. Emotional connection "Acadia is a chance to expand the GMC target with the new crossover segment," said Mary Kubitskey, GMC's national brand advertising manager. "Men know that GMC builds world-class trucks and SUVs. But women don't have an emotional connection to GMC." GMC also seeks to appeal to women with its Envoy mid-sized SUV, "but not with as much energy as we are positioning Acadia," Kubitskey told Automotive News. Marti Barletta, CEO of the TrendSight Group, a Chicago consulting firm that specializes in marketing to women, says GMC can make a stronger connection with female consumers by putting more people in its ads. "Women are pulled in by people, and they want to hear the benefits of the product," says Barletta, who has worked with Ford division and Volvo. The Acadia commercial talks about styling but emphasizes exterior shots, Barletta notes. Women think of styling in terms of a vehicle's interior, she says. GMC is placing the Acadia launch commercial on TV shows that attract large numbers of women. These include NBC's broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards and the series "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC and "CSI" on CBS. Cable TV, too GMC also is promoting the Acadia on the HGTV cable network. The grand prize package in the channel's "Dream Home" sweepstakes this month included an Acadia. In addition, the company is placing the Acadia in video series on the AOL Web site that offer advice on cooking, home improvement and entertaining. The goal, Kubitskey said, is to "speak to female insights." GMC seeks to build broader appeal among women for its other vehicles as well. But Kubitskey said: "You don't want to make any brand a chick brand. Women don't like that." She added: "With more women in our target set, going more emotional is our objective. It's going to vary if we're advertising a heavy-duty pickup versus a beautiful Acadia. We need to find a way for them to both be professional-grade."

GM’s Next RWD Platform: Alpha Link to Original Article @ Winding Road March 22nd, 2007 12:49 PM GM is set to debut a new small-to-medium-size vehicle platform, called Alpha, according to WINDING ROAD’s sources. The new vehicle platform will incorporate pieces of Kappa (Pontiac Solstice) and Zeta (Pontiac G8), creating a rear-wheel drive architecture that will play a large part in the future of Pontiac and Cadillac. Sources say that Pontiac’s next G6 is set to go rear-wheel drive and will be the first to use the platform. GM’s Resident Car Czar, Bob Lutz, has said in public and private that he’d like to position the Pontiac brand as the company’s American answer to BMW, but with a more expressive and sexy design language. Along with this goal would be to migrate the entire platform to rear-wheel drive. This translates into less trucks and SUVs and more sport sedans, coupes, and sporty crossovers. We’ll have more news about which products are “shifting” away from Pontiac in the coming weeks. Cadillac, which established itself as a born-again brand with the introduction of the CTS (Sigma platform, also RWD), will use Alpha as well. However, this won’t change the company’s plans for its CTS — the new car rides on an improved but similar version of the Sigma platform. Rather, Cadillac will create a new, smaller car on the Alpha platform. In Europe, this car will be the replacement for the BLS (currently built on the same FWD Epsilon platform as the Saab 9-3). But will it come to America? At this stage, signs point to no (thankfully, in our opinion). Lutz does not appear to be eager to create smaller Cadillacs. There are some within the company who consider not bringing the Alpha Cadillac to the U.S. to be a mistake. These are unlikely to be the kind of people who have a grasp on creating the right vehicles for the right brands, in our opinion. The CTS should be the entry point, even if it starts in the low 30s. A small/medium RWD Pontiac sounds about right. A small/medium Cadillac, positioned below the CTS? Not so much.

Lutz on Lutz "Never in doubt" By JAMIE LAREAU | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek | Updated: 03/21/07, 2:32 pm et AT A GLANCE: Name: Bob Lutz Title: GM's vice chairman of global product development Age: 75 Personal: Married with four grown daughters Lives: Ann Arbor, Mich. Big break: Getting hired by BMW in 1972 as global sales and marketing head In 2001, Rick Wagoner went looking for a Bob Lutz-type to turbocharge General Motors' product development. Lutz, who was 69 at the time, had retired from Chrysler Corp. and was running Exide, the battery company. He had been everywhere and done everything, starting at GM in the 1960s and making a name for himself at Opel in Germany. In 1972, Lutz left GM to become BMW's top sales exec in Munich. He later was recruited by Ford Motor Co., rose to chairman of Ford of Europe, and in 1985 was lured to Chrysler by Lee Iacocca. He retired in 1998, a decorated hero of Chrysler's revival and the very model of the kind of product-savvy executive GM's CEO was looking for. For Wagoner, the choice was simple: The real Bob Lutz would do until the imitation came along. What figure in history would you most like to meet? Winston Churchill. I did meet -- but would enjoy seeing again -- Charles De Gaulle. What's the best film you've seen this year? The Departed. What is your motto? Often wrong, but never in doubt. What gets your goat? Needless analysis when the answer is obvious. What's your greatest personal achievement? Becoming a Marine aviator. What's your idea of perfect happiness? Having enough material wealth where you feel no financial stress and being surrounded by humans and animals that you love and who love you. How do you describe yourself to others? I never really have to do that. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Verbosity. What word or phrase do you overuse? Other than the F-word? What trait do you most dislike in others? An unwillingness to challenge conventional wisdom. What's the biggest sacrifice you make to do your job well? Getting up way early in the morning - most mornings around 5 o'clock. If you could have one do-over in life ... Never to have left GM in the 1970s. On the other hand, I doubt I'd be as much value to GM today if I hadn't wandered around. And if you had a second do-over? Iacocca might have anointed me as his successor - if I hadn't argued with him. But what would that really have resulted in? I would have been CEO of Chrysler and retired at 65 and now what would I do?

Well...poop on you.

What happened to the Chery?

From a sales perspective, it does no better than the Concorde/LHS. Want to see an LX car that's designed? Look at the Charger. Like it or not, its cohesive and speaks with one vocabulary. The 300 is a mishmash of grotesque wheel arches, gunslit windows, a domineering grille, and a castrated rear. IMO.

Happy birthday...have a Birthday 'Tek!