Chicagoland

How much longer till they are carved up and sold off? After 40% off, how can they then try to sell supposedly 'newer' products at a profit?

Isnt that one of their Chinese cars? The 'enthusiast' car rags are usually not correct with 'future car' news.

Well, to those who think the Zeta would have 'saved GM', look at the #'s for the LX cars.

Friend went to look at Civics and all they had were black, and wouldnt call another dealer. Was like 'take it or leave it'. Got a Cobalt 2 door, and used GM card rebate. Thought Honda dealer was a bunch of $@$@$@, and doesnt care about the 'name'.

More Grand Marq are going to rental fleets, saw quite a few on Maui vacation. Escape was doing a model changeover to 09's in July, there are more are on lots now.

Where is the 2010 EpII LaCrosse going to be built?

Well, Mopar thought that sedans were dying, so bye bye Neon. But then they also thought making soft Jeeps was good idea. The LX cars are now so low, they are just niche cars. The ones who proclaimed that "RWD was coming back big time" when the 300C was hot were DOA.

With Nissan buying Mopar truck designs, I bet they will buy a portion of ChryCo.

Honda was only up 1%, as if that was HUGE! A few years ago Honda was pushing their "new trucks, redefined" and also "HP,HP,HP"! Now, Ridgeline, Elements, Pilots, and Acura SUV's are piling up like Mopars. Back on topic, Focus kicked rear this model year and showed that enthusiasts do not know what will sell.

The sources who seem to say 'Big 3 dying' are AP, MSN, and TimeWarner. Automotive News, parent of Auto Week had a big headline 'Toyota drops 21%', but then they know more about the car biz.

Oh gawd can we grow up a little? Just because RWD/BOF/V8 cars are history is no means the end of the world. I bet the complainers have never ever bought brand new cars, and shop at Walmart, so go cry a river.

Saturn shouldn't be killed, it's bad PR. I can see the headlines "GM's import fighter fails". Should be merged into Chevy and then changed to a model, as Geo's were. "Saturn by Chevrolet". Heck, they already converted Spring Hill to make Chevys, so why not?

Most stories I see say "Detroit 3 can't this" and "can't that". OTOH there are still a lot of people who really think GM is "all of Detroit".

It will get rich car collectors and 'first in town' buyers. But the casual fans who like to look at 'hot cars' and kick tires will not buy, 'until used ones are cheap enough'. Will bring in some showroom traffic for maybe a year, then what? How about a 'Volt Camaro'?

False story. According to NADA website, there are more inquires on mini-vans since the $4 threshold was passed this month. Car guys assume that everyone wants to drive a sports car or huge truck, but don't have a clue about the 90% of buyers who don't care about image and status, and 0-60 times.

"GM ... what kind of cars they build by what the market demands. " Market is demanding fuel economy now, not retro RWD Impalas. SUV's are tankinkg, so this myth that "everyone I know wants a new RWD Impala/Caprice" is just an opinion.

That has been my point all along, MB, Beemer, etc do not sell 'affordable RWD', and that new Hyundai is no "Asian Caprice". Expecting cheap RWD cars like the old Novas and Chevettes aint gonna happen. "GM abondoned RWD car buyers"? The B-body was offered until 1996, where were the so called "loyal buyers" then to 'save it'? Same for the old F body. And Ford did keep a RWD big T-Bird til 97, but again, buyers abondoned it for a roomier SUV, etc. Grand Marquis sales are down to nothing these days, the unibody Sable outsold it last month. Shows that its former loyal buyers are getting too old to drive, or have passed on, sorry, but true.

Well so called real Americans, GOP, tell Detroit to stick it, and average buyers are now demanding better MPG. So, no gearheads, notgonnahappenanytimesoon! Keep reading Car Craft and imagine a time machine.

"FWD is like a plague, a nasty, dirty infection that spreads and it MUST be cut out of the non-$h!box end of the market. " Well, unless someone invents a RWD/V8/BOF car that runs on salt water, plastic grocery bags, dog turd, or used styrofoam, CAFE dictates less '60s' and more compact cars.

Lutz said that "SUV buyers dont care about gas prices" back when the 900's were coming out, and acted as if this was the only way to get ship straight. Well, turns out pouring $$ down the pipe is something people do not care to do anymore.

Some forget that CAFE has been law since 1975, and no GM didnt abandon RWD. They tried to offer hi MPG RWD diesels in the 80's, enough said. Also, where were these so called buyers when GM had B and F bodies for sale? The LX cars are tanking for Mopar, weren't they supposed to be "the begining of return of all RWD"? And the 300 was outsold by the new Taurus [500] in May. Looks like Ford got its revenge in long run. Not saying RWD is bad, but to think that "all cars should be RWD"? No way.

"GM is huge, and has the most brands - clearly they should offer the widest variety. How many versions of FWD sedan can one company sell?" Umm, that is one of GM's biggest PROBLEMS, ;-) Anyway, the idea that RWD will 'comeback' as it did in the 60's was never going to fly. Gearheads with old RWD cars want new, but then don't buy. Only sports or luxury RWD cars will be around.

Trucks are meant to haul loads for workers, not go to the mall or golf course. The market is correcting itself. Also, the GM press release says '2009 Cobalt to continue to summer 2010". They cant keep 09's in production that long. Probably meant 'current Cobalt around til 2010'. Oh, and I see lots of ads for Chevys touting their MPG. Most advertising is done by local dealer groups. Also, dont think for a min. that TV ads are as effective as they were before the days of channel surfing.

"In case you forgot, GM tried playing it safe and flooding the market with FWD appliances in the 80s and 90s that did nothing to stand out from their Japanese competition, and look where it got them. Do you honestly think that going back to that approach is going to fare any better this time, with the market as crowded as it is, to the point where Hyundai is closer to offering an affordable volume RWD car than GM is? Get serious." Ummmm, since when is $44,000 "affordable"??? RWD Hyundai see here!That is the price of the new Hyundai super duper RWD car!!!! I am sure lots of GM B body loyalists will line up for that! Also, Toyota got where it is today by "playing it safe" with reliable, economical FWD appliance cars!! Not every car buyer wants a Drag racer that reminds them of the 1960's. Sure Euro luxo boats are RWD, but the average European isn't driving them, #1 car over there is VW Golf. GM has Caddy, Vette, and Camaro for RWD loyalists. So, indeed they are not putting all eggs in one basket.

Yeah, a company that was unloaded at a huge loss by Daimler, run by a manger who almost killed Home Depot, and to cut gas hogging truck models. God knows if they will see the 2010's. Sure they have a "clue"? Some have to get out more and see the real world and that it is not 1969 anymore!