FUTURE_OF_GM

I'm sure the Cobalt is a lot newer with a lot fresher motor too. And, speak for yourself, nothing beats the feel of a V8. 23 MPG is spectacular compared to my '73 Camaro (11 MPG highway )

Corrected weights: 3069 lbs for the Mustang GT, 2551 for the Focus ZX3... Not sure where I got the original numbers from, I was so out of it last night when I posted that I barely even remember starting the topic. (Not much sleep)

Oh yeah... Long day. By my calculations the Focus was getting around 31 MPG and the Mustang, if it is using a gallon more (a.k.a. if my calculations are the least accurate) is sitting at about 25 MPG. Edmunds pegs the 'stang at 23 MPG highway and the Focus at 30 MPG highway. So, I guess that's about right on the money.

2001 Ford Focus ZX3: 2.0L DOHC Zetec 4 cylinder (130 HP) 5 speed manual transmission 1157 lbs 13 gallon fuel tank. 2001 Ford Mustang GT convertible: 4.6L SOHC V8 (260 HP) 4 speed automatic transmission 1533 lbs 15 gallon fuel tank. From my house to "the city" (You know, the one the lady with a little too much gum in the Avalon commercials refers to): 124 miles. Yet somehow, by my calculations, I get almost the same fuel mileage... It's magical, I tell ya! A few things to consider though; 95-97% of that trip is highway and I am an exceptionally smooth driver. I use cruise control, 5 MPH over the speed limit, the whole way. First leg of the trip is 70-75 MPH, second leg is roughly 70 MPH, third leg is a 'bouncy' 65-70 MPH depending on traffic. And the 'stang has a K&N filter (Not that it makes any difference for fuel consumption) Even if there is a slight difference (I figure my calculations might be off by a gallon to 1/2 a gallon) I still can't believe that the cars are this close on fuel mileage. Just makes me that much more pissed off about the anti-V8 hype.

Too bad the dog didn't get to rip some of their faces off before it was shot. And yes, I AM blaming the cops. It's bull$h! to go into a residence wearing enough armor to stop a bullet and shoot a dog that isn't even barking at you. What happened was some testosterone fueled jack off was "ready for war" and shot the damn dog because he knew it was excusable and because it was an easy target. 'Cause we all know that 'nothin's cooler than action in the field' I'd be LIVID if they shot my dog, and I'd be even more livid if they shot it in front of a child. Hell, I'd probably be so livid that they'd have to shoot me when I found out that they shot my dog. Dogs are the most loyal souls in this realm, and you don't attack my pack without shedding some blood in return.

I would tend to agree from a certain standpoint. (I voted yes) From a psychological and social standpoint, our 'addiction' to technology as both individuals and a society is/can be a VERY unhealthy thing. (Hell, this site alone has probably taken years off of my life, as stressed out and pissed off as it has made me at times) I think it is extremely unhealthy for our youth to have technology 'IV-ed' in all the time. On the other hand, there is absolutely NO way in hell that we as individuals, or as a society can ignore this technology or wash our hands of it. So the point is to teach moderation. But 1) that makes too much sense and 2) americans don't know the meaning of moderation. BTW, the Wii is the most MISERABLE piece of crap that I've ever played in my life.

YES, BUT.... Since America is now a country full of effeminate pussies, we ask OUR OWN to forfeit freedoms instead of doing the right thing and pressuring China to get their act together. It doesn't matter that they'll ruin our planet, the only thing that matters is that the 'paper dragon' US doesn't want to piss the pit bull (China) off.

LMFAO!!! Priceless... My count: 2 degrees, 1 year since graduation, same f@#king "I wanna shoot myself in the head" job I worked before I had the degrees... (you're damned right I'm mad. Mad enough to do some stupid $h!)

I'm very close to buying an iPad... Love the GF's MacBook Pro... Love both my and the GF's iPhones... What's not to love about the iPad? It'd be perfect for what I do the most, which is blog, send out resumes (would have to order one of those sexy wireless keyboards) and entertain myself. I do agree that it is pretty useless though.... What I really want is a new MacBook Pro... What I have the money for is an iPad. (LOL)

Yes, the gays definitely LOVE VWs Not real sure what chicks my cars attract. I never used them to pick up chicks... Last thing I need is some bimbo one night stand f**king up the paint or interior of one of my cars. Lets have a little fun though... 68 Camaro SS = Midlife crisis cougar... What she drives: New Camaro or Mustang, BMW 3 or some sort of small but "cute" MB. 73 Camaro Z28/RS = Bad ass tattooed early thirty something... What she drives: Some kind of trendy import like a Scion or a Harley Davidson. 01 Mustang GT Convertible = College age prep chick... Drive some sort of Honda or a 'my parents got it for me' Korean car.

Never taken Vicodin... But when I had my wisdom teeth out the Dr. Rx-ed me Hydrocodone. It didn't work at all. I took 6 of them in a little under 2 hours (ended up in the emergency room because of the pain) I ended up trying Darvocet and it worked great. It eased the pain so much that I was able to sleep. The surgeon said that was actually a good thing because Darvocet is non narcotic and not as addictive. I'm very hesitant to take pills (even aspirin) I hated every minute of that $h!. Made me feel stupid and sleepy (I actually drooled on myself a little after the 6 pills in 2 hours episode, LOL)I can't, for the life of me, see why anyone would want to 'trip' pain killers. Not long after my surgery I was involved in my first really bad Focus wreck. Dr. at the ER wanted to give me pain killers. I refused them because I had spent the last month doped up after the surgery and didn't want to "lose another month of my life" All that said, if the pain gets real bad, take the pills. Feeling stupid and sleepy is much better than agony.

Lame product from lame brands that make up a lame company make for a lame show.

So that's a reason to nix the whole thing? There aren't plenty of brands on the market that benefit from years of recognition, yet still attract youthful buyers? You really think the "Wider is better" tagline and subsequent huge sales of that gen GP weren't a success? Don't like the thread? See yourself out. This is a Pontiac discussion in a Pontiac forum, your need for attention to reinforce your insecurities isn't wanted here. (But I thought we established that a few years ago when we blackballed you) I submit to you guys: http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2010/112_1003_pontiac_gxp_lives_down_under/index.html There is your Pontiac line, in spirit... If HSV really wants and gets an 'entry level' line that isn't as expensive (READ: could actually sell here and not be priced through the roof like the regular HSVs) then what's stopping a Pontiac line?

Yeah... And the general public also knows that Hyundai was a pile of $h! not even 10 years ago, and that Audis were a death trap when they first came here, and that Toyota's (gasp*) kill people just like other cars, and that Fiat had huge relaibility issues, and that Mini's were unsafe little cracker boxes. This 'mindset' of "we can't reinvent our brands" seems to only be prevalent in the domestic automaker circle and it is 1) ridiculous and 2) defeatist. Soon we won't have any brands to reinvent if we don't HAVE CONFIDENCE in what the brands truly represent and INFORM the rest of the public that the stereotypes are completely off base and false. A brand/identity is WHAT YOU MAKE IT. It isn't ASSIGNED to you unless you allow that to happen. And BTW, Epsilon would've been able to house the LS4 AFAIK.

1998 Pontiac Trans Am.

B..bu...buu... But... Pontiac ripped of BMW with their nose piece?!?! (Yeah, right)

"Angel of Death" -- Slayer (Best Slayer song EVAR!)

CLT (Mecklenburg county) peaked at 20% this past summer. I assume it's probably lower now, but it still isn't pretty. We basically got a double whammy when Wachovia went under and now with the BAC/Merrill Lynch scandals. Wachovia really killed us; they even had to sell off the new (hasn't even been completed yet) and highly publicized headquarters uptown. (Duke energy bought it) Rumors have been rampant about BAC abandoning Charlotte completely despite press releases saying that they aren't. (But hey, who can trust a bank?) City leaders are complaining that CLT employment and industry isn't diversified enough now that the financial institutions have been shaken and I would tend to agree with that. But, I don't understand why the city didn't learn this lesson 35 years ago when textiles died. CLT and neighboring Gaston county were the largest producers of textiles in the world. When that industry died in the 70's, Charlotte basically went to hell for about a decade in a lot of ways.

LOL

Do you have Facebook? Get on the Saturn page and look at the $h! stirred by the latest post asking buyers to consider the four remaining brands. These people RESENT General Motors for closing Saturn. And Saturn was only around for 1/3 of the time the other two divisions were here. Imagine the lost sales GM will experience long term simply because they couldn't get their act together and properly sell their entire portfolio. You bring Pontiac back much like BMW brought Mini back. Use past glory (from WAY back) to spark interest in the brand from a completely different generation of buyers. Pontiac, more than anything needs to drop the "PC" crap and OWN it's identity (I've said this for years now) Some people won't like it, but enough of them will to make GM some fast $$$. Especially if there is very little investment. The only problem with that is the fact that Holden is essentially Chevrolet now and I'm willing to bet that Chevrolet will be getting civilian versions of the Holden program very soon. The only thing I can think is; 1) Either tell Chevrolet to eff off and focus on a large AWD Taurus competitor or 2) Make Pontiac a part of HSV. Absolutely.. As I said earlier, OWN the identity. New Pontiac is all about no compromise and performance. No sorority chicks, no fleet models and no Chevy clones. Pontiac never should've been a "volume" brand in the same way that Chevy is. The DNA (true DNA) of this division dictates that by its very nature. I agree... And it WAS successful. Especially given the market and limited time it was sold. I highly doubt we'll ever see an Epsilon Commodore. I'm not sure Cadillac is going to let Pontiac anywhere near Alpha (because they know Pontiac would probably tear them a new ass in sales *IF* the opportunity existed) Camaro won't see Alpha until the ATS line is fully rolled out, that's for sure. Everyone thinking Camaro will automatically go to Alpha after a "short run" of Zeta is in for a big surprise IMO. My only thoughts on this are 'what about Buick and Alpha? The Riviera was rumored to have Alpha prospects. HOWEVER, when GM did the tweetfest a while back, Riviera was supposedly spied or talked about on EPSILON. Could that be a result of Alpha finally going to Pontiac? I'm not sure as all of this is simply my speculation. But anything can happen. I think so... But, is the market big enough for a CTS wagon, CTS V-Series wagon and a G8 wagon?

Update: A.A. B.A. in Psychology B.A. in Sociology Currently trying to score an entry level job in non-profit (amidst 11% over all unemployment on the state level and 20% peak unemployment in banker city) I'm very frustrated right now because I've been getting interviews but no job. As most of you know, I fought very hard for my degrees and it's disappointing that they're nothing more than TP at the moment. The future will include grad school for Public Administration, Urban Planning or some sort of Psychology (most likely I/O or Community) That is of course, after the GF completes her Architecture degree (this May) and our plans are a bit more solid. (I'm biting at the bit to get back into school, but I just can't risk it right now)

"I got it one piece at a time, and it didn't cost me a dime..."

Actually, nevermind.... That could be considered positive for people who don't get the joke. Eff that.

MUST... HAVE.... WANT!!!!