FUTURE_OF_GM

Yeah.. My bad.. I didn't read the actual blog, just the article... Oh well, what is said is said and what is done is done.

Geez man, I'm very sorry to hear all of this. The worst things always happen to the best people IMO. I don't claim to be an expert on this, or controlling bad/fostering healthy emotions obviously because of my negativity and curse of being a type A as well. But I can give you a few tips from past experiences. [quote]Only about a half dozen times in my life have I found myself so depressed, angry, despondent, miserable & distressed that even cars & car related activities did not lift my spirits... even thoe sight of a '69 Camaro or a '50s Cadillac did not put a smile on my face. I have reached rock bottom in my life. I'm really so upset and have been of the past two days I can not even acomplish basic tasks like basic math.[/quote] First thing you have to do is find a way to turn this negativity into something positive. I would suggest volunteering or helping people out. It's a proven fact that when we help people it boosts our mood. Do not do like I did, which is find a negative outlet for this energy and harden it into anger or self loathing. You're a great guy 68 and there is a reason that you sacrifice your own well being for the well being of your daughter and Marcia. Remember that, and as much as Marcia might be reluctant to admit it, she too knows the truth. Get help. If the negativity continues, then I would suggest seeking help via a psychiatrist or someone in the field. There is NO shame in seeking help no matter WHAT others might tell you. I come from a proud family that believed that mental problems and seeking help for those problems carries a stigma until I had to seek help for my problems. A lot of times, just having someone listen is excellent medicine. And, although I don't openly recommend it, (I made this mistake too) there's always prescription drugs. [quote]It's all so damn depressing to me I keep having really bad thoughts of putting myself out of the misery of the next few days, weeks, months & years of my life.[/quote] Never give up! We come to this site everyday, you and the rest of us, because we believe in something. We fight everyday for fairness in media, or for GM to produce a new Camaro. Eventhough GM is down and out right now, and some would say, not salvagable, are you ready to give up and let the company and all it stands for die? This analogy is a direct comparison to you. You get up everyday because you believ in something. You believe in providing for your daughter and and helping Marcia. Just because you're down and out doesn't mean that your mission in life and what you believe in should be put to rest. I'm a firm believer in fighting your hardest when something is inevitable. When I'm down on the mat is when I have the most desire to get right back up and fight and I think that's what should be applied in this situation. You have a purpose and people who depend on you, don't let a few obsticles get in your way. [quote]I have a terribel temper and have been making small changes to improve that...[/quote] The more you explore why you are the way you are the more you will begin to understand and control your temper. You will begin to understand why you get so angry about things and this will result in greater control and predictability. I know this as well, since obviously I am cursed with a bad temper just like you. I would suggest researching personality type. [quote]My brain says I have to move on with my life and pick myself up off the floor, my heart says I can't go throught this nasty, viscious breakup and I'd do anything to be able to be a family again. Me, Marcia & Sofie. I guess like they say you don't ever appreciate what you have till it's gone.[/quote] I cannot begin to imagine what you're going through because I've never been there but I think your heart is very much in it because you feel this way and that's a good thing because you'll endure. It's much better than not feeling anything at all. [quote]I know. You guys are 100% correct, it's the fact that I have lost any remenance of a healthy state of mind that really worries me. I'm in a very dark mood... no light at the end of the tunnel from where I stand.[/quote] I think this is a matter of perspective... I find myself in this state of mind a lot as well. But from your perspective there is light at the end of the tunnel and that light is your daughter. Afterall, she is the most important thing right? [quote]If crap goes the way Marcia wants Sofia will go from seeing me 70% or so of the day on average to seeing me twice a month or whatever. Just the thought of it is breaking my heart.[/quote] Given what you've told us and given what I know of you I tend to think it'll be the other way around. First because you seem to be the more responsible parent anyway, secondly because your daughter will WANT to be with you and third because I don't think there is a court in the state that wouldn't be on your side if things went that far. I hope things work out okay and I'm sure they will. PM me if you ever want to talk more. AIM: FUTUREofGM

[quote]It looked like high gas prices and a White House reversal on fuel conservation meant that fewer "W" bumper stickers would find their exposed sticky sides mating gloriously with the smooth rear bumper of an H2, somewhere between the tow loop and the access hole for a Class 3 hitch.[/quote] ALRIGHT... THAT's IT! Right there!!!! Not 2 DAMN sentences into the article the authors bias is BLATANTLY showing... I'm tired of it... TIRED of hearing these BLEEDING HEART idiots WHINE about a political environment that was decided 2 years ago!!! "W" is here to stay for the forseable future... There is nothing your incessant nagging, bitching and whining can do about it, SO DEAL WITH IT! (And for the record I hate "W" too) [quote]but the scuttlebutt was that inventory had been building for months now and the local Hummer dealer had panicked. He had begun storing his Hummer inventory at an undisclosed location, far from the dealer showroom so as not to spook jittery, prospective buyers with the mounting number of unsold H2s and H3s.[/quote] Ok, first of all... NO ONE has been panicking about anything... Secondly, nice way to make this dealer out to be "The mysterious man" that these "people" always seem to be whining about and "fighting" and thirdly H3 production was just UPPED, so if you think they're "piling up" then you're wrong... It's just the typical fabricated media that's shoved down our throats everyday until we suffocate on our own vomit from STATED trash. [quote]When an anonymous caller phoned in with the location, we were off. "The rear parking lot of the Hyatt Westlake Plaza Hotel", he said, just before the line went dead. TMTGM investigative sleuths Erik Ustin and Ray Pizzuti grabbed your still somewhat skeptical editor, and after stopping at Human Resources to pick up a few "half-off at Togo's" coupons we scurried past security, through the main entrance, and out to the parking lot. A security guard spotted us and yelled, "Hey you three, stop right there!"[/quote] Dumb hippie drama.... [quote]had respectable fuel economy (16 city / 19 highway is what the sticker said)[/quote] Nice... a quib obviously about "GM and the EPA lieing about fuel economy" You know, it's funny that none of these accusations or "EPA method is inefficient" :bs: came up when the Prius was being raved about by your set... NO it's a double standard, Hummers we bitch about, yet Priuses, REVOLUTIONARY Priuses only getting 1 or 2 MPG more than you common Cobalt or Civic are written off because of "EPA standards" or "problems with the technology" which is another story all together. It's the typical two-faced, lie to the masses to convert them to our convoluted truth, tactics of the EXTREME left media... Hell, even the regular media is LOSELY based on facts and assumptions. [quote]surely he wondered why we were taking pictures and laughing, but then he looked closer, recognized the unthreatening physiques of three software engineers, spotted our badges, and quickly lost interest.[/quote] "laughing" Who surely all drive Civics and chastise people like me for not being utilitarian. [quote]just looking for someone to love them.[/quote] More hippie drama... No really, I insist, more hippie drama... [quote]Apparently the thrill of driving Hummers back and forth between the remote storage lot and the dealer showroom wears off quickly, as each round trip requires that another five gallons of fuel be dispensed in order to ensure a complete round trip.[/quote] Yeah... I'm sure of it.... Like the storage lot is Oh, say, at worst fuel economy 50 miles from the dealership.... Yeah... that makes sense, a dealer would rent a storage lot in another town or something.. and that's assuming only 10 MPG. Sounds like these GREENIES are embellishing the truth a lot... But I'm sure everyone who reads their little circle will believe it as gospel. Afterall, it's not like they're the smartest people on earth... I mean, if they were and all, they would've CERTAINLY found a way to defeat "the man" by now... You know, "the man" (singular) who runs and ruins their lives... "The man" that controls everything and sells everyone out.... "The man" that kills all life through his destruction of the environment.. You know "The" business "man" like ME [quote]The reason that the story of rapidly rising Hummer inventory is so interesting and so amusing,[/quote] [quote]is that America's most ostentatious Sport Utility Vehicle, the Hummer SUV, is a metaphor for America[/quote] So america is rich, powerful, conquering, sheltering, rugged, tough, independent, stylish and elegant?!!?!?!?!? See, TWO can play the adjective game.... It's not hard. And what's cool is my perception of the Hummer is REALITY based, where yours, like your view of peace love and happiness for all IS NOT [quote]overweight, overpriced, inefficient, and unloved.[/quote] And this being your view of america, and your spreading of this disdain, instead of pride to be one of the most powerful and greatest empires in history and respect for the fallen that paved the way for displays of ignorance such as this, is EXACTLY why we are falling from greatness AND why you will OBVIUOSLY, yet OBLIVIOUSLY pay the ultimate price by being BOUGHT while this nation is sold out. I thought I might humor you guys with some of my off the wall opinions, since these jobless yuppies did. *THIS* is the kind of crap I've been subjected to all of my life growing up in the area that I have and *THIS* is precisely why I am like I am, which is not tolerant of *THIS*

What does that have to do with anything? Other than Toyota being the darling of the media and TELLING buyers NOT to forsaken the company... Were the buyers at one time unhappy enough with Buick to buy a Toyota? Or did they just do the logical thing and comparison shop? I get told all of the time by the collective media and import zealots that I'm clossed minded for being "brand loyal" just like 95% of other americans (I know, I'm militant in nature though) but now that very same media is going to turn around and EXCUSE---or----JUSTIFY that very same BLIND loyalty for import buyers???? Seems a little stupid and deceitful to me... The Lucerne will do well, at least initially... Once the media finds out it is gaining ground they will begin the onslaught of negativity, like I've presented evidence on with the Solstice and H3.

Of course they did!!! It commited the 2 cardinal sins. 1) It's a GM product that's actually selling and 2) It's a "gas guzzling HUMMER suv" Anytime a GM vehicle actually sells, the media will try to STOP the momentum; add to that the liberal BS that is rampant throughout our media and there you have #2 And besides... How many H3 owners do you actually think are going to tow something with this truck??? How many of them CARE to be seen in a "common" Chevrolet Avalanche eventhough it is twice the truck for the money? It's funny all of these comparisons come to fruition when domestics are concerned, but aren't mentioned on something like an ES to Camry situation or an ES to Avalon situation... More media bullsh*t.

Maybe those "250 yahoos" will actually have something positive to say about the car, instead of the typical media :bs:

I think and AWD Saab version would be great, but I am worried about playing out Kappa... Rex Raider did a BEAUTIFUL Saab Sonnet chop a couple of years ago based off the 9-X. Despite being panned by the media the Solstice is still a BIG hit. (Although with news of this they'll be sure to try harder) See GM, this is what happens when you ALLOW passionate design in your vehicles and when you SWEAT the details...

Automotive News... But that's expensive. Other suggestions: AutoWeek (Auotmotive News' sister publication) because it's weekly of course. MPH thus far has really impressed me. The layout/photography is the best I've ever seen and so far I haven't read any bias in there (But I've only seen 2 issues) and they've been pushing a year subscription (10 issues) for $10 Personally, I don't subscribe to any of them. Why pay, when 1) it's biased garbage a lot of the time and 2) I can get it for free in a nice cushioned sitting area with no distractions at my local bookstore. But, those would be my top choices if I chose to subscribe.

Combine those 2 quotes and you'll have the realistic answer I think... GM will give Toyota the technology (In exchange for something DUMB, I'm sure) and Toyota, being the king of all media, will exploit the hell out of every aspect of it. GM will be seen as worse than dog crap, eventhough they pioneered and OFFER the same technology. THUS reinforcing Toyota's bright future and GM's morbid decay into nothingness (You know, kinda like the decay that america itself is seeing now) Either that or GM shallowly thinks that the media/green yuppie scorn will abate if they get in bed with Toyota. Ford already tried this and, of course-surprise surprise, it led to more chastisement. Except this time about how Ford was TOO dumb to create it's own hybrid system. "Stupid americans with your no engineering talent.... bask in the glory of japanese greatness" [sarcasm] All this while the yuppie who wrote it sadly perishes via a NASTY sandwich collison involving an Excursion, his STALLED, though technologically marvelous, Prius and a Big 'ole Hummer. Thank goodness he didn't die in vain and spread the word proudly at the expense of dumb, ignorant, greedy Americans!!!![/sarcasm] Should I stop? I can go on forever!!!

Same sh*t, different day. Toyota = record profits/GM = screwed

God what I'd give to have that!!! I've always wanted a '59 Cadillac and/or Impala... And a coupe to top it off.

That's very commendable. After being dumb that one time and drinking and driving, now 90% of the time I am the sober one that drives everyone home. I guess it has a lot to do with my dad being an EMT for years and me seeing first hand what drinking and driving can do.

Pretty dog! He seems either really playful and cool or really pissed of and about to launch at the camera. :)

SWEET train! BTW, hey Sixty8, can I share that signature image with you? That's very cool! (I'll understand if you say "NO!!! GET yer OWN!!!")

BTW Josh, I'm trying to plan yet another Detroit trip this year, hopefully it'll come through.. I know, I've said I'm coming for like 3 years now <_< I hope this is the year.

Sounds like some of that 'shine we can buy around here! :D :D

Jesus man... I'm so sorry. :( I have quite a few wild partying stories. BUT I have a couple of rules about drinking. 1) There has to be more than 10 people present when I drink. The reason being that, although it usually makes me VERY happy and a lot more fun to be around, alcohol can swing moods both ways. And since I sometimes have mood swings and bad spells of negativity/depression anyway I don't want to take any chances. So, I figure 10 people is enough to either distract me from my possibility of bad emotions OR make me happy. 2) If I get wasted, it has to be somewhere that I feel comfortable, which means either a friends place or with a lot of friends around. Here is a good one: A couple summers back my best friend had a band that used his house to practice at. So to repay him and me for all of our support they threw us free field parties in his back yard (about an acre field bordered by railroad tracks) with live music and everything. The very first one I had worked very hard to arrange (anything from lawn mowing the field to lining up LOTS of guests) and I was dehydrated. So I downed a lot of Goldslauger, (sp) my then liquor of choice, and got wasted. This led to many fun things, like me and a wasted friend of mine hurling empty beer/liquor bottles at the passing trains in a drunken fury, the typical falling out of lawn chairs; repeatedly, acting like an ass headbanging to the music in front of everyone, getting felt up by a quasi ex (We messed around but never committed) in front of my now girlfriend (She's still sore about that one) laughing at my drunk friend pulling "the brains" out in front of everyone (Those of you who have seen "Waiting" will know what I'm talking about) and trying to get the horse across the road drunk among other things. Then there is the infamous picture that was snapped of me grabbing my now girlfriend in the chest region. Harmless you say? Sure, until one of my jackass friends later made like 7 copies of it and indiscretely showed it to everyone including her mom! The party ended when the cops showed up (Wish I had a dollar for everytime that's happened) and my best friedn who was hosting the party fell on his face while walking up the bank to meet him. He said "Everyone be cool.. I'll, I'll handle this." then he fell flat on his face.. it was picture perfect. I paid for it the next day, but MAN did I have fun! I've had to watch over my friends as well.. We threw this one party at a HUGE house (Even had an elevator in it) Had to be 100-150 people there at the peak. It was WAAAY out in the country on a mountain top. A friend of mine and I were the first to arrive (Since we were 2 of the guys throwing the bash) and we poured the first drinks (Screwdrivers) Needless to say we both made some of the dumbest moves of our lives that night, because we were... YOUNG and DUMB. I ended up getting lit and driving (Someone elses car to boot) to meet more people to bring to the house, like a dumbass--I made a promise that I would NEVER do that again and I have kept it. And my friend ended up getting caught up in one of those macho loser drink 'til you drop games and getting alcohol poisoning. At one point he was shaking, laying next to the toilet passed out. Of course we were the type of guys that would never abandon a friend and some of us had medical backgrounds. So we snapped him out of it (Got his adrenaline going so he wouldn't keep passing out, then made him ingest A LOT of bread and water) and took care of him for the rest of the night. That's one of the only times I've been scared or worried about one of my friends.

Ever think it had to do with the record setting sales of the last 3 summer months and the lack of inventory?

My sentiments exactly!!!!! And, obviously, some here are still sold on this turd of a "truck" Oh, and I must give props to BrewSwillis for an excellent post... Next we'll see the FAILURE of Honda to create a capable truck and the FAILURE of the media to fulfill their obligation and push it off on the public successfully justified by " apparently only a few americans are intelligent enough to understand BETTER imports judging by their inability to fill the obligation to buy from companies that fuel our economy so much" a.k.a "The Ridgeline was so advanced and ahead of it's time" Oh, and funny Honda is barely meeting HALF of it's yearly sales target if the PUKEline is so damn nifty. Another excellent point.

Dude! You are so 'the man'!!! I've always wanted to do something like that, even wanted to be a nascar driver for the longest time. But then nascar sold its roots out and all the yuppie/hippie scum around here raised enough money to BUY our local track (Which my family raced at for generations) They wanted it so they could make a 'continuous river front park' called RIVERLINK. So now it's been converted into a massive playground/BIKE track. <_< :angry: :bs: :puke: :angry2: Anyway, the car looked great and I'm envious :D :metal:

AMEN! My surroundings are pretty ideal... Real rural (Where I live) and a pretty big city about 5-10 minutes away.

And once you run out of profits, you run out of businesses and hence people don't matter all that much any more. I'm not disagreeing... I just think moderation must be a factor.

But of course!!! They no longer HAVE to justify a winner, it's IMPLIED that the import (eventhough a Mazda really isn't) is automatically the winner and they can back that up with 'subjective' lies. I'd just like to point out that the "disclaimer" I talked about in relation to the first Solstice vs. Miata article, in this thread: Car and Driver sucks HAS been enacted Have a nice day! :) And yet another EXCELLENT GM offering will be tarnished into failure by the media! GM will NEVER make a car better than the imports, period. (At least according to what you'll be told) Accept it. Edmunds; Miata wins, Motor Trend; Miata wins, Car and Driver; Miata wins... and on and on and on...

I thought it was an excellent follow up! I'd give the original a 9 and this one an 8.5 The very first scene is one of the most intense scenes I've ever witnessed in a movie and the ending has a great twist! I hope they don't make it into a franchise though (Which is what it looks like they're going to do)

Chalk me up for a copy of that album as well. Twisted Transistor sounds AWESOME and according to the band this is one of their heaviest albums ever, I can't wait!!! Too bad it's been delayed.