Johnny Quest

Not that I'm trying to be a naysayer, but.... All the new product (which is fantastic) is a product of the old GM, not the new GM. Nobody waved a magic wand and out popped new good-looking high-quality cars. They're not an indicator of how well business is doing under new management or how good new management is. Headcount is down. Good job. This on its own doesn't mean things have changed. How the company functions with fewer people is the real issue, and it's way too early to tell. As for customers, well, it's all about product, product, product. It's easy to sell good cars. GM realized their product flaws and made changes. The economy tanked before they could have an impact which is too bad. As for culture, well, in my view, it's still too early. Don't be fooled by PR focusing on the bankruptcy actions - selling of business units, dropping headcount, cutting costs. Where's leadership taking the company. Easy to say they can make decisions quickly - big deal - but can they make wise decisions quickly - and 90 days is way too early. Where's the vision, where's the direction... Not saying there isn't any, but don't be fooled - there is no substantial evidence of a change in culture yet. There has not been enough time to create a history yet. Everyone is excited now and can "play the game" for short periods. ONLY TIME WILL TELL. The real work has yet to be done. I've said it before, coming out of bankruptcy is not success. How about some humility on the part of management. Taking credit is easy. Taking responsibility is something else.

Without a fundamental shift, even if GM does "okay", GM will be much smaller (and to the chagrin of many US GM executives much less relevant in North America). GM needs a solid business person at the helm -- to hold senior management accountable -- and cut'em loose if they don't achieve. (Whether Fritz is good or not, doesn't matter - I'm not sure he can make it happen as he's jaded by the past...) I'd say folks will give GM one year, and only one year, to show it can change and there will not be a second bailout. The next 90 days will be critical. There are no more excuses. The tough decisions - the real ones - the ones that were never made were the downfall. Great cars, but not a great car company.... GM executives, the "old boys", should be ashamed, not because of the bankruptcy, but because of the institutional denial. Even if it wasn't their direct fault, even if it was the fault of the market or legacy decisions, or prior leadership, it doesn't matter. I don't mean it at a personal level - I mean that as an institution, leadership needs to accept that there is a problem. They failed to act. Again, they didn't do what needed to be done. Anyone left who is "political" needs to be booted - and fast. My concern is that the cutting - the salaried folks and the executive ranks - will be done in a political manner - the exact opposite of what is needed to ensure survival. Cars may be a passion, but a car company is a business. Again, there are no more excuses. Getting out of "bankruptcy" is not success. Any idiot, myself included, can run a businesses into the ground. It takes real geniuses to take what was once the world's largest company and destroy it.

Maybe it's just me, but I think it looks like the love child of a new Sentra and a BMW...

I just want to see what a screamin' chicken plastered over the hood would look like on a new Trans Am...

Look at the bright side. All those folks who want an Element will now have a choice...

What's the plural of Prius? Prii? Prix?

It brings to mind the old addage about Subaru....Ugly, and built to stay that way. The only reason Subarus sell is for the 4wd, not the looks, sort of like Toyotas - not for the looks, but the perceived quality superiority. New Englanders will buy them, no doubt, and park it next to their Prius.

My wife told me I can't trade my G8 yet - it's too new. I told her, no problem. I'll wait for the Camaro Z28 with the 500+ hp. That's where the G8 owners will go. I'd say G8 owners are loyal to big RWD, in your face, vehicles - car guys....

It'll be interesting to see if NH passes a seatbelt law before gay marriage.... Any bets?

There's a good G8 website... do a search for G8board. I'm not endorsing it in any way shape or form. It's not a commercial website - more of a user's group. In any event, there's also a dealer there who's selling low-mileage exec vehicles.)

Sad, but when I was in Toronto a couple weeks ago, they had at least four spankin' new '09 G8's in the Avis fleet at the airport. (Not GT's though.).

Also made me wonder. If the Ute is classed as a truck, wouldn't the duty be a lot higher. Maybe that's what killed it from coming to the US.

I'm not sure. I thought there was at least 2.5% from down under = $500 on $20k. Also, depends on where the Aussie dollar is in comparison.

I don't think Holden would import into the US, they're not low enough on the cost side - the duties would kill them.

At first I thought, I don't buy it. There's no reason to. But then again everything is for sale at a price. The real question is what's Buick worth to the Chinese...$5B, $10B, 20B$? If it's closer to the upper end, I could see it happening. GM wouldn't leave China though - maybe GM gives up Buick and continues to grow Chev in China with the DAT stuff and puts Cadillac up against Buick? The reference to "three brands" in the US makes sense if it's Chev, Cadillac and PBG. But then again, the only real winner Buick has in the US right now is the Enclave. Is there time to rebadge the LaCrosse as a Caprice? Or, maybe a Bonneville? I would hate to strand GMC dealers on their own in that it only sells trucks - so that can't be a serious option.

Last summer when I moved to the US I needed to buy a new car... I was seriously looking at a new Vibe GT. I agree, the non-GT is a jelly bean. The GT has the nice rims and overall is not a bad looking little vehicle. The G5 was not on my list, partly because of the kids and partly because the Vibe is much more modern looking. The G5 is very dated style-wise. In the end, I compromised...I bought a black G8. No regrets. The price difference wasn't that significant, and there's no comparison. Having said that, the rear wheel drive can be a winter issue, not too mention the very low front end (aka snow plow). The G5, like the G6, is what I'd call medium-old GM design / quality - pre-new Malibu - not bad, but not great. Vibe GT will give you significantly greater resale.

Last point, I promise (until the next one).... Someone made a comment about badge engineering being dead, vis-a-vis contrasting this mistake to the new Equinox. To draw a parallel...the Rendezvous was (comparatively) gorgeous compared to the Aztek - it was only if you parked them side by side that you'd notice that they were basically the same vehicle.

In fairness, a few specific comments. The vehicle is narrow to begin with, so the design cues all make it look even narrower - the fender flares and the oversize grill, in particular. The front view is not that bad...but then again, the front of the Aztek wasn't bad either. From the A-pillar forward, okay. But from the B to the back - ouch. Hold your hand up to the picture and block the back and then the front and you'll see what I mean. The narrow look does not make anything look good. On top of that, the harsh squareness of the fenders doesn't fit the size of the vehicle. I don't know if they need to be smaller / bigger / more curved. The door panels - the flatness emphasizes the narrowness. Yes, it's polarizing. The key to profitability is volume, not "out there" styling. GMC is not intended to be polarizing. It will fail - big time. GMC is not a niche. No, I'm not a big fan of the CUV segment, but fugly is fugly. Quite frankly, I'm not sure why GMC is even trying for this segment. It's antithetical to their brand. Leave it to Chevy. This will drag GMC's brand image down. No serious "truck" person, male or female, will think "professional grade" - more like "goofy". Think of it this way, did the Aztek do anything for Pontiac's brand image - Yes. It dragged it down. Unless your brand is "out there" - controversy is not a positive. There should be no controversy about a GMC vehicle. Period.

Puke. Ugh. Aztek lives. The proportions are off - way off. Beauty is timeless, and time's up on this piece of sh*t. I've seen lots of nice vehicles in all kinds of categories, but this one is just plain bad. Yes, it sort of reminds me of the Pilot, but that's not a compliment. Puke, puke, puke, puke.

Okay...here's my take on RW's departure... (Opinions are like a**holes - everyone's got one, myself included). Metaphorically, GM is like the Titanic. (I left about a year ago, having seen the iceberg gashing its way down the side.) Unfortunately, the captain goes down with the ship, notwithstanding that he didn't build or design it. It doesn't matter. He can be a great guy, it doesn't matter. Send flowers to his wife. RW clearly had all the right intentions and not all decisions are good. Some are bad. The key is to recognize the good from the bad. Fiat, for example, was a bad one - a very bad one - but not as bad as keeping Saab alive year after year. Not so sure about Suzuki or Subaru. Daewoo was a very good one. He did recognize the importance of bringing in a car guy like Lutz and the product improved big time. (Interesting aside, I remember a bunch of execs criticizing the Aztec and Zarella getting all pissed off that we had the nerve to criticize our own product... There was no issue with the concept - it's the reality that was ugly.) The recent focus was on getting cost down, quality up, and great products out the door. In any event, directionally, GM was moving the right way. Unfortunately, the perfect storm hit - legacy costs, product reputation and market collapse was devastating because of the speed. If RW had more time, GM would survive and thrive. Reality, however, bites. Having said that, my criticism is two-fold. First, the culture. Excluding RW and some, very few, others, the Detroit team were self-interested empire builders who did not want to make the hard decisions. Everyone had an attitued of self-preservation, empire-building, and "I don't want to put myself out of a job" - politicians... Honesty was not rewarded and, worse, it was dismissed as being inappropriate. Second, RW, I think, knew what had to be done, but couldn't get it done. In this respect, this is his burden to bear. If his people weren't willing to do what had to be done (back to the culture issue), he should have cleaned house. If he was being misled about the reality, well, again, back to him because he should have implemented better checks and balances. In fairness, hands were tied. The current UAW / CAW is not responsible for its history no more than RW and his team were responsible for GM Management history. However, the UAW/CAW were just as guilty as the management team - a sense of self-interested entitlement. The UAW was not willing to give up much. While I'm on a rant, blame the US government for saddling the auto industry with health-care costs... By the way, Fritz shouldn't be running the ship any more than RW. New blood is needed. (My view is that Obama made RW a scapegoat, which is wrong, but the result - RW leaving is right.) That said - new leadership is required - someone who is willing to hold the folks accountable and challenge all assumptions. I'd even say that the leader should not be an American (I know I'm a heretic) - maybe someone from Asia. No more voluntary buyouts. No more incentives to leave. Keep the talent - get rid of the deadwood - but start at the senior level and go down. The last ones out should be the low-level salaried folks. As for Ford being in a better position...please spare me. It's all about product, product, product. What product has Ford got that will save Ford. It's a matter of time. As for Chrysler - they're done. Now...what's my recommendation... Bankruptcy - not because of the bondholders, but because of the dealer body. The roadblock to rapid downsizing of GM is not the UAW. The UAW is one entity GM can negotiate with. It's easy to say, kill Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn, etc. Stopping the engineering and manufacturing is the easy part. Solving the liabilities to the dealers is another story... Let Obama deal with that one - killing thousands of retail enterprises in one fell swoop - maybe they can convert their dealerships to AIG outlets... Finally, there are lots who blame GM and Ford and Chrysler for building large trucks and, as such, dying by their own swords. I have to call B.S. on this one. The big three only built what the customers wanted. If the Japanese had a decent truck, they would have been there too. From a product quality, no one built/builds better full-size trucks than the domestics. The big three were just the suppliers. They were not market makers... Cheers and Tears.

Nope. Don't like it at all. It's too "busy". It's all the little bits of chrome, the cutlines, the so-so front end, the big back end. It sort of reminds me of the sebring (not in terms of looks, but impression). It has its design strength's but it has its weaknesses and there are just too many. Maybe it's just that it has no history (no consistent design-theme). If it's intended to be a break-through design, it isn't. Ultimately, it reminds me of the same problem that GM had (not anymore though) - great designs, but five years too late. Ask yourself this question, would you want one of these four years from now with what will be coming down the line from the competition. The design is clearly not one which will holds its own over the next four or five years. It already looks old. Having said that, there's no mistaking this car for Japanese or Korean, or German or... It's clearly a car that I think won't ultimately succeed as a real competitor for other commodity mid-size cars or upper-mid or large, whatever category it happens to fall into (doesn't really matter). Yeah, some former LeSabre buyers may sign up, but I seriously doubt it will have any lasting impact. It's no Camry or Accord (not that I like their designs, I think they're crap designs, but they have a reputation - whether deserved or not). As for the interior, well, it's not bad, but it has too many "square" edges. Not a big fan, personally. (I'm not a domestic basher. I worked for a domestic - but no longer - for more than a decade, and have two new domestics in the driveway.)

In contrast to the Goat, how about: G8 - OR If it's a lemon, G8 - TORRADE :AH-HA_wink:

The similarity to the Yukon is amazing... By the way, did you ever notice that the front quarter panels on an Escalade are the same as on a Yukon, except for the "vents" on the Escalade...

Of course, they should probably be sitting on dealer lots here in Canada by late October / early November...

Of course, they should probably be sitting on dealer lots here in Canada by late October / early November...