tama z71

personally, the front end could be better. i like that they are using a hugenormous grille, but the lack of a true bumper, amber eyelids and the equinox looking hood seem shoddy and rushed, and i would hope for something more complete and integrated on a production model.

The poll question is "should this truck be the 2008 Colorado?" It is listed at the top.

I need a lot of opinions on this truck. I want to get the opinions of everybody on the SEMA Z71 Plus concept. Its a radical step away from the current 355 trucks. It obviously includes some of the traits of the 900 series, as evidenced by the tremendous new fender flairs. It also has some flavor of other GM cars, with Camaro-style low profile lights, a cleaner tailgate, and revised interior. This is the fourth time GM has unveiled a Colorado Concept model with the 5.3 V8. I see alot of pre-production hints in this truck. I need the opinions of everybody here. What do you like? What do you hate? What else would you like to see happen? Please, let us know any opinions, any suggestions, any ideas you have for this and the 2008 Colorado. Also, please state whether or not you are a current owner of Colorado or Canyon. Thanks

King Carlos (and a ravenous media) may be at it again A Tama Article November 1, 2006 The following excerpt is from a BusinessWeek article that suggests a solution to Chrysler's recent woes... Chrysler is in a mess again, and there are calls for the messiah of flagging car companies to come to the rescue. Guess who? If its not Carlos Ghosn, it's not a turnaround controversy. Since the romance with GM is over, and Ford shut it down before it could even begin, Carlos would be forced to turn to the American car company with the least appealing satchel of assembly plants and bothersome union obligations, Chrysler. This would not be the first time King Carlos has tried to extend his empire to North American shores. However, before any official announcement of interest can come from the man himself, automotive journalists (or tabloidists) are scouring for their latest Detroit-downfall lead, and this would seem the next logical step in the progression of frivolous accusations and doomsday theories. Despite the media's rapid hunt for the next big lead, Ghosn does have the capability to turn around the flagging Chrysler company. However, for this to transpire successfully (successfully for Chrysler, that is), three very, very unlikely circumstances would need to transpire. 1 - Leave Nissan. Ghosn has bit off more than he can chew, running two car companies on opposite sides of the globe. We all know that he is a turnaround expert, and very likely the only reason Nissan and Renault retain any level of financial legitimacy today. However, he could not do with Chrysler what he did with those two, so long as they remain under his domain. Quite N-R, devote your work completely to Chrysler, and we will see a turnaround. Much as we hate him for the Tracinda fiasco, he can turn a sinking ship right side up. 2 - Get the company in line. Even though he may be the best recovery expert in the biz, it's going to take a whole mess of magic to turn around a company whose brands are losing focus, whose products are lagging in perceived and actual quality, and who has to work out of tumultuous relationship with Ron Gettelfinger. Ghosn has never dealt with the UAW before, and I'd be very impressed if he could get anything past those guys, short of bankruptcy. 3 - Do his work and leave. We know that Ghosn is a turnaround wizard, but his problem is maintenance. He cannot maintain a company, as evidenced by Nissan's sliding sales, so-so second generation of products (shift 2.0, or what the hell ever they are calling it now), and the blundering, eyes-closed move of taking U.S. headquarters to California, leaving half his engineering and leadership nucleus back in Tennessee. To successfully turn Chrysler right side up, stay on board for five years, run out a new generation of products, get the company back in the black, and get the hell out. Ghosn, as others such as DeLorenzo have stated before, is a one trick pony. Now, those are the circumstances under which Ghosn could theoretically bring Chrysler back to respectability, and they will never, never happen. Here's why. 1 - He's got a bad poker face. When Ghosn flirted with GM, it became very clear that he was in the deal for more plant capacity. He shut down all talk of a technology partnership, similar to what GM had previously done with DCX and BMW in developing the two-stage hybrid powertrain. Rather, it became clear that Ghosn wanted only a complete partnership, which would inevitably lead to the ouster of Rick Wagoner, which we have to assume was Kerkorian's goal all along. Thankfully, Wagoner and company saw through the garbage, and determined that the proposed deal was in no way favorable to GM (something they well could have decided from day one). So no, he won't turn around another company when all he wants is their plant infrastructure. 2 - It's a losing deal. Ghosn has two companies on his hands that are not cutting it sales-wise, so it can hardly be beneficial to propose a merger with the company who just announced it was sitting on one million, one million, one million units of unreported excess inventory. Even Carlos doesn't want that kind of excessive output. I don't think King Carlos can really look at anything of this nature as a savory deal, and I'm not very sure he could pull it off, even if he committed himself fully to Chrysler as I stated above. General Motors made it clear that they had no interest in a lopsided merger with a production-hungry conquerer. Ford did it, with even less tact, chalking any such activity up as preposterous before the media could fully saturate the thought, and more importantly, before Carlos could announce an official interest in the deal. Chrysler is in a whole mess of trouble, and they've already got one partner to contend with. For a company who has seen more rebirths than Madonna, it is not unlikely that the now-profitable Mercedes arm should sell off the Chrysler portion of the company, returning Detroit back to it's traditional domestic Big 3. However, alone or with DCX, Chrysler will be better off with a methodical turnaround project done at a manageable pace, much like Wagoner is doing with General Motors. I don't believe Carlos Ghosn is the right variable to satisfy the Chrysler equation, but you can be damn sure that the media will gorge themselves on the thought, anyways.

ive seen 6x6 atv's with more bed volume than that.

i hate it. i hate it. i f@#king hate it. but its too necessary. GM knows what theyre doing, and if they didnt, Toyota would do it first. and i still hate it.

the interior is so Cadillac

meh. i used to like this guy, but more and more his work slobbers over its own drowsy self.

Dude, every f@#king article to come out of that site is a solid seven years behind the times. Thats not even an exaggeration. In the wake of dozens of articles that claim that GM has gotten its design edge back, TTAC reaches deep within their own ass to pull out the claimed defamation of a brand that, for all the easily accessible future plans that are available, is very close to receiving its due product edge within GM. These guys are absolutely embarassing. Its a shame that people take their $h! seriously, because you cannot produce anything that straddles the line of libel as close as their work.

$h!! i agree with buickman! ... $h!!

why dont we get a local to run to each show and report back to the site? run it like a continuous c&g feature?

My Canyon has the turning radius of a Peterbilt. Backing in is the way to go.

In Japan, Toyota is guilty of as much rebadgery as Ford is in America, probably even more than GM.

IF GENERAL MOTORS' MANAGEMENT COLLECTIVELY EQUALLED HALF THE ARROGANCE YOU POSSESS AND SO READILY DISPLAY, CHEVY WOULD STILL BE SELLING THE CITATION AND YOUR INCESSANT BULL$h! MIGHT ACTUALLY BE WARRANTED. I dont give a damn about your track record and I dont give a damn about your plan. You CANNOT expect to come around here, drop a few words of masturbatory foreboding and expect folks to believe that you're not a JACKASS!!

Can you support that claim with references more credible than Robert Farago?

Quote of the Year.

You $h!tin me? Chrysler can't even sell the cars they've got. And you want another brand?

I dont know who writes DCX's press releases, but they suck mightily. ...Nitro is not afraid to... ...Nitro is also... ...but the Nitro is no stranger to... Jesus Christ, its not a damn person. Besides that, I like it. Looks tough.

You're an ass.

Definitely classier than the silvy.

the wheels on the 2500 are hideously small ... other than that, looks like a mean son of a bitch.

There are plenty of articles out there to do just that. This one does what they dont. Its not wrong, and its not a pie in the sky dream. No where did I say that GM is in the clear. However, there are alot of things taking shape right now to make you feel good about where the company is headed, and that's what GM fans have been missing. Its clear that you don't understand the intent of the thread, this is the third or fourth time I've explained the premise.

The choir appreciated the pep talk. There's no room for negative nancys in this thread.

No dude, you're missing the point. Most articles about GM still highlight all the negatives, but I have yet to see one that offers up the skinny on all the good things that the company is doing. Its not a suggestion that company is out of $h! creek and showered off yet. Im just saying that they are on their way and my article serves to give all the reasons why. And on a less objective level, its meant to make the fans feel really damn good about the progress that is being made. We havent had much of that for too long. This should definitely (hopefully) serve as a spirit lifter, but its not stretched or fictionalized in any way. Its just a look at the other side of the story that is not often told.

As uplifting as it was for us, it should have been more of an eye-opener for non-believers like you. I agree, things will take time to be 100% correct, but my article, to me at least, was a much needed look at the bright side in lieu of constant negative feelings (like yours).