Northstar

Rebuilt isn't a new part. How do you know it won't break again sooner than a new one?

I don't think they would call it 'Super V,' I hope they don't at least.

Did you check insurance on a GTO? You should be able to get a used '04 for $20k by now if you look around (they're hard to find, which makes it even harder to find a good deal). A used Cobalt SS S/C would also be fun, and the insurance should be less than a GTO, but it doesn't have a V8. I doubt you'll find any GP or MC SS with the V8 for sub-$20k yet since they're both pretty new.

I could see one or the other, buy why would they need both?

If it was a GM, it'd only sell half as well.

Wow, I thought it actually looked decent in higher trims, but this is just terrible. The side profile makes it look dated already, it's so damn boring. The interior looks to have a lot of ill-fitting parts, and I bet you can pull the little sides of the stack off like at the autoshow.

There's only one RPO for the 3.9L: LZ9. The 3.5Ls are different (LX9 in Malibu, LZ4 in Impala) and the Flex Fuel 3.5L in the Impala is LZE.

HF 3.6L V6 (DI), 6.2L LS3, and supercharged LS3?

I'd say it's a little high. Last year people were getting leases on '04 GTOs for $199 a month with nothing down.

Is it safe to assume they were both GM vehicles if they were right behind a scantly camo'd Avalanche? If it was in fact a coupe, what could it have been? Could it be something from Holden testing here? Or, I suppose it could just be testing some powertrain.

That's great news. If GM can do better with celebs, I think others will follow suit. It's amazing he hasn't had an American car, but I guess other than before he was 20 he wouldn't have looked at anything not in the luxury class, and frankly, there wasn't much from American automakers in the 80s and 90s that competed well in the luxury class. I remember a couple years ago I was watching SportsCenter and MJ had just broken off from the Wizards management (when he was part owner) and he was driving away in a black SL55.

Would the SRX-V be able to do 0-60 in under 5 seconds? That seems like it's becoming a trademark of the V-Series, and I'm not sure it could do it, but I suppose it's possible. Personally, I'd much rather see "Sport" models of the SUVs. Maybe a few extra ponies would be nice, but I don't think most SUV owners are too concerned if the SRX V8 does 0-60 in 6.4 and the Escalade in about 6.2 (judging from the Denali's test).

The new CTS is coming out for the 08 MY, so we should be seeing spy shots soon enough, and if it was somewhere between Malibu and Impala in size, it would be of a similar size to the current CTS. I doubt GM would give many vehicles other than Cadillacs vertical taillamps, so it's quite possible that's what the second one was. That guy really needs to get a digi; it'd be awesome if he got some pics.

As someone else mentioned, it looks like the next Altima.

Kathy Jackson | | Automotive News / March 21, 2006 http://autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...G/60320009/1003 LOS ANGELES –- The Honda Fit subcompact hatchback goes on sale April 20 at a base price of $14,400, including the $550 destination charge. The Fit will be Honda’s first B-segment car sold in this county and replaces the Civic as Honda’s entry-level car. It competes against cars such as the Toyota Yaris and Scion lineup, Chevrolet Aveo and upcoming Nissan Versa. The base Fit is equipped with a 109-hp, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a five-speed manual transmission. Other standard equipment includes side-curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes and an audio system that works with iPod players. A Fit sport model, with a rear spoiler, aero body kit, fog lights and 15-inch aluminum alloy wheels sells for $15,720 including destination. ----------------------------------------------------- Seems a little pricey for a subcompact, no? You can get a base Cobalt for $12,990, or an Aveo for $10k.

Look at the new product that has come out or debuted. GMT900s, Solstice, Sky, Aura, Enclave, HHR. Look at what the next ION was going to look like. If that doesn't portray a bright future, I don't know what does. Edit: After the NY Auto Show, come back here and tell me the future for Saturn doesn't look very, very bright.

Well, the future products are all Lutz products, so they are the "New GM." The old campaign was obviously just a PR ploy to get some people to keep their faith in GM, and not a whole lot more. Just wait for the '07-2010 model years and you'll see that there is in fact a new GM.

UV8 means Ultra V8. I'm guessing the Outlook V8 (if it happens) will be AWD-only since the UV8 should have well over 320HP and FWD and that much power doesn't work too well.

It's supposed to be sometime in the summer. Probably late summer. I'm guessing we'll know more when it debuts at NY.

When did he ever say domestics were treated unfairly? He's simply saying that the Big Three aren't the only ones who use big incentives to move product. Obviously you have no excuse for the Tundra having big incentives, so you tried to change subjects Last I checked, most of GM's incentives are on old vehicles. The GMT800s have like $6k tacked on the hood, but no one is going to buy them if they don't since the 900s are here. GM's 2006 incentives: http://gmbuypower.com/viewCurrentOffersPage.bp?zip=61821 As you can see, Cadillac has no incentives except for the Escalade, Saturn has no incentives, Saab only has incentives on the 9-2X, Pontiac has $1k on the outgoing SV6 (and four models with $0), Hummer has no incentives, GMC has a lot on Yukons, $500-2500 on the outgoing Sierra (that's at least $2k less than the Tundra's average), and $1250-1750 on the highly overpriced Canyon. Chevy trucks are about the same as GMC, and the most on any Chevy car is $750. The three outgoing Buick models each have $1k on the hood, everything else is $500 or less. So, it would appear the average on the Tundra is quite a bit above even outgoing GM models. You think people feel like they're getting a cheaper product because of incentives? I think the whole reason people like incentives (hidden or not) is because they're getting a good deal. If people thought they were getting a cheaper product, why were they so effective for quite a long time? Did people continue to want a "cheaper product"?

I think Cadillac should do something similar for the V-Series cars.

Enough with the crap, guys. Let's keep this civil. If we can't keep it good-humored, I can always lock the thread...

By JASON STEIN | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS GENEVA -- Saab and Opel are developing hybrid systems that will appear on a range of mainstream vehicles before 2010. Hans Demant, Opel's managing director, did not say which vehicle is best suited for Opel's first hybrid -- but a car with a gasoline-electric powertrain is not far off. "Before the end of the decade, you will see a hybrid application in an Opel," said Demant, during an interview at the Geneva auto show. Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson said a hybrid will likely appear on the next generation of its 9-3 and 9-5 vehicles. "We are part of the development process," Jonsson said. "Eventually hybrids will be in Saab vehicles." Jonsson said the development of a hybrid system, which Saab is currently working on at its research and development center in Sweden, makes sense for a brand that continually wants to separate itself as a leader in technology. "It fits into the image of the brand," Jonsson said. Although Jonsson would not give a timetable for a hybrid version of either vehicle, a Saab insider said a hybrid likely will arrive in Europe before the end of the decade. The 9-5 is due to be replaced in 2007 and the next-generation 9-3 would arrive a year later. "It makes sense on the 9-3 and a 9-5," Jonsson said. "We want to put it on something new that comes out; that way we can maximize the potential of the technology." General Motors, which owns Saab and Opel, is developing a range of hybrid vehicles, which will be rolled out globally over the course of the next three years. Demant also said it would be "absolutely no problem" for GM to equip a range of GM products with an ethanol-gasoline powertrain like the one used on Saab's 9-5 Bio-Power E85 vehicle. http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...001/1041/WEBLOG

GM puts a lid on Impala output to boost pricing Jamie LaReau | Automotive News / March 20 DETROIT -- How do you make more profit while selling fewer vehicles? By controlling inventory and squeezing more revenue out of each transaction. General Motors is capping production of the Chevrolet Impala sedan at 250,000 units for sale in the United States and Canada this year, a knowledgeable source says. That means GM is sacrificing about 60,000 sales of its best-selling car. GM also will emphasize higher trim levels to increase transaction prices. The automaker is trading unit volume for what it expects will be higher transaction prices, lower incentives and higher residual values. One key goal: Cut fleet sales of the Impala, which hit 50 percent of total Impala sales last year. GM also will cut costs by cutting the third shift at the Oshawa, Ontario, plant where the Impala is assembled. GM is adjusting production on other good sellers to manage inventory and extract more revenue out of each transaction. The source says GM will hold production of the Chevrolet HHR at 120,000 units rather than add capacity to build more of the popular sport wagon. By contrast, GM is increasing production of higher-priced versions of the so-far-successful new Tahoe large SUV. Sale prices rise GM's is seeing higher transaction prices for the new Impala, which came out last fall, and the new Tahoe. According to J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network, the 2006 Impala's average transaction price last month was $22,082, compared with the 2005 model's average transaction of $20,387 a year earlier. (See box.) The base Impala starts at $20,990, including shipping. The top Impala model starts at $26,990. The 2007 Tahoe's average transaction price in February was $41,233, compared with the 2006 model's average transaction price last February of $34,546, according to the PIN data. The 2007 Tahoe's average turn rate is 13 days, compared with 94 days for the 2006 model. The top-line model Tahoe has a sticker price at $38,990, including shipping. U.S. Tahoe sales for the first two months of 2006 were 28,524, up 49.8 percent from the year-ago period, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper says demand is strong for the high-trim versions of the Tahoe, prompting GM to build more 3LT and LTZ models. Chevrolet executives monitor dealers' orders daily and make production adjustments, Peper says. One surprise, he says, has been sales of the high-trim Impala SS models with V-8 engines, which the old model didn't have. In 2004 GM built 296,594 Impala sedans, and last year built 258,524 as it phased out the old version and ramped up to build the new one. GM sold 311,135 Impalas in the United States and Canada in 2004, the last full year of production of the old model. GM could easily sell 300,000 Impalas this year, the source estimates. But GM is set to cut a third shift sometime this year at the Oshawa plant. GM added the shift in June 2002. GM would have to keep that shift if it were to build the maximum capacity, the source says. Peper would not comment on the shift. But he says GM wants to limit fleet sales and increase retail sales to bolster residual values. 50% fleet Last year, fleet sales were slightly more than 50 percent of Impala sales, says a source familiar with the data who asked to not be identified. Those data include 2005 and 2006 models. Fleet sales of a key competitor, the Toyota Camry, were less than 10 percent of overall 2005 sales, the source said. According to figures from Automotive Lease Guide in Santa Barbara, Calif., the 36-month residual on the 2006 base Impala LS is 42 percent. That jumps to 44 percent on the LT model with the 3.8-liter V-6 and 45 percent on the high-trim SS model. The 36-month residual on the base Camry is 49 percent, and it's 51 percent on the top-line Camry XLE V-6, according to Automotive Lease Guide. At the end of last year, Chevrolet increased production of the HHR and will boost it again this year, Peper says. He declined to give a specific number. But a knowledgeable source says that after "several capacity adjustments," GM plans to build about 120,000 HHRs this model year. "That's max without building additional capacity," the source adds. Chevrolet launched the HHR last June and sold 41,011 of the sport wagons in 2005. During the first two months of this year Chevrolet sold 16,610, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Managing Tahoe production is complicated by the fact that it is part of a group of full-sized SUVs coming out of the Janesville, Wis.; Arlington, Texas; and Silao, Mexico, assembly plants. That means that any changes to Tahoe production must take into account the coming launches of the Chevrolet Suburban SUV, due in late April, and the Avalanche pickup, due this summer. Other full-sized SUVs built in those plants are the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and the Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT and Escalade ESV. In 2005, according to the Automotive News Data Center, GM built 495,201 trucks at all three plants combined, on two shifts. http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...002/1041/WEBLOG

Damn, that sucks. At least you're alright though. I dread the day that could happen to my GTO. Any ideas on what you might look at as a replacement?