Northstar

The Enclave wouldn't get the smallblock, it'd be getting the UV8. I think the UV8 can fit, it just happens that the UV8 is not ready yet (probably delayed during the GMT900 pull-ahead).

It probably says they're going AWD because there will likely be an AWD option, while RWD is standard.

Yeah, it has a performance camshaft, but I still wouldn't expect his 3 ton Suburban at WOT to get better MPG than my 3700-3800lb GTO.

I was just watching it... I read in a magazine about the RS10 and how it was heavier than the RS8 because they had to give it a beefier transmission and such. It's pretty impressive to say the least, and maybe diesels will get some respect now.

If it has to be sitting on the lots, then if I decide to get something other than the GTO, I'd probably want to have a used CTS-V or used 05-06 GTO.

And he's well qualified to run a multi-billion dollar corporation with endless amounts of problems that he probably has no idea how to fix? :rotflmao: Caption from pic: So he wants DPH to continue to bleed red ink and not try to cut costs? Seems like he'd want to do the same at GM (meaning keep all the un-needed plants open, not try to cut health care costs, and keep everything the way it used to be), and that'd put GM into brankruptcy. Sounds like a GREAT candidate for CEO of General Motors

I think something must be wrong with your Suburban's instant MPG mode, because there's no way it's getting 7 MPG at WOT. Just accelerating a little quicker than normally (meaing faster than the person next to me but not hod-rodding) I get about 6-7MPG in the GTO. WOT is like 3-4. Anyways, not that it really matters... the new GMT900s seem to be doing well in the press and in terms of the buying public. We shall see if they can put money back in the coffers or if the other costs are too much.

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Welcome to the Choppin' Competition #15 Voting thread! Remember, artists who entered must vote for someone other than themselves. Those that do not vote or vote for themselves will be asessed a two (2) point penalty. Voters, please nominate two (2) entries in this format: 1st place 2nd place Each first place vote earns 2 points and each second place vote 1 point. Voting begins now and will end Friday, March 24, 2006 @ 11:59PM. Only those votes cast during that time will be counted. 1 2 3 4 5

That's a terrible comparison. Of course a new star quaterback, pitcher, or coach is going to make a difference instantly, they get a chance to go out the next game and make the difference. A new CEO would not be able to make any sort of difference before driving GM into brankruptcy. If a new CEO comes in and re-writes GM's future product lineup, it's only going to cause the current vehicles to get stale, lose more money, and put GM in worse shape than it is now. By the time any of this supposed great product would come out, GM would be dead. As is, the great product we're supposed to be getting will be here in time to save GM. And, how do we know a new CEO isn't going to be Zarella part II?

Saw a Solstice, 07 Tahoe, and R-Class yesterday. Oh and a Lucerne with a fake convertible top

SSR? Lutz was hardly there for a year before the SSR came out - it was basically done when he arrived. Lucerne? Last I checked it was one of GM's and certainly Buick's most successful launch vehicles in a long time. Lack of Cobalt coupes? Sedans are the bulk of Cobalt sales, so why should they produce tons of coupes? You may have a point with the G6 convert, but the coupe and sedan are doing very well for Pontiac. Colorado was not done under Lutz. New Impala is a good product, and you can't replace vehicles every 1-2 years. You making such claims makes you look like an imbecile. With your plan, we'd have the same $h!ty product but somehow market them so miraculously they sell better than the Accord and Camry combined!

Thanks for all the memories AH-HA, and good luck in the future. :AH-HA_wink:

It looks really big in those pics. Hopefully it doesn't look so huge in the flesh.

I think Edmunds does suck at driving. I've seen both the CTS-V and GTO come in at 4.7 to 60, so I'm sure GM's test drivers can get them each a tenth quicker. MT got the Z06 to 60 in 3.5. As for the GS 450h... 22MPG is pretty impressive (assuming they were mashing the throttle quite often), but I'm not sure I see the need/use for luxury hybrids. If you can afford a $50k car, you shouldn't be too worried about gas mileage unless it's really bad.

Reuters / March 15, 2006 - 4:00 pm DETROIT -- General Motors, encouraged by the early sales of its redesigned 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, is accelerating its production schedule by several weeks for other SUVs built on the same platform, a spokesman said on Wednesday. GM is also asking its parts suppliers to ship components ahead of schedule so it can move to production more quickly for new versions of full-sized SUVs such as the Chevrolet Suburban and the GMC Yukon XL. The moves are key since the success of GM's revamped line of SUVs represent the struggling automaker's most important product launch this year, in a profitable segment of the market that it has long dominated. Sales of the Tahoe, which offers better fuel economy and a more powerful engine than the model it replaced, were up almost 50 percent in the first two months of 2006 from a year earlier to over 28,500 vehicles. The new SUV was launched in January amid concerns that high gasoline prices and a consumer backlash against SUVs could dampen sales of the new GM models, also known as the GMT900 series for the platform they share. "From a production standpoint, things are going very well. We've pulled up production of the Suburban and the Yukon XL by a few weeks," said GM spokesman Dan Flores. "The launch of the Tahoe has been very strong. The demand has been very strong." Production of Chevy Suburbans will start next week at GM's plant in Silao, Mexico. A second factory in Arlington, Texas, which makes the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, is several thousand vehicles ahead of an earlier production schedule, Flores said.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll fix it ASAP.

I voted Lucerne because I think Buick's Zeta should be the next Lucerne. If the Zeta is in addition to the Lucerne, then Invicta.

If the vans and crossovers are both built at Delta Township, I think we're going to run into too little production capacity most likely. It's better than not enough production to meet capacity, but if both minivans and crossovers are hot sellers, GM is going to have a problem if they can't add shifts.

I think putting the 2.9 in the Colorado and Canyon could help solve power problems as long as it wouldn't be too expensive. Putting it in the H3 would be great as well. The 4.5 would be great in the Tahoe, Yukon, and possibly the Suburban and XL (though the Duramax might be better for those depending on its numbers). Sticking it in a 1500 Silverado and Sierra would give GM something no one else offers: a diesel in a non-HD truck. I don't really see the 4.5 going in many cars unless Cadillac wants to fight Mercedes' new diesel. I don't really see much of a need however. I could see the 2.9 in some car applications, but we'll have to see if GM wants to commit to both hybrid and diesel versions of its vehicles.

That's the concept TB SS from a couple years ago, but I agree it's really dumb to have a pic of it when they can take one of the real thing. The only reason I see to buy a performance SUV is for utility. If all you want is performance, you might as well go with a GTO or Mustang.

Hopefully it is true, and hopefully the Impala is a production model, and not a concept.

Unless it's just because it's leaning, it appears the tires fit the wheel wells very well. Do the headlights look like they have projector beams?

Agreed on G5, but there's no harm in rebadging a vehicle 95% of Americans have never seen in the flesh, especially one that looks as good as the Astra.

Break through. Like a rock. Let's motor Successful tag lines help define brand for consumers and company By LILLIE GUYER | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AutoWeek: http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...E/60306014/1041 Break through. Like a rock. Let's motor. Drivers wanted. The ultimate driving machine. Zoom-zoom. Consumers know the vehicle brands these tag lines promote without being told. (For the record, they're Cadillac, Chevrolet trucks, Mini, Volkswagen, BMW and Mazda.) By contrast, some tag lines do little to speak to consumers, advertising critics say: Dream up. Moving forward. Inspiration comes standard. Designed for action. (In this order, they are: Buick, Toyota, Chrysler division and Pontiac). Effective, enduring tag lines capture the essence of a brand or vehicle in a handful of words, marketing experts agree. "Ideally, they are short, pithy and memorable, and they have a sense of the customer," says Mike Bentley, executive vice president of brand strategy with JWT Detroit. The advertising agency handles the Ford division account. Bentley helped develop Ford's current tag line, "Built for the road ahead." He worked with Cadillac's ad agency when it launched "Break through" in 2002. A tag line "should telegraph to both the organization internally and consumers externally what the company's about," Bentley told Automotive News. "The best tend to have a world view, a philosophy, in them." Start the revolution Chevrolet adapted its current slogan, "An American Revolution," in late 2003. Since then, it has become the sixth-most-recognized brand of all time among U.S. consumers, according to Millward Brown, a market research firm in Chicago. The visual depiction of the tag line includes a striking red "E" in the word "revolution." It's designed to resemble the stripes in the American flag. "The visual image intends to represent America and Chevrolet, by association, as America's brand," says Andrea Wells, Chevrolet account director for the Campbell-Ewald advertising agency of Warren, Mich. Kim Kosak, Chevrolet's general director of advertising, says the tag line is the first slogan that covers the brand's cars and trucks alike. "Before 'Revolution,' we had two different tags: 'We'll be there' for cars and 'Like a rock' for trucks," Kosak says. "We needed one overarching tag to be more efficient in our use of resources. It's working very well. It's a unifying element." Long-lived lines The shelf life of tag lines varies. Some automakers replace them every five years or so. But JWT's Bentley says he has seen "unmitigated disasters" when a company drops a tag too soon. "You change a brand icon or brand symbol at your peril," he says. The "Built Ford Tough" tag line has promoted Ford trucks for 27 years. The slogan seeks to position the brand as "tough, resolute, prepared and confident," Bentley says. Ford is not likely to drop it, he adds. Tag lines that respond effectively to consumer aspirations work best, he says. Cadillac's current slogan "has a huge plate of cultural meaning." "It suggests the user will break through into the world of luxury," he says. The tag line, like the Led Zeppelin song to which it is tied ("Rock and Roll"), is aimed at baby boomers. Similarly, Bentley says, "every BMW owner thinks of himself as the ultimate driving machine."