Northstar

Sorry I didn't see this before or I would have responded. We actually kept the Alero for my sister; it has like 45k on it now and it's doing pretty well for the most part. We got an extended warrantly a while back, so it hasn't cost us anything on the couple repairs it has had (it had to get it's third new intake manifold thanks to me, lol). Other than that, it's been basically repair-free. Just as an update: I took the red sticker off quite a while ago, and it looks much better without it. The car's been doing great and the mileage isn't horrible (around 14MPG all in the city and with the heat on since it's been freezing out lately, and with a heavy foot). I'm over 7k miles by now (ike 7100 I think?). I've been looking into mods, and though I doubt my dad is going to be too happy about me doing so, I'm hoping to get a K&N sometime in the summer after I get some money. I found an "Aircharger" from K&N that adds 18 RWHP, so that should put me at about equal power to a stock '05 (with that and my camshaft). I'll probably look into a couple other cheap(er) mods too.

At first I thought the SRT-8 was pretty cool, but other than the visual upgrades it's not worth it. Rather than spend $44k on the SRT, I'd spend $35k or however much the loaded HEMI is and mod it if I wanted more power and performance.

As NOS said, I have a GTO.

I'm guessing you'd be able to kick a pretty good lease deal on an '05 LaCrosse CXS by now if you find one with the options you want. I'm thinking they're mostly gone, but you might be able to find a leftover somewhere. If you really want a Lucerne I'd wait a month or so if possible and see if it doesn't have a little bit better deals by then. Right now though, the Lucerne seems to be selling very well so I don't know how soon it will get cash back. I don't know if you like the new Impala, but you can probably do a bit better on it in terms of lease deals than the Lucerne right now. A fully loaded LTZ comes in a $27,685, and I'm guessing invoice is about $26k or so. Again, I don't know if you like the Impala, but it would seem that you're getting a much better deal than the Lucerne and are paying mostly for the Buick vs. Chevy badge. Another option might be a Montego. I'm not sure what deals those have but they're relatively nice (IMO the Lucerne interior is better though) and aren't exactly setting sales records, so the deals are probably pretty good.

5-60MPH was 6.6s. I'd say the review was very positive. Their only real complaints were that the tranny won't hold gears in trailer-towing mode or manu-matic mode and that the two rating is less than the outgoing model and 5.3L 2007 model.

No, I'd essentially make the Vibe Pontiac's 3-Series, but without the coupe (which is why I would add a coupe/hatch to the Solstice line).

My Pontiac lineup would use global connections: G6/replacement: The next Commodore would be the sedan, next Monaro in V6 form would be the coupe. 2.8, 3.6 available on coupe and sedan, LS2 also available on sedan (GXP). GTO: Next Monaro with the new 6.2L LS2. Some styling differences vs. the V6 versions above. Solstice: As-is, but add a coupe/hatch. Vibe: For now I'm not sure what I'd do, but eventually I would hope to move it to "Kappa II" which would be capable of having a second row. The Solstice powertrains would be available, and it would be available as a sedan or wagon. My plan would count on the next Commodore and Monaro being exciting-looking vehicles, but even if some sheetmetal changes were needed, I think it would be really cheap for GMNA to do.

I got my April issue of C&D yesterday, and they had a short review of the Denali. For the most part, they liked it a lot. They said the new 6-speed was almost always very smooth and was happy to downshift two or three ratios. They attained 20 MPG on the highway over some streches, even at near 80MPH. They averaged 12MPG throughout the test. They love the Autoride and said it feels "impossibly solid and composed and, at the same time, comfortably compliant." Performance was really surprising to me, considering that GM says the Escalade does 0-60 in 6.8s and C&D got 6.2 in the Denali. The 1/4 mile was also surprising: 15.0s at 94MPH. That's faster than a V8 SRX for comparison and I believe faster than a V8 AWD STS (a RWD V8 STS is faster).

Well, that's good I guess. Still, it's not going not to make the CSVs competitive.

Wow, that '73 looks excellent with 17s. I think that may be the first '73 I've liked better than a '67-69.

Yes, I believe it was in MT and it had the beefy suspension.

Didn't we see a spy pic of a 3.7L I5 in a Colorado mule? If the I5 is given the same upgrages the I6 got (to give the I6 291hp) and the size was increased to 3.7L, it would make 255hp, which is very respectable, IMO. I would like to see a 5.3L also end up in the Colorado with Active Fuel Management (DOD). If given an interior upgrade, I think the pricing wouldn't have to be lowered to much, but as is it is much too high.

Actually, I'd say the 360s aren't really rebadges. They're quite different in terms of sheetmetal and styling. The Cobalt/G5/Pursuit is a rebadge, as are the CSVs. GMC and Chevy used to be rebadges, but I'd say only the Canyon and Colorado are now. The Yukon and Tahoe front ends are quite different.

Umm, Croc rips GM products himself sometimes.

I think Americans would pay about $34k for the Chinese LaCrosse that is pictured (with leather and looks like it's pretty loaded) and the 3.6. The CXS is already $34k if it's loaded. The LaCrosses that are cheap are the ones with cloth and not many features or options. If they decontented the Chinese LaCrosse and gave it cloth, less standard features, etc., then I think people would still pay about $25-26k for it. Leather models could start about $27k with not a whole lot of features.

Chevy isn't claiming to be the #1 selling car brand, it's claiming to be the #1 selling brand. If you add cars and trucks together then Chevy surpasses Toyota. However, it is a shame that Toyota is #1 in cars.

Was you dad's delievered new? Because that Viper is definetly newer than a '98.

I know that it's not actually Zeta based and not called Lausanne, but TCC called it that and reported it was RWD when a spy took photos of it. Here is the link: http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enthusiast...S178.A8183.html And it definetly is this vehicle we are seeing now.

First, let me say as an owner that I think that at the price point, people expected more luxury options available, such as: sunroof, heated seats, NAV available, etc. I would like to have heated seats in the winter and a sunroof would be nice, but it's not a deal breaker for me because I enjoy just driving the car. However, with other people who may be looking at a G35 or 330Ci, they expect a sunroof and heated seats, etc., to at least be optional. Second, let me respond to OCs post because I agree with some and don't agree with other points. I don't think the price is too high. A Mustang GT may have similar performance and compete with the GTO, but the GTO has a much better interior (IMO the Mustang interioris garbage), and if you get 10 speakers (GTO has that standard), 18" wheels, and the interior upgrade package (so it's at least decent), it's within a couple thousand of the GTO, and last time I checked the 2005 GTOs had a $2500 rebate. The GTO also has a 6-way power passenger seat that the Mustang doesn't offer (or at least I didn't see it when I built one), and the GTO's rear seats are also much more useable than the Mustang. Agreed the styling could be better, but I think the SAP package really makes it look pretty damn good if you want to spend the extra $$. I can't comment on the 6-speed since I have the auto. Agreed about the sunroof as stated earlier. BTW, nice article Z.

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Isn't this the 'Lausanne' as dubbed by TCC a year or so ago that was caught in Austrailia? I remember they thought it was the Buick Zeta and the interior was really similar.

Isn't that the 'Lausanne' (dubbed by TCC) that was caught in Austrailia a while ago that everyone thought was the Zeta Buick for a while? I remember the interior was almost exactly like the Chinese LaCrosse. I do agree the interior kicks our LaCrosse's ass.

I don't think that's a bad idea, but I don't see the need for that and the GTO. It just doesn't make sense financially for GM at this point. The GTO should go to Buick if there's going to be a Firebird as well. I think the Solstice should just get a coupe (something slightly bigger with quad doors like the RX-8 isn't going to have a lot of room in the back anyways (at the auto show it was nearly impossible to even get to the back of the RX-. Then above the Solstice you would have either the Firebird or GTO, but not both. What I think makes the most sense is for Pontiac to get the Commodore as the next G6 (or rename it) and then bring the next Monaro over as the GTO once again. It would be really cheap for GM to do and Pontiac would be really profitable and maybe GM would "reward" them with another coupe below the GTO.

Well, it's good that sales appear to be about on par with last year, and remember that the Suburban, Yukon, and Yukon XL are all probably suffering because the new ones aren't here yet. It's also a great sign that GM CAN sell without huge rebates.

I don't think there's a need for a Firebird and GTO. One or the other. Personally, I think the GTO has much less of a "redneck" image amongst the car buying public than the Firebird, but that's just me.