Northstar

Though similar, the Buick comes off as far more stylish than the Opel, which looks like a more advanced version of the current Aura interior. The Buick looks like a much more expensive car, which it probably will be.

Lutz already said it will cost thousands of dollars per car to make the cars as fuel efficient as they have to be, so $297 is not much at all compared to that.

Haha, total scam. Notice how he doesn't want you to use eBay's messaging system. Obviously so that eBay can't read what he says back and forth.

Top 15 sales charts is not a bad thing, necessarily. I realize you probably like to have a little exclusivity (the number of other GTOs I've seen on the road randomly, ie not at a meet, is probably under 25), but cars like the Civic, Accord, Malibu, etc., would all be fine automobiles to own and I don't see why you would buy something that wasn't as good unless it simply fits your tastes better. Well in that case, you should change your sig

I think the first line covers all the rest As for me, I don't know if there are any real deal breakers other than me not liking the looks or having a poor interior. I think those are the case for just about everyone. I'm not against 4cyls as long as the car is decently quick still nor am I against FWD as long as the car doesn't handle like crap. I'd prefer RWD V8, but I'm not sure how long that will last. I may just keep the GTO forever if I don't get a Camaro/Alpha/CTS.

Yes, that, YJ. I guess they are not terribly similar, but the Equinox's center stack would look pretty similar with a NAV screen, I think. The vents are quite similar.

What would make them love an Alpha Buick more than an Alpha Cadillac?

Looks very luxurious. If he doesn't get a G8, I think this will be the car my dad will end up buying.

It reminds me of that GMC X-Over concept interior, don't remember the name. Pretty good, though the seat material looks odd, hope that's not production.

Even if it can be differentiated somewhat, making it a Pontiac means less potential lawsuits and probably less lost sales. Buick can survive just fine with the Invicta, a Global Delta, Enclave and a TE "mini" Enclave. That would give them a lineup nearly identical to Acura's for the most part with the exception of the RL, which doesn't sell, anyways, so it's somewhat pointless to even count it as a model. Pontiac at least has new product for a while with the ST, Solstice Targa, and G8 GXP.

If Buick gets an Alpha, there is no reason to keep Pontiac. I don't see how an Alpha really fits in with Buick seeing as how they'll have an EPII and probably a Global Delta as well, not to mention the Cadillac Alpha probably won't be much more expensive. Where is there room for it? It has to be not too far in size from the Global Delta and why would someone buy it over the Cadillac version?

GM had enough cars in the pipeline. He announced today that 18 of GM's next 19 debuts will be cars or crossovers. Only 1 truck (Colorado). If still in the works as they were a couple years ago, GM will have tons of small cars and crossovers. By my count, we could be getting 7 or 8 Global Delta vehicles (Astra, Cobalt replacement, possible Buick, possible Pontiac, 9-1, and a couple others that I'm probably not supposed to have any idea exist), 5 EPII models (Malibu, Aura, LaCrosse, 9-3, 9-5), 3 or 4 Global Gamma models (Aveo, Pontiac, Corsa as a Saturn, small SUV), Equinox, GMC Theta, BRX, 9-4X, and don't be surprised to see some 7 seat TEs, either.

Cerebus realized that no matter what they invest, Chrysler still isn't going to be able to design a good interior, so Cerebus decided that there was no need to waste the money

I don't see cars getting too much lighter, but obviously we're already going to have 300HP turbo 4s. You aren't going to get 500HP turbo 4's, however. That market isn't going to shrink much regarless of gas prices; the wealthy won't care. That's somewhat how my idea came about, and the screaming sound these engines could make.

How about this: A super-high performance 2.8L with 150HP/L (it is rumored in the 2.0 I4 turbo)... that'd be a 420HP screaming V8 that would probably get over 30MPG in a small midsize vehicle. Shwweet.

Congrats, BV. Glad to see you got a good car to replace the beast.

Make one turbo small and one large, and your problem is non-existent.

So, I just had a thought pop into my mind: Imagine the future of the V8 as this: 4.0L, twin-turbo, SIDI, 500+HP. How, you ask? Stick two 2.0L SIDI Ecotecs together and that's what you have. I don't know if that would work, but it seems plausible enough. It would deliver pretty good fuel mileage as well, I think. Image the other possibilities, too. The same HP/L (130 is what the 2.0 gets, but lets use 125) out of a 3.0L would yield 375 screaming ponies. A 3.5L would make 435HP... and so on... I think you can do the math easily enough. With forced induction being the wave of the future, IMO, I think we could see "big" V6s drop down to the 2.8-3.2L range from the current 3.5-3.8L range with the addition of turbos and direct injection improving fuel efficiency while keeping the same HP levels (around 300). V8s can still thrive where they're at now, at the 300+HP level, but they'll make the fuel economy of a V6 because of forced induction. A 4.5L version of this engine would make in the neighborhood of 560HP. A 5.0L could be the range-topping mode, use higher-performance parts to put it at 130HP/Ll and make 650HP... on the same level as the LS9 but significantly smaller. "Detuned" versions could make in the neighborhood of 100HP/L. Best of all, these engines would still keep the amazingly flat torque curve that everyone loves from a V8 while becoming drastically smaller and more fuel-efficient. It would likely require fewer ponies to achieve the same performance as well, seeing as how these engines would likely be lighter than the big V8s of today. I think this is the future of the V8. BMW is already onto it with the upcoming twin turbo they have. Perhaps this is why GM is wanting to get into the V8 business with BMW? Sounds good to me...

Fleets, probably. Want to give a hint as to how soon? It could be the Vibe replacement, which is really just an MCE, anyways (same basic interior). You could answer "soon" (less than 2 years) or "not soon" (more than 2 years) :AH-HA_wink: If done right a small FWD Pontiac is OK as long as we still get an Alpha one (perhaps bigger than the Delta car), but it is unneeded. R&T or C&D (can't remember which) just tested the Cobalt SS turbo and said it's the best handling sport-compact ever, so it's not as if GM couldn't do a very sport FWD compact Pontiac.

Who knows if it's coming here, though? Hopefully it's just for Canada. The Chevy was originally an Aug 2009 intro, so it's been moved up ~6 months... if everything else has been moved up 6 months on Global Delta, the Astra will be here late 2009/early 2010 in sedan form, and around the same time as the Chevy if we're getting the 5-door this go around as well. The 3-door comes at basically the same time as the sedan.

Good news. And a car smaller than the Cobalt is fine. Cobalt is bigger than Civic, Corolla, Sentra, Focus, and the list goes on and on... and some of them it's significantly bigger than... the Focus is 5 1/2 inches shorter.

The best color for the G8 (that I have seen) is the orange color. I've seen black, white, red, orange, and the dark gray. I think that leaves only the very rare and somewhat odd blue-purple.

Fat chance. GM never speeds up anything but their big trucks, so the Camaro won't get sped up either. 2009 before we start seeing any.

Hybrid G8 coming here, perhaps?

Seriously, what idiot pays $7200 for that car. $7200 buys a lot of gas at $4/gallon.