SAmadei

Our high school had an Aerostar. Sucked learning on that. However, my parents had the hot rodded '81 Cutlass... that also had the pillow velor interior... so I took the test in that. That car had balls... dad took the diesel out and put in a late '70s Olds 350/4 BBL... but because dad was a Chevy guy... and because the engine came from a fullsize Olds, I think it was a 403.

Yeah, thats why I stopped eating them shortly after they figured out how to make gristle into 100% white meat. I love BK's Italian Chicken sandwiches... but 20% of the time, I find a prize... so I switched to the BK Big Fish.

If its the Aussie gov'ment, why stop at Holden... Sell Aussie-built Ford Falcons, too.

In 1958, the automakers had to redesign cars with rocks for tools. No CAD... no robots... no JIT inventory. It was a huge undertaking... of course, you didn't have the federal regulation you have now, but that only delays things so much. And IIRC, 1958 was the year after Chevy lost the sales led to Ford... so it wasn't too dominant. The recessions of the '50s and fickle public let quite a few makes disappear... DeSoto, Packard, Studebaker, Kaiser-Fraiser, Nash, Hudson, Willys... and, almost, Pontiac. GM has done this since the late '70s, with their too-little-too-late crap. To wit, the Fiero. It took 5 model years to fix the suspension. They had plenty of profit in the '80s and '90s. The targa is only the latest bit... I don't buy the precarious financial position argument, since it seemed to be business as usual.

How unique are the Kappas? They were competing successfully with the Miata and to a lesser degree the Z4, TT, and that little Mercedes (I can't think of the name). As I understand it, they outsold the Miata... and yet, it doesn't make a profit? That sounds like bad management and manufacturing design. It was known from the beginning that the Kappas were not going to sell 100K+ a year... they are a niche or halo car. Manufacturing, parts and pricing need to reflect that, GM legacy costs or not. Sure, it was built using new techniques, but those techniques need to be made efficient if they are expected to be used for other carlines. It took 3 years to get the targa going. Jeez, back in 1958, GM revamped its entire line in one year... in 2009 it took them 3 years to put a hard roof on an existing car. Its hard to add volume on products that should have appeared 2 years earlier. IMHO, the problem with GM unique cars has been price and dilution. Price is directly related to the legacy costs that they needed to shed two decades ago. Dilution is caused by bean counters trying to deal with legacy costs. It wouldn't surprise me if every Cobalt, Malibu and W-body GM made came at a loss. Too unique.

I'm sure the new Aveo-based Skyhawk and Cobalt-based Skylark already have been on the design commitee hotlist, with pricing around $21K and $23K.

Where is GM publishing this line-by-line profitability report that you draw this stuff from? Kappas don't make money... Pontiacs don't make money... Well, with the GM "tax" (pension and union problems), NOTHING makes money, unless its priced out of the reach of the average consumer. Big trucks and SUVs, the Corvette, overpriced Buicks and Cadillacs are the only things apparently making money. Why not just build one car a year and charge $65 billion dollars for it... that will make a profit, even for idiot-run GM. The GM "tax" should have gone away with the bankruptcy... if, suddenly, GM can make a profit with the Aveo, then they could make a profit with the G3 and its $200 of modifications. Of course, GM post-bankruptcy is still run by the same morons as before... so I'm sure they'll all pat themselves on their back and give themselves raises to gobble up the profits. Some would argue about marketing funds being spread too thin, but quite frankly, GM hasn't done anything but throw marketing dollars into the trash anyway. The best marketing it word of mouth... of course, little GM offers makes people want to brag. "Oh, I got this great Malibu... its ugly on the outside, but you should check out the plastic on the dashboard." Anyway, Pontiac and the Kappas are a symtom of the problem, not the cause. As for the G8, and its wild exchange volatility, it was supposed to be built here once it got rolling. Of course, I feel the days of US-built GM products is drawing to an end... then GM can blame all sorts of exchange problems on its all-Chinese built Buick line.

Exactly. Kill everything the Solstice and G8... and maybe the G6 coupe. Get rid of the names and market everything as a 'Pontiac'... Pontiac Roadster (Solstice) Pontiac Targa (Solstice Targa) Pontiac Coupe (G6 coupe until G8 coupe got redlight) Pontiac Sedan (G8) Pontiac Sportwagon (G8 wagon) Pontiac Sporttruck (G8 ST) Niche status... make it work profitably at 10K sales a month until things recover...

Hmmm... Saturn badged Holden Commodore and Ute. It might get my money.

Looks OK... they always over-raytrace the demos, so there is no way actual game play will be so sharp and fluid. OTOH, I liked the few hints at body damage... its about time... it'll be interesting to see how accurate body damage will be, and if every car gets it. Many manufacturers don't want us smashing up their cars. I'm still not seeing what caused a three year delay.

Not really. It was predicted that many Pontiac people would go to Mazda... I'm sure people who wanted to buy the Sky/Solstice were waiting to see what happened to Pontiac/Saturn and now are going with the only game in town... the Miata... to avoid problems with resale value. It's also been predicted here that GMC and Buick are the walking dead without Pontiac to help drive traffic.

GRiD and Burnout Paradise make the PS3 a worthwhile purchase. Of course, you get what you pay for. I bought the PS3 when it came out just to play Full Auto 2, and got a much better system than the subsequent stripped down versions. I thought in this economy, nobody would show at E3. Did they give a release date for GT5? I'll still buy GT5 when it comes out, but with the delays, the competition has made up the gap and the fans have gotten distracted. When GT5 comes out, it had better blow us through the wall.

So they seem to have a lot in common with GM management and BOD.

By the time I am ready to purchase again, I won't have a brand to choose from. So, I won't likely be buying new for quite some time.

If you replace the motor, make sure you check all the stops and wheels. Replacing these plastic parts are easiest with the motor and/or regulator disconnected. Chasing these parts can be a PITA, though. Here's a tip... get yourself one of those rubber door wedges or two. When you have the door apart or the motor disconnected, put the rubber stop(s) between the glass and door sill... it'll hold the window up if you need the extra hand or if you have to drive the car while parts chasing.

I just got over a few days of couch-bound downtime because I seriously sprained my foot/ankle. It took all my willpower to not leave the door unlocked and have them automatically deliver pizzas every 8 hours to my couch. Better now, as the pain is bearable and the only obvious problem is the racing-stripe bruise. It felt good to walk the supermarket again and work in the garage.

The window could move past its limits, but only if the little plastic stops are broken or missing. If that was the case, the window would have gone up crooked or out of track... but since the Monte has the metal around the glass, coming out of track is unlikely. Chances are the motor is dead. Has it been running slow or making any noise? Granted, they do sometimes die without warning. If you have the door apart, get a battery and put 12V to the motor to see if it moves. I'm not familiar with the Monte's motor and regulator, but I see they sell just the motors, but be careful because typical regulators are spring loaded.

Oh, of course... I'm just quoting the prices for the low-level Walmart/Kmart/Toys-R-Us/AC Moore 1/24~1/25 plastic plain common models. Going online, limited edition, metal, vintage or resin kits are through the roof... I'm looking at the cheap kits as the entry level for kit bashing starters. Kit bashing three kits and you're looking at a $50 minimum, before you've even bought paint, glue, abrasives, add-ons. Modeling used to be a great creative outlet for kids. Now its cheaper to buy a new PS3 game and destroy stuff. Sets us up for a dire future... [cue up Idiocracy trailer].

I used to do quite a few of these... I prefer '60-'90's cars in 1/24~1/25 scale. I was pretty good, and started reading Car Modeller and Scale Auto Enthusiast, so I started flocking interiors and adding spark plug wires... really detailing things out. Using that Real Chrome foil and then I started lighting my cars... making little light boxes and wiring up the bulbs so they would work like a real car. The final thing I seriously worked on had a mini in car stereo (earbuds) and a working domelight when the door opened. When I figured the time and money I had dumped into it, I figured I'd be better off just working on real cars... and so my efforts shifted. Of course, I hardly have time to do any hobby properly today, but I still buy the kits when I see an interesting one. I bought a small pile of 2004 GTOs when they were being closed out for cheap. I know that the unbuild models tend to go up in value... and with modelling being so diminished in the youth's eye, alot of models will become collectable unbuilt. It just sucks that the kits are so pricy anymore. I remember when $3 got you a nice kit... to buy a box of plastic the needs assembly for $14 is crazy to me.

I like Craftsman, as it was what Dad used, I just grew into them. I do have some Kobalt and Husky, and I can't complain... they are very nice, and have a decent warranty. Of all the tools, I don't care for Snap-On. I find them to be strong and high quality, but they are too slender... and when I really crank some torque into them, they hurt my hands. I prefer the thicker Craftsman and Kobalt/Husky. Of course, I also buy a lot cheap junk from Harbor Freight lately. Especially tools that wear out or stuff I rarely use (like 1-3/16" impact sockets). Even so, the Harbor Freight stuff is holding up pretty well. Of course, I broke/bent a couple breaker bars and pry bars... but keep in mind, I create a lot force at times and have bent/broke Craftsman as well.

The weights are stuck on with something like double-sided sticky tape. What happens in four years when they fly off after hitting a pothole? If the brand new car I bought had that many weights, I'd be wary.

LOL. If I was looking at GXPs and someone suggested a new Malibu, I'd punch them in the mouth. ;-) So tired of hearing about the Malibu... was poking at one while the rental place was trying to locate the DTS. I just don't see what people like about it, but its on my list of cars I will never own.

Cutting grass and cleaning up some storage to install some solar panels soon. Maybe a small cookout, assuming I get the gas grill back together. Then its time to get back to the tuneup on the van and the unholy repairs on the Caprice.

Same here. But I've never had metallic shoes make noise... but then again, I never put them on a Sunfire... only standard shoes.

How long have you driven the car since they were replaced? Its making noise even when you are not on the brakes? I'm tentatively voting for improper reassembly. At I recall, "my" Sunfire has a very small drum and the setup is a little unconventional. A few of the parts are easily reversed and I could see them dragging all the time, creating your whine. Its likely happening all the time, but it only noticeable at lower speeds. Better inspect it before something is fubared... like the drum. I've opened up alot of drums over the years to find parts broken and dragging, yet making no noise. Not to alarm you, but you must have something seriously dragging for the sound to get throught the drum.