GMTruckGuy74

Thanks for the info so far. Well, the show was interesting to say the least. My wife has expensive tastes, which right now are not on the financial radar. What she wants but are not on the "list": any car priced over $30k, including the CTS and Enclave (the 2 GM's she really wants) What she deemed "unacceptable": ASTRA (due to the interior design), Cobalt, G5, HHR, Malibu (loves interior, hates exterior), Saab 9-3 What she deemed "well, if I could have sat in it I'd consider it": Pontiac G8 (though she wasn't that enthusiastic about it) What she said she wants to test-drive before seriously considering: Saturn VUE What made her heart beat faster: Volvo C30 (deemed not practical for family use), Volvo S40/V50, and likes the V70 (priced too high though) So depending on her test-drive of the Saturn VUE, plus whatever we learn about its true fuel economy mileage from owners here and elsewhere, this may be GM's one chance. The lease isn't due back untl August, so I told her that if she decides it will be "Volvo" that July would be the earliest we'd look at getting one. Of course I'm waiting for my local Pontiac dealer to get in a G8 (V6) so that she can sit in it and test drive it, but we'll have to see what games the dealers will play (hopefully no relapse of the GTO & Solstice "market price adjustments"). For the time being, if anyone can offer pro's and con's to the Saturn VUE AWD and Volvo C30/S40/V50, I'd be very appreciative!

I'm trying to explain to the wife that with her daily 64-mile roundtrip commute, a large and/or heavy vehicle should not be on her shopping list. I drive the Envoy the most during the week (at least 3 days), so that she gets better gas mileage using the AURA. So far she's interested in the Volvo S40/V50/C30 and the Saturn VUE AWD (she also wants a CTS, but they're priced beyond what we want to spend, and an Enclave, which would see 1.5 persons on a daily basis). She does not like the Cobalt, G5, and ASTRA, so those are out of the question. I'm wondering how just how efficient the VUE would be before she ends up with a Volvo?

BREAKING NEWS... she wants to check out the Saturn ASTRA again! She received her latest copy of US Weekly (woman's magazine ) and there's an ad for teh 3-door ASTRA XR. Now we went to the "ASTRA Ride & Drive" event back in the beginning of December and she walked away not too thrilled with the ASTRA (it was mostly due to the interior design). But of course a few months have passed and she sees a lot of ads for the car and I guess she's willing to give it another shot. Hopefully I'll have some good news later tonight after we get home from the Philly Show. We're not buying now because no good pull-ahead offer is being made by GM (right now we have 6 payments left; the current pull-ahead is only waiving 2 of those payments), but what she walks away wanting from this show is pretty much what we'll seriously look into when the time comes. Thanks for everyone's insights and suggestions. I'm leaving in an hour, so make more of them and I'll check back before I go.

Yeah, I know! Especially with her being a previous GP owner (2000), I'd thought she'd be excited about the new G8. She thinks it's too bland in styling (she's comparing it to the CTS btw), and she's the type that really needs to sit int he car before she'll consider one (which at this point no G8 is available to sit in). Thankfully the Envoy lease expires in August, so if we're not going the GM route for a replacement, she'll have to wait out the lease (and we'll be over mileage a bit, so she knows we'll owe GM some money too). I told her with staying in GM, we could take a pull-out program around the end of May and not owe anything on the mileage So far that plan hasn't had any effect. For comparison's sake: VS.

I already tried the Saab route, with no luck. When we go to the show again today, I will make it a point for us to sit in the 9-3 anyway. She likes the Volvo V50 wagon, but thinks the 9-3 SportCombi is ugly I'm going to also make her sit in the two VUEs again and tell me what she doesn't like about them (I was off in the Pontiac area when she sat in them). I have not given up the GM-cause yet! I want new because of the amount of miles she'll be driving each day to work (around 64 miles roundtrip). She has suggested looking at used, like a 1-2 year old car with very low miles, but I'm not sure I want a rental or off-lease car that may have been abused when driven and not well maintained. We already have the AURA XE (lease), and I'm not thrilled about buying a car I'm leasing (I'd be paying on it for way too long). Plus we're entitled to the GM Supplier Pricing through her work, so no matter where we decide to buy at, it really is a no hassle/no haggle experience. If all else fails, then yes, at least I will still buy GM.

And just so you know, she's not totally against GM. She really likes the Buick Enclave, but it's more than what we can afford. She likes the Caddy CTS, but again it's over our preferred price range (we're trying to stick under $30k). She was looking forward to seeing the VUE, but was not happy with the two on display at the Philly Show. She doesn't like the ASTRA and we're both not Chevy fans (she likes the interior of the new Malibu, but doesn't like the exterior as much). She really liked her 2000 Grand Prix GT sedan a lot, and I tried to tell her that the G8 V6 sedan would be a good choice, but she's not much into the design of the car. She really, really, really likes the Volvo the best so far. I've got quite the battle ahead of me (I have purchased only GM, new & used, in my lifetime so far, so it will be hard to swallow buying anything but a GM vehicle).

... a Volvo! The Envoy is "technically" the wife's leased vehicle, but it really was my choice to get it over a too-high monthly lease payment on a GM minivan back in 2005. She liked it for the first year, but she's not really a "truck" person so the last year & a half she's driven the car more. With the lease up in August, we've decided to go back to "his & her" cars. We've been sharing the cars the last few years due to her mileage/commute to work (32 miles one way) and the need to keep leases in the 15k/year range. But I'm tired of fighting over seat & mirror changes (the Envoy does have memory settings that have helped), and she's tired of me picking out the vehicles we lease. Anyway, at last week's Philly Auto Show visit she spent a good amount of time in the Volvo display. She has liked Volvo's for as long as I can remember (don't ask me why; I think it's a "woman thing" with this brand). Anyway, all week she's been talking about the cars she's built on their website and that she wants to test drive one soon and blah blah blah. The S40 sedan is her main choice, although surprisingly she does like the V50 wagon too. I tried talking her into the C30, which she does like, but feels it will be too much of a hassle to get our 2 y-o son into his car seat. Tomorrow we're headed back to the Philly Show, and while I'll continue with my "GM is better" lecture, I know she'll have "Volvo" on the mind.

Red backlighting, a'la Pontiac, apparently will be in all future GMC's it seems (started with the Acadia):

I like the non-Denali grille as seen in this picture much better:

That's quite the debate there among trekkies, and it's going on over at www.imdb.com. Here's just one of the many arguments stating where & how each of the different classes of Enterprise's have been made: Also a little further along: Link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0796366/board/thre...mp;p=1#96035506

Can't wait! Notice how they're building the Enterprise in the trailer... do you think it's just part of the trailer? I think it would be better to have the ship already completed. Sorry, I know I'm a geek! Did I mention already, that I can't wait?!?!

Olds, did you read that correctly (look at the bolded part above)? I'm assuming you listed the items that you DO want in your next vehicle.

I'm at the point where a sunroof and leather interior (unless the cloth option was a horrible one) are not very high on the list anymore. It used to be that every vehicle I wanted had to have the sunroof option. Not so anymore. With finances being tight, fuel economy & cost are bigger issues nowadays.

What other options do you know about that you can say here?

Being a high school teacher, over the years I've heard a lot about Family Guy but just recently started to watch it. It's freakin' hilaroius!!! I've added this show to my Monday night must-watch list. I like it so far. I've watcched some of the episodes prior to this year, but not religiously. When NBC moved The Office to 9PM and put 30 Rock on at 8:30, I figured I was already watching Earl (8PM) and was waiting for The Office to start, so I might as well watch it. It's actually kinda funny. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that finds Tina Fey attractive! I actually liked her since her SNL days.

To each their own... I will admit I'm not 100% behind the design styling, but I get the styling direction GMC wants to go in. And for that reason I like the uniqueness of this trucklet. I really, really want a Sierra. Do I really, really need one? Nope. So here's a compromise for me that isn't making me end up with something I wouldn't want. Remember, this isn't the production version they're showing - of course it's likely to change if greenlighted. I see the "truck" in it's design; not many here do. I guess that's why I like it versus others. :AH-HA_wink:

Thank you for the link . I have printed out the submission letter, completed all required areas, and will drop it off in the mail on my way home from work tonight. Hopefully GMC/GM will take this effort, even as minimal as it is, as a serious request on my behalf.

Congrats on the purchase! I really like the new VUE compared to the '06-'07 restyled ones. My mom has an '05 AWD and she likes it a lot. The service her & my dad have received from their Saturn dealership has been great so far. I too am happy with my Saturn dealership (different from my parents), but I have an AURA and had a SKY. The '05 Envoy we lease is expiring this summer. The wife gets to pick out the new car this year, and the VUE was on her list too. However, at the Philly Auto Show on Saturday they pnly had three on display (an XE, an XR, and a Hybrid). The XE & XR weren't well equipped models and she left the show not really "inspired" to want to check one out further. It's a shame, because they are such nice looking SUVs. Keep us posted and let us know what actual MPG you're getting. Pics would be nice as soon as you get them taken. Happy Motoring!!!

Here are some shots I took of the "hosts" of the party: 2009 Corvette ZR1: 2007 Camaro Convertible Concept: My story starts off the same as Camino's, with me waking up at 4:30 AM also. However, that's about where our similarities end! I had all intentions of saving some $$$ by taking the PATCO train over into the City; however, the wife wasn't as enthusiastic about such an early wake-up as I was . So we ended up driving in (very little traffic on I-295 South/US-676/Ben Franklin Bridge at 5:50 AM, so 40 mins later and we're there (we waited about 15 mins in the truck <wife's sleeping!>, since we weren't sure if they were letting in any earlier than 7AM {they were!}). We entered, made our way up the escalator and into the semi-long-but moving sign-in line. Guess who's two people behind me? Camino and BatmanGTO. Unlike them, the wife makes me wait in the equally semi-long food line, as she's now awake and hungry We walk over to the Camaro concept with our food, then she quickly finds a leftover table from the previous night's Black-Tie event. I stare at the covered ZR1 and then make my way back to Camino for a little chit-chat. Watch the unveiling and off the wife and I go to look at all the GM cars and trucks (we were instructed to stay within GM until 9AM/show opening, although many didn't). Since we're going back on the 9th with a small group of friends & family, and "grandparents" waiting for us to return to collect the "slept-over grandchildren", we left around 9:30 AM with seeing only about 30% of the show (have to save some fun for next weekend).

This is definitely one GMC I can see parked in my driveway/garage (with of course a little revamp to the showtruck/concept flair for a more production-like vehicle). GM, are you listening? My AURA lease expires in November of 2009 (21 months); I'd really like to get one of these around that time please! Don't disappoint me... :AH-HA_wink:

I absolutely love the Sierra, but don't necessarily need a full-size pickup. This ute is for me. +2! I'm for this trucklety 100%. Finally, someone at GM Design finally gets it. The "GMC" nameplate needs to be large & centered on the tailgate. It's been this way on GMC pickups since the freakin' '30s! About time it has returned. I was expecting this for the all-new 2007 Sierra, especially since the Silverado gained a large, centered Chevy bowtie. Can't tell ya how disappointed I was. Okay, I will admit that the concept styling is a little out there, but it has definitely caught my interest and I will be following this closely. It would be nice to know that I could get one in mid-to-late 2009, when my AURA lease is up. However, I could "make-do" with some junker for a short time if I knew I could get one definitely in 2010. I'd like to see a non-Denali version, and those large front & rear air intakes gone. Can't wait for the NYIAS to see this in person (hopefully it will be there). G8 Sportswagon - what? :AH-HA_wink:

Good post BigPontiac.. it's nice to see another person that is not "just accepting" GM's decision not to offer the G8 Sportswagon along with the G8 ST launch. I'd say 5k of Pontiac G8 Sportswagon sales are better than 5k given to another manufacturer that does offer a wagon. Lately I've been talking to people that have purchased a new '08 CTS. Most of them are coming out of foreign cars, and some are even coming out of SUVs. Wouldn't it be better for Pontiac to try to sell the G8 Sportswagon rather give the sales over to someone else? Especially since PCS has consistently stated that the G8 is likely to have a 2-year run anyway? I just can't understand all of you who are accepting this and actually covering for GM! Regardless, I will continue to state my desire to have a G8 Sportswagon (and yes, I'd be coming out of a SUV for s sedan-based wagon!). And realize there are those of us that would like a wagon but can't afford one that's priced over $35k... meaning the CTS wagon may be great but not on many consumer's shopping lists.