Robert Hall

Speaking of perceptions of GM, I went to lunch today w/ 3 former colleagues from my previous job and we got into talking cars over Thai...one guy (known as a bit of a tightwad) is looking to trade his 10 yr old Corolla on... a new Corolla...we were chiding him to treat himself to a Prius, Camry, or Avalon, but he's happy w/ Corollas. I starting raving about the CTS and talking about how I was interested in it, and another coworker asked if it had an AARP card in the glovebox. Hahaha. Hilarity at my expense ensues...I explained this was the new generation of serious, world-class Cadillac aimed at 30-something professionals like ourselves, not your grandfather's Caddy. They were amazed that it was available w/ a manual transmission, though one coworker knew about the CTS and that I wasn't blowing smoke...

I haven't driven a TSX, but have heard good things about it... I've driven several TLs and ridden in them, and it was my favorite of the sub-$40k sport sedans until the '08 CTS came out (which is what I'm leaning towards now for my next daily driver).

beer goggles

That's been my observation amongst my Xer peers... I've jumped around from Ford to BMW to Jeep and quite likely to GM next. Among GenX friends, I've seen one jump from Mitsubishi (Galant) to Nissan (Maxima) to Acura (TL, NSX), another went from Pontiac (Grand Prix) to Toyota (4Runner) to Acura (TL), another from Jeep (GC) to Ford (Focus and Mustang) to Honda (Odessey), another from Chevy (S10 Blazer) to Nissan (Pathfinder) to BMW (X5), another from Ford (Probe) to Honda (Element) to BMW (3-series) to Honda (Accord) to BMW (3-series) (long story), and a couple went from Jeep (Cherokee) and Ford (Focus) to GM (Trailblazer, Rendezvous)... all over the last 10 years.

Potentially....certainly has potential for clean city use. And remember, the concept is French..don't they get their electricity from nuclear power? It's certainly cleaner than a 30yr old carburated car..

office

Meh..nothing new, V8 cars have been a niche item at GM for over a decade now...a few luxury cars, a few performance cars.

Heh-heh.... just wait a few years...it's going to be like 1988 all over again... the ghost of Roger Smith will be back and GM will be back to a fleet of forgettable FWD models...

Just slap on some bondo, rustoleum, and white paint from a spray can and it's like new..

No, but some pollute and consume less than others..

There is definitely some music of this decade I like...the Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Sigur Ros, British Sea Power, Moby, Coldplay, Muse, to name a few..... and I also like the recent albums of long-time artists like Bruce Springsteen, U2, The Who, David Gilmour, and others..

So far in my lifetime, this decade ('00s) is the worst...way too much $h!e on the radio.

Having grown up in the '80s, there is quite a bit of music from that decade that I still like and still listen to...U2, Peter Gabriel, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, New Order, Talking Heads, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, Pink Floyd, John Hiatt, Prince, etc.

I had one ('88) as my first SUV...drove it for 6 years until I got tired of it and traded it on the Grand Cherokee. It was way underpowered in the mountains and very sensitive to crosswinds.. decent in snow, though.. my brother still has one--a '90 with 175k miles.

Yes, unfortunately. I was hoping he was gone for good. I still can't figure out his game..he talks like a GM insider leaking information, but I wonder if he really is a sociopath who gets off by spreading disinformation and messing with our minds..

I think the Outlook is there to keep the Saturn dealers happy...if they didn't have it, they'd scream...

The Lambdas are not rebadges..they are distinct vehicles sharing the same platform..

As far as interior and exterior styling, I find the G8 much better looking than the Charger..I don't care for the Charger's slab sides and tiny windows..

Hard to tell much from that pic...looks like just another generic FWD sedan..yawn. The roofline looks Sebring-esque...

IIRC, about the only haters on here were the delusional W-body GP fans (diehardGrandPrixFan and the evil PCS).

How about hemp for ethanol? Hempcar.org

I wonder if they will offer this engine in larger cars.. a diesel Passat or A4 for the US would be nice. (it would be very cool to see the A5 3.0TDI in the US).

If they made this the next ES, then Lexus would have an all RWD car lineup..that would increase their luxury credibility.

In the mid '90s, before I moved to Colorado, I looked at moving to the RTP (Research Triangle Park--Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) area in NC...it's a very cool area, lots of interesting technology companies and the mountains and beaches are within a reasonable drive. I have friends in Charlotte, lots of banking jobs there... As far as VA, I'm familiar with Charlottesville (a friend of mine is a prof at U of Va)---neat college town, and Tyson's Corner/McLean (used to go there for company meetings for a previous employer).

Neal Stephenson