The O.C.

Buickman....I've been tied up this week with meetings and haven't paid attention to the market.... Can you enlighten me as to what's happening in the California market with GM?

There's your fallacy right there. Why would ANYONE take a GM position for only $9K per month? I don't believe the $21K in commissions. $13K in consulting? Well.....I don't know who you are consulting or what you are consulting them ON....maybe you can enlighten me. In any event.....how do you have TIME to earn $13K in consulting fees......IF you are an active General Manager.....AND you STILL have time to earn your supposed $21K in sales commissions? Somethin' here smells kinda funny....... Once again.....I claim......Buickman >

That's Fu--ing HILARIOUS!

Wasn't that Zarella's old mantra? Oldsmoboi.....I never expected this from YOU..... Zarella was the point-guy for "brand management." Managing the Malibu "brand" or the Regal "brand" or the CTS "brand"......as opposed to "Chevrolet", "Buick", or "Cadillac."

He's RIGHT. I felt the same way when I heard they were putting the badges on them. I STILL scowl everytime I walk out to my beautiful black C6 and there's this chrome-ish silver "GM" badge sticking out on the lower bodyside panel.....

I think you are not comparing apples to apples. The mags always get lower mileage ratings in their long-term tests. I'm sure we can all agree that the mags probably run the cars much harder than the normal, car-payment-paying consumer does. To compare apples to apples, I'd research back and see what their as-tested mpgs were for comparable GM vehicles that they've run long-term test on.....then compare THOSE to the Honda's.

I don't understand their product-planning decisions. Obviously they have engineered the 3.6L for the G6 because it's going to be available in the top model......yet they put the old pushrod 3.9L in their range-topping convertible.... Sometimes I really believe that GM does deserve all the criticism on product decisions that they receive in the press.

I AGREE!!!!!!!! For me, this car is EVERYTHING the new S-Class isn't.... I find the S-Class tacky, overdone, and to heavy-handed looking..... This car just about fixes EVERYTHING I don't like about the S. Way to go, Benz...... I even like the minor changes they made to the interior like the way the center console sweeps up into the dash.

First of all, the radio display is in the pop-up screen only when you have ordered Nav. Without nav, there is no pop-up screen and the radio actually HAS a display in the head-unit. I think this is a GREAT looking little 'Ute now. I've ALWAYS loved the way the X3 drove....and now it's got the more powerful magnesium engine and you can still get a 6-speed manual if you want it. I drove a sport-packaged, 6-speed manual 3.0L X3 when they first came out and LOVED it. However, it never really had the interior quality (now supposedly fixed) or the exterior styling to win me over (now I think it's quite handsome.) All I say to all the nay-sayers on here.....don't knock it until you actually drive it for a bit.... The LR2 will have a tough time against this X3.....especially since the Freelander did so poorly here in the marketplace.

The FourFour is not to be confused with the FourTwo. The FourFour is based off of the same platform/architecture as the (overseas) Mitsubishi Colt. The engines and transmissions are shared with the Mitsu. The FourTwo is an exclusive SMART/DCX design. And yes, the sequential manual sucks in the FourTwo. I believe the seq.manual is an option in the FourFour as well. Is that the transmission you had in yours? Because it does offer an "automatic" mode and it's none too smooth..... At least the FourFour offers a traditional "3-pedal" manual as an option.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...... LMAOROTFL I STILL don't believe the $40K figure..... BUT I'll be the FIRST to admit.....you want to email me a scanned photo of your paycheck stub(s), and I'll be the FIRST on here to admit I was wrong.....

EFF YOU! I'm WAY cuter than that pock-mark-faced giant......

OMG....! YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME KNOW YOU WERE IN TOWN! I live like five minutes from that Borders....! I go there every month to get Motor Trend 'cause they always get it early...... I was just there today! It's a small world.....

Actually you've got it backward. Alloy wheels are LIGHTER than conventional steel wheels. Less unsprung weight at each wheel is one reason alloy wheels are usually favored in handling.....

.....and Buick's got a couple of GREAT boulevarders out there! (or maybe Lexus?) Cadillac, isn't supposed to be (according to GM) a boulevarder, and it SHOULDN'T be a boulevarder anymore.....

Cadillac is totally out in left field by still offering the DTS. Remember.....GM stated PUBLICLY a few years ago that with the advent of the CTS, Cadillac was being positioned to fight BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. I don't see DTS appealing to ANYONE seriously shopping the German brands (other than rabid C&G fans on here.) They ALSO publicly stated that Buick would be moving up to fill the old-Cadillac role (re...Lucerne) that being of those "old geezers" you mentioned. Look at how the leaders in the market are doing it......BMWs all adhere to a solid, single brand principle. So does Lexus. Audi does as well. GM needs to STOP each division trying to be all things to all people. It's that "old-school" mentality that is still too persistent in the management ranks and on the board. AND....if you think a DTS looks like it's worth $50K.....I really wonder where you developed your standards.....

But is it appropriate for today's Cadillac? You can't keep running in two directions if you want to be seen as a world-class car company.....

Nah.....I had an Impala LTZ rental in Las Vegas with ebony interior and it had the metallic accents......

Actually the SMART is much peppier than the 19.8 second time sounds. The problem is the slow and sluggish shifting from the sequential manual tranny. If the thing had a conventional 5 or 6-speed manual with a clutch, you'd probably see WAY faster acceleration times. The way the tranny draws out the upshifts adds DRAMATICALLY to instrumented acceleration times.

OK.....in Buickman's post that doesn't show up here, he claims to be making over 10K per week in the auto business..... I haven't stooped this low yet, but I'm going to now..... BM, you are full of &#036;h&#33;. (Sorry mods but I can't take this any more.) I've worked for numerous dealerships before.....I have a best friend that OWNS a Mercedes-Benz new car store....and I have other friends that OWN high-end (Ferrari, Porsche, et al) stores....AND I've had 11 years experience dealing with General Motors dealerships and salespeople in Flint (yes), Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. I've seen Finance Managers make $20K per month.....even $25K. Aaron (other half) has done it himself at Irvine BMW. But $40K a month? For a Finance Manager? NO....for a Finance DIRECTOR? NO....for a sales person.....not on your life. If you told me $10K a month, that's certainly believable. I MIGHT even believe you could pull in $15K a month (although on close to 100% GMS deals, I don't know how.) There's no way you are pulling in $40K or more per month. Sorry bud....unless you are supplementing your income with something else other than selling cars. And whatever that other income is, it must be something out-of-this-world. < Buickman

I've always said that GM will have turned the corner when they can execute a Cobalt or Malibu with the high level of success they have with the Corvette and GMT-900 SUVs.

AND.....look at the post in the Lounge.....BM STILL refuses to discuss my rebuttals to his 20 Points....point-for-point. He says he simply disagrees with me. Well, if that's the case, then tell me WHERE and HOW you disagree with me....and WHY. I've made my attempts at debating the 20 Points as easy for him as I possibly can....but I'm really starting to see that I'm.......

....but they are filling parts of the segment that they haven't been playing in before....how long has GMC and Cadillac had a large SUV and Chrysler hasn't? How long has GM and Ford offered a compact-to-midsize SUV (Equinox, Escape) before DCX is finally bringing out the Nitro?

Have you ever thought about the fact that maybe the dealers LIKING Wagoner is NOT a good thing? Have you ever considered the Nissan dealers NOT liking Ghosn is for a VERY good reason and maybe why Nissan is still around today?