The O.C.

Dude you are totally missing the point. The question is....how PROFITABLE is GM on the sales they make? How PROFITABLE are the GM dealers when they sell a new GM car? The answer is on fleet sales, GM actually loses money (but they keep plants running.) We've all seen the reports on how GM is continually losing money in their N.A. vehicle group...despite any of their sales accomplishments. Other (import) mfgrs aren't in nearly as dire of a situation (comparing sales versus profiability.) Dealers don't make money selling new GM cars when they have to discount them so drastically. Dealers make money selling pre-owned cars and by increasing their dealership absorption rate (how much service and parts revenue contributes to profitability and covering dealership expenses.)

Absolutely a beautiful point and something EVERYONE should remember. The REAL question is HOW MANY people are choosing their mode of transportation with their OWN money?

Toyota DOES sell it's share of fleet cars....but it's a FRACTION of what GM does. Impala, LaCrosse, Grand Prix GXP? OLD cars based upon the original W-body from 1988 with basically new skins inside and out. BIG on the outside....cramped on the inside....4-speed automatic transmissions and pushrod V6s (except the LaCrosse 3.6L.) G6? After my rental experience with a GXP just this last week, it's an attractively styled car with one of GM's best interiors.....but with absolutely unforgiveable body rigidity and structure stiffness. (My rental creaked, groaned, and rattled going over bumps. You could hear the doors creaking in their housings when traversing ridges in the road.) It had only 13K miles on it but was a complete mess.....ugh. Plus, it had lots of body roll and didn't feel all that athletic (just like C&D felt in the recent comparo.) Aura? GM has a real chance there.....let's hope the execution is as good as the exterior and interior styling.

Actually, IMHO, most of the people on this site are open-minded about not JUST GM....but about their competition in general. MOST of the people on this site DON'T seem to be blinded by their loyalty or enthusiasm for GM. AND neither the CTS (as good as it is) nor the GTO are anywhere CLOSE to the level of product that the BMW 3-series is.

What total percentage of Impala and GP sales are made up of SS and GXP models? Toyota offers a 268hp V6 model in a moderately-equipped (and moderately-priced) LE and SE versions....not JUST the top XLE.....

He's not.....he's only stating a simple fact....

Camry's L4 is FAR from anemic.....when have YOU driven one?

How about far less reliance on fleet sales to hit that "#1" bragging right? (62% fleet sales for Impala, anyone?)

TOTALLY disagree......you can't make an unjustifiable claim like yours that only "10% of people that buy a Camry aren't excited to buy it." In any event, I drove a 2003 Mazda6 V6/5-speed for over 50K miles as a company car and had only one problem (recall on the clutch) and other than that, it was reliable, tight, rattle-free, and FUN to drive even at it's 50K mile mark.

Some would say the LAST thing GM needs is something that plays well in "Peoria." Plus for those of you in the U.S. that like this car will be able to buy it with a Suzuki badge on it very soon (Verona.)

I think he's talking about matching (or beating) Silverado in "numbers" regarding towing capacity, payload, performance, dimensions.... Matching or beating in terms of design....not necessarily sales numbers. AND there's something to be said for people defecting to Toyota. One of my best friends (who owned a Chevy pickup once) bought a Tundra for his last truck....simply because he didn't feel that the GM and Ford entries would be reliable enough and he didn't like the Dodge.... He's a true-and-true truck guy.....uses his Tundra for towing regulary....and even takes it off-road sometimes. AND he LOVES his Tundra and doesn't feel it lacks any of the capability of the Silverado or F-150 (for what he uses a truck for.)

I agree with Turbo and Evok...... "blah, blah, blah, blubber, blubber blubber" all the usual suspects' rants on here bashing the new Tundra are making me LMFAO. I think Toyota did a BANG up job on this new truck.......and I actually think it's DAMN attractive. The new GMT-900 interiors are smart, but the Tundra interior shows some real design flair IMHO and if past experience is to be believed, interior fit-and-finish and quality of materials will be top-of-the-market. Like I said previously....no one expects it to outsell Chevy or Ford, and the new Silverado will be damn competitive with ANYTHING out there.....but we will see significant impact in the full-size truck market from this Tundra....ESPECIALLY when the heavy-duty and diesel versions arrive.... I also heard a rumor that Toyota was working on a new PUSHROD V8 for the heavy-duty versions....? Evok? Anyone confirm or deny this?

AWESOME is all that I can say.....and WHAT a stylish interior. There is no way you can consider this new truck as anything other than a HIT in the segment for Toyota. No one expects it to immediately sell 900K units a year, even Toyota.....but it WILL make a significant impact in the segment. GREAT job Toyota! NO Camry-like blandness with this one.....

Dowtown L.A. is mostly the financial center......as such, it's crazy busy between 8-5 during the week....but pretty dead on the weekends. L.A. culture, nightlife, and social scene is centered more to the west of downtown from midcities area to West Hollywood, Melrose, Beverly Hills, through Westwood.

I don't see it. I think the car's nasty from a styling standpoint. Oh, I'm sure it will drive amazingly well.....but I can't stand to look at it. Our S500 ('05 model) is about to get bought back by DCX....with only 11,000 miles on it. Meanwhile, the X5 we have with about the same mileage has never had a squeak of a problem. There's no way in hell we'd replace it with another Benz product.

We all need to wait and see the Nitro interior in person....... Why? There is a huge discrepancy in the quality-of-materials between the Liberty and DCX's other Jeep/Dodge SUV products. I don't know why, but the dash plastics/graining/gloss levels on my Liberty are totally different and far better than what's been put in Grand Cherokee, Durango, new Ram, or even Caliber. SO....being that Nitro is built on the Liberty architecture.....and I assume in the same plant....I would guess that maybe the same material suppliers for the Nitro would be used.....if THAT'S the case, the plastics might be okay. HOWEVER, if they have CHANGED suppliers (does Liberty get a new interior next year?) and gone to the same crappy plastics as in the GC/Durango, then that will suck...

The wipers are one of the things I LOVE about the new Civic. Unique windshield wipers are one of those small details on a car that adds to it's overall appeal....(at least for people like me.) I'm so PISSED that Chevrolet went AWAY from opposing wipers on my C6.....I loved those on my C4. Remember the old Mercedes-Benz wipers that laid on top of each other on the driver's side...? Those were the best...

The 3.7L is fine in a Liberty....and don't expect this minor body stretch to add significantly to the weight. I've also driven a 3.7L Grand Cherokee and a 3.7L Durango and while not fast, they do just fine. See my above post on the Liberty's ride-and-drive. It's probably just about the best ride/handling combo of any of the truck-based SUVs. I know this from personal experience.....and having owned two different Libertys.

I don't know when the last time was that you drove a Liberty extensively, but my '06 is VERY civilized...quiet on the freeway, with a GREAT ride (considering the truck-based chassis...amazing.) It doesn't float or wallow, and swallows bumps really well. Maybe they've refined the ride in previous years....all I can say is there is nothing uncomfortable or jarring about it. MY Liberty is PERFECT for me (both suburbanite AND city-dweller.) I spend all my time driving all around the L.A. basin (in L.A. traffic) and it's GREAT for that.

If you want to see what cities' skylines look like, go to this cool website....... http://www.emporis.com/en/ You can look at just about ANY city in the world......in the UPPER LEFT of the page, where it says "emporis quickjump" you can type in the city you want to look at (i.e...."Los Angeles").....and it will pull up that page. Many of the cities have a graphic depiction at top of what the skyline looks like. BUT, the best is to go down to where it says "Images" and click on that....then click on "Photos of this city" and you can view numerous photos of the cities' highrises and skylines. There's some other interesting info on this site.....like how many "highrises" a city has....and other stuff... Play around with it....it's cool if you are into cities and their architecture....

Uh....how MANY North American skylines HAVE you seen? Detroit's is one of the most depressing skylines.....especially for a city with almost a million people.... There's only two skyscrapers that are anywhere near interesting.....the Rec Cen cluster and the last new one to be built....I think it's One Detroit Center or something like that....the tall pointy one. Old skyscrapers can be beautiful but I don't see any of Detroit's older highrises as that attractive....mostly as dank, crumbling, and just old. Here's some of my favorite N.A. skylines.......(other than Chicago and New York which are impressive because of the sheer number of highrises) L.A......many tall, modern structures framed by magnificant mountains and the Hollywood sign in the background....and tons of tall palm trees in the foreground. Seattle - ultra modern, the bay, and all the greenary, space needle....plus Mount Rainer behind... Portland - hills and rose garden in the background, Mt. Hood in the foreground. San Francisco - needs no explanation Atlanta - the "new" South......stretching from downtown to midtown to Buckhead Miami - and Miami Beach San Diego - Stunning bay views in front, mountains behind, and lots of new highrise distinctive condo towers plus the Coronado Bridge St. Louis - with the arch Charlotte - very modern, with the tallest skyscraper in the south. Philadelphia - BEAUTIFUL mix of old, historic highrises with new, modern skyscrapers....Detroit, take note of how to do old vs. new. Pittsburgh - Can't beat the view coming out of the tunnel into the downtown area with the rivers all converging at one point. Just my thoughts of my many travels......

yuck........... Just what I want to see......a 60+ year old man, bone thin, wearing a "belly shirt." It seemed to us that he was just yelling the words to the songs....not actually singing.... I'm wondering if those guys are WAY past their prime????? Plus, did you notice that you NEVER see any BALD rock stars? (No matter HOW old they are....) Where did all of them get all that hair?? Aren't they all like over 60?

I don't think Toyota is the end-all, be-all of automobile quality, reliability, design, or engineering..... BUT what I think Toyota has going for them is their absolute consistency in the products they bring to the market, from a styling, design, engineering, and yes, quality standpoint. That, I think, is why people continue to gravitate towards their products. Many people see it as a safe, reliable, and prudent purchase decision. And more and more, slowly, they are becoming a more stylish purchase decision as well. No major leaps and bounds in THIS area, but slow, steady progress. Are they unstoppable? Probably not......but they aren't likely to make it any easier for the Big3 anytime soon..... Just look at the new Camry......in one shot, they've totally eclipsed GM and Ford in the midsize sedan segment. Is the new Camry more exciting than the Fusion? NO. However, they've taken their conservative Camry "formula" and improved upon it in every area.....

We had a V6 Sonata in Detroit for NAIAS.....and I didn't check the mileage.....but if it averages in the low-20's, I'd be happy....the thing was damn-near a rocketship....

Maybe I'm missing something......other than looking kinda cool when they light up, I don't see the big deal with LED taillamps.... ??? At least with xenon lamps, the driver gets to enjoy the advantage of much better night time illumination of the road.....AND xenons look cool.... I don't see LED taillamps as anything significant.....