The O.C.

Well, no manual tranny for me....so it's unlikely I'd consider the Super (although I don't expect it to offer a manual either.) I like the Super's exterior style the best over the Impala or GXP.....but the interior leaves me cold. I don't like the "cross-hatch" leather on the seats....and the seats don't really look any different than normal LaCrosse seats. I also don't like the dash/interior as much as, believe it or not, the Impala's. I think the Impalas is more contemporary and less "geriatric." But then again.....if you were wanting me to look at a V8-powered midsize sedan, priced in the low-$30's as a daily driver.....uh.....there's simply another GM sedan that just came out that would be a "no-brainer" over ANY W-body V8.......

Eyes-open review of both the new Malibu and the current Impala at the recent IE Auto Show really brought to light how competitive GM can be (new Malibu) and how archaic it can be at the same time (Impala.)

Agreed..... I'd buy a SAAB, even the GM-dumbed-down SAABs, ANY day before I'd buy an Acura. They simply have way more character.....and are better-looking to boot......

Could be.....3,500lbs plus a 200lb adult WOULD take you to 3,700. I'm just used to most media outlets quoting manufacturer curb weights.....because, obviously, driver weights are going to vary wildly depending on who's driving the car.....

Uh....yeah....but there are alot of people out there that swear by Consumer Reports.....so you can hardly "ignore" the article......

WOW....that's amazing. The Cadillac store I'm going to in Las Vegas is one of three in the Las Vegas area.......although I guess these days, Las Vegas is growing to be as big as Seattle. (I looked at my trusty census figures....it paints a surprising picture.....Las Vegas pop. 545,147. Seattle pop. 573,911.....damn close! Las Vegas metro, Clark County, pop. 1,710,551. Seattle metro, King County, pop. 1,793,583. I'm sure if you added Tacoma, etc., you'd have a few more Caddy stores though.)

Oh....Northstar.....buddy.....you really didn't use THAT tired old typical GM line in your post above, did you? Don't you know better? That's the longest-standing GM joke....."just wait, it's coming"

I don't think "excitement" is the right word. I really, truly, don't think anyone would want ANY of the Big3 to falter at the expense of the imports. I think the more telling story that is being played out is exactly what you said in your post above. "....Toyota beating an AMERICAN company that has held a sales advantage in the world for 77 years." That is a truly miraculous and amazing event.....and while I don't think anyone's necessarily "excited" about Toyota accomplishing that, there is surely alot of "awe" in the significance of that achievement......"awe" and "wonder" as to how GM could let it happen.....(although many of us on here seems to have solid opinions to that answer.)

Uh ....I'm talking reliability. Mine was a reliability nightmare from day one. I couldn't even begin to go into all the problems, minor and major, that I had with that truck. I only kept it a year and sold it at a loss.....

I'll echo (no Toyota pun intended) 'bloke's and Enzl's comments on here. To me, the Aveo seems like a couple generations' removed from a Fit, Yaris, or I'll go one step further, maybe a single generation behind even a new Rio/Accent. The exterior styling on the sedan is attractive, but the small wheels/tires and the narrow track add a lend of "economy car" cheapness to what is really a rather attractive four-door sedan. The interior, while improved over the original Aveo, also seems styled to fit the economy-car mold with hints of cheapness about it that don't seem to be present in the competition. Here's the crux of my point. GM has an EXCELLENT mini over in Europe in the Corsa. Almost every review I read from the British mags is favorable (many of them very much so) and the British have never been known to be "easy" on a GM product in their reviews. GM should have had the foresight many, many years ago (edit: this is one of their main problems, isn't it?) to realize the huge benefit of offering the Corsa over here (in place of the cheap-feeling Aveo) and should have engineered the current version to meet U.S. standards so that Chevy stores would have been selling much-higher-quality Corsas over here the last few years instead of the bargain-basement Aveo. Done properly ahead of time, it could even have been competitively-priced. AND IT WOULD HAVE BEATEN FORD AND CHRYSLER TO THE PUNCH...! (Astra also took WAY too long to get over here....They should have figured out LONG ago how to build Corsas and Astras over here.)

I've been 135 in an (original model year) Lexus SC430 and a (old-body-style V12) 750iL......120mph in my old Mazda6 company car.......135mph in my C6 convertible.......and 125mph in an Alfa Romeo GT Coupe 1.9L TDi...... That's it for me.....

Moltar, Why do you have a Dalek in your sig?

Probably being cannibalized......but that's something, I'm sure, BMW had counted on....... 3-Series gets a MCE in '09......so that will help.....

It's a phenomenon that has been discussed many times over on this site (many times by me.) When looking at the fate of the domestic automakers, you really need to look FAR outside of the midwestern states to see the true trends that are defining this industry. The Big3 TRULY is operating within a clueless vacuum. Southern California is probably the biggest example.....and the east coast cities rival that. But it's really the sweeping changes in consumer preference (towards imports) that is taking place in regions like Houston, Atlanta, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, ANY paciific northwest city.....I could go on-and-on. Employees of the Big3 living in those midwestern states are strangely clueless to the automobile market revolution taking place around the country. It's scary....and mildy humorous at the same time. Oh they hear in the news about the sales numbers and the market share.....but they still really don't think anything's wrong. There's tons of GM cars in Detroit, Cleveland, and Indianapolis. How could things be bad? ALL those people buying imports are "sheeples." "California" isn't the "real" world, so why pay attention to the auto market there? <UGH> I'm not saying "you" are a fool for being a "GM fan".....what I'm saying is.....is that the domestic automobile industry is fading into more-and-more irrelevance....and the Big3 are clueless as to how to stop the slide. NOW, it's not JUST product. It's perception, image, and appeal. You can have the best product in the world (CTS? G8? Corvette? GMT-900s? Lambda?) .....but if you don't fix the perception, image, and appeal problems......you will fail miseably.

'bloke..... I've been a member far longer than you.....and I will say this.....the vast majority of the posters on C&G are way more mindful of the industry in general. It just seems that the hardcore "GM Kool Aid Drinkers" get more of the attention due to the nature of their posts (and I'm not singling out anyone in particular.) Yes there are members on here that like GM (sometimes to a fault) but they are usually honest and open about their opinions on the competition.....and they give the competition it's due when it's earned. There's only a select few on here that are truly competely binded by their "faith." That being said.....when I worked for GM, I used to be one of "them." I've said before on here that I was the guy that truly believed a Buick Regal GS was a superior car to a BMW....and I could explain (spin?) why....I was SO brainwashed, it wasn't even funny.

Untrue....unless you have statistics to back these statements up. Toyota isn't incentivizing their product any more than any of the Big3 are......and last time I saw stats, Toyota's fleet/rental percentages (even on cars like Camry and Corolla) are a fraction of GM's (and Ford's and especially Chrysler's)..... Toyota's ARE boring for the most part. However, the vast majority of the market favors cars as "appliances"......contrary to those of us on here that look at them as far more.....

Even the V6 LTZ that C&D tested didn't weigh 3,700lbs.....they listed it as 3,653. Hefty, yes....but not 3,700lbs....and certainly not for the L4.

The A4 is an '07.....but I think the '05 was the latest generation in any event. In the recent C&D comparo of the Malibu L4, curb weight was listed as 3,470.....the A4 is around 3,500. I'm not dissing the Malibu....I LOVE the idea of an LT with the 2.4L and 6-speed auto. I'm just trying to give some fuel economy comparisons from what I figure is excellent mileage in an AWD car with such strong performance.......

Alaska's AWESOME! I could almost live there...... I used to go up there quite a bit for work, and I have spent time in the winter, and summer, in Anchorage, and travelled to Fairbanks and Juneau. I've spent the most time in Anchorage....which is like a little "Seattle." Not at all "backwards." It's got some GREAT restaurants and stuff. It's got all the amenities you need of a big city, but it's so close to so much beautiful country, it's incredible. Winters in Anchorage are remarkably mild.....in some respects better than what I experienced in Michigan!!! Because it's located on the water, the winters are somewhat mild in comparison. Obviously it gets cold, but when I was there in February a couple of times, the temps were in the mid-30's...... Fairbanks, in comparison, is freaking cold....OMG.... Juneau is like a little european village.....so incredibly charming.....

I like the Malibu L4.....but this article is not that impressive IMHO..... I've averaged over 30mpg in my A4 (a heavier quattro at that) 2.0T on a trip from Las Vegas to L.A. with the cruise set on 90mph, and some jaunts up to 95 and 100mph for a time....around time driving consistently averages 24-26mpg with a mix of city and highway.....btw....the trip computer frequently advertises ranges of OVER 500 miles on a straight freeway cruise....AT elevated velocities.... And this with a car with 200hp that goes 0-60 in 7.2 seconds......

A Chevy Blazer from that era was the worst example of a vehicle I've ever owned. I can't tell you how poor the quality was, or how many problems I had with it. It was a true disgrace. It was GM at it's WORST......

If we are talking GM's next logical step in a small (re...not full-size) pickup, I feel their efforts would be better spent in developing a truly competitive midsize entry (a la Tacoma, Frontier, etc.) and then work harder to make the engines you supply it with truly competitive in fuel economy with other similarly-sized midsize pickups.... The market, I believe, has voted that consumers don't want a compact pickup truck. Fuel economy may indeed continue to be an escalating issue....but I think you'd lose more in competitiveness in the market segment by building a smaller truck than you'd make up in actual fuel economy.

We've hashed this out before. The Pontiac will never have the brand-recognition or reputation that the BMW does. The BMW, obviously being more expensive, has a way-more upscale interior with much finer materials and quality. We KNOW why people buy BMWs. The real here with the G8 is how GM is able to bring this car to market for such a competitive price. Here you have a car that undercuts it's primary competition, the Dodge Charger, by $4K - $5K in MSRP. Simply incredible. AND it provides a real RWD alternative to loaded-up Accords, Camrys, and Altimas for not-much-more money (and similar money in G8 V6 form!) In my mind, actually.....GM needs to put a MAJOR marketing push on the G8 V6 versions. There's NO reason this car, product-wise, couldn't attract mainstream midsize sedan shoppers!

Quite frankly, I don't think there's much to be gained by spending a ton of money on a compact pickup......simply for fuel economy gains...... Even today, a 4X4 Tacoma with a 4.0L V6 and 5-speed automatic is rated 16/20........compared to a 4X4 Colorado L4/4-speed automatic that gets 16/22....and the L5/4-speed automatic gets 15/21...... So you have a bigger, roomier, V6-powered midsize truck that gets fuel economy comparable to a 4-or-5 cylinder Colorado that is smaller and less powerful....... Maybe GM could do better......but right now, the consumer realistically is seeing next-to-no MPG gain by going with the GM products.......

Funny....... Apparently there are three different sets of pads.....base and with the 17-inch "sport" package.....with the 18-inch "sport" package.....and the v-series brembos.....