The O.C.

What your pics don't show is that the M5 dash/door panels are covered in stichted leather. The CTS and CTS-v is stitched (but nicely grained soft-touch) plastic....not leather. I'm not dissing the CTS interior AT ALL....in fact, the v-Series is hot.....but having been in tons of 3- and 5-series....whether you like the actual styling, the interior finish is absolutely first class on everything from the headliner to the plastics below the dash. The C-Class, on the other hand, is put together really well......but really does use many inferior finishes and feels cheap in comparison to just about any other competitior (CTS, 3, A4, etc.)

LMFAO....!

I like the new Ram too....in fact better than what is supposed to be the new F-150. I especially like the exhaust cutouts in the rear bumper! Interior looks SWEET.....! Wow....! In fact, it's funny because it looks like a cross between recent Ford (styling-wise) and GM (nice-looking switchgear) interiors. I'll reserve final judgement until I can see/feel interior materials....but it looks like it's much better finished.

I'll be 38 in May <groan> But being older means I was there in person to experience and fall in love with some of those early-to-mid 70's GM cars that I so fondly remember! All the young bucks on here can only dream.... LOL

GM has typically shunned markets where they do poorly (CA) instead of realizing the huge perception gains that could be had by impacting such markets as the east and west coast. So GM's thought process is.....why spend money in CA on Malibu and why load up dealer inventories with Malibus when they've never done well with mainstream models here. Instead, let's focus on established markets (MI, example.) I happen to think that GM will never turn the corner until they start changing perceptions on the coasts and other import-dominated markets. (Lambdas seem to be doing REAL good here.....and I'm beginning to see more and more CTSs.....?)

Nope....they WON'T abandon their V8 engines. As Oldsmoboi (most likely correctly) stated, they will just pay the CAFE fines. (Of course some of those fines or all of them will be passed down to the consumer.) Those people that can afford a V8-powered BMW or Mercedes will most likely not be that affected by an increase in price to compensate for stricter CAFE standards.

That's the WHOLE point.....and has always been the point with the Skyline GT-R series of cars.....

Well, I'd say that truth-be-told, all things being fair (Chevy used to include Geo) then Toyota won the sales stake this year. Personally.....I think Scion should be counted separately..... but considering Chevy was allowed to count Geo, it only seems fair. In fact, one could argue that at least every Scion product IS an actual Toyota product. There wasn't a single Geo that was a GM product (and GM having partial stakes in Suzuki and Isuzu doesn't count.) That being said....unfortunately....it looks like Scion most likely won't even matter in the counting at the end of this year.....

Dude....they ARE Honda..... (you MUST have been sarcastic....)

Damn....I'm 37 too....does that make the two of us the oldest members of C&G...? LOL

I'm just comparing GM to Honda. As soon as the new Accord was announced, all of a sudden, I'm seeing them EVERYWHERE. Malibu? STILL not a one on the road as of 1-11-08. I travel all over L.A./O.C./San Diego for my job so it's not like I never get out.... It seems that when Honda is getting prepared to debut an important new mainstream model, they make sure that production is ramped up to speed and able to walk that fine line between high-demand and over-stocked. If GM's excuse is....."there's only been XXX number per dealer/per state" then it's GM's fault for not ramping up properly. Sorry to rant but I've dealt with this with just about EVERY single new important vehicle launch of the last 20 years. Anyone remember the G6/Oprah fiasco?

I'll be there the first weekend...... weather.com says highs in the LOW 20's.....and lows in the high-teens...... BRRRRRRRR

I'm in LOVE....!!!!!! Gimme black-on-black with the 6-speed manual...... I've never really grown to love the new CTS styling, but somehow in pumped-up V-series form, it looks oh-so-right....! And LORD what an interior.........GM finally puts proper seats in one of it's sporty cars...! (The ZR1's seats....any Corvette seats for that matter....totally suck.)

NO...it's just people's realistic view of the marketplaces they live in. I also have yet to see a new Malibu on the road (even a rental.) That doesn't mean that I don't think the car isn't first-class (I happen to believe it IS) but for all of Mark LeNeve's diatribes that the new Malibu is already SO successful in CA.....I haven't seen a single one on the road. I'm SURE there are tons of Malibus on the road in Southeastern Michigan......

Expertly said. The two V8s I have the most experience in is the Corvette LS2 in the '06 that I had, and the BMW 4.4 V8. First of all, let me say both engines, regardless of valvetrain, are excellent engines. That being said there were distinct differences in the driving pleasure of both. As powerful, mannerly, and efficient as the LS2 V8 is, it could no way compare to the refinement, smoothness, and incredible willingness to rev that the BMW V8 showed in a 545i 6-speed that I spent some time in. Ironically, the BMW didn't SEEM to lack low-end torque.....but felt really strong due to it's ability to pull cleanly all the way to the redline. With the LS2, I never really ran it to the redline....ending up short-shifting and driving on the torque. I guess you could say "different strokes for different folks." However, to me, the DOHC/32-valve V8 (whether in a BMW or a GM car) will always be my favorite. (My how nice a Corvette would be with the STS-v's supercharged 4.4L Northstar....!!!)

How ironic.... I think it's laughable that they are supposedly now just figgering this out.......?

Nope.....but you are seemingly trying to "diss" BMW....and BMW owners.....because they buy a "$30K Civic with leatherette" What I'm saying is that GM could learn alot from their approach to the marketplace, the consumers, and the industry in general. You can learn these lessons and apply them to any market segment....not just the "$30K and up" premium segments. But no....GM won't do that....because they know what is best....don't they?

Maybe you need to expand your horizons just a bit......

Speaking of wood.....GM......let's decide if we are going to use real wood, or plastic. No more of this "mixing it up" inside your products. I HATE my CTS wood......because it's real on the steering wheel and door pulls and plastic on the center stack. And NO.....they don't look the same. The worst part...is the real stuff looks really RICH.....but the stuff on the center stack is so obviously plastic, it's absurd. You can even see on the edges of the center stack where the wood plastic is stuck onto the dash.....tacky, tacky, tacky.....

Pauli....I HOPE the only "wood" you are looking at....in your Century....is the peeling stuff on the dash.... LOL :AH-HA_wink:

Oh...I'm not anti-Lacrosse..... ....I'm anti-W-body...... I just wish that, once again, the Super was where the LaCrosse started.....the trim updates (interior AND exterior) the wheels/tires, the suspension tuning, all should be on the STANDARD car....(maybe not the V8 for cost reasons....but you get my point.)

T56 is a rather crappy transmission.....as I encountered in my '06 Vette. There is nothing joyous about shifting it....even in a Vette. (But I'd still take a T56 over a slushbox....lol.) The Aisin 6-speed in my V6 CTS, however, is a sweet tranny....very sweet-shifting. Why can't GM design a sweet manual tranny that links up to a powerful V8 when BMW and Audi can do it...? (M3, RS4, V8 5-series and 6-series models)

Sorry if someone has already done this...... 2008 Charger SE Plus - $24,515 Includes 3.5L V6, 18-inch wheels and tires (option), protection package (with side curtain bags, and smaller items like homelink, etc.), and otherwise comparable equipped to G8 V6. That's a $3K difference.....and not insignificant....especially BEFORE incentives..... (I'd still take the G8 myself.....)

So.....excuse me while I make my way through the thread.....but if I read this right, the $27K G8 will have manual seats on both sides and a plastic steering wheel.....?

Doesn't that state more about how smart and marketplace savvy BMW is......and GM isn't.....? BMW also doesn't have the benefit of all of GM's revenue from their dominence in the SUV and pickup markets.....