The O.C.

I disagree. It may be real brushed aluminum, I don't know....but to me it seems like cheap plastic. In fact, it reminds me of all the silver plastic trim Lincoln was putting in their recent products like the Navigator, Aviator, etc. I don't like the switchgear either inside the Jaguar. Plus, the car is damn tight inside.....seems like a bigger car than the CTS, but I find the CTS far more accommodating.

No one is saying the car has to be marketed as a "performance" car in the same vein as Pontiac..... Buick used to mean "Premium, American Motorcars." I don't find anything "premium" about floaty suspensions, coarse V6 and underpowered engines, and cheap interior trimmings. Modernizing Buick, similar in essence to what the T-Types attempted to do back in the 80's, would add some american flash, style, and performance while retaining Buick's supposed core attributes of comfort, amenities, and road presence. In their day (when the 3.8L was respectable in performance and technology for it's time) the Buick T-Types were some of the best driving cars in the market.....even if their interiors weren't up to snuff, or if the Buick brand image wasn't as it was in the glory days. Look at it like Mercedes-Benz in a sense. Mercedes-Benz isn't really considered a performance brand by any stretch of the imagination. At least not in the same vein as BMW (or even Audi.) HOWEVER, look at how extremely popular the AMG variants are....not only in the press, but by Mercedes' own consumers. It casts a nice halo over the rest of the normal, volume-driven range.

.....oh bite me....

'08 CTS had bluetooth if you ordered the leather seats/seating package. '09 CTS has bluetooth standard. As far as the XF interior, that's a subjective viewpoint. I happen to find the XF interior bland and unimaginative......and find the rotating vents and shifter to be nothing but gimmickery. IMHO, I think the CTS interior (even non-V) far outclasses the new XF interior.

You need to better understand California (and more specifically southern California.) BMWs and Mercedes-Benzs don't contribute any more to the smog problem than any other type of car. Fact of the matter is...there is a significant population in southern California....for right or for wrong....well over 17MM people. There will inevitably be factors such as traffic and pollution as a result. Secondly, apparently you are unaware of how much "open land" is scattered around southern California. You can thank the various mountain and hill ranges that are spread around within the urban areas. Thirdly, effective mass transit in southern California is something that is very difficult to achieve when you have an urban area that could emcompass probably at least two entire metro Chicago areas. People don't always have a choice when it comes to a long commute. They have to have jobs....yet have to live where they can afford to live. That may dictate a significant commuting distance somewhere like in southern California where homes 1-2 hours' drive inland are so much less expensive than homes nearer the coast (where most of the corporations choose to locate their offices.) Finally, people don't just commute from the suburbs to downtown L.A. There are so many different business districts around all of southern California....one (or just a few) consistent commuting pattern(s) is impossible in southern California. In fact, I read a statistic one time that more L.A. county residents commuted to suburban Orange County to work...than they actually commuted to downtown L.A.

Damn.....I LUV me a good danglymaobber...!!!!!!

Ah but I think it totally is high on the list. Walking around the (admittedly small) Las Vegas Auto Show on Sunday, I was embarrased, and frankly, quite annoyed at the mostly lackadaisical showing in product from the Big 3. Take individual preference out of the equation, and I was amazed at how the import companies STILL are designing and executing vehicles in the vast majority of market segments that simply outclass GM entries in too many areas. Even Hyundai was a major surprise....my god how they've improved even their more basic products in such a short time. GM has seen this situation coming for more than 25 years....probably longer than that. And to sit by and not make the drastic changes needed to keep itself at the head of the table is just damn embarassing. CTS. Malibu. Corvette. Lambdas. Trucks. When you really scrutinize the product, that's just about it for GM products that are executed at any sort of level comparable to the competition. Even Solstice/SKY is severing lacking (if you really scrutinze those, then go spend time in a Miata....no comparison.) (Realize I say these harsh words taking my enthusiasm for GM out of the equation. Would I buy an Elantra over a Cobalt? HELL NO. But there's no denying that the Elantras I saw at the Hyundai stand seemed to be executed to a level far above what I saw in the Cobalt.) That being said.....something needs to be done to insure GM's survival.....government loans....bankruptcy....whatever. They need to survive. I just hope that one of these decades, they actually decide to take the bull by the horns and do what needs to be done, no matter how drastic, so that people will once again have a much easier time justifying shopping a local GM dealership.

....screw that.....keep us posted about the SEX....! (lol.....j/k.) I know what you are talking about. Last July and August I was just getting my feet on the ground....them....BAMM....the financial crisis hit....and I'm back in the money doldrums again..... But I know this will pass too..... And as far as the man stuff.....I'm with you. The tension, sex, and play is all GREAT....but I want it attached to a guy I fall in love with too..... Keep smiling.....it helps!

Well, I totally disagree with sobriety checkpoints. That being said, I did have one really cool run-in with one.... It was when I was living up in the Bay Area. I was leaving a little pizza joint that my friends and I frequented and was heading out of the little downtown village of Danville when I encountered the checkpoint. Now....I had just picked up a brand new ('97 or '98 I forget) Riviera as a company car......white diamond with maroon leather. As I pulled up to the first cop, he told me about the checkpoint and asked if I had been drinking.....I was straight up and said we had just had dinner at the pizza place (I forget it's name today) and had two beers during dinner. He said "okay"......and asked me what kind of car I was driving? (I'm sure he was testing my ability to converse.) I told him all about the Riv and he was all like about how nice the car was, how sleek, and what a good-looking ride. He smiled and told me to be careful on my way home.....then he ushered me through and past the other cops.

Or....put another way.....if the automotive press strongly influences so many of the buying habits of consumers in this country, as so many of you ascertain that they do, then logic dictates if GM wants to sell more cars, they better damn well do whatever it takes to find themselves in the good graces of that very group of journalists..... If that means building cars the journo's will like more, so they can "influence" more people to buy them, then so be it..... (Or at least the auto journo's need to be taken a little more seriously, for right or for wrong, than what GM has taken them.)

.....please say you are kidding me.....

Well....let's look at your statement. Tell my why GM shouldn't build vehicles that look good on paper, win the approval of car critics, and appear to be quality made? What's wrong with any of these three things to begin with?

Well maybe that works for Lincoln.....but I know that here, what we sell in SRX (primarily Certified pre-owned) we sell as RWD SRX models.....as people don't want to pay the extra for AWD if they don't have to (don't live in a snowy climate, etc.) In fact, we don't even stock new SRXs with AWD..... Also, of those people that have inquired, they LIKE the fact that the SRX is RWD instead of FWD....I've heard that mentioned various times. Just my observations, that's all.....

The unfortunate reality is not what's currently in the product lineup, but how much those products contribute to Cadillac's overall sucess. (Based upon my six months' experience working at a Caddy store....) there are two....only two....products that generate any sort of significant contribution to Cadillac.......the CTS, and the short-wheelbase Escalade. STS is sale-proof. STS-V is sale proof. SRX is sale-proof. XLR is sale-proof. XLR-V is sale-proof. ESV and EXT Escalades move at a fraction of the short-wheelbase model. DTS is not quite sale-proof, but damn near it. The new CTS-V, coupe and sportwagen will generate positive press......but hardly help to fix the problems with the rest of the product line. A smaller, less-expensive RWD sedan could be interesting....if executed to the level the current CTS is. Where's the new STS/DTS replacement? I don't even think it's barely on the horizon. The new SRX is a sharp looker.....but loses it's third-row seat and is FWD-based. How will that help steal sales from the Lexus RX's of the world? (As "sale proof" as SRXs are, if you have a 5-seat model, it's even more sale proof.) For all my bitching, we do just fine and make nice money at this store....thanks to CTS, Escalade Shorty, used-cars, and service. But Cadillac is still a far way from "trending upwards" in the grand scheme of things.

I saw this at GM too......GM PR always viewed The Press as the "Bad Guy" that just hates domestic cars.....instead of trying to appeal to their sensabilties.....that plus the fact that a vast majority of GM's products deserved the harsh criticism they got. So instead of taking dramatic measures to improve upon the product's deficiencies, they just "blamed" it on The Press. GM is only now finally waking up to the notion of what producing a world-class product can do for them. Witness the glowing review of the CTS in this month's C&D ten-best list.....second year in a row for the Cadillac....when you are one of ten out of, how many models available in the U.S that qualify for that list.........that speaks scores. Then, look at the Cobalt SS's strong third-place finish in that month's cheap speed comparo.....and that is from a car that began as a lacklustre little GM car in the first place. C&D's praise of the drivetrain, suspension, and overall performance was warranted. (As was their still harsh criticism of the interior.) I've said it before and I'll say it again. For all the hatred on here for the automotive press, when GM produces a vehicle that deserves praise, they get it. Harsh, negative criticism of cars such as, oh, C&D's review of the current Impala SS a year or so ago can't be blamed on the automotive journalists.

When I was a kid, it was all about the Matchbox cars..... I never remember getting hooked, I just remember always being hooked..... When I was little, my parents had a Fiat 128 (that I was in love with) and a Mercedes Benz 220D.....I used to sit on the roof of both cars and clean them with a rag.....and I'd stand beside them and clean the windows.....so small I could barely reach the windows....but there I was trying all the same.... LOL Then as I got a bit older, my mom worked for GM and always drove new Buick Rivieras (the '79-'85 version.) Then as I'm older and getting into college, Mom drove a few LeSabre T-Types.....and dad had Ford Thunderbirds. Well, we got him from the Thunderbird into a Skylark T-Type (the N-Body Somerset that was eventually renamed Skylark) which he surprisingly liked....then he was in a new Reatta that he put over 100,000 miles in it before he migrated into his Corvette days. Mom and Dad's stable today......2000 Buick Regal GS (150,000 miles), 1999 Corvette Coupe (30,000 miles), 2005 BMW 330ci Convertible (25,000 miles.)

CTS.....really empty....REALLY empty....like driving on "Low Fuel" for two days now...... OK....I'm bad about looking at the acutal prices......but I stopped by the other night at Terrible Herbst's (Chevron) on my way home from work.....ran inside to get gum while the pump was pumping.....and came back out and saw it had clicked off at $38....so I'm all like clicking the thing again and again wondering why it shut off early, then gas starts pouring all over the ground....then I looked at the gallons, 16.9 gallons.... The friggin CTS filled up, on 89-octane nonetheless, for only $38!!!!!!

Interesting...... When I had my 2003 Mazda6 V6 company car, the clutch went out at 26,000 miles......then again about 20,000 miles later. The first time, it was repaired under warranty, even though Mazda gave me a hard time about it saying clutches are "wear" items and aren't covered under warranty. Then, it went out again at 40,000 miles and they weren't going to cover it. I had to threaten legal action because, I'm sorry, a clutch that goes out that soon and that often is NOT operating normally.... (Not to mention the fact I've driven stick/clutch cars all my life and never had problems.....84,000 miles on my Skyhawk on the original clutch.) Well guess what? Tadd-dee-daah.......after the second clutch replacement at 40,000 miles, Mazda issued a service bulletin for faulty inner clutch workings (I don't remember what parts were failing....) I was VINDICATED! (Ironically, ONLY problem I EVER had with the Mazda in 51,000 miles of driving.)

I'm the same.....I've never thought he was the type of demographic that Buick should be going towards......seems GM picked Tiger simply because he was, at the time, the biggest name in golf instead of picking a true golf professional that could accurately convey the type of consumer Buick was trying to attract.....(middle aged, successful, upscale, but not geriatric.)

.....that's okay.....I do..... Seriously, though.....I'm so looking forward to some quiet time with the dogs.....

To me, the problem with the Aztek was not concept, but the execution. To me, the Aztek (and Rendezvous) spell everything that's been wrong with GM the last 20 years......poor design direction (making a SUV out of minivan hardpoints was never going to come off correctly), haphazard fit, finish, and materials, and outdated and underperforming powertrains. Azteks may have been reliable, I don't know. But I do know that I had some friends that had a Pontiac Montana sister-mobile that was an absolute disaster after a few years..... (OK.....a slight diversion from the topic, but an interesting question to respond to in any event.)

"We Build Excitement" Three simple words. Learn 'em and live 'em......and make sure your products live UP to them...... Really can't get any simpler than that......

I saw the Moore interview two times (why the hell was it so "good" to repeat?) and I gotta tell you Michael Moore is the biggest idiot to ever roam the land. I find it disgusting that he is as successful as he is..... IMHO, during the entire interview, he came across to me as big of a bumbling loon as he looks like he is.....I can't believe anyone can take this doofus seriously at all.....

Just me and Palmala Handerson...... Unless you want to come join me for a little gobble-gobble-gobble...?