Drew Dowdell

*brochure from 1974 Cadillac with Air Restraint System. GM was the first to offer airbags* With all the negative press that has circulated about General Motors before and during its bankruptcy proceedings, customers should be aware that although financially troubled, GM is a recognized leader in car safety advances. The company pioneered the development of the now ubiquitous concrete barriers on national highways and was the first car maker to install rear turn signals as standard equipment. Some of GM's safety innovations are obvious, while others are more subtle. Established GM Reputation for Safety Standards

Established GM Reputation for Safety Standards *brochure from 1974 Cadillac with Air Restraint System. GM was the first to offer airbags* With all the negative press that has circulated about General Motors before and during its bankruptcy proceedings, customers should be aware that although financially troubled, GM is a recognized leader in car safety advances. The company pioneered the development of the now ubiquitous concrete barriers on national highways and was the first carmaker to install rear turn signals as standard equipment. Some of GM's safety innovations are obvious, while others are more subtle. For instance, the company uses Event Data Recorders in electronic modules in its vehicles to capture information on vehicle and restraint function during crashes. The EDRs can be located in a number of spots including under the front seat or in 4-wheel drive steering modules. The EDR information is only accessed with the owner's consent, as an aspect of litigation, or as required by law, but the data aids in research to improve safety systems overall. For the past ten years, GM, in partnership with Safe Kids USA, has taken a major role in family car safety education and has developed industry-leading rear seat comfort guides for children as well as a program to retrofit trunks against child entrapment. Currently GM and Chevrolet are supporting Safe Kids Buckle Up programs, an initiative for which they received the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Public Service Award. In 2008, GM launched Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology in 1 million 2009 models equipped with OnStar systems to help the police recover stolen cars and to cut down on the number of dangerous high-speed chases. In 2009 OnStar added an Injury Severity Prediction system intended to enhance automatic crash responses based on the degree of injury suffered by the vehicle's occupants. Beyond such forward thinking programs, GM's 2009 vehicles performed especially well in crash test ratings with the Chevrolet Silverado series achieving five stars for front driver and passenger and side and rear impacts and four-star rollover ratings. Sedans like the Chevrolet Aveo and Cobalt varied between five and four stars across the boards although the Aveo 4-DR w/SAB (side air bags) received only three stars for side rear passenger impacts. The Chevrolet Avalanche, Equinox, Suburban, Tahoe and Trailblazer offered similar results although most of these vehicles received three star ratings in rollovers and the Trailblazer 4-DR w/SAB received only three stars for front driver safety. (For more detailed information on individual safety ratings per vehicle, see www.nhtsa.gov, the official site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.) As General Motors works to introduce new vehicles that meet enhanced fuel efficiency standards and likewise fulfill the public's desire for smaller, more economical cars and alternative energy propulsion units, more safety advances will undoubtedly follow. Atrophied management policies were responsible for the financial collapse of the former automotive giant, but GM engineers and designers have continued to do their jobs well for the consumers who drive General Motors products.

Welcome back to the site! Hope you come around more often!

I think Ford is playing the "Comeback Kid" theme right now. If they do enough "This is not your father's Taurus" ads, they'll do fine. It's not going to sell like the old Taurus did, as someone already said, that's the Fusion's job. Still, at $26k, that's a lot of quality car. That price point is no mistake when you see that the base Accord V6 MSRPs at $27k (not counting the $4k in incentives Honda appears to have on the hood). Avalon and most V6 Camries are above $26k also.

I don't think Ford ever intended for the SHO to be a big seller. It's there for one purpose and one purpose only; to bring respect back to the Taurus badge. And really, how much "extra" could it have cost Ford to build? All the parts were on the shelf. Take a "Ford" body and put a "Lincoln" motor in it.... that formula has been around since... well... ever. All they need is Conan O'Brian talking about his SHO and then Bill Ford walks out and presents him with a new one.

Seeing what you were able to do for Cheers and Gears and my other website in such a short time, you'll do great! Congrats!

that was a joke dear.

na, there are still some old schoolers out there. My dad only buys Craftsman tools. Mom only buys Kenmore. She bought a GE stove 7 years ago that gave her problems and I STILL hear about that damn thing and how she should have bought a Kenmore.

I was told I didn't have one

About a year ago I proposed that the top of the line Buick trim should be listed in FRONT of the name rather than after. Super Regal Super Lacrosse Super Lucerne Super Enclave If they ever do hybrids Electra Regal Electra Lacrosse Electra Lucerne Electra Enclave

Good point. I'd forgotten about that one when arguing in the XTS thread.

Haldex is the system used in the Veyron. If the Insignia VXR can fit the 2.8T then it can fit a 3.6T DI just as well. The external dimensions of the engine are the same.

Woops! There goes the argument that you can't have more than 300hp in a transversely mounted engine.

GM to recall 1,350 Employees that is. This is the kind of GM recall we like hearing about. LORDSTOWN — A second shift is being called back to work at the General Motors Lordstown Complex to meet consumer demand for the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt and to gear up for production of the new Chevy Cruze later in the year. GM recalls 1,350 employees

Employees that is. Via the Vally News LORDSTOWN — A second shift is being called back to work at the General Motors Lordstown Complex to meet consumer demand for the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt and to gear up for production of the new Chevy Cruze later in the year. General Motors said Tuesday it will recall 1,350 laid-off employees in the United States and Canada, including about 1,050 at its Lordstown Complex. The Lordstown second shift will begin work Oct. 5, John Donahoe, GM Lordstown manager, said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Notices to the 1,000 hourly employees being called back to the assembly and fabricating plants should start going out in the next few days, said Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents hourly workers at the assembly plant. UAW Local 1714 represents hourly workers at the fabricating plant. Fifty salaried employees also will be called back to work, Donahoe said. Donahoe, Graham and David Green, president of 1714, participated in the news conference. Returning a second shift to work is the result of great demand for the Chevrolet Cobalt and the need to begin to train and prepare for the launch of the new Chevrolet Cruze in April, Donahoe said. Donahoe said Cobalt sales have benefited from the federal government's "cash for clunkers" program. But he noted that Cobalt sales were up 38 percent in July over the previous year before the federal program got under way. Donahoe said the plant will start producing the Cruze in November in anticipation of the launch. He said production will begin slowly to give employees time to learn their jobs on the new lines for a smooth transition from the Cobalt and Pontiac G5, the other vehicle built at Lordstown, to the Cruze. "We're fortunate to get the second shift, and we anticipate having a clean and efficient Cruze start-up. We are going to have the best vehicle launch in GM history," Donahoe said. There is a lot of excitement in the plant about building the Cruze, Green said. "It [the Cruze] is essential to our survival." Graham echoed those sentiments. This has been an up-and-down year for Lordstown GM, going from three shifts to one shift, he said. "We are very, very happy that this word came down today," he said. It is not only a relief to the employees here but to the surrounding communities that depend on Lordstown GM employees for tax revenues, Graham added. Even with the callbacks, there still will be several hundred employees on layoff, officials said. Also announced Tuesday was increased overtime at the plants starting Friday. Donahoe said hourly workers who work four-day weeks — 10 hours a day Monday through Thursday — will work a fifth 10-hour day Friday and Aug. 28, and probably more of the same in future months. Also, he said, starting Aug. 31, 10-hour shifts will be increased by one hour. Gov. Ted Strickland applauded GM's decision to bring back more than 1,000 workers to the Lordstown Complex. So, too, did Lordstown Mayor Michael Chaffee, who said it is not only great news for the workers at the complex, but it will have a positive ripple effect on area governments and businesses. It will enable the village to solidify its income-tax-revenue target for the year and comes at a time when stores will benefit for the buildup to the Christmas season, Chaffee said.

Kmart was ever a trendy place to shop? I go there when they have their double coupon up to $2.00 days to save money using coupons over $1.00.

I loved the idea of the Magnum, hated it's execution. I've always had a problem with the interiors and ergonomics of the LX cars. Had it not been for that, I might have bought one, though I definitely preferred the 300C Estate.

Kmart is offering assistance to Michigan residents who have lost their jobs. Being a good corporate citizen, Kmart has created their Smart Assist program to lend a hand to the devastated economy in Michigan. They are offering recipients of Michigan unemployment benefits an additional 20% off store branded grocery and drug store merchandise for up to six months. Over 1,000 products qualify for the discount. To be eligible, customers must present valid ID and a state-issued unemployment benefits confirmation. Interested participants can find more information here.

Kmart is offering assistance to Michigan residents who have lost their jobs. Being a good corporate citizen, Kmart has created their Smart Assist program to lend a hand to the devastated economy in Michigan. They are offering recipients of Michigan unemployment benefits an additional 20% off store branded grocery and drug store merchandise for up to six months. Over 1,000 products qualify for the discount. To be eligible, customers must present valid ID and a state-issued unemployment benefits confirmation. Interested participants can find more information here. Discussion here.

Getting burned like that would probably make him run pretty quickly. Would that make him Sprint PCS?

LOL! Z and DF, you guys wanna combine your front page posts?

someone want to clean this up and throw it on the front page?

I would prefer if we don't give Josh the attention he so desperately wants. When I was privately made aware of the post I went over to check it out. There were 7 members logged in over there, all guests. Me and six search engine spiders. All of the recent posts were spam. Even the crickets weren't chirping because they had all died. I like the idea of a C&G drives section. If we can get more traffic and more advertising dollars (remember to click the google ads) we can actually sponsor this type of activity. I would have no problem paying for a member to go rent a GM vehicle for a day and then have them write up an article about it. If we could have this happen where 3 members could get together and review the model together that would be even better. It generally doesn't cost more than $70 to rent a car, so with more google ad clicks, or amazon purchases, or tire rack purchases, it's not impossible. I wouldn't want to limit the reviews to GM vehicles though, it's important to keep an eye on the competition as well. I LOVE F.O.G.'s rants! So much so that I emulate them from time to time. F.O.G. can rant as much as he wants.

What I need for you all to do is take a huge f-ing . I don't know what has gotten into the membership (including a few of the mods) around here since I went on vacation but it appears that you've all gone on the rag. If you have issues with a post or a poster report the issue PRIVATELY! If one particular poster is bothering you use the ignore feature. Stop trolling and stop bashing each other.