hyperv6

I wish more people would understand the XTS in a way is kind of like a Captiva. The Captiva takes the resale hit for the Nox. GM has cut back on Nox fleet sales to help the Nox owners retain greater resale value. The XTS will do the same for the CTS and ATS. Cadillac will sell them in in larger numbers for livery service like the Town Cars did. The Town Cars resale was crap due to so many used ones on the market. Along the way the XTS will help move people closer to the kind of car Cadillac is becoming. The CTS will be special and I expect more like the rest fo the market and become more upscale with class. So will the price. The CTS will become the car the STS should have been.

Thanks Chris! I really did not think SS but I did wonder about an Eco version. I still think we may see a V6 Turbo at some point but this car will not be an SS at least as long as the RWD Sports Sedan is offered. SS anymore is what M is to BMW, AMG to Benz, SRT to Chrysler, SVO to Ford and V for Cadillac. They will stick to the formula that they aleady have in place that a car must Go, Turn and Stop to recieve the badge. The Guys who fixed the HHR and Cobalt in the real track cars are doing the suspensions from the start. This will give them better base suspension and will be much easier to tune into a upgraded suspenison. Today the Cruze rides as well as it does because of these guys. In the future GM will have the suspension to where they can be easily tweeked and engine that they can plug in to make a real performance model very easily if the needs arises.

It has the Benz lower sleeker and wider look about it. Once the Camo is off it might be very interesting.

I always looked at sedans as a compromise... and I can't figure out why anyone would want two extra useless doors and giant B-pillar blind spots at 10 and 2 o'clock if you never have anyone riding in the backseat. Might as well have a 6 or 8 door... "just in case". Of course, I still see that some people prefer them... but its shortsighted to not offer coupes in more car lines. Thanks for this quote as it really shows how out of touch you are with the average car buyer. The majority of the people who buy em use em. I take it you never had to put a car seat in the back of a 05 GTO or 2011 Camaro before? Or you never had to wait till kids squeezed into a back seat while you are standing in the rain waitig? Also my C pillars in my coupes were all greater blind spots than any sedan B pillar. That is why I am so good with mirrors today.

Economics I agree play a part it is how they come to terms on what to cut. If the coupe was in such high demand they would still build one for every model line. They are the model that pulled the short straw in production numbers and often they are the one that met the axe as buyers needs ands wants changed. If there was enough demand and if they were bringin enough money in to show are sizable profit they would be built. The demand for sedans are a global thing too. While there are couped offered they have become limited over the years elsewhere as they have here. I never owned a car with 4 doors till 1997 with my SSEI..All I had before that either has 2 doors and some only had 2 seats. I take that back my first car was a 63 Galxie sedan. I bought it off an old lady for $500 and it still had the original exhaust on it. I hated the car as in High School everyone wanted to take my car because I could take 6-7 people in it easy. Again the market has shifted no matter if it is the lower demand for coupes to the very low take rate on standard transmissions. Times change buyers expectations chane. Who in 1970 would have expected one of the strongest markets would be FWD/AWD small tall wagons called compact SUV's? Today we have 4 door Prosches, Lambo has not given up on their sedan Jag is mostly sedans now and Aston makes a sedan. Even those who were nothing but coupes have moved out into the sedan market. Give credit to Ferrari as they are holding out but Fiat has already a Maserati sedan that out sells the coupe so they can get by with that. What needs to be watched is the new Mustang as while the Pony car have evolved the new Mustang is going to see some radical changes in 2014. It may not be a sedan but I expect we will see things in this coupe not offered before in a Mustang to help with usability. Smaller engines with the same power and much less weight will also play into this. Retro on this car is out the door. It will remain to be seen how this will effect the cars appeal. If done well it may only expand sales as Ford expects. Again The markets are changing and for many the past holds little interest anyl onger. I am not a fan of many of the changes but I am only one small voice in a sea of others that have no issue with the changes.

Like it or not Sedans are the choice of the majority. Years ago you would never have seen a 4 door model on a NASCAR track, You wouyld have never seen a 4 Door in NHRA Pro Strock or Funny Car classe. You would have never seen such excitment in the Austrailan and Euro sedan racing series. Years ago you would never have considered Pontiac dropping a Coupe GP and only selling a Sedan with coupe sales dropping to a point it was not worth the effort anymore. THe MFG are marketing what is selling to top the others in sales of sedans. While there is a place in some classes for a coupe the universal appeal is no longer there like it once was. GM and most MFG will offer a coupe coupes but it would be stupid to offer one in every model offered as in the past. Car size and acceptance of the styling has rendered the coupe a much more limted market. Chevy already has a Zeta coupe in the Camaro so what would the point be in offering another? If you wanted to do another coupe the smart move would be to offer it as a Buick in a larger upscale coupe slotted under the CTS and over the Camaro but even then sales would be limited. I could see a small Alpha Chevy coupe but it has to be functional with a good back seat and trunk. It also need styling that is well accepted and not as polaizing as the 130R. It could be done with the use of the Alpha and sharing parts with the Camaro and ATS. It also could free the Camaro to be a little less practical and a little more sporty. As for your numbers of WRX or EVO. If you watch and learn what the younger gens want and like even those who do not own a new one try to buy used or just pine away for these cars. Many easily reject the Mustang and Camaro. In years past one that age would be branded a heretic. Like it or not the sedan today is the dominate vehicles with most car owners of all ages. Even if you look at the pick up and SUV markets people are buying more for usability as well as style. In the past they would toss practical for style. Hell today people complain if there are poor cup holders NS pooe trunk in a sports car like the Kappa. If the Cobra came out today one has to wonder if it would survive in todays market. Many would reject it as it would be seen as too basic, impractical, and uncomfortable.

There are many younger people able to afford these cars like a Camaro even at the inflated prices. They just do not have the same love for coupes as dear old dad. Times and taste have changed with the new Generations. The market has shifted. The New Chevy will be $37,000-44,000. It will be V8 only and it will come pretty much loaded. It is going to be low volume and will make it up with price. Think at least G8 GXP price or higher. Note the going rate of the Buick GS and the new Chevy will be higher priced than it.

That's because the young are mostly priced out of the new car market and the ones who can afford it are 30 going on 75. I guess you don't know may young people with money. Those I know and deal with at work love Evo's WRX and 3 Series sedans. They would want nothing other than a perfromance sedan. If offered a WRX sean or new Camaro many today would take the 4 cylinder sedan at the same price. We have many 20 somethings at work and they are paid well. Many have new cars and the only coupes I can recall is one 2012 Mustang GT. 2010 Mini and a 2010 Lotus. The rest are new sedans or SUV's. Same goes for our customers. 20 years ago it was nothing but Mustangs and F bodies with a good mix of street rods and Muscle cars. Today Imports are a large part of the market and seldom are the owners over 40 years old unless he put a SBC in a RX7. The truth is the market for new and old performance cars is getting more and more limited. Even the older people will not pay the money wanted for many models old or new. The price of the performance market is no longer cheap to buy the car anymore. We have a genenration and a half that grew up in imports. Most were 4 door Honda's and Toyotas that mom and dad drove. They have no issue with the changes in less cylinders, being an import and many don't even have a great love for performance. It was just made clear the new direction Ford is taking with the Mustang. While some see it as a risk I think it is one that will pay off in global sales. Not everyone is roots so deep in the past they have to sit around in parking lots a driveins on weekends with cars they did not build listening to a bad Elvis impersonator. Been there seen it and in some cases it is pretty sad. Just go to a Wal mart or Target and see who is buying all the Hot Wheels. These stores should move the Hot Wheels to the Hardware section as most buying them are over 30 years old or older.

That's because the young are mostly priced out of the new car market and the ones who can afford it are 30 going on 75. It is the older that want the coupes and the younger that want the sedans. I see it all the time where kids today want the sedan over any coupe. It is the opposite of what it used to be years ago. Most also want 4 cylinders too. They young today have less and less love for cars and see them more as transportation. This is why I feel we are lucky to get what we are getting. Where it was once true everyone pined fo a SS coupe today most are happy with the Vanilla appliance. Therer are still some under 40 that love perormance but it is no where like it used to be. JUst look at any high School or collage parking lot. Dealing with performance parts I see it globally. Our average buyer is at least 50 year old.This is much older than it ever was.

The Car will be RWD and will be no less than 430 HP. I know it will be more with the new DI V8 that is coming than the present SS Camaro. Like I said think G8 GXP only improved. From what I saw the G8 GT's and GXP's were doing at the Pontiac nationals in the quarter mile it will bring more to the table than any Impala SS ever has. It will go stop and turn unlike any Impala ever offered. In house GM they call it the 4 door Camaro to give the idea of what kind of performance to expect. As for the pissing and moaning on the name and number of doors Just be glad to get anything RWD that will perform to the level this car will. This car will not so much be a profit center but it will reflect well over the rest of the Chevy line. It will add the cool factor to todays Chevy line up. It will help add to Chevy what was missing for a long time from Pontiac till near the end Real Perfomance in a package that on par with todays market. Like it or not the market that fully accepts the sedan as the car of choice anymore.

One thing too we all need to consider here is the Lutz factor. While it was a while ago that Bob come in he was only able to work with some of what they had. Adding Chome to the surrounds of the window frames and improving interiors with some material qualities were a start. Most of what Bob did will be seen in the new cars and trucks yet to come. The new products were built under new rules he put in effect on how GM can and should build cars. With the new hard points they are able to do things they could not fix on the older cars. Quailty should imporve with better fit and finish. Styling will be better with no silly wheel well rules and other things on what you can or can't do on a car. If anyone has not read Bob's book to really understand where GM is going and what they are now able to do you need to read it. It will give you a much better idea of how things will change and why they did not change sooner. Between his book and hearing from the people at GM I know they have a new way of doing things but it will take platform changes to reach some of these goals. The Lucerne was an example of Bob improving a vehicle that pretty much was in place on a old platform at GM. With the hard points he was locked in on many things he still wanted to change. We will see much more in the future and it will be due to the changes he brought. The designers and engineers are now enabled to do what they can do and do not have to be told to fix the issues. In the past they could not do anything with out being told.

I know it will not be Lumina, Thiis car has one directive and it will be a performance sedan. I would expect a name that has performance in it's past. I would also expect a Retro name since Malibu and Impala are in play. Note the name is already has been picked out so it is a name GM already has the rights too since no one has caught GM picking a new name out. Chevelle would play well but the negitive is there is already a Malibu. Another name is Monte Carlo but the negitive there is the purist will point out there never was a 4 door Monte Carlo. Note the name has a long Nascar history and the Charger was two door only too but today was well accepted as a 4 door and is in NASCAR. I also have some long shots of Biscayne or Belair but the main focus is that the name is already picked and we should expect a name from the past that has had some performance heritage to it. Also let the nunber of doors issue drop as it matters little to the MFG and the General public if the new car is up to the task. We know what the G8 GXP could do and this car will be an improved version of that. My guess is Chevelle or Monte Carlo. Note Chevy has has a long love affair for the Monte in NASCAR as it is the model for them with the most wins. The Chevelle also has been a name that has not been used in years that was a very popular model that did have a good off track street performance image. What ever the name I would like to see the performance package call a Z11. This one has not been used for a long time and would work well with the ZR1 and ZL1. Or with the return of the Z28 later. Chev could offer a top level performance line and just use the Z with each.

Ironically, I feel the high gas prices will eventually deplete the 1/2 ton pick up truck end of the spectrum, pushing those people into smaller vehicle classes... because they will eventually realize they aren't ever hauling anything that needs a truck. Diluting these trucks into CUV-pickups will only hasten the fleeing. OTOH, diluting the 1/2 ton trucks will cause the 3/4 and 1 ton models to become a separate line... because people who use them for actual work still need the hauling ability and towing ability... but like your Aveo driving friend, are going to leave the monster at home if they don't need it. Granted, people buying trucks to use as trucks is likely a vast minority... shame neither GM or Ford break the sales down between the weight classes. As it is now the 1/2 tons will get lighter and smaller engines to meet the regs. But the funny thing is the 3/4 ton and larger have less strict rules. Many think that this may lead MFG to build and market larger trucks to replace the 1/2 sales if the trucks shrink in size. The idea would be like the old Heavy Half concept where it would be a light truck but it would get some beefy parts to move it up to a 3/4 ton rating. Either way the MFG will do all they can to beat the rules as with the number of sales at stake they can not afford to raise the price of a truck a lot or eleiminate the full size truck. It was stated the other day the new fuel regs may price upto 7 million people out of the new car and truck market unless MFG can find cheaper ways to cut weight. The MFG who comes up with the ligher composites first will hold the edge. GM and Ford both have joined with suppliers to make Carbon Fiber less labor intense and we may see some kind of molded form of it. GM already said they have a way to make it in a shorter less energy way to cut cost.

Nobody is suggesting that separate bed trucks are not built all. The question I posed are what benefits does the separate bed have to the end user... commercial chassis vehicles have no bed in the first place. Of course, you need separate cab/bed units to satisfy makers of commercial chassis vehicles. OTOH, they don't make vans with a separate cab/cargo area... yet they still make commercial chassis vehicles out of truncated vans... more ironically, the vans are unibodies! Then the Avalanche technology should be folded into the Suburban... boosting its sales. Its was also a cab-over design. The Corvair pickup never caught on, either... but thats partly because it was a Corvair. Any issues bending in the middle would be because Ford simply made them too weak... like their 2011 Raptors that are bending in the middle. First off some folks may not remember the old Fords since they were born well after and so few are left today. Second offl I was not speaking of the Econoline Truck THe Truck I was speaking of was the 1963 F100 that was also offered in a traditional styled pick up with the bed attatched to the cab. They were stylish but iin later years they would get a sway back bend in them as they started to sag. The Econoline was more van cust down and as you said it did not catch on. Dodge also had their version too but to me they were not even in the same class as what we are speaking of here. . Not all commercial truck are built without a bed. here in Ohio and Indiana where many trucks are converted we have companies with fields of take off beds as often they get cheaper prices on these trucks if they remain unsold and often just take the beds off and resell them. Most often the only chassis cabs are the one ton Duellies that are often found at dealers. You can special order the others but most people just remove the beds. As for rolling the mid gate into the Suburban the same issue will be in play too expensive. GM might have been better of skipping the Envoy XUV like a Avalanche. It would have been cheaper less complex, lighter and made the Envoy more flexible for someone wanting a SUV that could still haul larger things. It would have been like a Ford Sport Trac that had a bed that really could be used.

I had a Lucerne In California for a week. The guy at the rental wanted to put me in a Camry but I asked for an American car. He looked at me like I was crazy. The car I had was a good car but it also was new. the compass was not even set till I did the circles in John Forces shop parking lot. John was there and I think he thought I lost it will I told him what I was doing. The car hauled 5 of us well around So Cal. I had several runs from San Deigo to LA in that week most were at 90 MPH to keep up with traffic. The only thing I noted was the car was starting to feel old. I think it was the fact that it was an new car with an old design and having driven newer designed cars it was showing its age. I would like to see GM do a RWD car of near this size for Buick to kind of take the place of the XTC when it is replaced with the RWD Flagship at Cadillac. Lets face it the Cadillacs will get more and more expensive as they update with better product and this will give Buick more room. As for quality. All the cars GM designed pre Present Malibu are all suffering from the lack of development money and higher quality materials. I saw it in my SSEI, my GTP and in my present HHR. Lots of cheap interior plastics and they just never took needed efforts to finsih these cars right. Most had the money put in the drivetrain but little was left when they got to the interior. The F bodfather himself said on the F bodies he wanted to do a better interior but just was never given the funding to do more than a great drivetrain and Chassis. He said by the time they got to the interior pennys were pinched. Now My HHR even with the SS suspension is not a rattle trap but I also took the time to address where the plastic in some places crash together. So for the most part it sounds great yet. A better interior material would have made a difference. My GTP was just cheap feeling and was it ever a noisey car. It sounded like toys in a toy box inside. lots of thunks and clunks. It was like that from new. Now my 08 Malibu sounds and rides very quiet and the new Terrain is almost Rolls Royce like compared to the GTP. It rides well, quiet and the interior feels much more high grade. It also still has a very stable suspension but does not jar a filling lose. GM has finally learned to leave a little spring out and improve the dampers like most Euro cars do. Even my HHR has a higher quality Sachs damper on it thanks to the guys at the GMPD. Todays new GM cars are a leap over anything over the last 20 years in all areas. As we see the new platforms we will see major jumps to come. Anyways nice write up!!

I think this is just the first move to smaller and more efficent trucks. We will see other large lower volume models that will be down sized or removed. Even with the different levels of regs there will still be a lot of changes. No matter how high the MPG gets the big three have to preserve the sales of the 1/2 ton pick up truck. The Avalanche was big heavy and really never got any kind of MPG. My buddy has the latest version and loves if but the MPG is a killer even when he is not towing. He drives a Aveo daily to work and leaves the truck sit. I think the next gen Chevy truck will just start to hint at some of the radical changes we will see down the road. The only thing that will save us from some really crazy stuff is new people in DC who are willing to give the MFG's the break they are asking for in 2017-18 with a review of where they are at. Right now our energy department people will not review and don't care. Just to listen to the Energy Czar should scare any car owner. It is time to really get a relevent energy policy in place that is good for all. In fact any engergy policy would be a start.

The Seperate cab and midgate could be done but the real issue with a truck doing this is the bed in mounted to the frame solid and the cab is made to move. Ths could create issues with cargo. You could used rubber etc to make a seal but you still would have one floor moving and the other one not. Also I could see a loss of structure as the cab is made solid when you remove the back there is support in the cab. to tie them together would help give strength and support when a midgate is added. Seperate beds also are key for fleet sales as even the short beds are easy to remove and replace with work boxes and other needs for construction and buisness applications. Things even like Tow beds etc can be added to any truck with a removable bed. The key to the Avalance was it provided a more Suburban like vehicle that could still do the work of a larger full size truck. It was more a lifestyle vehicle vs work vehicle. They were great for hauling, towing and other task. It was somthing that people would haul Snow mobiles, ATV or a box trailer to a car meet vs to a construction site. It was ment for a different market. Also the seperate bed was cheaper to buy and replace if damaged under work conditions. I think we too often think of trucks as more and more a family vehicle but most are still used for work. We have had new models like the Tahoe and Avalance that are more geared for the family. The Avalance is much like the Suburburban are not selling in numbers like they used too. In the Suburbans case it has much greater sales for work use and will carry on. As for cab and beds combined we have had them in the fast at Ford in the 60's. In fact If I recall it was unibody too. It made for a cleaner design but it just never was a popular idea with traditional truck buyers in general. Ford also had issues with them bending in the middle. The bottom line is the seperate bed is Versitility and that is one key in the truck markets that make trucks appealing. While it could be done the key is how many people would really want it. Would the added cost of different parts to do it make it worth making since the present trucks sell fine. In other words is it a question from buyers that need to be answered with the present vehicles selling fine and sharing many of the same parts?

If you are going to blow one the tech center is the place to do it.

I have wished they would have applied this kind of cab to the Colorado. smaller truck with a useless bed could benefit by this cab system. High gas prices and high prices have killed this vehicle. The Crew Cab is much cheaper to buy. I liked these but I just never needed anything that big.

Well, the stories I have read earlier today indicated that this was NOT a Volt battery... however, it is a Lithium Ion battery... and knowing the chemistry going on, it does not surprise me. I'm surprised with all the Priuses crashing daily, that Toyota, especially with its recent quality problems, hasn't had a couple small explosions. Of course, that also shows the difference in battery sizes between the Prius and the stuff GM is working with. Well, assuming the battery was in the enclosure, that shouldn't have been too bad. With all the alternator/regulator/grounding issues I've battled with over the decades, I've never had one battery give me trouble, and because I jump from car to car and sometimes cars sit for months of years, I would have expected to have a problem, if it was going to happen. I remember having one Pep Boys battery damaged in a car accident during my poorest days... I ended up using first chewing gum to hold the top of the battery together, then I glued all the pieces together permanently with caulk a few years later... battery lasted about 2 more years. Actually, now that I think of it, I did have a battery explode on me. In my electric golf cart. It wasn't too bad... I think I glued that one back together, as well. No the lid was open. The battery was a new Die Hard and we found it to have a bad post going into the battery. I was checking this when it went off. Other than my hand hurting from the case blowing out I was ok. I got my eyes closed and washed off fast to I did not get any burns or eye damage. The inside of the Vette was ok. It was an early 70's Stingray with a vinyl interior. There is enough plastic in it that we wiped it down and it never showed any damage. It was a really sweet car as it had a 4 speed and the T tops withthe removable rear window. The owner would let me take it out from time to time.

Imagine my disgust to learn this afternoon that I was pretty much right. This time, however, Fox News wasn't content with taking down the Volt again, they decided to take aim at a car that isn't even out yet (guess which one). Also note that (spoiler alert!) they decided to use a photo of a pink Chevy Spark for the article. I highly advise that if you want to keep your sanity, keep out of the comments section. The battery they were testing was intended for the Spark. Like it or not they got that part right. This will all change soon as there is a growing embrace of the Volt as Bush one just bought his one son one. Others are now saying nicer things. At this point the election is a toss up and if they should win they will need to change their tune. I am in no way a supporter of the President but the Volt for all intents is nothing Obama should be blaimed for or even given credit for as the car predates him. GM would have done it no matter if he was around or not. He has enough other flaws to pick at than the Volt you think they would stick to them. They should understand that most of the people at GM that approved and promoted the Volt are conservitives. Mr Lutz taking the lead there. Anyone see Bob do the 53 Push Ups on the Cobare Report. For 80 years old he is in good shape.

If there are any, I'd expect the group of incompetent apes running Fox News to pull the trigger first. I can just see it on Hannity now ... buhhhhhhh. To be fair every network has their incompetent apes running them. CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and NBC all have their shares of false and misleading agendas. And then their are idiots like Oberman who just got canned by a network that only 14 people watched. LOL! The Fox thing is just a political year ploy to attract veiwers not much else. All of them do it like editing 911 calls and faking truck fires with model rocket engines. My point is I feel strongly that companies like Toyota and others who have invested heavily into other energy power systems that could be outdated quickly if the Volt system take root as ideal system. In the past the we have seen how the media has often been in the tank for Toyota to the point we even call the Toronto Star the Toyota Star. With billions of investment and future sales at risk I see several MFG willing to play dirty Here. They will twist this as GM is using dangerous technology for the future gen Volt. Remember it it bleeds it leads. I just pray that no one gets a paper cut on the Volt owners manual as that one too will make a screaming headline.

The Impala will drop in sales but they will make more money per unit than the present car has made in year. The new car will prove to be more profitable. This is a case where less sold will mean more money. I wish people would drop the Caprice deal as the new car will not be a Civi version of the Caprice. Expect a fully updated short wheel base Zeta. It will be more than just a G8 with a new nose. I look for some weight loss [not a lot but some] a improved suspension and for it to be a new DI VVT V8 version only. It will not be cheap but it will fill in the area where the 40K plus SVO is in now. GM will keep the price up to keep volume down but the higher price will also keep the profits up with the lower volume. I also would would watch for some more expensive limited special editions like the Camaro Holden and the SVT cars. By doing lower volume and higher price it will help this car and engine package alive much longer into the future.

The lasting scars are on the Volt I am sad to say. This is something we would never have heard about if it were not for the Volt and the media that I feel is on the take to damage the Volt image in anyway. How many normal lead batteries blow up in cars every day and people are injured and we neve hear about it. I had one go in a Vette of all things on me. Not a good thing to blow up in a interior of a car. I hope the guys in the lab are ok but I hope this deal does not make a lot of misleading headlines that GM and the Volt do not deserve.

The Impala FWD is here to stay. The market demands are much greater with the general public for FWD sedans. Like it or not it is what they want. At least GM is still working to keep a RWD in the mix. It may be at lower volumes but they are still trying to keep a RWD for those who want it. As long as they can still make money with it at lower volumes they will do what they can to keep it. It gives them an advantage over many of the Asian companies. I don't see Honda offer one soon.