hyperv6

If Bob was here sooner you still may have Saturn. It was too late and once he got some quality product in the dealers they had no money to market it. I still have people today ask what the Astra coupe is and when I say Saturn I get a reply of when did they make these? Saturn and Pontiac were so far gone by the time he arrived his Damaged Brand statment was an honest one. In his book he points out how GM before he arrived wanted the Saturns plain and non discript. Some one at GM felt people who bought Saturns did not really like cars and were not interested in other than just getting where they were going and friendly dealer staffs.

Lutz got there at the time where it was too late to do much with the GP. He said it was too late to change the hard points but he did send the car back to have the nose toned down. They called it the bucky beaver when he got there with it's Aztek like nose. The Lacrosse was so bad that he sent it back and they had to do a major redo that delayed it just over a year. There were limits to the chanes but the cars were bad enough they had to be done. I saw a bad photo of the original 04 GP and it was not pretty. IF you don't like the one we got you should have seen the other. THese photos are rare and for a reason. Note we never got a photo of the first try at the Lacrosse. The GTO was Bobs but hee needed a RWD perforance car at Pontiac and needed it yesterday with little to no budget to work with. He had to fight the system to get the car here. There were arguments on what part of GM payed for what etc. He also ran in to delays to fix plastics and fuels systems to meet the American market as GM at this time was not making cars to global standards. He would have likes a new body too but it just could not be done. Just look at how long the Camaro took vs the GTO time wise to come to market and there was little infighting. His book covers the issues in detail. I know from speaking to Scott Setttlmire and Fred Simmond of Pontiac some of the issues faced. I asked Fred why no hood scoops and split exhaust on the 04 and he said give us the money and we would have had them the first year. Scott also pointed out while the car was done and cheaply as possible what the cost were just to test the new fuel system and how many cars were crashed. It may have been done on the cheap but it still was expensive. Cars like the G6 were done by the time Bob got there. As we can see the Delta cars got a major improvements with each following model and time that Bob could spend on improving them. The best thing Bob did was to kill groups like Apex at GM that was a major waste of money as were other major money losers. How GM could let a group like Apex last as long as it did is amazing. Paying big money to a bunch of hippie like free thinkers for ideas that were never used. But then again maybe they were behind the Aztek? LOL! Bob never had the power to stop GM's Chapter 11 as he was a product guy and only over saw design and the needed areas to bring cars to market. He improved major areas but many were still out of his reach and some he was prevented to change. At the end of his book he makes it clear even if he was CEO he more than not would have prevented chapter 11. To be honest there really was no one I think could have. Even today GM is still mending its ways and still has a lot of work to do with poduct and how they do things. This is why he is back.

I would love to see the use of USA 1 again with a little update to the image. Anymore tag lines are not as long lasting in most cases anymore. The media blitz wears them out often in a year. Many companies often use a new one for each year and keep them fresh. I would love to see Chevy use a pro American theme here in the states. I feel when times are hard people pull ranks and look for m ore at home. While the Asians may build cars here they are still Asian own companies. Only other auto company Ford could play the America card. With Chrysler now Fiat owned it would be hard for them to join in. Something simple like Chevy America's car ue truck would play well. Tag it with an appealing American base song You can still Rock in America by Night Ranger or Only in America by Brooks and Dunn. These kinds of songs have wide appeal with large groups of buyers. This could be another Like a Rock. Too bad they can't use Nazereth Hair of the Dog. lol!

The more I think about it Bobs job at GM was to salvage the divisions he was give. If they lived or died were not his call. His task was to take limited funds and assets on hand to try to salvage what was screwed up in the first place. Cars like the Ion, G6, Aztek and the lack of RWD take generally 5 years or more to ovecome. Bob made use of the cars that we always complained how come we can't get that here models as well as models like a HHR that was seen as a risk by many but became one of the better selling Chevys of the last 5 years and cost little to develope. I wondered when Bob left once GM got the influx of money what he could have done with it. Now we may get the chance. The Team of Reuss and Lutz could be just what they need.

It will not take a person to guide GM into the future but a system that is in place that will let a group of people to guide them into the future. This is what Lutz was working on when he left the first time. Keep in mind he was not the leader of GM and did not get to do all he felt needed to be done. If he had been in Wagoners or Fritz place things would not have been done the same. See the last chapter in the book. But even with that said where GM was when he arrived I feel today with 20 20 hind sight Chpter 11 was not going to be avoided. Even if it was avoided they would not be in the place they are today and there would still have been greater risk they would not have made it. Unless there was some great bail out by someone GM was going down. The economy sealed it even if there was a small chance. My example of the ZR1 was just to show there was proof that GM could do things like this if rules were changed and engineers could be permitted to do what they could do if someone backed them against the board. Same goes for the design staff. Things like panel gaps were a mess ast GM. Lutz asked why can't we do one like that pointing out a Hyundai. He was told we can but no one told us too? HE looked at the redesign of the present Impala and told the designer that it need chome around the side windows but the designer told him that would be over budget and he would get in trouble. Bob told him if the car fails to sell then you will get in trouble anyways so do it. It is not so much the product choices he has made but the way of thinking and doing things at GM that will make a difference. He is letting the talent at GM do their jobs when in the past they either could not or would not out of fear of the system even if they knew they were 100% right. The backing of Bob let them do what needed to be done not so much what he told them to do. Nearly all the pre 08 product were just things he tried to fix on limited money and time. For Bob to have save GM from Chapter 11 he would have had to been there years earlier. Also Chgpter 11 force many at GM to change the way they did things and go along with Bob. To fix GM will take more than the time Bob spent there and more than just what he can do on his own. It is like a great ship. It take a full crew to get it where it is going as it does time. Bob is only at the wheel tring to make it all go in the right direction with a crew working together. No an easy task. The fact is it will take a outspoken person that the board will listen to at GM to help guide them in the right direction and to make sure the changes take. There are few people out there that could do this. Even the guy from Ford had a good chance of failing as with the system as it was odds are they would not listen to him. Bob in a way almost shames them into letting him do what was needed by being out spoken.

Get real! The Astra was brought here pretty much as Opel had done them. The car cost little to bring over and gave Saturn a real car for once worth owning. Same goes for the Malibu based Aura. Pontiac pretty much was dead when Lutz arrived. The GTO, G8 and Solstice were hail marys trying to save them but it was just way too late to do so by the time he arrived. He had too little time and money to do what all was needed. His biggest error was to make Hummer a brand and not a GMC model It would have been easier and cheaper to make and kill when it has served its time. He states this often. Bob's skills are not so much what he does but what he can get others in GM to do and permit. He has great assets at GM and knows how to get them to do what they are able to do. Just look at the ZR1. Mullally has help Ford become more profitable but it was not he who saved Ford alone. Ford was in worse shape than GM and had to leverage loans on their plants a few years prior to save the company. Ford then had to use that money to improve product which they did. The fact remains while they are doing ok they still owe a hell of a lot of money on the outstanding loans and are still balls deep in debt. Too many tebd forget this and just want to jump on GM for their goverment loans. The only thing Ford has is a couple year head start on rebuilding their lines and engines nothing more. Mullally is doing a good job sorting out the mess but it is more than just him that is working this out. On the other hand Bob changed in may ways how GM did things from selling, building, engineering, designing and marketing cars. He had a hand in changing how many did their jobs. The fact remains there is more he needs to do. Even part time Bob can comment on product developlement and placment of key people to do the right things to buils and sell cars. I really think this will be a job he will love and have effective change with more of GM's issues that still need resolved. Dan I assume was smart enough to know the input he has will be of great value. I only hope he is here long enough to get all the right people in place to keep the trends moving ahead to where they need to be. I saw the new book he wrote as a help to those he left to help them fend off some who wanted to move back to the old ways and remove the improvments. If you have not read the book you need to as it makes it clear what needs to take place and what so far has been addressed. It is one of the few books that shows how bad it was and how simple it was fix so many things. GM has a lot of smart people but as he points out so man have little common sense.

The sedan needs little promotion as they expect it to sell well as is. The hatch is the one they feel that needs promoted since hatches have not sold as well.

GM has been doing great because of him. much of what is now just coming out are things done before he left. Many of these projects were shelved till they had money and staff to do them. The Cruze Nox, Terrain, Camaro, CTS, Regal, Lacrosse etc were all done under Bob. The coming ZL1, Malibu, Impala and ATS were done under his watch and shelved to wait for funding. You have to count project years not model years. Bob has not been gone very long and there is very little gap on anything that has been done. Read his Books Guts and Car Guys Vs Bean Counters and you will learn he is one of the most centered guys in the industry. Yes he has not hit things 100% but no one ever has. Considering much of his work was done pre chpter 11 with little to no funding he did a hell of a job. The key to things at GM today is he has changed the way they build cars. He empowered the engineers and designers and removed many of the foolish GM rules. He close panel gaps that no one at GM could do before. He threw out the silly rule on tire chains for the cars and now the the tires fit the wheel wells. He threw out the silly think tanks that did nothing but waste money. Interiors at GM have improved with each model change and have not been to this level for nearly 50 years. I think you will find he is the one that will prevent others from messing it up.

This is some of the best news I have seen in a while. We will still have someone there to ruffle some feathers for the true car people. I wondered when I read his book he had a lot of help from some key people at GM. I think he will be able to help these people keep doing what hey can do with his backing.

Might note this car may not be anything really new. I just bought the Jim Dunn book and on Page 201 there is a photo of this car in his book. He quotes that "Too bad GM come up with the whereforall to get this baby on the road. To this day, it pouts in one of GM stylings back studio's" It must have come to a suprise to him they rolled it out. The book is Car Spy by Jim Dunne. It is a very interesting book on getting the goods on the new cars. I have just started to read it in my spare time. There are some interesting photos I had not seen. One of a Pontiac coupe that thank god they did not build. Also there is a Aztek that would have not been great but it would have been an inprovment. Not some of his caption I suspect either got put in wrong or he missed it on the discriptions. Most of them are mix ups on the early W bodies. He also does not or can not ID cars not built testing that today I know what they were going to be before being canceled. Other wise it is a must read for most here.

I doubt it... an 8% weight reduction and similar aerodynamic drag (yes, its a little smaller in profile, but also a draggy hatchback) does not translate into an increase in fuel economy from 42 to 50 mpg. if I have to put a number on it, I'll say 1~2 mpg improvement in the city number, maybe 0~1 mpg on the freeway. You will be suprised at what they can and will do in the future. Many of the numbers you play with leave out a lot of things. That is not to say you are wrong but even the GM engineers still find things that suprise them in testing. The LNF was increased in performance and they found 1-2 MPG with a simple flash and more boost on a very high drag HHR. The GM Powertrain engineer confirmed it is real and said it was a suprise to them. They were only looking for power. Note too they also have a sedan. What ever the case many companies have and will offer higher mileage versions on many cars using many tricks. What was once impossible is not possible due to new technologies and electronics.

Oh the Drama......... The Sonic is expected to be no more than 2800 and no less than 2800 depending on body and engine trim both acceptable for this price of car. It ain't a Lotus but then you are also not paying $50K for it and needs to get a 5 star crash rating no matter what. I suspect we will see a Eco version of this one and 50 MPG may be in sight. GM is showing a trend with the Eco models and they are selling.

I take from this that just because it is not a rebadge it does not mean it is a bad thing. For the most other than the shifter they seem to love the car. power, handling and the FWD were all to their liking. It sounds like a car that will be a fun drive and not a disappointment as some seem to expect.

Just make sure they are the new green eviromental peanuts. LOL! Hey GM is going to do fine with this car. It is as good of better than the others on the markets based on the first reports. Also it is miles ahead of the Aveo. GM here is just trying to show an American car buying public small cars can take some mega blows today. This is no different than the video of the Malibu and the 59 Impala in the off set crash last year. GM has to move more and more smaller cars and they have to convince many that just because they are small they can still take a hard impact.

It will be here when they figure out how to put the steering wheel on the other side. LOL! I would watch as I have yet to see a left hand drive yet. Once we see that I would expect to see one here in a year to year and a half later. That at least is my guess. Anyone remember the ones testing here in camo. Were they left or right hand drive?

In Bob Lutz book Guts he points out that while car guys are needed Finacial guys are also needed. The key is to get them to work together and understand what the hell is needed and going on. Dan can do a great job here but he also needs to work hand in hand with people like Mark Reuss, Wellborn and others. Few car guys can do it all themselves and they need someone to watch the books. But the guys watching the books need to conceed that they are not product guys and need to listen to the people they have in place to do that job for them. If you are going to have product people enable them and interceed if they can maked a proper case. It is all a matter of letting your people do their jobs and keeping them focused on the whole project not just what they want to do or see. GM has a lot of the right people in the right places now. Many of these people are the ones in the hall out side the meeting. As long as Dan makes sure the right people are there and works with them he will do fine. Will every car be a home run? No! But if they keep doing as they are now and aim to be the best on in market not as good as the others they should do fine. Too many times GM tries to match Honda and Toyota when they should aim higher. GM has some of the best talent in the world and Lutz started a trend to where he let them do what they could do. There is no reason to see that change here. While many poo poo'd the Cruze on paper here we are now finding it is a car people love and want. It is not a car guys car but it is what the market seems to want. Not all the products are going to be cool in fact most real money makers are boring sedate sedans. The key it to make them appealing and exploit things the others do not offer.

A guy at work made a clip art poster to raise funds for the Ohio Earth Quaker survivors. It had some lawn chairs laying over on their sides. LOL! Someone needs to make a t shirt and sell it on the web.

I think this will be the suprise break out car for Buick. With the great sales of the Cruze this car will appeal to many people who want more for less money. I was impressed with the one I saw last winter and even the wife really liked it. In economic times like this a cheaper smaller economical car may play very well if done right and I think this one will strike a cord with the public. With the pricing of the Regal I suspect this car will be a lot of car for the money. If anything it may hurt the Cruze sales would be the only real negitive.

I just watched a video on this and it looks better in the video than the pictures. I know many people like it and while I am not as cold to it as I was you still will not find a poster of it in my Garage. Sorry it just screams Lincoln to me more than Cadillac. I will reserve full judgment till I see it in person. So many cars today just do not photo well and look so much better in person. But if they do build something based on this and it sell I don't care what it looks like as long as it sells.

I think they have better plans for the US market. While this would do ok GM can now do better with the influx of money. I would keep an eye open for new product we have not been clued in on yet. A lot is going on that GM has not even hinted at yet.

In my third floor office we were moved here in Ohio. The isles on my floor are named for cars and Shelby was swinging pretty good. some stores in the Canton Ohio area reported items off some shelfs. What we had we get time to time off of Lake Erie. This one felt like one we had about a year and a half ago. Nothing beats the one I felt in 1986. I heard a loud boom like a truck crash and then it started to shake. I was at my moms house and the fridge and like were both moving in the kitchen. I though a truck or plane crashed. I have heard other say that sometimes you can hear a boom.

If it did not get better MPG and better performance how would you convince a Diesel hating Ameican publict to spend more money buying one. You have to bait the hook if you want to catch fish. If GM markets and prices this car right with better MPG and performance they could change the pubilc opinion here in America on Diesel cars. If they screw it up it could be years before anyone tries outs side the limited German cars we now get.

Cadillac has yet to build a car worth more than $50K other than the CTSV. The STS and DTS were cars not worth the money in class as there were better cars available. For Cadillac to be able to sell cars at a higher price and class they must prove themselves first with the ATS and new CTS. the present CTS shows GM can do it right but they need to own the lower classes before they can expect people to shell out $80K on a new Cadillac. GM can do it as they have proven already with the Chevy Nox and Cruze they can build a car people want and will pay a higher price [by Chevy standards]. Many here predicted the Cruze would flop but GM found the sweet spot with the consumers and they are making the car a hit. The future of Cadillac will be very telling with the new Volume cars as if they can win owners there they will earn the respect and the higher dollar sale. To build a $100,000 flag ship now and just stick it out there is suicide. Cadillac need more consumer respect and more product. To be able to sell at a higher price you have to earn it. BMW present standing with the public was built on the 3 and 5 Series not the 7 Series. Cadillac will get there but they will still have to earn it.

While RWD is still the first choice for performance it is still very ignorent to discount how well some FWD cars can handle. The Chevy Cobalt SS on a very old Delta 1 runs very close to the new Camaro SS in lap times at the ring. There is a very good video of it making laps and even getting air time. Even my top heavy HHR SS turnd a mid 8 min lap besting some very good performance cars and sports cars. Mark Steilow, John Heinricy and others at GM Perfomance have prove to be able to tune FWD, RWD and AWD to perform with little drama and make it easy for anyone to drive any of the fast no matter if it is a new car, old platform or SUV. Many of these GMPD people are now tuning these cars from the start and not fixing an old mistake. Rest assured that the Cadillac will handel very well and we also need to keep in mind this is not a M5 killer anyways.

The rumors of the Volts death are greatly exaggerated. With most of the country outside of the few key areas have yet to see a Volt. People here really have not see one and with the marketing being scales down many are not even looking for one now. Here in Ohio I have yet to see one outside an auto show. My dealer one of the larger ones in the area have yet to even get one instock yet. Before anyone tries to kill this car off they had better have them sitting on dealer lots with large rebates on them first. To this point to be fair I have yet to see a Leaf dead or alive even at a Auto Show let alone on at a dealer or street. We should be seeing a drop in the Volt price with a 2nd gen and 3rd gen that are just in the wings. We also should see improved range too. The Electric car is not going to be for everyone and it will not be perfected overnight but auto companies have to start somewhere. When cars first appeared many said they were too expensive and too limited back in 1902. As time went on and markets expanded they became cheaper and better. The company that created the Model T equal of an electric vehicle will move the entire segment forward. We all will not be in electric cars in the future unless some goverment idiot forces us into it. But the market is there and will continue to improve and grow with time and technology.