hyperv6

He either threw a rod or broke a line. That is a oil fire and the slipping around was oil under the tires. He did a real good job of saving it. Odds are he did not know how bad the flames looked as inside the car they are hard to see. That is unless it is a pretty open car. I have seen them come up in the shifter boot area and that gets your attention.

Bingo... Thank you for getting it. Honda has Acura because few will pay $40K pluse for a Honda. Same for Toyoat and Lexus. The SHO will sell and as long as the expected volume is low Ford will be ok. But the problem is in a very tight sedan market a general Ford has little rep or creed to sell at or over $40K. It is no reflection on how good or bad the car is. TO most non car people the Taurus has represented a affordable family sedan and not a 3 series competitior. The G8 had a better performance image than the Taurus but yet GM worked like hell to keep the price at just under 30K for the V6 and just over for the GT. The GXP was never going to be a high volume car in any but they were even careful with it's price. GM learned on the last Bonnieville there is a limit to what people would pay for a Pontiac sedan. Audi, BMW and Benz are all precieved as a premium car of those who have made it in life and enjoy the advantage by being able to charge for it. It would be nice to see Chevy and Ford compete in this upper profitable level with their own name but there are limits to what people will buy. Ford has to convince there car is not only a great car but one that will give the owners a better image as many cars in this price range. There are some good names in this class. Names that will get people's attention when you say what you just bought. Imagin going to work and telling the receptionist who grew up in the family Taurus you just bought the new Taurus vs telling here you just bought a BMW or Audi. Even a 1 series or A4 presents a better image even if they are small. As for GM's future cars for the gear heads lets let them show us what they are going to have. GM is not in a place where they have to give great details on performance cars 5 years to keep the stock price up. Lets see what the Alpha and the like will bring. The big heavy V8 is going to be expensive and fewer from every one unless it has some hybrid system to it. But a Turbo Di 4 or six can today provide the power we enjoy with most V8 engines today. If GM can make 300 HO from 2.0 liters I am sure a 3.6 will find even more power. As cars get lighter we not only pick up better 0-60 but better 60-0 and handling. In todays market it is adapt or die. The goverment regs leave no room for anything else.

Autocross is not a problem. You are not going to flip it unless your really get stupid. I saw a Mini on two wheels because he got stupid it can happen to many cars. Just upper weight in a race with real sports cars would be a disadvantage.

Half the market is female. I buy and drive the car I want and I pretty much guide but let the wife chose the type of car she wants. She has to live with it daily and feel comfortable. Her last three cars have been a T bird, SSEI, GTP Comp G. She has like all of them. The key to here choices is Get up and go, Seeing out of, Heads up display and Climate Control. She has owned and driven RWD and FWD for years and could care less what wheels are driven. I got her to look at G8 and she thought it was nice and a great deal but like the CTS it was just another sedan. She is in her 30's, in managment with a master degree. She has many of the same desires in vehicles as many of here co workers. Men and women for the most buy cars often for different reasons. A guy like to know what speed he can take a off ramp curve when a woman just knows she does not have to slow down. THis is a perfect example of why I have said here in the past GM needs to make cars for everyone and not just the guys on C&G. The 4th gen F body was a perfect example of a Guys car. It was a Vette with a back seat at the time. a average woman hated the car. They could not see out, they hated no trunk, They hated it sat so low. It also showed up in their sales. The new factor is economy. With so many people hurting now and pay raises coming less often for some if at all price will be even a bigger factor. Affordable and how much the monthly payment is will take a step up. Cars like the Fusion and Bu will be the first string for GM and Ford. The new Bu is the most imortant car coming for GM. Is the Bu A C&G? For the most no. But our demo here is only a small part of the sales picture. If we have a few models like the Camaro and such the people who are out there buying the majority of the other cars have to have theirs too. THe people with dollars in hand are the buyers GM needs and who cares what they like. Give them what they want. My Mother in Law is a DTS driver. She thinks it makes here look like a high roller. Yes in her past she sold Mary Kay. Thank God the DTS is not pink. LOL.

Here is a neat video on a HHR SS. It looks like he was fast while it lasted. I don't know if he lost the engine or just a oil line. I wonder if he got the stickers off before they towed it to the dealer. LOL! It did look like it was fast against prepared sports cars. the Video car is a 914. I see a Mini S and a lot of RX7's too. I like my SS too but I think I would have got the Cobalt SS before I would try to run the HHR on the track. 3200 ponds and a lot of upper weight would have hurt performance vs low slung sports cars.

I wonder how many G8's are left? At the end of July there were just over 5,000 left per the guys on the G8 site. I just read the Parade magazine in the paper yesterday. It had a short story on car bargins. They has a story on a guy with a G8 GT. He had 4 dealers working against each other for a good price. He was able to get a GT for $27,000. THey claimed it was $7,000 off sticker and $5,000 off dealer invoice. I have seen similar deals with the V6 cars advertised as low as $23,000. We looked at one and liked it but I needed to haul things and the wife wants a SUV [Enclave,Arcadia or Nox] next time to replace her sedan.

THe SHO and the new Taurus will not be a big volume car. That is where it should have had a new name. It is a better car than the volume rental car name implys. Good old Bill Ford screwed up when the thought the 500 name was the reason for the 500's poor sales. The fact it was shaped like a modern Checker cab may have had more to do with that. Styling was it's failure not the name. Now the styling is fixed but then they slap a cheap name on the car. Time will tell if people will look past the name or price. The first year will not tell but the 2nd and 3rd year will.

Been in one and I have to say it is a really nice car. But with that being said there are much nicer cars in the price range or for just a few dollars more I can have something with a name with a little more status. I am sorry the only Ford name plate worth more than $35k being built is a Shelby. THe Flex and other small SUV's too are also over priced once they hit $40K. FOr that kind of money I would get a full size truck. If Ford wants to sell a car over $40K it need to rebuild Mercury with new product and different product and this is a car that would suit that need. Once you climb over $50K it had better have a Lincoln name. Mercury is Fords version Buick and Pontiac. Ford had no idea what to do with them or how to market them as something different than Ford. They have been nothing more than a rebadge at best. I think time will show unless they discount these cars heavy they will not be a strong seller after the first year or so. The SHO will not be a common site. For that kind of money there are much better cars out there at that price or just a little more. Hell I could get a VW CC with 4 motion for less than $39K and looks alone would get me to look even though I am not a big VW fan. The base model can be had for under $27K. Even a low end Benz can be had for SHO kind of money It may not be a CL but it sure as hell is not a $40K Ford. THis is what killed the last SSEI. Nice car and fun to drive but no one wanted to pay the price near 40K for even the Bonneville GXP. A loaded TA or SLP Hawk were the the few Pontiacs they could get away with a high price and no discounting. The G8 sold well at the discounted prices this year. They were a hell of a deal. But if they did not discounted them I wonder how well sales would have been for the non GXP cars. With only 1800 GXP there was no risk there of left over inventory. I hope I am wrong for Ford but we already talked about this at work and all of us are car fans that like the new Taurus but few of us would even consider paying the price of the SHO. We all had other cars we would buy at that price range first. Now a loaded SHO at $29-34K we might talk.

THe Turus and SHO are both over prices for a Ford. There are too many options out there on some very good cars with better images than a Taurus at that price. That has always been Pontiac's problem is that once you get over $30K most Pontiacs were into or near the range of some really great cars. That is why my $32 K GTP was sold to me at $22K. No one in their right mind would pay over $30K for a GTP. That is also the Chevy delema. THe Vette and Camaro are the only cars anyone would pay more than $30K for at a Chevy dealer. The new Taurus will do more to sell Fussions than anything. It is priced where a Ford should be. The Taurus would have been a better Mercury.

Now how many people here really own a G8 or would have really bought one if they continued under Chevy. We have the fans here but few have made a pruchase. Camaino has a pass here as he was waiting for the UTE that never came. I know for a fact he would have bougth that one. No would of could of should of's here. Now with no excuses on options or colors as most people who really wanted the car bad enough could have found a suitable car if they truly were going to buy one. G8 sales in 08 were just at 12,000 cars [to fair it was not on sale till March of 08 so it was not a full year. G8 sales in 09 depending on who you read will see 30,000 once all units are sold. As of July 5,000 units were still available. I truly think if GM was making more money on this car and sold more units we would still have it to kick around. But when I had more than one chance to buy what ever color G8 I wanted for $23K for a V6 or S27K for a V8 I ponder how much GM really made on the cars sold. Deep discounts are not good for profits. Sales this summer saved the G8 due to the lower prices after GM killed off Pontiac. I even saw for a while the GXP was selling at a discount till the less than 1900 units were gone. Here is some sales of the G8 compared to cars in it's price class. Most of you will consider some of these cars less of a car than the G8 but they still sold better. THe fact remains a Pontiac over $30,000 becomes a hard sell. It is hard enough to Convince folks to pay $40-50K for a well tuned Cadillac let alone a $35K Pontiac. Not the line near the Bottom the gold one. That is the G8. Note these charts are from the G8 web site so I would expect they were fair and honest about the car they love. Jan 08-July 09 is the time span. I bet if that line was a little higher with more cars under it it may have remained as a Chevy. Just because you have a good car does not always make it a hit in the market place. Over $30,000 the options on what to buy are great and there are many rewarding cars. There are also lesser cars that sell on Image. That is one that is hard to beat in this price class.

What color was the G8 you bought. Did you get the GT or the GXP?

No reason to be too upset if you really want to buy a G8 Sedan. There are still new ones sitting on dealer lots for sale. They have not sold out!

I am glad they are keeping many of the people who worked for them. THey were the victims in all this. Many I know are very good people.

FYI to those who care. Performance industry icon Crane Cams has reopened under the new ownership of S&S Cycle, and is actively engaged in manufacturing and sales operations of its ignition and motorcycle lines. The company, founded by Harvey J. Crane in 1953, is newly housed in a facility at 1640 Mason Ave. in Daytona Beach, and a number of long-term Crane employees have joined the revitalized company. S&S Cycle acquired Crane’s intellectual properties, patents, trademarks, camshaft masters, inventory and some equipment in April 2009. S&S is best known for its broad line of components for V-Twin motorcycle applications. The 50-year-old company boasts extensive R&D and manufacturing capabilities, including a complete in-house 50-state Emissions Certification Lab. Crane Product Manager Terry Johnson, a 12-year vet, said, “We have already ramped up production of the motorcycle valve train and ignition products, as well as the automotive ignition line. Many of the top NASCAR teams use Crane ignition products, so maintaining continuity for these customers is top priority.” Production of automotive valve train components may take longer. Chase Knight, who has over 40 years of Crane experience, has resumed his role as Valve Train Product Manager. According to Knight, “While we know the market is very hungry for our cam and valve train product lines, we want to make sure the parts we ship exceed the quality and performance expectations of our customers. At this point we can’t put firm timeline as to when everything will be fully up to speed. We want to be sure to get this right!” Many of the experienced techs who have helped racers over the years are back on the phones and can be reached toll-free at 866-388-5120, or 386-628-0197 locally.

Camaino did you see this. Pontiac G8 SS-V ute manual $47,490 They may build it after all. Might check out how much to import one.

Too bad the Volt and Cruze are a year away. That money would have been a good intro tool.

This plan is like a hit of speed. It feels good now but when it is over what will be the price to pay? Will the market fall flat like after the rebates? Will the market keep going remians to be seen? How much will it cost the tax payers? How will they pay for all the spending? Not just this program but all the rest of this spending they are doing? I am just glad to see the money and work coming to Ohio for once.

THe one on the left could see a lot of body changes to take advantage of the extra miles with the battery. The aero on this car is even more important than the Tahoe hybrids. I know the said some of the changed on the Volt ever so small aero changes added 7 miles to electric mode.

I think the new coupe will take a lot of the focus off this car. It's styling will make this look almost boring. Who knows it many just work in reverse and get people to notice the wagon? I have yet to see the coupe in person yet. I can't wait to see it. This car could make a real statment about Cadillac and their styling in the future.

Nice car but now will they find 4000 buyers? I saw one last winter and Liked it but the market in this country is small for a wagon and even smaller for a $50K wagon.

I can see a well appointed Regal as a bargin A4 turbo fighter. The 2.0 Turbo is as good as the Audi and with the Opel tuning on this car it should handle well. I like where they could go with this car. The key is the price and value to get a high quality car at a value price that may get new blood to give it a chance and prove itself. The key to most GM cars is to over deliver. Give people the most for their money. Don't over promise and under deliver in the past. For GM to sell these new cars they first need to get peoples attention and their butts behind the wheels. Let them see this time things really have improved. What ever they do don't over claim or over promise. They have little credit now and can't afford to lose anymore.

Well GM has a mess of LNF DI Tubo 2.0 with no place to put them after 2010. The Regal would be a perfect fit. 260 HP would be very nice and I would not need a V6 at that point. Offer a stage kit for those who want more and don't care if they can't run regular gas. That would make it a winner. GM has a plan for the LNF but just what cars will get it remain to be seen. Also the manual tranny would find its way in since the car is already engineered for it. The question is how many will buy it. Just because you make them does not mean people will buy them. The Lacrosse is a very nice car and will do well. It is not the kind of car I want but there is a market for it. Once you get over $30K the other model options increase. As for performance it will be fine. Cars in this class are not performance cars. As long as it handles well, quiet and rides well as reviews have already stated it should not be an issue.

That formula will work for 1/3 to 1/2 of the HHR customers but the rest buy it because it is the anti Minivan. I can tell you now the HHR web site has not given the Orlando a good reception. Many are claiming they will buy a new HHR in 2011 so they don't have to buy the Orlando. If Chevy can make a good small truck I will go back to it or even a car before I would buy a Orlando just based on looks alone.

Sorry I knew that and still slipped. Just not a care that I care for or pay much attention too. Nice seats and engine but the rest of it sucks. The SRT4 that is.

Not a fan of any of these but the Volt based Orlando nose looks much cleaner. But that is just me. These just remind me too much of a Dodge Caliper. For a little more you can have the new Nox. The real question is will they find 100,000 people to buy these like the HHR has. The HHR people in general do no like these so new buyers will have to be found.