hyperv6

Brembo is not the same company since they were bought out. That is why we are seeing cheaper big brakes on less expensive cars like the Cobalt SS etc. I would like to know how weights stop a squeel? By dampening? Either way if they go to the expence of powder coating calipers and using stick wieghts on the inside of the forged wheels why would they do something this unsightful? Kind of like putting duct tape to hold the hood down. Not a big deal to us here but it is a big deal to others you are trying to convince you are building better cars. This kind of reminds me of the old K cars that had cotter pins as the hing pin in the rear doors. Just reakes of cheap and poor impression of quality. I just hope the sun roofs does not develope a leaking problem. What would they do put duct tape and a Hefty bag in the trunk?

Well that is what was expected to come. Now are they going to split into good GM and bad?

I would be shocked if they did. Tight budgets for departments would make a hard time for any to buy these. Some still would but would it be enought to spend the money to make one.

While this seems trivial to us who can forgive GM. This is just the thing that keeps on giving the GM hater more ammo to make their point GM makes crap car. If the weights are a fix it is something they need to address better and faster. THe brake issue on the HHR SS, Sky GXP and SKY Redline turbos is another one the press never got a hold of. These Auto Turbo cars all suffered the lack of vacuum at start up, In other words if the vehicle sat for more than 6-24 hours it could and would have no vacuum boost for the brakes. GM has now fixed this issue but it took a year to make a TSB to fix this. I had it happen on mine and would have to remote start it a few min before I would leave. It did catch me a couple times when I was in a hurry and I was lucky no one was infront of me. GM has at least addressed this since safety is involved. But there is an issue on the Six disc changer on the Vette a year or so ago. The radio malfuntions big time with the disc and there is no fix for it. GM has told the dealers they are not going to fix it. My service writer was thrilled to tell several owners of a $60,000 car their radios are f#%ked and they can't fix them. It is the little things like this GM needs to get right as the public and press are not going to let them get a free pass as they do Toyota. I know they all have issues but the public is not letting GM get away with it anymore. I know if I paid over $30K I would not tape weights on my Big Brembo brakes.

I don't think there was anyone here that did not see this coming. The question is how much this will help inventories as 9 weeks may not be enough if sales do not improve.

The Volt will sell as the Prius did originally. Tech people trend setters. Rich people who want to impress their friends. etc. The latter group would do better with the Caddy version. If and when Gas goes up the car will then appeal to the people with gas price shock value. They have less problem payting more for the car payment than the weekly tank of gas they would be paying. These are the same people who payed well north of $30K for the Prius last summer when gas was up. I think the big thing that will appeal to many is they will not longer have the weekly gas bill and fill up. The shock will come in the higher once a month electric bill. The psychological benifit of not filling up weekly ot even monthly in some cases will be one to watch. It will be a similar effect like buying a car. People worry more about what they will pay montly than the over all price when buying a car. They will think about the gas they are not paying for and feel better than to worry about the $475 a month car payment. GM is lucky as the gereneral public is not all that bright when it comes to cars. Manny will not feel that they are paying more over all. The key to the Volt more than anything is it must not aultert their general driving habits and it must be bullet proof reliable. If this thing get a rep for the lack a reliablility it is sunk right away. People in service departments are unforgiving on cars and even more unforgiving on new technology.

Yep is is just speculation of an insider. I wonder if this may be the money they give GM if they split GM into good and bad GM for the surgical bankruptcy? They said they would need 5-8 Billion to pull out Good GM then just sell off and write off the bad. As it is going it is looking like sell offs for Saab, Hummer etc and bankruptcy for GM in June.

No need to go on as you prove a wise point. Times are hard and performace V8 cars may be a bad investment for GM at this time when money is short and image is lacking. So if you're going to have a hard time selling a the Camaro V8 as it is then why do so many lack the wisdom to ask why GM is not building a Trans Am? At this time money spent elsewhere to save GM would be much wiser would it not? Would the money not be better spent to finally get Cruze to market sooner. A low price well built economical car is more in tune with what would help GM at a time they lack Image and money. We get GM through this there will be time for cool cars later. If GM fails we will be less one corperation that is willing to make cool cars we want later. It is wiser for GM to keep with cars that will impact the present maket future market since the economy will not be recovering soon since it has not even stablized yet. GM is going to live or die on cars like the Cruze, Orlando, Malbu and Nox in North America. So far the review of the Cruze in Autoweek is promising. Car sales are hard to come by today so they better get the new affordable product out and out soon. Even then they will have to prove their worth.

Building this car as a Caddy is a must. This car will be the key to making the Volt program pay off in the shorter run. The people with the money to make a statment with the car are more likely to y a Cadillac vs a Chevy. Think of it as the Escallade for the green people. GM would get press form the Hollywood freaks like the Prius does now. The trend setters with money will be all over this. Also it has to be a sedan. to really make a real mark on the market. The market today is just sedan drivien. Lutz has already pointed that out.

If they don't sell more than 50K it may not make 2016 and a 6th gen on a Alpha. If the car dies a second time that is it. The 100 K Goal was before the economy crashed and after the RWD Impala was killed. If things don't pick up the Camaro may have a very short run. Even at this pojnt the Mustangs future is not carved in stone.

Scott Setllmire has made it plain as day they are doing everything to sell 100,000 Camaro's a year. THis is somthing they need to do and to be honest after the first year or two even in a good economy they were unsure they will do. The Camaro is a risk under the conditions GM has had to bring it back. Things may have been easier if the Impala was put on the same platform as it was planned at one time. The people at GM plain and simple want to take Mustang sales away not Camaro.

In todays economy affordable perfromance is key. Also a line of cars that is diversified enough to survive when gas goes back to $5 a gallon. I am all in favore of continuing SUV's and perfromance cars but make sure you have a line of good small cars to pay the bills when they sit on the lots because gas WILL got back up again. How many times are American car companies going to get caught without a line upo that can answer any market? It has happend in the 50's, 70's 80's, 9+0's and now. You would think they would learn. The V6 Camaro is more key it has to sell as there are not enough V8 buyers to make the numbers they need. The wantabes are what make it possible for you to have your car. So treat them well and cater to them. No desert with out cleaning your plate. Well there are many good performance cars on the market. The Cobalt SS is one you can get loaded under $20k today along with many other cars that are affordable. You may not like 4 cylinders but they are potent and can kick many a muscle cars ass. Hell I drive a 4 cyliner HHR that is 2 seconds faster int he 1/4 mile than my last stock BBC. In fact it is as fast as a stock Mustang GT as it is. With the way it drives I couild care less how many pistons it has. I do miss the engine but it is not that big of an issue. 13 sec 1/4 mile is what it is. You can disagree all you like but Pontiac and its heritage is mostly squandered. The public see Pontiac for what it is and not what you think it is. GM has fooled few with it line upo for the past many years. You may say so but it all goes back to the marketing and image that you agree is important. You can't pick or choose. The wannabe Corvette owners are the many who have bought V8 Camaro's over the years. The image is everything. When they can't afford the Corvette a warmed over Nova with a better body and Covette engine was enough to satisfiy their needs. Just what exactly is Pontiacs image as it has little heritage anymore and except for two models no performance? remember image is everything!

I am all for big cars so don't get me wrong but the people in goverment right now are for change and part of theat is smaller less powerful cars. You watch it is happening. Your car rights are are under atttack at a level we have not seen since Joan Claybrook. Better watch page 4 of must papers as these things never make front page news. By the way your full frame 83 Bu will not pass the regs already placed on cars. They have us several ways with the new green laws and 5 star ratings that they are pushing to go higher. The talk of building high seed rail systems is not to make more room for your Hummer on the interstate. These people hate carts and with the fix GM is in they will have little choice than to comply. Also the rest of the world is already in small cars so they will not feel bad for us either. Europe already has top speed limits and Japan has taxs on the larger engine you have. It is a global movment and these people want us to meet the others standards. Many in the industry already see it coming as schools are even beating these global warming concepts into our childrens heads. They are the future consumers and Automakers know this. My customers in the perfromance aftermarket are getting older and older each year. Hot rods and muscle cars are becoming a lost concept for many kids today. The only speed they want is on their computer. Take a kit to a race or car show has been a motto that has been used but not enough. SEMA is fighting an uphill battle. Notice they do more to limit our cars in many ways but the insurance companies and fed goverment do noting to stop Cell phone and texting while driving. They are willing to say how many MPG or limit you to 55 MPH but not stop some 16 year old from texting at 55 mph. Notice VP Joe even has a Vette. That is cool but because the people that support him hate those cars he claims Amtrack and the Vette was just some old wedding gift from his Father In Law. Ya right. I sure before he was elected VP he never took it out and enjoyed what it could do. The Lobby groups are powerful! There is an agends being pusht and it is not for the car poeple, we all had better wake up.

You guys keep rebuilding Pontiac. My question is where are all the Pontiacs concepts and future production plans. Chevy, Cadillac and Buick have been showing theirs But Pontiac has shown nothing but a Solstice Coupe that has been in the plans for several years. And when I say show cars I don't mean a reworked G8 by 50 cent or a G6 with a new bumper cover. There are a lot of G 3's to work with. Maybe they could drop a Ecotech Turbo in it and make it a GXP.

He kind of reminds me of John Lithgow.

Just buying time. They have aq lot of Pontiacs to dump before they can say they are shutting her down. Say like 2 years worth of G3's LOL!! I will be convinced they are saving Pontiac when we see a Pontiac of the future show car. Anyone see one this year on the Pontiac display???? Anyone????

I work in the performance aftermarket. I know what can or could be done. I also know these same people are looking to stop modifications too, They are crazy but not totally stupid. There are pending laws now that have been stopped becuse they could get little goverment support. But once they pass in one state it is like an infection into 14 states, Oregon is already trying to get it passed where you can not change the tire size or type of tire on you car that it was orignally came with. It will not pass this time but they will not stop. This also included sway bars. too. Their concept was that larger tires create more rolling resistance and in turn make more global warming. You had better wake up and pay attention on what is going on in our country. The people who hate our cars have the upper hand and once they are gone it will take years to reverse things that is if they can be reversed. People never though 55 MPH would have passed but it did and how long till it take to undo it? Go to the SEMA web site and read up on pending laws and what all different state have going you never hear about on the news. We all need to look big picture here as more is at stake than just Pontiac. People also want a lot of other things to but that does not mean the goverment is going to do what they want. The things my company and others see has the entire industry worried. I wish more would know about it.

Good idea but how do we pay for it?

You can call the G8 /Chevy a Caprice or what ever you want my point was to save a great car from not coming to this country not kill off the pesent car even as old as it is. Either way the present Impala is mostly fleet sales [Police package has been popular] can remain for how ever much longer it takes to properly replace it properly like the Crown Vic. For what ever reasons the V6 Mustang sells the bottom line is it creates the needed volume and it sells. If you can sell to the youth market a fast fun car they could care less if it has 8 pistons. Most were brought up in families that never owned a V8. Or do you just want to sell V8 TA's to a bunch of fat old men who can afford them. The bottom line is the future of V8 in most cars is limited. Like the present adminstration in office or not they are passing laws and requirements that will kill large engines and HP capping is going to happen unless we vote a lot of people out of office soon. Just today they gave control to the EPA to control greenhouse gasses and declared them a health hazzard to humans. This ruling can place some majore changes on the auto industry. We will have V8 engines but they will be limited and you will have to pay dearly for them.

The funny thing is Pontiac anymore is it also has a negitive image with many Muscle car fans today. Not many 64 GTO fans are enthralled with a G6 or G5 and even the Global warming freaks hate the G3. Too often I have been at Pontiac meets and even in the Pontiac fan base there are two groups. One that accepts all Pontiac and one that feel Pontiac dies in 1979 with the last 400. The Pontiac Oakland club has had to deal with this for years. The club has been struggling to maintain members as the older members sell out and die over the years. Their cars are bought by collectors who do not join clubs. The new members were slow in joining because the older member treated them often like outsiders. The treatment has imporved with the increase of the late model cars but it still happens. We still yet see the debate go on in the letter page of both Pontiac Magazines. Todays market Image is everything. Just dropping a big engine in a small car is not cutting it with the youth market anymore. Pontiac needed to build cars for today not 1977. While car like the Hyundia may not be perfect they are pointing they way the market has gone. Most average consumer today gets more excited over a 3,000 pound car with a turbo 4 cylinder than a 455 V8. They also buy more V6 Mustangs than GT's. I love a black and gold 77 TA SE more than anyone but that does not mean I want to relive it. If I want a car like that I will buy the real thing. Todays youth less and less car about what was done they are only looking for what is new. Take a look at the cars in Need For Speed Video and see what they 20 somthings were raised on. What is even worse the youth market has not even embraced performance car like the genertions before. Image sells more today vs real performance and Pontiac has little image today and most people who are not Pontiac fans could care less what a Judge was or a Super Duty. I was on a Pontiac Fiero web site and it was amazing hwo many people that did not know what I ment when I used the words TriPower or Super Duty. And these were people who at least owned a Fiero, G6, Solstice Grand Am, Grand Prix or some other late model Pontiac in this discussion. At this point slapping a Chevy grill on a G8 and use it as a Impala as long as the goverment regs will pemit and make the Kappa into a Chevy version if it is cheap to do. THey are the only tow worth saving at this point.

Just like GM is too large to fail and the people of this country would never let it happen. You and them may not have any choice as the people DC are getting to the point where they do what they think is best for us not what we want! Our rights are slipping faster everyday. The it can't happen here thinking is what will cost you in the end. Never underestimate the power of the lobbiest in DC.

You doubted me a few days ago. Well I was judging the political climate right! Read on! They're After Your Freedom by John McElroy on Apr 16th 2009 at 4:56PM You've undoubtedly read the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's report and seen the videos it released when the organization pitted sub-compacts against mid-size sedans (if not, one is posted below the fold). They really went after the safety of small cars, trying to scare consumers away from buying them. The IIHS filmed head-on collisions between a Honda Fit and Accord, between a Toyota Camry and a Yaris, and between a Mercedes C-class and a Smart. Each vehicle was traveling at 40 mph, which is the equivalent of smashing into a parked car at 80 mph, and the results were predictable. The videos made the national news, especially the one of the Smart Fortwo bouncing and spinning backwards. The IIHS has an ulterior motive in conducting these crashes. It's all part of its campaign to limit how much horsepower cars can have, and to lower the national highway speed limit to 55 mph. Please read the rest on Autoblog. com. People thought the Patriot Act was infringing on our rights, well with the way things are going right now you a'int seen nothin yet! Every green lobby and safety lobby has the people they been paying to get into office for year now in. IT is now time for pay backs like we have not seen since Cater and Claybrook. They scary part is they are not just after our cars but we need to be aware of what they are doing in the other areas of our life.

Thanks for reading this. It is sad the public let alone the Obama auto advisers will never read this book. The truth be said I just wish other on this site would read it and learn the truth to many things they just do not know the whole story on.

I love Pontiac but the loss is nothing to me anymore as Pontiac left me a long time ago. The only Pontiac I would even consider is a G8. After spending time in a V6 Malibu I would have no issue replacing my GTP with it. It is a lot better car than my GTP ever was. I have owned and prefered GMC just because of the grills and for the most that is all the main differance has been 90% of the time. THe latest gen did at least have a new different body and I do like it better than the present Chevy. I have hopes they may update Chevy with some of the GMC trim. It would make for a cheap update for the better. The sad truth is losing these division will not kill the general. It is a case of if your not going to do it right why so it. As of now they only have two cars worth a damn and no others planned in the public eye. They only have two that are real performance cars anyway so why call them a performance division. I know some feelings are hurt and that is just part of like. Adapt or die. GM has to do and so do we. I have a new Chevy and it is the performance car that Pontiac did not sell. It does everything I asked for. As I said Pontiac left me not me leaving it. GMC will never replace Chevy as too much name Equity there. Though it would be a very good idea. The funny thing is if gas stayed low GM would be better off killing all the cars and just sell the trucks. they are high volume and high profit. Too bad you can't count on cheap gas for long.

The Genisis is only an example of there the market is going. I do not like the car but a affordable, powerful light weight coupe or line of cars powered by a advanced turbo 4 and DOHC V6 appeals to the gowing part of the market not the part that we lose one to a heart attack mid life crises. Yes there are many old timers out their but they are not going to buy a TA. Note the last years of the 4th gen as good as it was the numbers sucked. 3 GM is big enoiugh to come up with their own trend. TIme to stop living in the past. IF you want Pontiac to grow move on to the next platform and for get the heavy Zeta. Building a Camaro clone is the kind of thinking that got GM into this mess to start with. Putting a big engine in a over weight car is not how to do it anymore. The idea is to put a powerful moter or any size in a lighter car. This is the true concept that the GTO was based. TOday we build a 4000 pound car and slap a V8 in it and think we did something original, advance and great. GM has some of the best powertrain and chassies engineers in the world. I think it is time to let Pontiac show case what they can do and let it trickle down to the other lines. There is nothing wrong with remembering the past but to keep reliving it has lost GM's lead in leader ship as it is. In the 50 GM did cars with fuel injection and even Turbo's. There was the development of OHC 6 and V8 Pontiacs. GM engineering was yeara ahead in many areas but the board failed to let them do what they could. Lutz empowered his staff and challanged them to do what they could and we now have engines like thel LS9 and LNF. We have a Cobalt that can run circles around any Honda. ETC The bottom fact is we fans of the GM past are the shrinking marktet and for GM to advance they need to address the growing markets. I know some of you hate to hear this but time will prove it the right move. If Ddelorean did not move Pontiac into the future you would have not had many of the cars from the past you still dream about. ALso if GM had not stopped him imagine what cars he would have left for us. We would not be saddled with a Camaro clone but had an original Firebird. Rebadging the Bird is noit anybetter than just another rebadged Chevy and I would think you guys had had enough of that already. Copying a 1977 is like a Smokey and the Bandit remake. Better left to it's originals glory.