hyperv6

I like the G8 very much but I have to be realistic. One gas prices are not going to go down and if they do they will not remain down fore long. With the V6 only going to get around 18 MPG city this is a sore spot. I will have to see the final fuel mileage. I am just looking for something I can drive to work and go to Lowes while still getting near 25 MPG. I am doing 20 MPG with a Sonoma now and would like to improve on that. Two The G8 ST is a 2 seater and I have one 2 Seater in the family now so it would leave us one car we all can ride in. This Also has hindered my justification for a Solstice or Sky. More than two people in the family and 3 vehicles with only one able to transport the family is a pain at times. Three I plan to replace the wifes GTP Comp G with a G8 when the time comes. Or it could be a Camaro later. Gas mileage is not an issue with her drive. Four I get the G8 ST when they pick my name I sent in for the contest. Hey I got a 1 in 10,000 chance and that is better than the Ohio Lottery. I love the G8 ST and it fits most of all my needs but one and that is the lack of being able to carry more than 2 people. That over rides gas prices and everything else I could even throw the MPG out if needed but the 2 seat thing is a problem. My old GMC Sprint SP was a bucket seat with Sturp shifter and only two seats. that is good when you still in Collage. With Kids it is not so cool. Even my Sonoma will carry three in the Jump seat.

I too drove a Sunbust Orange SS and too noted it and the standard HHR are two totally different vehicles. My two complaints are lack of heated seats but see that if they are not leather they are not offered. Also I would like to have a dash mounted rear hatch release. But for the money and increase of the better MPG this car is a steal. I too am very anti FWD but could live with this car very easily. I will still check out the G8 truck but the HHR SS has won me over.

I got the chance to drive a HHR SS last weekend and I must say even with FWD it was very impressive. First off the Turbo Enginer that has 260 HP with only 2 liters has little turbo lag and is a blast to drive. The no lift shift works as advertised and keep the boot up. The engine is smooth and quiet. The torque steer is present but nowhere like you would expect and is well controled. It did not want to dive to the ditch but it sill has a little wonder due to the front tires fighting for control as the traction control does not kick in too soon. Brakes were very good and these were not even the Brembo option. The interior looks good color wise but is still a little cheap feeling in some areas. It is still acceptable and as good or bettert than many other cars in this price range. The car is quiet and the only real noise is the sun roof deflector that it much louder than most other cars. The slant of the roof I think plays a big factor here. Hnadleing and right are great. It soaks up the bumps well and is tossable like a Mini. I did not push it to the limits but in some spirited driving I found it to be a blast to drive. The shifter is the best FWD shifter I have used from GM. It is still a little tight but is a big improvment over the past GM shifters. I have been looking at getting a G8 truck or Camaro next year but if cas continues to climb I may have to revisit this vehicle. It is not the already fine run of the mill HHR. This thing can haul all I want to haul ands still give mix driving of near 25 MPG. The drive train in this shoulf be a blast in a Cobalt SS with less weight. The styling upgrades has also get the HHR notice at lights. I saw many people checking it out. Styling is a love hate deal but more and more are accepting it. With dealer discounts and my GM card points I may be able to buy a fully loaded one of these for at or just under $20K. THis vehicle is a bargin and the past few years sales will bear this out. I have spoken to 7 present owners and all have had trouble free miles and love their vehicle. If anyone needs a usable vehicle that is practical, get good gas mileage but still fun to drive the HHR SS is a bargin and should be looked at. I now have 3 GM vehicles to look at in 09 and now have to decide what one I will get as my daily driver. At this point with high gas prices low purchase price and the HHR utility the SS has made a stong case.

No it did not mean any kind of slang Sex act in Canada. And GM called Pontiac the excitment division?

Toyota's here are not as popular as they are elsewhere as the rust kills them. The local dealer already has bought back over 22 Tacoma's for failed frames and all were newer than my Sonoma. As for the Colorado/Caynon line. I would not trade my present 97 GMC Sonoma for one. They ride fine and the 5 cylinder is fine but even in the most optioned ones the interior is crap and the styling sucks. I have tried to force myself to like them but to date I will spend omy money on another model form GM. Even at the reduced price I would rather have a HHR SS for a daily driver. My present Sonoma has only had one Altenator failure and water pump failure in 11 years. It has been flawless and even through 10 winters it has just now started to show the start of rust at the base of the extended cab door that I fixed last week. I will replace it next year and already have about 5 people wanting to buy it when I sell it. GM knows what they need to do. They will soon anounce their moves and as Ford they will continue to dominate the market as they have a lot of heritage and miles behind them. The V6 will play very big as will weight reduction. Unibody will find a way in on this. I ponder if GM may even make some kind of truck from the Acadia? They already have looked to the Zeta. The Zeta may be heavy as a car but it could make for a lighter truck. Look for 3.6 Turbo's. FYI. I have the high output 4.3 in my present truck and the I5 will run circles around the 4.3. The engine was never an issue to me just everything else.

The key to the future is who can build the best small truck and who can reinvent the1/2 ton truck into a more efficent package. Bigger is no longer going to be better. As pointed out no one really makes a killer small truck and the bigger trucks future is going to be limited. We are going to see some no and crazy ideas in the future. trucks like the Ridgline and GMC Denali Show truck are going to point to the future. Also the small truck market will go to he who builds the best new original product. The next 5-8 years will be interesting to watch the market change.

This is non news. All companies will cut back truck production. Toyota is getting an aveage of 55 days on the lot for many of their cars. The trucks and Scion are taking the biggest hits.This will not help Toyota but it will not kill them in the short term. As long as their small car line continue to sell and if they can come up with the next step plug in hybrid to compete with the Volt they will hang on. We can continue to pray for them to stumble as quality is not what it once was precieved. GM did not fall in one year and recover in two as goes Toyota.

My buddy has one of the Toyota's that rust in half. Here in the rust belt it is rare to se a Toyota with out nature holes in it. I wonder if they will have to buy these back in 8 years too.

I am affraid the longer this goes on the more it will be Epsilon II for the G6 and a Alpha for the G8 if we are lucky.

This is a car that will still appeal to my 70 year old Le Sabre toting mother but still catch the eye of a 40 something. I have never been a Buick guy but have to say this should register well with the public. I see other than Emblems, Doot handles, and a solid steel roof there will be minimal changes here. GM has shown that the Camaro, Solstice, G8 , Enclave, CTS Coupe and other show cars have made the transition with minimal chanbges. I hope they carry the Invicta name with this. The lacrosse is a very good car but the W body as improved as it is still reaks of old Buick. THis clean slate will remind no one of the past. I think Rick and Uncle Bob has driven another run home here. They had better be careful people might just start to get a new positive perspective of GM. The truth is this is how you change the public perspective of a company like GM by doing it one model at a time. One model like the 300 at Chrysler has done little for the over all company. Now if GM can back up the looks with killer reliability that no one could call into question. With that I see no reason this too can be accomplished. They can design the cars and build great cars the only thing left is to have the needed product at the right times to set trends and not follow them. We may just see this with the Volt.

I assumed as much as many native American words have French origins. Many things here in Ohio are still use the traditional Indian names since the 1700's. Many have French origins.

Come to think of it The name I sent in did have a s at the end. The wife sent this one on under her name. I thought it sounded 4n did have a meaning that fit with the Pontiac name. It was not just fabricated name. Also I would expect no one owns the rights to this one. At the rqate they are choosing names we will end up with something crazy or as bad as Vibe. What is next the Pontiac Temble?

You are correct. It will be a name they can approve as a good image, legally own, that won't offend and sound acceptable. No odd ball meaning apply. I would not be suprised if El Camino wins in popularity but still not get used. I just don't see Pontiac using a Chevy name when they are trying to convince they are not just a fancy Chevy. If they want to be set appart they need to use a original name. I submitted Travoi. It is not much for sound but it does have good meaning. It is the thing the native Americans used to drag behind their horses to haul their tee pee and supplies. You see them in the movies as the two poles with a buffalo skin between. Kind of a Indian pick up. I would really like to see Transport used again. GM still has the rights to it and it is a little old and a little new image. Ity will be a while before we get the name. The lawyers have to do their work after the Marketing guys narrow it down.

I have spent some time in my Mother in laws DTS. It is a nice car and even much nicer than her past Lincolns. I could live with the power and the softer ride but the FWD has to go. There is no FWD car worth paying over $35K for. I just pray when they combine the DTS and STS we don't get a STD. No I would have no problem with the DTS going more Luxury and less performance but it has to be in the vein of the Lexus and Mecedes Luxury. This is what the buying public wants. The blue haired old ladies nad the old men in Boca Vista with space pens [go on Jerry keep the pen] will just have to adapt as most will only buy on or less more Cadillacs in their life time vs the guy in his 40's that may buy 5-10.

GM is going in the right direction. They are getting more hits than misses and all the while with Lutz trying to revamp GM with one arm tied behind his back with ever changing goverment regs. They will be alright and we will get much of what we want but have to understand we will never get all we want. That is life no matter what your drealing with. GM is a large company but they too can only afford to revamp lines as they can afford them and have to address the ones that pay the bills first. Pick ups and the new Malibu are much more important than the Lacrosse. In time this will be corected too along with the G6. Uncle Bob is trying to do a 100 Billion dollar job on only a few billion while they change the rules of the game at every turn. This is not a good time for a faint of heart product planner. Kind of like trying to build a house of cars only to have some blow hard come and keep trying to knock it down. Talk in the last 2 years has gone from will GM survive to will they regain #1 over Toyota in the future. I think this shows how much has been gained but there is still much more to do. Rick and Bob has done a Damn good job with all they have faced. Few in the industry could have done any better with what they have faced and were given to work with. GM will come back, it will not just happen over the next year but the next 10 if they choose well and get the majority of this right. Each new product and line is another step up. Toyota did not get where they are at in one year. IF you want the top prize you have to earn it.

I don't know about you but I find the new G8 variations, Camaro, HHR Turbo, Solstice GXP and Sky Red Line, Malibu, Cobalt SS Tubo, Aura, Any Vette, Enclave/Arcadia and the new New CTS and STS all very interesting and exciting. With the Lutz cars coming out anymore every new intro is exciting. I have seen only future progress of late and only more to come once cars like the G5 and G6 are replaced. I see cars like the G8 Ute as a move to make things no one else offers and lead into a market. There are a hell of a lot of Elcomino's here in the mid west just waiting to be replace. The owners keep them going as they can't buy new ones. There will be more new models to come to lead into new markets soon. I just see in the future just more better built GM cars. I also see where some fear the loss of the V8 as an end but I see a new start with some lighter, better handling and stopping cars with some serious turo power. GM now is offering better cars than they have in decades and will only build on that. Now if I was a Chrysler fan the future is a little more as you discibed.

Zeta was more flexable than we have been showen. The only problem is CAFE has gotten in the way before we saw all it could be. . Zeta has given us wagons, sedans large and small with long and short wheel base., coupes, trucks 4 door trucks and other models not shown. GM went with this car being heavy to save weight. They gambled and lost long term but won short term with lower prices for us now. With Alpha I can see many of the same plaforms coming as on the Zeta but just a little smaller and lighter.

Less weight is a given. Replacing the Zeta with a wide ranging Alpha woulf cust about 200-600 pounds because of size and weight saving features not used in the Zeta due to keeping cost down. We also expect more light weight metals and composits, they too will add to the cost. The goverment is driving the CAFE average but will not let the crash ratings slip. So while saving weight in some areas it will not be cheap in others. Even the move to more 4 and six cylinder engines will save some weight but not as much as in the past since the V8 LS engines are very light now compared to some 32 Valve V8's.

I would like to see all Chevy cars stay under $30K accept the Camaro and Vette. Chevy should be the milage leader and Value leader. If you want a nicer FWD go to Saturn. IF you want RWD Zeta and Alpha performance or one FWD Mini Cooper like adult performance car you buy Pontiac. 4-5 car is all you need with several special sub models. The G8 is a good example with a Sedan, Ute and Possible coupe none of which Chevy sells. The same could be done with the Alpha. If you want a near Luxury car of SUV You buy Buick. Again 4-5 vehicles are all you need. Luxury Cadillac all the way. Right now if you take away the Fleet sales and just dropped the Impala as it is it would be missed little. The Bu could fill this area well with a Police package and taxi package. The money taken from the Impala and used to improve the Malibu and replace the Cobalt with a true Civic beater would fill sales sheet at GM once they convince the public they are worhty cars. Building a better car is not enough you have to prove it now.

The one sad thing I did leave out is that I am affraid of how much the cost will rise in 10 years to where it will be hard to afford anything. He who sells the best car cheap will win. THis will be a hard challange. Cost is more important than any HP rating or what wheel drive is offered. When most new car buyers buy a car based on how much the monthly payment is that should send a signal to all of us. Hyundia figured this out a while ago. Good car great warranty cheap price. As much as I would like to see a Impala Zeta it will never be a game changer. The Impala will always be second to the new Malibu as the BU is now your volume market. Volume markets are where you make your money. A larger RWD Impala would never sell over 100,000 units a year. If you sell the Impala too cheap you don't make money and if you sell it for too much people will move to more expensive brands. The Impala would have to sell below the G8 and there is little room. Chevy=Value and the is little profit in a $27,000 Impala and few sales over $30,000. The G8 and CTS are lurking in this area already and the Malibu is around $25,000. Chevy would be better suited taking the money amaking the Malibu a even better car and making the Camaro the RWD value coupe. Chevy has too many models now.

It was no seceret we would get 7-10 years of Zeta because GM has to have something eles to sell. GM will recoupe it's investment here We may see more of the Ute like vehicles with a few twist. Just look at how the new Arcadia is replacing the large SUV. a smaller truck based on a Zeta could surplant the 1/2 for many. Also drive train combo's we had not ecpected. [Ecotech]. I would not discount a weight reduction plan if they can work it economically. Alpha's is more important now than ever and they are looking to make it the new Zeta to make it even more expandable for many uses like they did with the Zeta. New FWD platforms will be key to imporve and take Hybrid technolgy so it really works and is cost effective. Hybrids will become the norm for all models. New 4 and V6 engines will have smaller displacments, DI, turbo's and hybrid systems beyond what we have now. Trucks will see Unibody for at least the half ton class and more V6 power. Small trucks like smaller than a S10 could be in the cards. The trucks, Cadillac and the Vette will still have V8 power but it will be less common. Look for expanded Diesels. Hydogen is still an option in some new platforms. Small cars like the Smart will make a impact on many city commuters. Others will low ball the price and who ever sells the best car cheap will win in this class. The #1 rule is they need to keep them cute as cute sells crummy cars. Folks, GM has 10 years to make some big changes and and they can do it all in one year. They are like us and have to budget it out. But this time all the cards are on the table and right now they are just waiting to see what all the goverment is going to require and what they can or can not do. What they decide now will make a differance if they make money or lose billions of dollars in 10 years on wasted or wrong program choices. Times like this make me glad we have the leaders we have now vs Roger Smith and others. Anyway that is what I see coming.

No news here. The entire auto industry will make generous use of DI in almost all engines it will spread like FI in the 80's and 6 speed trannys will be just the norm in 5-10 years or less. The leading edge will be hybrid systems and 7 and 8 speed trannys. Just GM promoting what we will see in all there other brands less the RWD. And Yes Pontiac has moved on from being the adolescent brand a while ago. The adolecents all want Honda's and Subaru's.

I have a hunch there might be a twin tubo 3.6 but not a 2.0 in the future. Untill the Camaro loses weight I just see many going for the 4 cylinder unless it is cheap. Even then I see the appel being limited. Most 4 cylinder buyers would be people of Import interest and they already think the Camaro is too heavy for the V6. It will take a new platform to make this work right. The weight needs to be around 3200-3300 or less if it is possible. GM has aleady looked at doing 320 HP in a Non Turbo 3.6 V6. I have not heard much on this since last summer so I am not sure if this in still in the cards at some point.

I understand the hush money idea. but with as wide wpread as this could be and havin a front page story on this documentng it. This could be nery expensive for Toyota.

I am not sure but I am sure it is at least 100+ pounds. But on the other hand the LS is not as heavy as some think. The LS weighs less than a old iron 3.8 SC.