hyperv6

Image creates and supports many companies because people buy by the label. Image sells better than reality. I see it for years and collected money from people willing to pay through the nose for it with BMW and Benz. The sad side is where I see people that buy the car and then can't afford to fix it. They are so short sighted to understand the ability to own one of these cars goes well past just buying it. You have to be able to afford to repair and service it too. Just look at some guy who can afford the 308 Ferrari with low miles. Then he needs to do the 30,000 mile service and then finds he can no longer afford the car. But he does own a prancing horse label. Logic and practicality has no place in the high end market. If it did they all would be driving Sonics.

I think this car will do for the CTSV what the new Z06 did for the Corvette. This will put the car on the map for consideration. Now with that said we have to also consider that this is not the destination Cadillac is even going to anymore. This was the original target but the new target has been advanced even more now. So in other words expect it to get better. This is where your AWD and other things will come in later. In the mean time do not underestimate the traction management program as GM has been know to have one of the best around. The AWD car will come out of a corner a little faster but odds are it will not be as fast winding out with more weight. Also it takes power to run the AWD so you have to account for that too. As for the manual. It is easy to just say put it in but there is so much more involved. The fact is how may are they going to sell total? How much is the extras emissions testing? Will it have to be crash tested again and how much there? How long is this version of the car going to be with us as it is? Consider this. If Cadillac is going big with their own engines in a couple years would it be worth the money for only a few years and only a few cars sold with it? I am sure those who built this car would want it too but the fact is it comes down to money and if there is little to be made after all they have to deal with or for as long as this combo is in play they will not do it. This car is only a stepping stone and we have better and badder yet to come. Trust me on that. In the mean time this car will help enhance Cadillac's image and they will continue to advance. As I have said the new image is built one new model at a time and this is just the next brick in the image wall. The refinement of handling of this car is where it will shine out more than anything. GM has finally grasped how to properly tune a car that will set fast track times but also ride great and still know how to handle great going down the ruff back roads of America. This one will take what was already good to the next level. They no longer just slap on stiffer springs and bigger tires and it really shows they know how to do it right. The Complains will be with the Cue and some interior trim issues but that will be about it other than some subjective things like the rear wing etc.

This can come true with the proper message and enough money and time to build an image. These things are done over time as you can not do it in just a year or so. Take BMW. In theLate 60's they were that odd car that the guy down the street with the tweed cap drove. It rusted out in 5 years but he still loved that odd little car. By the mid 70's They started with a slogan the ultimate driving machine. They then backed it up with cars that drove very unlike any American sedan and started to add luxury to the mix on levels BME seldom offered in the states. By the 80's the price of the cars had creped up and if you owned one it meant you had the power and the means to own one or you were in debt up to your arm pits. This was a the key to help make people feel the car improved their image. It is like the movie Crazy People where a Advertising man becomes a patient in a mental hospital. He get his inmates to work with him on new auto campaigns that were brutally honest. They had things like . "Volvo Boxy But good" "By a Jaguar for men who what hand jobs from women they hardly know" While they were joking in the movie this is the kinds of messages that good marketing sends. Image, Power, Quality, Value all play a big part of the deal. People want to feel smart for their purchase and what that purchase belies on their image. If we were all just buying for transportation we all would be in a Chevy Spark. GM can turn things around with continued better product but they also need the right marketing and properly fund it. They have failed miserably here and they need to continue to work on it. Each new model is like a brick and you have to use each to build the image. If Hyundai could turn themselves around nothing is impossible,

The last I heard it was. This has been a problem at Cadillac as they have changed what they are doing so many times and their marketing at best sends a mixed message. The long and short of it is we get Cadillac commercials that have dancing robots or some where Waldo like guy that does nothing to enhance the image of Cadillac. With the new firm I am waiting to see how this affects their presentation of the product. As for the rest of GM the messages have been mixed. The Buick deal has worked but they need to follow through. They can not just rely on the initial That's a Buick for ever. I see it that once the new product start coming out in the next year or two they should follow up with now that is a Buick! Sell it targeted at 30 something's with the things they like a car to represent them. Mark it smart and exciting. Chevy needs to just get who ever is pushing the Camaro and Corvette to work on the Cruze and Impala. The Volt is not being pushed now because GM is not wanting to sell too many as they are losing money on the present car according to someone on the inside I heard speak off the record. The new car will spur a new surge in marketing that will sell a car that can turn a profit. The one thing I see lost in many marketing companies is they seldom have anyone working on an account that has a true love for the product anymore. It used to be the guys who sold cars in advertising often were car guys in real life. I know he is a blow hard but Jim Wangers not only sold the product but he raced on his one time right up to a US Nationals class win in 1960. I just feel the people working on these programs should have some skin in the game so they really know what it is all about and sell it with passion and soul.

At this point they are overlooked because GM did so little lead up to them. Hell we heard about the Beer Can Fords for how 2 years now, it is almost like they have been around for a couple years with the way the Media has been talking about them and they just arrived. The average buyer has just now started to hear about these trucks and it will take time to grow them in the public eye. This is one area GM is still failing is marketing things properly. Ford has everyone thinking they have been first with the DI turbo engines when VW and GM had them years before. Even today GM says little about their engines and not even on the scale of what Ford does. Sam with the Ford trucks as they are not bad but they are not as big of a deal as they are being made out to be. Now if they were really 700 pounds lighter than a Ram and Chevy then we would be talking but they are only 700 pounds lighter than their own older over weight trucks. GM has an advantage here that they could market but they don't. They will have their own aluminum half tons in a couple years and now is when they should be promoting them. The only models GM markets well are the Camaro and Corvette and the rest could use a lot of work.

The XTS could be moved but it all comes down to how many they expect to sell and how much money they would make on the. Also with the new effort at Cadillac to finally go all in and do it right is there really a need for a livery fleet car? The key to Cadillac's future and for it to live is to be a lower volume higher profit line. These cars if done right would be the most profitable models outside a truck. This is the same reason Lincoln was saved when so many at Ford wanted to Axe them. The only issue there is commitment on the level that GM is going. Will they do it or not. As for the Alpha. I am not sure what is going on now. The firs issue is the SS is not selling well at all. Once you get to that price you have a lot more choices than just a Chevy. If they lower the price then it steps on the Malibu and Impala. It is never going to be a high volume car either. Now if it becomes the GNX with AWD and RWD at Buick it could if the price better and as Cadillac moves up and away not be in the way of the future models there. As for Australia the issue there is it is such a small market that it may not be worth the hassle of importing them. I know it is still popular today but sales have been declining. Lets face it all of Holden sells less cars than just one model of Chevy here so you have to keep it in perspective. It all comes down to how much profit will it make and if it is not enough then they will pass. Also every other MFG there is moving to more efficient and smaller models for the most part. There is just a lot of questions here and we will just have to wait to see what happens to rationalize it. I also do not see all doom and gloom as often a end can bring even better things. Like the loss of the GM Performance Division was not a bad thing as all their people were integrated into the design level of these cars from the start. This is why even the base cars are now handling so much better and not even having to be a performance model that was enhanced.

Drew this is what is in play. The XTS is not what Cadillac is moving too so how long will it remain? Oshawa is at risk right now with the issues GM has had with the CAW. Canada is losing the new Nox, Terrain and Buick version along with the Camaro and Regal. I do not see the XTS remaining in Canada and will they go to the expense of moving a DOA car to another plant with the Impala? The only real future on the XTS is fleet and livery sales and even then how much are they making there will determine that. As for NASCAR yes they can run a FWD but Mark Reuss has made it clear when the Camaro and SS were placed in the series they were going to race RWD as they sold RWD. Ford and Toyota could not do this since they have nothing to offer. Ford does use the Mustang in Nationwide but that is all. Mark even had to fight with NASCAR for special permission to race a car not sold in dealers for most of a year which is not permitted. I know he was wanting an Alpha SS replacement but the sluggish sales I think killed the business case. But I expect Buick may pick up the slack here with a RWD of their own in the same price segment. They are better suited in this price range to deal with it. I am not sure what GM will run but when they go to NASCAR to get approval it will be our first place to see what their intentions are as testing makes it hard to hide. GM also killed the sub Alpha coupe because the sluggish sales of the Subaru, Scion and Hyundai RWD coupes. This brought back the Turbo 4 Camaro that was talked against in the start. With GM I have taught by those who can not always talk as to what to watch for and these are the things I am picking up. Often the answers are there you just have to look for the clues. But as with anything things can change fast but you always have to keep the big picture in view to understand how one move leads to others.

Well there is no announced date but the XTS is limited on life as it was an old design carried over from the pre Chapter 11 plans and only was used to fill the show room till the Alpha and Omega arrived. Most of the work was done so they went with it. The fall back was to sell it as a Fleet and livery car too and not hurt sales of the newer models. With rumors of Oshawa going away makes one wonder if they would relocate a car with little future at Cadillac. It is not a bad car but it is not what Cadillac is all about anymore. As for the NASCAR ties. Mark Reuss has gone to major lengths with NASCAR to market RWD cars in a series that uses RWD cars in the race. Mark made major points to wait for the SS and Camaro to be ready to be in the series. Now with the prospects of a SS Alpha dimming that could change. But It would be wise this summer to watch and see what GM presents to NASCAR for approval as it will lead us to more information on what they plan to do production. Many of the answers are there at GM if you just know where and when to watch for them. Plant movements and what products they plan to race all lead to information long before it is made public. GM may have to go to the Impala for NASCAR but that is not the policy they had when they went in with the present models. Mark had to get special approval for the SS to race before it hit the show rooms because he wanted RWD in the series. He made a point we race what we build. While not totally stock at least the same wheels were being used as the stock car. I think Ford and Toyota would have also made the same move if they had a RWD product to fill the need but they don't outside the Mustang in the Nationwise series. A lot will change if GM leaves Canada. I think that they have had their fill of the CAW and are now testing them to see if they will work with them or work against them. GM has much more production availability here in the states where the UAW will negotiate for the work. The CAW can lose really big if they don't back down. They already are losing the next Nox, Terrain and Buick version, The Camaro and Regal. The impala can easily be moved too. This is one of those big picture deals where you have to watch the whole playing field and yet many things still could change with a few simple agreements. But the long and short of it is I do not see anything saving the XTS unless they leave it for fleet and Livery only. Even then how much money that can be made there may determine what happens and only GM knows that.

This truck and the Canyon are two of the most overlooked vehicles on the market. GM has done a good job on these and brought a level to this segment never seen before. As for Ford they have brought you a truck with Aluminum that will reduce the weight of a truck that already was 400 pounds heavier than the GM or Ram. Their marketing has been telling everyone gee we are 700 pounds lighter then our similar older truck but they fail to tell the full story how they were the pig of the market. As for the Turbo engines they are great and have a solid torque feel to them with the wide power band. But to this point the MPG is not a lot better including all that Aluminum. Also what Ford leaves out the many unresolved issues of repair and cost. Yes they are going to teach the shops how to repair but we still have only about 10% of the shops that can do this kind of repair. The cost of replacing panels is going to be more expensive vs. repairing panels. You do not do paint less dent repair on Aluminum panels. Aluminum has no memory and in most cases will lead to panel replacement not repair driving up cost. The fact is Ford is doing one thing really right and that is their marketing. They are building decent cars but their marketing is the top of the market right now. GM on the other hand is building great products but yet are still not marketing them all that well. As for Ram where they are making up ground is a decent looking product new and the lowest prices in the market. The problem is their repeat buyers as a company as a whole is only around 24%. This is a dead end in growth as people find out over the ownership why they ended up getting a deal. The fact is Chrysler has had a lot of nagging quality issues and many of which still need addresses. Just look at any Ram in the Midwest and just see how the rust is attacking them more than any other brand. I truly think that the future of the truck market is going to be a Mid Size truck like the Colorado then next up will be a 2500 Silverado and then your one ton Silverado. We may even see a smaller truck under the Colorado. The key is the Half Ton trucks as we know it can not be saved after the next ten years. They are being regulated out and if you want a full size the loop holes for the 2500 series will keep them alive but you will have to pay a price for them. This is why we seeing more upscale trucks in the 2500 market. Ford will soon join in with the second gen Ranger at some point and Fiat is still sorting out the mess they have and trying to make money of what they have to offer now with Ram and Jeep. Their cars are tanking right now and not much help. My in-laws just bought a new 300 for under $30K with all the discounts. Nice car but not a great car. I am gad to see GM leading a segment here. Many people do not need or want a large truck and SUV and this is why we have seen the rise of the CUV as a major force in the market. It is not just MPG and Size but the prices too. Chevy has given people a option on a truck that will be right around $10K-8K cheaper than the full size. As the full size trucks get more expensive I expect this gap to only grow. Also with the use of aluminum the full size trucks will increase in price. Ford is hiding the price increase in the options. While a base truck will not show much increase the more optioned trucks will show a higher price. Again good marketing as Aluminum is not free. It will be interesting to see how the new Ford and Colorado will do in light of the present low gas prices. This is not going to play to them as much but I feel it will affect the Colorado less since it a new segment for GM again. We just added a new Silverado 2015 Z71 to the family here. Nice truck but even with the discounts still very expensive. I do not plan to do it soon but will wait to see what special models of the Colorado come out and may look at a ZR2 or a Z06 if they should become available. Or I should say the GMC version if they become available. I believe the Colorado since I first sat in one last July was going to be the sleeper of the year. I did not expect awards like this but I do expect a good amount of sales and profits with this line and that is where it counts. It also will lead into the future where others will follow. I know we will see more Aluminum but it alone is not going to be the magic pill to solve the future issues the truck market faces. As an engineer was quoted on the SUV market. Mass is the key and it can not be done just with aluminum alone as size is what will be used in reducing it.

With just over 2300 sales last year and few more expected this years it is no wonder they are killing the car. I am watching NASCAR and what Chevy approaches them with to replace this car. Will we get an Impala with AWD and TT V6 SS package. The XTS is going away and the driveline would fit. The key will be to package this at a price people will pay. You get to $50K there are a lot of other options.

The plan is in place and the key now is will GM have the will and leadership to stick with this to completion. It will not be cheap or easy and will take time to complete. Also outside factors like world economy could stop this in their tracks if the Russia economy collapses and take others with it etc. They have built an ambitious game plan and one that could work. Now we just have to see if they can pull it off.

The CT6 is only a stepping stone to the future of Cadillac not the finish line. There was a time this was going to be the end all be all for Cadillac bases on what GM was willing to support but now it is only a stop on a much longer and more ambitious path. With the new more promising commitment of GM to let them be more autonomous and even chase after their own engines and other needed things this is a whole new ball game but it will take even more time and money. Lets now see if GM will follow through on their pledge. I am for once really excited as GM for once is doing the right thing with Cadillac and not just going for good enough.

GM and Chevrolet has done this for years. The Impala, Chevelle, Camaro have all shared styling hallmarks with the Corvette over the years to good effect. Chevy has never tried to convince them their Impala is a Corvette but they do a good job of letting them know they are part of the same family. There is no downside here if you know your GM history. Hell my HHR SS has the same steering wheel as the ZR1 and it never stopped anyone from buying it so if you want to chase that argument then it is groundless.

ZL1 You are correct and other need to go do some real home work, The present car for a good while has been Front Mid Engine as the engine is between the two axles. It gives the car good balance, The truth is this we are not dealing with the old GM anymore and things are being done differently. This projects roots go back about 2005-2007. This mid engine project was originally intended for the C7 but as we all know the Chapter 11 arrived and shelved many projects include some like the ZL1, Malibu, XTS and other models that were in the works and left to be finished after coming out of the bail out. The C7 was not in a place to go mid engine and do it right so they resorted back to a major upgrade on the C6 that lead us to the C7 we have today. I had see comments that the C8 was being worked on at the same time as the C7 and it was the mid engine project again and it was kicked down the road to where they could do it right and not just rush it out like the Malibu. The C7 has bought them time and it was clear from the start the C7 was along term model based on comments from the Corvette manager. The reality is the Corvette has to fine more MPG and power to keep up as many of the world class cars are going to hybrid systems. As time goes on these system will get cheaper but you have to start somewhere. As of now it looks like GM will go a two car strategy where they will sell the Stingray and the Zora as two models in the Corvette line. This way they can ease the cost factors in on the cheaper cars with trickle down technology. The mid engine helps in packaging hybrid systems as with the present car just look at what they had to do to get a super charger in there. Even the Callaway's had to hide the Turbo chargers way up under on the C4. Also they have less frontal area and they can bring in more radical changes on this car slowly and leak them over to the more basic car once it is accepted. The bottom line is there really is a project and as of no all things are go. Yes things can change if something comes up but the fact remains this project has continues for 5-7 years already. At this point I would use care in how I would phrase my doubts as you may look silly later on. There is no more Zora vs. Bill Mitchell battles at GM anymore. We now have a Corvette that is would class in all areas including the interior and many thought hell had to freeze before that happened. Weight loss is also a key here as GM has been pressing for a sub 3000 pound Corvette. Well the C7 did not even come close to this but this car may be just where they focused the plan and they just never said what C model. If it is expensive it will have much more composite materials. The only real issue is if it goes hybrid how much will that add to the weight preventing the 3000 pound car. Anyways I have been following this story for a long time and the recent stories are all matching up to many of the past reports. So while it may not be a slam dunk I do feel we are as close to the mid engine Vette as we have ever been. As for Cadillac give them a M4 Roadster fighter as the last thing they need is a Super Car right now. They need to focus on the LTS and other sedans and coupe they are selling. Before you want to convince someone to shell out $150K on a super car Cadillac you need to earn their trust and money with a $50K roadster GT that is best in class. You win them there they will pay more for the other car later not the reverse. How many people got burned already on the Allante and XLR? The fact is some on the Vette team have said they have gone about as far as they can with the present set up. To get a lower CG they need to lower the cowl and to lower the cowl they need to move the engine. To get the weight more centered they need to move the engine as balance is only good to a point. To lower the CD they need to lower the car and move the engine. To get better handling and cut weight they need to move the engine. To create a proper hybrid system they need to move the engine. If you want a smaller lighter AWD system it is easier if ......you move the engine. So do not get too wrapped up in Retro thinking as to advance with the many challenges ahead we will have to see many changes. Companies like Ferrari and Porsche are not doing hybrid systems because they think they are cool they are doing them because to preserve ultimate performance and grow it there is no other way. You want to keep a V8 viable you will have to add these systems to it s the CAFE is bad now and will only get worse no matter who is elected. Any ways I will earn do not bet against this as from my sources this time there is fire with the smoke. Note too the stories that are out leave me thinking this was a GM controlled leak too. They all said the same thing and they all only went so far. GM has worked with a select group of writers to help control the information going out. It has worked well since 2008 but did lead to the leak of the C7 a year before they were ready. I expect mules to be seen by next August if things remain on track. Note they may already be testing but under different bodies. There was an odd Malibu seen in long Island with C7 rear tires and a modified trunk. I do not believe it was a GM car but it is similar to what we may see. You can see this car at MotoringExposure.com While I do not believe it to be a GM Mid Engine mule it is interesting. Not sure what to make of it as it would not be cheap to make a mess like this but also would GM be in Long Island with it? I remember some mocking me about the return of the Camaro when I predicted it would be back. Speaking of which you will really be impressed with what is coming. It will have refinement like you never saw in this segment. . Oh it will lose weight.

GM I am glad you have been keeping observant and relevant as always here as you have the correct thinking on where this is going. This is the deal. The half ton truck faces issues with mass and even being all aluminum it will still have a lot of mass. Lets face it the new F150 is only going to be around 300 pounds lighter than the Chevy steel truck. This is what is in play. Ford and GM will move to make these smaller but yet large trucks the new direction for the half ton class. They will want to move the buyers to this class to save mass and to improve MPG in the half ton class as it is being hit the hardest for MPG in the future. The 3/4 an larger will have lower CAFE restrictions unless it changes these trucks can get away with the full size much easier. How will GM and Ford get people to move to the smaller trucks if the fuel prices stay the same? By charging more for the trucks as time goes on and even more for the V8. Pricing will be the limiting factor of these vehicles as you can buy one but you will pay for it. This also will keep profits up with lower volumes. The half tons now are nearly $50K for a crew 4x4 and will be more in the near future. I have said for a long time the Ranger will come here in due time and now there are reports out that Ford is working to this now. I just saw on the web the other day. The truck was built to NA spec and only Ford will not to bring it here has kept it out. I also expect a smaller truck to appear at GM at some point. Again as I said long ago the truck market will fundamentally change in radical ways by the time 2025 rolls around. To be honest the entire industry will see major changes. I was in a Colorado in July and it was very nice. No more old cheap crappy interiors like the last model and even a more solid full size feel to the doors and tailgate. Pricing is in the Nox and Terrain range as I expected. To be honest it feel like my Terrain behind the wheel in looking out. The one I was in had a Bose sound system and the rear seat was good for the size. The path of the entire industry will have to change as no one will be able to keep up with the government regulations as they are now and lets face it how many more cylinders can GM deactivate on the V8? I know some hate to hear this but it is time to face reality. Major changes are coming. The next vehicle that will take a hit is the 4 door sedan as the CUV market is growing and growing fast. GM is happy the Encore is doing well and will capitalize on this segment. People are showing interest in a small CUV over smaller cars that can not hold a box of any height do to small openings on small cars. The way I see it this truck and the next gen Nox and Terrain have a lot riding on them. The Nox and Terrain alone account for nearly 300,000 sales even 5 years in on the last design. Do it right and they can account for nearly a half million vehicles with good profits.

The entire platform is way overdue for replacement. The Hellcat was a way to stimulate some excitement and the interior tweaks will buy some time. But with Ford and GM both moving to more modern, lighter and improved models these cars will have to continue to buy time. What worries me is how much are they making on the regular models that make up the majority of sales? My in laws just bought a new 300 and while it is a nice car they paid $10,000 off sticker for the car with real hassle. They like it but my Mother In Law is already missing the little details her old Cadillac offered. I had to break the news to here when you pay less you get less. I am looking forward to the Hellcat in a new modern platform but that is a few years out yet. I also expect to hear more about the Chevy engine that is reported to be over 1,000 HP in testing but they are having issues with putting the power down. I would assume this may be for the in progress C8? There is just not enough info out yet to get a good idea what they are working on. The large number has leaked out and that is all.

The plant in Pontiac the home plant t many models of Pontiac over the years including the Fiero went down earlier this year. I was able to save two bricks from it. Sad but it was a very large plant in an area that could use the work. At least it will be an automotive park for clubs and storage of collections.

While an improvement it is still way passed in need of replacement. Fiat right now is scrambling with their plans for Chrysler. The changes to Dodge and Chrysler will be interesting to see if they work.

I thought it was out of the gate, why oh why GM. The engines are tried and tested ship them now! While it may be legal in other countries it still needs to pass the testing for this model in this country. The new Fed Regs are not easy nor cheap to do anymore. They may have off set it for the budget too. I got to play with the Colorado Friday. I did not get to drive it but I got to touch and sit in one. It is a major improvement over the last model. It no longer feels cheap. I did note they had a Bose Sound System too.

This is the deal. GM is a media Darling to beat on as they represent all that is good and bad in this country to all people. There are those who see GM as Americas strength and those who see it as our weakness. Just look at the on going argument about the bail out. Then you have those who love cooperation's and invest in them while others say they are our down fall. With all this GM is the perfect target for the media. If it bleeds it leads. Also the media loves to bash large companies as most in the media are ant corporate anyways even though most of them work for larger publication corporations. GM is just getting every thing out of the way here. We will have the summer of recalls and if anything hints at safety GM will continue to recall it. It will help show they are not covering up or over looking anything. The others are not just sneaking recalls through. The fact is the media is not focused on it. Most have been reported but only once with no comments added. It is more a free pass from the media. It is sad that nearly all news outlets are now agenda driven and controlled. They no longer report the news but try to change public opinion GM is not the first to get hammered here as Audi got it, Ford, Toyota to a degree and others. It is a shame the media do not hold themselves to the same high standards they want to hold cooperation's to. .Report the facts to me and let me decide how I feel about it. Too often I get someone telling how I should feel or think. The shame is so many people are so disconnected for the real world they let them think for them. This is why we are in such a mess today.

Wow it is time for some here to get outside and play. I have not read all the threads here on this as so many are so old and untouched but I though most here would be up to date on what all is going on. Yes GM is recalling much but Mary is doing so to clean the slate. Much of what is being recalled would have been a TSB last year. If it looks like or even smells of a recall GM will clean the plate. This is to be proactive and to make sure this issue does no linger like heartburn. Mary has chosen the right way to lead on this and not just sit back and hope it blows over. Note that sales of new GM vehicles have not been hampered in any way. Being that most of the cars involved in the negative publicity have not been in production for years is a help but the way GM is dealing with it so far has been good. As of now I see the public losing interest and the media moving on. Resale values may be effected on a Ion or Cobalt but lets face it how much will you lose on one of these. My HHR values are as good or better than before. I have noted the SS models have even gone up on good clean models since there is more demand than models available. The real beef I have had is the lack of full disclosure by the media on the 13 deaths. While GM may have played a part in most but not all accidents the media has not been very good at relaying the mitigating circumstanced of many of the crashes. What has been left out is alcohol was involved in several of the crashes. One the driver was on tripping on drugs. Over half of them were not belted in. One may have been having an epileptic seizure prior to the accident and was still under power at over 75 MPH. Speed was a factor in more than one crash one was 3 times the limit with speed and twice the limit drunk. Two were killed when a drunk driver went left of center and hit the car head on. I have read and learned the details on 12 of the 13 deaths and there are only two that I can see had not identified mitigating circumstances that played major roles beyond the failed air bag. One was a 81 year old woman that I think just could not turn the car and the other had nothing odd listed but the investigation may have been incomplete. There was one failed seat belt but the woman was over twice the legal limit over. Now I do not absolve GM of the part failures but in most of these very public cases most of the drivers either hastened or contributed to their own deaths. Most would have lived if they had not been under the influence and or drunk. The media likes to leave this out. Normally a car stalling is not a death sentence. The fact is the car is still steerable, it will hold enough vacuum to stop the car with several pumps of the brake pedal. The steering is heavy but generally you are able to get the car to the side of the road. I think you will find the public either does not car so much or they are smart enough to know that this ignition issue is not something that happens often. While it was used on many cars few have had the issue. GM will have the summer of recalls here to clean everything up. If you have not noticed other brands have opened more recalls too as they know they could also be targeted by the media when they tire of the GM story. Once we get through the fall this will all go away. I do see a positive side to this. as some here know the GM culture failure was nothing new and has gone on for decades. It was well documented in the Delorean book On a Clear Day You Can See GM. Bob Lutz talked extensively about it in Car Guys Vs. Bean Counters. He points out how one of his first goals was to start the culture change and keep it going after he left. So far Mary has done so and to me the investigation is the ammo that she needed to put down any uprising that some may attempt to fight her changes. As Bob said there were those who were part of the problem that would come to him and try to move things back to how they used to do it. Mary was facing the same thing and now she has documentation on things that needed changed and they will permit her in a public way to change them for the better. In the end I see this will make GM a better company and the fears of lower values and dropping sales were no an issue. Hell the higher prices and no incentives on the trucks hurt them more than the recalls. Now that they have been adjusted sales are back to normal there. As for GM's rep just look around. They are still winning awards on the new cars. Sales are up even more than other brands and there have been no lingering effects even in the height of this ordeal. As for junky Cobalt. Like you have not heard that before. Most of the pre chapter 11 cars were junky. Yes they had their good points but compared to post Chapter 11 cars there is no comparison. Only the 08 Malibu had much of what we see today and It was the pin in the turning point of the products. Nearly all the cars being recalled are out of production and have spent much time in the used market. Most are the cheap cars now and while some may pass them on a used market it has not shown signs of hurting sales of the current line up. I am not sure if it is just being older cars? Being new GM vs. old GM?, Or people just not really paying attention to the whole thing. Lets face it if half of the cars still on the road come in they will be lucky Anyways this is one of those deals you have to put it into perspective and take in all that went on and not just what GM did as the other factors often played just as large of a part of the life and death drama as the ignition. The failed part may have started the chain of unfortunate events but the part on weather you lived or died hinged on the actions and behavior of the driver under the failure. From what I have seen from the accident reports over half of these people would still be alive if they had a belt on. and more if they had not been under the influence and speeding. I don't care what it is but if a car has a failure and you are not in a condition to deal with it who's fault is that? I would recommend reading the story in Car and Driver August page 19. they test an Ion and make the steering fail as well as brakes and the results are not surprising. The car still stopped well even if they removed the vaccum hose as the check valve kept the vacuum up. The steering was heavier but the car still drove well enough to only be 1.6 MH slower in the slalom. They like myself point to mitigating circumstances that each driver placed into the case as being a major factor. To thumbs up to Car and Driver for being one of the few media outlets to print things and show things the others failed to disclose. It is amazing how many people think the reason so many crashed was that the steering locked? They have no idea how this even works.

Wow Things sure have not change much here. Same old crazy talk with out using all the facts again [Not you blu] It's not selling well because a 2+2 is a difficult sell in todays market unless it has a V8 under the hood and says Camaro or Mustang on the fender. You have to understand the market to understand the sales issues as nearly all the 2+2 coupes are under producing. You can add more power etc. and the results will be the same. The coupe segment is dominated by the default cars Camaro and Mustang as they can be had by older buyers who love coupes and can afford them. They will not accept a smaller turbo 4 coupe very well when for just a little more they can have the one they have always wanted or had. I would love a small turbo light coupe but I am in the minority. Younger people really don't care or if they do many can not afford the insurance even if they can afford the car. GM is wanting to do a car like this but it is difficult to make a case for it with sales lagging else where. This is another case where you have to consider all the factors and not just the ones you treasure. That is what GM is doing and it is a tough call as you need to leverage out a new smaller platform over enough units to make a profit and right now the market is soft in this area. I would give anything for my 300HP Eco in a small rwd coupe. My HHR is only 3200 pounds and Is a blast but the fwd is so difficult to hook up. But I am in the minority of the market. The Mustang and Camaro are like a Harley as they have heritage, sound and history behind them. All the other players are fun neat cars but many just are not interested or just can not afford the insurance at a younger age. The coupe market is for the older segment who love them and can afford them. Even the fact that you can hop up a Eco turbo so easy with a change of the maps and a re flash of the computer should have great appeal but too few know or care. I give the Asian makers credit for trying but I expect the lives of these cars may be limited at best. We may see them last a cycle like the RX7 did and the MR2. The reality is these cars can live on at higher prices and lower volumes but at a lower volume and lower price the return is just not good enough long term. Companies build cars to make money not just to be cool. It is a shame as it prevents some neat cars but that is just the way it is.

That would be nice but things just do not work that way. Mary has proven herself to me and many others. She has gotten out in front of this and hit it head on unlike Toyota. While GM has screwed up years ago the media is not also being fair either but they seldom are in GM's case. I expect in 6 months this will be largely forgotten by the media and public. The cars will be repaired and the Families cases will be settled. In the end GM will have fixed their system for dealing with issues on cars and they should be the best in the industry now because of this. It was part of their culture they needed to fix and just had not gotten to it year with the new people in charge. The redeeming factor for the new GM is this was not on the new cars and for the most will be a forgotten issue. Now if this had been the Cruze or any other new in production GM car it would have been a major disaster of biblical proportions.

The reality is GM did not have the money, Time and Man Power to fix Pontiac. Just look now at the fact we are 5 years in and we are just now getting Cadillac going, the second gen of new Chevy products and just hinting at Buick revamp. I own Pontiacs and I love Pontiacs but even I can not give a logical reason to not kill them and even bring them back at this point. If Pontiac had more than one viable car I would have said different but they only had 2 real performance cars and one was at the end of it's life with sales low enough not to keep it viable with the loss of the Sky too. I do not like the government but I can not blame them for this. It was something that would have happened one way or the other. I love Lutz but he has made mistakes like not making Hummer a GMC from the start. That by the way was his claim on a mistake. Saving Pontiac just was not a good move.

They did a nice thing here. The folks over at Pennocks Fiero Forum covered this and solicited help. For the most part the Fiero community is a very tight group and we all know each other from around the country. I remember I was working at Hot August Nights in Reno and flew out from Ohio. I had a guy I never met come up to me and call me by my name. He was a guy I would trade post with from LA. He heard I was going to be there and came to meet me and have dinner. Same goes for many of the regional clubs as they are more families than clubs. Our Ohio club disbanded but we all keep in touch and still meet for dinner ever spring. We also take spins in Corvette several members own. A lot of Corvette owns have Fiero tucked away somewhere.