hyperv6

You are both right. They are more than a Chrysler Minivan but they are still pretty much just the next level of advancement. It is a vehicle that appeals to most women and more men than a Minivan. For a useful thing I find our very versatile and able to do things most cars and wagons could never do but with out the MPG penalty or price of a full size SUV. It is a compromise vehicle. As much as I like ours I like it being the wife's daily driver as I would not want to drive it daily. I like more handling and performance than it offers. I would not own a HHR if it were not for the SS package. It is the closest thing to a American Mini or GTI. Love it or hate it the CUV is the dream car of the market and GM has a good selection that is making a hell of a lot of money. Just look at the numbers for the aging Nox and Terrain as it is still selling well with a new one not far off. The key also to the CUV is often they go for more money than equal sized cars and the profit add up like trucks. As for the Family wagon it has gone the way of the dinosaur. Automakers love to sell them but time after time most fail outside of Europe and Australia. The coupe and wagon have suffered from the public wanting cars that are more practical vs. styling. It may owe a lot to the fact that women have influence on 55% of all new auto sales today. They look at things practically not how cool or fun they are unless it is a convertible. Men buy with passion women buy with logic. Men are how cool is this or fun when a women is will this do all the things I need to do in my life. Putting car seats in the back of a CUV are much easier than a coupe or wagon. Again the market has changed like it or not. Hell it is to the point the number of young males wanting a drivers license has dropped. To me that is insane as we could not wait till we got outs. Today youth are much different than most of us here were. This is why you see 40 year old men looking at Hot Wheels while the kids are looking at video games.

I have a few customers over in Europe that love the SUV's from GM but like stated they can be a pain to get around in over in some towns and villages. People here just love the idea of sitting higher and the feel of a truck. Even though my Terrain feels like a truck and looks like a truck it is nothing but a tall wagon. Same for the HHR. I think what really kills the wagon here is the low roof height. I think people learned with minivans the taller roods make for more cargo room and easier use for getting in and out. Cars like the Magnum and CTS are cool but they are very limited compare to the SUV and even many CUV's. People think more practical vs. styling anymore. Also factor in that in the past in cars like my 63 Galaxie I could carry a sheet of plywood in the trunk. Today most cars can not carry anything much unless it fits the small opening of the trunk. Like I have said for a long time the markets have shifted and buyers have different wants and needs.

I have never seen a GM car you can not disable these I. Read the owners manual and it should be covered. If I can adjust the settings in my 08 Chevys and my 2012 GMC the Buick should be no different. there are options on how to set them in several ways.

Coupes are all about style for the most part. If they become too practical then they just become a 2 door sedan. I like the CTS coupe. I hear few say it is ugly. If anything I hear more positive things from people who are not what you would call Cadillac people.

I can believe the 7% take rate on the wagons. I had not seen one for near 6 months till last weekend and I saw two non V models. GM would be foolish to go this one again before they enter Europe again. As for the Coupe the ATS would be the best place to start. But I think it is a good shot at seeing a CTS coupe later on. They right now from what I saw are holding a 25% share of CTS sales and that is pretty good these days for a coupe. I think that this could not be ignored. Better a CTS coupe vs. an expensive 3rd failed attempt at a 2 seater again. They could easily move more coupes and a possible 4 seat convertible much easier. I would love to see a large coupe done on the LTS before the CTS. I loved the photos of the coupe GM passes around a little while ago of a coupe. It could compete much better with the Bentley and they would have more room to so more with the lower volume at its price point.

We already know they will have some coupes and more likely a convertible for the US market in the future. They can translate to the Euro market when the time is right. I love sports cars but that is last on the list of needs at Cadillac right now. When the time is right then pull the trigger. Besides it will give them time to let people forget about the last two botched attempts. I already pointed out the Audi is ok. The small cars are all shared with VW. The new Benz may or may not sell. Time will tell The price will pick up on those who just want the Benz image here but in Europe how will it play with the home crowd. As for Lincoln, Acura and Infiniti they all have little in common with the others. If anything they are all good targets for Buick once they get their new product.

You can plead all this as you like but GM is not going to go head to head in each and every segment against each and ever car they offer in Europe. Only fool would try to take that on at one time. GM will work to secure a footing in the sedan segment and build from there. Cadillac can not and will not be all things to all people in Europe but they can build a relationship with the public and build from there. BMW and Audi all started here with only a few models in a couple segments and did not try to challenge Cadillac or anyone else head to head in ever segment. Right now the market is down in the dirt over there. Selling cars is difficult for even the home teams. With many buyers not buying and down sizing the market is prime for a well priced ATS to land and help lure buyer to take a chance on the. GM can under cut the prices of the others and offer as much or more car. You will not win them all over but there will be many willing to give them a try just as many here are moving to Hyundai here for the same reasons. Like I stated GM is not going to go and become number one next year or even in ten years. The key it so establish a line of profitable cars and rebuild a reputation that will enable you to build more expensive cars and challenge in the other segments as the market allows. Right now Benz and BMW are in a panic because they know they will need to enter the small car segment. They also know they will have to enter the FWD segment too. Here is an area that Cadillac can more than challenge but even beat them with their technology and engineer of these cars for years. Audi as VW to fall back on but Benz and BMW are pretty much on their own accept for some borrowing from Mini. The way the market is there now will be a shadow of what it will be in 10-12 years. The new segments and challenges will be great for two companies that are now struggling in their home markets now. The Green movement will only get larger over there and things will change more and more as the public lets the liberal Environmental parties get their ways. Once that ground is given up it will be difficult to reclaim the ground back. the congestion tax in London is only the beginning. Cadillac just needs to work smarter and not harder. Pick and choose their segments as they go and build on the reputation with quality and service. It matters little who sells the most cars there but it does matter makes the most money per unit. While you sit here worried about how many gears the Germans are more worried on how the will sell FWD after years of bashing it.

8 Speed is coming soon. A form of Hybrid is coming ETA? Cadillac will have a Diesel for China and Europe Coupe Possible convertible smarter move than a 2 seat sports car. These are more important for So Cal vs. Munich. I expect a wagon for Europe but in a ATS more than a CTS. Could be three door? No need for a 4 door coupe at this time. It is more a styling/marketing gimmick than a real coupe. LTS is coming Sports cars are nice but they are just frosting on the cake, Cadillac needs to get the cake right first. New Escalde is coming All new SRX is coming V series is coming but the SRX will remain AWD/FWD. Again no sports car till they get everything else right. The Malibu is paid for as they had expected to do a refresh soon as it was an old design Slow sales just reinforced it. Buick Is well on the way already. Cadillac is doing well with the 3 cars they have and the SUV mix they have coming. But like all things this will take some more time. GM knew going in from the Chapter 11 it would take them 10 years to get to where they would like to be and then expand from there. With a drunk recovery is one day at a time. With an automaker in this bad of a stew it is one model year at a time. Build the core business up with the sedans and SUV's. Establish profits make the division secure then go for volume and then expand from there.

This is just the beginning. GM still has a long way to go to meet the 2025 standards. Good to see this money coming home.

This was a long shot at best. The only thing that has kept Tesla alive is Elon's deep pockets in hopes of a big pay off at some point. I expect Tesla to be sold to another auto maker at some point. Anyone who needs or wants an established electric car can buy one and Elon will get a big return on the dollar. Maybe my print will be worth something on E bay in 20 years.

Oh there will be more from the 90's on but it is too early to tell. Most of the cars done by the GM performance group like the Trailblazer SS and my HHR SS are cars a cut above the regular production cars in not only engine but suspension tuning. I could make a long list of prospects but it is early. Generally it all comes to supply and demand and while some may be cool cars if there is a large supply and not as much demand the prices will be ok but not big money. Look at cool cars like the Corvair and Fiero where they are very special cars and have a good sized following. Even with a good following demand vs supply is a killer on value. In the case of the Fiero in the short time it was with us they built nearly 350,000 units. Even with 1/3 being V6 is not much help on value. I can still buy a low or zero mile model someone stored away for less than $20K fully loaded. Now if I stick a Ferrari body on it and a SBC I can get the $20K after spending $25K LOL. The fact is out side some of the GM performance cars there are few of the 500 or less built cars out there and if there are they are many are stored away so finding a low mile model is not hard to do if you really want one. Most rare and valuable cars just happen and are not created. No one knew when the 250 GTO was built in such low numbers that demand would ever grow to what it has become.

The new SRX will better fit Europe with the massive weight loss. Cadillac has a Diesel coming as well as they have indicated that they are looking as even smaller cars and hatches not necessarly meant for the US market. Cadillac has dropped clues that they are working on much more than we even have a clue. Just look at the reaction to the CTS as until they showed it few really had a clue what to expect and many were wrong on what they predicted. No it is not going to be a cake walk but they need to be global. They will do fine in the NA market and China and only really need to be profitable player in Europe. Just look at how many years Audi was just a low volume car in the US market and finally has worked their way up. They will never be number one here but they are making money and enjoy good sales. Lets face it years ago their rep for rust and unintended acceleration was horrid but they have turned it around and are doing fine here. This is not a game where you have to be #1 everywhere. Cadillac just needs to try to be number one here and make money elsewhere. The spoils will come with time.

This is about profits not volume. GM can make it there at lower volumes but they need to be smart and sell the cars in the right markets at the right prices. They do need to grow the volumes but they will never need to resort to the dumping of gutted models over there as they will never match the shear volumes of Benz as they do not need to. Cadillac last month out sold Audi here but odds are Audi made more profit. The one who wins makes more money not cars. Reputation can be lost in one sordid night but can take years to build. Cadillac needs to build it's rep back one model year at a time. Once proven to be back on track you can win back peoples trust. This is not a one year we are back deal.

They have two models and a third with the Omega car. I also think there is a limited market for Limo style XTS and a limited number of Escalades. I ship tons of parts to Europe for GM SUV's as there is a small core group there that love them. Merging Cadillac into a GM dealer with the present Chevy and maybe Opel and Vauxhall may help support a stronger dealer network vs. them all going it alone. Lets face it even Opel could use some help now with new and different product since they are struggling in Europe themselves. I will wait till I know more on the other new products like the SRX before I will decide if they are good for Europe. I suspect the SRX will be a surprising change over the present one and It just may fit in to Europe well too. GM and Cadillac will not be #1 soon and nor do they have to be. They just need to build a strong profitable arm there and keep working on it. Anyone who thinks they will be or expect to be number one there in 10 years is a fool. The fact is you have got to have skin in the game. If you do enter a market you can work to build it up but if you never enter the market you will never gain any share. No one said it would be easy and a fast market climb but it is damn impossible if you do not enter the market. The key here again is just to have a profitable operation and worry about volume later. The key for GM is to work smarter not just harder.

An Alpha car to replace the LaCrosse or the Regal? I expect the Lacrosse. I expect the Regal to remain FWD or if it does go RWD it may be on the sub Alpha hinted for Chevy. Either way the Alpha will be a V6 and 4 while the Regal will remain a 4 cylinder. I wish they had not used the name Grand National as a hint as it will not be that kind of a car. Buick is not going to be a traditional Muscle car and a name like that will hurt it in both camps. GXP could be used as it is non descript enough. That is just my hunch as there is so little news on these.

Given Cadillac's lack of investment and commitment to Europe, I hope to see the new CTS next time I go to the US (or, if I'm lucky, maybe on one of my trips to Sweden). With GM's track record, it would be interesting to have a thread for people to post their plan on how GM should bring their product line to Europe. I think people outside of the box might actually have a better chance on selling the luxury line (cadillac) and mid lux line (Buick) to Europe. Buick is here as Opel: I expect that the core products for those two will be exactly the same in the next iterations. The trick for Opel to bridge the gap to VW (the brand, not the group) pricing is for Opel to continue to offer near-flawless product like the Astra and Insignia for the next 2 or 3 prodcut cycles and beyond. That helps Chevrolet also. Cadillac needs time and dedication; it needs a proper dealer network (I think that pairing Cadillac with existing Chevrolet and Opel dealers could be interesting as long as the showroom floors are separate - Cadillac needs exclusive showrooms); and while all that is being put in motion Cadillac needs diesels for its existing lineup (a 4-cyl and a 6-cyl) and just as important it needs a car in the A8/7-Series/S-Class segment destined not to sell or be the most profitable of flagships, but to make a bold statement: kind of like it being the Escalade of sedans. I think the Ciel is the perfect basis for that flagship car, as the Ciel cues in the CTS worked out quite well. As for Europe what GM needed to do is have products that were competitive with what was available there in their eyes. Also they needed a crack in the market and with the economy there being down the price of a Cadlillac may be just enough to get people to give them a try, More car for the money. I never understood why GM did not form dealers as a GM dealer there and sell all the models under one roof. I am sure there are reasons they have avoided this but until the volume is there the support of many brands would give these dealers strength. In Maui there is one GM dealer and it has for years sold ever make and model of GM. It is a strong dealer and with the low volume of each has thrived. We also need to expect that Cadillac in Europe is not going to be a over night success. It will take time, patients and careful marketing to grow the brand there. Having the right product is a good start but earning trust is the key. People will buy imports there but you have to earn their trust and give them a good reason to buy. The Asian makes have made inroads so Cadillac can too but they just need to be smart.

CD player? Why don't you ask for a Cosset player too. LOL! CD's are on the fast track out and while many even myself still have them everything is going blue tooth and will play from you phone or MP3 player. Even Chevy did away with the multi disc in 09 as I have the last year of the 6 disc. Even then I have my discs burned with MP3 files to nearly 800 songs in my player. To be honest I am loving the blue tooth and Pandora in the new GMC. Hell I even stream the audio from my Dish Network sling device through my phone and Intellilink and I can listen to anything on my satellite TV. Why? Because from a purist stand point it is blasphemy. Some are having a hard time adjusting to the new decade. They will really hate the next ten years.

Not sure on the G8 with the second coming of the SS. On the other two they will be players if you can get parts. That will be the real issue on many of the 80's cars as the plastics and electronics give up and few will be reproduced. My side glass in my Fiero has some fine scratches and the OE glass in next to impossible to find for the doors. I found someone that had LOF reproduce the glass in the original molds and I was lucky to get them when I did as they are nearly sold out after a month. I show the cars so the small scratched from the fail GM pad were an issue for me. Nearly every Fiero has these scratches and generally all the used glass is trash even on low mileage cars. The rear window Is almost gone from supplies and taking a used one out in one piece is difficult. I expect Camaro and Mustangs to see a lot of repo parts and some Monte SS but many others will struggle. Just talk to a guy restoring a SVO Mustang and see how difficult it is.

The GM photos make the car look fine but like many GM cars they do not give the full impact or impression. I think many who love the car now will love it even more when they see it.

The New the car is coming and it will address a larger Luxury car a RWD performance sedan. The is a lot more going on than they are telling you. The Refresh on the Lacrosse is a very short term deal. I would expect we may see something in the next two years coming to market for 2016-17. GM's priority is Cadillac and once they get most of their line in place they will work on Buick. Even GM does not have the money or the staff to do both correctly at one time. Also with each Cadillac model moving up in price it will make more room for Buick so it is not stepping on Chevys or Cadillac toes. Right now Buick is stepping on their own toes because they getting squeezed by the out going CTS.

There may still be some jewels out there but often they are overlooked till years later. Many COPO cars were not worth a dime for years as they were either used up or made poor street cars. The Superbird was discounted by dealers to get rid of them a year or so after they were dumped on dealers because back then people made fun of the looks. Also factor in how many people hid these cars away back then. If 10% were kept in prime condition or original condition you would be lucky when today 90% or more are left stock and in the wrapper. Today everyone wants the next Cobra or Ferrari 250 GTO and years ago you could not give them away. Hell in the 70's people pulled Hemi engines and big blocks and tossed them out as they did not want to pay the money for gas if they could get it in 73. The key to a high valued car is often surprise. Often supply and demand is key and often the high value comes when the supply is very low because no one saved the cars. Today it will be hard to predict some future prized cars. One I will watch is the HHR SS panel. They were built in the hundreds. With the styling and the fact most are being used up few will be left in good condition. It is one I suspect may surprise in the future. The Solstice Turbo Coupe too as there are few and I have seen few put away by collectors.

I just saw a photo that really put this car into perspective. You will be surprise how low and sleek the car will appeal. The GM and Show photos do not represent it well.

You should read up on Bill Mitchell if you have not. He is very interesting and learned from Harley Earl that if you steal ideas steal them from the best. Many of GMs best styling elements were taken from the best in nature and even other auto makers in Europe. Harley never hide the fact he took some of his best ideas form some of the worlds greatest cars. Bill also did the same. I love the story on the Black and Gold TA and the screaming Chicken. Mitchell hated the bird until John Schinella painted the black and gold of Mitchell well loved Norton John Player Triumph motorcycle. After he saw it in this trim he approved the bird. Sad truth is few will be barn finds. Too many people buy these cars today and store them away and send them to auction later on. What made the original collector cars like an original Z/28 or ZL1 so valuable is they were expensive, most were used up as race cars and most were horrible street cars and were not meant for daily driving. Few bought them and those who did destroyed them. Today only people with money buy them and too many just store them away so it is never hard to find a low mileage clean original. Todays collectables for the future are often the ones no one wants today or one that did get used up. GMC Syclones and Grand Nationals in original condition with low miles are difficult to find. A Turbo GTA pace car will see higher values in time as it is a pace car and also the only 3rd gen turbo. Even a 86-87 2+2 may find a better value in the future as there are so few and not many saved them.

You should read up on Bill Mitchell if you have not. He is very interesting and learned from Harley Earl that if you steal ideas steal them from the best. Many of GMs best styling elements were taken from the best in nature and even other auto makers in Europe. Harley never hide the fact he took some of his best ideas form some of the worlds greatest cars. Bill also did the same. I love the story on the Black and Gold TA and the screaming Chicken. Mitchell hated the bird until John Schinella painted the black and gold of Mitchell well loved Norton John Player Triumph motorcycle. After he saw it in this trim he approved the bird.

Sorry hyper, the fifth-gen isn't quite the shameless riff on the '69 Camaro you're making it out to be. There are an extremely limited handful of design cues that reference those early Camaros, the rest simply do not translate back to it. It's a design that's inspired by those early cars; it doesn't aspire to be one itself. That's the difference here and it's what makes the car overall farily non-retro versus other designs like the new Beetle and -- even though I adore it -- the Challenger. This photo probaby says it best. Sure, it's the 2006 concept version, but it isn't that much different from the production car, as we both know. I can only spot three major cues that reference the old car on the fifth-gen: the way the beltline and the leading edge of the front fender interface with one another, the shape of the "hips" in the rear quarter panel, and the line that bisects the middle of the car. I would include the daylight opening here, but it's actually very different from the original car. In fact, even the three cues that visually link the new Camaro to the old one are all somehow subtly different from the original. Granted, they all are significant in giving the car a similar feel to the old one, but nothing was directly lifted from the original. That same line of thinking will probably continue with the upcoming car. It'll probably reference the old car in the roofline, like you said, and possibly the daylight opening and profile lines of the car, but it won't look exactly the same by any means. While there isn't a lot of info out there on the sixth-generation Camaro, it isn't all that hard to fill in the blanks. Camaro: An American Icon is probably one of the best books out there that documents the design process of the second-generation Camaro. It's one of the reasons why I bought a copy of it. The second-generation Camaro was inspired by various Ferraris -- in particular, the 250 SWB (in fact, the two have a hell of a lot in common) -- as well as the Jaguar E-Type. According to Pete Estes on page 44 of the book, "We wanted it to last like a Ferrari. There is no reason to change cars so often if you do the job right." I'd say they did the job right because the second-gen lasted for 11 frigging years. That's ancient even by standards back then and today, and even though the car was so old by the time it was finished paying its dues on the market, it never had a bad sales year. Sorry hyper, the fifth-gen isn't quite the shameless riff on the '69 Camaro you're making it out to be. There are an extremely limited handful of design cues that reference those early Camaros, the rest simply do not translate back to it. It's a design that's inspired by those early cars; it doesn't aspire to be one itself. That's the difference here and it's what makes the car overall farily non-retro versus other designs like the new Beetle and -- even though I adore it -- the Challenger. This photo probaby says it best. Sure, it's the 2006 concept version, but it isn't that much different from the production car, as we both know. I can only spot three major cues that reference the old car on the fifth-gen: the way the beltline and the leading edge of the front fender interface with one another, the shape of the "hips" in the rear quarter panel, and the line that bisects the middle of the car. I would include the daylight opening here, but it's actually very different from the original car. In fact, even the three cues that visually link the new Camaro to the old one are all somehow subtly different from the original. Granted, they all are significant in giving the car a similar feel to the old one, but nothing was directly lifted from the original. That same line of thinking will probably continue with the upcoming car. It'll probably reference the old car in the roofline, like you said, and possibly the daylight opening and profile lines of the car, but it won't look exactly the same by any means. While there isn't a lot of info out there on the sixth-generation Camaro, it isn't all that hard to fill in the blanks. Camaro: An American Icon is probably one of the best books out there that documents the design process of the second-generation Camaro. It's one of the reasons why I bought a copy of it. The second-generation Camaro was inspired by various Ferraris -- in particular, the 250 SWB (in fact, the two have a hell of a lot in common) -- as well as the Jaguar E-Type. According to Pete Estes on page 44 of the book, "We wanted it to last like a Ferrari. There is no reason to change cars so often if you do the job right." I'd say they did the job right because the second-gen lasted for 11 frigging years. That's ancient even by standards back then and today, and even though the car was so old by the time it was finished paying its dues on the market, it never had a bad sales year. Sorry styling is subjective and while you see the glass half full I see it half empty. You can dance all around it as much as you like the in the eyes of the public this car is a modern retro take off of a 69 Camaro. Even GM did not hide the fact they wanted the car to be considered as a modern version of the 69 or they would not have taken this photo of them together at the tech center. Or should they have pulled a 82 Camaro out of the collection since it looks so much like an 1982? I will not say you are wrong but I can tell you one thing Slice it and dice all you like the image of the car was based on the 69. Just ask anyone what past Camaro it looks like. I would never mistake it for a 70 split bumper heritage. LOL! I look for them to move a little farther away from using a specific year as an image but it will have tell tale cues that will scream Camaro from several different Gens. The new tail lights alone scream 66 Impala with a late 2nd gen and 3rd gen wrap to them. The nose is showing more of the new Chevy face and shares more with the new Impala. I think we will see a more original car but you will not see them parking a specific year next to it for comparison. In the end 50% will love it 50 % will hate it and in the end 80% of the haters will get over it in 6 months. The first one up will be the Mustang people. I think it will be very painful at Ford for a while as the retro theme was there much longer and their owners are not as open minded to new and fresh styling. They have boxed their stylist into a corner for much too long. With out new fresh styling there will never be new classics just old rehashed ideas. The C7 is a good example of a image of a Vette but in a fresh new way and not afraid to do some new things to advance the styling. I would hate to be a 911 owner as there is a new highly advanced car under those old looking duds.