Dsuupr

As I was reading the 2007 JD Power Report for long term dependibility, it made me think. If consumer reports shows a low marking for toyota vehicles now (model specific) then JD Power will show a MUCH bigger issue later. As I see it, JD Power is closer to realistic reporting as they are not subscriber based, unlike cr which has a loyal toyota fan base. If that fan base is not used then the problems with the 3 vehicles will show 10 fold. This could easily knock lexus out of the top marking. Not only that; it could knock toyota as a whole out of the top. Hmm . . . Now add to the fact that in the past few years quality issues and recalls have been a trend at toyota then . . . With GM & Ford having little on the recall side (newer products) and good rankings in cr (newer products), I could see both of them over taking toyota in the JD Power reports. This could be the game changer.

Congrats! Dos; 1. Paint the floor / seal the floor or get outdoor carpeting. This will prevent any oil accidents from screwing up the ground. It also makes it look MUCH nicer 2. Paint the walls BEFORE you put things together. This will help your posters of "cars" stand out. 3. Buy totes for house & wife stuff. Ones you can put on shelves. This give you more ground room. 4. Spend the money on sturdy / tall shelves. No need to take up valuable car space with house stuff. 5. Use a tennis ball tied to a string as a stopping notification for when your wife puts her car in the garage. Nothing like having her car scratched up, or your garage screwed up because she didn't know were to stop. 6. If you put metal sided cars in the garage, make sure the drivers door opens until the first notch on each car. This will preven garage door dings. If the door or car is too big then only put one car in the garage. Nothing like having screwed up side panels because your wife was in a hurry. 7. Put tape down to determe were the car should be in the garage. My garage has lineup tape that fit both our Suburban (used to have) and the HHR. 8. Have all tools in a lockable cabinet. Kids, even if they are not yours, have a habit of getting tools and never returning them. They like the new bright shiny ones the best. Donts 1. Paint the walls dark colors. This makes it hard to do projects in the garage because all of the color takes out the valuable light. 2. Allow your wife to be the final say on how you design your garage. This isn't home decorating 101. This is a garage. YOUR ROOM! Possibly the only room you will have final say on. 3. Allow your children access into your garage with your cars in it. Atleast make sure their bikes are not on the side of the garage that your car is. 4. Use floor stops for determining where your car will park. Your wife and kids WILL move them. 5. Allow any family member but you to put the cars away the first couple of times (assuming 2 cars in the garage). You want to make sure they fit PRIOR to someone screwing a car up. 6. Open the garage door and walk away when the neighbor kids are out playing. They WILL enter your garage, use your tools, etc. 7. Allow your family to put just anything in the garage. Without some moderation of what is put in it, you may eventually loose it to junk. I'm sure I have more, but this is atleast a start.

I have a way to gets tickets this year, but no $$ and time to go. UGH!!

There are some good ideas in that. Doing a small car like the HHR / Cobalt like a 1957 Chevy might appeal to a very large crowd. It is also something that no one else has done. Imagine all of the baby boomers that would jump on it.

As more and more people get the point of Onstar, GM might find people picking GM cars because of it. Why give the others the advantage.

I think 20% is still too much. They should keep it around 10% or less. The old Malibu can make up for the loss in #s.

Does this mean OnStar won't be too far behind there as well?

Even with this system the camry would lock the occupants in the car and not let them out in the early 90s. As the person would pull the handle the power system would force the lock back down. At times the lock system would not even let you unlock the car manually.

For the saftey of children, when the door is locked the door should not open.

1. Recalls, engine sludge and transmission issues 2. Not driving something that is so common you can't find your car in the parking lot. 3. Onstar, or lack thereof 4. Old lady fluffy suspension on the camry, too much noise on the accord 5. Bad dealer experience 6. Expensive timing belt (as mentioned above) 7. Bland styling for both 8. No road side service or standard 100k warranty 9. No longer the "tops" in reliability (check out JD Powers for details), or even in cr 10. Expensive hybrid options, and expensive in all but base form

I always counter back the story of Roach I and II. How many "foreign" cars do our police & taxi cab companies buy? Try taking a toyota, honda or nissan 100k as a Police car, then 270k as a taxi, then 20k of me doing anything I can to get the car to die. Original engine, transmission, seats, etc. I can guarantee you that NO new toyota, honda or nissan could even take 20k with the abuse I gave both Roachs. For those that don't know, I; 1. Used 1 gallon of water for every 10 gallons of gas 2. Drove up curbs at over 35 mph (almost every time I drove it) 3. Took down rock heaps by running into them 4. Threw the car in reverse at high way speeds 5. Rallied the car on back dirt roads, jumping it more than once 6. Hit poles and other obstacles on purpose 7. Would not change the oil until it was dark black 8. Walked on it, jumped on it (often jumped on the trunk to show the strength of the car) 9. Disconnected the spark plug wires to see what it would drive like with a few cylinders down for a week 10. Took it off roading to the point that the frame was hitting ground (very hard I might add) 11. Couldn't drive it without flooring it All this on a weekly / monthly basis. The car never got a break, yet it NEVER broke down.

My wife and I have always kept full coverage on our cars and it's paid off more than once. You could be throwing away $6000 if something happens.

I'm glad GM will get a chance to get the interior to be as hot as the exterior.

Even on base forms it's a beautiful car.

Where did you see stuff about a wagon version? My Mother went to Australia this past year and while there fell in love with the Holden wagons.

Why do the Republicans even try this time? Our next president will be a Democrat. Yes - I am a registered Republican. No I did not vote for Bush.

Bond - Speed Great song for driving too fast.

I think that is a great idea. If done right, maybe it can make enough money to pay mods and those doing the work (they deserve it).

These spreads aren't as bad as the 2007 and earlier ones. Given the extra power and size of the Cobalt vs the versa & civic it compares well. I'm not sure how the corolla gets those figures (wimpy engine I guess). Check out the scion line from toyota for comparison.

I find the honda website to be confusing and poorly laid out. The Dodge site is well laid out though.

My HHR has been getting 35 mpg+ for the past couple of tanks.

The new gas mileage figures for the 2.2 liter 4cyl in the Cobalt is spot on with 95% of the foreign small cars. It gets better or near the same gas mileage as any scion, versa, civic . . . Funny, when they start to use real life figures GM cars shine. Something us fans of GM have been saying for a long time!

www.chevrolet.com Looks alot like the old one, but flows better.

I like the idea of an "old" fashion radio. It makes it easier to replace later. Though I do agree the integrated one in the CTS looks MUCH better, I prefer the option of replacement when the car gets older.

I wonder how much of a hit the G6 would have been had GM got the interior right.