ShadowDog

- Say bye-bye to the GTO. - GM Canada axed the Optra sedan for 2006. It's sister car is the Suzuki Forenza in the U.S. - why did they do it? Apprently it has been outselling the "vastly superior American product" that is the Cobalt Face it, the global economy requires cross-brand sharing for the U.S. to remain competitive against the foreign makes.

LOL and you know what the funny thing is, by the numbers, the Reno performed better than all but the Fit outside of 0-100 and MPG ratings. The engine is reported as a 126 HP (+/-) DOHC four-banger, but is rated as 119 in Canada for the Chevy Optra5. The people on the board I frequent are up in arms of this kind of test, wondering how the car could possibly rate so low when the performance numbers are so good (by comparison). The sedan and hatchback are sold in many different makes all over the world. Hell, in China, it's a Buick! 1. Fit 8.7/9.6/16.7/31.1/35 2. Versa 9.4/10.1/17.0/30.7/28 3. Rio 9.9/10.5/17.3/37.0/30 4. Yaris 8.9/9.5/17.0/30.8/36 5. Accent 10.2/10.8/17.4/32.0/30 6. Caliber 9.7/10.4/17.4/30.6/28 7. Reno 8.7/9.6/16.9/33.1/28 Fuel mileage blows on these cars (Reno / Forenza / Optra5), I know for a fact since my wife's Optra5 averages 23 MPG US. Consumption on the highway is average, but is nowhere near as rated in the city. There are a couple minor quirks that could have been resolved without the Holden engine, but the ZF tranny is excellent. I like the interior and overall styling in general; and the car has been an extremely satisfying purchase. It doesn't handle extremely well; however, much of that was attributed to the soft sidewall tires. We don't drive it like we stole it anyway; and accident avoidance has been put to the test, I think it passed...I mean, I didn't harm the car when that happened. Many have replaced them with stock sizing of different makes and the handling improved dramatically. Saftey is a concern, given the Forenza's poor side-impact ratings. All things considered, it's a fine car. What makes it absolutely better than the others is reasonably subjective, IMO. Oh well, to each their own anyway.

This isn't anything new. The US is practically the last place this has affected, and by no way anywhere near as much as other parts of the world. To go back on what was said, the only reason gas plays such a huge role in how expensive it is to drive has more to do with what they drive and how much it consumes.

As mentioned, the only way to reduce the cost is to reduce the consumption. It all plays into supply-and-demand where the less is used, the less needs to be refined, costs go down. In high demand times, costs go up to help control over consumption; however, I never see how this works for gas because I'm not aware of too many people who refuse to drive somewhere just because gas went up 10 cents a liter. The only sure thing is that more money is made. That e-mail circulation will never die...even though it will never work.

Try getting that thing around a tree? Heheheh...no. I find it amusing more than anything, so I'll stick to my JD.

*Update* Restyling has been imagined and this test mule was spotted in full production guise on GM's proving grounds. Final results on performance figures are yet to be determined until the 4-cylinder rumored to appear under the hood is announced. I'd hit it baaad.

Prep for hybrid hmm? Well, I suppose that's about the only way it'll finally reach the status of gas guzzler as an improvement. Looks? Better. I agree the rear end needs to lose those fugly pod-lights.

My 95 MC Z34...R.I.P. The car I didn't know how much I loved until it was gone...gone...gone.

Trumpet...though it's been a while, 10 years? I lent it to a friend in a Funk band and got it back with a bad valve...either that or I completely forgot how to blow into a mouthpiece and make a sound. Had a 5-piece brass band in highschool. Two trumpets, a sax, and a trombone. We were the "No Name Band", performing in school functions. Our teacher was big on jazz, so we played a lot of good music in our Stage Band. "Phuck Strings!" LOL

Cell phones accidentally belong under the tire of my car. I do have a PDA (Pocket PC) that gets used quite often; however, I always suggest it's better to have them as seperate devices. The Blackberry was too cumbersome as a phone, and too small as a PDA.

Q-Car http://www.qcarcompany.com/ It's a car...a rail car! BAHAHA! Sixty8 beat me to the LADA. We must immortalize the beasts of under-maintained burden. I think Lada's rock!

??? That's your dumby-down version of the car industry? You can't simply suggest that everything can be cured purely from a sales perspective...even though it's apparent you have. When a peddler on a cart comes to town selling snake oil, people either learn what he's selling is crap, or their perception is skewed to believe that what they're buying is good for them while everyone else laughs at them for being so stupid. Welcome to the world of buying a GM. It IS that difficult. Sell a million cars for $1000 that cost $999 to build and the only thing that looks excellent is sales. Sell as many as you damn-well want and be a results-on-paper-hero. How typical is it to read your salesmanship terminology in talking only about overall gross terms. The only thing I'm interested in is the NET result. THAT requires review of the complexity in the business as a whole...something I've yet to read in your opinion on what will fix things. Your game is politics and ramblings hellbent on selling us on snake oil remedies. Please, put the gold pen down and explain just how your ideas could be implemented and carried through, given the complexity that really exists in the operational dealings that is the Union and financial legacy issues. "Sell the damn car...that's all you need to do...just sell the damn car...what's wrong with you guys...why don't you listen to me...that's all you need to do is sell th...(skip)...sell th...(skip)...sell th...(skip)...sell th...(skip)...sell th...(skip)...

Interesting tidbit. I'll hope to nod some approval at the outcome. Thanks for the heads-up.

Sluggish sales = get rid of it. That's the only equation you're likely to ever see, for good reason. I am surprised just how expensive the Vibe models are. I didn't see too much bang-for-the-buck in their design or feature offering to warrant a sticker price as high as listed. A retool seemed overdue anyhow.

From your perspective, you imply their downfall was at the hands of corruption and scandal? Enron was wasn't based on an inability to perform, it was based on the complete disregard for financial management, and lining pockets! You cannot seriously believe this is a good example to use. If GM was run like Enron, it would have been shredded apart years ago. As stated, this downturn took many years to develop, and I'm inclined to believe that the problems stated in the report are the issues at hand. While it is absolutely the responsibility of the executive management to counter against foreseen issues that would have a negative inpact on their operations, one cannot simply blanket a sole problem as the cause. As I review it, GM coasted into this mess merely by not adapting to the necessary change in order to remain competitive. I fear change to come won't be significant until the negotiations with UAW for a new collective bargaining agreement...which will likely take a long time. I might add that their current direction to focus on higher margin vehicles will help, so long as those vehicles have the design and engineering quality the public is looking for. Not everything will fall into place. This is going to take years, so you might as well pull up a chair and continue to beak about it from your perspective. Change to crawl upward will still be under development in years to come, with or without RW at the helm.

You posted, then commented that you were surprised nobody had anything to say after 44 views. I can completely appreciate you offering information on a future product; however, I wouldn't complain when the information isn't exactly earth-shattering. While it may not get a from me. At least it deserves a smile.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, I offer the question of what you would do? Here's the option being screamed from rooftops: remove upper management, or simply RW alone. Who would replace him? Would it be a person qualified to perform the activities of a CFO making the decisions based on consumer input in the development and manufacturing of a product? Is there even such a person? In my experience a Controller is the kind of person overseeing the financials of an operation; a treasurer, so-to-speak. A Manager is an operational and organizational planner, working with the numbers he's presented and acting upon them with an appropriate team of creative consultants or general input. It sounds to me like some of you want all things from one person. Getting rid of RW isn't going to solve your problems; rather, at most, it'll offer a band-aid situation to an open-heart wound while wanna-be doctors stand around and mull over the best corrective measure. Agree on your problems first, then decide corrective action. ...and some of you are Management material? God damn.

I see two trucks. If any sketchers or Photochoppers put that together from here, they'd be laughed at. Significance first, comments later.

As per the link given to me: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../603290389/1148 Common sense dictates they don't give a crap at the negotiating table. Ooo, feel the sting. Unfortunately, that's a great number of jobs, and a whole lot of money spent just to get rid of said jobs. I suppose the benefit works out to there being a re-organized labour structure that will no longer include paying someone to sit in a chair and stare at the wall while they 'claim' to offer transition support. Like I figured, it'll get worse before it gets better. While I feel for those laid off, I don't exactly worry about them if they have full pay and benefits for a few months, never mind over a year. Those folks I don't worry about at all. Those having only been employeed for a short time, well, let's hope they pick up something quick since the gravy train just got tipped over. As for the issue of the politics and scandal, I ask if more than half-a-dozen people in this world really care? Crap, did I just open the door to discussion on conspiracy theory? Can I just offer to pull the pin on that side-car and steer hard left? Please? If that continues folks, I suggest some of its participants go into politics, where everything else that nobody who really counts in this world cares about is discussed.

Unfortunately, nobody should have been able to say this came as a complete surprise...that is, unless their head was in the sand. I'm trying to be optimistic throughout all news of pending doom and gloom; however, I've also continued to review the situation (only as I know it) to conclude that it will get worse before it gets better. It will get better in the long run; however, there's still a hole to dig. This just had to happen. I would only start to worry more if factories start to reduce their employee capacity further. Reducing production is never a good sign.

More from less? To stretch more from their interior plastics, it will be even thinner now? I joke! I joke! C'mon, don't take me so seriously. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it ain't heaven, so worry not. This is a nice step toward building a solid foundation for future success.

I know I shouldn't answer this question because it wasn't directed to me; however, I'd like to point out that it may not be worth asking a person a question about design schemes that would appeal to all consumers. In his mind, all people should drive a Camry and like it. Anyone else need not remark on their preferrence because they are entirely wrong. So does that mean Camry drivers don't want to be wrong, and therefore purchase their car out of fear?

Sorry, but the Yaris scores higher than the Yugo on my list of fugly and rediculous hipster vehicles. Why not a Mini or a VW bug? Heck, a new GTI?

The look of the centre stack is interesting; however, to my taste, I don't like the bordering slabs along the side (the ones in question that seem to come off so easily); nor do I like the seemingly useless gill-pockets / holders on either side. The styling is subjective, not exactly having what I'm looking for in a car. When it comes to picking out what I'd buy if I were in the market for a new car in this category, Honda's Accord changed for the worse on the outside (based on what I appreciate), but has a nice interior; and Toyota's Camry doesn't get any praise from me. There are other alternatives to look at; and they'd likely be the Impala, Lucerne, or Sonata...but hey, that's just me. Oops, forgot to mention that there certainly are many more aspects to the car worth reviewing before making a judgement call on whether or not to explore buying one; however, if the styling alone is questionable to my taste, that's an instant scratch from my list. The only question I have now is to ask if the styling is 'safe enough' for the people typically interested in the Camry? Or are they going to buy it, yet again, just because of the perceived quality, and take what it looks like, regardless of how it's changed? It appears to me that Toyota has taken an extreme turn on their styling safety.

My wife stopped on the street for a pedestrian wanting to cross from her left (the other side of the road). As she waited for the person to cross, two cars drove past her on the passenger side and honked as if she was some stupid driver not signaling to turn and just sitting there. The pedestrian walked as far as up to the forward-passenger side and then had to wait for a stream of three more cars before someone with brains realized why my wife was actually stopped, and let the pedestrian through. My wife said they were looking at each other while waiting for a car to stop, shaking their heads in disbelief at the stupidity and impatience of people. I'm not even going to get into how stupid people are while walking in parking lots but just to say that I find it rather aggrivating to follow or approach people as they walk directly in front, or in the middle of the car lanes, blocking all traffic. Grr.