Blake Noble

Interesting you should bring up Fiat's wacky American dealer network. Here in Kentucky, the two nearest Fiat dealerships to me are in Florence, a town 12 miles south of Cincinnati, and Louisville. Both are around 100 miles away from me. I understand Louisville because its one of Kentucky's largest cities, but Florence? There's a Fiat dealership in Cincinnati proper, so why can't folks in Florence drive a mere 12 miles up the road to buy and service their 500s? I also don't see, you know, tons of people in Florence driving 500s, either. Lexington is Kentucky's other large metropolitan area besides Louisville and I think a Fiat showroom there would attract more buyers and general interest than one in Florence, considering one of the largest colleges in the state is there.

I wouldn't give the A7 that much credit. The Impala has had the six-window glasshouse since 2000 or 1994, depending on how you look at it.

I dunno. Call it a hunch but I think there will be a version of the new Impala that'll get about 36 mpg highway. I'm not just basing that off of Reuss' statement above, either. It isn't like the Impala is related to the LaCrosse with eAssist or anything ...

G. Noble Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 10th, 2012 Yesterday evening, we reported on a few statements GM North American President Mark Reuss made to Australia’s GoAuto at this month’s New York Auto Show. Reuss briefly discussed with GoAuto concerns about the Zeta platform’s viability and what could be in store for the Australian Holden Commodore sedan. As it turns out though, GoAuto wasn’t the only auto-centric Aussie establishment itching to get a crack at Reuss. Australian car magazine Drive spoke to Reuss shortly after he introduced the new 2014 Chevrolet Impala large sedan at the Big Apple show. During the course of their conversation, Reuss hinted to Drive about the Commodore’s return to the US market as a new Chevrolet sports sedan that would also spawn a NASCAR version that would replace the current stock car based around the tepid outgoing Impala. The possibility of a double-edged large sedan attack from Chevrolet is certainly interesting then, given that buyers aren’t buying as many big cars as they used to these days. However, Reuss’ response, when asked if he thought big cars had a future around the world, was “absolutely.” “You’ve got technology inside these cars that give you close to 36, 37 miles per gallon on it. So it’s no longer a big fuel economy badness,” he said. “We don’t see fuel spikes happening right now, either. It’s a much more gradual move, which is much more palatable because people can adjust to the way they live to it.” He then continued: “So you’ve got those two dynamics and you’ve got the efficiency and the technology coming it to displace it and so it’s fueling demand to get a car that’s at a better operating cost and I think that’s only going to continue.” Reuss added that more sensible running costs will secure the future of large sedans. It seems he may be right when you consider that there are plenty of big cars these days that get decent fuel economy. While it’s unknown what figures the new Impala will achieve, its rivals — the Ford Taurus and Dodge Charger — all boast fuel economy numbers hovering near or at the low 30s on the highway. It’s reasonable to expect the next-generation of large sedans will boast numbers even better than that. “It’s a very naïve discussion to talk about big cars and small cars, it’s what kind of car do you want to get. The operating costs are going to be very good on these things as you go over time.” As for the Commodore’s return to America since it first came here as the Pontiac G8? Some insiders suggest the Commodore-cum-Chevy-cum-stock car is a done deal and will be here in 2013. It bears repeating that Chevrolet has confirmed a new model is coming to NASCAR next year that isn’t based on any current model or nameplate. Reuss said that he wants the race car to be in sync with the road going version — much like what Ford has done with the Fusion and what Dodge has done with the Charger — a statement that may point to a new V8, rear-drive model. So then it seems Zeta isn’t going anywhere and, after years of butting heads and gnashing teeth here on Cheers and Gears about the issue, cars of its ilk might be here to stay. Enthusiasts rejoice; it’ll be raining cars for a while yet. Source: Drive View full article

I would hope so. I'm hoping Land Rover brings an affordable, fluffless, serious, and capable model back to the US. The Jeep Wrangler needs the competition so that it'll stay sharp. Also, you guys have no clue how hard it was for me to mention the Hilux and not make smart remarks about its relationship to terrorists in this article.

Wait a second. I've seen a similar color of paint on another Porsche GTS before ...

The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive If you missed it, well, there it is. Bob Lutz is 80, not fond of Republican GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, is very fond of the Chevy Volt, and can kick your ass at push-ups, especially if your name is Stephen Cobert.

G. Noble Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 10th, 2012 Recently, Nissan design boss Shiro Nakamura talked with Australian car magazine Drive and dropped some rather unexpected and very interesting bits of news. Nakamura revealed that Nissan was considering downsizing its sports cars, and that may include a revival of a sub-370Z model. He also revealed that, for the first time in its history, the next Nissan Z may not have a higher displacement motor than the outgoing one. “I much prefer smaller sports cars,” he said. “It is the time to look at [smaller engines]. With 370Z, we still don’t know if the next-generation will have a smaller or larger engine.” Curiously, that could make things confusing for Nissan’s marketing department. Throughout the Z-Car’s history, the three-digit number in a particular model’s name signaled how large its engine was — the 240Z had a 2.4 liter inline-6, the 300ZX had a 3.0 liter V6, the 370Z has a 3.7 liter V6, and so on. Nissan could stay faithful to the naming scheme — Nakamura joked to Drive about a 200Z — or abandon the current approach and choose numbers based on the car’s performance like many European car makers. Besides the possibility of a smaller engine, Nakamura said reducing the weight of the next Z car is a priority and all other future Nissan sports cars will be lightweight. Other than the news he dropped on the next Nissan Z, Nakamura hinted that Nissan may be looking at the return of the Silvia, which is better known here in the States as the 240SX. Drive says that Nakamura was coy in his reponse, and the time it took him to respond to their questions about a new Silvia suggested to them something was going on over at Nissan. “I cannot say,” he eventually said, although he admitted beforehand he was a big fan of the idea. “A light, sport coupe is a nice concept, I like it.” Nissan, in addition to the 370Z, also has the GT-R. Could Nissan support three separate sports cars: a new 240SX to rival the Subaru BR-Z and Scion FR-S, the next Nissan Z, and the GT-R? According to Nakamura, yes. “If there is a market, we will do it,” Nakamura said. Source: Drive View full article

G. Noble Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 10th, 2012 The next-generation Land Rover Defender has some pretty big shoes to fill, according to Autocar. Besides the fact it has to meet or exceed the renowned off-road capabilities of the current model, Land Rover is targeting the sales figures of the insuperable Toyota Hilux pickup which moved 549,000 units globally last year. According to Land Rover’s global brand director John Edwards who spoke to Autocar recently, when the new Defender arrives in 2015, it could very be the brand’s best selling model. In comparison, the current Defender only managed to move 20,000 units and that pales in comparison to the Hilux’s 500,000-plus figures. Land Rover isn’t expecting to see those sales numbers over night, though, and Edwards says the company is instead looking at the new model as a “20-year plan with global potential.” Edwards also adds that he would like to see Land Rover become “a global maker, not a UK maker selling globally” which probably signals that the Defender would be built in locations outside of England to achieve those targeted numbers. Besides taking aim at the Hilux’s sales numbers, Land Rover is also taking steps to ensure the new Defender will be affordable to buy, cheap to maintain, and durable just like the old one. “We’re talking to sub-Saharan African buyers about cost of ownership and ease of maintenance,” Edwards said. “That it’s functional, durable and affordable are central to our thoughts. The engineers and designers are really getting engaged.” Although Land Rover hasn’t confirmed anything, some claim the Defender will be returning to the United States after a 15 year absence when the model was discontinued in 1997 because it didn’t meet federal safety requirements. After all, Land Rover did roll out the DC100 concept said to preview the new Defender at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show and, when it did, John Edwards kept talking about the new model having to appeal to everyone, including Californian surfer dudes. If Land Rover is serious about bringing a low-cost, no-frills, tough off-roader here, I say bring it on. Source: AutoCar View full article

G. Noble Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 9th, 2012 Ann Arbor, Michigan’s monthly automotive publication, Car and Driver, recently broke news that Lamborghini has filed a few documents to secure the rights to the name “Deimos”. Lamborghini has had a track record of not wasting the names it trademarks, so this has led to speculation over what will wear the name. The god Deimos, in ancient Greek mythology, was the personification of terror and dread. Given Lamborghini’s infatuation with, well, rather evil-looking styling these days, I think the name of an ancient god known to scare the living hell out of people is rather fitting. However, it is rather interesting to note that the name Deimos has no connection to Lamborghini’s tradition of naming their cars after things that have to do with bulls or bullfighting whatsoever. It’s widely known that Lambo is planning an SUV concept for the upcoming Beijing Auto Show and that the replacement for the aging Gallardo supercar is just around the corner. Both vehicles need a name, so it isn’t at all out of the question to see the Deimos moniker on either one of them. Source: Car and Driver View full article

G. Noble Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 9th, 2012 Despite its limited application as the basis for the Australian Holden Commodore sedan and Chevrolet Camaro coupe, GM North American President Mark Reuss says the rear-wheel drive Zeta platform is still a relevant global architecture for cars. Speaking to Australia’s GoAuto at this month’s New York Auto Show, the former Holden boss defended what has been called an “orphaned” platform, saying that Zeta would continue as long as sales in Australia would support it and exports remained healthy, and that it currently still figures in GM’s global strategy. “It’s still a global rear-wheel drive architecture, so we leverage it on Camaro, we do lots of things,” Reuss said. “I mean, you guys (Holden) still export things. There’s all that.” He then continued: “I’m not sure that changes unless the market tells us to change it. If the market tells us to change it, we’ll change it.” While it’s good news that it seems Zeta won’t be going anywhere any time short-term, Reuss also claimed he couldn’t make any long-term predictions about its future. “I don’t know because the volume comes out of Australia,” he said. “And if the [Australian] economy says that we’re going to keep making it, we’ll keep making it.” During GM’s perilous restructuring efforts a few years ago, the company assigned what it called a “homeroom” status to certain branches of itself — for example, GM Europe (aka Opel AG) would be the homeroom for small to medium front-wheel drive car platforms, mainly handling their development. Although GM Holden was assigned as the homeroom for rear-wheel drive platforms and cars, the only Zeta platform spin-off has been the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro, whose version of the Commodore architecture is known as Zeta II. Because Zeta has only birthed two different versions of itself focused solely on two different markets, some folks are quick to say it isn’t a true global automotive architecture. Some of those people will also point out other factors which work against Zeta. For example, the Camaro’s sales numbers suggests its more of a “niche” player and, overall, it’s a lower volume platform. There’s also the curiosity of GM North America developing GM’s newest global rear-drive platform dubbed “Alpha” and used beneath Cadillac’s new BMW 3-Series competitor, the ATS. Reuss had something to say about most of that. He was quick to bring up that Camaros were sold all over the world and that he thought GM was “kicking ass with it.” He maintained that it doesn’t matter that Zeta doesn’t have the sales volumes of Delta II small car platform or the medium car-sized Epsilon II. “No, but so what? I don’t care as long as we’ve already paid for it, it’s all done,” he said. Mark Reuss is currently championing the return of the Commodore to the U.S. as a rear-drive Chevrolet sports sedan. GM has confirmed that some sort of new top-dog Chevrolet is coming and that it will woo millions of Budweiser-swillin’, lawn chair-sittin’, salad-hatin’ NASCAR fans at racetracks next year. What remains to be seen, however, is if it will in fact be related to the Commodore or the new ATS, since some industry analysts claim that, on the contrary, Zeta no longer fits into GM’s plans for big rear-drive cars and a upsized version of Alpha will succeed it. Source: GoAuto View full article

But those people are the ones that go 'HURR DURR TEH ALL WHEEL DRURRVE IS NOT RURR WURR DRURRVE BIURRSED." They're known to be a bit contradictory at times.

Yes, yes, and yes to this! I'm also a bit relieved I'm not the only guy on here who listens to Kyuss.

Honestly, I don't see anything on the new Viper that jumps out at me and screams "Italian" other than the paint, maybe. I guess if I squint really hard at the grille my thoughts might eventually turn to the grille out of a Ferrari 458, but like Swordfish said, it's an all-American Viper end to end and that's a very good thing. You must have a sad, miserable life if you can't find better use of of your time. No I Just Have Good Taste - I can't say much else here that hasn't already been said, but I do have one question: What on Earth do you consider to be a car in good taste?

I think the desire to see all-wheel drive as an option on this car stems solely from a group of enthusiasts who believe Chevrolet will never build another rear-drive sedan again and thought all-wheel drive would be an acceptable compromise.

G. Noble Editor/Reporter CheersandGears.com April 7th, 2012 Without a doubt, the 2014 Chevrolet Impala probably turned out be one of the more pleasant surprises of the recent New York Auto Show. In a mighty effort to shed itself of the current model’s dowdy image as a car that you wouldn’t want to drive even if you rented it, the new car is certainly lightyears ahead of the outgoing model inside and out. It’s also millions of millennia ahead of the outgoing car with its option list too, which almost seems Xeroxed from some snooty banker’s big Mercedes. There is one option that, unlike its competitors from Ford and Chrysler as well as a banker’s Mercedes, won’t be appearing on the spec sheets, however — all-wheel drive. GM-centric website GMInsideNews.com spoke to Chevrolet representatives at the New York Auto Show about the new Impala and outright asked if the car would have all-wheel drive optional. After all, many curious minds have wondered aloud about it since the wraps were pulled off the big Chevy and both of its mechanical cousins at Buick and Cadillac offer it. The answer was no since Chevrolet believes full-sized all-wheel drive sedans only capture a small sliver of buyers in the segment. Source: GM Inside News via Autoblog View full article

I'm voting Jeers just because of the price. Otherwise, I love it.

Ummm ... uhhh ... I'm just going to cut to a Conway Twitty clip here ... Anyway, I poked around on Google a bit and devised that, basically, any GM car or truck with a column shifter had that multifunction stalk as far back as the 2000 Impala and GMT-800 trucks. It was also used in the early Lambda crossovers. vonVee: The stalks are pretty much the same, it's just that GM either put a rear-wiper function or an empty plastic cap in place of the cruse control slider and end button. I'd also say the wiring modules are a little different too.

That's interesting. I always thought the N-Body cars — Alero, Grand Am, and Malibu — all had two separate stalks; one stalk for the wipers on the right and one stalk for the turn signals on the left.