thegriffon

:rotflmao:

Finally :P

I'm still waiting for the penguin to stop bouncing.

The Corolla already comes in a 5-door (and 3-door) variant (actually two different 5-door variants for different dealer channels), station wagon, 2 different mpvs, 2 different sedans and the Matrix (sort of a tall half wagon/half hatchback variant—GM's idea). The Vibe and Matrix are expected to continue with the new-generation changeover in '07.

I think you need to elaborate further Caddy XLR-V. I think I know and agree with what you are saying, but it's not very clear.

GM is set at 9.08 million this year. First quarter production increase will match Toyota worldwide, so no, Toyota won't be catching GM any time soon. Toyota's figures also include 110K of medium/large Hino truck sales globally, while GM's only includes medium trucks in NA. With their Isuzu affiliate GM's sales would be nearly 10 million next year.

VW lost $1 billion in the US last year

Latest news, GM's sales in the Asia Pacific region passed 1 million units this month. In the first 11 months of 2005, GM's sales in Asia Pacific rose 19 percent on an annual basis to 953,278 units, giving it an estimated marketshare of 5.8 percent (up from 5.2% in 2004).

Closest competitor to the Meriva in the US would be the smaller Scion xB. In basic trim you get as much or more room as a compact, lots of flexibility including massive cargo room, for not much more than a subcompact. If the base model is somewhat mouselike then the OPC version is a 180PS Speedy Gonzalez. Ariba!!

I don't know what you're looking at, but the Meriva is the largest production B-segment MPV. 5-door models Dimens. (mm in) Wheelbase   Length      Width      Height     Headroom (fr/rr)     Legroom (fr/rr)      Shoulder room (fr/rr) Chevrolet Aveo  2480  97.6  3880 152.8  1670 65.7  1495 58.9   998 39.3  955 37.6  1048 41.3  898 35.4  1362 53.6  1340 52.8 Opel Meriva     2630 103.5  4042 159.1  1694 66.7  1624 63.9  1024 40.3  989 38.9  1025 40.4  993 39.1  1378 54.3  1374 54.1 Difference      +150  +5.9  +162  +6.3   +24 +1.0  +129 +5.0   +26 +1.0  +34 +1.3   -23 -0.9  +95 +3.7   +16 +0.7   +34 +1.3 (no room here but the Aveo has better hip room in standard configuration. Meriva converts from a 5-seat to 4-seat configuration to give rear-seat passengers more shoulder room). Toyota's new Yaris-based Ractis is a blatant copy of the Meriva, but doesn't have the Opel's long wheelbase.

:lol:

The plant closings will have no effect on production volumes, only production capacity in North America. There were previously announced inceases in capacity and new plants in North America as well, such as increased capacity at Fairfax for the Aura and the new Delta Township plant for the midsize crossovers.

GM forecast first quarter global production to rise 9.25%, a rise of 13.4% outside North America. Total 2005 CY production was forecast at 9.09 million. Toyota's 2005 light vehicle production is forecast at 8.15 million. For 2006 this will rise to 8.95 million While GMNA production has fallen in recent years, and GME remains relatively flat (rebounding from a recent dip), GMLAAM has risen from 575K in 2001 to 777K in 2005, and GMAP has exploded from 256K in 2001 to 1.58 million in 2005. Chevrolet sales for the first 3/4 of 2005 rose 27% in Europe, 17.8% in LAAM, and 143% in Toyota's backyard, Asia-Pacific. Since Toyota's Group figures include Hino, it's worth noting that Isuzu is expecting production growth of 11.9% in FY 2006, not as impressive as Hino, but then the actual increase is nearly 70K units compared to Hino's 20K, for annual production of around 650K v Hino's 120 in 2006. Let's compare (as much as possible) apples to apples. Somehow I don't think Toyota is as close to catching GM as some people would have you believe.

That was GMX 002 which has been cancelled now that the US small car team reports to the Global Compact Car unit in Germany. It seems fairly clear now that the HHR will be the last car on Delta. The Global Compact Car team will probably develop an updated version of the Astra platform with elements from Epsilon. The Astra is not only built in the EU. There is the Gliwice plant in Poland which builds the Zafira and would certainly be the source of US exports, South Africa and Brazil, which builds the only sedan version as the Chevrolet Vectra. The latter with a Euro-spec interior and L850 engines would make a very credible Ion replacement until the next-gen Astra arrives.

The Meriva MPV is substantially bigger than the Aveo - more like an Aveo Maxx, with a long wheelbase (Gamm-Astra hybrid) high roofline and flexible seating. Both the updated Meriva (with a new 180 hp OPC version) and the forthcoming new Corsa would be welcome additions to the Saturn lineup. European consumers are buying more SUVs every year, despite the recalcitrance of politicians, and new models from Peugeot, Renault and Opel (all imported from Asian partners) will only increase their popularity. Europeans' traditional parochialism is rapidly decreasing, with growing numbers of consumers buying imported vehicles, whether from outside their own country or outside Europe. Chevrolet sales are growing so well in Europe GM is looking at acquiring the Daewoo Romania plant.

Epsilon comes in 2675 mm, 2700 mm, 2830 mm and 2852 mm wheelbases (at present). Width isn't a European issue, the Vectra is actually wider than the Malibu.

I agree the GTO should be the most exclusive version of the coupe, with a big hp advantage over the G6/Tempest, but why shouldn't regular versions of the sedan and coupe get a lesser V8? Something to bridge the gap between the V6 and the GTO engines, but that isn't worthy of the GTO itself.

Hush Hush :AH-HA_wink: SuperSport planned for early 09MY with new engine dubbed LS9—a supercharged small-block delivery a planned 600+ hp and 560+ lb-ft. Also revealed the C7 Z06 for the '12MY will get an new LS8, but probably less power than the current LS7. Enjoy http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/sho...?threadid=47814

Actually Turbo I meant post it on other forums to get a wider audience. The more people who see it the better. Would still like to know what fbodfather thinks of this idea (and no, I don't think the GTO is off, but this would certainly help the economics).

The hatch is still behind the segment in terms of size, but the Belta/Yaris sedan is right on the money. Price will be the main issue, great economy didn't help the Echo any. GM needs to install a smaller, more economical engine just for appearance sake, even if it doesn't sell any, but a six-speed auto may come in a few years.

That's so apt. You don't see it much in the movie with all the advertising signs and the busy commercial area, but there are actually meant to be whole apartment buildings like the Bradbury with only one occupant since everyone else has gone off-world to escape the fallout (which is why the owl, snake and most other animals are artificial).

Interior looks just like the new Camry, for $10K less. I just might be tempted but would prefer Holden renamed it Gemini instead of Barina.

The CTS and TL are competitors. The STS competes with the RL. Neither is doing very well, the STS because it's too big and cheap, the RL because it's too expensive and there's no V8 to justify the price (what were they thinking, an M35 has just as much power and doesn't pretend to be a V8 equivalent). The TSX is honda's version of the BLS—a smaller sedan because the TL is too big to compete directly with the 3-series and A4 etc. Apparently fwd is popular in the TL's segment, since it outsells the G35 and CTS.

Maybe they've been listening to Buickman. :AH-HA_wink:

The Sienna's A-pillar is no further forward than the R-Class, and the Quest has just as large wheel-arches. Note that the R-class is rwd and the others fwd, so the proximity oif the wheelarch to the door is more significant than the others. There is no longer a gulf between station wagons and MPVs, and between MPVs and crossovers. In many segments there is a continuum and where you draw the line is somewhat arbitrary. I class the R-Class as an MPV, AH-HA classes it as a station wagon. You'd be hard-pressed to rank it with the crossover SUVs however.