Posted: 6/9/2005 6:00:12 AM EDT
| General Motors makes the mafia look like a bunch of pussies. |
Same with the Impala or Monte Carlo. |
The Malibu was just a plian jane Chevelle |
Car has a striking similiarity in looks to the Subaru line of cars.... |
Read the most current issue of Motor Trend. MT interviewed 3 guys at GM and asked about the future of new RWD peformance vehicles. MT said the 3 REFUSED to talk about that, instead saying, "we think you can make exciting FWD vehicles." Are you kidding me? They're completely missing the boat on this trend, but refuse to admit. How many flippin' FWD V6 sedans does GM need? |
Huh - that mag is probably in the lunch area - I'll have to go look for it. That's nonsense though. They could (if they wanted to) turn their 3.8L engine 90 degrees, come up with a transmission, and create a RWD car that is no heavier than the current vehicle. RWD passenger cars are by no means dead, and they do happen to raise my eyebrows. Electronics courtesy of Continentel Teves and others will help northern drivers avoid unexpected donuts during the winter if that is what they are worried about. |
It's the MT w/ the new Impala SS  and Trailblazer SS on the cover. I agree w/ you a 100%. BMW, Chrysler, Ford, MB are all making RWD vehicles and they somehow seem to sell.
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GM can pull itself out of the ditch by doing this tomorrow if they just would. 1. put a big diesel motor in a half ton truck. Give it an auto tranny with good acceleration and good mileage and they will sell millions of them. Face it most trucks are just driven on the highway and never pull anything. 2. Build a small to medium size car that got 30+ mpg and has good pickup and sells for under 10K. |
That is an impossibility in this day and age. Not even the Chinese could import a Midsize car into the USA for that price. Blame the G for all the safety and emissions regulations. |
Mine too. In the last several years he worked there he consistantly steared my away from their products. He drove Ford trucks and BMW motorcycles the last 15 years or so he worked there. |
True, but too bad you can't get a dealer to service them or even sell parts. I wasted about six hours on the phone earlier this week looking for a dealer that will sell the center caps on the wheels. The boss's son lost one when he had new tires installed. I called all 26(!) Chevy dealers that are within 50 miles. Not a one was interested in selling the part since it was for a Corvette. I ended-up calling a dealer in Montana that advertises on corvetteforum.com. They're sending one by mail. I still haven't found the source for a small plastic part that covers the temperature sensor. The local Chevy dealer wants $600 for it. I'm really getting tired of dealing with idiotic and rude Chevy dealers. I have never had trouble getting a Toyota dealer to order parts.z |
| Well, GM has screwed themselves many times. For example , they only recently thought of putting the big 5.3 liter V8 into the Monte Carlo and Impala when they could have done it five years ago. Also, they don't have a plan to replace the existing W-body cars...they don't have a rwd/awd platform in development for these vehicles, and the only such platform that exists is Sigma, which is very expensive, and is being used only by cadillac right now. Also, they have ceded the ponycar market to ford by not creating a very fast car for about 25K. The GTO is a great car, but it is too expensive for most people in the target market. GM's pricing scheme also has to change...they rely on incentives to sell their cars late in the model year. GM also does not update its cars regularily. I have a 2003 Impala...pretty good car, but it's been exactly the same since 2000, and is only getting a refresh for 2005. GM can pull itself out of this hole, but it is going to take a lot of effort, and realization from the management that they simply can't run GM like they did in the '60s without excellent products. |