While bettering the interiors is great, its still not going to cut it for most of us. GM may be working on great things, but lets see them now!!

I mean, Toyota, Nissan, etc already has some great cars to choose from. We all know that GM has things "in progress", but lets see them actually get off of their duff and sell some of these amazing cars!

 

My Z28 was on it's last legs and it was time to get something new. I got myself a new car a month or two ago.

What did the Chevy dealership have to offer me? Cavalier? Monte Carlo?

No thanks.

I was getting scheduled maint. done on my tC, and I walked over to a nearby Chevy dealership to look around. Nothing but trucks facing the street, and the cars they had tucked away....eh.

Malibu is a good step, but the styling needs work. It just screams blech to me. I really want the thing to succeed, but I don't know anyone who LIKES how it looks. In a field with Camry, Accord, and Mazda 6, you can't compete with something like Malibu, or the god-awful Taurus for that matter. But at least Ford is in there with the Mazda 6. Malibu is getting there, but getting there isn't good enough.

Or the compact field is even worse....Corolla XRS, Scion tC, Focus, GTI, Civic...vs. Cavalier? Cobalt should be a good step, hopefully it drives as good as it looks. Whenever it actually comes out it'll be much needed.

And affordable performance? Mustang, RX-8, 350Z, WRX, EVO, vs what? The GTP? The GTO is too expensive to be classed in this field, and even if you do count it, it's just not a car that gets the public's blood boiling. I point out GTOs to my friends whenever I see them and the response is something like "That's a GTO? Oh...."

There's a black GTO at my work here. I pointed it out to my GF, because we just saw a thing on the old GTO so it was familiar to her. It was next to a blue Hyundai Tiburon GT. She goes..."the Blue one?" "no, the black one." "Oh....really? I figured it must be the blue one, because the black one doesn't look like anything."

GM needs an injection of excitement into every car they make. Look at Mazda. The 3, the 6, the RX-8, the MX-5....everything they make is fun looking, and is usually hailed as very fun to drive. Why can't we get that out of GM?

 

Why should I care about GM? They don't cater to me, I want a RWD, manual tranny car with ok power. Doesn't even have to be up to ls1 standards. But what do I get? A Cobalt? I might consider GTPs but they don't even come with manuals, so I couldn't even settle on the FWD drivetrain.

Closest thing GM I woudl look at are some Subarus, but Ford is the one peaking my interest at the moment.

 

That pretty much sums up how I feel.

 

Actualy, I LOVE my Maxx's styling. In black, its a very good looking car, and with its +100% increase in sales last month, I think there are more people that agree with me then you.
And you must be OUT OF YOUR MIND to think that the Taurus is better then the Malibu. It sells because Ford puts all the money they can, and sit it on the hood, in the trunk, in the map pockets and glove box. My dad has on 03 Taurus, and he now sees what I was trying to tell him when I wanted him to look at the Malibu Maxx. Too late, so I got one.

Cobalt is gunna be huge for Chevy. I kinda wish I waited and got a Cobalt SS in red....but oh well, I needed the room of the Maxx.
Since when is the 30k Evo "affordable" to the GTO's 32k sticker price? How about the 30k+ Sticker of teh RX-8, G35, and 350Z? Since when did they become afforable?
GTO is a BARGIN for the price. The RX8 is overrated, as is the 350Z and G35.

The GTO never got the publics blood boiling do to its "racer" good looks...it was the HUGE 389 Pontiac engine under the hood, and a factory-made hot rod that got people wanting more. The GTO WAS the ultimate sleeper... thats what made it popular. Not stripe packages, not wings, not neon yellow paint...it was about the performance, and this GTO packs that and more.
Remember, the GTO was a Tempest with chrome accents on the hood.

Outside of the Mustang....what else does Ford have that you can buy? That super-sports car, the 500? How about that killer new Focus that got all the coolness taken out of it? What does Ford have? Nada.

 

You must have misunderstood, I was noting the Taurus as one of the few cars that's much worse than the Malibu.

Ford doesn't have much in the compact arena since killing the SVT Focus. Which is why I don't own a shiny new Ford right now. The problem is, GM has to compete with everyone, not just with Ford.

 

I dunno...Malibu and the Camry are pretty tight. Camry does have it on space, but as far as ride and performance, they are pretty much spot on.
The Accord, as well as the Altima and Mazda 6 are more of what the Pontiac G6 is made for. Malibu is for the more sedate family, while the G6 is for someone wanting a bit more.

 

All 3 auto companies have been run into the ground in recent years.

Ford's Jac Nasser & company attempted to move everything upscale (some of the things they planned were simply incredible), but they financed it by skimping on customer service & and bled it by nickel & diming it out of other products till it had image disasters such as the Explorer-Firestone debacle & the V6 headgasket catastrophe.

Chrysler had an aggressive product launch schedule and vaults full of cash when Mercedes merged with them. Then, Daimler raided Chrysler's funds to finance Smart, Mercedes Benz's new products, and jawdropping bonuses to it's assembly line workers in Germany (over $20,000 per person), while freezing Chrysler's product plans, firing it's management, and decimating it's workforce.

GM hired a bunch of top management people from Proctor & Gamble and other consumer product areas that had zero to do with cars. These people, as would be expected from a group whose success has been dependent on Consumer Digest type magazines and bottom line profits, viewed cars as FWD appliences and put money where the profits were: Trucks.

Ford fired Nasser, and put someone in charge who had a personal stake in the company due to his name being on the building. Daimler, faced with Chrysler dragging the whole company down (including MB & Smart) finally got wise, and released money & product for Chrysler at a furious pace.

Meanwhile, at GM, although they are now setting up for a phenominal amount of cars (enthusiast based cars), in typical GM fashion, unless there is a federal regulation gun to their head, they are going about it at a snail's pace, or going round & round trying to get anything to market.

Chrysler already had plans and products all but ready years ago, so I can see why they are getting things to market so freaking quickly. Ford's cutting corners by using Volvo & Mazda chassis so they can throw more money on better design phenominal interiors. GM has switched into "overkill" mode (is the market really big enough for 2 or 3 Kappa Roadsters?) but is taking normal GM time getting these cars out.

 

I can see why as well. Releasing something as freaking lame as the "new" Charger took no creativity whatsoever.

 

Shall we take a vote on that? If that were true, you'd see more of them running around. In Idaho Falls, a city of 55,000, there are less than 5 of them running around, Sedan and Maxx combined. My parents just bought an Avalanche and we asked the dealer about low Malibu sales and all he could do was point to the car (Malibu) and roll his eyes.

So, I respect the fact that you like your Maxx but lets be realistic here, in the public's eye its not the prettiest girl at the ball. For the price, you can get a much more "pleasing to the eye" styled car.

 

Take a look at sales big guy. We can vote here on an "enthusiast" board, or we can look at real life.

 

To your credit, my girlfriend did say that the new Malibu looked "pretty nice" when she bought her Camry.

 

1. Shame on you. Old Z28s never die, they don't even fade away. Old Z28s get engine rebuilds, bodywork and renewed interior trim.

2. The Scion tC has an awesome sunroof, kinda like a Mercedes with a Panorama roof. I'll bet the glass roof was what sold you on the Scion.

Prediction: In 5 years a "Panorama" style glass roof will be a nearly universal option.

Kudos to Toyota for being the first to rip-off Mercedes!

 

The sunroof is pretty cool. The overall look of the car got me, as well as the fact that it's fairly powerful for a 4 cylinder. But the niceties like the MP3 player, 17" rims that actually look good and the sunroof sealed the deal.

My Z28 had fouled one or both cats when the optispark died. So I was driving around with a check engine light, and exhaust shops wouldn't touch the thing unless it was to put OEM parts in it. All the quotes hovered around $1000 just to replace the cat. O_o Plus a few other problems it was having, it just wasn't worth the money for me anymore. I've also been looking for something more fuel efficient, so I can focus more on my true moneysink, the Cougar.

 

OK...I'm getting tired of accusations.

I'll reprint something I posted to another site.....please read and consider....



(QUOTE

I am forbidden to talk about future product plans.....sorry...but that's just the way it is.

Never say never....because never is a longgggg time.

I'd ask you all to keep something in mind as you discuss the auto industry: There is never one, and only one reason for something happening (or not happening) Invariably, it is a number of things that converge to cause an event. (yeah...sounds kinda PR, no?)

One thing I've not yet seen anyone bring up on any site about GM is this: The vast number of Divisions and Brands that it has.....and the huge amount of resources needed to keep the Divisions healthy in terms of product.

If you are Ford North America, you essentially have three divisions: Ford - Lincoln - Mercury. DCX? Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep.

GM? Chevy, Pontiac, Buick (whoops, almost typed Olds!) Cadillac, Saturn, GMC truck, and Hummer.

That's a LOT of Divisions...all of which need a product portfolio to stay in business...and to make it worthwhile for a dealer to invest his/her money in a francise to get a return on their investment.


Does anyone want to venture an educated guess as to what it costs JUST to differentiate one product from another (i.e. Camaro/Firebird?) ...or the costs to market each product? ......or what a completely new vehicle line costs these days????

Now...I don't mean to make excuses, but I don't think the average person considers this very real issue.

GM is in the business to make money for its stockholders. If you have a retirement fund or are invested in mutual funds, .....or have a pension fund, you are probably invested in GM.......which means you'd better pray we do good financially!

Now...I would doubt that you'd find many people as crazy (and I DO MEAN CRAZY) about Camaros and Firebirds as I am........but as much as I love them, I would have to support the decision to re-do the Impala before I would support the decision to re-do the Camaro....why? Look at the market. (no, I don't mean look at the cars on the street in your particular town...).I mean look at the cold hard facts: Americans, for the most part love their FWD Sedans and their SUVs and their Trucks. The numbers published each month by RL Polk will bear this out....top sellers? Accord/Camry/Taurus/Cavalier/Impala/Grand Am.....and what do all these vehicles share in common? (hint: three letters...first is F...last is D....middle is W....)

And, to my knowledge, no one yet has had a loaded gun held to their head and told "you WILL buy an SUV!!!!" We have the freedom of choice. People, for the most part buy on needs...then on wants.

Now....I am NOT saying anything to break anyone's dream of a Camaro coming back. I have said...and will continue to say..."have faith."

While it is easy to criticize GM for it's decisions, I submit to you that IF you knew all of the issues surrounding the market today (and in 2010..which is what we're looking at right now..) you would understand some of the decisions made......why they were made, and perhaps have a better understanding. And you would realize that it is not run by a bunch of morons.

As to success? Look at September sales figures for Chevy....in fact, look at all of 2004.........not too shabby.

OK...viewpoint over............

Come to the Fbody Invasion at the National Corvette Museum Sept 15-17, 2005 and we'll discuss it in person!!! (QUOTE)


The Cobalt is an 18 month car.

The Solstice should NEVER have been shown when it was shown in my humble opinion.....there was a fair amount of time between the time it was shown...and the time it was actually given the green light (not the public green light...the REAL green light) so it is not a 4 year car.

I guess I'm tired of the shots being taken at GM when you haven't looked at the entire issues.

(sorry...having a bad day......no patience.....)