Holy ressurection Batman!!!

 

When I saw the Fbodfather saying how mad he was about the last camaros rolling out in the near future I knew it had to be an old thread. It was only then that I looked at the post dates.

 

...and I was trying to figure out how VE = V-car+sigma, until I noticed the date. couldnt figure out how I had missed this thread and it has gone 5 pages...regardless, good read of Guy's post from 2002.

 

definitely interesting to read this after over 4 years... as for the dates of the thread.. i caught on with guy's first post... some of the dates he posted are already past.., and he was talking about them as if it were in the future

 

yeah once I got to the bottom of post one, I had to look at the date. Fun to read old posts

 

For heaven's sake! It's 5am and I'm reading this thinking it's current news. I almost got through the first page before I looked at the posting dates. I was wondering why everyone was so surprised at the Camaro release estimate. Hmmm...I wonder how many of those folks are still here??

That post is so close to current news it's almost prophetic.

 

My goodness. Watch what you post, because 4 years later it might come back to haunt you! I'm just glad that I didn't make any of that stuff up.



I've been very close and at times right on top of GM's Zeta program, almost from it's conception. I was fortunate enough to know a few key people in the program, and was blessed with early knowledge of what was the direction the program was going, what was planned, and a basic idea of how things were going to pan out.

Unfortunately, when planning new vehicles, it tends to take a very, VERY long time. Basing everything behind the scenes at any company on some "Official Approval" is missing the boat. "Official Approval" simply means money is commited and contracts can be signed.

The biggest thing I've learned following Zeta is how much planning and coordinating goes into creating a new vehicle. The idea that somehow a car maker is a year or so from making a vehicle and still has no idea if they really are going to do it, or that by simply stopping work on a car that it's going back to "square one" is actually pretty silly. They know EXACTLY what they are doing, have plans, and are moving along.... below the surface. It can take between 8 to 10 years for a car division to turn completely around from idea to final move. There's quite a few items being posted on subjects where if one knew what went into doing certain things, and how things moved, almost certainly wouldn't make those posts.


It's not just GM.

I was privy to Chrysler's efforts in bringing back a performance coupe. I think I posted it here in 2003. Around the same time, Colletti could hardly contain himself about the engine his guys were putting together for the next Cobra, which became the virturally blast-proof 500 horse GT500 powertrain. There are vehicles that are only just now seeing the light of day. Yes, bringing a car to life takes a very long time.

There's a few things I know about what's coming over the next few years, but posting it would burn bridges I'm not about to burn, and (as always) would never convince people who have their minds set against something happening. All I'll say is that real soon you'll se the results of the Wagoner-Lutz-Welburn era. Some of you won't be a bit surprized, a few of you will be extremely stoked, and maybe a couple might end up eating crow.

I don't think anyone will get in trouble if I say that whatever happens short of an national or world economic crash, the rest of this decade (from next month to the 2011 model year, at least) is going to be hands down GM's Golden Era.




If Ford lives till 2010 (the time when things started today will get to market), it just might also have it's golden time. It's about where GM was in late winter- early spring 2005 as far as starting to face the reality that the market wants eyecatching design, great interiors, and isn't going to wait for them to get with the program.

Chrysler has almost too much product in the pipeline (and you'll see more real soon ). I think somewhere down the line, Chrysler is going to have a bear of a time keeping everything updated (especially during a downturn), and is going to have to cut back it's offering.... maybe even consolidate divisions into one brand.

 

Holy old post, gentlemen

I think its funny also that my signiature was the only one that doesn't appear to be updated in this thread I wonder what happened to the code there, but my Formula's been gone for over 4 years, as has that '95 Grand Am

FWIW, I guess age and maturity can make you see the light regarding automobiles...that new Grand Am GT I was waxing poetic about ended up being the most dissappointing vehicle I've owned yet!!

 

What a great thread! I'm glad I got the chance to read this, since I wasn't around when it was new.

 

It pains me to say this because I'm a Mopar guy, but I think you overestimate Chrysler's prospects.

Chrysler has had a lot "in the pipeline" for a few years, and we're starting to see some of it now. IMO early signs (Sebring, the little Jeeps, Caliber) have not been promising. They just aren't making great vehicles, and the sales numbers are showing it. They are just a few more cheap-*** interiors away from being reduced to a niche producer. If they blow the minivans the way they've blown Sebring and the little Jeeps they're done. The styling in recent years has been a mess and too many of the cars feel cheap and tin-can-like. GM is executing. Ford is showing signs of executing. Chrysler... is still a few steps behind. Too many steps, at a time when the level of competition is unprecedented.

I think the most likely scenario is that the mother ship spins them back off with a massive debt load and an insufficient engineering staff, and they collapse or get bought. And if they get bought, it'll be because the buyer wants Jeep and the minivans. RIP the rest, unless they upped their game a couple of years ago and we haven't seen it yet.

And remember that their sales will dive fast and hard as soon as the public thinks they might not be around much longer.