I was thinking today that just over a year ago, on this very board I said there was not one new GM product I had any interest in. Now, I sit here and wonder which one I want next. For all of us who complain about no F bodies, there are some great new cars down at your local dealer...

Chevrolet:
-Cobalt. I was looking at an LS Sport Coupe today at the local Chevy dealer...what a NICE looking little car. The interior is fantastic, C&D actually gave the sedan a great review this month, and its sporty without going overboard. $17,955 will get you an LS coupe with the sport package (16" alloys, spoiler, white faced gagues, leather wheel and ****, fog lamps etc.), Pioneer stereo, moonroof, and all the standard power goodies. A solid deal. The only things left out are leather, an AT and XM. If this '04 Mustang GT doesn't work out for my fiance (can you say $17,000 brand new, loaded? ), one of these will be in the driveway by Fall.

-'06 Monte SS. Hehehehe...this might be my next car, as I said in another post. 300hp is perfect for a car that size, MPG should be solid with the DoD, they fixed the style, dressed up the interior and left it FWD. Yes, I said it...FWD. Some of us actually WANT FWD coupes and were pissed when GM cancelled the GP coupe. guion, if you're reading this I can hear you grumbling now All of you who are also grumbling, remember that just because people drove RWD in snow for years and didn't die a fiery death does NOT mean those of us who make snow driving a routine want to be forced back to RWD again. There IS a difference.

-'06 Impala SS. This car looks classy, and I think its worthy of the SS name, FWD or no. 4 doors make it a no go for me, but its a great car nonetheless. Not a 300 stand out, but I hope it continues to sell well and whip the Charger and the 500.

Pontiac:
-G6. Go drive one before you criticize. C&D was just flat too nasty on this one. The nice thing about the GT is that while the 10/10ths handling may not be up to a Mazda 6, go drive a G6 and a 6 back to back under normal driving and see which one rides/accelerates/feels better. I've done it...I think the G6 is flat better. And the coupe is coming out soon....AND the GTP will have 240hp...AND a stick...and the GXP is around the corner. This car may have had a slow start, but it will take off.

-Grand Prix GXP. The only 4 door I'd buy. If they price it near a Comp G, whats not to love about 300hp, 18s, cross-drilled brake rotors, Bilsteins and some attitude? The interior is still not that great IMO, but what a ride...

-GTO. Yes, it was out a year ago. But the '05 has so much more appeal to it, its unreal. Sales are up 75% for a reason, and its not just dealers waking up.

-Solstice. This thing is going to be hot. Period.

-Torrent. This and the Equinox are great little rides. I'd consider one but I'm not even 25. For house projects I can borrow my dad's TrailBlazer

I can't afford a Caddy, don't want a Buick and Saturn is in never-never land until the Aura shows up. But with Chevy and Pontiac, what a difference a year makes.

To the whiners out there, GM is making better cars than ever before. Go drive one. Enjoy

 

I saw a GTP G6 at the local car show and really liked it. Odd because I don't like the G6 GT.

Don't care for the Grand Prix but the GXP is cool (V8 you know)

Coblats rock! I could see one in my driveway too. Need a econmical daliy driver cause 400 CID and a carb really sucks down the gas.

Torrent is a disapointment, IMO--it has the wrong engine.

And the 06 Impala I like. Looks like they only went half way with the Monte.

Still--Gm has to do better. The base engine in the new Lucerne is a joke, H3 is underpowered, 3400 has to dropped already (3800 too) and where are the 6 speed automatics that Ford already has? Tough marketplace these days....

 

I tend to agree with pretty much everything you said. I agree the Equinox and Torrent should have more than 185hp (I'm more mad its a Chinese engine, though). However, compared to the other cute utes, the 0-60 and MPG is spot on the others and better than many. Granted, better than all the others would be nice. I think the 3.9 is slated for '07?

As much as I love the 3800, unless they revised it again its time has come and gone. Granted, when you drive a 3800 car it does not feel underpowered, at all actually. But the marketplace demands more than 200hp in a GP sized car. I wonder why the '06 Impala gets the 211hp and 240hp pushrod V6s and yet the Lacrosse and GP stick with the old 3800? Odd...but I agree, the 3400 and 3800 need to take a hike. I'd love to see the 3800 stick around and be revised with a 250hp N/A version, but it looks like the 3900 is taking over.

Not sure how you could like the G6 GTP and not the GT...other than the wheels, steering and the engine, they're the same car more or less. If you've seen a GTP pn the outside, you've seen a GT too.

As for the H3, I forget which magazine featured it but they really liked it. I think the 0-60 for the 5 speed was quite reasonable, too. The I5 is not a bad engine at all...it does more than you'd think it does. And with the MPG benefits Hummer sorely needs, I can understand the choice. With the Colorado, how many other 4x4s do you know that with a 5 speed and reg cab are EPA rated 19/23? If the Colorado SS gets an LS2 or something like that, I'm sure the H3 would get it too...

 

well it must have been the 18" rims on the GTP that made me like it over the GT. They say rims make the car...

185hp might be good enough for the Equinox but it is really pushing the envelope for cute-utes. Its the largest and heaviest so it shuold have more power.

I'll wait for road test on the H3. I like the looks and should be decent off road. True Hummer does need a better, more socailly conscious product but the H3 will tip the scale at over 4700lbs--alot heavier the a Coloardo is--so mpg and performance will take a hit. They need to out the Duramax in the H2.

 

Fords 6spd autos are outsoursed, and not made by Ford.
The GM-Ford 6spds should be here soon.

 

I will agree that there are many new cars out there that might not drive people insane to get one, but are very nice and perfect for the market place.

I will agree that GM could do a lot better with some things, and how they approach them.

1- Buick Luceren's 3.8 is WEAK!! It needs to be the 3.6 making 245hp, and the Northstart should be 285. 6spd should also be in this car, as well as in the LaCrosse.
2- Torrent should have AWD only and 3.6 or 3.9 engine. Something to really get at thoes X3 buyers. If rumors are true, the 3.9 will find its way under the hoods of many cars by MY07.
3- GM needs to know how to launch a car correct. G6 is fine, but its nothing more then a Pontiac'ed Malibu Maxx. No engine difference, no trans difference, and no suspension or steering difference. Retune the G6's electric steering around the Lutzring, and make it more active please!! They should have launched the G6 with the 2.4, 3.9 and 3.6.

This could all be traced back to someone in middle managment holding back funding or progression of one of more programs and second guessing everything.

I think GM has a great line up, but they dont have a icon car. The GTO didnt do that, the Corvette is nice but hasnt done much, and there isnt much else out there that has gotten people talking.
The 300 and Mustang are doing great and are two huge cars for each of there respective companies. GM seems to have done it opposite and have a bunch of nice cars with no icon while Ford and DCX have icons, but the rest of the line up are 10-30 year old cars.