General Motors Fans

imidazol97

berri said:

Now if they can just finally fix Stabilitrak so buyers make a repeat purchase after owning one.

This is the GM Fans forum. You're looking for the "I hate GM forums." LOL

berri

Sorry, rereading what I wrote does sound negative. What I was really trying to elude to was that GM has some very nice products, but people are still leery which I think keeps their numbers down despite these much nicer products.

stever

Consumer Reports' best of the best vehicles (usatoday.com)

Sports sedan: Buick Regal, booting the BMW 328i that won the past two years

Large car: Chevrolet Impala. New category this year.

imidazol97

berri said:

Sorry, rereading what I wrote does sound negative. What I was really trying to elude to was that GM has some very nice products, but people are still leery which I think keeps their numbers down despite these much nicer products.

I'm sorry. I overreacted.

The stabilitrack on my 4 GM's has all worked fine. I do know that several Tahoe/Suburban owners have gotten messages.

imidazol97

stever said:

Consumer Reports' best of the best vehicles (usatoday.com)

Sports sedan: Buick Regal, booting the BMW 328i that won the past two years

Large car: Chevrolet Impala. New category this year.

That's good to see. I test drove the Regal and it was too tight for me. I'm not the
target demographic, by far. There are lots of them around my area
owned and driven by folks as replacements for larger GM vehicles,
I'm sure. I.e., they go in to look at Buicks, see the Lacrosse, and decide on
the Regal.

Glad to see the Impala on the list. I think it deserves it.

tlong

I drove a more low-end BMW 328 as a rental a few months ago and was very much NOT impressed. Great if you want a badge.

imidazol97

Malibu will have a hybrid for 2016 with the redesign.



"That means owners will be able to get around on just electricity, which is critical since competing vehicles provide the same ability. Chevy’s getting bold, saying that the combined EPA fuel economy should be above 45 mpg, which would outclass every single competitor, excluding the Honda Accord Hybrid and its 47 mpg rating.

"The truly big news is that the Malibu isn’t going to be the only GM vehicle that will use a powertrain similar to the Volt’s, flying in the face of critics who have characterized the Volt as a collasal failure. One of the upcoming variants will be a plug-in hybrid version of the Cadillac CT6, with many more planned but not announced or even hinted at quite yet."

Read more: http://www.insidercarnews.com/chevy-using-volt-tech-on-the-2016-malibu/#ixzz3VnA6oV7q

imidazol97

'16 Camaro shown.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/cars/2015/05/16/chevrolet-camaro-new-2016-gm-mustang/27444527/

roadburner

I don't hate it, but I'm underwhelmed- I wish that the stylists had obtained their inspiration from the gorgeous Gen 2 Camaro.

fintail

The rear quarter window reminds me of a 70-71 Torino fastback.

Cool to see the war with Mustang is alive and well.

slorenzen

rear visibility looks TERRIBLE in this car.

stever

People complained about the sight lines in the most recent Camaro, but I sure enjoyed tooling around SoCal in the rental one I had.

imidazol97

Midsizers selling well.

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/gm-s-mid-size-truck-gamble-pays-off-209913/

imidazol97

GM hoping UAW will be reasonable to keep costs low so GM can continue improving
their autos and keep reinvesting.

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2015/07/13/uaw-talks-issues/30075761/

"Top officials from the UAW and General Motors were all smiles Monday as they kicked off contract talks and promised to work together even as sharp differences percolate just beneath the surface.

"This year, the union wants to win wage increases for autoworkers after years of rising sales and profits among U.S. automakers while the manufacturers will want to hold down labor costs so they can remain competitive with Asian and German rivals.

berri

Hope the UAW keeps an adult view, rather than a short focused child like one. Big gains against the D3 will likely just lead to more plant transfers to Mexico in quicker order. You start further increasing the costs versus the transplants in the South and ultimately D3 become truck manufacturers ceding cars to other companies, which will mean fewer plants in union areas. Union demands helped the commuter airlines get more flights from the majors decades past, as well as pushing the trunk carriers into restructured bankruptcies. There is a limit and unfortunately the unions often go too far and cut their nose off. Today's victory becomes tomorrow's layoff notices.

tlong

imidazol97 said:

GM hoping UAW will be reasonable....

I wish GM good luck on that. I wonder if there is really a chance that the union will realize they almost killed off their parent companies? They've not been too bright in the past.

Mr_Shiftright

Gee you'd think a car company could make enough profit to give Americans good jobs. Even Henry Ford, possibly the world's most famous skinflinty miserly boss, knew enough to pay his employees well above the industry standard wage. Of course, you had to dance to Henry's tune to get it, that's true. His resistance to unions only helped to ruin Ford for decades, until the boom-boom 50s.

stever

Hey, I'm a shareholder. Why should I have to pay you lazy bums to build cars when Mexicans will do it cheaper? (Fox)

fintail

Race to the bottom, FOX would support it.

With the collapsing Loonie (and single payer healthcare), it'll be interesting to see if Canada gains again.

imidazol97

fintail said:

Race to the bottom, FOX would support it. With the collapsing Loonie (and single payer healthcare), it'll be interesting to see if Canada gains again.

dieselone

Well, good news/bad news regarding my uncle's 2014 Corvette. The bad news is it developed electrical issues and a back fire when shifting. Dealer and GM really didn't have an answer, so it was bought back. The replacement is a brand new 2015 with a a 7 speed manual.

Wow, got to drive it last week. All I can say is shame on anyone who buys this car with the auto! Plus the new model is not a Z51 and I can't believe I'm saying this, but unless I was going to track the car, I wouldn't get it. The non Z-51 seems nicer on the street, and the not having the competition tires means it doesn't pick up every pebble you drive across and dart with every grove on the road.

Man, if I owned it, I'd wear the gear linkage out. It just begs to be shifted through the gears. I took my wife for a ride and she doesn't cuss, but when I eased through first gear, shifted to second and put my foot to the floor, she screamed "holy @#$%%" and was grinning ear to ear.

One thing I really don't like and I noticed it on the '14 too. At low rpm <1500, it sounds like it has an exhaust leak around the manifolds. I'm guessing it has something to do with DI and DOD. But it has a sound I'd expect from a 30 year old Buick with a 350, not a $70K car competing with the worlds best. Anyway, I guess the stereo can take care of that issue.

Other than that, it's amazing what GM has done with this car. While I don't consider myself a vette person, I have been thinking about making some room in the garage;)

fezo

I'll never manage a Vette but they are impressive as all get out. The factory tour is fantastic.

berri

Speaking of Vettes, I was passed by a brown Cadillac XLR (I think that was the name at least. Getting too much like Lincoln names). It looked much like a Corvette, although that color on a sports coupe seemed a bit unusual. It had 4 tailpipes out the middle rear fender. When the driver stomped on it, it really moved. But when my wife heard the exhaust and engine roar she asked me in all seriousness whether it had a loudspeaker making the different sounding noise. I just said they don't make those old muscle car V8's from the old days anymore. For all we know, the EPA or something has mandated toned down muscle car noise

Michaell

berri said:

Speaking of Vettes, I was passed by a brown Cadillac XLR (I think that was the name at least. Getting too much like Lincoln names). It looked much like a Corvette, although that color on a sports coupe seemed a bit unusual. It had 4 tailpipes out the middle rear fender. When the driver stomped on it, it really moved. But when my wife heard the exhaust and engine roar she asked me in all seriousness whether it had a loudspeaker making the different sounding noise. I just said they don't make those old muscle car V8's from the old days anymore. For all we know, the EPA or something has mandated toned down muscle car noise

XLR was built on the same assembly line as the Corvette.

dieselone

Also, the the XLR doesn't have the same engine. The new Vette with the sport exhaust sounds fantastic! Particularly when the baffles open. Hair raising!

Mr_Shiftright

Looks like Cadillac is doing what they should have done ten years ago:

Cadillac To Become Autonomous Marque

I hope this includes its own, stand-alone, upscale dealership network.

tlong

Mr_Shiftright said:

Looks like Cadillac is doing what they should have done ten years ago:

Cadillac To Become Autonomous Marque

I hope this includes its own, stand-alone, upscale dealership network.

I just think the brand name is too tainted by history. It's hard to overcome. Audi did it, perhaps Caddy can still pull it out.

robr2

tlong said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Looks like Cadillac is doing what they should have done ten years ago:

Cadillac To Become Autonomous Marque

I hope this includes its own, stand-alone, upscale dealership network.

I just think the brand name is too tainted by history. It's hard to overcome. Audi did it, perhaps Caddy can still pull it out.

And just like Audi, it's going to take 10+ years to turnaround. In 1985, Audi sales in the US peaked at 74K units. In 1986 came unintended acceleration and sales started to drop. In 1989, they changed the model names in an attempt to change consumer perception. That didn't work. In 1991, sales were down to 12K and stayed there for 3 years. In 1995, the A4 was introduced which was the first real step in upgrading the Audi reputation. It took Audi until 2002 (oldest date I can find) to get back to the 1985 sales peak number. It was a 16 year project.

Cadillac is going to take 10+ years under a consistent plan and a consistent leader to turn around.

Mr_Shiftright

Audi also had a rich racing tradition and became a styling leader in the 1990s. Cadillac has neither of those things going for it right now. My time line for a Cadillac resurgence centers around my prediction, made long ago, that Cadillac will not rise from the ashes until every single person who owned one in the 1980s has passed away. Dead men tell no tales.

So by my calculations, Cadillacs day in the sun might be near.

robr2

IMHO, the racing heritage had very little to do with Audi's renaissance. It had to do with offering vehicles that were well priced, well featured, inoffensively styled, and advertised properly to their target market which is more concerned with the badge. It wasn't until 2010 or so that they went with the big grille that ventured a bit.

Cadillac is a styling leader albeit one with an avant garde edge. It's styling is polarizing and not for everyone. I happen to like it. Audi styling in the 90's was nothing different than offered by the competition at that time - rounded edges, flush rectangular lamps, et al which is where it still is today save the big grille.

stever

Audi raced?

Mr_Shiftright

Very illustrious racing history for Audi. Next to Porsche, the most wins of any manufacturer at LeMans. The Audi V16 Streamliners hit top speeds of 248 mph in the year 1937!

I think Audi's dominance of LeMans in the early 2000s indirectly gave a push to their sales. It certainly couldn't hurt.

Cadillac has interesting styling but is not a styling "leader". Whereas practically everyone has copied the Audi "roof arc" found on the ground-breaking Audi TT, or the basic shape of BMW sedans, nobody has copied Cadillac very much.

robr2

Mr_Shiftright said:

Very illustrious racing history for Audi. Next to Porsche, the most wins of any manufacturer at LeMans. The Audi V16 Streamliners hit top speeds of 248 mph in the year 1937!

I think Audi's dominance of LeMans in the early 2000s indirectly gave a push to their sales. It certainly couldn't hurt.

And I respectfully disagree. The VAST majority of Audi buyers or the general populaion - 95%+ - barely know that a automobile race occurs at LeMans, never mind that Audi won there.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm sure you're right that some Audi buyers don't have a clue, but a) Audi thinks it matters because they tout it in their advertising and b) it gives them bragging rights and credibility.

How much all that translates into sales, I can't say. But they're spending the money for some reason.

But let's disregard the racing---the styling is important, and Audi has excelled in that department.

Cadillac styling is bolder than Audis, and for that same reason, it's mostly love-hate with buyers.

tlong

robr2 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Very illustrious racing history for Audi. Next to Porsche, the most wins of any manufacturer at LeMans. The Audi V16 Streamliners hit top speeds of 248 mph in the year 1937!

I think Audi's dominance of LeMans in the early 2000s indirectly gave a push to their sales. It certainly couldn't hurt.

And I respectfully disagree. The VAST majority of Audi buyers or the general populaion - 95%+ - barely know that a automobile race occurs at LeMans, never mind that Audi won there.

The other thing Audi brought out in the A4 was a premium sporty small car with a beautiful upscale interior. The few GMs that I've driven recently have in general had pretty nice interiors, although I don't know how Caddy fares on that. But I agree that their styling is probably a bit too edgy to become a Lexus or MB or BMW level player. I think they should incrementally soften the edginess while retaining some of the "Art and Science" flavor - which I believe is like 10-15 years old now.

berri

I wonder if Cadillac will stay with it's Teutonic emphasis down the road? It appears the new Lincoln models coming out are reverting to traditional American luxury. European cars are nice, but many US roads really aren't suited to get the most out of them. But then, Lincoln kind of seems more a competitor to Buick.

elias

D1, that is awesome about the corvette. the 'manifold leak' noise you hear under 1500 rpm might be 'intentional' - especially if the dual-mode "NPP" exhaust is locked in the open position. Also from driving CTS-V, I know what you mean about the Z51 - "too much for the street", but what fun on a closed-course. I might have bought a Vagon it if there had been a CTS-V ECO , just like the CTS-V, but without the blower.
(stickshift and normally aspirated V8 has always been plenty for the street, since i first took delivery of my first new car: a 1985 stickshift 4-bbl Z28 around October 4, 1984. The new-car loan rate was 18% so I paid $18000 over time, for a $12000 car.)

imidazol97

Cadillac test car for automated driving in VA Tech/VA project

http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/36242058-story

stever

"Mary Barra, chief executive of General Motors Co. , has proved she can steer through turbulence. About a month into her tenure as CEO, a costly and embarrassing safety crisis that has been linked to 124 deaths forced an overhaul of GM’s culture. Soon after, activist investors presented a list of demands and Ms. Barra negotiated a truce.

I want diverse views, diverse backgrounds, diverse experiences. Increasingly we have that in every part of the company. People want to say, “Oh General Motors, 100-year-old company.” We don’t have 100-year-old employees."

Mary Barra’s Road Map for GM Centers on Customer Data, Connectivity (WSJ - was a free link at time of posting but may disappear)

jpp75

Mr_Shiftright said:

Looks like Cadillac is doing what they should have done ten years ago:

Cadillac To Become Autonomous Marque

I hope this includes its own, stand-alone, upscale dealership network.

I hope so too, otherwise they're just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

iluvmysephia1

rocky? rockylee? It's time for our every two or three year meet and greet on here!

stever

You just missed @rockylee about ten days ago over in the UAW discussion.

berri

Isn't Cadillac doing what Lincoln is also trying to do? Funny, but in many medium sized or smaller markets its not unusual to see BMW tied to some other brand dealership.

tlong

jpp5862 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Looks like Cadillac is doing what they should have done ten years ago:

Cadillac To Become Autonomous Marque

I hope this includes its own, stand-alone, upscale dealership network.

I hope so too, otherwise they're just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

I said it about GM in the BK, and I'll say it about Caddy. They need to change their name. The old name has little brand equity and too much baggage.

jpp75

tlong said:

jpp5862 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Looks like Cadillac is doing what they should have done ten years ago:

Cadillac To Become Autonomous Marque

I hope this includes its own, stand-alone, upscale dealership network.

I hope so too, otherwise they're just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

I said it about GM in the BK, and I'll say it about Caddy. They need to change their name. The old name has little brand equity and too much baggage.

I agree. They've shown they can build good/comparable cars, but no one WANTS a Cadillac.

andre1969

The bulk of Audi sales are the Q5, A4, and A3.

berri said:

Isn't Cadillac doing what Lincoln is also trying to do? Funny, but in many medium sized or smaller markets its not unusual to see BMW tied to some other brand dealership.

The dealership I bought my used Park Avenue from was, once upon a time, a stand-alone Cadillac dealership. But, at one point they were pushing Cadillac-GMC-Buick-Hummer-SAAB, and maybe even Pontiac and Saturn. Basically, everything EXCEPT Chevy! I might be a bit fuzzy on that though...was Saturn ever paired up with another brand, or were their showrooms always stand-alone?

Michaell

andre1969 said:

The bulk of Audi sales are the Q5, A4, and A3.

berri said:

Isn't Cadillac doing what Lincoln is also trying to do? Funny, but in many medium sized or smaller markets its not unusual to see BMW tied to some other brand dealership.

The dealership I bought my used Park Avenue from was, once upon a time, a stand-alone Cadillac dealership. But, at one point they were pushing Cadillac-GMC-Buick-Hummer-SAAB, and maybe even Pontiac and Saturn. Basically, everything EXCEPT Chevy! I might be a bit fuzzy on that though...was Saturn ever paired up with another brand, or were their showrooms always stand-alone?

I never saw a Saturn dealer paired with any other brand - and I owned 4 Saturns over the years.

berri

I think Saturn required a separate sales and maintenance facility, but those could be built adjacent to some mega dealer operations on their property.

imidazol97

andre1969 said:

Isn't Cadillac doing what Lincoln is also trying to do? Funny, but in many medium sized or smaller markets its not unusual to see BMW tied to some other brand dealership.

The dealership I bought my used Park Avenue from was, once upon a time, a stand-alone Cadillac dealership. But, at one point they were pushing Cadillac-GMC-Buick-Hummer-SAAB, and maybe even Pontiac and Saturn. Basically, everything EXCEPT Chevy! I might be a bit fuzzy on that though...was Saturn ever paired up with another brand, or were their showrooms always stand-alone?

I've never seen Saturn share a store. My departed great Buick store was Chevy, Geo, GMC, Pontiac, and Buick at one time. Lots of Chevy and GMC pickup trucks sharing the lot--it was in a farming area and a lot of people used pickups for a second car or commuter if they weren't farming. Now it's Chevy only. The GMC moved to the remaining Buick store in the area that got to keep the franchise even though they are a bad dealer, in my opinion.

imidazol97

GM building MORE diesels.



MORAINE, Ohio (WDTN) – DMAX, Ltd. announced Thursday they will invest $82 million at the Moraine facility for future Duramax diesel engine-related productivity improvements. They say this investment will create approximately 150 jobs over the next three years.

In February, a $60 million investment was announced for retooling existing equipment and purchasing new equipment.

The DMAX facility builds engines for General Motors and Isuzu vehicles including the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.

http://wdtn.com/2015/12/10/dmax-announces-150-new-jobs-82-million-investment/