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Are there any cars at GM I think are ugly? Aztek took a different type of appreciation than what I have.
But for exterior styling:
Saturn-do not like any of them that are in production today. Vue is OK though.
Chev.-wish the Cobalt and Malibu were a bit better looking. Impala could have taken it up a notch or two but is not ugly. The Canyon/colorado need some help. That little imported chev is unattractive. The minivan could go away. the new large trucks are fantastic.
Pontiac van could go away. Like the G6 and GP and Vibe and Solstice. GTO looks nice but could be taken up a notch or two. Really like the Torrent(better than the Chevy version)
Buicks all look good to me now. They have a nice selection (whoops the van could go away).
Love all the Cadillacs but the CTS update will be much better than the current one.
Chevy Cobalt. The Honda Civic looks like a rejected design for a 1992 Saturn with an interior inspired by the Jetsons.
Pontiac G6 or BMW 325? (or VW Passat, or Lexus IS350)
Lexus IS350. I saw a show about the IS350 on the Speed Channel and it seems quite impressive. I'd stay away from the VW Passat and BMW 325 due to cost of purchase, maintenance, and questionable reliability. I wouldn't compare the Pontiac G6 to any of them. They are in totally different markets. I'd say a G6 is closer to an Altima.
Cadillac DTS or BMW 5 series?
Most definately the Cadillac DTS. The BMW 5 Series, once one of the most handsome cars on the road is now sporting grotesque Bangle-ized styling that looks like it was penned by a Nissan designer on a bad LSD trip following a nasty divorce. I don't trust BMW reliability. I can at least count on the DTS to get me to and from work.
Cadillac XRL or Mercedes SLK (or Lexus SC430)?
Most definately the Cadillac XLR. Don't care for the SLK. The Lexus SC430 is a poor imitatation of the Audi TT and the darling of aging boomers with golf clubs who think they're driving a "real" sport car.
Cadillac Escalade or BMW X5 (or Lexus RX330)?
I'd take none of these tanks, but if I had to choose, I'd take the Escalade. I'd rather look like a hip-hop gangsta wannabe than a spoiled suburban yuppie soccer Mom.
Chevy Trailblazer or Jeep Liberty?
Chevy Trailblazer. I've been in both and have driven them. My best friend had both at one time. He still has the Trailblazer. My brother looked at both the Liberty and the old Cherokee Sport when both were available. My brother is one of the remaining few SUV owners who actually take his vehicle offroad. He chose the Cherokee Sport because the old rear beam axle is actually better in most offroad situations than the Liberty's independent rear suspension.
Chevy Suburban or VW Touraeg?
Easy. The Chevy Suburban. No VWs for me! Thanx!
Chevy Corvette or Porsche Cayman S?
Can't answer this one as I have never been in or driven a Porsche Cayman S.
Pontiac GTO or Audi S4?
Pontiac GTO.
Chevy Monte Carlo or -- OK, there's nothing else this tacky
Well, I wouldn't take the Monte Carlo as it is. Throw in a V-8 and make it RWD and we'll talk. I would like it if the Monte bore some resemblance to its NASCAR cousins.
Pontiac Aztek or -- well, OK...
I don't like the Aztek either, but there are two vehicles that are far uglier - the Scion xB and the exponentially more grotesque Honda Element.
A few cars do need just a little work to be better...like the Malibu , Cobalt, and GTO especially.
I'm no fan of "Art & Science" - I fail to see any art or science in it, for one. I see they are toning it down as time passes. Now get those interiors up to snuff, and you might have something.
Nice tactful way of not calling the Aztek ugly, too... Who was the stylist or committee who allowed this modern day joke? I'd also like to know who allowed the 2000+ Monte to exist, as well. Certainly some person or group who makes way more than they are worth.
I stil do nounderstand the conservative designs for most GM products. The Aura should help change this, if they don't screw around with the design as it crosses the ocean. Saturn should have been using those german designs long ago.
I think the Element earns ugly just because it comes from a company with a group of followers who consider it so perfect and quickly gloss over Honda's many shortcomings while ranting and hooting at shortcomings of other (American) car companies. The Element should have been done better by Honda.
In raw ugly the Aztek in many color combinations earns it, but it's from GM who is trying to make a vehicle that would attract a bold set of buyers.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
the same guy who did the latest Corvette.
As far as the Monte Carlo, we need to remember that it is a big country out there and there are actually some folks who have different tastes and opinions. Can you believe they actually sold 76000 Montes in 2000? Of course Mustang sold twice that but what other 2 door coupe did better? Not many if any. Last year they sold 60K. Not much of a drop for an old body style. BUT I agree it needs to change but there are people who like it ( and it sells minimal fleet)
Funny thing is that in the kid drop off line of about 20 cars I am in every morning there are two brand new Montana vans. I talked to one mom and she liked the new styling because it looked less like a mini van. (I drive the old Montana) Sales are actually up on the Minivans slightly this year even though GM overall sales are down. But not to worry, they will all be gone in a couple years.
It is a sad commentary on GM that someone apparently in a position of authority concludes that two non-colors are all anyone can buy, and that there is no potential for anything else. You just proved my point in saying that it was a bean-counter decision.
Back in the 60s and 70s I'm sure that when 5 or 6 interior colors were offered, 1 or 2 took the majority or orders. In the 60s black seemed to be the #1 choice. But that didn't mean that GM didn't offer colors. GM tried to find color combo offerings that consumers liked and that made them want to buy the car and let them have a car that didn't look like that of their neighbors. It doesn't do that any more. There are certain paint colors that neither beige nor gray works with. So GM either fails to offer exterior colors like that, or offers them with interiors that don't work with the color. There are other colors that only one interior works with, so every silver car has a gray interior and looks like everyone else's silver car. Either way, it does little to entice consumers to want to buy the car.
Also, you failed to point out my qualifier on interior color: "tastefully executed". I have seen those last-gen blue and red Buick interiors. I hesitate to use the terms blue or red because they just seemed more like different shades of gray (in the case of blue) and I don't know what the heck the red was supposed to be... Georgia mud perhaps. But I do know that the wrinkes in the mouse-fur upholstery in those Buicks made a Daewoo look like a quality car in comparison. It was an embarassment for a car carrying the Buick badge to have such lo-buck interior fittings. In the 70s even a Chevy Biscayne had a better looking interior than the Century or the last-gen LeSabre Custom, which had one of the worst-looking interiors I have ever seen for what is not a cheap car. The seats looked as if the designers just gave up, or took what Lear or whoever is supplying interior components to GM offered from their backroom inventory. It was shamefully bad.
I believe it was either Earl or Mitchell who made the statement "People should feel like they are taking a little vacation every time they get into their car", meaning that it should be an interesting, fun, uplifting experience. These days it is like being a guest of the state at the Graybar Hotel. I currently drive an '02 Intrigue that I bought IN SPITE of the sea of gray (or "pewter", in GM-speak) interior. And every time I get into it, I think of what might have been... a good car with a great engine, and an exterior design from GM that was actually distinctive yet good-looking, crippled by a totally bland interior. Sad.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Those were all done when GM Design was under the control of the now thankfully retired Wayne Cherry, who was also the father of "Art & Science" for Cadillac. I call those designs "Cherry bombs" for obvious reasons. He wouldn't know a good design if it hit him head-on.
I believe GM Design is now headed by Ed Welburn who has in his portfolio, among other things, the Olds Intrigue, one of GMs best exterior designs in recent years. If that is a precursor of things to come then there may be hope. But recent arrivals like the Malibu and Impala make me wonder.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Sorry, I guess I was not clear on the red and blue color removal. These cars were the last ones in the industry to drop them (except the Ford Grand Vic or something like that) No one was buying them. No one liked them. Yes they may not have been good looking colors/interior execution but 5 years before that they sold reasonably well. They were not dropped easily. Every sale is important BUT NO ONE was buying them. Some dealers were ordering them and they were sitting in inventory. If red and blue or purple or green had a chance of selling manufacturers would offer them. Camry used to offer them but dropped them years ago. I am sure colors other than shades of gray/beige will be back in style some day. Just not today.
Just for kicks, here's a 1976 Pontiac paint chart. An astounding 18 color choices (there are 17 shown, but for some reason they don't show black). Now I'm not sure about all the interior choices, but I know they had at least two blues (light and dark) two greens (light and dark) white, black, "buckskin" (a light brown/tannish color), white (which was only the vinyl and had to coordinate with another color for carpeting, plastic, dash, etc), and I'm sure several different varieties of red. So even back then, they didn't always have an exact interior color to match with a given exterior color, but they did at least give you more variety.
Nowadays though, green just isn't that popular of a color, so they probably can't justify a green interior to match, so they go with the next best thing, a neutral beige/putty color. IMO gray is kind of clashy with green, although black could work.
Red really isn't a very popular color anymore either, except for that cheap washed-out orangish stuff they put on economy cars, or sporty cars. Now burgundy still pops up pretty frequently, but I think the "truer" deeper reds are pretty much gone. And FWIW, I'm guessing that the red interior has been pretty much extinct for ages...most likely replaced by burgundy, which has since gone away. My LeMans has a red interior, but IMO it's somewhat toned down and not as loud as one might imagine. It does look kinda bright in this pic, but I think that's because of the evening sun lighting it up. My '85 Silverado is a 2-tone red and white, but the interior is mostly burgundy. The only red on the inside is the exposed metal, such as the doorframes, back of the cab wall, and lower part of the dash. I had an '86 Monte Carlo that was 2-tone gray-over-silver, and had a burgundy interior. Even my '57 DeSoto, which is a 2-tone white-over-red, has an interior that's mostly colors other than red. The seating surfaces are kind of a woven/thatched mixture of black, silver, and white. The top of the dash and the rear window shelf are a subdued grayish brown that carries into the door panels and kick panels. The ceiling and the rest of the dash are white. The only red is the carpet, vinyl parts of the seats, and a part of the door panel design, and even here it's a washed-out reddish orange, which doesn't really grate the eyes.
I think someone once mentioned before in one of these forums that when leather became a common seating surface, that's when the color choices started to go away. Leather doesn't seem to take well to colors like red, blue, and green. Seems to do better with more neutral colors, like varying shades of beige/putty or grays. I dunno if they even do it in black anymore...lately I've seen leather that's close to black, but still ends up just being a dark gray.
I would like to see a return to more choice in interior colors, but I dunno if it's going to happen. I like the way some cars, like the GTO, at least give you color accents on the interior to match the outside.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
To be fair, I don't think anyone really considers Honda perfect, just the best. And those Honda followers are usually proven right. Honda has won four awards from the country's largest car magazines: two out of 3 Motor Trend's OTY contests, and two C&D Best 10 winners. what's more, two out the six North American Car & Truck of the year finalists are Hondas. What did GM win this year? Embarassingly reduced market share? Painful reduction in size and manpower? lowest stock shares in 18 yrs?
You're always gonna have the people in the midwest who buy American made cars out of patriotism but if you go to the coasts and tell someone you really like your Ford Focus you will get laughed off the road.
Can someone please name an American made car that can compete with any of these cars in overall looks, quality, reliability and performance:
Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Nissan Maxima
Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla
Nissan Altima
Lexus LS430
Lexus GS400
Toyota Tundra
Nissan Titan
Acura TL
Infiniti G35
Infiniti QX56
Lexus LX
Lexus GX
Lexus RX
Infiniti Q
Lexus IS
Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota 4runner
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Prius
Shall I go on? Toyota is also coming out with its brand new Tundra this year. They are also coming out with an FJ cruiser and the Yaris for gas mileage.
In my mind I think Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are WAY better than any American made piece of crap.
Even if the American made cars are half the price there resale is a freaking joke. Can someone please explain to me why I would want to buy a $20,000 dollar American made car when I see ones on TV for sale a year later for $7900 dollars?
I'll take Toyota, Honda, or Nissan any day of the week and twice on Sundays. I would also take just about any German car over any American made.
American cars and trucks are just too ugly for me to even consider and their interiors are laughable.
I have a feeling Toyota is going to help GM out of their problems and show them how to build real cars.
My 2 cents...
Anyway, those old whitewalls helped to fill out the tire/wheel combination. Once you start going to a larger wheel and/or a low profile tire, the whitewall just doesn't give any visual benefit. The wheel itself is now big enough to draw attention to itself, without any need for a whitewall to help dress it up.
Cars from the 50's and 60's tended to be colorful compared to what we have today, and generous helpings of chrome, and all sorts of bodyline creases and sweeps and intricate grille/bumper designs, so the whitewall just seemed to add to that. Nowadays though, so much of that excess has been stripped away, that I'm afraid a whitewall would look out of place.
ramida, "Honda Accord (2003-2006) Maintenance & Repair" #49, 17 Dec 2005 8:38 pm
The above might make for interesting reading for you.
Also try
/direct/view/.ef27b38/6301
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think white letters look good on some "tough" SUVs, but a lot of them are getting blingy even from the factory now.
For some reason, I actually like Vega too.
From time to time in my county, do see recent large size Caddys with white-wall tires and padded roofs. Color of car is usually light with white padded top. Not as frequently seen are black bottom Caddys with black padded top. Wonder if this is making a comeback. Know that padded tops were very popular couple of decades ago. Is this a GM option or an aftermarket.
Wonder if Buick and/or Cadillac could broaden their market by offering white-wall tires and padded roofs on its Lacrosse, Lucerne and DTS models. Would think that there are more folks that would buy these than Escalades with oversize chrome wheels.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
So who is that? They kept their overpaid job? Pretty disturbing. The new Vette won't win design awards either, btw
"there are actually some folks who have different tastes and opinions"
I'd love to see anyone defend that Monte from a styling standpoint. All the curves in all the wrong places. Sales doesn't mean good styling, especially when fleets are involved.
Nowadays though, I would put the Solara and the Accord coupe somewhat in the Monte Carlo's class. Sure, they don't offer a V-8, and their base engine is a 4-cyl, but they still embody the basic theme of a personal luxury coupe...offering a high-style coupe version of a 4-door model. And nowadays they're close enough in interior room that there's not much difference between a Monte and an Accord or Solara.
If nothing else though, it shows how the large coupe market has really died off. Had it not, then as there were fewer players, you'd think the remaining offerings would have picked up sales.
And actually, for 2006 the Monte isn't bad looking with the new face. I just wish they'd tone down those french curves. They looked beautiful on my old '86 Monte, but they just don't fit right on the new one.
Toyota Camry = Chevrolet Impala
Honda Accord = Chevrolet Impala
Nissan Maxima = Buick LaCrosse
Honda Civic = Chevrolet Cobalt
Toyota Corolla = Chevrolet Cobalt
Lexus LS430 = Cadillac DTS/STS
Lexus GS400 = Chrysler 300-C
Toyota Tundra = Ford F-150/Chevrolet Silverado/Dodge Ram
Nissan Titan = Ford F-150/Chevrolet Silverado/Dodge Ram
Acura TL = Buick LaCrosse CXL
Infiniti G35 = Buick LaCrosse CXL
Infiniti QX56 = Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Denali
Lexus LX = Cadillac Escalade
Lexus GX = Cadillac CTS
Lexus RX = Cadillac SRX
Infiniti Q = Cadillac DTS, Chrysler 300-C, Lincoln Town Car
Lexus IS = Cadillac CTS
Nissan Pathfinder = Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy
Toyota 4runner = Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy
Toyota Avalon = Buick Lucerne
Toyota Prius = Ford Escape Hybrid
I don't think slapping the new Impala's front end clip on the current Monte is a good idea. The Monte now looks like it was cobbled together from two different cars. Remember how Dodge slapped leftover 1961 front end clips on a 1962 Chrysler Newport to create the Custom 880 when the downsized Polaras and Darts flopped?
I've said it many times before, the Monte would be a lot more desirable if it bore even a faint resemblance to its NASCAR cousins. Please make this car V-8 only and RWD and the sales will come. NASCAR is the most popular sport in this country for better or worse. Who wouldn't want to play Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon in their own make-believe NASCAR race car?
Impala compared to Camry or Accord? Not even close.
Lexus compared to a Chrysler? That's laughable.
Buick compared to Infiniti? An old persons car compared to an engineering marvel?
In my book comparing American made cars with the Japaneese cars is like Apples to Oranges. The Americans can't compete with reliability, resale or even looks.
I guess we all have our opinions and that's what's great about people.
Well, muskyfever, i agree with you when you say that most Japanese made cars are better than American-made....but i think you got it wrong for most of 'em. But let me give you some worthy competitors to the cars you have just listed.
For the Accord and Camry which have a ridiculously high price, there is the ford fusion and mercury milan. Not as refined as their competitors, but still considerably cheap and up to the mark options.
As i said, mazda3 (AMERICAN) for the corolla and civic.
The all new cadillac series for all the luxury cars you've listed. They offer exotic looks, superb looking high quality interiors and refined engines for a price quite less than the lexus series.eg. sts, cts, dts, srx, xlr and of course, V-SERIES.
Consider the new and upcoming escalade, navigator and tahoe models for the SUVs you have listed for eg. the plastic hog - QX56. I live in the United Arab Emirates and in the recent international motor-show (which was quite famous around the world for some striking headlines eg.phaeton limo, $2.5million vintage merc auction) these 3 suvs were released and have hit the roads here and are pretty popular. And....i love all three of em.
For mid-luxuries there is the lincoln zephyr....
And finally could you just list some cars that can compete with these grown-up all new americans.
STS, STS-V
CTS, CTS-V
XLR, XLR-V
SSR
LUMINA SS (here in the middle east, there is this really cooooool ride known as the lumina ss...and no, it is not like the clunky lumina that was last sold in the USA. This ride really ROCKS!. Check it out on a GM middle east site.)
CAPRICE (No, I am not talking about the behemoths which do faithful taxi and cop duty in the US, but about this all new refined beast that is still a V8 but this time a 27/30 mpg V8. I dont know why GM sells only crap cars in the US. Poor marketing maybe. Check this one out too on their middle east website.)
CORVETTE (This is the REAL DEAL, dont mention a competitor for this one as i know none of them exist
300C
MAGNUM
CHARGER
MUSTANG (REFER TO CORVETTE)
ESCAPE
LINCOLN LS (ANOTHER COOL CAR, ONLY RESERVED FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
OPEL VECTRA (REFER TO GM WEBSITE TO CHECK OUT THIS RIDE-AS USUAL-IT ROCKS)
VOLVO RANGE
RANGE ROVERS (You won't believe me but if you come and check out the roads of the middle-east especially the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, you will see that you can find more land cruisers here than the no. of total priuses roaming the roads in the US. These luxo-suvs such as Range Rover(AMERICAN!!) Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 (recently released) Touareg, X5, H2 etc.etc. sell literally like hot cakes here and they form more than 80% of the market. So, I think i know better than you when it comes to all this.)
I know that i havent mentioned competitors for all of the rides you've mentioned because, in the end, GM does not actually make cars that people 'want'. The aim of this reply wasnt to say that american cars are the best because i know that they could do with a few more refinements but the real aim was to wake you up and to show you that americans are slowly learning.
I am ashamed that anyone would compare it to a LaCrosse CXL.
I think if you like the Lacrosse, you would not like the G35, and vice-versa. The same is true with most cars on your list, and that basically means to me that they aren't really competitors. They aren't mean either side consists necessarily of bad vehicles, just totally different vehicles.
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Wonder if Buick and/or Cadillac could broaden their market by offering white-wall tires and padded roofs on its Lacrosse, Lucerne and DTS models. Would think that there are more folks that would buy these than Escalades with oversize chrome wheels.
AFTERMARKET!!!!
Yes ther are people who do like the white wall/padded roofs. These features are available to all dealerships but they do not sell well. There are a lot more folks buying Escalades with chrome wheels.
Do not need to argue this one. Monte Carlo as a 2 door sells almost zip in non retail. No fleet. So all those buyers may actually disagree with you and like it. Please remember that your opinion on styling may not actually match someone elses. Can you believe it!!
No I do not, but then again from 4 years old I do not remember much!
But, as an American, I would like to see GM become a successful, viable company. I would actually buy a GM car if the following are implemented:
- Fire the CEO and his goon squad immediatley! Get someone who knows what they're doing instead.
- Get rid of Buick, Pontiac, GMC, and Saab. GM will have three divisions: Economy (Saturn), Mainstream (Chevy), and Luxury (Cadillac).
- Every GM vehicle should come with a 10 year/ 120,000 mile BUMPER-TO-BUMPER ZERO Deductible no-questions-asked warranty with free loaner cars and trip interruption expense reimbursement.
- Every GM vehicle should be priced at LEAST 20% below their Japanese equivalents, and 10% below Koreans.
- Every stylist at GM should be mandated to take some kind of art training. GM vehicles are excruciatingly painful to look at, with the exception of some Cadillacs.
- GM should not try to come up with its own interior designs, just take the best ones (Toyota / Lexus / Acura) and model after them.
If GM wants me as a customer ever again, the above items would sway me to consider their cars again. I'm sure this would apply to millions of other import car buyers.
I guess we all have our opinions and that's what's great about people.
And that is what is being stated here. Factually you would find if you had an open mind that most GM vehicles have as good as or better than quality than a Toyota. Thats what the facts say. Look at the JD Power data. Now there are some GM vehicles that do not score well and they are usually of older engineering and are being replaced quickly with better, higher quality vehicles.
Here is some data on Toyota vs. Buick.
Per 2005 J.D.Power 2005 Vehicle Dependiblity Study the average 3 year old toyota vehicle owner had 194 problems per 100 vehicles. In other words about 2 problems per car. The average Buick owner had 163 problems per hundred vehicles. The average for all industry vehicles is 237. So both Buick and Toyota do very well. The Buicks in this study are the 2002 Century/Regal/LeSabre/Park Avenue/Rendezvous.
For 2005 models after 3 months of driving the Toyota brand had 105 problems per hundred vehicles and Buick had 100. Not a lot of difference. The average for all industry vehicles is 118. The Buicks in this study are the 2005 Century/LaCrosse/LeSabre/Park Avenue/Rendezvous/Rainier.
For 2005 vehicles the APEAL score for Toyota was 857 based on a 1000 point scale and Buick was 854. The average for the industry was 855. The Buicks in this study are the 2005 Century/LaCrosse/LeSabre/ParkAvenue/Rendezvous /Rainier.
.. on another note:
You got me lookin at gm worldwide .. thought this was interesting ...
A Chevrolet branded Subaru Forester.
http://www.chevrolet.co.in/content_data/AP/IN/en/GBPIN/001/BRANDSITE/index_fores- ter.html
I haven't seen a credible styling person defend the 00-05 Monte. It just screams "Wal Mart Luxury" and "I don't really like cars". All those messy curves and bulges, it makes those old ones where you close the door and it rattles for 30 seconds look appealing. I'll give credit to GM in that they finally toned it down a notch.
Speaking of the 1961 Dodge front-end, believe it or not, it actually showed up in a video game! Although instead of being stuck on a '62 Newport, this one looks like it was stuck on a '55-56 Oldsmobile! And if that wasn't enough, they saw fit to immortalize the rear of a 1961 Dodge, too!
And Lemko, here's one I know you'll get a kick out of!
however I am hard-pressed to look at any model and appreciate it's looks.
If even the old-tech reliable engines (which are surprisingly fuel-efficient) were put into a more desirable body, it would help boost Buick image. The LaCrosse just looks like a cheap imitation. Time to bring in a Gen X/Y design student uncorrupted by the typical Buick style for an original makeover!
Tried that. That's how the Aztek and Element came to be.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Nissan Maxima = Buick LaCrosse
Acura TL = Buick LaCrosse CXL
Infiniti G35 = Buick LaCrosse CXL
The only thing that I could agree with here on the placement of "=" is that you can find each of these brands in the same MSRP range. That is all that could be equal.
Good source for review of vehicles is Edmunds as well as CR and various car magazines. Buick at least one order of magnitude behind Maxima, Acura and Infiniti. Not even in same league. Following are comments from Edmunds on Buick LaCrosse.
"Compared to the others (Avalon, 500, 300), the LaCrosse's handling characteristics are crude and its backseat cramped. These deficiencies, along with unsupportive front seats, a short standard equipment list and a relatively high price tag, proved to be the Buick's undoing.
But there's no hiding the aging chassis when you hit a winding stretch of road. Here the Buick napped while we drove, its body rolling woozily into each turn, its steering disconnected from the whole experience. GM says the suspension tuning is "80-percent new" this year (compared to the Regal). If that's the case, it's time to start fresh.
Even parking maneuvers are not as easy as they should be. The same steering that feels overboosted at 50 mph inexplicably tightens up as you approach full lock — not a sensation you associate with a refined automobile.
The brakes are nothing special, but they get the job done in everyday traffic. A 125.9-foot stopping distance from 60 mph placed the LaCrosse just behind the Chrysler 300 in this category.
But sit in one of those front seats for more than an hour and you'll have an aching back according to a couple of our editors.
More troublesome are the cheap adjustable vents and the brittle, glossy plastic on the center console. All of the controls are within easy reach, but there are way too many small buttons of similar size. Adjust the fan speed at your own risk. Also, the driver window is auto-down only — stingy for this class.
For $33,650, the LaCrosse skimps on the amenities. Our test car came to us without a CD changer, a sunroof or adjustable vents for the backseat. Head-protecting side curtain airbags were part of the deal, but torso-protecting side airbags for the front seat are not even an option.
The passenger-side rear door on our test car seemed to be missing a few nuts and bolts, literally. It was so sloppily installed that it wouldn't latch unless slammed. Even then, it was an eyesore that would dampen the enthusiasm of any new LaCrosse owner.
Powerful is good. Quiet is good. But you can't get away with clumsy handling and cramped seating in this class."
Buick came in 4th in Edmunds comparo with Avalon, Chrysler 300 and Ford 500.
I'm sure GM is glad you prefer the GTO to the Audi S4. You're a statistically exceptional kind of guy.
We'll see how the Civic does against the Cobalt. That is a crucial segment if GM wants to sell affordable cars. I'm predicting the Civic will trounce the Cobalt outside of the rental car market.
As to adding RWD and a big V-8 to the Monte Carlo ... that sounds EXACTLY like a GM type of solution. Instead of making the product more stylish and a sensory pleasure, let's make it really fast.
There's too much fixation on "fast", and I'm not even that worried about GM reliability. They're just not the "it" car. BMW continues to kill Cadillac despite the mediocre Bangle styling, because the "hip-hop gangsta" image is juvenile and BMW's project an aura of success and taste. (They also don't lose half their value in 3 years...) Even their dealerships are nice to visit - proud of the brand, very customer-focused, etc.
I work with and live among a lot of successful, white collar workers. NONE of them own GM-branded cars. They have already given up on GM. Honda's fine, VW and Audi are hip, BMW and Lexus. Game over. And it's NOT an anti-domestic car grudge for past sins, because Jeeps are extremely popular here in southern California. It's maybe the only American brand that knows what it is.
GM needs to outsource design immediately, as well as their branding, which is beyond incompetent (As the ultimate insult, Ferrari-Maserati of Washington actually uses "This is not your father's Oldsmobile" on their web site!), the vehicles are uniformly uninmpressive. Sit in a new Corvette and tell me it's as nice inside as a BMW Z4. It isn't. Period. Huge value? Yeah. Faster than stink? Oh yes. But enough with the juvenile design and borrowed interior bits. The Z4 can't run with a Corvette, but it has cachet and refinement. Enough with Porsche and Ferrari designing one lust object after another. It's embarrassing. GM needs to get some artists to design its cars and earn those premiums that make Porsche and BMW so bloody profitable. Hire the interior guy from Audi or VW. Call Pininfarina (firm that has done some of Ferrari's best designs). Why is the VW Touraeg so cool inside while the Tahoe/Escalade is a pimped out piece of junk? More plasti-chrome please.
As you probably guessed this is more of a rant than anything. GM is terminally ill, even from its name -- how excited can we get over a company with "General" in its name, anyway? "General" is an apt description for the company's inability to focus on cars. I don't think the company can make it given its current management and structure. I'll be going back to Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus or M-B for my next daily driver.