Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
General Motors discussions
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
A Velite Coupe, Convertible, Sedan could be a CTS/CTC idea. I'd however would want the power of the Twin Turbo V6 in mine otherwise it's just going to get lost in a crowded market.
I think that's going to be the biggest obstacle is distinguishing Cadillac, enough from Buick. They need to upgrade Buick, but not ruin Cadillac. Cadillac, needs a BMW image and Buick needs a Lexus image. If they can market their cars that way they could afford to have two premium brands. I think it's would be a blunder to not make Buick as premium as Cadillac but with comfort overtones.
Rocky
jae, this doesn't look good.....Have you heard anything else to this story ????
Rocky
DETROIT -- Industry veteran Frank Macher has resigned as president and chief executive of Collins & Aikman Corp., as the auto supplier's Chapter 11 plan has shifted toward selling its assets.
Macher, a former Ford Motor Co. and Federal-Mogul Corp. executive, took the top job at plastics and fabrics supplier Collins & Aikman in July 2005, two months after it hastily filed for Chapter 11 with no plan and barely enough money to operate.
Macher arranged for customers to prop the company up with loans and price increases.
In a statement Wednesday, the company said Macher "concluded that a new structure for the leadership of the company would be appropriate as it executes the balance of its ongoing sale process."
http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/AUTO01/702010330/- 1148
Rocky
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/AUTO01/702010350/1148- /rss25
Rocky
-Loren
That's from the current issue of Consumer Reports.
They were evaluating the Nitro as a first look. When they use the "old Buick" as a quote, there's no hope for GM and the Buick name.
Do you disagree that old Buick's were buoyant? :P
The CTS can run on 87 octane to boot. The TL is great for having a lot of features for the money but for a driving enthusiast the TL is lacking. The TL is stretched Accord with a bigger engine. It a decent car for the price point but I would take a CTS or a G35 over the TL."
I'm with you on the turning radius. My CL has a badturning radius. The TL is a strecthed Accord? Its based on the Accord platform yes but it doesn;t automatically mean they are the same car.
The 07 Camry and 07 ES do not look the same. Both the 07 Camry and 07 ES have different headlight and tailight treatment. I will say though the 02 ES tailights and 07 Camry tailights are very similar.
Pontiac has as much as luxury credibility as Acura? I don;t think so.
I'll have to edit that Wiki entry because it seems very out-of-date. Oh, and refreshing the Terraza? It'll be dead in a few months, if it isn't already.
Ford falls to 4th in Jan. sales
For the first time in recent memory, Ford Motor Co. fell to No. 4 in U.S. auto sales behind General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, demonstrating just how far the automaker has fallen as it battles to stop a decade-long decline in market share.
At the same time, the Detroit automakers' share of the American auto market fell to just 50.6 percent in January as they narrowly avoided selling fewer cars and trucks than foreign makers in a month for the first time ever.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/AUTO01/702020385/1148
The 07 Camry and 07 ES do not look the same. Both the 07 Camry and 07 ES have different headlight and tailight treatment. I will say though the 02 ES tailights and 07 Camry tailights are very similar.
I think you made his point. You called out the front and rear fascia/lamp differences and nothing else. So to you it looks like good ole badge engineering that GM used to do in the 80's. They would use the same sheetmetal with different front and rear treatments. In actuality they ES and Camry use different sheet metal but are similar in styling.
http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gm- - news/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=33014
"GM Certified Used Vehicles started the new year off strong, increasing sales 9 percent over last January," LaNeve said. "This builds nicely upon 2006, when GM Certified Used Vehicles closed the year as the industry's top-selling manufacturer-certified brand for the fifth consecutive year. We're very pleased with this start and are confident 2007 will be a year for continued growth."
Does that help answer the quote?
The news will appear in weekly auto magazine Autobild tomorrow, according to MarketWatch, which obtained an advance copy of the article. The Autobild report cites well-placed but anonymous sources.
Earlier this week, bidding ended for Aston Martin, which has been up for "auction" since August. Ford is selling the successful sports car company in order to raise much-needed capital.
Ford will retain a 15 percent stake in the company, according to the report. No details on the sale price were given, but a report by Britain's Sunday Times in December put valuation as high as $1.2 billion.
I wonder where the Engineering will be done. Hey, if in Detroit area I might be able to get a job at the same place that makes the great purses.
I wonder if they want Saab too? (hey I had to throw some GM in here)
But since 00 the leSabre ride has been DRASTICALLY different. But the good ole' boys don't know that. They don't even check.
Indeed my 98 h-body had a controlled ride but was smooth on interstates/smooth highways beyond expectation. Yet when I started twisting it around back road curves and corners in the suburbs when the X-ones hit 80000 miles and I knew I was replacing them, that car will corner much better than I would have expected.
I think the boys at CR need to get out of their favorites and check the rest of the cars they've stereotyped.
GM would benefit.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
check out the Holden commodore before criticizing the G8. I assure you it is a competitor to the TL even though Pontiac is a luxury brand. The fact that Pontiac isnt a luxury brand means the G8 is likely to offer more value than the TL which is an advantage to the buyer.
Okay, whatever works for you man... "
I am inclined to ask you what planet you are living on with comments like the above. HAve you ever read a review of the GTO? Have you ever sat in the GTO? That car was universally praised for its interior and was among the best GM offered in US products. The commodore's interior is just as nice and while it may not have as much faux metal as the TL (I suppose that's what impresses you) it is definitely high quality. You keep talking about Pontiac's "track record" but we are telling you that doesnt matter because the G8 is an AUSTRALIAN car that wasnt developed by Pontiac designers. It's interior has a lot to do with HOldens and nothing to do with the Grand Am. Get a grip.
Let's see if you will be laughing when the G8 is actually compared to the Tl in a magazine since you think it's ludicrous that a 362hp RWD sports sedan with manual tranny could be compared to your beloved TL. As Rocky said, a sane, unbiased person who cares about styling, price and performance would cross shop the two cars. A person who prides themselves on being too sophisticated and smart to drive a lowly domestc wouldn't consider the G8 though. People have been saying GM should sell its European and Aussie cars in the US for years and they are finally doing it.
BTW, I like the TL.
TEN-FOUR!!
Yes, No. But, GTO was not successful in the marketplace. That was the real world. Perhaps the mediocre styling did not help. Could be too that the car lacked balance and was too heavily biased toward drag strip mentality with not enough attention given to handling.
While last GTO got good marks for acceleration, it was not known to have exceptional handling. Per Edmunds road test "data" of various tests, GTO was not even as capable as FWD cars such as Accord, Hyundai and Camry in handling per slalom data. In an Edmunds comparo with WRX STI, the Subaru AWD was clearly the winner in acceleration and handling.
This is what Edmunds said about GTO:
Ups: One of the best V8s ever made under the hood, comfortable enough to drive every day, interior design looks worthy of the price tag.
Downs: Wobbly suspension, long shifter throws, poor pedal placement, no trunk space.
First Impression: A "classic" muscle car with more engine than the suspension can keep up with.
This is how Edmunds summarized comparo of GTO and WRX STI:
On paper, the GTO looked tough to beat. A 400-hp small-block V8, six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive — what more do you need? But the more we drove these cars on the edge, the more we realized that the STi was the real deal. It held its own on the drag strip and flat-out smoked the GTO through the slalom.
Apparently, GM offered a 2004 rendition of 60's GM muscle cars. That was not enough. Back to the drawing board and another chance with upcoming Camaro.
I do also still. I use to own one obviously.
Rocky
That was another classic apples to oranges comparo from edmunds. The GTO was a huge coupe. The WRX STI is a ultra- light subcompact sedan with seats "I could tear in half with my bare hands" as lemko would say.
Rocky
I always wondered about the handling complaints. Reviews of the Monaro in Australian publications generally gave it good marks for its ride: not outstanding, but certainly respectable for a 3700+ pound car. Maybe the suspension settings were softened up for flabby-bottomed American drivers?
What is purpose of two premium brands? Like having two wives. Does not make sense.
Don't understand where Buick division is going. It seems to be just a little better than Mercury in its identity. Mercury might be in a twilight zone. Does anybody know somebody that owns/drives a Mercury? I still see Buick drivers/owners in my area.
Maybe GM needs to keep Buick more so to placate its dealers and perhaps for some kind of contractural/legal reasons. If dealers not in equation, then Cadillac division should handle all levels of luxury similar to BMW, Mercedes. These brands start at entry level lux in 30's and go on up and over 100K. A seperate Cadillac brand could handle all of GM luxury similarly.
Will mention again, but would GM do better to split off Cadillac into own company? With very sincere mission and goals for excellence by new split-off management along with products that follow, Cadillac could better compete with BMW, Mercedes.
Other than dealers, don't really understand why Buick brand exists. Their Lucerne could very easily be rebadged to Chevrolet Lucerne, similar to Avalon being the top model of Toyota. Dump Lacrosse, and rebadge new Buick crossover to Chevrolet brand. Buick/GM loyalists would then shop at Chevrolet dealers. Those that have a little more money could shop at Cadillac dealers.
Rocky
Rocky:
Seems like Chicago Cubs fans cheering on their team every year and at end of season saying, wait until next year.
Why does a behemoth company like GM with vast resources and decades of experience make such mistakes. One has got to wonder how much time, if any, they devote to "learning" from past mistakes as well as what can be learned from benchmarking the best. I have owned GMs in past, including 4 Pontiacs (2 that were somewhat quick), and would love to have seen a well balanced offering from Pontiac to beat BMW 3 series. Pontiac was supposed to be the performance division going back to 50's or 60's I think.
Agreed. It's almost as if they reviewed a car a decade ago and just rehashed their hatred on the new one without even testing the new version/replacement.
But the thing is a lot of people take what they state to heart and not even cross-shop the vehicle/product, only relying on CR, J.D. Power, magazine-of-the-month thoughts.
Ouch!! Some of my friends would take offense to that. :P But then reading your post the same can be asked of them (Cubs). And they do use the same "wait till next year" line. But they've moved over to the Bears now so...
Aren't there contractural obligations to Saturn dealers that GM has to supply a stream of "Saturn" vehicles? Each of these dealers no doubt have substantial investments in capital and need GM. GM maybe is more stuck with Saturn brand then it is with Buick or Pontiac. They might have more lattitude with GMC/Pontiac/Buick dealers in dumping Buick or Pontiac brand.
Cubs are like GM, GM is like Cubs. Continually losing (marketshare) over the last decades. GM is better though in its more recent success in 60's vs last Cubs World Series win in early 1900's.
All Chicago teams (Bulls, White Sox, Bears-in 2days) have produced championships over last decade except Cubs.
Don't tell me your still stuck on that slalom BS? Do me a favor and go to youtube, and query on T2 GTO (yes the T2 racing class does allow for light suspension modifications such as better shocks/struts). View some of the video there, be especially sure to check out the video of the M3 and the STI (both driven by very good drivers) being beat by the GTO. Now please show me a FWD Camry doing that...
Well........I won't say it !
I like to think of Buick's image to be like Lexus. Mature, but not retired. Softball, instead of baseball. :shades:
Cadillac, needs the feel of Magneride's Sport setting on the adjustable suspension found on the Vette and STS-V. Cadillac, needs to be firmer and tighter but without becoming harsh like a BMW. Cadillac, needs to appeal the 40 year old and under crowd.
Don't understand where Buick division is going. It seems to be just a little better than Mercury in its identity. Mercury might be in a twilight zone. Does anybody know somebody that owns/drives a Mercury? I still see Buick drivers/owners in my area.
Well that's because buick, never marketed themselves as a chic brand. How many men do you see driving Mercury's after all the chic marketing ????
Maybe GM needs to keep Buick more so to placate its dealers and perhaps for some kind of contractural/legal reasons. If dealers not in equation, then Cadillac division should handle all levels of luxury similar to BMW, Mercedes. These brands start at entry level lux in 30's and go on up and over 100K. A seperate Cadillac brand could handle all of GM luxury similarly.
I strongly disagree as I explained above.
Will mention again, but would GM do better to split off Cadillac into own company? With very sincere mission and goals for excellence by new split-off management along with products that follow, Cadillac could better compete with BMW, Mercedes.
I know people that like Buick's and Lincoln's because they are so much a like. Cadillac would ruin it's image if they put cars like the Lucerne under it's roof. So are you suggesting they dump buick and lose out on hundred's of thousands in sales ???? I don't think that would be a wise move. They dumped Oldsmobile, because they were a lot like Buick, and I could understand that move. Olds drivers went to Buick's and some went to Lincoln's and Lexus's of course.
Other than dealers, don't really understand why Buick brand exists. Their Lucerne could very easily be rebadged to Chevrolet Lucerne, similar to Avalon being the top model of Toyota. Dump Lacrosse, and rebadge new Buick crossover to Chevrolet brand. Buick/GM loyalists would then shop at Chevrolet dealers. Those that have a little more money could shop at Cadillac dealers.
xrunner, Buick buyers WOULD NOT even consider a Chevrolet. #1 it doesn't have the upscale perception #2 you might as well hand Lincoln and Lexus, all your sales you just lost because nobody I know that drives Buick's would drive Chevrolet's. You are talking about 2 waaaay different brands with identity's.
Rocky
Maybe GM could tune their divisions to have a greater degree of individuality and compete with different types of luxury: cadillac-mb, saab-bmw, buick-acura, pontiac-infiniti...
and then: saturn-mazda,nissan, chevy-toyota,ford,... :shades:
i guess you type faster than me.
How about a level playing field which is what CR and Edmunds apparently use by testing "stock" from the factory cars. Why did GM not do more work with their suspension engineers to offer a GTO that can handle real well right out of the showroom. Anybody can take any showroom car, buy upgrade parts and make the car handle better. That is not the point of CR or Edmunds doing car testing.
I will repeat what I have said countless times before. Here is how the dealerships are going:
Chevrolet: low cost inexpensive vehicles (in their markets)
Pontiac/GMC/Buick: mid range cost premium expresive vehicles with specific niche's for each divisions models:performance/professional(whatever that really means)/luxury
Cadillac/Saab/Hummer: High range cost premium vehicles (well Saab is always a tough one here)
Saturn: really goes after those who will not buy domestic. It has huge sales from non domestic owners.
the ones I see a problem with are Saab and Saturn. they just have a lot of overlap with the others.
Will Pontiac or Buick die off someday? Perhaps but if so GM will let the volumes dwindle so that the dealers do not have that much to go after. Then perhaps we will see GMC/Saturn dealers.
Rocky
-Loren
http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gm- news/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=33044
The new GM Certified Used Vehicles five-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty with no deductible, available on all 2002-2006 GM Certified Used Vehicles, is effective from the vehicle's original in-service date.
The fully transferable limited powertrain warranty covers more than 900 components related to the engine, transmission, transfer case (if applicable) and final drive assemblies on all GM Certified Used Vehicles sold in the United States. GM Certified has also extended its 24-hour roadside assistance plan to the earlier of 100,000 miles or five years. GM Certified Used Vehicles also provides a three-month/3,000-mile bumper-to-bumper comprehensive limited warranty, vehicle history reports, a stringent 117-point vehicle inspection and a 3-day, 150-mile customer satisfaction guarantee on all GM Certified Used Vehicles.
oh yea, it is free with purchase of the vehicle.
Cadillac lost me years ago when they put in a 6 cyl and stick shift. What were they thinking? I went in to replace my Cadillac with a new one and saw they all looked like Nissans. Computer generated front ends for air flow. Who cares about air flow. Cadillac buyers want a Safe, Big, Overcompensating Car with a grill that says "get out of the way". I bought a Toyota because I didn't see anything on the Caddy lot that looked like a Caddy.
Pontiac should have been axed before Oldsmobile. That Aurora was sweet. Pontiac should have been dropkicked after the Aztec. Put a small V8 or strong V6 in the Solstice or forget that one too. I'm going to trade the boring Toyota for a Corvette in 2008 in case it too goes the way of Camaro. Someone should be made to pay for that Canadian Union Camaro build plant fiasco. GM stop confusing people that have been buying your products for years.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Ouch!! Some of my friends would take offense to that. But then reading your post the same can be asked of them (Cubs). And they do use the same "wait till next year" line. But they've moved over to the Bears now so...
Should Cubs and Chargers fans be grouped together in this insane idea that anything will be different the next time?
By the way, Ford sales are down 19% in January, but somehow Chrysler sales keep going up slowly but surely. GM sales were down too!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
including a fully transferable five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty
on some of its used vehicles.
The new warranty will be effective March 5 on 2002 to 2006 GM certified
used vehicles sold by GM's U.S. dealers, the auto maker said.
GM also said it will add Cars.com to its online vehicle-listing program,
effectively doubling the number of certified used vehicles listed for sale
on the Internet.
Troy Clarke, president of GM's North American operations, made the
announcements Friday at the National Automobile Dealers Association's
convention and exposition in Las Vegas.
The powertrain warranty covers more than 900 components related to the
engine, transmission, transfer case and final drive assemblies on used
Buicks, Chevrolets, GMCs, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs sold in the U.S.
Those used vehicles also come with three-month, 3,000-mile bumper-to-bumper
comprehensive limited warranties.
The powertrain warranty coverage, effective from a vehicle's original
in-service date, includes a 24-hour roadside assistance plan valid through
five years or 100,000 miles, whichever happens first.
GM said it will begin a similar program later this year for Saturn
certified preowned vehicles.
Cadillac, Saab and Hummer operate separate certified preowned vehicle
programs. Each has a six-year, 100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited
warranty effective from a vehicle's in-service date.
Detroit-based GM announced in September that, beginning with its 2007
models, it was including an enhanced powertrain warranty of five years or
100,000 miles on all new light-duty vehicles.
The company's basic bumper-to-bumper coverage remained the same at three
years or 36,000 miles on Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac and Saturn brands and four
years or 50,000 miles on its premium Buick, Cadillac, Hummer and Saab
brands.
The only difference between the powertrain warranty included with the 2007
models and the used vehicles is there will be no courtesy transportation
available to owners in the event of warranty repairs.
Enhancing the warranties for powertrains on the new models was an effort to
boost the auto maker's reputation for quality in comparison with its main
Japanese rivals.
Brian McVeigh, general manager of GM fleet and commercial operations, said
extending the powertrain warranty to GM certified used vehicles made during
the previous five model years is a continuation of that strategy.
"It's just another piece, we think, that gets at this quality-gap
perception and reinforces that we're making some pretty good stuff these
days," McVeigh said.
Michael Robinet, vice president of global forecast services for CSM
Worldwide, an auto industry consulting company based in Northville, Mich.,
said GM was making "a tremendous statement" by supporting its used vehicles
with such a program.
"There's no doubt that, by backing your used vehicles, it's going to help
residual values for those offerings," Robinet said.