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Do you have a picture? Northstar? Twin turbo 3.2L would be great but the LaCrosse has only a couple years left before it is replaced with a new architecture. Too much development money to do that. Also I do not believe GM has a twin turbo 3.2 in the US!
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109673
I could see asking Tiger Woods for advice on a golf club , but his paid endorsements for the Buick line are laughable. Bill C.
TT 3.6 V-6
Rocky
The car should be sold as a value model car, IMHO, and that value is somewhere around $20K to $21K at best. If GM comes back, and resale price firms up a bit, the retail price can do the creep-up.
The LaCrosse needs a price trimming.
The Lucerne needs to have the V8 in her to be a value. Or lower the price about $3k on the base, to $5K on the V8.
The interior on Buicks and the Impala has improved. That is to say to the eye it looks better now. Looks like the Japanese makes are using that fake aluminum paint which is going to rub off, and looks kinda like those cheap $30 boom-boxes. Yeah, you know that cool aluminum face look on your GPX portable player. May work for $30 stereos, but not as a dash on cars. This is one mistake I would note for Toyota and Nissan. Lose the fake aluminum.
Loren
It is not paint. But i guess you could call it fake then. Will not rub off. Well I guess I really do not know the process the others use but at GM it is molded into the part.
Rocky
Note that the current FWD HO northstar falls short of 300 horsepower.
PASS. Twice. Hasn't anyoen at GM firugred out that people don't like big front-heavy cars with torque-steer?
Rocky
Amen, brother. Yes, they finally have, but the DTS has not yet been re-engineered, and the Buick will always be FWD probably.... That's one reason I don't have a Caddy.
The 3,700-employee Janesville plant hasn't had overtime in about two years,spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said.
The plant will add two 10-hour shifts on Fridays in late April a 25 percent increase in hours that is expected to last through 2006, Markey said Thursday.
Late last year, auto analysts had predicted the nearly 90-year-old Janesville plant could close. Instead, the automaker announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs and close 12 other facilities by 2008.
According to J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network, the 2006 Impala's average transaction price last month was $22,082, compared with the 2005 model's average transaction of $20,387 a year earlier. (See box.) The base Impala starts at $20,990, including shipping. The top Impala model starts at $26,990.
The 2007 Tahoe's average transaction price in February was $41,233, compared with the 2006 model's average transaction price last February of $34,546, according to the PIN data.
The 2007 Tahoe's average turn rate is 13 days, compared with 94 days for the 2006 model. The top-line model Tahoe has a sticker price at $38,990, including shipping.
The big question is what will happen with the Oshawa plants and production of the 4 vehicles built there. IF they really close plant 2 then what happens to the Grand Prix and LaCrosse? I guess it all depends on when the models are replaced. It will have to be a very coordinated build out of the old W car platform and introduction of the 1. Zeta Impala/Monte Carlo/Grand Prix?, 2. Epsilon 2 LaCrosse.
The CAW was bidding for a super plant that combined Osahawa 1 and 2 for Zeta. Both plants are under the same roofs and a brand new paint facility was just installed.
PASS. Twice. Hasn't anyoen at GM firugred out that people don't like big front-heavy cars with torque-steer?
Actually GM is very surprized how popular FWD, large HP V8's are liked.
Chevrolet executives monitor dealers' orders daily and make production adjustments, Peper says. One surprise, he says, has been sales of the high-trim Impala SS models with V-8 engines, which the old model didn't have.
1. GM widens loss by $2B to $10.6B for 2005, filing of 10K w/ SEC delayed by 2 weeks
2. Latest setback due to higher N America restructuring charges, Delphi liabilities
3. Increased loss represents nearly 85% of current market value of automaker
4. GM also boosts estimate of Delphi pre-tax exposure to $5.5B from $3.6B
5. Auto supplier Lear Corp received subpoena from SEC in GM pricing investigation
A RWD Impala and El Camino needed to be on the dealers lots this spring,not revised full sized trucks and SUVs. Cobalt, the also-ran of small cars should have been postponed or canceled. The total Buick re-make has only confused people and moved Buick farther away from it's core customers. And Pontiac? Lets just say G6= Avis, and Torrent, yet another re-bake of the less than class leading Trail Blazer. Mini-Vans? OH yeah , that new front clip for the van family isn't fooling anybody.Drum Brakes on the HHR, that's for sure going to impress the tech-savvy buyer. For those forever optimists, re-reread #3.
Bill C.
Oh, the Torrent is Pontiac's version of the Equinox. I think it looks better than the 'Nox. Anyway, for those who bust on the HHR's rear drum brakes, take a look between the slots on the rear wheels of your precious Hondas and Toyotas - drum brakes!
MB bought Chrysler, but MB had experience with powerful old-style German auto unions. They were willing to accept the risk.
I wonder if there will be even one unionized auto plant left in the USA by 2015.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Did you ever open up the hood of almost every Honda or Toyota? Can you believe the engine actually drives the front wheels? They call it FWD and other than trucks it is on about 100% (by volume) of all sedans under $35K? Pretty amazing the RWD's even sell in that price range other than some kind of performance or outlandish style that brings buyers in. I guess they have to get people to buy RWD by calling it a performance vehicle or make it look over the top. You can always get someone to buy anything!
If I did arithmetic correctly, this comes to about $40 million per 8 hour business day in a 5-day business week. So, about $5 million per business hour.
Would be interesting to see a detailed accounting of these losses.
Article in today's WSJ says that new guy on board, who is working for Krekorian, suggests selling off Saab, Hummer.
Know that this is only "one" story, but here goes anyway:
Saw first Lucerne in person last week - it was in parking lot of appliance store parked in handicapped spot near store door. Senior guy, maybe in 70's(?), was putting his walker in the trunk. Stopped to talk to him and he said he had the V8 and had the car for a week and liked it very much. He traded in a Caddy, but previous to that had many Buicks.
A lot of advertising money was spent by US carmakers in past, including GM, extolling the virtues of FWD. No hump in floor, more efficient layout in cabin, better traction in ice/snow, etc. Folks in snow climate still believe this in spite of latest marketing for 300, Charger, Magnum. Remember when Intrepids/Concordes were advertised as how great they were with "cab-forward". All of a sudden, cab-forward is on the scrap heap.
FWD, with typical under steering, torque steer, and just plain ol' poor feel to steering having the power to the wheels which are steering, will never be my favorite. Pour on the power and the front comes up and wheels start squealing and then the smoke comes sailing out the front of the car. The first time you see it, you wonder if the engine is on fire :surprise: I can live with FWD as I guess it is better than walking, but it sure is not the best deal for a car - at least in California. Most FWD cars feel so dang front heavy, it is like the whole car is up front, with the rest only a trailer.... wait, it actually is. The Celica is pretty close to the best handling lower priced cars on the road though, and it is FWD. There are a few good ones, though I still prefer RWD.
Am I in a time warp, or is the new Civic not a cab-forward design? Actually the coupe looks pretty cool. Walked up to one on a dealership lot, and nearly died from sticker shock. It was $20K ! No - not the Si, but rather the EX.
-Loren
Honda ain't gettin' my shares of GM.
NAW. The new Crossovers will simply take over and PRESTO we have a new trend going! LOL
What about the T-Types and the GNX's?
Yes it does need a trimming...right out of the line-up same goes for the Lucerne. GM (Buick) open your eyes before it's too late. Don't do like OLDS and get rid of the familiar and name yourself right out of exsistence!!
The trend is the same as it has always been. Give customers what they want and that is a large vehicle to haul stuff in. This is a huge market and when the government said that you could no longer build large sedans and station wagons (gas mileage requirements) and we got our first dose of high gasoline prices they were dropped by all makers. Few years later we had minvans, SUVS, and now large crossovers.
When they haven't changed a few people criticize; when they make a change, people criticize. Which is it to be?
Looks to me like they're doing fine. Other than the GM-haters they're selling cars. We'll hear the mantra-chanters with "incentives" and "too costly" and "plastic on the dash" (Oh my! As if Avalon doesn't have a plastic dash problem!!! Yuk.Yuk.) and those things, but I see lots of LaCrosses and lots of Lucernes in this area. AND the drivers look happy.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Rocky
BTW- Hyundai can't hold Toyota or Honda's jockey-strap
Rocky :surprise:
It would not be a merger it would be a take over of Honda. Of course that would be impossible also. Japan does not allow foriegn ownership beyond 49%
What I'd like to see? A RWD/AWD LaCrosse-sized car with unique styling - 4 portholes per side, chrome sweepspears on the side, two round stacked taillights per side, and a massive chrome tooth grille. Give it the instrument panel out of that crossover concept, (name temporarily eludes me).
It would be need to work with engineers and come up with the perfect car. The Acura TL with SH-AWD and 3.2 VTEC V-6 w/ 300 H.P.
Plus Voice Recognition W/ Navigatin.
As far comparing goes take a Acura RDX up against anything. It is a well crossover vehicle, loaded with all the bells and whistels. www.acura.com :shades:
Rocky
This Buick will perhaps be "Super" but can be unbelievable in a few years. :surprise:
Rocky
Hmmm. I've seen maybe three LaCrosses and zero Lucernes, yet there are piles of late-model LeSabres and Park Avenues around here. That seems to be the case with GM across the board: the slightly older stuff sold well here (Grand Ams, Impalas, Silverados, Tahoes, Cavaliers, etc.), but the new models are barely trickling onto the road and GM needs a lot more than a trickle to survive.
Japanese protectionism prevents it even if it was possible.
As I read this statement, which comes from a Buick spokesman, the Super will be some sort of showcar based on the Velite concept car. A production version is not planned yet. The production version might be RWD on a new platform.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The whole vision for Buick is to move upmarket and bring more style and technology to the portfolio," he said.
The car will begin to make its media rounds starting on March 28 in New York and again at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan, in July.
So they are showing some sneek peaks to media and maybe the public. Would think this would be a 2007 intro but perhaps an early 2008 (January '07 start of production). All above educated guess's!
When did Toyotas actually look as good as Buicks? Buicks and many GM cars have been very stylish while Toyotas have been very bland. Style alone never helped GM that none of stylish GM cars that came in the 90s survived, save the Grand Prix. GM calls it change of marketing strategy. I call it failure.
for this:
The only thing I can think of that the Lucerne is even close to resembling is the Hyundai Azera, but I haven't seen any of those on the road yet, either.
The Azera's not bad looking, but at that angle looks kinda tall, ungainly, and a bit hatchback-ish. And the way the fenders flare out on it makes it look dated, and a bit swollen. Makes me think of maybe the '69-70 Impala, which had swells around the wheel openings, or those Oldsmobiles and Mopars of the 70's with their "skegs" or whatever they were called. Or even the way cars used to look, before they started integrating fenders smoothly into the overall shape in the 50's.
But yeah, it would be really hard, I think, to mistake one of those cars for the other.