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Didn't some people just leave the key out of the ignition completely? They just drove the car without even locking the ignition before removing it. Those were the good old days. People didn't lock their house and didn't need to lock their cars.
Does the Malibu have a different key system than PassKey III?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What's coming and what's good and new about GM?
Sorry, its labor day weekend and the group in charge of sending me the articles are on vacation. Will catch up Tuesday. Will be a lot of them on the Augist sales.
Good news is that gas is under $3.40 here and Gustav did not harm the oil rigs nor the refineries. Gas may get under $3 soon if Russia settles back.
http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/show/1232
McElroy is an expert in what is going on in the industry and getting interesting info out of auto media and execs.
What is interesting is that there is only one GM truck product in the running, the Traverse. The new full sizers came out a year ago or so, their large lambda crossovers came out last year and their smaller crossovers (Vue) came out last year. And the new small crossovers (Caddy, Chev) come out next year I believe.
In the video they asked why Chevy came out last in the Lambda line. Very simple, as of 1 year ago they had plans to replace the full frame trailblazer with a new real mid size truck. Two things happened, the full size SUVs did so well (+1 year ago) and then gas prices went up. Made no sense to put another truck based SUV out there that got only slightly better gas mileage than their full size when a crossover like the lambda got much better mileage and filled most owners needs. The midsized SUV segment is just too small.
Issue is GM now has 4 Lambdas and they only need 3 or even 2 if you cannot figure out how Saturn makes sense. Forsee GMC losing theirs in the next go around? Enclave is being exported to China.
Like Autoextremist is fond of saying, "too many dealers, too many brands." Even if it's platform sharing (rather than straight out badge engineering), they will wind up competing with each other.
Regards,
OW
[1] If you remember when BMW introduced the X5 "SAV," they were going to require that dealers implement new standards (customer service and whatnot) in order to be eligible to sell the X5. A couple of dealers hired attorneys and collectively pitched a fit, so the end result is that all BMW dealers are "SAV Centers," and they have retained their God-given right to act abusively towards customers.
Do you really think that would work? If McDonalds cut off the food from every McDonalds in LA do you think they would just close down and not raise a stink? I would think that the franchise laws are in place to protect the dealers in that kind of situation. If the LA McDonalds could even prove that everyone else was getting all new product (even the latest kids toys) and they were just getting the old stuff I would again think that the strong franchise laws would protect them.
I think we will see some of this with the Hummer brand. Does selling the brand protect the dealers? Will GM just transfer the agreements to the new company. In this case there are not that many Hummer dealers so it would not be that much money to buy them out.
Lets say there are 500 hummer dealers. 500 x $2 million each would be only about $1 billion to buy them out.
I can do that with my '67 Catalina and '79 New Yorker. However, I don't think they were designed for that, but rather just wore out! :sick:
Not sure they could even get away with that. Not updating with product w/o going out of business or bankruptcy may also be against franchise laws in the states. Now if all Pontiac dealers were properly dualed with GMC/Buick and GM increased the product offerings of those two while depleting the Pontiac they would probably minimize the money changing hands.
Are there very many stand-alone Pontiac dealers left? In my area, I think they've been Pontiac/GMC/Buick for years now, and sometimes merged in with Cadillac and Saab.
I think some of Pontiac's cars could also be carried over to Buick. Obviously not the G5, but I think Buick could benefit from a quality small-ish car along the lines of the Malibu/G6/Aura. The G8 is generic enough looking that you could probably just swap out the Pontiac twin nostrils for a Buick vertical grille, give it some full-width taillights, and pass it off as a Wildcat or Gran Sport. Is the Torrent still around, or has it been cancelled? I dunno if there's much demand for a 2-seat Buick, but maybe something along the lines of the Solstice and Sky could be done up in Buick sheetmetal?
Actually, since most Pontiac dealers also carry GMC, Buick, and possibly other GM models, is it even that big of a financial strain to keep the Pontiac name alive?
That would be called a LaCrosse
Edmunds forecasts August sales will total 1.26 million units, up 11.4 percent from July 2008, but down 14.4 percent from August 2007.
The Detroit Three are expected to report significant declines: Chrysler, down 34.0 percent from a year ago; General Motors, down 27.5 percent; and Ford, down 16.3 percent.
Among Japan's Big Three, only Toyota (down 7.2 percent) is expected to post a sales decline from the previous year. Honda sales should rise about 0.9 percent and Nissan, up 2.3 percent.
Wow, down 27.5%. That is a lot. Wonder how accurate they will be this time.
The present problems at GM probably require a bankruptcy reorganization, assuming that things go from bad, to worse, to need to do something...
Regards,
OW
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Now that I think about it, the place I bought my Intrepid from also sells Chevies, and used to sell Isuzus. I guess that's pretty much direct competition, as Dodge hasn't really been a "step up" from Chevy for ages now.
How do I know this? I was one of the Lincoln owners. Hahahaha!!
I can't recall how the brands are distributed between the two buildings. I was there car-shopping last October/November and have driven past many times on the way to our niece's family's home a few miles south before they moved. But I can't remember the layout.
The group is http://walkerautogroup.com/HomePage and four brands are there: Mitsu, Scion, Toyo, and Pontiac. I was wrong about the GMC. (I still think it used to be Pontiac and GMC.) The four all share the same mailing address but there are two buildings. Sharper eyes than mine can probably tell which new cars are around parts of the two buildings. It's Springboro Pike and Lyons Road, Miamisburg, OH if you care to googleearth it.
If dualing means they share the same building, then I used the definition wrong. I don't know which is which building.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I guess one reason that it confused me at first, seeing competing brands side by side, is how, exactly, DO they train the salespeople? I mean, if they sold only Dodges, they could train the salespeople to point out the weaknesses of the Pontiacs or Chevies or whatever it was aimed against, while focusing on the strong points of the Dodge. But when the two are side by side, right there in your showroom, it's kinda hard to just say that the Dodge is better, when you're selling a competitor right in the same showroom!
That particular showroom actually sold more Dodges than Chevies though, and it showed in the way their showroom was set up I think. The Dodge showroom was bigger, and they'd have the Dodges put out in a more prominent location in the parking lot. It's been a few years since I've been down there though, so I'm sure that mix could have changed...especially since Chrysler corp as a whole isn't doing so well right now. Heck, I imagine that these days, they probably have all the used economy cars out in front!
One proposal before lawmakers would require every new car and truck built by 2020 to be capable of running on an alternative fuel such as E85. That idea is misguided, says Barbara Nocera, director of government and public affairs of .
How did GM manage to introduce and then eliminate the "Geo" name? Was that not really a division like Pontiac/Buick/etc.? Just curious.
It does seem like they could put the energy they've spend over the last 20 years on divisions into their vehicles (Geo in, Geo out, Olds out, Saturn in and languishes till recently, Saab in, Hummer, etc.)
I do remember that Oldsmobile raised the price tag on the Aurora steadily from the introduction price of $32K. At $32K the Aurora was a nice car. By 1999 it was about $5K higher and at that price it was not quite what it should have been for the money.
I never know what GM is thinking.
Regards,
OW
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/03/news/companies/autosales/index.htm?cnn=yes
When will the bleeding stop... :sick:
Not for quite some time...
GM extends employee discounts through September
4 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — General Motors Corp. says it is extending its employee discount offer through the end of the month.
GM says it will offer employee pricing to consumers on nearly all 2008 models and most 2009 models through Sept. 30. The program's two-week run was previously set to expire Tuesday.
Employee discounts generally are 10 percent below the invoice price but vary by model.
The Detroit automaker says the discount covers all 2008 GM vehicles in stock except medium-duty trucks. It is also discounting several 2009 vehicles, including many Chevrolet models, Silverado pickups and Hummer H2 and H3 sport utility vehicles.
GM and other automakers are set to report August U.S. auto sales later Wednesday.
Regards,
OW
Car retail sales increase driven by Chevrolet Malibu sales up 212 percent, Pontiac Vibe up 114 percent, Cadillac CTS up 87 percent, Corvette up 49 percent and Chevrolet Impala up 27 percent compared with last August
Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossover retail sales up 29 percent
80,000 Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and GMC Sierra pickups sold, best month since August, 2007
Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon sales highest so far in 2008 with more than 22,000 deliveries
August had largest total, retail and fleet deliveries so far in 2008
Anticipated best monthly market share performance of 2008
As Lutz said truck sales were going back up in August. Business's have been putting off purchases and are finally having to purchase trucks.
However, when compared with July, 2008, total sales were up 31 percent, retail sales were up 32 percent and fleet sales were up 29 percent. Last August's sales performance was influenced by significantly lower fuel prices and a 0 percent APR for 60 months offer on pickups.
Chevrolet retail car sales were up 18 percent, Pontiac retail car sales increased 11 percent and Cadillac retail car sales were up 10 percent compared with last August.
Cadillac CTS dominated the mid-car luxury category with retail sales increasing 87 percent compared with the same month a year ago.
Saturn Astra monthly sales of more than 1,900 vehicles were the best to date, and show a 28 percent increase compared with July 2008 (Astra was not available last August).
GM's popular midsized crossovers -- Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook -- together accounted for more than 14,600 vehicle sales in the month, with a retail sales increase of 29 percent compared with a year ago.
Where do you get that the Aurora was designed and mfr'd outside the US?? My Park Ave sits on the same platform.
incentives last month, up 7% from a year ago but down slightly from
July, according to car-buying research Web site Edmunds.com.
Chrysler, bogged down by its truck- and SUV-heavy lineup, led the way
with $4,366 per vehicle, up from $3,769 a year ago.
GM spent $3,865 per vehicle, up from last year but actually lower than
July despite its latest employee-discounting promotion.
As for the Japanese manufacturers, Toyota Motor Corp. ramped up its
spending to $1,398 per vehicle from $887 a year ago, while Honda and
Nissan, both much more reliant on smaller cars, only fractionally raised
their incentives for the month.
I think the comment was directed at the G8 and not the Aurora. Actually, when it comes to the Park Ave/Aurora, the Park Ave might be the better car. Even though they're similar, I've heard that the 4.0 version of the Northstar can be troublesome, and expensive to fix. Somehow, I think it ends up actually being more expensive to work on than if you just bought a Cadillac with the 4.6 Northstar!
I think there were a lot of other components on the '95-99 Aurora that weren't shared with any of its siblings, and that makes it more expensive to maintain. In contrast, the Park Ave is simpler and more reliable, cheaper to fix, although some years had that intake manifold problem, and I've heard that the supercharged versions often need a new supercharger around 100,000 miles.
If that's the case the Aurora must have been complete disaster. I've been in several late model Park Ave's and they are terrible in terms of interior quality and overall cheapness, particularly when you consider what they cost new. My grandpa had a '97 & '00 that were complete junk. Head gaskets, intake, many electrical problems, squeaks, rattles. Neither made it 100k w/o major expensive repairs. Just horrible cars IMO. Though they did have exterior style. Just put the blinders on when you get inside.
It is very encouraging to see that even in very hard times, GM is staying the course of putting a lid on fleet sales and working on improving retail sales. Of course, with employee discounting for all, one does have to wonder at what price they are accomplishing that.
Also, the line before the one I copied makes it seem like they are allowing fleet sales to match retail sales for the time being. Still a good trend given that in the past they have massively pumped up fleet sales whenever times got tough, but my hope is that once things begin to turn around a bit, they will go back to reducing the fleet sales.
As for all the talk about how to eliminate Pontiac, I thought I had read somewhere that they were within shouting distance of eliminating all stand-alone Pontiac dealers, or even had already succeeded in doing it? They could get rid of Pontiac pretty quickly, after making the Vibe (and the Solstice?) Chevys, and good riddance. After all, it looks like Pontiac sales increases are mostly due to a HUGE increase in Vibe sales.
Then sell Hummer and Saturn (and Saab?) and they would be well on the way to finally removing all the duplication, dead weight, and cannibalism in their setup. I still say one has to wonder why they would keep GMC, and they should only keep Buick if it becomes so popular in China that the supply and design chain can reverse, with all future Buicks designed and built in China and shipped to America to supply American Buick dealers. Even then they would have to be pretty great and unlike anything else sold by GM in America, sort of like Holdens from down under are now.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Regards,
OW
The superchargers need to have the oil changed regularly. That's often overlooked by people (and servicing dealers) just as the DexCool maintenance was overlooked by being fooled with 150,000 mi/5 year claims. Also DexCool was contaminated by many people.
I've seen under the hood of the 4.0 Aurora. It's very tight. But some of the parts can be repaired deceptively easily despite what looks like a nightmare for access. The smaller motor and tight suspension makes it a relatively sporty car.
As for head gaskets, intake leaks, electrical problems, I know many people, many, with Park Avenues and LeSabres who have NOT had any of those. It makes me wonder if the cars were bought used. The intake problem seems to have hit about 40%. Fix it once and right and it's done.
Someone has a 99 Park Avenue sitting on a corner lot (against city rules) with a sign "For Sale." It looks good. It has 250,000 miles on it. Hmmm. That really speaks well to the longevity as andre1969 pointed out.
It'd like to see Buick and GM develop a large economical-to-drive car like the leSabres and other H-bodies and related derived cars were. The Lucerne is a little larger than I want and at a higher price point than I want. They need something to compete with 4-cyl Camry and Accord models.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I guess my biggest issue with that is that to me, Buick is supposed to be an upscale brand. It isn't supposed to compete with 4-cyl Camry and Accord models. If Buick gets a version of the Aura/Malibu, I'd like to see it V-6 only. Or maybe that's just old-fashioned thinking these days?
As for the Lucerne, size-wise, doesn't it sort of split the difference between the Park Ave and the LeSabre? I think it's heavier than the Park, though. I wonder how that car would perform with the 3.6 V-6 mated to the 6-speed automatic? The 3.8 is a decent engine, but I think something as big as the Lucerne is starting to push its limits, performance and fuel economy wise.
I have my eye on a 1998 LeSabre I see on a lot on my way to work each morning.
Several Questions:
How can you detect the manifold problem?
How can you tell if the car had the problem and if it's been corrected?
Would it make sense to simply go ahead and have the manifold replaced proactively?
Cadillac should build the luxury sports sedan (and the STS is not quite there), with Pontiac building the lower end sports sedan (the BTS) and Oldsmobile should have had the CTS.
The manifold problem shows up with dropping coolant level. Check radiator level inside radiator to be sure it stays full. It mimicks a leaking water pump sometimes. Also plastic elbow can leak around o-rings.
The top of the manifold has circles that show the date. If it is original from 97 or 98 it's been on there a long time. If a later date, then original was replaced with a GM which may have the same engineering. If no date circles stamped manifold has been replaced. Usually a good sign. If it shows a name of APN or Dorman, that's good. Check at seam between lower intake manifold and engine heads for signs of a new gasket if it's been replaced.
Check email later that you have in profile. I don't want to keep this off topic.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
One can dream, can't he???
most fuel-efficient vehicles, will soon start running weekend shifts at
a compact-car factory in Lordstown, Ohio.
The auto maker said Thursday it is trying to lure enough workers to run
a third shift at the plant on Saturday, in addition to two full shifts
already slated for each weekend in September.
GM said its inability to keep dealerships fully stocked led to a 26%
drop in sales last month of the Chevrolet Cobalt. Cobalt sales have been
on the rise all year, increasing 10% through August even as GM's overall
sales fell 18%.
The shortage comes after GM added a third shift at the factory, which
took full effect last month.
"We just can't get enough (cars) out on the field," said Jim Graham,
president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents the
Lordstown factory. "It's virtually impossible to meet the demand that's
out there. But once we fill the pipeline, everything should be fine."