this article is FOGM BAIT!

Auto Extremist

and not really in a bad way!

Hey, New York, check out the exotic "imports" - from Detroit.

RANT by Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. Now that the media din has successfully canonized literally every import brand imaginable, no matter what the pedigree, and instilled a Detroit = Bad, Imports = Good mentality in the American car buying public, New Yorkers attending the New York Auto Show this week owe it to themselves to check out the "exotic" import offerings from the Motor City. And if they would take their import-oriented blinders off long enough, they would be shocked at the sheer number of competitive offerings from GM, Ford and the Chrysler Group.

Edited April 13, 200619 yr by regfootball

The New York Auto Show is a snapshot of the automobile industry right now, the most competitive it has ever been in its history. Detroit has been so out of it for so long they're now coming back around as the quintessential "outsiders" in a business that has become overrun with preconceived notions, accumulated biases and a confluence of relentlessly ill-informed weasels hell-bent on witnessing the outright destruction of the domestic automobile business - even though the consequences of such a scenario would have a profoundly negative impact on every single citizen in this country.

The "exotics" from Detroit are now worth a serious look, and this week, New Yorkers will get an eye-full. I believe they'll be pleasantly surprised.

mods, feel free to move this topic to the NYiAS boards if needed.

C'MON FOGM, I DARE YOU NOT TO REPLY TO THE ARTICLE.......

Edited April 13, 200619 yr by regfootball

I KNOW YOU WANT TO, FOGM!!!!

"can't hold back any longer now...."

NO WAIT! He's worn out from the "Target Toyota" thread posting!

C'MON MAN! THIS IS A GOOD ARTICLE!!!!!

Too bad this piece wasn't published in a NYC newspaper for auto show goers to see it.

If there's one thing that DeLorenzo does great, it's lighting a fire under the words in his articles. It's no-holds-barred, unabashed journalism. I actually saved this piece on my hard drive because I enjoyed reading it so much.

i almost always enjoy this guys writing. he has a way of covering all his bases while still knowing where his best interests lie.(or is it lay? who cares.)

hes obviously well versed. his write up of detroit was damn good, too.

Edited April 13, 200619 yr by Mr.Krinkle

I like the Autoextremist, but I'm getting a little tired of his moodiness. When he was working for Chrysler it seemed his tone on Chrysler issues went down a notch. Then, when the Chrysler gig ended it seemed like he ranted like mad about Chrysler and its people. Now, according to him nearly everything about GM is gold despite his years of complaining about GM.

And sure, Volkswagen makes some below average quality vehicles. But is he so blind as to not see that any name besides "Golf," combined with lower pricing and (hopefully) better quality will do nothing but raise sales for the 5-door version of the Jetta? It's all about cutting through the marketing clutter (as he's written on several occasions), and "Rabbit" does that very well. You could argue that the move is not unlike when Chevy brought back the "Malibu" name on a brand new platform long after buyers stopped caring about "Corsica." Me thinks he had a bad experience with a Rabbit in his younger days.

dangit FOGM! where are you?????

dangit FOGM!  where are you?????

Um...have you tried PMing him?

Um...have you tried PMing him?

oh.

i guess that's an idea...LOL

i always forget about that.

This is probably the best article I've read in a long time.

Too bad it'll fall on deaf ears.

The 'weasels' WILL get their way (Just look at this very board, a GM board nonetheless, for our insider commentary on how the new Saturns "Are a joke" and "Just aren't good enough")

Detroit has been doomed for years, the only difference now being that the PR WAR and propaganda has entensified over the last few years for fear that Detroit might recover (Because they were showing potential to, so the 'weasels' were sure to launch an all out "EVERYTHING FROM DETROIT SUCKS!!!1111!!!111!!" war before the new models had a chance to sway anyone. Now the're pretty much doing 'mop up' work by fencing off the import buyers and domestic buyers in comparisons and quietly waiting for Detroit to fall for good)

It's just too bad that someone can't make these people pay without causing a scene and bad consequences.

The 'weasels' WILL get their way (Just look at this very board, a GM board nonetheless, for our insider commentary on how the new Saturns "Are a joke" and "Just aren't good enough")

Well, I don't have access to the insider board, but the AURA really is a joke due to its segment-trailing interior, an interior that could be so much better had GM not cheaped out on the materials. Had the AURA an interior like the new OUTLOOK, we'd have a completely different story. I hope the 2010 redesign addresses this very issue.

SKY is top-notch, and the only vehicles that might beat OUTLOOK for "best in class" are the Acadia and Enclave.*

*Assuming, of course, that the 2nd row seat isn't 3 inches off the floor like some of the GM photos appear to suggest.

Well, I don't have access to the insider board, but the AURA really is a joke due to its segment-trailing interior, an interior that could be so much better had GM not cheaped out on the materials.  Had the AURA an interior like the new OUTLOOK, we'd have a completely different story.

What's interesting to me is on this very board we had comments last year when the concept debuted that the interior wasn't groundbreaking or a giant leap from the competition. And a year later, when the standards get even higher as we've seen the new Camry, Altima, etc......GM decideds to release an even cheaper version of the concept's interior! They couldn't improve on it, no they had to cheapen it, why is it that we've come to accept this as normal practice from GM?! It is ridiculous. Do they ever do thier homework? Didn't they know a new Camry was coming out?? They should expect by now that Toyota will pull out all the stops in their design process. They're so f'in clueless sometimes. I really will not get over the fact that we mentioned here it wasn't that great of an interior, and instead of improving on it, they cheapened it!

again, is this all from photos. you can get an idea but to go off on a tangent about it is a little premature...dontcha think? unless you know something else or have seen it. im gonna try to get my ass over to nyias before sunday.

im expecting the worst as usual...that way i can at least be mildy pleased if its ok

again,  is this all from photos.  you can get an idea but to go off on a tangent about it is a little premature...dontcha think?  unless you know something else or have seen it.  im gonna try to get my ass over to nyias before sunday. 

im expecting the worst as usual...that way i can at least be mildy pleased if its ok

it's a nice interior, i never said it wasn't. i expect the quality to be there, for the most part, like all recent gm interiors. it won't exude tightness and richness like the new camry, because for that to happen, a revelation would have to take place at gm. but i'm not discussing quality in my above post; i am going off the design. the design doesn't do much for my eyes, and doesn't even match the new camry or current accord---so how can it expect to steal customers from those machines. it's really hard to deal with the perception GM has---it's even harder when your products reinforce the idea that they are inferior products. every detail matters, and design imparts quality.