riviera74

Not just "Drill baby Drill!" but "refine baby refine" too. Refining capacity has not appreciably risen since the end of the 70s. There have been upgrades in what existing refineries do since then, but not in actual capacity. The real problem with renewable energy is energy density. There are only two sources of power that have great energy density without the need for massive subsidies: fossil fuels and nuclear. What we could use is a far simpler tax code that terminates all energy subsidies. Also, ending direct subsidies and loan guarantees would help too. For once, let other countries subsidize renewables because they can afford it while we wait for them to make it viable.

Times have certainly changed. Remember when Buick was known as a large car company? Now it will be known as a small/medium car company. The Encore will have a great interior and all, but not everyone will like the smallness of this vehicle.

Just like Toyota and Honda became America's favorite brands back in the 80s. Sigh. Then again, Hyundai does have a compelling value to them, don't they?

Wow. Check out the Crosstour vs. the ZDX sales figures. And it seems nobody wants an RL (was it cancelled?).

So the Evoque, a crossover rather than a real SUV like the LR2 and LR4, is carrying Jaguar Land Rover NA. This should be unsurprising since the Evoque is priced at SRX levels and everything else is quite expensive.

The Ford Ranger's discontinuation skews the narrative a bit. The real concern is Lincoln. The numbers for Lincoln are pretty bad if you think about it, especially since Cadillac outsells Lincoln two to one. Lincoln is looking more like Mercury before Merc was terminated here. Again, why should anyone buy a Lincoln?

It seems that even at Chrysler Group, the small cars are the leaders. Total car sales are up by double digits while trucks are stable. I never would have imagined five years ago tha Chrysler could sell decent small cars (think Dart vs. Caliber, more so than the 500) since they were so completely married to trucks and SUVs. It certainly helps when the right leadership rights the ship and refocuses the whole company on product rather than its previous owners pursue profit for its own sake and by extension strip-mine Chrysler.

The way we can see these sales figures using Google Docs is great. Keep that up. As for GM, I find it rather interesting that small car are having these sky-high sales increases while almost everything else is stable or falling, regardless of whether you use month-to-month or year-to-date. I wonder if GM is actually making profits out of Sparks, Cruzes and Veranos. They certainly are not as big a per-unit profit machine as Suburbans and Escalades.

Now if only Chevy could build such a competitor to this car. . . . .

A $42K VLR is a cool idea, if the Volt sells for about $25K. Volt prices must come down to Prius levels right now for this to really work well. Caddy should have had the Volt first, then Chevy (or Buick) could have it 5-7 years later. Corvette/Camaro SS/Suburban aside, a >$40K Chevy is generally a no-sale.

If killing Pontiac was such a bad idea, what would take its place on the chopping block? By the time the Sky, GTO and G8 were released, Pontiac was little more than a slightly altered Chevy clone. If Pontiac were just Sky, GTO and G8, that would make a real difference and nobody would have killed the brand at all. Remember, boring FWD sedans that drove like Chevys ultimately sealed Pontiac's fate.

GM can have Cadillac get away with v6 engines in the ATS, CTS, and the XTS. But once above that, the Ultra V8 becomes necessary. While the smallblock is the best v8 GM has ever built (and the v6 engines should be derived from that engine, not the European I4 DOHCs), the perception is that DOHC v8 engines are better even if that perception belongs in the 80s and is no longer true. There are still those who want DOHC even if the engines themselves are not better. That is why pushrod I4 and V6 engines are virtually all gone as of 2012.

Ordering packages rather than line items for each option is more efficient from a factory perspective. It costs a lot more to do that than pursue options packages. If nobody went to the dealer and bought from existing dealer inventory, then your idea is more viable. Of course, state franchise laws may make that impossible (especially when culling dealers).

Piledriver is necessary because Bulldozer was rather uncompetitive in IPC for single-core performance. Bulldozer was an embarassment for AMD.

I have never understood the perception of DOHC is better than pushrod. What gives people that perception? I ask why for this reason: my Park Avenue Ultra has a SC3800, and the 3800 is easily the best v6 GM has ever put into a production car (prior to the 3.6v6, maybe). Why would a DOHC v8 be so much better when that may not be the case? Engine design and execution and performance, not whether you have OHC or not, should determine what is best for your car. If I have one complaint about the v6 engines that GM has now in its cars, it is lack of torque compared to the 3800. Can GM fix that please?

Is the Encore about the same size or smaller than an Equinox/Terrain/SRX?

Do you have any proof of that? I call BS on this idea.

Wow. Remember when Buicks especially stayed as they were for five and six years? Not anymore. As for GMC, the trucks are still doing well and they keep the Buick dealerships around.

Does anyone even need/use AWD in the Snowbelt these days? Shouldn't better tires solve those issues instead?

This time, the Phaeton has competition from the Genesis sedan and the Equus. If VW prices the Phaeton at less than $50K fully equipped, they have a winner. $68K to start was the biggest mistake VW ever had made for the last one.

BMW? FWD outside of Mini? GM did the same thing in the mid 80s and it was a disaster. Market share losses accelerated once GM went FWD on almost every car. BMW, don't do it!

I remember reading somewhere (I forget which magazine article it was) where they mentioned that a lot of automakers are vying to build a profitable $10K car. Only problem is is that regs and standards are so high that cars can seldom be sold brand new for less than $12K. I bring this up because GM could do a lot of people a fairly big favor by moving Chevy downmarket to get those customers from the used car market and build truly affordable cars. That of course would help Buick and Cadillac out too, in terms of market segmentation. In other words, Corvette and Camaro aside, why are so many Chevy vehicles at or above $30K?

Why does that Malibu have plastic wood in the car? Moreover, is Epsilon II (wrong platform?) really that bad, or is the car just under-refined?

Wow. Buick is now actually expensive. Buick has come a long way from being a slightly upgraded Chevy. I guess the Traverse will still start at around $30K. . . . or so I hope. I guess the dealer was right in saying that the Enclave is Buick's flagship. . . . for now at least.

CAFE is a big problem. Weight is the real problem. Abolishing CAFE will not prevent gasoline from rising further than current levels. Ending CAFE will simply mean more people buying more gas as carmakers (somewhat) walk away from greater fuel efficiency. No real winners here, unless you own an oil refinery and a gas station and the oil under the ground.