Chicagoland

Per the market, 2nd Gen F bods are collectables nowadays. "Future" means anything under 20-25 years old that may be worth holding.

This is the North American COTY/TOTY. Not to be confused with Motor Trend's 'COTY/TOTY', Car and Driver's '10 Best', and Automobile's whatever they call it.

Split Mopar between GM and Ford? One issue is all the West and East coast yuppies want to see them fail [and thousands out of work] because of a 25 y/o grudge of a 'lemon' [or a car they didn't know how to take care of] or the tired old "I dont like the feel of their interior materials"

GM justs wants to get Chrysler's piggy bank of $11 M. Then they will shut down the excess.

Not to throw a damper, but the first gen El C only lasted 2 years, then came back as '64 Chevelle based truck.

GM is postponing R&D, not 'cancelling' the S/T. Don't believe all rumors or 'predictions'. Tahoe is a better buy than the old TB, more room for same $ and MPG.

The prediction that "...these trucks would be gone in 36 months" is just that, not factual. Check old 'future car news' stories and have a good laugh, alot can change in a year or two

Sorry but GM simply cannot afford to have a 1970's era of 4 full line brands anymore.

"LX cars, despite them being one of the greatest affordable products for enthusiasts available in the past few decades!" 30-40K is "affordable"? And the base 25 k one had plastic hubcaps, how is that a bargain? Those cars didn't keep Chrysler from turning into nearly bankrupt company.

All the $$ spent on Solst. could have been spent to bring out better G6, a full line up of G5 or an Epsilon II Grand Prix.

Sure the LX cars are popular, but they sure didnt 'save Detroit, nor did they usher in the 'return of RWD for everyone'. OTOH, GM RWD fans may finally see the return of the Caprice/Roadmaster/Fleetwood, if GM buys the LX and changes badges.

Shows that 'halo cars', 'enthusiast cars', and RWD alone cannot save GM. Solstice was another trendy car that the gearheads think is only thing that can save sales. But forget that 70-90% of buyers do not care about 'enthusiasm', they just want a good daily driver!

Best thing about it is the new Ep2 platform. Finally retiring the 21 year old 'W'.

Suburban Buick used to be #1 in Chicago, and had buyers coming in annually to get new Buicks. Now outta biz. OTOH, they relied on loyal buyers of WW2 generation, and since there are fewer of those....

I remember many on C&G were saying the same thing "copy of PT, will flop". Now suddenly they jumped on bandwagon.

Caliber was pushed at first as a 'crossover', then when gas went up, they suddenly called it a 'small car'. I only see new Mo-dogs at rental fleets at O'Hare airport, and white Avengers/Seb's with 'US govt" plates. The canary in the coal mine is on its 9th life and in a coma.

Well, supposedly RWD V8 cars were to 'save Detroit' per many on here. Look at Mopar now, those LX cars sure were their 'savior'.

Mopar's Jefferson plant is fairly new, wouldnt that maybe be kept? I dunno, this 'merger' is too hard to believe, yet will maybe happen. All because of greed, the SUV mania, and bad PR.

"Plymouth, AMC, Studebaker, Oldsmobile, Eagle Packard, and Hudson all had history too, and they are all gone. " And at least 100 more names that died during the Great Depression. Plymouth and AMC were down to forgettable products the last 10 years they were still clinging to life. But, I do not want to see GM try to merge with Mopar, let them die off and then get the left overs in a fire sale. That way no need to have to buy off dealers.

Well, if so P-O, then hand some $$ to GM to help?

I read C/D cover to cover many times in 80's when young car fanatic. I remember the cover of the April 1979 issue, said of the X cars "GM blows everyone into the weeds". In theory the cars were good, just the quality and locking rear brakes killed them. But then the basic car platform lasted to 1996 as the renamed 'A' car. Also, C/D loved the Pontiac 6000 STE and even had the Caprice on its 1st "10 Best list". And, the T and J body cars were very successfull in other countries [look 'em up]. They did OK here too, just didnt have "yuppie appeal" and were around too long.

"We've nearly become an "Idiocracy"." True, just look at Sarah Palin,

They got too darn big. The old S10 Blazer was a good compact size, and they had to balloon it to same as Tahoe outside, but not inside.

Just as all those new Mercurys right?

True Mustang fans/buyers know the 2010 is coming soon, so dont expect sales #'s to be that great.