4gm

I think the Yaris commercials are some of the best and most creative to come from any auto manufacturer in a while. The car isn't much to look at but those commercials are great. They stand out in a wasteland of car commercials that all look and sound the same.

Maybe Kirk just wants GM to get some "buzz" so the stock will go up and then he can unload all his shares on the open market?

Hmmm, I'm trying to think of ways GM's PR department can spin their rejection of this "alliance"... "We believe forming a new alliance right now with another automaker would, at the very least, significantly delay GM's turnaround plan that is is already well underway. And at very most, could derail it completely." or "GM has painfully learned in the not too recent past that so-called strategic alliances very seldom turn out as originally envisioned. GM can ill afford to take a chance on another alliance at this time."

GM has 6 speed transmissions on the way. The have diesel engines for the low end of the market all over Europe with new diesels for the midsize market coming in a few yearrs. They have the hybrids coming. They also have plug-in hybrids just around the corner if recent news is to be believed. And GM has Daewoo to cover the development of small car programs. What exactly would GM get from a Nissan/Renault alliance that it doesn't already have or have coming? GM seems to be getting the behind the scenes work done to get things going, however tortureously slow it seems to be. If anything, they need less options for where to put their development resources, not more, which is what they would have with another alliance. I ain't feeling it.

Can GM block a sale of shares from Tracinda to whatever company it doesn't find fit to own such a large stake? I don't know how that works.

Wow! 47,600 buyouts Deal speeds up GM turnaround by 2 years; Delphi exodus paves way for restructuring. Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News DETROIT -- More than 47,000 union workers at General Motors Corp. and bankrupt Delphi Corp. have taken buyouts or early retirements in what amounts to the biggest corporate downsizing in U.S. automotive history. GM said Monday that 35,000 hourly employees have agreed to leave the struggling automaker for packages ranging from $35,000 to $140,000 -- which will allow the company to reach its target reduction of 30,000 hourly jobs by Jan. 1, two years early. The final tally of buyouts and early retirements far exceeds early estimates and lays the groundwork for a sweeping restructuring of GM's U.S. manufacturing operations. "It's fair to say we're coming very rapidly on the road back," said GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner at a news conference at GM's Detroit headquarters. At Delphi, another 12,600 union members have elected to retire early, paving the way for a radical restructuring of the parts maker's U.S. operations. more at link... http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../606270365/1148

I was heading to a mall in this morning and saw a dark blue Sky driving around. It looks damn sexy in person. Solstice is getting all the press but I think the Sky will end up outselling it. If GM doesn't cap the Sky's production below that of the Solstice that is.

Are we sure that's the CTS? I don't see GM's corporate radio. But seriously, the design is awesome. I'd love to see some wood in there and also a darker color replacing that light gray on the dash. Right now it looks slightly cold. But still, I think it looks great.

I'm one of the dissenting voices here. I like it a lot. It's highly distinctive without being too over the top like the 300. Last year the Sebring sold 90.321 units and this redesign should easily top that number once production gets into full swing. The interior design is very good. There just needs to be a few more colors inside to bring some life to it. This and the upcoming Nitro make me think Chrysler is the domestic automaker to watch. Sorry, Saturn.

Maybe one of the reasons why this segment is shrinking is because most of the entries are either old, like the GMt360's, or look old, like the Explorer and Durango. As others have pointed out, the Pathfinder is doing well. And guess what? You can actually tell it has new sheetmetal. Go figure. When has shelving an update ever worked out well saleswise? With the Taurus? The Buick Century and Regal? How's that aged looking Grand Prix selling? What are the sales tats on the Ford Ranger? Anyone? GM can find the money to make the BLS, which looks only 1/4 baked, with a sales target of only 10,000 anually yet they can't find the money to update the GMT360's?

The more I look at it the more I think they would have been a lot better off making this thing look like the Avalanche.

I like it BUT I don't think the design has evolved enough. It looks like something that should be on the road now. About a year after it debuts it will look old.

Are these the space age looking minivans that some have seen sketches of? Will they be badge jobs of each other only to be proclaimed just another stopgap measure?

His "plan" did not address... 1. GM's overcapacity 2. Its out of control healthcare costs for both active and retired workers 3. GM's overlapping engineering resources around the globe 4. GM's process for approving and putting into production ugly cars All of which GM's current team, under the direction of the evil Wagoner, is currently doing. Go away already!

Not really what I was expecting. In fact it looks fairly generic. Maybe I'll change my mind when I see it completely undisguised.

I understand that cutting a division or 2 would free up resources for GM and therefore different projects for remaining divisions would get more money than they would otherwise. That would mean vehicles getting better interior materials. Maybe more standard and optional features like traction control, onstar, etc. Things like that add to how desirable a car is to the average customer. It also means less tooling, less fctory workers to pay and less factory space to pay for. I get that. But would having more development money have made the Malibu any less hideous before it got it's current nosejob? Would it have made the Ion any less goofy looking? Would it have made the designs, not the materials, of most of GM's current cars any better? Would it have cost GM any more money to make the front end on the Lucerne and current Impala more distinctive? And what about Cadillac and it's multi-billion dollar investment? The CTS is/was a hit. The SRX and STS are struggling. The GTO got great reviews for it's ride, handling and interior packaging. But nobody bought it. It was too Plain Jane for a car regardless of whether or not it wore a GTO badge. What if all GM did differently in the recent past was change the designs they approved for different projects? What if the Saab 9-3 looked like the Ford Iosis concept? What if the Cobalt looked like the Opel Astra hatchback? What if Pontiac made a G6 version of something that looked the Alfa Romeo Brera? And what if Buick made something that looked like the Bentley Continental coupe? And what if GM got rid of Buick, Pontiac, Saturn and Saab tomorrow? Would current Camry and Accord owners suddenly trade in their cars for a Malibu? Would every Lexus owner turn around and buy a Cadillac? I think not. Like I said, I understand how axing a division or models for a division frees up investment dollars. But if nobody ends up buying the cars greenlit for production, whats the point?

When does the new Malibu go into production? Was it mid '07 or mid '08?

Even from this photo you can tell it's a huge improvement over the current Malibu. Not like that's saying much, though.

Agreed. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive. Hopefully, the Malibu hyrbrid, whenever that comes around, will follow suit.

Meh. It's called a learning curve. Any new employee at any company has things to learn. And if the people training the new hires are inexperienced then they have things to learn, too. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Terrible. That radio looks like an aftermarket accessory someone decided to shove into their dashboard. And even though the current 9-3's center stack has entirely too many buttons, at least it has character and looks cohesive.

That C-pillar looks very Ion-esqe.

Or what about a small(er) displacement Ecotec with VVT and DI? Make it the entry level engine for Cobalt, G5, Ion and optional for the Aveo.

With news of Caddy getting a theta and slow sales of the SRX, it looks like GM should have stuck to the original plan for the SRX. How much was the styling dumbed down? The SRX seems like pure A&S to me. It was just very badly executed, just like the XLR. I'm somewhat concerned about Caddy's future. I think Lutz will push for more of the conservative Sixteen style for future Caddy's instead of the A&S style that has been the basis for Cadillac's resurgence. Conservative is for Buick, not Cadillac. The new Escalade looks good but the next generation absolutely has to be a stunner to hold onto sales. Same with the STS.

Sounds kind of bogus to me. I want to know of ACTUAL problems. Not design issues I can check out before I buy a car. Good grief.