[Rob Hood]

http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2008/7/8/rants-453.html

Was listening to some newsradio today - many analysts are painting a bleak picture. Heard that Hummer and Saab were going to be let go, maybe more. I've already seen where Chevy is not sponsoring several NASCAR races next year.

Rick Wagoner is supposed to deliver an announcement tomorrow morning at 0830 EST. Should be worth listening to.

This post has been edited by Rob Hood: Jul 15 2008, 05:59 AM

[CamaroFS34]

I don't buy the "gas costs" argument either. The unfortunate truth is that this has been a long time coming. How many of us have had to defend our cars from the pony-car haters who automatically class them as "crap boxes" (due to GM's less-than-stellar build quality) and/or gas guzzlers (because of the V8, when they get as good of mileage as many of the Accords/Mazdas/etc out there)? GM did this to themselves years ago, through crappy cars -- build and design -- and poor marketing, and now it's all building to a head.

My mom owns a new Saturn Aura XR. This is the same platform as the Chevy Malibu, and is actually an Opel. When I drove the car, the only thing that told me it was a GM was the Saturn emblem. Seriously, the fit/finish and overall interior is not the stereotypical GM that we've all tolerated in our F-bodies. It is very much BMWish, and considering the car is actually an Opel, that really isn't a surprise. The GTO is the same way -- but, hey! it's a Holden. Why is it that GM is going to it's European and Australian branches for cars to sell in America? I think it's because they are finally realizing that their reputation for crappy cars is a major part of the reason that sales are down. The unfortunate thing is that even though they have started to make a turnaround with the cars, that legacy is still keeping people out of the sales room.

When I was looking at the Mazdaspeed 3 earlier this year, I was appalled by the gas mileage the car was rated at. While I know the EPA ratings are an average, it was still literally no better than the EPA ratings on my 1996 Camaro. That's really sad. My 2006 WRX gets pretty much the same mileage as my Camaro, especially on the highway (it's marginally better in city driving). Plenty of people have smirked to me about the gas prices, "Guess you're not driving the Camaro very much now!" and when I ask them what their mileage is, and then I tell them mine, unless they are in a hybrid or a sub-compact like an Aveo, they aren't doing phenomenally better than me (for the record, even with the A/C on, the green car was getting 27-29mpg on the trip to/from Atlanta last weekend, and it did 30mpg with the A/C off).

Of course, GM's union workers don't help the situation any either.