With the mpg mandates for 2016 approaching, don't be suprised to see a twin turbo 4.3 V6 in a future Vette (not the vortec) They have a 470 hp version that has been in testing for several months, and hints that the 5.5L V8 from their racing program may be the new V8 in their line up with the LS9 in it's last year of production (2013).

 

No, never owned one... been in a few, and I agree good for about 5 years and then they age like an Oriental woman over 40. And no, I have thicker skin than thinking you are picking on me. I've been around these boards long enough that I can tell who's more factual in thier posts than opinionated.

and well, Bugatti at a US middle class price point... its nice to dream right?

John

 

LMFAO! Nice!

 

For what it's worth, they're called "Asian" these days. "Oriental" is a rug.

I have a suspicion either of them wouldn't find the joke funny.

 

I read somewhere in one of the posts comparing the GM trucks with ford and chrysler(ram). The reason Chrysler decided to call the truck line "Ram", was to differentiate it from a Dodge, as that line had poor build quality, while the trucks were very good....the Ford, and I'm talking the F 150, happens to be the highest selling vehicle in the world, and pretty good in quality....I'm on my third, a 2012 Eco Boost, I've also had an '08 and '04. Never had to do anything on the first 2 but a set of brakes, and both went over 85k before I turned them in. By the way, I would put my Eco Boost against any 5.3 v8 or 5.7 hemi any day. Let's not even bring Toyota or Nissan into the truck conversation yet. While they are making a quality product, they fall apart everywhere but in the drive train. Also, anyone driving a late model Silverado, post here where it was built. I wonder how many of you will admit your truck is built in Mexico......

 

Try Fort Wayne Indiana, and Flint, Michigan. I wouldn't brag about getting 85,000 miles on any vehicle...that's nothing.

 

EXACTLY ^ ^ LOL

What's 85,000 miles ?? Thats' the first 5 years of ownership under warranty.
Granted it proves it's not Dodge quality, but still that just means they can
make it to 100K under warranty without major issues which is good though.

But I consider a trucks real quality build to last beyond 100-200K+ personally.
Wrong. http://focus2move.com/item/80-worlds...-is-number-one
The Toyota Prius and Compact cars rank the top 10 best selling vehicles in the "World".

Outside of America fuel costs ALOT more and hardly anyone buys gas guzzling pickup trucks.
You're confusing it with the "Best selling truck in America" for 30 years.

 

The Forbes follow up retort showing that articles author was a 'tard.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmul...eneral-motors/
I would NOT call the CTS-V a "Mildly performing Sporty Luxury Car".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...eife_lap_times

Read the Nurburgring lap times, its' only 5 seconds slower then the 500+hp Nissan GT-R AWD that competes with the likes of the Corvette Z06 track beast. It's also just 12 seconds slower then a Lamborghini Murcielago 572hp supercar, and faster then the Audi R8 supercar.

I will bet $10 your Cadillac you own has the Northstar engine in it.
Prior to these newer Cadillac redesigns Cadillac had a horrible reliability rating.
GM spent $5 billion updating Cadillac and they've come out of the gates hard and fast.

 

Or the Express. And you would be suprised. ;-)

But back to our regularly scheduled program.

John

 

So? My truck was assembled in Mexico. My 05 was built in Indiana. Location is actually irrelevant. Where it is assembled has nothing to do with the engineering quality of the vehicle. Those guys don't dictate the type of steel used, or particular alloy, component design, torque spec etc... Of course you have the possible drunk or stoned, or untrained dude or dudette that failed to follow certian protocol while assembing the truck, BUT that could happen on any manufacturers assembly line anywhere in the world.

Engine internals manufactured in Bay City, Michigan
Engine block and heads cast in Saginaw, Michigan
Crankshaft cast in Defiance, Ohio
5.3 Engine, assembled in Romulus, Michigan
Transmission cases, cast in Bedford, Indiana
Transmission assembled in Toledo, Ohio.
Body component stampings Marion, Indiana

I could go on, but you get the point. Overall quality is not and should never be based on final point of assembly.

John

 

I wasn't "bragging" about getting 85k out of a truck, just that I only did a set of brakes....what year is your Chevy truck? Is it a '11 or '12? I didn't say "all" Chevy trucks were built in Mexico. Many of them are....I'm in the auto repair industry, and part of my job is having to know where a vehicle is assembled, for refinish reasons. Many GM trucks are being assembled south of the border....and no, that doesn't mean they are junk....just a point referring to possibility of cars being built in China and sent here, which I don't believe will ever happen!

 

Depending on where you are reading, the corolla would be the best selling vehicle in the world, my bad on that....when referring to the F 150, I meant to say best selling "truck" in the world....and it has been the best selling truck in America for 35 years....and, I do 75% of my driving in NYC, and the 85k I put on is in a three year period, definitely not easy driving.....

 

By the way, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but is the GM and Ram truck warranty 100k? The ford is 60k. I wonder how many purchase based on that....if ford would drop their price on the F 150, and offer 100k warranty, how many more do you think they'd sell?

 

Just saw this now, I have to disagree. I've owned two '70s, a '76, a '90, and an '02. My dad has had a '94 and a '99. The '70s were quite possibly the finest mass-produced cars ever made. Of the newer ones, that's a 4.5, a 4.9, and two Northstars. They've all been fantastic cars, comfortable, well-made, and durable. The newer ones require more maintenance than the older ones, and there are a ton of unnecessary gadgets (I attribute both of these things to government mandates and trend-seeking buyers who aren't content with tried-and-true technology) but as cars go, in my personal experience over the last twelve years, they have been above average in reliability and quality. Again, just my experience.

 

My 97 STS has been very good to me, the only reason I still have it. After its first big issue, it will be gone.
It is true that one bad car can spoil the viewpoint of the whole name, and I have my share of them also. However it does not mean they are all or mostly bad.
Well, with one exception maybe...

 

GM Went downhill after the fall of Oldsmobile, then Pontiac. Pretty soon we will see Buick hit the dust. I stopped buying GM products after 2004 when the last Alero was built.

 

The '01 I have has had head gasket problems since 75,000 miles. Maybe it's not Cadillac, maybe it's just the crummy Northstar engine. But then again, when the vinyl came off the dash at the front closest to the windshield I figured maybe it was poor craftsmanship. I've had window actuators break (plastic clip inside) and utility light buttons that break and won't turn OFF. Just random stuff that has left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

Hmmm - maybe your car was built on a Friday or something!
Only thing that is bad on mine is the windshield squirters...

 

It must be a weekend car that's for sure...lol! I wouldn't mind a new one, but I think they are built better these days. I'd take a new "V" for sure

 

Nope, mine is a summer daily driver with 93k miles. I do not like the looks of the newer ones and they lack the smooth caddy ride. Mine will be replaced by a Vista Cruiser some day...

 

No, I meant that mine must've been a weekend car. Started on Friday and finished on Monday lol!

 

I haven't been enthralled with GM over the last decade or so, but to me, the closing of Oldsmobile and Pontiac coincided with a bigger underlying problem. GM used to make cars that appealed to me, and lately it seems like they're trying to make cars that will appeal to someone else. I look at the new GM cars, and I sit in them and drive them, and I think...I just can't relate to it. It feels alien, it feels weird, it doesn't feel innately comfortable the way every GM car from the '60s through the '90s did to me. It's like they're trying to impress people who like toyotas for their detached, appliance-like feel, but they've forgotten about the people who liked GM for what GM was. I'm with Rob, I'd like a '71 or '72 98 as my next daily driver. It would get better mileage than my '01 Blazer, and will be more comfortable to me than anything GM currently makes.

 

I know the older Northstars had an issue with clamping force of the heads. You shouldn't have to "fix" a motor as delivered by the manufacturer, but there is a fix available for this, some sort of device that extends the head bolt threads deeper into the block and uses bigger bolts. I was under the impression that this had been incorporated into production by the late '90s. I talked to a guy who has a shop that does this conversion exclusively, and apparently it's a permanent and reliable fix.

 

I put the link up of where I heard GM was making 70% of their vehicles in China. Now do I know if it is true? No I don't. Do I know if what I read in ANY newspaper is true? No I don't. Do I know if what the president of the United States says is true? No I don't. But what the story says is GM is shrinking their domestic production and greatly expanding their China production.

 

I think this is because they sell a TON of cars in China. They just moved production of the Aveo/Sonic from Korea to the US, so it seems they're just localizing production closer to the consumers.

 

My ladyfriend is Chinese and she says people there feel good to drive American cars. Her son there drives a Ford. The jap cars built/sold there do not have the quality as the ones built and sold in the US.

 

I have been a Honda technician for the last 10 years. Prior to 2008 the entire Honda line was 90% bullet proof. Now that these cars and powertrains are assembled in in the U.S we are bombarded with recalls mainly engines with oil consumption problems, countless ecm/pcm reprograming updates. The Cr-v is the only Honda vehicle left that is both built in the U.S and Japan and let me tell you the diff between the U.S built and Japanese built vehicle is very obvious.

Gm,Honda,Toyota etc all have many parts manufactured globally,who can we find to make these parts the cheapest! In doing so quality suffers! It's a race to build and sell as many cars as possible and claim the biggest share of the market. Unfortunately it's the consumer who suffers....

 

HAH!!!!! That's hilarious that you actually believe that.

Mexico's literacy rate is ranked 86 overall.
US's literacy rate is ranked 23 overall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._literacy_rate

Yes, there is a difference in how the final build quality can turn out statistically speaking.
Arguing that it's not, is foolish. Cars built in Japan (Lexus) have been #1 statistically
for what......16 years for reliability with only the sticking pedal Toyota DBW issue knockin
them down only recently temporarily.

I will grant you that Mexico compared to Detroit.....might be close though.
They've had an education crisis there for quite some time now.

Does that missing 10% include these ?? LOL

1997-2005 Honda Accords had horrendous track records for Automatic transmission failures.
Honda Accords were gaining a reputation of "Glass" transmissions.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/

But I do agree, Honda has a pretty damn good track record of reliability overall.
If they didn't, they wouldn't have gained so much marketshare.

 

I believe it.

China's growth right now is basically reminiscent of the United States during WWII....and beyond.
China has GHOST CITIES guys......so much money they have EMPTY cities they built brand new.

China has MAGLEV technology being put into it for mass transportation, whereas the USA won't even
consider ANYTHING like this and yet GM is selling 4 cars there to 1 here IIRC still.

They are quickly going to surpass the United States and crush us economically speaking.
The US Pinnacle was the 50's to now. It's all downhill from here.......
Elite families see the writing on the wall > http://www.businessinsider.com/ameri...andarin-2012-6

When you run the numbers, it will make you shake your head and understand just how bad our future outlook really is.
We will no longer be the World Superpower we once were after China gets their Carriers sea ready.
The nations who control the shipping lanes of the world , essentially have supreme power (us)
Soon, China will challenge it in the next 10 years if you ask me.

Yes they are. The younger generation. GM is profitable again as a result.

That's why Cadillac got a $5 Billion facelift 6-8 years ago and is selling CTS's and CTS-V's like crazy.
That's why Buick is no longer the Sexegenarian retiree car of choice and they're also selling again
with more aggressive and winning styling.

 

My dad had a 2002 Suburban and it lasted for 300k+ - that's when the transmission decided it wanted to die. He's a union carpenter and travels daily for work so those are mostly highway miles but still 300k on a Suburban is pretty darn good if you ask me =P

-Brandon


and to add the to comment above about china taking over.......I'll be 26 this year in Nov. and I'm not sure how I feel about this scenario, granted it's nothing I as one person can do to stop but the American people really need to wake up and come together and do something positive with this country instead of being the stalemate it is ATM.

 

It had an LS based 5.3L vortec motor most likely, unless it was the HD2500 version with the 6.0L
Great engines, and the transmissions are pretty solid in GM vehicles if maintained properly.

Where GM's problems typically come in is accessories needing replacement.
Far better then Dodge by a long shot either way though.

 

Aces your absolutely correct about the transmission problems BUT the number of warranty replacement transmissions was staggering. I remember replacing 2-3 transmissions a week myself and most of them were well over 100.000 miles and at absolutely no cost to the customer. When Honda knows they screwed up they are very generous with there warranty.....

 

No disagreement at all.

Japanese manufacturers don't try to hide from warranty issues like Domestic manufacturers do. This is why I drive a Lexus as a DD, and not a domestic product anymore. Build quality is light years ahead of Cadillac too.

My last GM DD was a 2000 GMC Diamond Edition Jimmy 4x4 and my brother now has it up to 200K
and it has fared quite well with only common replacement parts needed. I'd hope so considering it was one of the final years of production.

Remember the reputation Honda gained over the past 20 years for reliability ?? I think those Hyundai/Kia's are quickly becoming the Toyota/Honda of the 90's. In the past 4 years, they've totally revamped themselves BIG TIME. They are kickin *** and takin names and outselling everything AND holding their value

 

I do beleive it, and its a documented fact. ESPECIALLY in the aviation realm when they can trace an engine malfunction back to ONE person that made a mistake in a process. Not sure how literacy coincides with my statement though. I didn't say it was rampant either. I mean a dude could have also had a fight with his GF the night before, a death in the family, or had to take a crap and missed some step in the process because thier mind wandered elsewhere. It is amazing how outside factors can dictate the final product. Japanese manufacturers (well Japanese people in general) are trained from birth a far superior work ethic than Americans. It why they continue to excel in manufacturing.

But I will stand by my orginal statement that its mostly engineering that causes the majority of complaints.

John

 

Quality is engineered, not built. If you don't know that, you're at least 30 years behind the times.

 

It's exactly what I'm saying...

 

But recalls, TSBs and out-of-warranty screwups they often do hide. Mitsubitchy was one of them, toyo was another.
The wrong suspension bushing issue in a big group of camrys was one my ex GF fought and finally won with threats of a lawsuit and a copy of the TSB from an honest mom n pop shop.
The SUA has never been resolved either. See the recent news column here: http://www.safetyresearch.net Something is still being hidden, or there is a bug in the FW or HW.
Just know how to shift into neutral quickly in case it is your turn (hopefully not though)!

Here is another satisfied customer!
http://consumerist.com/2012/08/man-a...es-notice.html

 

GM isn't going anywhere. Another BK? Sure, it wouldn't surprise me if they did. Is it likely? No, I don't personally think they will file another. I own GM and always will. I have also owned Dodge, Ford, Mercedes, Volvo, Porsche, etc etc. I have had trouble free cars and I have had cars I want to set on fire. Point is, I don't blame an entire company on a single car that could just be a case of bad luck with it. Every auto maker is going to have a car that causes someone a headache. Every auto maker is going through tough times right now financially. Gas prices soaring out of control, jobs on the decline, cost of living climbing, taxes, all that comes into play when individuals think about buying a new car. On aspect controls another aspect. If cars are not selling it isn't because of just style or if it's best in class. It's alot of factors as mentioned previously. I could see all the auto makers filing for bankruptcy if things keep getting tighter and tighter. WHat will happen when gas prices soar above 5.00 a gallon? Think people will be buying those SUV's, Trucks or full size cars then? Doubt it.

 

As a professional automotive journalist I am offended by that remark. I have found that--apart from me and the major car mags, of course--scribblers at EVERY level of type of media "stream" know nothing about cars.

That aside, I'm going to Op/Ed myself here (rather than via my paying gig) because we're all buddies and such.

Emotions (and employees) aside, who cares if GM dies? AMC (save for Jeep) died. Eagle, Plymouth and Mercury did too. Hell, half of GM's ALREADY dead thanks to the summary executions of Oldsmobile, Geo, Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn, etc.

If Buick, Cadillac, Chevy and GMC can't pull their own weight, well, history has shown us via tales of the deaths of hundreds of other car makers that the show will go on just fine without them.

GM is doing a lot right. I've been given access to much of their upcoming vehicle "pipeline" and there's some very good stuff in there. Problem is, I doubt they have the money nor (more importantly) the time to keep the ship afloat for the next few years, let alone decades.

And ask yourself: If we--the taxpayer--are footing the bill to keep GM around, what's the upside? We're not only not making any money from GM as a business, we're producing products that people have proven that they don't even want.

VW can lose millions of Euros on its Bugatti Veyron project because they have a raft of products that people are buying in sufficient numbers to support it whilst GM can barely find enough money to put out bread-and-butter cars like the 2013 Impala.

To paraphrase Douglas MacArthur, perhaps we should just let the old General fade away...

 

After my experiences with my 2007 colorado, I will not be bying another newer GM vehicle. And what was mentioned earlier about them not fitting and feeling "right" I agree, I had the exact same perception.
My idiot light was triggered by a spiders nest in my evaporative fuel system... they new about the problem since 2002... need I say more? How much does a screen cost?