For fans of my last column, the one where I said Alfa Romeo has the ability to claim BMW's mantle of exclusive European performance, know that I've reconsidered. BMW has a bigger potential U.S. competitor than Alfa looming on the horizon. BMW needs to realize the serious threat that's coming soon from Pontiac. Yes, that's right: Pontiac.
Pontiac's in metamorphosis, going from a muddled brand position back to what it was in its heyday, when John DeLorean gave enthusiasts a real reason to pick Pontiac over a Chevy, Dodge, Buick, or Plymouth. "Pontiac Excitement" is coming back! It's almost time to "Get in your Pontiac and Ride" once again! The "We Build Excitement" brand is back, baby!
For the first three paragraphs, I thought you'd completely lost your mind.
Quote, originally posted by conan1999 »
<grin>Do you really care? TCL is Poseur Kingdom. The bulk of the posts are generated by a slew of toolbags who've never driven the vehicles they discuss and who are "into cars" in the same way as the nouveau riche display designer labels. Granted, the forum's entertainment value is off the scale, but I wouldn't confuse it with expertise of any sort.
Yeah. They sure do build excitement alright. But only to crush it all with no manual option.
'54 '74 '90 2010, ja so stimmen wir alle ein! Prosit! '07 Jetta VE 5spd: Smoked side markers, chrome delete a-la Plasti-dip (temporary), LED tails w/ AMBER and rear fog wiring/coding. Was guckst du so blöd?
Quote, originally posted by Coupe__88 »
Or just buy something that doesnt suck, like a Ford Taurus
Haha, for some reason, most likely having to do with how late it is, I thought the article said "They Build Excrement? The tragic future of the Pontiac brand...."
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
The new fuel economy standards for the U.S. are convoluted and confusing, and will be a major challenge for every manufacturer that wants to sell here.
A few manufacturers are already raising such a huge stink about the proposed US standards that I'd be amazed if they are put into place as-is.
But of course I agree fuel economy is the #1 factor in product planning right now. When the market speaks this loudly, future fuel economy regulations are almost moot.
Fox News: “The sky is green.” ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN: “Is the sky green? Our team of experts investigates.” Local news: “Is the sky green? We hit the street to find out what YOU think!” Online media/blogosphere: “It is well known that Al Gore and Dick Cheney conspired in 1998 to turn the sky red.”
I never bought into the notion that Pontiac had to be all RWD and V8-powered to convey a performance image. There need to be a few anchor models, such as the G8/G8 coupe, and Solstice which define the brand. Outside of those models there is no reason that performance can't be defined in the same manner that it is applied to Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, or Nissan. Pontiac could certainly make the G6, G5, and Vibe the domestic equivalents of the Mazdaspeed line-up, or the WRX/EVO. Also, as it has been said before, I don't know why GM views RWD as an enemy to fuel efficiency. Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota/Lexus, Benz, and BMW have never made any mention of abandoning RWD in pursuit of improved MPGs. Weight, aerodynamics, and antiquated powertrains are the real enemies of fuel economy. GM's very own Corvette proves that a high-powered, RWD car can still return shockingly good MPG figures.
Quote, originally posted by justanotherusername »
There are plenty of existing technologies that produce emissions free electricity. There isn't one single technology in the world that produces emissions free gasoline.
Because, for a given amount of interior space, RWD is an enemy to fuel efficiency.
RWD packaging takes up interior and trunk space, resulting in the car needing to be bigger. Also, transverse engines tend to have a smaller engine bay than longitudinal, increasing the length of the car.
Note the E30 3-series, E28 5-series, and A2 Jetta. The A2 has more room than the 5-series, while being about the same size as the 3-series.
I would be all over a lighter, cheaper, fixed roof Solstice. Lots of cars would get better HWY and EPA mileage if they had the Corvette's killer combo of torque and super tall top gear ratio.
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