[www.auto-classics.net]

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My brothers beat the shit out of that car, and it STILL kept running. One brother played chicken with my then-boyfriend, stopping our Volare by running into a solid wood mailbox, but it didn't hurt that car at all.

Yes, the Volare rusted from the bottom up, and yes, when it rained, we had to lift the hood and spray WD-40 on the carburetor, but hey...it's character-building to stand in the rain with your head under the hood...

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Wow...no. Not even close.

Just because a CTS-V can lap a track in Germany really quickly does not mean it is comparable to the German's best sedans.

10 seconds inside of any Cadillac tells you all you need to know about how GM had to cut corners to keep costs down.

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You want to see cutting corners?

Check out the E-class line from Benz.

And shouldn't reliability enter the equation?

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England already tried this. Ever wonder why you don't see as many '85 Jaguars as you do Cadillacs?

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I would suspect that the board is elected democratically, as union leaders are, and that the new chief executives will not be drawn from the Bob Nardellis or the Carly Fiorinas of the world, nor will they be guaranteed huge bonuses in exchange for ruining the company.

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Oh, wait...

(I *heart* beercheck)

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Let's blame bad all the horrible TV shows on the money-grubbing jerks who build the TVs while we're at it.

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The remaining problem with US cars is that most of them look like imports from 5 years ago.

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Suck it, Japan with your affordable cars with their modern designs and proven dependability. You're going down!

Just like GM stock.

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And that, my friends, is why I own a Datsun, a Honda, and a Toyota.

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The Malibu has in fact been rated better than the Accord and the Camry. The Silverado is the most powerful pickup in America, and is only second to the F-150 as a result of the F-150's vastly greater fleet sales. The Corvette, is, and always has been, the sports car bargain of all time. I believe that the Tahoe is the best-selling vehicle in its segment. Barring the DTS, there isn't a single Cadillac that isn't more than a match for its competition in its intended segment. That includes the CTS, Escalade, and the SRX. With the advent of the Enclave and the new LaCrosse, even Buick is now building cars that are as good, if not better, than their Lexus competitors.

Does GM still make some lousy cars? Yes. Until the death of the DTS, the Cobalt, and the Aveo, they will have a slightly flawed lineup. But no other automaker has a flawless line-up, either.

GM has made incredible improvements almost overnight. It took them only three and a half years to go from producing the crappiest lineup to producing one of the best lineups of any automaker.

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/wonders why he ever leaves Jalopnik to read the ignorance on the other blogs.

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Pontiac had something called a Vibe. It was basically a Toyota Matrix. But the Vibe cost 3000 bucks more. I'm guessing it's licensing fees (?) but that's why I'm not seriously considering domestic cars. While they make have improved quality, getting the equivalent version in an import is cheaper.

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GM will retain the acronym, and become "Governmental Motors. Sort of an American Citroen.

Chrysler looks like its becoming the new American British Leyland.

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You make a good point.

I think that part of that cost increase as compared to their Japanese rivals is that Detroit companies have higher overhead costs to cover as a result of them having to pay workers far more both upfront and terms of long-term benefits than do any of the Eastern 4. This leads to more costs that they have to try and cover, leading to more expensive cars. I also agree that there are a several domestic cars that are too expensive for what they are and how they stack up against their direct competitors; namely the Malibu and Aura hybrids.

But, all in all, I have been shopping around for a new car for a while, and I have found them to be roughly equally priced, and in some cases I have found domestic cars to be cheaper as a result of all the incentives that are out there right now combined with low interest rates on automotive loans.

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Basically, the American automotive industry seems to be a microcosm of the American approach that America is The Best at Everything so we don't have to actually compete in industry, just keep making things that nobody outside American wants.

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Hilarity is ensuing. First thing most people think when they see Ricardo Montalban is "corinthian leather."

Finally looked it up. Soft Corinthian Leather was manufactured in New Jersey! This has completely changed my perception of Corinth, its sprawling tanneries and ruddy citizens.

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