Bye Bye To The American V-8...

[JoeG]

Wow --what a great idea----increase the emission standards while the Auto industry is still reeling from lack of sales and bankrupcy--make cars that will be so light unsafe and so small that no one will buy and will most likely turn people to look at foreign auto makers and throw a $1300.00 extra cost per vehicle,which really is a gas tax........Can you say**** HUGO ****.........Man , I hope this is a one term administration........and get back to some sanity....

[Chevy454]

Isn't this a lot like "stepping over a dollar to pick up a penny"? Irregardless of the fact that the *last* thing the US auto mans need right now are more crazy regulations to attain & eat up all new R&D money...but what about the US consumer? They *estimate* it will only add $1300 to the cost, but last time I checked, folks already think cars are overpriced, so they crank up the price even more?

And I'm afraid to ask how they're gonna make up for the lost revenue from the road tax...!

[markinnaples]

We all need to contact our representatives and voice our opinions LOUDLY.

Maybe I am a blind optimist, but I believe if they think they will be out of a job next time, they will listen.

[Jeff H]

My biggest complaint about this idea is that your individual mpg will come down to your own driving environment regardless of 4, 5, 6 or 8 cylinder engine. I've had 4 cyl, V6 and V8 vehicles as daily drivers and with my 10 minute commute with multiple traffic lights and never getting above 45 mph means they all got around 18-20 mpg. You're not going to get 35 mpg with a 4cyl in those driving conditions so it's a stupid idea. Compare my fuel usage to someone who has an hour + commute and that's where you find your wasted energy and increased pollution. Our gov't needs to take a little more time to think some of these things out before just "changing" everything because that's what they said they would do.

[Late BrakeU2]

Hot from Shanghai,can I spec a Nickey Phase III upgrade ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAqPMJFaEdY

[ORIGLS6]

[ QUOTE ]
We all need to contact our representatives and voice our opinions LOUDLY.

Maybe I am a blind optimist, but I believe if they think they will be out of a job next time, they will listen.

[/ QUOTE ]

Have you ever actually tried to contact one? They're pretty well screened from any 'suggestions' a lowly citizen may offer.

Example: I offered my opinion on Barack Hussein's proposed appointment of an Appeals Court Judge. No reply at all from Dick Durbin, and this 'Beige Response' from the other Idiot that Blago appointed to fill the vacancy that BHO left. (Should have left it vacant!) You think he actually read what I sent?

"Thank you very much for contacting my office to express your views. I will take your opinions and concerns into consideration as we debate these issues in the United States Senate and address challenges facing Illinois and the nation.

The constituents of Illinois are of the utmost importance to me, and it is an honor to work on your behalf by representing you in the United States Senate.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, DC office. Again, thank you and I am honored to serve you in the United States Senate.


Sincerely,

Roland W. Burris
United States Senator"

[442w30]

So, Mike, how is this proposal different from any previous CAFE proposal?

The truth is that performance cars are here to stay. To dishonestly (figuratively, mind you) suggest that the world is going to end because of a proposal that is par for the course keeps our minds of the really important stuff, like a status quo in the financial sector that has yet to change, a crumbling auto industry being helped by a bumbling government, and the lack of preparedness our country finds itself in to compete globally against countries that are carrying a lot more weight than they had before. I'm really interested in seeing the future and seeing how things end up. Certainly they can't be any worse than the direction we were headed.

[70 copo]

We have been there. same policies that gave us the 55MPH Speed limit and 165 HP V8's. Not a future I want.

Performance is how you define it. If you want a smart car with a turbocharger you will like the future alot and you will be in the minority.

Brand loyality shifts have polarized within the auto industry.

IMO... People who buy GM want what GM does best-an American V-8. HP and torque for towing and power for performance.

GM has tried to gain back market segment in cars from the imports for years by trying to be "like an import", while abandoning its core market for car buyers. Discontinuation of the F-body platform in 2002 is a prime example where the cobalt was to compete against the imports and the SSR was a bone thrown to the Camaro buyer.

Wrong on the Cobalt wrong on the SSR. More people left GM and went to other market segments.

Along the way GM finally became self aware and tried to reverse course. Difference is that now GM will be forced to build cars that are aligned with a market segment that they lost a decade ago to Honda and Toyota and I seriously doubt those buyers will be back abesent a rock bottom price.

That is why Fritz Henderson was quoted recently that GM would import cars from china.

So much for "keeping American jobs here in America" and a long list of broken promises to the voter.

[442w30]

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We have been there. same policies that gave us the 55MPH Speed limit and 165 HP V8's. Not a future I want.

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A speed limit? Petty . . . speed limits are still low in my area.

165 hp? Blame GM for that.


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IMO... People who buy GM want what GM does best-an American V-8. HP and torque for towing and power for performance.


[/ QUOTE ]

No, you're speaking of the hobbyist who drives V8s as a hobby.

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GM has tried to gain back market segment in cars from the imports for years by trying to be "like an import", while abandoning its core market for car buyers. Discontinuation of the F-body platform in 2002 is a prime example where the cobalt was to compete against the imports and the SSR was a bone thrown to the Camaro buyer.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're mistaken about Detroit's marketing. Discontinuing the F-body was arguable. The Cobalt was replacement for the unlamented Cavalier, and merely was Chevy's submission to competing in a class of vehicles. SSR? A niche vehicle.

[ QUOTE ]

Wrong on the Cobalt wrong on the SSR. More people left GM and went to other market segments.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's wrong with the Cobalt? Lackluster in comparison to the competition? So whose fault was that?

Ditto with the SSR - lack of hp? Whose fault was that?

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Along the way GM finally became self aware and tried to reverse course. Difference is that now GM will be forced to build cars that are aligned with a market segment that they lost a decade ago to Honda and Toyota and I seriously doubt those buyers will be back abesent a rock bottom price.

[/ QUOTE ]

This may come as a surprise to you, but GM is not self-aware. GM's current situation most certainly has something to do with the economy but, even more so, GM's current situation has a hell of a lot to do with GM. Blaming the government is a convenient way to ignore the problems GM has had . . . but that's par for the course as GM has ignored its problems for years. Ironic, considering they have a portfolio of stellar cars.

Now, against the wall, GM is faced with making compromises in its future. The capitalist in me says to let GM die, but the American in me says we need to help Detroit as much as we can. . . so we have the government to do that.

You can't get back to health until you figure out what's causing the symptoms. I hope that GM has figured it out for once.

[Chevy454]

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[ QUOTE ]
We have been there. same policies that gave us the 55MPH Speed limit and 165 HP V8's. Not a future I want.

[/ QUOTE ]

A speed limit? Petty . . . speed limits are still low in my area.

165 hp? Blame GM for that.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure I agree with that last part...*all* US sold vehicles in the early/mid '70s got sucker punched by the gas crisis, and even more so by the "not ready for prime time" emissions regulations. You've been under the of those '70s/'80s vehicles Diego, they're like a snake's nest of vacuum hoses & relays & solenoids, and often times the only recourse in getting the thing to run right is to unhook all of that crap...crazy lean jetting & whacked timing settings to get the NOx numbers down, inefficient catalytic converters...the list goes on and on. The problem was that the technology to meet the emissions regs simply wasn't there...so we were left with a "dark ages" of cars in general [not just performance cars]. Might we be in the same boat today, looking down the barrell of even more strict emissions/mpg regulations?