congrats dude. friend of mine has one and he took me for a ride in it. those things are hella comfortable. thought about getting my wife one.

 

Ok, so GM gave us two nice cars. Still not enough.

 

Base Corvette, Z06, upcoming Blue Devil, GTO, Saturn Sky + Sky Redline, Solstice + Solstice GXP, Cobalt SS S/C, Ion Redline, Trailblazer SS, CTS-V, STS-V, XLR, XLR-V, SSR, Impala SS, Monte Carlo SS, Grand Prix GXP, 9-2x....they also have the HHR SS, RWD Impala, G8, new CTS, Camaro, Aura Redline, Vectra and some other stuff coming out soon....

Some of these may not be all-out performance cars, but about every one is atleast sporty with some grunt.

I can't fault GM for not having enough performance cars when all other brands have 1 or 2 or none! Toyota has none, Honda has the S2000 and Civic Si, Ford has the GT, Mustang GT and GT500, Nissan has the 350z/G35. All have much less than GM.

 

C'mon now, a Corvette is a Corvette. Different trim models don't count. Saturn Sky? Pontiac Solstice? They're alright, but nothing special. HHR SS? Junk. Cobalt SS? Junk. Grand Prix GXP? V8 on a half-assed platform. Junk. The same goes for the Monte SS and the Impala SS. G8? What G8? Ion? C'mon, you can't be serious. That's the worst car I've ever sat in. It just wreaks of cheapness! Saab 9-2X? It's a Subaru.

When GM starts importing or designing RWD V8 cars and has a strong line like BMW, then I'll be able to give them some credit. GM could do so much more, but they refuse to.

Granted, GM is doing better than they were in the past, and I love what they're doing with Cadillac, but the entire GM line of cars is in need of serious overhaul. Pontiac's starting to come around, and Saturn is going a bit more upscale to take the place of Oldsmobile, and GM's "overseas" cars are going to be imported under the Saturn name. Buick? They're in serious need of an image car. How'bout a next generation GTO rebadged as a Grand National or GSX/GNX?

I've been a fan of GM for years, well, their classic Muscle, anyway, and it's just disappointing to know that they can do better. I'd really like to see GM build something once again that I'd be interested in buying. If they truly do go with RWD V8 Impalas and Grand Prixs, then they'll be on to something, because my next car will probably not be something as harsh as an STi/STI or another Camaro. Sometimes it would be nice to have some power and comfort at the same time. I'd really like to see the next Grand Prix be the Holden Commodore SS-V. www.holden.com.

 

They are junk to you because you measure them against some of the world's best performance machines.

HHR SS, Cobalt SS, Grand Prix GXP, Monte Carlo SS -- all of those are well performing cars for their given segment. For example, if I want a full-size sedan that can seat 5, run low 14's, has a sport tuned suspension, gets 27mpg and makes nice V8 sounds, I'd gladly take something like an Impala SS. The Cobalt SS S/C (Ion Redline has same powertrain) is probably the fastest sport compact near 20k -- did you see Car and Driver's lightning lap? It dusted the Civic Si and GTi. The Solstice just won C-stock in its first year -- competing against MIATAS! The Solstice GXP will be running A-stock where I think it could win.

I list the Corvette as 3 cars because each car is so different and the cost varies so much. C6 = $44k C6 Z06 = $70k Blue Devil = ~$100k. The Corvette isn't like most performance cars with different options and trim packages (EVO, 350z etc). A C6 Z06 is a completely different animal than a base C6 -- they don't even share the same frame!

The G8 will be Pontiac's new RWD car that is based on the zeta platform(same as new Commedore). The Impala, Camaro, GTO and Buick Statesman will also be based on this platform.

You can't compare GM and BMW -- BMW is a niche brand with something like 1-2% market share. GM is a full line company that needs to appeal to the masses. The closest thing GM has to a BMW competitor is Cadillac and I believe they have some really nice RWD cars -- CTS-V, STS-V and XLR-V. The new base CTS will have 300+hp and the CTS-V will have 520hp+. GM's competitors are Ford, Toyota and Chrysler.

 

You're right, the C6 frame does differ from that of the Z06, as the Z06's is aluminum, but let's not split hairs. A Vette is a Vette. I will agree with you that Cadillac has some good products, but how'bout the rest of GM's line? It's poorly lacking.

As for racing history, it's just that, racing history. These cars are not bone stock off the showroom floor.

V8 cars that can fit 5 comfortably? Sure, the GXP, Monte SS, and Impala SS will do it, but with a crappy FWD platform. The V8 is simply a bandaid to a problem in dire need of stitches.

Cobalt SS is the fastest compact for near $20k? What about the MazdaSpeed 3? Neon SRT-4? Caliber SRT-4 (not released yet)?

 

Kinda - the cars were made to compete with other FWD cars. RWD will be better, but the FWD wouldn't keep me from buying one of the current cars.

The Mazdaspeed 3 hasn't been tested on the track with the Cobalt. It may be rated at much more HP than a Cobalt, but Automobile dynoed one at 217whp with a not so good power curve -- a Cobalt S/C puts down about 210-215whp and is 100lbs+ lighter. The '08 Cobalt will get the turbo engine from the Solstice GXP and a 6-speed. The Neon SRT-4 is made anymore and like you said -- the Caliber hasn't been released.

 

I test drove a Cobalt SS, and the interior was MILES better than that of the SRT-4. That alone sold me over an SRT

 

I guess it's just a matter of opinion on the interior. I liked the Cobalt SS until I sat in one at an auto show. IMO, the interior just wreaked of cheapness. I really didn't find the Cobalt SS to be that much of an improvement over the Cavalier in terms of interior quality. As for the performance of the car, it's leaps and bounds above that of the Cavalier. I found the Neon's interior to be much more pleasant than the Cobalt SS', even if it wasn't laid out as "sportily."

As example, C&D and R&T talked about how cheap the interior in the Pontiac G6 was, and my parents just bought a G6 GT (with leather interior) about 6 months ago. My opinion of the car is drastically different. I find the interior to be quiet and free of squeaks/rattles, and panel-fit and finish is up to par with competitors. I also find the car to be quite fun to drive, despite being a FWD vehicle. I find that it handles pretty well. It doesn't have a lot of that on-center numbness and lack of response that is so typical of GM cars. In nearly every GM car I've driven, I can turn the wheel back and forth from side to side while on center and I get absolutely no response until I've turned the wheel at least 2 inches in either direction.

 

I traded my '05 GTO for my Evo. Now I'm going for an '07 Mustang GT with a whipple blower. If I could go back I would've never went with the Evo. Especially since GM Performance Parts just released the L92 heads and L76 Intake Manifold that will bolt to the LS2 and pick up ~45 hp. They installed those heads and manifold, headers, and a mild cam onto an LS2 in the newest issue of GM High-tech Performance and it made 546.8 hp on an engine dyno. And that's using off-the-shelf OEM parts! But, my Mustang should be fun. Enjoy the Goat!

 

GMHTP also put ported heads and a magic stick cam on a ls1 and made 550+ hp -- crazy power for a mild naturally aspirated car on pump gas.

 

Dude, how many hits on automobiles do you wanna take? Your payments will probably be like $900/mo on a Mustang....there's no Mustang on Earth worth $900/mo.

 

My Evo is paid off and I'm planning on selling it privately, which should buy the Mustang outright...if you need to know. And it will be faster than my Evo with just 1 mod that costs less than half of what I have in my Evo. It wont break as easily either. But this is all my opinion, and obviously you have yours. Let's keep them to ourselves now.

 

Hold up there, I never thrashed on the Stang. I love Stangs. I just haven't found one worth that sort of money.

No need to get testy.....

 

Oh, oops...I misunderstood. I get what you are saying and I would have to agree with you on that one!