MY GM PREDICTIONS:

[VileZambonie]

What do you consider a flop?

By 2011 plug in hybrids will be everywhere. Gas prices go up and people want fuel efficient vehicles. I'm surprised you stewart would even say this when you try to find any possible way to save a penny on fuel. The cost of electricity vs fuel is a huge savings and the Volt is actually a decent looking car. I have a 2007 prius at work that I use to teach my students about hybrid technology and this is the way the future is going like it or not. The ICE engine is taking a backseat to electric powertrains so get used to seeing more and more of them on the road. By 2020 you should expect to see pay to plug in stations everywhere. Malls, rest stops, restaurants etc. I think the Volt has already caused enough stir with the public that there will be a waiting line for them when they become available.

[bigblue09]

i really hope gm stays around because i really hate ford. lol. i personally think the new camaro will be a hit. its the only thing gm has to match up with the mustang and its a lot better than the mustang. its got a bigger motor. i dont really know much about the volt. as far as the chevy gmc thing they the same besides a few little trim pieces and luxury stuff on the interior. they should get rid of saturn they are doing nothing.

[Novadiecast]

Here is my opinion on what GM needs to do.

1)Make Chevy the car company, get rid of Buick and Pontiac. Roll the good sellers into the chevy lineup.

2)Make GMC the truck company.

3)Made Caddy the luxury line of cars, No rebadged trucks like the Escalade!!

[dumbucket1]

plugging cars in does not mean less pollution. that electricity, at least more the majority here in the midwest, is made from coal fired power plants which pollute alot.

I happen to be a coal hauler for power plants all across the state of Illinois and probably just means more job security for me but I dont think its the answer.

[eventhorizon66]

I was watching BBC's Top Gear one night.  And one of the hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, reported that the Toyota Prius actually puts out more pollution in it's lifetime than a Land Rover Discovery.  My understanding was that this estimate was based on the amount of pollution created by the production of the Prius' battery cells plus its exhaust emissions versus the exhaust emissions of the Land Rover.  Interesting.

Even if this is not true there is a moral to this story.  Even when all cars are fully electric and electricity comes from solar or wind production, there is still no such thing as zero emissions...until they figure out how to make cars run off of the drivers' rage.  Then cars would have something like the equivalent of 1000hp.

[78 Chevyrado]

I like novadiecasts idea for GM  I like GMC's better anyway (grille)

The only thing I don't like about electric cars (If they can fix this I'd jump on board)  is you have to wait for it to charge, and charge it up everywhere you go.  In my gas guzzling truck, I fill up once a week and basically forget about fuel for 600 miles (I'm spoiled by my truck).  Also when I run out of gas, it only takes a couple of minutes to fill it up and then its instantly ready to go again.  My only gripe is having to wait on a charger.  I just know I don't want my car to be limited like my golf cart is.  The other big thing is no infrastructure in public places right now, but it will come after a while.  If I could get 400-500 miles out of a charge, I'd buy one.  But I'd still drive the gas burners on 500+ mile trips since we switch off driving to get there faster and not have to pay hotels, so I don't want to wait on a charge.  And for the speed demons, electric motors aren't like gas engines that have a specific RPM they make the most power at, electric motors have full torque at any RPM any time  you want it, a definate plus to me.  If they can make it conveniant and have decent range I'd jump on with anything not gasoline based so we can thumb our noses at those arabs we depend on now.  heck I'd convert the truck to hydrogen or electric if it impressed me enough, no question.

[eventhorizon66]

As cheesy as it sounds, my main gripe about electric motors is losing that glorious V8 exhaust note.  Other than that, I think they're just jim-dandy.  I dunno, maybe if I amplify the electric motor's whine and roll down the windows, I could imagine I'm strapped to a jet engine hurdling into space.

[Lt.Del]

my main gripe about electric motors is losing that glorious V8 exhaust note.

Get a 1,000 watt amp and a nice cd player.  Burn a cd of your favorite exhaust sound wide open.  Then, play it forever and freak people out who pull up next to you.   

[dunedigger]

7) Chevy will continue to build trucks, but the styling gets worse and more bizarre.

I may be alone on this one but I don't think that is possible.  My opinion is still that the truck died in 1994.

[Stewart G Griffin]

1) Saturn:  When they first came out, i didn't dig them.  Now, i feel that saturn is sort of like the new oldsmobile---they even have the same/similar symbol---red background with silver "arms."  i have heard that in the 14 or so yrs that saturn has been in existence, they've failed to make a profit.  If that is true, then maybe they need to go too.  i won't miss them.  Other than that, i think they're ok;  i like the Sky, i also like that center dash thing they used to have.

2) The union thing: Now, the first thing is that i am not against unions at all, as a matter of fact my last job was union and in contrast to my new job---where my boss is playing games with my hours and giving his buddy some of my hours (i've been w/the company longer than his buddy, 2yrs vs. 1 month), that kind of crap would have never happened at my old job. 

a) Anyways, i never quite understood why, say bolting on wheels or fenders or whatever all day is worth $27 and hour.  Yes, these people do have an important job, but important to $27/hr?

b) Why in the world did GM (and the other 2)ever agree to such things as the really, let's face it---- generous wages and the enormous pensions?  And also "job bank?"   Yes, i understand about the proposed strikes and all, but there must be a way around that?  At any rate, i agree that the UAW will have to "soften up,"/become less dominant if GM is to survive and i think they, the uaw, know this.

3) i love pontiac v-8's 400 inches and under.  The 301 and 265 were very smooth.  But i think it did make sense back then to discontinue them and have chevy as the main supplier to all other gm's for the 8 cylinder.

4) OK, you're right;  i thought i knew both setups, but upon further reading i realize that i didn't really understand how the prius and similar cars worked.  And i didn't fully understand how the Volt was setup.  The volt is sort of setup like a locomotive and that's cool.  Whereas prius and co, the gas engine and the electric motors are powering the car, just not nessesarily at the same time.  The volt would actually be perfect for me as one of my jobs is 9 miles away and the other 27.  One job has exterior electrical outlets---because we have trucks parked at the warehouse.  But even if we didn't, it would still work.
i think chevy has a winner---it might be the new citation.  i don't know if it will take off crazy, but it won't flop as i suggested earlier. 

i think every GM division except maybe cadillac should get this car.

i would define flop as a model that is discontinued within 4 model years and the company loses money on it.

a) the other thing is, i don't know if i agree that hybrids are the wave of the future.  They could certainly coexist, but i think we'd be better off in general as a society to look towards alchohol, ethanol, gassahol etc. and ICE should still be the main powerplant.

5) new camaro won't last, that i'm sure of.

6)i feel that chevy(and gmc) truck styling basically died in 96 or so---when the 88 bodystyle ended.  i think styling along with trimming expenses could really save gm.  This new styling department head really gets on my nerves---and he thinks he so cool on top of that.

[bigblue09]

how come no one thinks the new camaro wont last?

[VileZambonie]

the new camaro is a cool car. It does blow away the mustang however the price is high and everybody and their brother are going to run out and buy one. Eventually sales and waiting lists will fade and the price will come down and the demand will go down.

[ccz145a]

Electricity will only be cheaper until the government finds a way to tax it. Then it will be as illegal to recharge at your house as it is to run farm gas on the highway.

[VileZambonie]

You can make your own electricity using solar and wind power and show the government your middle finger.

[ccz145a]

You can make your own electricity using solar and wind power and show the government your middle finger.

That would be like moonshine was to taxed liquor, or would that be called sunshine now LOL ??!!

Them revenuers will get you, boy.