Off to car heaven: Saturn, Saab, Hummer (and Pontiac)

reply to post by weedwhacker


I don't think the Hummers are ugly at all, I think they are one of the coolest looking vehicles ever! But, everyone has their own opinion, and that makes the world great! So my opinion is mine, and yours is yours.

I do have one vehicle I will never let go. A 1988 mustang GT convertible, 5 speed, 430 horsepower! I only take it out on pretty days in fact has 67000 original miles!! Now that baby roars!

But - I would go with a Hummer H2 again, like I said if I could get one to run on something other than gas. Don't like the H3 at all, and H1's drive terribly! I love those and wanted one, but terrible terrible driving and very uncomfortable.

I will definitely be sad to see the Hummer go............ but that is just my opinion.

reply to post by questioningall


OMG!!! An '88 Mustang!!! YOU are very charmed, to own such a vehicle.

I'll argue 'til the day is long about the H2, with you......but a Mustang? I will lick your feet.

Originally posted by mattifikation
Hummers were supposed to be ugly. The idea was to make them look "utilitarian" and "tough," which people don't normally associate with "hot sexy car."

GM's problem wasn't too many brands. It's building cars that suck. Nobody drives their Cavalier to 150,000 miles, but people do it with Toyotas all the time.

Point well taken, quality is the bottom line.

I regularly put 300,000 miles on my Toyo's. I drive for a living and wouldn't drive anything else. Honda's are as good in quality, but are harder to work on, being a bit more edgy. Toyo is the Ford of Japanese brands. Or at least what Ford used to be. Quality, efficiency, simplicity and affordability. Never the fastest and most advanced, but always the best buy.

That being said, Toyota quality has actually declined in the last few years. They may still be the best, but it's up for debate now. A bad move IMO. They should hang on to what made them.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
Saab? never driven nor ridden in one....they always looked ugly, to me....funny (no hint to the Swedes) because, the Swedes are known to design such nice stuff!!! Saabs...uh uh......

SAAB made some real durable and timeless classics like the SAAB 96 that also came with a V4 engine. It was a pretty popular rally car back in the days. Also the old version of the SAAB 900 was pretty OK actually. It could almost match the Volvo 240, but just almost.

My parents were total SAAB-freaks, just until very recently they bought their first car of another brand...so I have been riding those cars all my life really.

Still, they are always considered crappy cars. And in general, they are.

And about the design; it's not like Volvo cars are the top of beauty either...
That is what we use to say; "pimping a Volvo is like putting make-up on a wart swine. It is still a wart swine".

Oh, I forgot to mention:

SAAB was the inventor of the heated car seat.

...and the protective side-bars. You know, those that "absorbs" a collision from the side...
Whatever.

Write that on the tombstone.

reply to post by sos37
Chevrolet is bringing back the Camaro this year. If demand is high look for the platform to become a new Pontiac Firebird as well.

General Motors writes 100 year business plans. Don't count them out or down until the fat lady sings.

Remember Mom, Apple Pie and Chevrolet!

Originally posted by mattifikation
Hummers were supposed to be ugly. The idea was to make them look "utilitarian" and "tough," which people don't normally associate with "hot sexy car."

GM's problem wasn't too many brands. It's building cars that suck. Nobody drives their Cavalier to 150,000 miles, but people do it with Toyotas all the time.

I have a Cavalier which 210,000 miles on it and it still runs great. It never had major engine or tranny work either...althought the paint went bad long ago and it is now primer gray.

Edit: I still have the Cavalier but I know drive a 2007 Pontiac G6 which is also a great car.

[edit on 20-2-2009 by LiquidMirage]

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


AND, the Corvette!!!

Slightly older than me.....

reply to post by weedwhacker

AND, the Corvette

The Corvette has never gone away? It's been a staple for Chevrolet since the day they brought it out. Pontiac and Chevrolet did give up the Firebird and Camaro several years ago when Pontiac cancelled the F-Car platform the Firebird and Camaro were built upon.

The revamped GTO was not a seller for Pontiac and they seem to have no plans to bring back the Pontiac Firebird which has always shared the chasis and engine of the camaro and is usually designed by Pontiac for both.

Pontiac might jump on it though if it is a seller for Chevrolet.

reply to post by LiquidMirage


Wooo-weee. That's a lot of miles. There's exceptions to everything. :-)

Originally posted by mattifikation
GM's problem wasn't too many brands. It's building cars that suck. Nobody drives their Cavalier to 150,000 miles, but people do it with Toyotas all the time.

I beg to differ my friend. I once own a Pontiac Sunfire which is the exact same thing as a Chevy Cavalier and I put nearly 120,000 miles on it and could have easily hit 200k miles and had a S10 pickup that had the same engine as the Sunfire hit 185k miles before the tranny died. I beat the hell out of that truck every mile of its existence to. You would be really surprised with how many 150k+ mile Sunfire/Cavaliers there are on the road.

The reason that GM cars suck is because they the company skimps on pretty much everything. The quality sucks compared to the price. Their engines are well made and designed and will last a very long time if taken care of properly. The problem with the engines are that they are severely underpowered for the price of the vehicles. Both my Sunfire and S10 had the 2.2l engine. The 2.2l had 115HP and 135ft lbs of torque. You don't know misery till you have tried to drive in a major city with that engine. The worst part is that instead of making a better, newer, more powerful engine, all they did was to redesign the 2.2 into the 2.4 and they have been shoving that engine into nearly every make they can. My mom test drove a G6 and she asked me to drive it to see what I thought about it. I jumped in, turned the key and immediately new it had a 2.4 in it. I couldn't believe it. When you see a Saturn, Pontiac, GM, Chevy that has a 2.2/2.4 engine in it, that engine is a re- designed of an engine that was first created over 26 years ago, back in 1983.

Even with upgrades it is still an old design in my view. Most companies spend all their money on research and new design. Where the hell did all of GM's money go to? It certainly wasn't R&D.

After being stuck in the world of 2.2l American cars for nearly 10 years I bought a 2006 VW Jetta and I felt like I was driving a Ferrari when I test drove it. I told the salesman before we even got back to the dealership that I would never buy American again. My mother is currently stuck in a Chevy Malibu (2.4l ) and when I drove her to the doctor in my Jetta she said that she was going to buy a VW also. She has never owned a foreign vehicle her entire life. (She is pushing 70.) Even when she moved to Europe she had her American car shipped over there. Five minutes in my VW and she said she was done with American cars.

====================================================

I would also like to say that I also agree with killing the corvette. There is no need to have a 500hp vehicle. Its completely idiotic to buy a car that can go 200mph and then drive it around town with 45/55mph speed limits. The money that goes into the production of these modern muscle cars can be put to better use. These cars need to be done away with, the people that love the corvette or other muscle cars will get over it.

[edit on 20-2-2009 by A NeWorlDisorder]

I was listening to the news this morning about this, apparently Saab hasn't made a profit since 2001...

Uh, well, that explains that then

Hummers - Just no. Seriously. I wouldn't be caught dead in one.

Seems like blokes that drive them have a lot to make up for...

A female friend once bought a Neon (they do exist in Australia for some reason), she spat chips when I told her it was an American made car.

She had much more problems with it than her old South Korean made Hyundai.

Not judging all American cars by a Neon of course, but, yeah..

[edit on 20-2-2009 by mattguy404]