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Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 08:41:04 -0500
From: "Walt Kienzle" <wkienzlenopsam.net>
Subject: Re: GM to increase SAAB lineup


"Nel Frikandel" <nelfrikandelnopsamail.com> wrote in message news:kcij9v00oqrr243jajpqi15i97dv4t2ia3nopsamcom... > On Sun, 13 Apr 2003 14:17:34 -0500, "Walt Kienzle" <wkienzlenopsam.net> > wrote: [snip] > The ¥80 successor was a disaster of bad taste and marketing. It got > front wheel drive (though the engine was mounted lengthwise) and came > standard with a V8 Diesel!! The rear end looked like a frog that had > been stepped on! Yes, the much touted "bustle-back" design. Ugly as sin. The funny part was that Chrysler came out with their new incarnation of their Imperial model just a few months earlier, also with the bustle-back design, but better looking (I won't say that it was much better looking). Car magazines were claiming that GM was just copying Chrysler and doing a poor job of it. Very embarrassing! > > >You can't blame them because Ford > >was doing the same type of thing at their luxury Lincoln division. > > Don¥t forget the disastrous idea of bringing the European Sierra and > Scorpio to the US market, under the brand new band `Merkur`... ROFL! At one time I was actually considering buying the US version of the Sierra (Mercur XR4Ti), used. The problem was that everyone that had one loved it. The only ones on the market (around 1995) had over 100K miles on them and were ready to fall apart. The idea of bringing those models to the US wasn't disasterous, it was the pricing, repairs, and bad marketing. I know two people that had a Scorpio. One was traded in because of a buy-back program Mercury had that made the car worth nearly the new purchase price even after it was 5 years old. The other was traded in after they found out it would cost about $1,500 to have the heater fan replaced, plus all the other work the car needed. The Scorpio was replaced with a mini-van (ugh!) > > >They don't produce any cars that are > >factory designed run on LPG. > > Not many brands do. Only Volvo so far I think. But most US petrol cars > are well suited for after market conversion. I bet that here in > Holland 2 out of 3 US cars of over 10 years old you¥ll find is a LPG > converted one. All three manufacturers over here are producing trucks and vans that run on LPG or CNG. Ford's Crown Victoria sedan and Honda's CIVIC with CNG systems are avaialable, but they only run on a single fuel; bi-fuel with petrol is not available. CNG seems to be more popluar as an alternate vehicle fuel than LPG in the US. LPG is mostly used for outdoor/camping equipment and barbeque grills here. I noticed that kits for LPG are readily available in Europe, and it is easy for individuals to install conversions. In the US, I haven't been able to find any complete kits for CNG or LPG (actually, kits for trucks seem to be somewhat available). All the conversions seem to be designed for fleets, such as Police departments, Taxi's and corporate fleets such as delivery vehicles. > > >Is the Asconda or Chevallier still available? > >I didn't see it as part of the available range on the Vauxhall website. > > The Ascona name was dicontinued and replaced by the Vectra in the > early 90¥s. Vauxhall also carries the Vectra Model. In fact, I think > Opel and Vauxhall share all models, I even doubt if they have separate > factories. I drove a Vectra in December. It seemed rather large and spacious, particularly compared to the cramped and nearly claustrophobic Cavalier we have here. With the seat all the way back in a Cavalier, the sun visor hits my head when I flip it down. > > >Cadillac isn't shy about borrowing models from Opel and then screwing up the > >design, marketing, or some other aspect of the car. They had the Catera > >which was mostly imported from Opel, but they failed to offer it with a > >stick shift. > > True. The Opel/Vauxhall Omega, CadCatera (and even an Aussie brother > under Holden badge i guess) are identical, but for badge and trim > levels. Makes you wonder, both Opel and Vauxhall Omega have a quite > nifty looking estate/station-wagon. Why did Cadillac never take *that* > for the US instead of that shameful Escalade. That would be at least > in the direction of the Euro/Lux brands they claim to be targetting > now. It could compete (Well...attempt to anyway) with the 5 series > Touring, 9-5 Estate, V70, E-class and so on. I dunno about the States, > but here a Bimmer 3/5 touring or the C/E-class wagon are top of the > line, well situated at the golf/course parking lot... I can answer that one! Cadillac has never made/sold an estate/station-wagon model. Anything that has a Cadillac badge and looks like a sedan based station-wagon is in reality a hearse. Cadillac has the market locked here with sales to funeral homes and is the transportation of choice for dead people - and their berieved in a matching large, black Cadillac sedan. Something that could potentially be mistaken for a hearse would be somewhat of an embarassment at the golf course parking lot. > > >That was corrected with its replacement, the CTS, but dealers > >rarely stock the stick shift models. Anyone that wants anything other than > >automatic typically has to place a special order and wait. > > I¥m sorry, I saw the CTS here on a show, and it made me wanna cry. If you think the Escalade and the CTS are ugly, just wait for their new model (I can't recall the name right now). A two passenger sports coupe based on the Chevrolet Corvette, with the same styling as the CTS and Escalade. > BTW, In a Dutch article on the Cad CTS it says it¥s based on the > Epsilon-II platfrom, which will also be the basis of the future top > model for Opel, Fiat, the new Lancia Lybra, the coming Alfa-Romeo 166 > and Saab 9-5 (To bring this back on the newsgroup topic....) > How¥s that for cross-platformism, > > http://www.autoweek.nl/newsdisp.php?ID=480 > > Nel > > PS: You got me started here... :-) Exchanging ideas is always fun, even if they are a bit off topic. With all the platform sharing, its not hard to get back on topic! And I like hearing about what is going on in "Yurp" (LOL). Walt

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