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So you're saying he'd be all in on EVs?DeLorean was a man of a very mixed legacy. He was erratic.
So you're saying he'd be all in on EVs?DeLorean was a man of a very mixed legacy. He was erratic.
One of the owners of the place where I work had the interesting opportunity to go to dinner and drinks with Bob Lutz during a dealer convention. Just him and a couple of other people so he got a lot o facetime with him. My boss told me two things. First, Lutz LOVED to drink. Second, he was one of the most personable, entertaining, and intelligent people he had ever met. The guy really loved GM and wanted the keep them whole (he had a special interest for Pontiac). Unfortunately, we know how it ended........I remember talking to John Z when I was a mail boy and when I ran the slide projector for some of his staff meetings at Pontiac. The closest to him was Lutz who I met with many times. Neither were capable of being politically correct for more than a very short time. There is no room for a John Z or Bob Lutz in GM's "woke" culture.
Since GM is killing off their "regular" cars, I have started looking at Hyundai/Kia. The 2020 Kia Forte GT looks very promising. Was previously looking to get a Cruze for the wife.I do think GM needs more people with passion. GM does some good things, hell, they do some great things. The problem is getting a cohesive package. There is a disconnect.
All anyone needs to do is look at Hyundai and Kia. Sure their products can look _________ insert you own word there. But my point is they appear to have more passion and drive for success. My opinion is it shows in their updated vehicles. Just look at what they've done over the last 10 years or so. Give them a few more and they'll be eating lunches.
Saying this doesn't mean I don't want a new Cadillac but does say, you never know about the future.
Yes, very expensive along with everything else - SUV's, CUV's, etc.. A Cavalier Z24 in today's $$ would probably have a sticker of $35k.Have you checked the prices of these sporty cars lately? Those 2 dudes in the drive-thru that used to dream of a Hemi are MUCH MUCH further from affording one today. Too bad you can't buy a GTO (or any other dream car) with food stamps...
I predict even the "tough truck" segment crashes back to earth this year or next. There aren't that many people who can handle it. Paying top dollar for capability they don't use. Of course, idiots still ignore their retirement savings steadily, so what do I know? They will have to live in their truck, I guess... You are what your actions prove you are.
Maybe there is a bit of a similarity. :yup:So you're saying he'd be all in on EVs?
Elantra GT has the same drivetrain as the Forte GT, i.e. tc 1.6 7/DCT. The Elantra Eco, if still produced, has a 1.4 tc and the 7/DCT IIRC.Since GM is killing off their "regular" cars, I have started looking at Hyundai/Kia. The 2020 Kia Forte GT looks very promising. Was previously looking to get a Cruze for the wife.
The Hyundai Elantra is a nice vehicle, but the 2020 has a CVT, which is a non-starter for me. For myself, I would like a sports sedan: Kia Stinger? Who knows.
When Bob Stempel took over, he was the "car guy" that so many wanted. He wasn't successful, but didn't exactly inherit a good situation.Pretty sure the last engineer CEO GM had was Ed Whitacre and he wasn't there very long.
Thank you, Sir. I stand corrected. I just started looking at H/K vehicles recently. I'm sure there is a lot more to learn. The Forte is a better looking vehicle than the Elantra, in my humble opinion.Elantra GT has the same drivetrain as the Forte GT, i.e. tc 1.6 7/DCT. The Elantra Eco, if still produced, has a 1.4 tc and the 7/DCT IIRC.
That's why the thread is titled "What if GM still had a John Z. DeLorean" and not "What if GM still had John Z. DeLorean." Sometimes the smallest words in a sentence carry the most significance...He'd be 94 years old.........
I think there is LITTLE DEMAND partly because the price of EVERYTHING is so high NOT just CARS but education / RENT utilities ETC that people have LITTLE "discretionary" cashIs there no demand because the products aren't there to spark desire or are there no products which spark desire because there is no demand?
I agree with your first sentence. The second, not so much. I'm not amazed at all that some yearn for the good old days. Defining what they were is where opinions diverge. There was always an appeal (to me) from full size sedans with full size big blocks from the mid to late 1960s. Haul four or five people with you and still appreciate the response when you buried the gas pedal. Not enough appeal to make me actually buy one though.Times change - and so do products and consumer desires, wants and needs. I’m often amazed at the number of posts regarding, “the good old days” - and how things would be better now if we returned to the past. Not going to happen.
The trend is indeed what it is. No doubt about that. However, I still can't get excited by CUVs. A lot of them perform very well given their constraints but I still believe their main attribute is utility. Everyone and their brother, and my wife, has a crossover so I simply don't need (or want) one. Do I need a Camaro? No. Do I want one?Yes. And the trend is the trend, what's in is what's in and I don't think even a DeLorean could change that a lot. But a lot of these utes handle pretty well, as well as or better than the sedans of yore. The number of performance drivers has never been a high percentage, at least probably since the late '70s, so you're not going to sell "excitement." You're going to sell utility with very decent to excellent performance.
I have a fun exciting car. :drive: You don't need two doors and 20" high seats to make excitement.
It will be interesting to see what the collector car market is like in 20 years! Will the bottom fall out?Cars are increasingly falling out of pop culture favor, especially with millennials.. Simply put, they just don't care.. Those cars weren't relevant to their lives. They didn't grow up with interesting cars, and the Accords, Camry's and Mitsubishi Eclipses they did grow up with simply didn't inspire much passion, at least not compared to the stunningly styled fire breathing iron from Detroit we had from 1950s and 1960s.. They're more interested in the latest iPhone than any automobile, and as a result, car museums are going the way of the dodo bird.
Guys like John Z and Bob Lutz probably have no place in todays automobile manufacturer executive suites.
Or even farther into time. Will they be after these SUV's and things? I think not. Unless it is for the dream vehicle niche products by Porsche and such.It will be interesting to see what the collector car market is like in 20 years! Will the bottom fall out?
I know, I got it. I was just trying to add a little levity to the thread....and at my age............That's why the thread is titled "What if GM still had a John Z. DeLorean" and not "What if GM still had John Z. DeLorean." Sometimes the smallest words in a sentence carry the most significance...