Thanks for your feedback, its appreciated.

It turns out I didn't need to remove the console to replace the cup holder. What I wound up doing was carefully (GENTLY) wedging a vinyl coated handle from a pair of pliers between the driver side of the console and cup holder. I lifted up the cup holder slightly, then pulled the handle and did the same thing on the other side of the holder. After that it was a matter of working the holder out of its opening in the console. When I replaced the cup holder with a new unit from GM, I tried to put the springs back on the bottom of the ears of the holder and couldn't work the new part back into the opening. I installed it with out the springs and have not had a problem with the holder flipping out of the console during a hard brake situation. Note, the new GM part I got from the dealer was a slightly different design from the old one. It allows you to take the straps off (remove the pin and spring) like the old design, but the strap itself is a little shorter, has a pin on the bottom of the slide which fits in a vertical slot perpendicular to the long horizontal slot on the back of the holder. So if you are thinking of buying a new GM holder for its straps, be prepared to replace the whole unit; the older design just has the long slot and will not accommodate the redesigned straps.
Mark
Love my Red 2dr Red GT