5 Years ago there used to be a website message board GMAC SUCKS...

[LS19962DRBLAZER4X4]

There were many people who logged on and told their stories. GMAC got
wise to them and shut them down in 2002. It was the talk of the water cooler
sets in the General Motors Offices in Detroit MI.
Not a trouble maker just curious toknow if anyone else was a member
of the GMAC SUCKS message boards..

[Brad berst]

Originally Posted by LS19962DRBLAZER4X4

There were many people who logged on and told their stories. GMAC got
wise to them and shut them down in 2002. It was the talk of the water cooler
sets in the General Motors Offices in Detroit MI.
Not a trouble maker just curious toknow if anyone else was a member
of the GMAC SUCKS message boards..

The only thing keeping GM afloat presently, is their "sister" company, GMAC Mortgage. [That] from an inside source who works for GMAC.

[Jaguar D-Type]

The UAW (United Auto Workers) aren't helping GM reach a deal.

In other news...

GM reverses course, says revised version of Zeta rear-drive architecture is back on track

Automotive News

9/12/05

DETROIT - Six months after General Motors halted plans to use its Zeta rear-wheel-drive car architecture in North America, the company has revived the program.

In an interview with Automotive News last week, Jim Queen, GM's vice president of global engineering, said a revised version of Zeta is back on track.

Engineered at GM's Holden subsidiary in Australia, Zeta was expected to be the basis of the next-generation Pontiac Grand Prix and GTO; the Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo and a new version of the Camaro; and other vehicles. Vehicles in the program were expected to debut as early as 2006.

Queen did not discuss vehicles on the new version of Zeta or timing. Some vehicles that could be in the Zeta program include the next-generation Pontiac GTO as well as a Chevrolet coupe and sedans. They could debut by the 2009 or 2010 model year, say one company source and one industry analyst.

Queen said initial plans for Zeta stretched the architecture beyond its limits for some North American vehicles. "We needed to reassess and reconfigure the program," he said.

"As we started counting who was in and who was out of Zeta, we realized too late" that Zeta would not work in North America, Queen said.

Part of GM's reasoning in slowing Zeta's development was to focus on pulling forward its full-sized SUVs and pickups. GM's next-generation SUVs will debut early next year.

At the time, GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz wrote on GM's FastLane blog that GM had "canceled … plans to build rear-wheel-drive vehicles off the Zeta architecture."

"But that does not mean we've canceled plans to build rear-drive vehicles altogether," Lutz wrote. "We are simply reallocating resources (human and financial) to pull some other programs ahead and get other vehicles to market sooner."

The revised Zeta program is being developed in GM's Australian engineering center. The vehicle line executive on the program is Gene Stefanyshyn, the former vehicle line executive for GM's Epsilon, or mid-sized cars, in North America.

A GM spokesman said no product plans have been approved and that GM still is studying design themes, performance characteristics and variants for Zeta vehicles.

GM uses the term "architecture" to signify a common set of components, performance characteristics, a common manufacturing process, a range of dimensions and connecting points for key component systems.

New Saturn Vue Hybrid

RICHARD TRUETT | Automotive News

Posted Date: 9/8/05

The new Saturn Vue Green line gasoline-electric hybrid coming next summer will add a twist to the hybrid equation: a more affordable price.

Value, along with better fuel economy and lower emissions, will be the key selling points of the vehicle, says Tom Stephens, GM's group vice president of global powertrain.

The 2007 model will be GM's first high-volume gasoline-electric hybrid.

Stephens says GM won't charge as high a premium for the hybrid Vue as some competitors ask for their models. GM has not released the price.

Ford Motor Co. charges a premium of about $3,300 for the Escape Hybrid; Honda Motor Co. tacks on about $4,000 to the price of the Civic Hybrid sedan, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus Division charges more than $5,300 for the hybrid powertrain in the Lexus RX 400h SUV.

The Vue hybrid is less expensive to produce because, unlike Ford and Toyota hybrids, the Vue's electric motor won't propel the vehicle by itself at low speeds and won't require expensive drivetrain modifications. The Vue is a mild hybrid, which uses the electric motor for start/stop and for a boost upon acceleration. The Civic Hybrid operates in the same manner.

Although GM will save money on the Vue's powertrain, the fuel economy gains are not as big as they are on full or strong hybrids. GM expects the Vue hybrid to deliver between 12 and 15 percent, as opposed to the 20 percent gain of a full hybrid, which uses an electric motor to propel the vehicle at low speeds.

But Stephens says GM believes there are customers who want hybrids but won't spend extra money to buy one.

GM is working on a full hybrid system with DaimlerChrysler AG for its larger SUVs that will be available in the 2007 model year.

GM needs to use its 4.2 liter 275 hp I-6 more often.



They do have two new sports cars, the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky coming early next year.

Ford and GM are working together on a new 6 speed automatic transmission. The 2006 Corvette C6, Cadillac XLR-V, and Cadillac STS-V will get it first (within GM) and other cars and trucks will get it soon after that.