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Here's what I don't get.
Why does my well-founded dislike of certain GM brands and certain GM designs constitute a bash on all GM products?
Hellloooo....
The company I work for does advanced R&D work for GM. I have a vested interest in them doing well.
I obviously own and happen to be extremely happy with a car that was originally designed, engineered, built, and marketed by Holden for the Australian market. Holden has been a GM subsidiary since 1926-- the same year as the first P-P-Pontiac, BTW. I restate this to again point out that P-P-Pontiac marketers had almost no input into the design or production of our cars. I find that GM North America arbitrarily slapping a Red Wedgie on the Monaro cheapens the car and instantly diminishes its street credibility as a serious GT. I realize that this is a tough concept for those brought up in the Rust Belt to grasp, but in many other areas of the country P-P-Pontiac has become synonymous with poor design, over-the-top boy-racer styling (aka American Rice), poor quality, and usually questionable performance. I'm not going to name names, but I know for a fact that a highly placed GM official has admitted as much, saying that their target demographic is "young, white underachievers." GM NA has done a horrible job in brand management and IMHO should be dropped along with the irrelevant Buick.
I have repeatedly stated that there are GM products which I see as excellent vehicles-- the Cadillac V series and C5 and especially C6 Corvettes as examples. The Saturn Sky and its less-attractive older sibling, the Solstice, are promising vehicles indeed.
Seeing that GM NA otherwise relies heavily on FWD and trucks, however, that's about it.
However, I find the design of this new Camaro repulsive, funny, and completely lacking in imagination. It's just another embarrassing "me-too" stab at retro, just like the incredibly silly-looking HHR. That said, I do take heart in the fact that GMNA has chosen to select a modern IRS rear suspension (unlike Ford's dinoride counterpart), but other than that I see nothing in this car that appeals to me, a hardcore performance (meaning speed and poise in straight line and curves) car guy.
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