It’s no surprise to anyone that the car industry has been in a slump these past couple years. Automakers have tried everything from redesign to rebates to get people onto their lots. We have seen hybrids take over the roads, SUV’s disappear and well-loved brands cease to exist. There have been a lot of changes for sure and GM was another on the list when they announced that production of Saturn would end and they would phase out the Pontiac name.

While Saturn has been a well-known brand for GM, in the 20 years it has been around it has never been profitable for the company. This stems from an original brand image problem when Saturn was first introduced. Saturn became synonymous with cheap and poorly made cars. Whether or not that was true, the reputation stuck. While GM improved the models over the years, consumers never really jumped on the Saturn bandwagon.

When Saturn was first introduced back in the early 1990’s, it was supposed to be “a different kind of car company”. The idea was to attract young buyers with efficient, affordable, trendy cars that could compete with the ever-growing Japanese brands. Unfortunately, developers were slow to promote the new brand and found it difficult to find and attract these buyers they were hoping for. In the end, it looks as though it was just never meant to be for Saturn.

Roger Penske, former race car driver, had been in negotiations to buy the Saturn brand and reintroduce it. The orignal plan was to allow GM to produce Saturn through 2001 and then Penske would run the Saturn brand on its own. After the Penske deal collapsed GM had no choice but to shut down the brand. The Saturn brand will most likely be completely halted by the end of 2010.

Another blow to the GM brand is the phasing out of the Pontiac name. When GM was initially forced to rework their infrastructure because of government intervention, they wanted to phase out the Pontiac name. GM was hoping to keep certain well-marketed models under the Pontiac brand name but sell them at Chevrolet dealerships. After reviewing the entire plan, it became obvious that there was no hope for Pontiac. The brand has not been profitable for the company for the past few years so GM was again, left with no choice but to shut down production. Like Saturn, GM believes production will come to an end by December 2010.

While these were hard decisions for GM to make, it did provide them with a bit of hope. By shutting down two unprofitable brands within the company, they are able to devote the rest of their resources to developing and promoting their other brands – Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and “>GMC. It’s always difficult to see a huge brand name go under but it is much better than the alternative. What we really can’t afford to see is an entire American icon fold under economic hardships. American industry needs industrial staples like GM to push through and serve as a beacon of hop in these challenging economic times. So, while we say goodbye to Saturn and Pontiac, let’s hope this is a push in the right direction for GM to get back on its own two feet and help pull America out of this economic slump.

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This was one of the most highly anticipated releases for Chevy in a very long time – Dodge and Ford have had their cars running rampant in this class over the last few years and it seemed high time that the Camaro again make a run for the top spot.Would this go down as one of the cars to remember?  The answer is an emphatic yes!

The 6.2 liter V8 under the hood screams power – this beast is capable of rocketing from zero to sixty in right around four and a half seconds.  With more horses and much better time zero to sixty than either the new Mustang or the new Challenger – Chevy clearly made their point where most people want to see it, in sheer power.

A pleasant, unexpected surprise from the 2010 Camaro SS comes in terms of audibles – or lack there of.With a powerful 425 hp engine together with muscle car heritage it is a little surprise that this car is a little civilised noise wise.A liitle quite for the Camaro as the Chevs have opted to keep the volume on the engine down.This will not go down well with many muscle car fans, Chevy has effectively taken away the icing on the cake.Sadly for an engine that size the noise is hardly audible from the cockpit.

Another big surprise for a powerful Muscle car – the EPA just gave the 2101 Camaro SS “excellent fuel economy ratings”, which is highly unexpected, but could be a very strong selling point as the prices of gas continue to fluctuate.The Camaro is not excatly apollogetic about keeping mother earth green. At 16 MPG city and 24 MPG highway the guilt is washed away once you enjoy that power.

Chevy doesn’t preclude anyone from owning this car either – the base V6 Camaro starts at a very affordable twenty-three thousand and the ultra powerful V8 SS starts at right around thirty thousand.

Is there anything that Chevy could change that would make the 2010 Camaro better?  Sure there were some minor issues or concerns…

For starters, much like the new Dodge Challenger, the driver’s view could be a bit better.  With the current body style, there are a few more “blind spots” than would be considered comfortable, though some minor adjustments in interior design for the next version could most likely easily clear that up.  For the next version, Chevy could also look to eliminate some of the plastic in the interior in favor of a little more chrome and cloth.

Aside from those few minor adjustments, Chevy absolutely did not disappoint with the 2010 Camaro SS.  This car, all in all, is a fantastic piece of machinery and is at least head, if not head and shoulders above the competition in its class.

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