Ron Ananian and the Car Doctor broadcast live from the 2006 New York Auto Show, chatting with GM brand reps about how Detroit is reshaping its image. Buick’s Lloyd Bierman highlights the Lucerne and Enclave concept-to-production plan, plus JD Power quality wins and upscale tech to attract younger buyers. Pontiac’s Jim Hobson spotlights the Solstice and revived GTO, while addressing service and dealership experience. Saturn’s Brian Brockman discusses four major unveilings (Sky Redline, Aura, Outlook, and Preview concept) and family-friendly tech. The show director also shares attractions, planning, and VIP membership details.
We recently uncovered a live broadcast of Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor from the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, recorded back in April of 2006. This is the second hour of the show that day.
It’s a true time capsule—a look at what the automotive industry was, what we thought was cutting-edge, and how far we’ve come since. From the vehicles on display to the conversations happening on the show floor, you’ll hear the early stages of trends that shaped today’s cars.
Keep in mind, this is a live broadcast from the show floor, so the audio reflects the energy and noise of a real working event. It’s not studio-perfect—but that’s part of the charm.
Take a listen, step back in time, and enjoy the ride.
"And I have to say, Buick Pontiac has changed a lot in the last couple of years, and they've really done some major facelifts and it looks like some major model changes. And I've snared two gentlemen from General Motors, [43.5s] and I'm gonna draw them into this whether they like it or not, Jim Hobson, who is the communications manager for Pontiac, and Lloyd Bierman, who is the marketing manager for Buick."
General Motors, or GM, is a big car company that owns multiple brands. Buick and Pontiac are part of GM, so GM people are involved in how those brands market new cars.
General Motors (GM) is one of the largest U.S. automakers and the parent company behind brands like Buick and Pontiac. In the segment, the hosts pull in GM communications and marketing staff to discuss brand changes.
"We've got in the last couple of years. We've introduced [84.1s] to Rendezvous, which is really our first crossover vehicle that reduced Buick's average age by about ten years. What you [90.6s] see in the Buick Rendezvous, what you see in the Buick were near the Terraza, are a lot younger folks now ten to fifteen years younger than the typical Buick Buyer that we used to get."
The Buick Rendezvous is a Buick crossover-type vehicle. They’re using it as an example of how Buick tried to attract younger drivers instead of only older customers.
The Buick Rendezvous is a crossover/SUV-style vehicle used in the segment as an example of Buick’s attempt to broaden its audience. The speaker claims it “reduced Buick’s average age” by attracting younger buyers.
"...we did eight thousand units in sales and we expect it to continue to grow. It's out selling [116.7s] our previous Lessaber. We're bringing in traditional customers."
The Buick LeSabre is an older Buick sedan that the speaker says the new Lucerne is outselling. It’s basically a “new car replacing the old one” sales comparison.
The Buick LeSabre is mentioned as the prior model the Lucerne is outperforming. This is a classic auto-industry comparison: new model sales are used to show whether a replacement is gaining traction.
"But we're [120.2s] also starting to see some of those folks coming in out of Lexus, out of Jaguar, out of Mercedes. Dealers [125.3s] are telling us they're coming into the showrooms and they're looking to trade."
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand. The speaker is saying some people who used to shop Lexus are now coming to Buick dealerships to trade in.
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand, and it’s used here as a benchmark for cross-shopping. The speaker says Buick is now seeing shoppers who previously would have considered Lexus.
"But we're [120.2s] also starting to see some of those folks coming in out of Lexus, out of Jaguar, out of Mercedes. Dealers [125.3s] are telling us they're coming into the showrooms and they're looking to trade."
Mercedes (Mercedes-Benz) is a major German luxury brand referenced as a source of trade-in customers. The speaker’s point is that Buick is attracting shoppers who previously would have targeted Mercedes models.
"Buicks kind of moving upscale a little bit into the premium place. We've got features, technology features on the lucern"
“Upmarket” means aiming for a more premium, higher-end market. Here, it’s about Buick trying to feel more luxurious and modern.
“Upmarket” means moving a brand or product to a higher price tier and more premium positioning. In the transcript, Buick is described as shifting toward more luxury features and a more upscale buyer perception.
"You get three on the side. That's a V six. Those holes have a history, don't they They do. And the forties they go back to the forties. I think it's the fifties at the I believe they go. I believe their post World War two they go back to the forties."
Portholes are the round/oval window shapes you can see on the side of some Buicks. They’re used as a recognizable design detail tied to the brand’s past.
“Portholes” refers to Buick’s distinctive rear quarter window styling—round or oval window shapes that echo classic Buick design cues. The speaker connects them to Buick’s design heritage and notes they appear on the Lucerne and an Enclave concept vehicle.
"It's a concept car that was shown at the show. However, we are going to do a production version next spring."
A concept car is like a “preview” car shown at an auto show. It helps the company show ideas, and later they may build a real version for regular sale.
A concept car is a show vehicle used to preview new styling, technology, and design directions. It often leads to a production model, but what you see may change before it reaches dealerships.
"However, we are going to do a production version next spring. It'll be in dealers come next summer."
A “production version” is the real version of the car that gets built for customers to buy. It’s the step after the concept car stage.
A “production version” is the final, sellable model that goes into regular manufacturing after the concept stage. The speaker notes a timeline for when the production Enclave would arrive in dealers.
"Now for the folks, this is a seven passenger vehicle for the folks who have a family."
“Seven passenger” means the SUV can seat up to seven people. That’s useful for families or carpooling because you have more seats than a typical five-seat vehicle.
A “seven passenger” configuration means the vehicle is designed to seat up to seven people, typically using three rows of seating. This is a key selling point for family-oriented SUVs and crossovers.
"We just walking down the aisle here at the New York International Auto Show and we came upon Buick and I said, wow, look at this."
This is a big car show in New York where manufacturers bring new cars and previews. The speaker is describing what they saw while walking around.
The New York International Auto Show is a major event where automakers display current models and upcoming concepts. This segment uses the show setting to introduce Buick’s Enclave and Terraza.
"...if you look at JD power, which is really kind of the measuring device for the industry... Buick ranked overall third in the industry for initial quality."
J.D. Power is a major automotive research and consumer survey company. Their rankings are widely referenced in the industry for metrics like initial quality, helping buyers compare brands based on reported issues.
"Lexus and Cadillac were first and second. Toyota Honda a little further down the list..."
Cadillac is GM’s luxury car brand. The speaker mentions it because it’s doing very well in early quality rankings.
Cadillac is GM’s luxury brand. In this segment, it’s mentioned in the context of J.D. Power initial quality rankings, where Cadillac is described as ranking first (along with Lexus).
"...one of the things Detroit doesn't do well is talk about the things they do right in thirty seconds or less, yes or no."
The speaker wants car companies to explain their best points in a very short time. The goal is to make the message easy to understand right away.
“Thirty seconds or less” is presented as the ideal time window for Detroit to communicate its strengths. It’s a messaging strategy concept—short, decisive talking points for auto-show audiences and media.
"...stay put and take a seat right where you are. Put the parking brakes on. I'm Ron and Ady and the car Doctor."
Parking brakes are the safety brake that keeps a car from rolling when it’s stopped. The speaker is telling people to use it while they’re parked.
The host instructs listeners to “put the parking brakes on,” which is a safety step when vehicles are stationary. It’s a practical reminder for anyone sitting in or around cars at an event.
"I can talk Pontiac firsthand. My brother had a sixty five goat and as I was telling you, I said, well, and as I selling you turned the pause for the cause."
The Pontiac GTO is a famous old muscle car. Here, Ron is talking about his brother’s 1965 GTO to explain Pontiac’s design style and how it shows up again later.
The Pontiac GTO is a legendary muscle car from Pontiac, and the 1965 model is one of the most iconic years. In this segment it’s used as a personal reference point for how Pontiac styling cues carry over to newer cars.
"What is this red, drop dead gorgeous two seat convertible with that's gotta be? Can I say? Is that correct? Term? That honeycomb grill? Is that Ferrari inspired? Actually,"
A honeycomb grille uses a repeating hexagonal mesh pattern for airflow and styling. Here it’s used as a visual clue to connect the Solstice’s front-end design to Pontiac’s older “metal mesh” grille look.
"...if you remember the sixty seven gto I had once what was commonly referred to us the chicken wire grill. Correct,"
“Chicken wire” is just a nickname for a grille that looks like metal mesh. Ron is using it to describe an old Pontiac look and how it influenced the newer car’s front design.
“Chicken wire” is a nickname for a grille that looks like woven metal mesh. Ron uses it to describe the Pontiac GTO grille styling cue that he says carries forward into the Solstice’s mesh-like grille pattern.
"do you happen to know the sticker price? That thing starts at twenty thousand dollars. Can I get a deal if I take it home today?"
Sticker price is the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) shown on the vehicle before discounts. Ron is asked what the Solstice’s sticker price is, which sets up the discussion of whether a buyer can negotiate a deal.
"...the Solstice has pretty much been a sellout from the moment this car first appeared on a television show called The Apprentice. Last year, we actually sold one thousand of these cars in forty one minutes nationwide."
When Ron says “sellout,” he means the cars were selling so fast that they ran out. He’s using sales speed to show the Solstice was extremely popular.
“Sellout” here means the car sold out quickly, indicating strong consumer demand. Ron backs it up with a sales pace claim (1,000 cars in 41 minutes nationwide), emphasizing how hot the Solstice was at launch.
"strategies that GM has is to take a look at all of our vehicle lines, and to make certain that as a customer comes into a GM showroom, regardless of brand, that they have a full breadth of products to take a look at."
GM is General Motors, a big car company. They own several different car brands, and they’re talking about how dealers can sell multiple brands so customers can shop in one place.
GM refers to General Motors, the large automaker that owns multiple brands and dealer networks. In the segment, they’re describing how GM wants customers to have a consistent “one-stop” experience across different brand showrooms.
"Brian is the communications manager for Saturn Saturn. What was Saturn's tagline? It used to be a different kind of car company."
A tagline is a short slogan a company uses in ads. It’s meant to quickly tell you what the brand is about.
A tagline is a short marketing phrase meant to capture a brand’s identity and positioning. Here, the speaker references Saturn’s tagline to explain how the brand wanted to be perceived versus other automakers.
"We unveiled the regular Sky Roadster one hundred and seventy seven horsepower roadster last year, and that is actually starting to hit our retail stores as we speak."
Horsepower is how strong the engine is. More horsepower usually means the car can accelerate more easily.
Horsepower is a measure of engine power output. The speaker uses “177 horsepower” to characterize the Sky Roadster’s performance level.
"I can't give you a real defined time frame, but I can say a lot of our retailers do have waiting lists, and so the best thing to do is just to contact them and see what the availability is at that particular."
If a car is popular and not enough are available, dealers may put people on a list. That helps manage demand until the next cars arrive.
A waiting list is a dealer or manufacturer queue for customers when demand exceeds supply. The speaker contrasts Saturn’s ordering approach with Pontiac’s and notes that many retailers have waiting lists.
"It'll debut later this year in the fourth quarter, and that brings something different to market for us."
“Fourth quarter” just means late in the year. They’re telling you roughly when the new car will be introduced.
“Fourth quarter” is a timing reference for when the vehicle is expected to debut, meaning the last three months of the year. It’s important because it sets expectations for when the new model will reach the market.
"It has eight. Passenger seating available. It's a larger vehicle than we've had."
They’re saying the vehicle can seat up to eight people. That’s useful if you have a big family or often drive with friends.
“Eight passenger seating available” indicates the vehicle can accommodate up to eight people, which is a major selling point for family-oriented crossovers. It’s directly tied to the Outlook’s practicality and size.
"Welcome back, Ron and Adie and the Card Doctor. We are here with Candida Romanelli, director of the Auto Show. Down here Jacob Javis, New York"
The New York Auto Show is a big car event in New York where companies show new cars and future ideas. People in the industry use it to make announcements and get attention.
The New York Auto Show is a major annual event where automakers and suppliers display upcoming vehicles, concepts, and technology. It’s a key industry moment for launches and for gauging public and media reaction.
"New this year something called Member. The Members Express Club is specifically for show visitors and it's an exclusive club, a membership that they pay for."
This is a paid membership for auto show attendees. Members get benefits like early entry and discounts, and the show uses member information to help car companies market more effectively.
The “Members Express Club” is a paid membership program for show visitors that provides perks like discounts, early entry, and access to VIP lounges. The goal is to segment attendees and gather data for manufacturers’ marketing.
"...I'm looking at the saline car that goes for about half a million dollars and then travels from zero to sixty and two point four seconds."
“Zero to sixty” means how fast a car can go from standing still to 60 mph. It’s a simple way to compare performance between cars.
“Zero to sixty” is shorthand for 0–60 mph acceleration time, a common performance metric used to compare how quickly cars reach highway speed. It’s often used in marketing and enthusiast discussions because it’s easy to understand.
Select text to request an explanation
Talking about automobiles once again. Here we are Ronning Andy
and the Car Doctor. We are down here at the
New York International Automobile Show. And I guess you could
tell that by the fact that someone decided to start a car up and back it up. I hope they
don't run into us here as we're in the booth.
We were wandering down the aisle and here as the New York International Art of Show here at Javits in Manhattan.
It's running all this week, and you know, we just happened to be in front of the Buick Pontiac and booths.
And I have to say, Buick Pontiac has changed a lot in the last couple of years, and they've really done some major facelifts and it looks like some major model changes. And I've snared two gentlemen from General Motors,
and I'm gonna draw them into this whether they like it or not, Jim Hobson, who is the communications manager for Pontiac, and Lloyd Bierman, who is the marketing manager for Buick. Lloyd, let me turn it over to you first,
since we're really first stumbled upon Buick. Thanks for taking
the time out today. Appreciate it Buick. You know, you
think of Buick and you sort of say, well, my grandmother had a car like that, and you know, is it your grandmother's car? And you know, there's some new
things here at Buick that people need to say.
Well, and certainly Buick's had a history and a reputation of talking to some older folks and that's changing though.
That's changing.
We've got in the last couple of years. We've introduced
to Rendezvous, which is really our first crossover vehicle that reduced Buick's average age by about ten years. What you
see in the Buick Rendezvous, what you see in the Buick were near the Terraza, are a lot younger folks now ten to fifteen years younger than the typical Buick.
Buyer that we used to get.
Now as we move into sedan's what we've gotten new this year is the Lucern is the Buick Lucerne a mid large almost call it an entry luxury sedan that's doing very well. We just introduced it in October and
last month we did eight thousand units in sales and we expect it to continue to grow. It's out selling
our previous Lessaber. We're bringing in traditional customers. But we're
also starting to see some of those folks coming in out of Lexus, out of Jaguar, out of Mercedes. Dealers
are telling us they're coming into the showrooms and they're looking to trade.
Into a Bwick.
Why Why Because Buick's back.
Bwick is back.
Bwick has got product that's that's both luxurious, it's premium.
Buicks kind of moving upscale a little bit into the premium place. We've got features, technology features on the lucern
heated and cool seats for example, heated washer, fluid, magnetic ride control, things, luxury features that really give that luxury impression to the buyer that says, you know what, Buicks not just for old folks anymore, Buicks for you.
Well, yes, and I can see that by the models that are here, and the colors and the wheels, and you know, it wasn't you know, I remember the day ten years ago. Bwicks had hub caps on them. Do
you guys have a car with a hub cap on it anymore? There's a hub cap on a bus on
you know, And and and okay, so the person had a Jaguar, the person had the Lexus. They're coming out
of that perhaps the person before they had the Jaguar, they were al Saber customer. Now a Saber's not around anymore.
Now it's a Lucerne Saber. That's correct.
Let's say we're no longer selling the Saber. But Lucern
really takes the place of both the La Saber and the park Avenue that we used to sell.
And that was my other question, right where'd the park ab and you go that that became that it was the in between that Lucern covers both.
Licern comes with a standard V six or you can get a V eight on the vehicle as well as shown by the portholes.
You get three on the side.
That's a V six. Those holes have a history, don't
they They do. And the forties they go back to
the forties. I think it's the fifties at the I
believe they go.
I believe their post World War two they go back to the forties.
And that's what always made it a buick and and and that's why you guys keep them there. I believe
that's what resources tell me.
You will see you will see the portholes on the Lucerne the Enclave concept vehicle here that we're showing today at the Auto Show as well, has got the.
Portholes on it.
I think you'll see as we kind of roll through some of the new Buick products, you'll see portholes on most.
Beyond Clave that what is is that champagne? What is
that color?
Is that the exterior color we call coco, very warm color for Buick. The Enclave concept car is a vehicle
that we're bringing. It's actually a vehicle we will bring
to market. It's a concept car that was shown at
the show. However, we are going to do a production
version next spring. It'll be in dealers come next summer.
Look at the lines of that thing. Look at the
way that the tail light lenses, the chrome and the red, the tail it's all molded is one.
It's the shape is just everybody who sees that vehicle, from from media to customers to my dealer friends here that are that are ready to sell this product, are we want it now?
It's beautiful. We love the interior, we love the exterior.
That are those chrome tailpipes, I mean dual chrome, exhausted dual chrome in a Buick and you're going to get those standard on every single Enclave we sell. So Buick
isn't the older person's car anymore.
Buick is for the younger person. Now for the folks,
this is a seven passenger vehicle for the folks who have a family. Thirty five to fifty nine is really
our target age room that we're going to be shooting for.
And you know what, I think that this is going to be a hit. Beonklave is going to be a
hit for those folks.
You know, Lloyd as A and we did. We just
we're just walking down the aisle here at the New York International Auto Show and we came upon Buick and I said, wow, look at this. These are like really
cool sexy cars. And then I turn around as we
turn from Buick, and I should point out, now, let's just see real fast beyond Clavis here. Okay, what's this
silver over here to my right.
That's our Terraza.
Okay, is that a production vehicle?
That is a production vehicle. We've been selling that for
the last couple of years. That's our crossover sport van as.
We refer to it.
So it's we're got Taraza, a Ronier, a Rendezvous, current vehicles, Lacrosse as well.
Let me ask you this question tough question.
All right, you got to answer it.
All right, all right, I got you on air now.
Last couple of months, I've been kind of hitting the point about that the domestics are making a better product.
I'm not telling everybody they have to run out and buy that product, but I'm just saying the domestics for GM Chrystler deserve a test drive if that person was driving the Toyota now and they've had it for five six years and they're looking to get out of it.
I'm not saying Toyota.
Is a bad car.
I'm saying GM has gotten to be as good as that Toyota.
Yes or no, absolutely absolutely, and let me tell you why.
Okay, so that's my question. I want you to give
me to GM report card. You know, you know it's
here's your moment in the sun, my friend.
You want a report card. In my opinion, I give
GM and A from a quality standpoint to get that message out, we've probably not been as strong as we could be, and so maybe a B on getting.
The message out.
But here's the message.
Is that if you look at JD power, which is really kind of the measuring device for the industry, Buick ranked overall third in the industry for initial quality. Lexus
and Cadillac were first and second. Toyota Honda a little
further down the list won't tell you exactly where, but Buick was third. The Buick Lacrosse that we talked about
just a minute ago, the buic lacrosse is built in the number one ranked plant in North America, bar none Theoshua plants.
And that's stuff that's ranked by JD Power, that is ranked by JD. Powell. The same people who are telling
us Toyota and Honda are the cars that they are are also telling us that Buick that plant is what Now the number one is the.
Number one plant in North America, Sony, How we don't hear about that a lot of Oh, and that's why I say we're giving ourselves a b on maybe communication to that message. And likewise, the plant that builds the liscern,
which is just outside just inside of Detroit, the plant that builds a liscerns a number three ranked a plant in North America from a quality standpoint from JD.
Power. I read a report on MSNBC and I've been
talking about that today that one of the things Detroit doesn't do well is talk about the things they do right in thirty seconds or less, yes or no.
I think I've already said that.
I agree. I agree with that statement.
We've got to start getting that message out.
Stronger, right, And you're absolutely right, and I don't want to cut you short, but I do have to pull over.
The pit stop sign is waving at me. We're about
to run out a game as here, and if I don't pull in and let the pit crew change the tires a little rotate, maybe a quick oil change. But
when we come back, I'm gonna ask you to hand the mic over to your buddy standing to your side here, Jim Hobson, who's the communications manner for Pontiac. You know,
the one thing I have to say about Buick is I can't let my wife in here because she'll be out of the Malibu and she'll want to be in one of these particularly the concept with with with with colmb dule. Yeah, she'll love you know that. It's it's
that sexy SUV that everybody's looking for, and you know it's it's just got to go. But I want to
thank you for taking the time. If everybody wants to
stay put and take a seat right where you are.
Put the parking brakes on. I'm Ron and Ady and
the car Doctor. I'll be back with these nice guys
from GM right after this.
Welcome back.
I'm Ron and Aenie and the car Doctor. Down here
at the New York International Automobile Show. I'm standing next
to some of the GM guys. We're wandering down the
aisle and we were talking just with Lloyd Bierman. I
want to thank Lloyd again over at Buick, and I've now snared Jim Hobson, who is the communications manager for Pontiac. Jim,
thanks for taking time out of the day. I know
there's a lot going on down here. Problem.
Ron'm glad you asked man.
I can talk Pontiac firsthand. My brother had a sixty
five goat and as I was telling you, I said, well, and as I selling you turned the pause for the cause.
Had we known when the drunk plowed into the back of it and pushed the trunk into the rear seat, we would have kept it. But it was It's a Pontiac.
We can get another one anytime. That was thirty years ago.
On my brother. If he's listening to this today, I
think I saw that sixty five gto on Barrett Jackson something similar just go for like one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, and it was like, you know, Harriet would have been worse it to fix the trunk anyway, A different subject, Jim. You know what got me was is
we came down the aisle. First it was Buick. Now
it's Pontiac. What is this red, drop dead gorgeous two
seat convertible with that's gotta be? Can I say? Is
that correct? Term? That honeycomb grill? Is that Ferrari inspired? Actually,
it's more here inspired by your brother sixty five gto if you remember the sixty seven gto I had once what was commonly referred to us the chicken wire grill. Correct,
And so that was one of the design cues that is carried on from Pontiac for some time is to have that kind of metal mesh look in our grill patterns, and we have that on the two thousand and six Pontiac's Solstice, which is this little red beast you've been looking at. This is production. That's production is about now? Really,
do you happen to know the sticker price? That thing
starts at twenty thousand dollars. Can I get a deal
if I take it home today? I guarantee you we
probably can make that happen, but you may have to get in line behind the three months of customers that we already have waiting for this car. So that must
mean this is a pretty good car. Never mind's never
know how cute it is, right, But I don't understand, see, because I'm a regular guy, and I sit at home and I eat my chicken dinner in front of the TV every night, watching the news, and all ever hear about is how great the other guy is and what everybody else is doing. And this is like one of
the best cupt secrets out there, then well I tell you it probably is. And as I think Lloyd talked
to you a little bit earlier about we're probably not as good as we are too your own horn. But
the Solstice has pretty much been a sellout from the moment this car first appeared on a television show called The Apprentice. Last year, we actually sold one thousand of
these cars in forty one minutes nationwide. Wow, it sold
seven thousand, one hundred and sixteen and ten days. So
this is a car that stirs people's emotions enough to where they actually went to dealerships put money down on a car that they had never seen in person and had never even driven. And we still have people waiting
for this car? Is this? And I have to ask
this question because I can see this in any other color?
Can you get any color you want as long as it's red? Actually I think that's a Corvette thing. But
we actually have other colors. In fact, you could see
back over here behind us, we have one in what we call mean yellow. That's a new two thousand and
seven color, and that ought to be one that's going to be jumping off the streets as well. That sort
of looks like a certain Deuce Coop and a certain movie that was made about thirty years ago. Well, i'll
tell you it from that other brand, but we won't go through that banter that occurred between that and the black fifty five Chevy rolling down the street that day.
But yeah, that's actually a real drop dead gorgeous color as well. What else is Pontiac got going on here
as we kind of intrud in the booth, is that the gto? That is the gto, that's the classic American
muscle car. We brought that back in two thousand and four.
That car.
You're looking at, the two thousand and six model, four hundred horses under the hood of that sucker, and it'll do zero to sixty and four point seven seconds. How's
that selling? It actually is selling very well. We unfortunately
run into a few little federal regulatory requirements that are going to be changing on us at the end of two thousand and six, So this is actually the last year you'll be able to buy that particular GTO, But we do have plans for the Goat in the future, so stay tuned. Now, let me ask you this. They're
gonna do anything, and I'll put you on the spot.
I put Lloyd on the spot. Im I'll put all
your gmgats spot. You know in sixty eight, was it
I think a fellow by the name of Deloorian? Was
he the guy with the Judge sixty nine? Actually was
with the Duk came out? Okay? Sorry, So you know,
are we gonna have a Judge version of this? Well,
I tell you it's because with a four hundred horsepower engine, and if this car is already more powerful than anything that was built in the sixties, so we've looked at the idea of doing a performance version, but then we said there really shouldn't be any lesser GTOs. It's kind
of in a class by itself, so we've been very satisfied with this LS two four hundred horsepower engine under the hood of this car. Technology in this car it's
quite spectacular. If you remember the old goats having a
sixty five in your family, yourself, the thing would go like a bat out of hell in a straight line as long as you weren't trying to get third gear.
That's correct, But also don't try to turn it too hard, because it wasn't going to have that. This car has
the advantage of all the modern vehicle architectures and dynamics, so not only will this thing go fast in a straight line, it's actually quite a good little road racing car itself. In fact, we have this car on the
track right now in the Grand American Rolex Cup series and it actually is winning race after race against things like Porsche and Maserati and some of these names that you wouldn't ordinarily think of putting a Pontiac up against.
Tough question. Jim Yisser everybody's cancerned about quality, and I
always bring this up. Lloyd D gave GMA's and B's.
I'm sure you would the same in terms of a report card. Lloyd pointed out regarding Buick that the Buick
product is made in the number one plant in the country.
I believe it was as rated by JD.
Powers.
If we're going to listen to them talk about JD Powers on Buwick, what's JD. Power saying about Pontiac. Well,
not only do Bwick and Pontiac share a lot of good dealers out there, but we also share that number one plan in North America because not only is the Buick Lacrosse made at the Oshawa number two plant, but so is the Pontiac Grand Prix. So you still have
that same level of quality regardless of what brands you look at.
With GM.
For the person out there that's bought that GM product perhaps two years ago, they've got it back at the dealer, they're not getting satisfaction on getting a repair to what lengths is GM going now to ensure customer satisfaction customer service?
And you know, because that's always a concern. We all
hear the stories you got to make a happy customer, you don't make a happy customer, They're not a customer anymore. Absolutely.
I mean, today's environment is so much more competitive than it even was ten years ago. And one of the
things that we're very aware of is that the public faith of GM is our dealership experience. And when you
look at the dealership experience of Saturn, when you look at the dealership experience of Buick and Chevy and all of our other fine GM brands, I think that those that may have had, shall we say, less than an ideal of experience ten to fifteen years ago, I urged them to at least give the dealership another chance, because dealers truly understand that while the car may get them into the showroom, it's the dealer that sells the experience and keeps them there. Absolutely absolutely keep them coming back. Now,
let me ask you this question. Is it any coincidence?
I don't know if you'll know this, but you've got Buick Pontiac and then I see GMC like you guys are roll in a row. Is this are you like
bonding together or actually, you're absolutely correct. One of the
strategies that GM has is to take a look at all of our vehicle lines, and to make certain that as a customer comes into a GM showroom, regardless of brand, that they have a full breadth of products to take a look at. So one of the things that you're
seeing over the course of the next several years is a much closer alignment of Buick, Pontiac and GMC. As
a person would come into a Buick showroom, say looking for a more useful oriented car, say like A five, a G six, or the new G five that's coming out this fall, then they would come back a couple of years later, perhaps when they have a family, when they have a little bit more income, and they say, you know, I want to move up to something that's a little bit more of a premium experience. Well, guess what,
that same dealer that gave them such a fine experience on Pontiac will be able to put them into a Buick like perhaps this Buick enclave right here, and then maybe they want to look a little bit further and they want to go to a professional grade truck product right there on that same lot, same dealer, same service experience.
They have a complete line of pickups from mid size utilities all the way through full sport utilities as well, so sort of like one stop shopping. That's exactly correct,
Jim in fifteen seconds or less, how hard's GM working to make it better? Everybody at GM is focused on
doing everything we can to prove that we're worth another look.
So let me just grab Lloyd real quick, Lloyd, fifteen seconds or less. How hard you guys working at this.
We are working as hard as we can every day of the week, every month of the year.
So this is sort of a paramount moment for General Motors.
It's got to be gentlemen. I want to thank both
of you. I appreciate you taking your time out. As
I said to everybody, there's just so much going on here.
I appreciate the walk down the island, the instroductions that you've given me today. Thank you Ron Andanie and the
car Doctor. Jim Hobson, General Motors, Lloyd Bierman Buick. We
appreciate you being here again. We'll be back after this. Hi,
Ronnie in the card doctor, we are back. We are
still here at the New York International Automobile Ship down here at the Jacob Javitt Center in Manhattan, and I'm standing next to Brian Brockman. Brian is the communications manager
for Saturn Saturn. What was Saturn's tagline? It used to
be a different kind of car company.
Though, Yeah, the original tagline a different kind of company, a different kind of car, and that was ten years ago, give or take sixteen. Actually, the brand has been around
for sixteen years.
Wow.
Was it sixteen years ago that GM is well created Saturn in that sense of the word.
Absolutely, Yeah.
Saturn started as an independent entity, wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors and really looking for different ways to bring vehicles to market and to sell them to consumers. So
we're looking to continue that history and really do something different within the GM portfolio that you'll see.
Here today now.
And that's why we stopped by today because you're some of the big You're some of the bigger news. I
guess if you could and listen, if you could become the bigger news at a show of this size, you've really done something. Saturn was always in. It was one
or two models, right well, and we're big news here.
I don't know that we've ever had and I don't know that any automaker has ever had four World unveils at the same auto show, and so here in New York we unveiled the sky Redline, which is a higher performance roadster to the regular Sky Roadster that we have out right now, the Ara, a mid sized sedan, the Outlook large crossover vehicle, and then a concept.
That shows that we're not done with just those.
Three products that crossover vehicles called the preview is that the.
Sky is the sky right here in this what is that Midnight Blue.
Yes, this is the Midnight Blue Sky Redline that you see here. So a two liter turbo engine, two hundred
and sixty horse power, just a blast to drive, but also a great news style for the Saturn BRANDI six Actually a two liter turbo so a four cylinder with direct injection turbos, So two hundred and sixty horsepower out of that out of that power plant. So you've got
convertible top, two seater, leather interior.
It looks like what else is in this, you know, kind of reminds me of a different car line, the older T Bird sixty four to sixty three with that land out top. That's sort of a land out top
going back there, right, they've kind of brought that back.
I guess well, it's I mean, the top does purely stowe underneath the deck lid there to give it a nice clean look while you're top stowed away. Sometimes people
don't necessarily like the look of a convertible because the top clutter is the exterior styling. But in this case,
the car just has very good, nice clean lines, great proportions and our bold new front end styling that unfortunately we can't see from this angle. Now you've got one
here at midnight blue. That color up there, that's a silver,
silver pearl, silver pearl. Over here to our right, this
is this is a different kind of little stone.
Metallic is the name of that color.
Okay, any other colors that? What the heck? Why don't
we collect all? Three?
Yeah?
Six?
If it's a sports car, obviously you have.
To have red pop, it's got to have EyeT.
Absolutely, we have.
A bright yellow sunburst yellow. We also have a darker
silver or a gray called silver graphite, and then black white, a very dark forest green, and the three colors you see here these.
You are new. This is unveiled first time here at.
Javitz, we unveiled the regular Sky Roadster one hundred and seventy seven horsepower roadster last year, and that is actually starting to hit our retail stores as we speak.
We have some out there, and one of our retailers told me.
They delivered one today, so we're starting to get those out.
The red Line, the turbo model we introduced here in New York, and that'll come to market this summer. Price ranges,
you'll be in kind of the mid to high twenties with the Turbo. The regular Sky starts at twenty three
six nineties so and very well equipped. So it gives
you great value for a great looking, well styled, high performance roadster.
Before I was talking with Pontiac and the Solstice, the two seedar Solstice, I think it was three month backlog.
Well, we handle our ordering system a little bit different than Pontiac, so I can't give you a real defined time frame, but I can say a lot of our retailers do have waiting lists, and so the best thing to do is just to contact them and see what the availability is at that particular.
Store and kind of get in if you want one.
Exactly. Yeah, they are very popular.
Right now, moving away from the sky because there's the sky now, I look over to my right on the turntable spinning around. That's the outlook.
That is the outlook. That's our new large crossover vehicle.
It'll debut later this year in the fourth quarter, and that brings something different to market for us.
It has eight.
Passenger seating available. It's a larger vehicle than we've had.
We women brant your Saturn. Yes, you know, four seats,
four doors, two doors. You are that little car company.
Eight people in a Saturn.
Absolutely, yeah, And that's a big part of what we're trying to do with the brand here is really to allow people to stay within the Saturn family. A lot
of people come in because of the ownership and the retail experience as they buy the car, as they bring it back royal changes, if they have to have service done.
They really enjoy that experience. But in the past we
may not have had the product that they could move into.
So as we move forward, we have a mid sized sedan, a larger crossover. We have a small utility in the
view that's doing very well for us in the market.
So you really open doors for customers to either come in when they need something on the larger end, or to stay with you for a longer period of time, So maybe you had somebody who had an eye on small car or a view small utility.
They've got a growing family, they need.
More space, so they can get into the outlook or the aura and utilize the space that we offer there.
DDD player in there, absolutely, Yeah, you have a DVD available on Star. On Star is standard on all Saturn models.
And how are we going to keep the kids quiet in the back seat other than a DVD player. We've
got any connections for game boys and all that.
Absolutely.
I mean, if you with all the DVD players, if you want to plug in your Xbox or your your PlayStation or any of those systems, you can always plug them right in, and then while one person is doing that, you can use the headphones to listen to some other music.
It's like taking the living room out with you on the four wheels and driving down the road.
Oh.
Absolutely.
And the great thing about the outlook it's three rows of seating, but that third row isn't limited just to kids.
You can actually get three rows of adults there and be very comfortable in that third row. The second row
seats for entry into that third row, sometimes you have climb over a seat or really kind of throw yourself in.
We have a system that's called smart Slide on the second row seat where the seat cushion articulates forward and then the whole seat back slides forward, giving you a nice wide entry path. And so if people come out
to the show and encourage them to take a look at those.
Seats, climb in the car. Absolutely, yeah cool. Now what's
this right in front of us in our closing couple of minutes. Here's what's this. This is a concept car.
This is the preview concept. This is a new vehicle
for us that really shows how we could take our design direction into the view which is our small sport utility.
So you see some of the styling cues that are on the sky and the outlook in the aura, and they start to come through on the on the preview here.
Now I noticed, like the rest of General Motors. Oh
wait a minute, what's this over here?
This is this is our new midside suggest are okay?
So you see the front end styling that's the hallmark of the other vehicles we've been talking about, a very refined interior and an available three point six liter V six with a six speed automatic transmission. So blending great,
power about two hundred and fifty two horsepower with strong fuel economy and just very balanced performance.
So it'll be a lot of fun to drive.
But great looking as well.
You know, I'm looking around at Saturn like the rest of General Motors. You guys don't believe in hubcaps anymore,
do you.
Well, you find more creative ways to do them so they look more premium. It's a great it's a great
job that they do for us.
On their design.
It looks it looks like the hubcap has gone away. Brian,
you know, the clock's gonna grab me here. I want
to thank you for taking the time.
I appreciate your being here.
The only thing I can say to everybody is you got to come down to see Saturn, because now you really are a different kind of car company.
Absolutely, thanks Ron Brian, I appreciate it.
Ronin Annie in the Car Doctor.
And we're back right after this, Hi.
Ronan Annie in the Card Doctor. We are back as
we kind of finish our tour here of the auto show here at Jacob Javison here International Automobile Show, and I'm joined once again by Candida Roman Nelly. We've seen
so much today, concept cars, phototypes, we've discussed, you know, Jewish, I don't think General Motors makes anything with hubcaps anymore.
Everything is a fancy wield. Yeah, you know, there is
an attire here smaller than eighteen.
Inches, So that's what that's what's driving a lot of it, Nancy.
It's always expression.
And hot cars performing, and.
It's it's also there has to be enough technology here.
You know, I always say a good mechanic needs enough equipment.
You walk into a shop, it has to look like manned space flight at Houston. This is Houston. Yeah, there's
enough technology here.
Oh, absolutely, there's more computers here than what has to be at Microsoft. Yes, and the training to fix all
these cars and a pair of these cars is much more difficult than it used to be.
So for the person sitting at home, I don't want to go to the car show, I've seen her.
There are people sitting at home not wanting to come to the cars.
Oh, unfortunately, tell me why does somebody want to come to the car show? What besides cars? They don't need
a car that I'm interested in the car. They're not
buying a car. But you know what, maybe they're looking
for something to do this weekend or next. Sure, why
does somebody want to come to the car show?
What's he entertainment? Well, my gosh, okay, there's a thousand
or more cars on the show floor. We've already talked
about that. But again it's it's a place to see things,
experience things. There's a great exhibit. You may have discussed
it previously at Camp Chief and a north civilian that's the one. And I said, this unbelievable.
What is though, we didn't get into that fifty.
Five thousand square feet of a trail rated course that people, if you're of a certain height, can sit in the car with a professional driver and you're taking over a very very steep incline and made to come down the other side. I was with a cameraman yesterday he lost
his camera literally off the.
Show steep how steep it was.
So you need to be buckled in and really secure, no handbags, no loose change.
And I guess I wouldn't qualify as a professional driver.
Well, I don't know. I don't think that professional mechanics.
The mechanics I'm half professional, yes something, Yeah, Well maybe they'll drive I doubt it, but you can add if it breaks down, I can fix it.
That's right there you go, there, you go Camp jeep.
So it's all sorts of ups and downs. Yeah.
Water, they go through water, they go through over logs.
I was in it yesterday and I was tilted so far over I thought we were all going over. I
thought it was happening, but it obviously it didn't. They're
amazing vehicles and it takes about two or three minutes to go around the track. And they put last year
thirty five thousand people through that way and they wait online for one hour.
Is there a fee for that?
No fee.
It's all part of the show.
So it's all come on down, it's all part of a part of the show. Another great attraction we have
on the twentieth this Thursday is Hispanic Day. Of course,
New York City is such a wonderfully diverse city with a lot of Hispanic population, and so we decided to celebrate that. And The Daily News is a sponsor, and
we have a tent set up and from seven point thirty in the morning I'm sorry, eleven in the morning, eleven in the morning until seven thirty at night, there's a whitney of entertainment. There's there's comedians, there's dancers, there's
fingers and all Latino and it's a big festival.
There's just so much going on here.
There's so much going on.
Let me ask you a question off the cuff. I'm
gonna put you on the spot. Uh is this your
full time job? Yes?
Absolutely, so that's to be more than a full time job.
So my life this is this is.
This isn't something you're just not here this week and then oh the rest of the year you're off doing something else.
No. No, My staff is a is a you have
a have a stance of five that we you know, nine to five and nine of whenever is necessary. And
they're there all year and we plan this from the ground up. Now we're planning oh seven as we speak.
Well, you know, I asked John Lesoursa your chairman, yes, in a previous segment, as to when do you start planning next year's show? He said, the day after this
one closes.
No, I'm already on O seven.
Now, hurry on next year. We haven't finished.
Yeah.
No.
And it's so funny because when the show is finally here and started and kicked off, my mind is already on the next year, and I'm already writing O seven, and you're.
Always making changes.
It's always better, it.
Is always better, it is always growing. This show, really,
and I've been doing this fifteen years, in my opinion, is the biggest and the most exciting show that we've ever had.
Candy, we're gonna pull over. We're gonna we're gonna go
pay some bills for the moment, but we'll be right back to wrap it up. You stay put. I'm running
Ana in the Card Doctor. Candida Romanelli. We'll both be
back right after this. Welcome back, Ron and Adie and
the Card Doctor. We are here with Candida Romanelli, director
of the Auto Show. Down here Jacob Javis, New York
International Automobile Show. Candida, Before we pulled over to the side,
we were talking about this year, the planning, where the show, all the events that are here. But you mentioned you're
already on next year seven. You know what can we
look forward to there?
Well, obviously new product, we know that that's coming down the pike, and we know that New York is now established as a place at a place as a place where there are many new car introductions, world introductions, soarth American introductions. We're also looking at expanding, a great expansion
hopefully will happen sooner rather than later, which will give us a lot more space because all of these exhibitors have been asking for more space in New York for the last five years.
New this year something called Member.
The Members Express Club is specifically for show visitors and it's an exclusive club, a membership that they pay for.
It's twenty dollars for an individual and thirty dollars per family.
It does not include the price of a ticket, So this is a membership club that sets people apart from the general public in a couple of different ways. They
for the price of the membership, they get discounts while at the show, certain things the Dreams photo discount, DVD discount right. They also get to come into the show
early on Fridays and Saturdays, they get to come in an hour earlier, and they have two VIP lounges that are just for them. And the whole idea is to
gather all the information on all of these members and eventually be able to bring it to the manufacturers so they can do even more focus marketing.
So it allows them build a better car, create a better car show, better buying experience, exactly. Speaking of VIP's
look who just wandered back into our fault. We're joined
once again. Mark Sheinberg, president of the Greater New York
Automobile Dealertion. I'm gonna be saying that my sleep, Mark,
I know, you know, is great.
I just came and checked on the delivery of my new car out front. It's really wonderful. I'm looking at
the saline car that goes for about half a million dollars and then travels from zero to sixty and two point four seconds. So I got to get back there.
They're just prepping the car for delivery.
Now, wait, you're getting one you didn't get too.
It's my fantasy. Well, it's my fantasy. I gotta start
with one. I build up a fleet.
Well yeah, but then somebody's gotta wash and wax them while you're waiting for the rest of them.
Nobody touches my cars.
Sort of sound like me. So this is gonna be
a car wash kind of exactly. You know, we didn't
talk about it today. Between you and can Data, either
one can comment. You just gotta be a website.
Yes, yes, actually there's a website that's very, very popular with consumers. Finding all about you know, what's going on
in the New York Auto Show, the new car introductions, getting information about the models. It's an auto show NY
dot com dot com and it's a wonderful site again to learn all about what the industry is doing, as far as you.
Know, and I think the other thing they could do is as far as what the other thing they could do is they could go out to Google and just type in New York Auto Show and they would get it that way.
They can they can go either to Google or they can go into autoshowny dot com buy tickets online.
Don't stand on the line on the show with them right off and right there, Okay. I want to thank
both of you for being here. I want to thank
Chris sam Sam's for arranging the interviews. I'm on anady
in the car doctor. If the mechanics are expensive, their priceless.
To see you
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