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What is this discussion about? Lexus GS 430, Acura RL, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Infiniti M35, Infiniti M45, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac STS, Sedan

#2317 of 10007 Re: jjacura [jjacura] HD by markcincinnati May 23, 2005 (7:38 am)
Replying to: jjacura (May 20, 2005 7:00 pm) At this point in technology, unless you want to spend big dollars you will be waiting at least another year or two for a decent plasma set (decent in part meaning its ability to display the "color black.") Check out the DLP LCD comparo in Sound and Vision's new issue. They give the nod to DLP -- but they end up comparing it to CRT based HDTV's -- if you must have a flatter TV, today, DLP still is "almost" as good as a CRT - HD-RPTV (which can be had sometimes at Costco for a couple grand).   Since we do want to at least give a nod to LPS cars -- what technology are the screens in these cars navi systems (LCD?) Sometimes they seem fine, but often they wash out in the sun pretty easily. Replies to this message: liferules (May 23, 2005 3:08 pm) jjacura (May 23, 2005 6:14 pm)
#2318 of 10007 Re: jjacura [lexusguy] by ksoman May 23, 2005 (8:10 am)
Replying to: lexusguy (May 20, 2005 2:36 pm) well my definitives will be about 5 years old this december. I've the 4 of the original 3000 TL powered towers for front two and side two, a powered front center & 2 unpowered for the rear two channels. I have the original denon 5800 which was one of the first commercial 7.1... and of course, i don't have any subwoofer, never needed one.... now if i could get that kinda system into a car... nice....
#2319 of 10007 Re: jjacura [lexusguy] by ksoman May 23, 2005 (8:15 am)
Replying to: lexusguy (May 20, 2005 9:20 pm) i've my rear projection mitsu HDTV since 2000 dec. it's been good with all available signals till date. once my theater in the basement project is completed... in a few more months, i'll be moving to a DLP true projection system.... i'm still toying with the different brands.   I agree with lexguy, panasonics and NEC's are the best bet in plasma right now... absolutely power-bang for the buck and some of the truest reproduction   Personally, i've never really liked Sony in any of the newer electronics, plus despite their brand name price premium, they don't have any products that are in the top tier...   on the component side, i tend to go with Denon, there upper end receivers in the 3500~5500 range are a no mistake buy.... i tend to get my players, DVD, CD etc either Denon or Pioneer/Pioneer Elite. On the TV's im increasingly getting biased towards Panasonic & NEC (i own niether at the moment).
#2320 of 10007 Re: jjacura [jjacura] HD [markcincinnati] by liferules May 23, 2005 (3:08 pm)
Replying to: markcincinnati (May 23, 2005 7:38 am) Mark,   Good question about the navi screens. I personally think the screen on my A6 is much sharper in appearance than my wife's TL nav. Hers is definitely LCD. I've been told that Audi uses something else, which looks better but has a shorter half-life (maybe 7 years?)...   I heard that the LCD's don't tolerate temperatures as well, but can't say so from experience...
#2321 of 10007 Re: jjacura [jjacura] HD [markcincinnati] by jjacura May 23, 2005 (6:14 pm)
Replying to: markcincinnati (May 23, 2005 7:38 am) Somehow I knew you would be coming into the discussion with your expertise as well. Thanks.   You are right about the navi screen washing out in the sun or even in the daytime brightness period. I tweek mine on occasion to bring out enough contrast...and it also seems like Acura RL has enough light panel selections to get it right one way or the other. It adjusts for both day and night visibility with about 6 different background color combos that are fun to experiment with.
#2322 of 10007 "Wouldn't you really rather BE a Buick?" by markcincinnati May 24, 2005 (12:22 pm)
I grew up with this slogan, or one really close to it, anyway. And, I have never owned a Buick, my parents never owned a Buick and my friends who actually did buy a Buick did so because they could get one for $1,500 -- and it was a "tank." Now, I wonder if Buick is at all relevant (I even have wondered from time to time if Cadillac is relevant). I am pretty much convinced Pontiac is dead but I'm also sure no one has bothered to tell it about its fate.   For all practical purposes we are now left with but two of GM's car lines, Chevrolet and Cadillac. Indeed, even these venerable brands are in jeopardy as long as Buick and Pontiac are allowed to continue sucking the life out of the rest of GM. If you asked me neither Buick or Pontiac has much of anything worth saving. At least Oldsmobile had the Aurora to be proud of. Fat lot of good that did them.   It is time to stop pussyfootin' around and kill Buick and Pontiac before they totally drain the General of all of his remaining powers.   Either that or it's time for someone to buy GM and put it out of our collective misery.   I know this is the LPS forum (i.e., Buicks need not apply) -- but I grew up in a time when cars from Buick would have been included in such a forum (if we only had the Internet, that is.) Now, two or three Germans and a like number of Japanese overshadow virtually all the other cars produced on the Planet Earth. You'd think we could reverse engineer them, innovate just a little (innovate, I said, not invent) and "Build a Better Car" (also part of a years gone by slogan, "When Better Cars Are Build, Buick Will Build Them") at a competitive price. Even Cadillac seems to be in a funk with what should've been a winner of a car -- the STS. Poor GM can't seem to catch a break -- the new STS is hardly the household word that had been hoped for. And the CTS (a relative success) really just soldiers on pretty much unchanged since it was first brought to market some three years ago. Instead of bringing out a half-baked STS, the CTS "coulda, shoulda, oughta" been upgraded to compete head - on with the BMW 5, Audi A6 and Mercedes E class. But noooooooooooooo. This otherwise fine car has been left like a water melon too long on the vine -- and, it is starting to spoil.    If someone from GM is monitoring this, it is time to get with the LPS program and bring some cars to market that will get the kind of buzz and generate the kind of passion we see here for Acura, Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes (and sometimes Jaguar).   I am cautiously optimistic that GM can "pull up" before they go flying off like the son of Daedalus.   A final thought, "No, I guess I really wouldn't really rather BE a Buick, but I'm glad I use Dial. . .don't you wish everyone did?" Replies to this message: cmybimmergo (May 24, 2005 9:30 pm)
#2323 of 10007 mark by lexusguy May 24, 2005 (4:11 pm)
Its pretty clear that GM doesnt want to kill off any more brands. When Bob Lutz mentioned that might be a possibility, GM management was VERY quick to say, no, we're not doing that. Its not as simple as somebody up top pulling a lever and boom, no more Buick. Eliminating Oldsmobile cost GM LOTS of money in dealer compensation, and they dont want to repeat that.   GM's current plan is to instead seriously reduce the amount of pointless model overlap. Why does their "excitement division" have a minivan? Thats what they want to fix.   "General Motors wants to restrict the Buick and Pontiac model offerings to just four different cars each, and market the cars along the lines of successful brands like Mini and Porsche.   That's how GM sales and marketing chief Mark LaNeve wants to revive the two struggling North American brands, which many analysts fear will go the way of Oldsmobile unless they start to perform better.   "In a few years, Mini will have three or four models…that's where Porsche is now," he told the International Motor Press Association in New York."   Fixing Saturn and Saab apparently arent as big of a priority. I think Cadillac's biggest problem right now is their rediculous prices. The CTS-V seemed reasonable, until the 300C SRT8 came along. But what happened with cars like the STS-V and XLR-V? Who is going to pay AMG prices for a warmed over Cadillac?
#2324 of 10007 lexusguy by merc1 May 24, 2005 (8:57 pm)
I think overall that plan is the smartest thing I've yet seen from GM. The thing is though they'll have to shrink in order to do this. This is where the unions and dealers are going to be a problem.   They may not have mentioned Saturn but Saturn is already being tended too. The new SKY and Aura are going to help them out a lot, or at least they should.   I think you're right about Cadillac's pricing. Even over on the Cadillac boards long time Cadillacers don't like it, especially the STS. The XLR-V is going to be a 90K car. That is pricey for a Cadillac but their logic is that it offers much of what the SL55 has for about 30K less. We'll see if that holds because so far the regular XLR hasn't come close to meeting sales projections. I'm not sure what the STS is doing.   M
#2325 of 10007 Re: "Wouldn't you really rather BE a Buick?" by markcincinnati by cmybimmergo May 24, 2005 (9:30 pm)
Replying to: markcincinnati (May 24, 2005 12:22 pm) It's "Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?" And ummm, no, in fact I prefer my 530i.
#2326 of 10007 Buick by hpowders May 25, 2005 (4:06 am)
Do you think Tiger Woods is really driving Buicks? Replies to this message: bartalk3 (May 25, 2005 5:38 am) cmybimmergo (May 25, 2005 5:52 am) jjacura (May 25, 2005 7:01 am) warthog (May 25, 2005 11:40 am)

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