tjl Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 GM is having Main Street in Motion events in various cities. Basically, the bring a bunch of GM cars for display, and have coned routes in big parking lots to test drive GM cars and some competitors. I went to one to check out the Volt. Found that they had some rules: 1. You have to drive a Cruze before you can drive a Volt. 2. You have to drive any other GM car before you can drive a Corvette or Camaro. 3. You get only two Corvette or Camaro test drives. 4. Corvette, Camaro, and Volt test drives are accompanied by event staff. The had three courses in the Chevrolet section, a regular course, a Corvette and Camaro course, and a Volt course. The first two were coned in the parking lot, while the Volt course was on lightly traveled public roads. There was a separate Buick and GMC section. The Corvette and Camaro course had a straightaway to test 0-30 acceleration (space constrained). Among competitors, they had an Elantra (the new one), Civic, Accord, Corolla, Maxima, Five Hundred, and Pilot. No Mustangs or other sporty competitors to compare with the Corvette and Camaro, and no hybrids or electrics to compare with the Volt. No Chrysler cars either (I guess they did not want to make it look like they were shooting fish in a barrel). All of the test drive Cruzes were LTZ automatics, while all of the display Cruzes were "42mpg highway" Eco manuals. Perhaps they did not want people burning up the clutches learning how to drive manual. Oh, and the Volt? Drives like a normal car in the limited test drive on lightly traveled city streets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Among competitors, they had an Elantra (the new one), Civic, Accord, Corolla, Maxima, Five Hundred, and Pilot. No Mustangs or other sporty competitors to compare with the Corvette and Camaro, and no hybrids or electrics to compare with the Volt. No Chrysler cars either (I guess they did not want to make it look like they were shooting fish in a barrel). Five Hundred??? What was that supposed to compare to? It hasn't been on the market since MY2007! Oh my, GM. Oh my. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Five Hundred??? What was that supposed to compare to? It hasn't been on the market since MY2007! Oh my, GM. Oh my. That pretty much sums up GM marketing expertise.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 That pretty much sums up GM marketing expertise.... At first I thought he could have meant 500 (as in Fiat), but that wouldn't make any sense either. And Maxima? What were they comparing to that? Malibu? Lacrosse? I'm so confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I'm so confused. Sounds like you're qualified to work for GM marketing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 See if Main Street in Motion is coming to your neck of the woods here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 See if Main Street in Motion is coming to your neck of the woods here. They're coming to Houston in August. I may just check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 At first I thought he could have meant 500 (as in Fiat), but that wouldn't make any sense either. And Maxima? What were they comparing to that? Malibu? Lacrosse? I'm so confused. Here's what the FAQ states: There will be more than 70 types of vehicles, including: Chevrolet Volt, Cruze, Equinox, Traverse, Corvette, Camaro, Malibu, Impala, Silverado, Silverado HD, Suburban, Tahoe, Tahoe Hybrid, Avalanche and Express; Buick Regal, LaCrosse and Enclave; GMC Acadia, Sierra, Sierra HD, Sierra Hybrid, Terrain, Yukon, Yukon Denali Hybrid and Savana; Acura TSX, MDX and TL; Dodge Ram 1500 and Ram 2500; Ford Taurus, Explorer, Expedition, F-150 and F-250; Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Ridgeline; Hyudai Elantra and Santa Fe; Nissan Murano and Maxima; Toyota Corolla, Camry, Tundra, Sequoia and RAV4. Sounds a lot like GM's "Auto Show in Motion" event from the mid 2000s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjl Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Five Hundred??? What was that supposed to compare to? It hasn't been on the market since MY2007! Oh my, GM. Oh my. Actually, my mistake. It was a Taurus. (I still think of "Taurus" as the 1986-2007 cars, not the Five Hundred derived version of 2008-2009 or the revised version of that from 2010.) I don't know why they had a Maxima but no other Nissans in the Chevrolet test drive area (the Buick / GMC test drive area was in a different parking lot). Edited March 23, 2011 by tjl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm signed up to go next month. It should be fun. My only challenge will be keeping my husband from puking on the Camaro. He is a HUGE 1st gen Camaro fan, and thinks the new one looks like a cartoon. Well that, and keeping the 9-year-old from pushing every button in sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 My only challenge will be keeping my husband from puking on the Camaro. He is a HUGE 1st gen Camaro fan, and thinks the new one looks like a cartoon. Your husband and I agree on that. I like the first gen Camaros (and Firdbirds) but the new one looks like a caricature of the first gen created by a 8th grader in his notebook during study hall. Don't even get me started on the interior.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Eh, the Camaro exterior (save the tail lights) has really grown on me. The interior is puke-a-rific though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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