Leaderboard

I agree here that a 50-state standard is best, but at the same time, the 50-state standard needs to take into account the needs of the states with the worst air quality. So while California should not be dictating policy for the entire country, the entire country does need to follow a standard that protects California air (And Texas, even if they don't care to do it on their own). We also need national fuel blend standards, or at least much larger regional standards. Having 50 states with 50 blend requirements for 3+ different grades of fuel is horribly inefficient. There is no reason the gasoline I buy in NJ should be different in composition than the gasoline I buy in PA. I feel like most of the manufacturers have gone too far with engine downsizing. Unlike @ocnblu I am not against electrification, in fact I see some strong benefits to it. However, putting these tiny displacement turbo engines is not having the results promised. Either they need to bring the displacement back up or they need to add electrification to the tiny engines to give them a boost. The tiny engines are just playing to the EPA test and do not produce the same results in the real world. Driven normally, the little 1.4s and 1.5s get over worked and burn just as much, or more, fuel than a bigger displacement non-turbo.

?? The Accord has a 1.5T and CVT. So it's not like they're going to get a different transmission there. I assume it is a cost thing. CVTs are cheap and they're great for fuel economy. The 9-speed has got to be an expensive piece of machinery. Altima, Accord, Legacy, and now Malibu are all using CVTs.

Guess I was born a Sin, since I love everyone!

Its near Greece!

And Quebec!!! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-adopts-california-car-emissions-standards-1.837227

And it's green!

I suspect that the real reason has to do with the cost of a V12 vs. that of a turbo V8. MPG can also be a factor. I remember a car salesman asking me years ago whether I wanted cylinders or horsepower. Almost no one would go for more cylinders when HP and torque are what you really need in an engine. The real tragedy is the near disappearance of the V6 in anything other than trucks, luxury cars and some (luxury and common) CUVs, with few found elsewhere.

Sure, price is variable... budget generally isn't. Someone walking in to buy a $38k entry-luxury AWD crossover isn't going to suddenly pony up to the $42,900 it takes to get into a GLC 4Matic. That's more than a 10% price increase and something like that just doesn't happen much. So if you're stuck at a specific max price, as most people are, that is generally going to eliminate the next size up at Mercedes, BMW, and Audi. So at Cadillac, you end up getting more room and more power for your dollar. I'm not the biggest fan of the XT4, it'll do well, but it didn't light my fire the way I wish it did. Still, if I'm spending $38k on a crossover and my choices are XT4, GLA, Q3, or X2 (X3 is $42.6k for AWD), I'll pick the XT4 every day of the week and twice on Sundays. It just offers more room, more power, and more amenities for the same price. The GLC and X3 are out of my budget so there is no point comparing them.... and if they are in my budget, then Cadillac offers another level of size, comfort, and power that still exceeds the imports. I'll point out that NONE of the Germans base entries in the GLA/X2/Q3 price class offer more power than the XT4, only BMW comes close. Yes there are option up engines available on some, but as noted in this article, Cadillac isn't done with releases yet. For $38k, all you're getting from MB or Audi is about 200 horsepower... about the same as a Honda Civic SI. Also, none of the Germans can claim any sort of handling advantage of RWD... Cadillac, the Germans, Infiniti, Lexus, are all front drivers. People simply don't shop for vehicles with tape measures. If you were shopping in this class, would you reject an option for being 3" bigger than its competition? I don't think any sane person would. The only reason to pick one of the Germans over the Cadillac (or Infiniti QX30 for that matter, it is $4k cheaper than the virtually identical GLA) is badge snobbery, and for that, there is nothing I can say that will convince an irrational person to do a rational thing.

My second choice might be good for you. Kawasaki built it to be adjustable for people of different heights. There are 3 seating positions, three pedal positions, and two different handle bar positions available. You can ride out of the dealer with a bike literally customized for your particular stature. I took one out for a spin that was already set up for me and I thought it was a super comfortable bike. It runs the Kawasaki Ninja 650 2-cylinder engine and has a very interesting feel. On the used market, they are very inexpensive... generally between $4,000 - $6,000. The BMW I posted above runs $9,000 to $11,000 used, so it is harder to pull the trigger on that. Kawasaki Vulcan S

Dan Gurney's Alligator was an interesting approach w/ a low seat. Never really got off the ground though.

CVT sucks, people know that, ugly refresh, GM seems to be focused on moving everyone whether they like it or not to CUV/SUV/Trucks as they kill off cars. Yet that just seems narrow thinking in my business book. Why can the American auto companies not figure out how to keep a couple good looking, selling auto's around and still also supply what the bulk of the public has moved too.

Love that color!

Funny story, but not, and true. The dealer when they changed the oil on my 1.5t a couple weeks ago said the oil leak was back. So i brought it in again to fix it (again). BUt then they said it wasn't leaking ("Just some residue left over"). Some of you have seen my complaints about the power in the car (being borderline unacceptable). Well, two things happened recently. First was, i am on the freeway and a large commercial truck pulls into the lane RIGHT behind my car....literally it was moving over to free up the left lane and had not seen me in the middle lane. I can swear he may be have missed my rear end and bumper by 3-10 feet at 70 mph. I saw this transpiring in the rear view mirror, and it scared the shit out of me. I FLOORED it like my life depended on it and the CAR WOULD NOT get up and go! No power, no tranny help. I could not escape the situation! At least the truck driver saw their mistake and slowed down. So i mentioned this to my wife after she told me her story. She never drives the car , but one day did and she told me 'it seems like the car is losing power'. So when i was getting the car checked, i told them about the sense of losing power (since this engine has a rep of cracked pistons and other maladies to go with its low power / losing power on some malibu sites). So they claim to have done yet another ECU upgrade. I haven't noticed a power difference and now mpg seems to have taken a 10-15% hit......... When this lease is hope i was so hoping that the 2.0 would be an accessible option in cloth seat Malibu, but instead I get to dream about a CVT!!!!!! Chevy needs to think about their relentless CAFE and cost cutting pushes here. Do you want buyers who like the car or not. I just saw on the car and driver FB post for this another malibu 1.5 owner like me complaining about the lack of juice in the 1.5. I do love the gas mileage when i take trips but Chevy seems to be only concerned with autonomous vehicles, CAFE, no v6's, smaller and smaller interiors, removing good styling....I think GM needs product people again. They are too consumed with PR, social media, etc. EPA may rollback some CAFE soon and not a moment too soon. I am for good mpg but there is a middle ground too and 1.5 + CVT is something that is being forced..... at least give the choice of the 2.0 on the lower trim cars or give us a 1.8 option. Or even the v6. Rumor is the Impala will get cut soon too and in which case no Chevy v6 sedan. I love turbo fours but after this Malibu and my two Chrysler vans with their v6, i am missing the v6 again..... I may skip the Malibu next time because of the CVT and just find a base equipped Traverse as my next ride.

1.5T + CVT v. 1.5T + CVT 2.0T + 9speed v. 2.0T + 10speed Hybrid CVT v. Hybrid CVT The offerings are pretty darn close. Each one has pluses and minuses. The Malibu and Accord are quite competitive here. For the interior, add in the newest Mazda 6 and you have probably the three top interiors in the segment.

Similar set up, but the Accord 1.5T makes 30 more hp than Chevy's and gets better gas mileage. And the Accord has a rather good interior, they really did that well.

Good. Now that some negatives have poured in, I could now unashamedly do some bashing of my own of the re-freshed Malibu. The new Big Mouth Billy Bass face of the Malibu looks like shyte! On the Cruze, it aint that much better. The Fusion re-freshed face is a million times better. And that too is a year older than the Malibu.... I CANNOT believe Ford is thinking about ditching the Fusion. About the CVT transmission. I heard a rumor that CVT transmissions are really not all that reliable. Nissan's CVT to be exact. The steel belt...unlike Superman, is not indestructible. So why for the possible headaches?

The CVT thing is a little confusing to me as they already have development costs wrapped up into a 9spd.

GMC site has the following listed for building: Shocking to see a Denali XL fully loaded hit 90K. WOW

Interesting, they're no longer calling the infotainment system MyLink? I asked about Intellilink at the GMC do in NYC last week and they didn't have an answer. The GMC systems are no longer branded as Intellilink. Needs some looking into. That would make a really nice looking coupe.

These all remind me of the Current Gen Honda's now. And what is up with going stupid CVT and leaving 6 sp in the gas versions and not use the 9sp. At this rate, GM is going to lose me to Ford or even non-American. GM, wake up as your killing good product for terrible bland blah auto's.

I wish Cadillac would have introduced the XT5 and the new XT4 on a version of the Alpha platform instead of the FWD based models they have now. They would be more competitive with REAL luxury crossovers like the Stelvio and the MB models leaving Buick to do the luxed up FWD based crossovers giving Cadillac a more Premium image. With the Sigma platform they had the right idea having the CTS and original SRX based on the same RWD based platform. That first SRX drove and handled wonderfully much better then any nose heavy FWD based model can.

Not the Adriatic sea....That would be North... Ionion sea...that would be South. Greek waters. Ionian sea. And yes...Zakynthos. My dad was born in Montreal. My grandfather, his dad, was born in Zakynthos. Ive never been to that beack. Navagio. My mom comes from the neighboring Island...Kephalonia. Both my mom's parents were born in Kephalonia. I recommend the movie... GOOD movie. True story. Most of the love story is true. My family knew the family starring in the movie. The movie itself, a couple of my friends are in it as extras. They visit Kephalonia on a yearly basis. I got a family house their too. Its in disarray as my aunts and uncles are squabbling in the division of my grand-parents lands, including the house. Nobody seems to want to renovate it either. My grandmother from my dad's side comes from Ithaca. Yes...Odysseus' Ithaca. Many historians now believe that Ithaca actually refers to Kephalonia and Ithaca too. Zakynthos, Ithaca and Kephalonia are side by side by side. They are close together. A swim away. And yes...there are several beaches in Athens. Around Athens is more accurate. A short drive away. Vouliagmeni is one. Ive been to it just once in my life. I dont really remember it. Many Italians visit Corfu. Brindisi. The port city of Brindisi has a direct boat ride to Corfu if Im not mistaken. Ive never been to Corfu. My wife's lineage...My father-n-law comes from Sparta. Ive never been. But Ive been to the Corinth Canal, duh...and Ive been to Olympia on the Peloponnese. My wife's momma comes from Rhodes. Which on our honeymoon, we went. We also went to Santorini and Mykonos and Turkey. Ephesus. I also took her to Kephalonia and introduced her to the literally crazy Kephalonians that inhabit this beautiful but chemically imbalanced island. I got lots of family and friends still living or vacationing there. Ive gone to Greece countless of times. Zakynthos and Kephalonia is where I spent many a summers...mainly Kephalonia. This year, finally, we as a family are going back to Greece. We are gonna introduce our kids to where our ancestors come from. 2 weeks. Only on the Aegean side. Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. It will be the wife's and my first time in Crete. Knossos we will visit. Thank-You for extending the olive branch. I appreciate it! I have a 1st world problem as I am excited to go to Greece this year. I am also not! As Ive been to Greece many times, was even baptised there. In Kephalonia. Agios Gerasimos chapel. The patron Saint of Kephalonia. I now am ready to see the world. Ive been to Boston many times. When a summer was not going to Greece, it was going to Boston. Ive been to NYC 3-4 times. I LOVE New York! I have been to Toronto. Just once. Barely. And that is it. I WANT to see Italy. All of Italy. Just like Greece. Italy has many different regions that are awesome and historical and not one region is the same. You cant go to Italy and just see the Colosseum. One HAS to go to Naples, Florence, Venice, Toscanna, Sicily...which many Greek descendants happen to be there. Many Ancient Greek architecture and temples are present. It is said that Sicily is the Island of the cyclops... Im a car guy...HELLO...FERRARI headquarters. HELLO...the Stelvio Pass. I played video games...HELLO, the Amalfi coast I want to see London...the one in England, NOT the one in Ontario, Canada. Paris. North of France. The South of France...Oh...the South of France...Anything that is on the Mediterranean I want to see. Spain. Italy, Egypt, Syria Jordan, Palestine, Israel...Yes...the last four countries too. Obviuosly on better economical and peaceful times!!! Hungary, Germany, Poland, Austria, Ireland, Scotland, The Netherlands, Finalnd, Sweden, Denmark. China...all of China, Japan, Australia. THE UNTIED STATES of America....other than Boston and NYC. CALIFORNIA. ALL OF CALIFORNA. NoCal, SoCal. Hollywierd. San Fran. Malibu, Venice...the Santa Monica Pier... see those big redwoods and sequoias...Death Valley...Tijuana Mexico right after I see San Diego!!! The OLD WEST. To see the history of Billy the Kid, the James Gang, the Earps..all those old Western Frontier towns starting in Colorado and head out west...west of the Pacos... But...Greece it will be. Not Maui or the French Polynesian Islands or Jamaica... At least Greece's beaches compare to Maui, the French Polynesian Islands and the Caribbean! Classic Greek movie. Classic Greek song . The song talking about...JAMAICA! How, they would get the little fishing boats ready to go fishing...far far away as far aways as Jamaica. Singing and dancing and drinking their wine with their girl...(more than girlfriend but not quite wife yet, but one day.)

I can't blame them, it really is in some ways too small to be a safe commuter vehicle here in the states. That being said, my mother is giving her me very low mileage Aveo. She is keeping Dad's 2018 Outback. I feel very protective of her little Chevy...and will kind of miss the Sonic.

Where is that

Yes. This needs to be eliminated immediately.