njtex

It would need to be a knock-out that's for sure! In the mean time, we can still dream about the concept.

CLS is getting a lot of pressure from the new S-Class. The good thing is that MB is keeping the buyers in the family. The only two cars that could pry traditional S-Class buyers out of their cars are the 7-Series and ULS. LS buyers are not part of this elite crowd.

The HP boost is nice but it looks like it pushes the torque peak up the RMP range. A 6 or 7-speed auto would be even nicer now! Anyone know why the I5 sounds so much better in the H3?

Looks like they did! The stupid thing is now gone from their website, check out the link again. All I can say is "what were they thinking"?

The lease deals must be working. Now they're all over the place in Northern NJ too. From what I have noticed, the darker the color, the better they look. Black seems to be the best color because it blends with the black plastic trim and takes the truck a notch upmarket. IMO, these trucks also need wider/bigger tires and need to be lifted up 2-3 more inches.

Still no Solsi to be seen sitting in Northern NJ Dealerships. The biggest in my area gets 2 every 2 weeks. If they sit a week, they sell them at full retail and then they're gone instantly. Looks like I'll have to wait another year. : (

Just from my premiums alone!

Anyone remember the full-size Jeep Commander concept from about 5 years ago? From what I remember, it was pretty hot and upmarket. Much more of a Jeep flagship product. If DCX wanted to save development costs, I think they would have been more successful building the big Jeep off of the Durango chassis with styling from the origional concept.

Whew! Thanks for explaining that the driver was airbrushed out. I thought it was a run away truck.

Hate to be cynical, but I wonder how much the new requirement for "To claim an SAE-certified rating, an automaker also must conduct tests in the presence of an independent witness" has to do with Toyota/Honda's new lower figures.

Toyota, Honda must fess up to less vroom New testing standards force carmakers to reduce claims Nick Bunkley / The Detroit News March 13, 2006 It turns out Toyota Motor Corp. isn't as strong as it appears in at least one area -- under the hood. Testing under stricter new horsepower standards reveals that most of the models in Toyota's lineup have less oomph than the company has advertised. Even though the engines are unchanged, the automaker had to lower the horsepower ratings on all but few 2006 Toyota, Lexus and Scion models. The reductions range from 4 to 20 horsepower compared with 2005 models. Honda Motor Co., the No. 2 Japanese automaker, also has downgraded the horsepower ratings on several models, including most of its Acura luxury brand. But while the Japanese automakers overstated their power, an analysis of data compiled by Edmunds.com shows domestic vehicles have generally been testing at or slightly above previously stated horsepower. The testing suggests Detroit's automakers may have suffered unfairly in the battle of perceptions. While drivers may not notice the difference, said George Peterson, president of consulting firm AutoPacific Inc, "it does matter to the manufacturers because each one is engaged in what I would call a brochure war where they're competing for the best specifications. And the average American likes a bigger horsepower number than a smaller one." Most notably for Toyota, the rating for its top-selling Camry, when equipped with a 3.3-liter V-6 engine, had to be reduced to 190 horsepower from 210. The V-6 version of Toyota's Highlander sport utility vehicle dropped from 230 to 215, and the Lexus LS and SC 430 decreased by 12. The revised ratings comply with standards adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The standards specify which components and accessories should be on during testing and what kind of oil and fuel to use. To claim an SAE-certified rating, an automaker also must conduct tests in the presence of an independent witness. "The intent of the revision was to tighten up the specifications," said Gary Pollak, an SAE program manager. "There were a lot of areas that were loose and subject to interpretation." Peterson doesn't expect Toyota or Honda to face the same kind of backlash that Hyundai Motor Co. did after inflating the horsepower ratings of its U.S. vehicles by as much as 10 percent for more than a decade. The South Korea-based automaker agreed in 2004 to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of 858,000 owners. But for consumers who covet powerful engines and allow horsepower ratings to influence which vehicles they purchase, the revisions could chip away at Honda and Toyota's reputations. Consumers haven't taken kindly to overhyped claims. In 2001, Nissan Motor Co. came under fire after overstating the acceleration of its Infiniti Q45 sedan. Ford Motor Co. admitted overstating the horsepower rating of its 1999 Mustang Cobra R, and Mazda Motor Corp. did the same with the 2001 Miata roadster. Buyers of both cars were offered compensation. The new rating also could make some vehicles less appealing to consumers who start shopping by researching specifications on the Internet. The V-6 Camry's 190 horsepower pales next to competitors such as the 221-horsepower Ford Fusion, although that will change soon when the 2007 Camry is introduced with 268 horses. Toyota spokesman John McCandless noted that the company was proactive in testing all of its vehicles under the new standards. "We've never really been big on promoting horsepower," McCandless said. "The proof in the pudding is driving the car." Darren Seeman, who runs the Web sites ToyotaLife.com, LexusLife.com and ScionLife.com from home in Portland, Ore., doesn't think people who bought a Toyota before the latest tests were conducted will feel misled or cheated. "Honestly, I don't think a lot of people buy a Toyota brand for the horsepower," said Seeman, 29. While Toyota and Honda have subjected their entire lineups to the new standards, Detroit's automakers are mostly retesting vehicles with new powertrains. Eventually, all vehicles are expected to be rated according to the new standards. "What we put in place were pretty much common practice at GM, and at Ford and Chrysler as well," said Dave Lancaster, a technical fellow at General Motors Corp. who chaired the committee that developed the standards. GM has submitted results from 11 engine lines -- covering popular vehicles such as the Chevrolet Malibu and Impala, Pontiac G6 and Cadillac DTS -- to SAE for certification. The tests bumped up the horsepower ratings for the Malibu, Impala and G6 by 1 for 2006. DaimlerChrysler AG has retested its higher-performance vehicles, including the Dodge Viper and those equipped with a Hemi engine. The Viper went from 500 horsepower to 510, while the ratings for most others changed less than 4 percent, Chrysler Group spokesman Cole Quinnell said. Under the previous guidelines, Quinnell said, "a lot of times we chose to publish a number that was lower than what another manufacturer might choose." Ford has found virtually no changes in testing under the new standards. Company officials say the new 3.5-liter V-6 planned for the 2007 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKZ will provide at least the 250 horsepower it has promised. "It's not in our best interest to give customers an inaccurate picture of what kind of power their car has," Ford spokesman Nick Twork said. Honda saw the horsepower ratings on the Odyssey minivan and Pilot SUV fall from 255 to 244. The CR-V and Element went from 160 to 156. Various Accord styles had slight gains. Six of the seven Acura models were downgraded, including the RL, TL and MDX. Honda spokesman Chuck Schifsky said the company wanted to be up-front with customers by retesting all of its vehicles, even though that meant reducing many of the horsepower ratings. "We're still pretty darn competitive with all of our vehicles, even with the new specs," Schifsky said. Honda and Toyota have been educating dealers about the changes. Dan Hurd, a salesman at LaFontaine Toyota in Dearborn, said, "They're more concerned with the drive and the fit and finish." Seeman, who operates the Web sites, said he doesn't feel any differently about his Lexus SC 430 knowing that it was downgraded from 300 horsepower to 288. "I'm still going to tell people it's 300." You can reach Nick Bunkley at (313) 222-2293 or [email protected].

The problem with CR is that it is a domestic rag. As such, the reliability of their reviews can only be rated "below average". ; )

Chrysler's gone full circle in 2.5 years instead of the usual 7 years. I think this is a new record! Lame joking aside, the majority of their products are compelling so I think they can recover quickly if they just back-off on the production throttle a bit where needed. It would be a shame if they devalue their brand and their new credibility in an attempt to reach some artificial volume target. This is especially critical considering that Jeep and MB are not in the position right now to cover any losses on the Chrysler side.

Old domestics are the only thing that that they can throw in our faces. If you live in the NE, all the japanese brands of that era are just little piles of brown rust that have long since just blown away. Did they say where the cars were obtained? My quess is that the Olds was picked up at a used car lot in Michigan while the Datsun was an Arizona garage queen. The old MB IL 5-Cyl. engines were already true quality masterpieces. Designed to last, then be rebuilt to last again. However, MB also had some major and frightening rust issues until the mid to late '80's.

I'm not up to speed on these suppliers and who uses them but it sounds fishy to me too. My guess is that the GM/Ford thing is just a BS smokescreen. If the 36% figure is true could it possibly be that another supplier won the contracts? Isn't American Axle doing okay? Just once, I'd like to see executives announce that: "We are entering chapter 11 because we totally miss managed the company, miss read the market, wasted money on self-serving pet projects, were too smart to listen to our customers, drove away all our really smart employees, and hired the same trusted crony team that helped us run our last company out of business."

VW has also had several tough years in Europe too for basically the same reasons. Lack of exciting new models, high prices, quality issues, and strong competition (from asia too for the first time). The German domestic brands are now facing all the same problems that Detroit has been dealing with for the past few decades. Moving (retreating?) up market has been the accepted solution for mass-market German domestics. But they're also getting caught in the middle because BMW and DCAG are going down-market into the same premium segments that the mass producers want to move up into. It's clear that VW totally blew their attempts and lots of cash so far on their "pie in the sky" projects while they let their volume products rot. Seems that Opal my be the bright spot in all this. Their stategy of fighting-it-out in their existing segments may just work. The buzz in Germany seems to be growing that Opal is now building more attractive, exciting and quality products that represent a better value compared to VW.

CLS has to compete with the new S-Class that just launched in February so slower sales are to be expected. The R-Class sales story is much more interesting. The deals behind this thing are now PACIFICAUNBELIEVABLE!

The last generation Cavalier was a good step forward when it launched in mid '90's despite all the carry-over tech. The problem was that GM didn't follow-up over the next 12 or so years. The Ecotec was a great upgrade for the 2.2 but a big step down for the 2.4 crowd. Too little too late IMHO. I also like the Cobalt but it's not a gotta-have for me too.

I saw a TV news interview on the subject tonight. The CR rep blew-off the somewhat contrary JD Power results showing domestics ahead of many asian brands, and getting better all the time. Funny that on the other hand, CR relies on goverment and insurance industry testing and ratings when needed to back their "results". My conclusion is that CR just plays to their own audience and does what it needs to do to sell the most magazines. BTW, Just drove in the new RAV4 yesterday. The whole freaky interior is hard plastic (like the #1 Oddessy) yet GM gets blasted for just having hard lower door panels.

It's got 92k on the clock right now but it's a '97. I just remembered that it also needed a new blower motor resistor at about the five year mark. I did the wheel thing too. About two years ago I needed tires, looked at TireRack, and wound up buying a set of 16" ATS wheels (look like '90's OEM Impala SS wheels) and 205/55 BFG performance all-weather tires. I didn't expect so much but it made a big difference in handling and helps keep ETS from kicking in under hard accelleration from standstill. The car looks good too and no more hubcap rattles! If you have a few hours to kill, apply some sticky sided felt where needed in the dash and the rattles will be gone for good. My car had issues between the dash cover and cluster and under the trim panel that runs under the windshield.

I agree, both are boom-and-bust companies in NA. If they both build off of all the same platforms they would just bust at the same time.

Hey, quit dissing the Cavy! Mine will likely be in the family for another 9-10 years. BTW: I live in the NE and still no rust through after 10 years of commuting. Also, the 2.4 is still gives great performance for the dollar. it's been very reliable and maintenence is still cheap. Only failure to date has been the alternator. The Corrollas of this vintage I've been in all huff-and-puff up hills and have interiors that look like dried up taco shells.

Okay, found the link the commercials: www.leftlanenews.com/2006/02/22/vw-strikes-again-un-pimp-my-ride-videos/

Fair. This Healy guy seems to be getting his act together over the past year or so. I may even start to believe him someday. Guess this means that he'll never get a job at NY Times. Off-Topic Toyota Slam: Only 158 hp from 2.4L 2007 Toyota when my 1997 2.4L GM engine (still)gets 150? Question for GM tech experts out there - Will I get another 10 years of trouble-free NE commuting service from the old "Twin-Cam" or am I just lucky?

Has anyone seen the new VW Un-Pimp My Ride commercial? It was just on Speed Channel and it rocks! Best piece of rice-boy blasting that I have ever seen.