Mule Bakersdozen LS

Here's something I wish the media and others understood: the length of the wheelbase means nothing if ts not a space-efficient design to begin with. Pontiac G6 is a classic example-a mid-size car with a 112.3" wheelbase and about 189" overall length, the EPA regarded it as a Compact Car, since it did not make 110 cubic feet of total interior volume (cargo space-a substandard 14 cubic feet in this case) plus passenger cabin volume. Back to the ELR-I've only seen one out-and that was the Rochester Auto Show a year or two bvack. I've never, ever seen ones otherwise out and in person. More than other Cadillac's and most other GM cars/trucks, this partially-stylish wonder is hideously overpriced!

I'd replace both Regal and LaCrosse in their current forms with ONE Epsilon II mid-size, front or all-wheel-drive, 5-6-passenger model: and it'd be called the Century! Special, Super, Ultra, (later) GS trims, 3.6-liter DOHC High Feature 290hp V-6 (standard all except GS) or 2.4/2.5-liter ECOTEC eAssist I-4 (Special/Super) engines, 6 or 8-speed OD automatic TAPShift III transmissions, front split-bench or bucket seats for Special/Superl bucket-only for others, cloth (like velour not that sandpaper crap in everything these days for the last decade-its horrible) or leather for Special; leather for all the rest; perforated/special leather for Ultra/GS; keep the successful and long-awaited ascension toward premium luxury, how's $30,000 start? Would this be a good mix for keeping real Buick buyers happy and roping in the imports? 4-door notchback sedan, 5-door, 2-3-seat (5-8-passenger) Estate Wagon, 2-door, 5-passenger notchback coupe, and, if we're feeling like a styling/heritage experiment, Sedanette 2-door fastback 4-5-passenger coupe, but obviously, the sedan as always would be the primary focus. And Buick needs a REAL full-size car again, the LaCrosse is still just a mid-size, has a tiny trunk, and too many small shortcomings for me to really recommend/like it, and honestly, I've never yet embraced any LaCrosse of either generation. As of right now, I'll stick with the old Century, though its equipped like a Chevy as it should not have been. But I welcome the Anthem, another vehicle Buick has needed for over a decade-maybe GM will do crossovers (excluding the Lambda Trio) right finally!

I have no idea why there was no Cruze Coupe since Cavalier/Cobalt predecessors always had them and sold well, and its nice to see the ATS Coupe finally make its way to production-it should've been out with the sedan or 6 months after-the ATS is the template example in pre-bankruptcy excuses that GM has come up with since they came out. We were told sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon, and that the latter two were canceled. Bring them back and compete GM! Other than a small 10.4 cubic foot trunk and offering the Malibu-spec 2.5-liter ECOTEC I-4 standard on sedans and not just the other two engines only, there's nothing wrong with the ATS from what I can tell. Oh, and drop the Base and even Luxury Collection trim lines-you're on your way to becoming 'Standard of the World' again-no cheapie painted aluminum wheels, leave that to Chevy and Buick! Back to coupes-I'd like to see Cruze/Verano/Regal/Malibu go back to a traditional lineup of notchback coupe, notchback sedan, station wagon-but the wagon would have to have good seats-down cargo room-for comparison 1980's/early-90's J-Body wagons had about 64.4 cubic feet; 74.4-75.1 for the A-Body FWD wagons, so it'd have to be at or beat both of those figures...no more small wagons with 57 cubic feet, that's weak. And don't moan and whine about 'there's no business case for a coupe or wagon'...ain't that what led us to bankruptcy? And having like 11 different V-6 engines in 2006 among many other things? And speaking of that, I want a V-6 (3.6, of course) for my Malibu Z-26 coupe, not some stupid turbo I-4. Leave that to a Cruze Z02 or something, turbos belong in small or sports/sporty cars, as do bucket seats.

Hey we just got a 2014 Camry SE (likely 4-cylinder they don't badge anymore, and I doubt Enterprise would blow money on a V-6, especially ours) except its gray. For today's pathetic standards 'in the name of safety', the seats were comfortable, yet somewhere between firm and rock-hard. Would I buy or recommend this car still? Hell no, and the same goes for any modern Malibu that's not the 1997-2003/2004-05 Classic or the 2008-12 models, which never should have been redesigned as hastily as they were, but by no means perfect, or levels of the 1982-90 Celebrity in any case. Back to the Camry, I'm amazed that this doesn't even have SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Illuminated Visor Mirrors, standard Single-Zone Manual Air Conditioning, and I don't think it has a Power Driver's Seat...none of those are excusable, and its got a really high tail masked by vastly underwhelming styling/design...how did this get let out of the design studio amidst competition as the stylish (but time will tell for reliability/longetivity) Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima, Mazda 6, Subaru Legacy, etc.? All of which I would and do choose/recommend in this category of today's mid-size sedans as opposed to quarter or half-baked crapcakes such as Camry and Malibu. Least the Camry's got an easyish to use touchscreen (why?) stereo, still has a CD player (not everyone has Smartphones nor wants them-I don't) and an outside temperature display, but other than that and the room and by-today's-standards comfortable seats and glass made in America and not China or Mexico when the car's built here (looking at you, Chevy Sonic/Cruze/Impala and Buick Regal, among many others), but I don't find a whole lot to recommend Camry in this generation-and there are a couple I actually like!

Mule Bakersdozen LS here-logged on and shocked to find my old password worked-nice to see C&G still alive and kicking in the AutoBlog/etc. age! How's everybody? Been working at Dunkin' Donuts in eastside suburban Rochester, NY for almost 5 years, got my permit re-tested/back after dragging my feet for years, slowly snagging our 2002 Buick Century Custom w/Special Edition to drive at least once a week and still biking it! Always wanted to style/design GM or Chrysler cars/trucks, but think I eventually want to be a salesperson at a dealer and go into Product Planning instead, and from what I've seen from GM as of late, they NEED it!

I haven't been on here in so long but thank you very much for the birthday wishes from awhile back-hope you're all doing well-Merry Christmas in a week everybody!

Thanks Ocnblu and everybody!

Needs a V-6 engine option, preferably the 3.6, and hopefully the 4-cylinder LaCrosse will be a temporary stand-in until Regal arrives....a car that big needs a V-6, even the 3.0 which Consumer Guide said was adequate, almost underpowered I think....looking forward to this car too, I hope it has a good-size trunk and rear-seat room!

I hope GMC stays and continues to thrive....there's so much yet to explore, and I mean with trucks and far different styling/equipment practices from Chevy, but with trucks, not car-based (Terrain/Acadia/etc.) products....

Just replace Terrain with this.....Acadia's awesome but there needs to not be lots of similar vehicles, no matter how much differentiation there is these days....GMC should be truck only, not car-based crossover and trucks, plus as I've said for the last 5 years, there should be smaller vehicles-compact and mid-size crossovers included-at Buick.

You want cavernous in a mid-size SUV? Get a Highlander or Pilot, cause Equinox tops out at 63 cubic feet, seats-down....terrible for a mid-size crossover and average for a compact, shocking considering the vastness (for the class or anything, for that matter) passenger/cargo room of the Lambda quartet.....Equinox may be stylish, but I was disappointed in the car, yes, car.

I still have to wonder why Firebird wasn't re-introduced along with Camaro, I mean performance was what that car was all about! And don't put something stupid like 'people with mullets drove them'.....Pontiac had a chance and they blew it big time, I'll be sad to see all that heritage and coulda-been-American Mazda-potential not gone to waste, but I think its time to pull the plug.

I'd miss Pontiac, but they've had many chances to get better and they blew them all, whether it be styling, even trying to be the slightest bit upscale from Chevrolet, or being a performance leader even with FWD models. It'll be weird with GM not having Pontiac, but slap a Buick front end/rear end and more onto the G8 and maybe Solstice, replace the G6 Coupe/convertible with Buicks, and bam, their slots are covered. Too bad Saturn didn't fully realize its "American Opel" potential-I would've loved to see it be fully realized, but I'm thinking Buick will cover that too, I'm excited to see that, even if it closes the lives of Pontiac and Saturn.

http://www.media.chrysler.com/dcxms/assets...m_Viability.pdf The good stuff's on from page 100, including the upcoming Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300, and even more importantly, a 2009-2015 chart of upcoming planned vehicles! And the term 'Contract Manufacturer' =Built by Chrysler, badged/lightly restyled by somebody else (i.e. Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan to Volkswagen Routan). Enjoy!

I like that subtle change-better Sweepspear curve than on the new LaCrosse....

YESS!!!!!! I always liked the 1982-89 rendition, but why I've wanted this for so long is because I think this is a market with potential-I mean Volkswagen Jetta, Acura TSX, and Volvo S40/V50 are in it-probably good for at least 45,000 total sales a unit, if not 100,000 or so in a healthy market give or take? If possible, 4-door notchback sedan, 5-door station wagon, and 2-door notchback coupe body styles....maybe the 3-door hatchback coupe/5-door hatchback sedans in case Saturn does go under....Sweepspear side coves and 3 portholes a side would be nice too....

Its one car, not a bunch.....seen this one in the States though, I kind of like it-not totally sure how that compares with TSX, though it is smaller...

Its a front or all-wheel-drive, mid-size car underneath! Plain and simple....not a bad looking crossover though, somewhat shrunken Acadia, except probably with beyond-pathetic cargo room when compared to Acadia (par to the class, that is, obviously they are different size classes-as in Acadia trumps Flex; Highlander/RX and Pilot/MDX eat Terrain/Equinox/SRX)-what's the valid excuse here? Terrain looks good, but I must ask, what's the point? (And to replace the Pontiac Torrent doesn't count....)

http://www.autoblog.it/post/17549/nuova-op...-prima-immagine I like Cire's idea-still want to see the return of the sweepspear curve in Buick styling (moreso than the 2010 LaCrosse-good to see it back, but its only a start)....I was thinking of sticking the Sail name onto the Corsa though, I'd put it in my lineup, and that's something I couldn't say until now.....the smallest Buick ever....

Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Atlanta Rhythm Section, other classic rock and oldies, some pop here and there, a little country lately, Christian stuff when I go to bed/get up.

Yeah I know I got my doubts on the bench too But that is encouraging on the trunk though-and the Insignia, at 72 or so inches wide, is finally a sign that GM is starting to grow up and realize that 69-70" widths are unacceptable in this day and age and that its no longer 1982....

Unveil the freaking car already!!! Looks a little odd at front/rear ends, needs more flow, glass design not original, but elegant. Excited for it, even more excited if its space efficient, with good (16 or more cubic feet) trunk space, and possibly a front split-bench seat option.

Its too bad they didn't do enough with TrailBlazer/Envoy-they weren't bad, especially Envoy, but coulda been better. RIP GMT360's....

Looks good for the most part....good they finally dumped the old 3400 V-6.....however it has LESS cargo space than not only the current model (63.7 cubic feet seat down), but also the Edge and Journey, etc. WHY DO CROSSOVERS HAVE LESS CARGO ROOM THAN STATION WAGONS OF 15 YEARS AGO?????!!! Headlights look a little Sebring-like but not nearly as bad, but other than an utter, inexcusable lack of cargo room its a pretty nice update. Now I like the looks of the GMC Terrain so far, but what's the point of that?

I've been mulling this over the past week or so, and I actually think its a very good idea! Unfortunately, I also believe this will spell the end to the Saturn marque, since this was supposed to be the next Aura, and if GM is serious about changing and as much as I like a lot of the duplicate/triplicate vehicles, (such as Saturn Outlook to name one example), they will need to go, and I can't see the Aura-Insignia and this Regal, which is little changed from the former other than grille and a few other things, coexisting. This also would make a nice replacement for the Pontiac G6, which is tied with Dodge Avenger/Chrysler Sebring as my VERY least favorite mid-size cars, and to help Pontiac get on its way to either niche performance division, or extinction, which also sadly, seems inevitable. And come 2016, these should both be replaced by one model.