regfootball

Well, I stopped by my former employer's backlot today, and they have 4 SX4s just in, still wrapped, base models with automatic.  White, red, orange and black.  They're funky little creatures.  I like 'em, they look like they'd be fun, capable and roomy enough.

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i looked at one today. its really cool! it has a rally attitude. also a hint of Mini funk to it. the interior looks great, and this has 10x the charisma of that worthless Honda Fit.

great value too.

I bet the SX4 is a rad car to beat on. it could use more hp, but look at all the accoldaes Honda is getting for its pathetic 103 hp fit. or whatever hp it puts out.

I'd totally pick one up for a 3rd car to whip around town in for fun. its way cool. its offbeat in a positive way like the Aerio, but not weird like the Aerio either.

front and rear seating looked generous. trunk was prob. small, but hey, so is a yaris hatch.

i looked at an RDX on the lot today and I must say, the exterior is alright. the interior is quite nice (excepting some of the dash plastic which looks a bit cheap). the seats look phenomenal. the seating is very intimate. the console looks cool. That would be a dang nice cabin to spend time in.

still doesn't excuse 13 mpg, but I guess if you're into paying 38 grand for a 4 popper SUV that sucks fuel like its going out of style, and still you need to wind it up to get any sort of power, then you can afford to put in premium gas and get terrible mpg.

yeah, those azeras get all sorts of press, but its amazing what you really think of them once you see one in person. very yucky.

The Hyundai Azeras on the floor were all optioned out to their $31k maximum. For all the reasons mentioned on C&G, you'd have to be insane to purchase this car without a huge discount. Sales seem to indicate the public agrees.

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i'm not sure why people have issues with some SUV's being sporty. its what people want now.

-accept that masses of buyers now prefer xovers and suv's. sedand and coupes are dying.

-accept that some folks like a bit taller seating

-accept that anything besides a dorky coupe or sedan could also benefit from good handling.

as in OPEN YOUR MIND SOME. how else does acura get 40k for a bloated crv that only gets 13mpg out fo a four popper.

go look at sales figures.. i bet the x3 outsold the 3 series wagon.

a base XL-7 2wd for like 23,500. with AWD it adds 1600. great deal. 7 passenger adds a grand.

about 26,500 for the model with leather. the top model is another 2 grand, or 28,500. Maxxed out this thing would barely top 30g.

I think this vehicle should sell well. the GM engine and features per dollar should make it a hit.

I drove an XR today, here are my impressions:

1. Interior, while not groundbreaking is attractive and high quality.

2. Gauges are awesome

3. Transmission is like butta.... got to play with the slap shift, it's fun on the twisties

4. Turn signal lever felt kind flimsy and out of place compaired to the rest of the switchgear.

5. Moraccan leather is hot

6. heated seats stay on after you shut the engine off till you open the car door

7. very tight turning radius

8. 3.6 is very willing to play, I have one in my CTS so this was expected

Overall impression? It's a poor man's front wheel drive Cadillac CTS with a nicer styled interior.

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the gauges seemed small and cheap looking to me, in comparison to say, an accord or even the grand prix.

the interior of the Aura is still too narrow like other Epsilons.

of course, I need to drive one yet, your review sounds great.

suppose there are religious interpretations, other than your own, that allow gay marriage?

just saying....

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its fine by me, you should have been able to decode that from my posts.

i think many protestant based christian denominations are practicing that now.

again, it's why I am saying, let's separate the term marraige and civil union. then civil union is applicable to anyone. marraige is then a term defined by your belief system.

if you feel in your heart what you want is right and your belief system does not support that, then you either need to find a new belief system that does, or you need to examine why the belief system you are in does not. Then it comes down to, if you have faith that the belief system is correct and you're not en mesh.....then there is unhappiness. If you are at odds with something you need to find a resolution or you will be unhappy.

I am not sure the courts and civil arena etc. and politics are the ultimate place of resolution for that. It may help with righting public acceptance over a long period of time. i am not sure it solves each individual's personal situation in terms of spiritual peace or acceptance or comfort level.

and the 3.6 vvt/6 sp outdoes both.

I would hope that we, in the 21st Century, are above being mere life support systems for procreation.  If religion teaches us anything, it is that we have some sort of "soul" or "spirit" or "spark" (even if it turns out to be nothing more than a certain critical mass of intelligence/self-awareness) that sets us apart from the animals.

  If parents have to be "hard wired" to their spawn, then they shouldn't be parents.  It is on this issue (and others) that religion in general begins to break down on hard inspection.  With nearly 7 billion people on this planet, we need to move away from thinking of ourselves as put on this earth to creat more copies of ourselves!

  That is bordering on irresponsible.

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i dunno. in reality, our only purpose really is to serve and create the others we share the planet with. we don't exist unto ourselves. our purpose is not for ourselves, but for others and we are the result of a higher power. Our reason for our higher intellect vs other species is for our spiritual link to our faith/higher power and to give us moral decision making ability.

I completely agree. Those who follow that faith are free to follow it. Where that becomes a problem is when people of faith try to force their faith onto others through civil law.

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well, but that's also kind of why i say, let's not use the term marraige then for civil union, regardless if whether its HTROSXL or HMOSXL. Use the term civil union for legalities. Preserve the term marraige for religious interpretation.

the thing that is important to remember why in some religions the religious basis of marraige is limited to man + woman is because that's how we are wired to produce new offspring, and like I stated before, the purpose of marraige at least in the Catholic background I was raised in is not for two people to be unto themselves, but to unify with God for probably the main purpose of creating offspring. So you could understand in that context why they would not consider homosexual couples to be able to marry.

I don't disagree that all sorts of couples are capable of parenting, and some who should be biologically wired to produce offspring can't, but i think this is the concept behind why lots of religions don't support 'marraige' for homosexuals...because the religious concept of marraige is not just two people...its the two people, the God, and the offspring production

Werd. I saw a shiny gray '06 9-5 wagon today, and honestly, it looks amazingly fresh for an eight year old car. The front end looks great in person, and I love the ironed look of the fenders. I'd take one over a technically-superior TL or ES.

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which is why i said that about the 9-5....they tweaked it just enough to appeal to someone who wants something unique and kind of tasteful

not even close to as nice as some of the early computer generated photos

Souped-up Aura XR makes for a nice ride

here

HUME, Va. — Saturn's Aura midsize sedan really is two cars.

Drive the uplevel XR with its high-performance V-6 and sporty suspension and you wonder where, sweet car, have you been all this time?

But get behind the wheel of the base XE and the impression is less impressive: Nice car. Could use some tweaking. Pretty darn good, though.

Like I've always said, the rpesence of a more refined and powerful DOHC plant and more gears in the tranny is needed to spin more positive press for GM's cars and it took them forever to figure that out.

If the 2007 Aura were typical of Detroit-mobiles the past decade, Toyota ™, Honda (HMC) and others not native to the USA surely would have found it tougher to gain so much market share. The XR, especially, seems a reasonable alternative to a Honda or Toyota. As a new model, Aura can't boast the enviable track record for high quality and strong resale value that the top Japanese models can, however.

XE's 3.5-liter pushrod-style V-6 was crude-sounding on start-up, although it quieted as it warmed.

GM calls that engine "high value," as opposed to the more sophisticated "high feature" overhead-camshaft 3.6-liter V-6 in the XR. You can translate the GM terms as "cheap" and "refined."

• Fuel economy. Respectable; mid-20s on both test cars despite plenty of lead-foot moments. Conservative driving should yield impressive numbers, if the testers were true harbingers.

Aura makes a strong case for itself, but anybody who's driven a 2007 Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan (NSANY) Altima or Hyundai Sonata or Azera knows that a strong case is merely the price of admission.

SONATA OR AZERA? LMAO! i think not. read autoweeks butchering of the sonata to see how that car is exposing itself as a fraud.

Trip computer in XE test car showed 26.2 mpg on interstate and rural two-lane roads. XR showed 24.4 mpg.

• Overall:  Best thing Saturn's done, but can it overcome anti-Detroit prejudice among foreign-brand buyers?

suggests

USA Today

Suburban is not for everybody. But those who need its extra size will be rewarded with a slick-looking, well-furnished, easy-driving truck that's both powerful and — by the standards of its class — easy on fuel. But it's unfortunately not as handy or comfortable as it could have been.

some fo the option setups are a bit bizarre to me, but overall the pricing is good.

how does the Acadia compare?

looks great

there is way too much going on in that G35 interior and the new exterior is rather messy, but you just cannot ignore the performance and value of it. its a strong entry in the field. A4's are so lame.

truth be told, you could likely get into a 9-5 for what a high end G35 or low level BMW would cost you in real dollars, if you wanted more space or something more unique.

One fo the S60 variations might be an alternative here too......like an AWD T5 or something.

that M35 interior is way too complex. what do baseline M35's go for?

the 328 does not have near the power the G35 has in lower level trims

good find

see thread for c-crosser

and that's a great post. Where I am at now with the religious component of this, I do believe that God/Jesus/whatever loves, not damns. Whatever persecutions we all bear relative to who we are is a factor of our imperfect sinful world. Nearly all of us, its our heart's desire to be good and perfect but we must bear the imperfection that does exist here. In the end we rise to some perfect world where we are loved all the same, and not judged on our earthly imperfections.

That is what and why i believe. We all need to believe in something.

I can understand the conflict between religious beliefs and much of what is happening in the modern world.  We are seeing the throes of this in the Middle East where the status quo is being challenged and the old patriarchy is resisting this with every ounce of its being.  (That is another topic!)

  I also understand the deep feelings that gay relations or gay sexual relations bring to many people.  As my mother said to me a long time ago: "Most of my friends can't handle their own sexual feelings, so how could they handle yours?"

  I am of two minds about the nature versus nurture angle.  Personally, if I could change tomorrow I wouldn't want to.  Being gay has given me a unique perspective on the world and, paradoxically perhaps, shielded me from a lot of childhood crap that my sisters are going through now from our parents.  If it proves to be biological, then will that get us sympathy or pity?  If it is our "fault," then should be jailed, as once was the case?  I don't have the answers, but I do know that there is much, much diversity in the world and we had all better learn to get along or we will all end up blowing ourselves to high hell!

  And, reg, I respect your beliefs and am happy that you are at least willing to explore them and to keep an open mind about future developments.  Too many people on both sides of this (and other) issues are too quick to make snap judgments and condemn the other!

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I think the Aztek is FUGLY, but I believe the vehicle was ahead of its time.  Truly, is there any difference between the Element and the Aztek?

  My partner, who is Brazilan, doesn't know a lot about cars, especially North American ones.  When I spotted an Astek and a new Element side by side in a parking lot, he thought that the Element was a newer Aztek.

  Of course, one has an "H" on the hood and one doesn't, so automatically it is better.

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I got an email from an ex coworker this morning (element owner)

Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 10:04 AM

To:

Subject: RE: My reply got bounced, will try again

Glad you’re liking the Aztek! I still like my Element, but it does get moved around by a side wind because of it being high profile and the suspension on Hondas being soft.

The mpg isn’t anything great, but what can you do with a box, right?

Other than that, it’s great!

Later,

and that's why I say I respect everyone's personal beliefs. i am even revisiting this constantly in my head and it can change over time. I don't have answers.

for me, a lot of it is how I grew up and the things I believe because of it. who knows what of any of it is 'right'.

My sister in law has told me I'm going to hell because my wedding wasn't in the 'proper church'. We have some friends that married at the courthouse, but then more or less got forced to redo it in the church or they were going to hell too.

So we all are in different places on this sort of stuff. Maybe the problem is the religious defintion of marraige.

I think that just ruined it for everybody except reg.

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I tend to fixate on the first post in this thread...what was the question?