regfootball

all of a sudden i am getting images of someone's bent over grandma with hip waders on. i suppose if you're a gay male you're seeing a grandpa with hip waders now. everytime i hear gloria estefan sing 'coming out of the dark' its kinda like, 'is that the theme song for coming out of the closet?'

I can't say I disagree at all. The magazines all have become quite elitist, mostly to appease the readers who have big $$$$ to spend on cars, whereas the low-middle class (i.e. average everyday folks) can't even buy a new Impala without figuring out 'how in the hell do i pay for this'? I think Road and Track has remained relatively objective and hasn't turned into a big yuppie book. Motor trend used to be very populist but has turned into a yuppie bent now too, although I think they're actually quite readable. they aren't as pompous as Car and Driver. Car and Driver is the worst these days. Its like the editors there are a bunch of spoiled children and they all sit around talking about their new toys (i.e. cars they get to test drive). But the worst offenders are the half assed internet journalists. Nearly every one of them is a pain in the ass. James healy is a good read on USA Today, but hacks like the jobs, Lienerts etc. need to turn in their badges. I do think the time is right for the everyday folks magazine. I mean seriously, Car and Driver doesn't even test vehicles anymore that most normal folks buy. C/D didn't really roast Ford for the Freestyle or 500, which I acutally think is an example of where they were complimentary and fair in their review. But try to search any web sites or magazines for any past road tests on say, a Saturn Vue or Ford Escape 4 cylinder 5 speed and what do you find? Almost nothing. Cause cars like that aren't good enough for them.

yeah, I saw that article. I see a lot of Camry's in the Hertz lot by my house. Infinitis, Mazda's, no Accords yet, but Honda must succumb eventually. Let me get back to this simple point, if the car is good, then it shouldn't make a hill of beans if it gets sold to fleets. The ultimate point is, have great product and refresh it and remake it often so you continually end up with product folks line up to buy. you don't have to revert to taurus style dumping to keep the factoriues running because its less of a loss to run the factory and dump the cars at a loss than to pay out for an idle plant. Part of the reason we bought our car was we rented it one time on a trip and really liked it. I want to see the press spin on this.

funny that blu posted this topic. I thought i was close to selling my car, so I went shopping this weekend. Keep in mind I need something with room and practicality so I've narrowed it to Nissan Quest, Fords 500 and Freestyle, Mits Galant In fact I emailed the Ford dealer by my house about a new leftover 2005 500 base model all wheel drive they marked down AGAIN to an absurdly low price. The Galant only exists due to it still has a good combination of power, sporty handling, nice seats, and lots of room in the front for two and in the back for the kid. Oh sure, there's other cars I'd rather be driving, but for what I think I can get for what i pay and what I need, these are the leading candidates. I don't care for some occasional sluggishness in the Fords and the Quest reliability worries me, but honestly, it seems like there are VERY few cars that don't have some sort of glaring weakness. I wouldn't mind a smaller car, actually with high gas prices, but its hard to go small when you have a kid and the associated stuff. I would love a GTO 6-speed or some other fun car like a GXP GP or something. With some of those kinds of cars, they sometimes are too pricey and maybe in some cases impractical for me (2 dr, RWD only, etc.). The Impala SS and Gradn Prix GXP I would really like but they are simply not priced for the middle markets. They are too expensive. Go price some new 06's and you'll see the whole 'value pricing' thing is a big farce. I like the new Fusion and Milan, but I already have a low slung, nice looking, semi-cushy, smaller mid size car with a decent interior but I really just need something different right now. Space and utility are kindof my thing right now. And the 500 is almost cheaper right now anyways. if i need to go cheap I'll just get a vue 4 cylinder 5 speed, or keep what i've got. i think if i could get my fun car, I'd be fine with a BMW 3 series with manual and sport pkg. or a 5 series, although both now are ugly. other cars considered -fusion/milan -mazda6 hatch -maxima/altima -escape/tribute -element -jetta and passat 06 -ion (2.4 with 5 sp manual), cobalt, focus, mazda3, hhr, pt cruiser -impala, malibu, GP, G6, LaCrosse -used S60 manual, X-type manual, 9/3 or 9/5 manual, or aurora -another aztek because I can't find any other cars out there with a decent comfortable ride, lots of space and utility, normal mpg and nice interior for not an arm and a leg.

viper, that GXP pic at the beginning of the forum is a really nice looking sunfire. I think you would be on the path to duplicating that look with the matching body kit as was suggested, and i also thought GM or someone offered supercharger kits for the ecotec? beyond that, it would get darn costly and would make more sense to just pony up for the Cobalt SS with Stage 1 or II upgrades and enjoy that.

like my coworker with her xterra, LOL

sounds like maybe you'll be in the market for some aftermarket trim pieces for the dash?

the Malibu in v6 form or 4 cylinder, is a great commuter car. I wish a 4 cyl. with stick was available...either the 2.4 or 2.0 turbo.

can anyone tell me why the corvette was not car of the year last year? hey O.C., you know the magazines are ripping on the C6 interior STILL not being good enough. I'm like, what do those journalist assholes want? Its a 50k car that will perform close to a supercar! And you get like 28 mpg on the highway! INSANE! I've sat in a C6 and I think the interior is fine for the mission of the car, it grates me when i see journalists ripping the amazing Z06, its got unheard of performance, it shames exotics, its less than a mid level Lexus in price, yet they RIP THE DAMN THING for 'cheap interior', yet they give the 300C all the COTY awards and its interior is not as nice as my AZTEK? Dude, congrats, I'm jealous, and amen brother! ENJOY THE HELL out of your dandy new ride. Plain and simple the new Vette is the best performing domestic out there. The Ford GT vs. the Z06 is likely a performance wash, but is twice the price. I would love a base Vette with the removable roof and a 6 speed......yeah baby.

this just goes to show that major business reform will be needed to fix this problem. its going to have to come from GM, and the unions.

i drove one and it didn't make me gush, but I still see how folks like em. If I get somehting in this class I guess I would get a Vue instead.......especially now that the Vue got a few more interior upgrades.

the liberty has a stick? wow....too bad its a chick SUV, i might want one then.

sweet lookin gal lakefire. nice bar find!

YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH. "attention junkies" the most selfish creatures on the face of the earth. they think every man on earth wants to phuq them, love them, hang out with them, yet they derive extreme pleasure from dissing and toruturing men to further prove how great their little *ahem* kitty is. most of the time they have all the common sense, genuineness, and ability to reason as a concrete block. Or a door handle. sounds like this chick was a spoiled little (insert nasty word that starts with a 'c' here). I would have found her Jetta (or whatever divamobile she drives is) and let the air out of her tires.

when do they go on sale? Maybe they will put them to market sooner than they are saying? My buddy with the Tahoe he has now, was gonna buy something during employee pricing, but then I showed him the 07 tahoe pics, and now I think he might get a new 07 right when it comes out.

Even though the SS is just a mushy cruiser, I still wouldn't mind one due to the sweet small block under the hood. The whole thing falls apart though when I look at the price tag, which is too far beyond my means. Other than that, I could do just fine with the average interior and small back seat. I think the styling of the SS is nice in black and looks good. Its not so flashy that cops will seek you out to give you tickets.

um, weren't the Focus and Escapes with the 2.3 four cylinder PZEV vehicles? As in, NEXT TO NO EMISSIONS? PARTIAL ZERO I can't see a hybrid Escape being supremely more cleaner than a car that was already damn clean.

Subie probably were being little bitches about sharing the tribeca with Saab, and GM got pissed off, and said 'fine, the tribeca is uglier than the aztek, so we'll let toyota deal with it'

Again, here I am merely trying to highlight the hypocrisy of the press of continually bleating about the domestics selling to fleets when in fact, everyone is doing it. But hey, here's the mainstream press on the top of their game. Go look at the newly proclaimed poster child of all the auto journaists for mid sized sedans....the new Sonata. Honestly, go take on look at that dull unexciting piece of crap and tell me its design excellence. You get a lot of features for the money.....but that's it. Tell me that its a sports sedan, or that that interior doesn't look dimestore. Average JOe Blow can't take the time to go check out 10 sedans when shopping, so they read Ann Job and the Lienerts and Car and Driver telling us to get the new Sonata. They want to be told what to buy and that's where all the myths get started.

PRINT A BUNCH MORE MONEY?....LOL

Another myth 'only domestics sell/dump into fleets' I also found an article stating that "Toyota Motor Corp. ( 7203.TO), the top-selling Japanese automaker, boosted fleet sales 16% in the first seven months of 2005 compared to the like period in 2004, according to R.L. Polk, while Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO) and Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) have upped fleet business 25% and 30% respectively." NYSE Although I am not that pro-union at this time, the message I wanted to emphasize from Ron Mexico's article was that fact that US brands are building great products and how the Toyota myth needs to be dispelled. And Toyotas, etc. are such great resale products? Better than Ford and GM? Well Toyota is dumping into fleets too by the looks of it!

here "According to the Automotive Trade Policy Council, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and GM accounted for 85 percent of the investment in the U.S. auto industry between 1980 and 2002, a total of $176 billion invested in U.S. communities. These three companies alone purchase 80 percent of the auto parts now produced in the United States. Big Three investment and purchasing supports millions of U.S. workers, retirees and their dependents. Yet the United States remains the most open automotive market in the world. Forty percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. have foreign nameplates, compared with 22 percent in Europe, 5 percent in Japan, and just 2 percent in Korea. Additionally, the Big Three are faced with free trade agreements that allow unfair trade practices like currency manipulation that give some foreign automakers an artificial advantage. These are not complaints -- just facts."

LOL! dude, seriously write a letter and send it in and see if they print it. its is so true its not even funny, yet it is.

will this be the end of boxers in subies?

mags like Car and Driver had better be consistent and rip the shit out of Honda for the digital speedometer. C/D made a living off of repeatly beating up Ford and GM for digital spedometer for like 10 years in the 80's and 90's.