regfootball

thanks for the Blondie post!

Yeah I've driven the 2.0 Malibu and that has plenty of go juice. Thing is. Cruze is 30/35/42 mpg. Malibu 2.0 is only 22/26/33. Huge mpg diff

Shame that they had that to say, but then I really think Manuals are the way of dodo birds and should go to the history books. the outgoing Cruze had a really sweet manual, and i agree, manuals are on the way out. I love driving a stick but now again I am sick of them, and to be honest they will be regulated out of existence I feel. You can't shift faster or better than an auto, autos get better mpg, and being stuck in traffic in a manual in between shifts and the need for sudden acceleration etc, i believe they will try to prove them unsafe.

The LT for steering was very good to meet the expectation of those who want a mid level trim car as a commuter. I have no doubt with the premier + watts link and revised steering its fine for those who want it a bit sharper. The car just came out too, we'll have a performance version down the road. Really, it is amazing, I drove the civic turbo and this back to back, and the Civic is a nice car. But the turbo has lag, not tire spinning torquey, and what ruins it is the CVT and typical Honda tinny / noise crap. Get in the Cruze right after and its quiet and feels refined, like a little luxury car. I'm friggin shocked. Like I said, for the bulk of the population, I don't see how this is not the best compact out there. No way general folks won't like the quietness of it and make it #1 vs the Civic and Mazda if they drive it. The lame ass buff books will still call the Honda and Mazda the winners, and honestly its a lie for them to do that. By the way, what i found strange most of all was how much quicker the 1.4 cruze felt than the 1.5 malibu. I bet there is a full second diff in the 0-60, withe Cruze being faster. The 1.5 Malibu runs out of breath quickly. The Cruze winds up and lasts longer. You gotta gas it to downshift, otherwise it might feel slower. The Cruze feels like a mid 7 second car.

Wot? No diesel manual AWD wagons?

Motor trend and car and driver both have reviews up. Motor trend even copied the chicken dinner bit http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2016-chevrolet-cruze-14t-automatic-review http://www.motortrend.com/news/2016-chevrolet-cruze-first-drive-review/

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/04/future-cars-2018-buick-regal-and-its.html?m=1 2018 regal comes into focus, Avista would be great but cars like the Regal will always outsell it

they could do this if they canceled the ATS coupe. The ATS coupe is the 'second ever G6' in terms of looks.....ATS coupe won't sell....but then again neither would this, but the Avista is better looking than the ATS coupe. both tread on the Camaros property. Not hardly any market for coupes. Can't make this a sedan either.....we already have a new Regal and Verano coming.

size. it's not a suburban. anti-van. change any of those and what's the point.

I love driving stick but in the last year I went from driving 43 miles one way with no traffic to driving 12 miles or so in city traffic. Greatly reduced commute but the times you get stuck in traffic or weather the stick REALLY sucks. I'd love to have a stick for a toy vehicle and have the daily driver and long trip car now be automatic for awhile again. I learned on a stick (thanks Dad) and have had sticks available to me to drive about 1/2 of the time now in my 32-33 driving years. My sister who is older than me still drives stick as well. My clutch knee is acting up on me these days and when you are stalled in snow traffic at mostly a standstill and your knee starts 'clicking' and popping some, i think its ok for me to maybe go automatic for awhile. Not every car should be a stick. Manufs should only put a stick in a few of their vehicles but make them high quality shifter and clutch. As for GM they should only put sticks in Cadillac ATS (you MIGHT talk me into the CTS) Buick Verano (I love the Regal stick but admit no ones really gonna want it anymore) Chevy Cruze and Sonic (I'd get rid of it on the Spark even) and Camaro of course Chevy pickups in limited application what else am I missing for GM, I don't really foresee demand for any other GM models and stick.

classy guy, brought global GM styling to some convergence, well deserved accolades. GM has a great stable of designers.

Took another spin in a 1.5 LT today.......really really sticking to the notion of the base engine being very borderline in this car. I think I would be leaning hard to the 2.0....really really a better engine for the car (aside from mpg and price).

--------- DRIVEN: 2016 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT 1.4t automatic (all new model) MSRP around 24,700 Includes technology package and sun and sound package HIGHS: -Ride....PLUSH -QUIET inside...OMG quiet for this class of car -good OOMPH from the fairly smooth 1.4t, which really has some of the character of the current 1.4, that is to say no lag and a willingness to rev (just smoother and much less noisy / buzzy). -TRANSMISSION is nicely responsive to the turbo. It takes some gas pedal sometimes, but mostly on the spot. -HANDSOME interior. Comes off as tidy, handsome, classy, attractive. Dash, doors, console, etc.....no issues on any plastics, and the dash cloth even looks good. Super tight on the seams for all the different finishes. Great steering wheel, and the displays are all good. Center controls are minimal and very nice to use and look at. This is perhaps the biggest attraction of the car.......you can drive ALL day in this car. -COMFORT.....less console intrusion vs. outgoing model means room to SPLAY your 6 foot legs and not bang so much into the console (and climate control switch).....shoulder space and armrest are nice. -Great view out of the car, mostly in the front but very panoramic. I use this term repeatedly but it's true, it's not a BUNKER. -LEG ROOM....second row has some more leg room now vs the outgoing. Relaxed rear seat angle makes for comfortable seating for most also. -STYLING....for those that are sick of the outgoing version, the new Cruze has styling more akin to the competition (Asian makes mostly) -TRUNK.......very deep and high and wide. A big trunk for this class of car and the finish is more than tasteful and adequate. -Touchscreen is quite attractive and nice in function and very crisp display. It looks better in the Cruze than the Volt or Malibu because it is not in the guise of an iPad popping out of someone's uterus with blatancy. -I really liked the sunroof overhead...seems like a ridiculous comment but it really helped at to the classy feel of the car here, and seemed larger and less like a slot. -The heated seats are in this package with the cloth seats....thanks Chevy for not making us pony up for the leather here. -The usual GM stuff, OnStar, 4GLTE, and now Apple Carplay and Android Auto. -I am not sure how GM is doing it, making these really light cars feel so solid and secure on the road, but this is another example of it, its BILLET in feel. -Even the hefty smooth feel when you open and close the doors on this car, more like a Buick.....feels far more premium in comparison to the 16 Civic i tested again right before this. LOWS -Some may criticize the new styling to be a little bland or a little too Asian (Hyundai / Kia / Honda / Mazda) -Again, like the new cousin Malibu, the front seats feel a little insubstantial in materials and structure. -C'mon, throw in a leather wrap on the steering wheel here....... -Steering is a bit too slow and neutral (although probably set right for an LT / base model....perhaps the up level trim will have quicker steering with more feel) -Cabin volume might actually be a bit less than the outgoing...at a minimum, the cabin feels a bit narrower, and us six footers have to duck our heads a lot more to get under the rear door opening. Feels like the shoulder space is down a bit from the outgoing one (most notably in the rear). -a 1.5 or 1.6 would be a good up level engine choice for the consumer to have (or even a 1.8 for a little more zip) -Makes the outgoing Cruze, which is a good car, feel REALLY dated, like 10 years old -I'm really struggling for lows here......serious when i say that. -I think its a low when a smaller Cruze is actually a more desirable drive than the similarly new and very good Malibu, that's how good this is. SUMMARY Winner, winner, CHICKEN DINNER. This really is a nice car in so many ways. And perhaps the biggest complement i can say here is this would be a REALLY great all day trip car....i mean that....a great road vehicle compared to the outgoing one because of how refined and quiet it is.....user friendly, cushy, LUXURIOUS even. I like the new Malibu, but I like this car even more......enough such that I would probably desire to drive this more every day. I would even recommend this to my mom to replace her Cadillac if she just wanted something small and well priced. Grade = A. This car IMO should be the winner of the next compact class comparison in the magazines. If not, it's a crime (THE MAZDA IS NOT THAT GOOD). Now i think i know why there haven't been any reviews on it yet in the press. I bet on tax day the reviews come out and blast the net, and they will all be good reviews. I can't wait to try an RS package one or an LTZ / Premier........ EDIT......06/03 second test drive of Cruze LT, scroll down for later post.

"I expect the upper trim levels will drive a bit better and the turbo should help detract from the middle of the road base powertrain. I'll give this car an A- because it shows me Honda really learned what they were lacking, and took some risks, and found out a great new formula for moving ahead. Now, bring on the better powertrains." UPDATE TESTED 2016 Honda Civic EX-T sedan 1.5t CVT This is primarily an update to address the Civic with an upgraded turbo motor. The car I drove had the EX-T package and cloth seats, and included a sunroof and heated seats, as well as a fancy 'lane watch' feature. When making a right turn, your blind spot, right rear vision pops up on the dash screen. It is a really cool idea and I believe works nicely. Now you see my quote above......about expecting the turbo version to drive better. I would say pretty much everything of my original review sticks, and this the disappointing part......the roughness, noise, lack of refinement or sense thereof, was not really improved with the turbo motor. And the go juice is not from low throttle....it takes a few revs to wind up the turbo and the torque. On the boil, the car moves nicely, but it's not sports model acceleration. And, even if it's a good CVT, it's still a CVT and that comes through in the impression as well. So my take is the turbo is a good volume model powertrain choice because it gets you the extra power over the base engine. But it does not elevate the experience of the car.....it's not a nicer place to be, quieter, or more luxurious, or sportier. There's plenty of good in this car, and i recommend the turbo engine over the base engine.....but my usual Honda complaints are unaddressed here. I stick with my high marks for the car because for its class and price it does most things well, but Honda at some point in time needs to move away from making such tinny cheap feeling cars. (Especially since i also drove a new 2016 all new Chevy Cruze today and honestly the Cruze is a luxury quiet and classy in comparison).

i put quite a few miles back on a 2014 Journey v6 AWD SXT in a previous job and my like of the powertrain was what led to us partially getting the town and country van. The Journey would pull some crazy good mpg sometimes. It's decently roomy and stuff for the price, in fact for what you can buy them for they are a legit and possibly better option than the Equinox and Terrain. More for your money than say, a CRv. It is more of a mid sized feel and more solid on the road than a lot of the 'compacts'. Not pretty to look at and i don't care for some of the ergonomics and radio / climate controls., and the steering is a bit off to me.....but i actually would endorse it if i knew a friend was looking at one and asked about it. for the right price, i don't think you buy a loaded journey. Keep off the options and get a good deal. Its sort of the Impala Limited of CUV's to me, won't be worth much after you buy it, but you can buy it discounted and there will be a lot of them used for cheap. I don't think in this case it makes it a bad vehicle. This is one option I have been thinking of for my mom to replace her 2002 DTS. I'd like to find her a good deal on a used SRX but anything she'd afford for that would have like 80,000 miles on it. A new Journey, or a year old one with like 15,000 miles would be all she would need really and she'd probably think it drives well. She likes my aunt's Terrain but the Terrains with a v6 are not as good on gas as the Journeys.

thanks for nothing Sergio

this just in, Cadillac cancels the CT8 due to market interest in the new Continental. (had to tie those two together just for kicks)

Chevy if they are selling a 50k sedan will need to put AWD in it if they don't want it to be niche. Camaro is the only car they can get away with RWD only (and Corvette but even some performance buffs want AWD added to Corvette to harness power) When Chrysler first came out with the LX cars they sold a ton of Hemi equipped RWD versions. When Chrysler re did the 300 and Charger, they did two things, they upped the AWD build rate, and the v6 became more prominent. So the v6 AWD combo became popular, and that explains i believe a fair amount of the sales remaining on the LX cars. In fact an excoworker had traded in an original LX 300 for a new 300 AWD not too long ago. He liked the 300 but wanted AWD. The price cuts convinced him to stick with the 300, i think he got the v6 also. It's actually not that common to see a v8 300 anymore. Charger maybe has more v8's Look at that earlier C/D link, in the northeast only about 4% of the vehicles sold are RWD. If you don't stock the lots there with FWD or AWD you simply don't sell a vehicle.......... you don't tell the customer what is right or wrong you let them tell you, 96% is them telling you what is right

http://jalopnik.com/cadillac-gives-up-on-big-flagship-luxury-sedan-report-1769189427 Cadillac is cancelling the CT8 looks like the CT6 is the defacto flagship.....now........... we'll see if that becomes official news edit, guess i got beat to the punch........ very interesting nonetheless

in OHIO according to http://blog.caranddriver.com/differential-distribution-where-rwd-awd-and-fwd-vehicles-are-sold-in-the-u-s-infographic/ you would never ask a volume brand and dealer network (chevy) to routinely stock as one of its 'volume models' (Impala) in a version where your population only buys 1 out of every 20 vehicles in RWD only. Don't ask the customer why they don't and don't berate them for why they do. Of that 5%, that is factoring in luxury cars, coupes, and performance models. Luxury car sales are disproportionate in RWD percentage vs volume models. If you subtract the luxury cars, coupes, and performance models out of that 5%, it probably becomes 1-2%.......that is your market for RWD Chevy demographic large sedans. And you still only get a percent of that percent. In other words you would be stocking the lot with cars no one have proven any desire to buy. Talk about handicapping a brand and a dealer. At best stocking the lot with a RWD Impala would see some numbers in the southeast, and that's about it. No chance of recovering the lost sales of everywhere else. Chevy can't afford to advertise and promote a car that won't sell in 3/4 of the country vs. one they can sell all across the US. And, in Korea as well apparently (and Canada, etc.)

if the reaction of the new XC90 Volvo what i saw at the recent auto show here is any indicator, i think the new Volvo S90 sedan from a luxury standpoint will have far more 'real' interest than either of these.

Which is the exact same thing that I have seen of every company yet some here think that Lincoln is the exception because some people (and yes 40,000 in this context is "some people") said that they "might" be interested. It's easy to market and push these meaningless surveys but I have seen very few bear any actual real fruit. Saying that one car will be successful, as a result of these surveys, makes zero sense to me when you understand the nature of these surveys. not at all disagreeing with you. the auto show here recently, they gave away a stupid burlap bag if you signed up on chevy's iPad and they had a new Malibu right next to it. Bet they got the addresses of several thousand 'Malibu buyers'....when all they wanted was the bag.

interesting bit on gmi Impala has been gaining popularity in the local premium sedan market, with sales of more than 10,000 units in six months since its rollout. That's in reference to the current fwd impala selling 10k units in Korea, in first six months. Here's another interesting bit. No more MT for v8 M5 http://blog.caranddriver.com/its-last-call-for-the-manual-transmission-bmw-m5/

it's like stopping people in the mall, showing them a picture of a new car, and saying, would you like to have a new car? SURE! or its like getting 40,000 likes in Facebook. it's a stretch to call them real buyers who will pick that exact model.

yeah i don't think there is any pent up demand for PSA. I do like some of their vehicles but honestly we need to lose brands not add them