Intrepidation

Yeah there is, I haven't been down that street since winter...I think it was under a tarp then. I can snag a photo or two tomorrow if I remember and if it's there.

Well a Wrangler would get you pretty close o what you want. RWD, stick, 2 doors (removable no less), an open (or closed) cargo area. I don't know how long you would plan to keep this new purcahse, but if it was for a long time, Chrysler's Lifetime warranty is a perk.

I have never had the pleasure of seeing it.

Intrepid: 3.2 or 3.5 V6 conversion (this will happen one way or another) Cold Air Intake Dual Exhaust Have it repainted in a deeper hue of blue Fix my trunk light Considered but undecided on a light window tint set of 18" Avenger alloys on lower profile tires set of Intrepid 16" double spoke alloys for winter tires 300M black leather seating (with folding rear seat) automatic climate control automatic headlamps D.I.C. 6-disc CD in-dash changer 2nd AUX jack (mounts in the center console) 300M/LHS chrome interior door handles and switches Have undercoated Find some sort of shifter knob that will fit mine that's black leather with chrome accents. Have toyed with the idea of an aluminum dash kit Have toyed with the idea of projector headlights Have toyed with the idea of the 300M's factory NAV system (but it's probably archaic). Have toyed with the idea of the ES/R/T lower fascia (fog light version) Prizm Have trunk properly sealed New trunk liner Repaint, probably same color Have Undercoated LSi door panels Properly mount the folding rear seat (need a welder) 16" wheels...I'm not sure how many spokes Stainless exhaust Tip New headliner

Cadillac CTS 3.6 DI Cadillac CTS-V Cadillac STS Cadillac STS-V BMW 335d Basically anything else BMW makes Mercedes C-Class Whatever the hell their coupes are called these days Dodge Charger Chrysler 300C Mercury Grand Marquis! Lincoln Town Car

That I am aware of, however I'm really curious to find out what your impressions of them would be, as well as the obvious candidates.

Truer words never spoken.

RWD, 2 doors, and you can get them with a stick. :wink:

Well, even if youhave no plans to buy anything import, you should still go test out a G37 Coupe and Genesis coupe....just for fun.

Post driving impressions!

It's not your mother's J-body. :rotflmao:

I know that you have a thing for Jettas now, but Cobalt is probably the better choice even though it's basically a stripper (does it have A/C? I don't know if that was optional or standard on Cobalts). I lived with one for 2 months and it gave me no problems besides my particular car's city fuel economy. The only issues I had with it was the cheapo interior and the electric steering...which just feels odd. However The steering you get used to unless you stop to think about it or get in another car and drive it. However it rides very well, even at speed, like a big car. Plus, you can probably find plenty of parts for it to upgrade and accessorize it, so over time you could make it more like a 2LT than a LS. It's a tough call though, since the Jetta is what you actually want, but with your track record the newer, lower mileage Cobalt is probably the one to go with...especially if they are around the same price. Plus GM offers way more performance goodies for the Cobalt than Toyota ever offered for the Corolla. Although even if it was a Corolla I would still lean towards it. When you're looking at a car with low miles, is newer, and is known for reliability, and you need something...it is the more logical choice. You can always pick up a Jetta later as a 2nd car when you've got more money.

Ever heard the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child?" Something similar could be said about the automotive industry, except the village is an assorted and wide-ranging group of auto suppliers and the child is your next new car. Currently, the major automakers only deal directly with Tier 1 suppliers, the big companies that assemble major automotive components into large modules. These modules are created using parts from Tier 2, Tier 3 or even smaller suppliers, and these companies are generally paid by their larger Tier 1 siblings. General Motors has just announced a new provision that would have the automaker making payments to smaller Tier 2 suppliers. The worry is that the horrid financial condition that many of the large Tier 1 suppliers find themselves in could force them into delaying payments to the smaller feeder companies, which could bankrupt the fledgling lower-tiered suppliers and eventually cause GM (along with its competitors) to run out of parts for production. So far, GM is the only automaker to embark on such a program, but that could soon change if some of the largest troubled auto suppliers are forced to declare bankruptcy. On the other hand, the Obama administration just announced a $5 billion Supplier Support Program, which could ease some of the troubles. Autoblog

Ford has more concern for GM's good will than GM has for itself.

Despite the fact that Ford has yet to request any special funding from either the federal governments in the United States or abroad, the automaker has repeatedly said that it supports its competitors as they seek financial aid. According to Ford of Europe CEO John Fleming, "We have no objections to competitors asking governments for support in these very difficult times." While some might think that Ford would stand to benefit if its largest competitor went the way of the Dodo, in reality, it's much more complicated than that. Says Fleming, "I would rather take sales from competitors by having better products rather than them going out of business." Plus, there's the sticky supplier situation – the loss of an automaker or two could have a drastic impact on the already weak auto supplier industry. In lieu of propping up individual automakers on a country-by-country basis, Fleming suggests that the European Union as a whole should introduce its own aid package that would affect all automakers equally. Autoblog

Naw, it's still cluttered as of that photo. For example there's about 10 or so picture file and 2 zip folders on the desktop (you can see 2 of the files) that I deleted later. Oh and I had to turn off the inactive icon hider to keep the NVIDIA Settings icon in the open. I like my desktop uncluttered and my wallpapers high resolution and made t o fit the screen. There is nothing that bus me more than a wallpaper that doesn't take up the whole screen, or is stretched to hell to fit.

Wow, it's nice to see people besides us calling jackasses out like that.

Yep, because GM is stupid as hell and would rather kill the higher selling more rrespected vehicle and continue to be a joke.

Dodge's original Li'l Red Express trucks are now in their early 30s, and even building a clone will be an exercise in rust mitigation and parts scavenging. By the time you're done, you'll have spent enough to buy a brand new Ram. Mopar high-performance icon Mr. Norm's is doing what Chrysler can't currently manage, reviving the spirit of the original with a fully modern Red XPress Truck, using the excellent new Ram as a basis. The name has been tweaked and there's no fat-fendered bed, but the general idea is the same. 1978 Dodge Li'L Red ExpressChrysler's 5.7-liter Hemi is the standard fitment, and with 390 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque, it makes a good argument. Alternatively, 6.1 liters of SRT crate Hemi will give you about 450 hp, and then there's the 426 cubic inch version of the SRT engine, which Mr. Norm's modified with forged internals and more stroke. Thus tweaked, the 426 nets you about 600 hp, nearly triple the 225 hp kicked out by the police-spec 360 in the original. Appearance is obviously also part of the package, and there are graphics on the doors reminiscent of the original, as well as homage-paying exhaust stacks as part of the list of optional upgrades, – all of which we could see ourselves buying. Starting at an estimated $3,599 for the base Red XPress Truck, the price of entry sounds entirely reasonable, though lowering the ride height, bumping up to the biggest engine and its Tremec/Dana 60 combo will probably inflate the price as much as it inflates the performance. No word on whether it comes with a C.B. radio and a huge whip for booming into the next county with your next Tx. Autoblog

To which you can retort "CR does the same thing, only they rate vehicles based on assumption and not actual facts" P.S. You're the one turning a positive article negative right now. :wink:

Link to Jalopnik Cadillac must have been really impressed by our use of the Autonet Mobile system because they'll be adding it to their best-selling CTS Sport Sedan in April, giving passengers, and naughty drivers, internet access. This isn't the first automaker to add Autonet Mobile access to their repertoire of available services, but it is the first time GM's done it. PRESS RELEASE: FOR RELEASE: 2009-03-19 Hot Car, Hot Spot: Cadillac CTS Adds WiFi System DETROIT – Cadillac will offer wireless internet access for its best-selling model, adding a new dimension to the passenger experience. Cadillac Wi-Fi by Autonet Mobile comes to the CTS Sport Sedan in April, giving passengers full internet access in and around the car via their laptop or WiFi device. The launch of Cadillac WiFi by Autonet Mobile will begin with live demonstrations at the New York International Auto Show April 10-19. "Consumers today are frequently searching for WiFi access wherever they may be," said Mark McNabb, North America Vice President, Cadillac. "Adding WiFi is a natural extension of the tech features already inside the CTS, such as a 40 gigabyte hard drive with USB port, a pop-up navigation system featuring real-time traffic and weather forecasts and the exclusive ability to pause and rewind live radio." Cadillac WiFi uses technology from Autonet Mobile, the world's first Internet Service Provider designed exclusively for cars. Cadillac WiFi by Autonet Mobile turns the car into a WiFi hotspot and works with any operating system supporting any Wi-Fi enabled device. It delivers an easy-to-use and seamless internet experience, with 3G mobile technology that maintains internet connections while the car is in motion. The system can support several devices at once, enabling one passenger to update a Facebook page, while another is gaming online or watching YouTube videos, for example. Designed for use by passengers, the system requires no special software and achieves speeds up to 800Kbps. The dealer-installed option will retail for $499, with a monthly service subscription of $29. # # # About Cadillac Cadillac is a division of General Motors Corp., and a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered an historic renaissance led by dramatic new designs and global expansion. More information on Cadillac can be found at www.cadillac.com. General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) Founded in 1908, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com. About Autonet Mobile Autonet Mobile is the world's first in-car internet service provider. Founded by a corporate executive and former race car driver and a leading network architect and designer, the company is dedicated to enhancing the in-car experience by bringing the internet into cars. For more information visit www.autonetmobile.com.

There was one main message hammered home during a conference call on the Voltec plug-in hybrid propulsion system that GM held earlier today: even though the Chevy Volt is not yet finished, GM is getting the second and third generation Voltec systems ready. Sure, the GM representatives reassured us that the company is on track for a late-2010 launch of the Chevy Volt, all of the mentions of the Gen 2 and Gen 3 Voltec systems made it clear that GM is readying some surprises in their various battery labs and partner locations. "We remain confident and committed to a November 2010 launch of the Chevy Volt." A timetable for Gen 2 and beyond is not public at this time, but we do know that the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains (ABCD) at the University of Michigan is one partner in this project (and on Gen 3). In general, the goal for these generations will be to reduce cost, not necessarily to add range or reduce the size of the packs. The near-term schedule for the Volt program calls for actual prototypes (not the mules in the picture above) to be built this summer, and there will be a lot of them made. Announcements on consumer pricing and exactly how the battery's high price will be passed on to the end buyer will be unveiled when the Volt gets closer to market, but leasing or selling the battery are both still options. GM does have "a viable business proposition with the Volt," said Bob Kruse is the Executive Director for Global Hybrid, Electric Vehicle and Battery Engineering, but "this first-generation system is expensive." He added that government incentives (hello, $7,500?) will help make the first-generation vehicles an option for more people. As stated, next generation vehicles should be cheaper. GM's Denise Gray said that what happened to computers and electronics in the past few decades shows one likely way that technology in the Volt will get smaller and cheaper in the coming years. As GM said last spring, the battery pack is designed to be part of the vehicle's structural rigidity. Andrew Farah, Volt Chief Engineer, told us that one of the first questions the Volt engineers needed to answer was whether to develop a battery around an existing vehicle or to develop a vehicle around an existing battery. The Volt team found that developing both together was the right balance. Start with the backbone of a traditional vehicle and go from there. "The trick to a great vehicle is balance," he said. Using the battery as a structural device means that it's a tough device. In 35 mph crash tests involving the mules, the battery comes out pretty much without a scratch, GM said, and showed us the slides to prove it. There is a "very sophisticated system" in the vehicle, similar to the ground fault wiring in a house, that is meant to contain the energy inside the pack in the case of an accident. GM's January announcement that it would build the Volt's batteries in Michigan was part of a strategic choice to keep the "Volt Battery Value Chain," as they call it, streamlined and efficient. While the initial cells will be made by LG in Korea, Kruse said that moving the battery process in-house is intended to let GM control its own destiny. A big benefit is that subsequent battery and propulsion system generations will be able to be developed faster. Kruse added that GM is still happy with what Voltec will be able to do once it's in the car and are "very bullish on the ability of the Volt technology to meet the needs of the mass market." While electric vehicles with ranges longer than 40 miles exist, "we've chosen to include the range extender" to eliminate range anxiety, he said. GM could have built a bigger battery, but those would weigh and cost more. "We balance the vehicle around these demographics," he said, referring to the 78 percent of Americans who drive less than 40 miles a day. Farah added that GM did not want to ask the customer to change their lifestyle. With the Volt, he said, people won't need to change any of their driving habits but they can still gain some independence from oil. This will be a car that can do what cars today can do, but with a 40-mile EV range. "Give them what they're used to," he said. Inside the Voltec's T-Pack battery are over 200 cells that are packed into modules and there are an unspecified number of modules in the T-Pack. While GM is still being quite secretive about what's in the pack, they will say that there is a long-term plan to use the technology developed for the Volt in many more vehicles. For example, the cells are reusable in a wide range of vehicles, the modules are reusable within a class of vehicles and the T-Packs are reusable within in a specific vehicle class. As for recycling the battery when it's reached the end of its life, the recyclability of the vehicle will be based on European recycling standards because they are stronger and GM is "only going to do this job once." Also, while GM is not worried about running out of lithium, Kruse noted that after the lithium has been used in a battery, it remains "highly reclaimable and recyclable." Two other items that caught my ear: The Volt's 40 mile range that GM touts is based on Federal standard tests that assume a temperature of 20°C (68°F) Kruse said that battery swap plans for automobiles are "problematic" and GM thinks fast charging is a much better plan.

Buick, Jaguar knock Lexus from top of J.D. Power 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study Follow the jump to read the full article and press release. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=28776