Intrepidation

Yep, that's been my plan all along.

I'm really sorry to hear it happened, I hope she recovers quickly.

Actually those headlights remind me of the Accord coupe's.

I wonder if they are still using the GTO-based props or maybe preproduction units?

Proportions look really good, as does most of the body work. The tail lights are a bit odd though. I wanna see the interior.

Who the hell knows when GM management is involved.

Once again, no car is immune to it, foreign or domestic. Ventures for example: I've seen more than few with severely rotted rockers. That's the point I'm making.

I noticed the different wheel too.

It seems like utter BS that all of these so-called "sudden acceleration" problems in various cars are all true.

I think it is an absolutely amazing concept. It really looks alive (and they play off of that). You have to admire BMW for pushing the envelope of what's possible with a car. I wonder how durable the material is (no sound at work to hear what they are saying in the video).

The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model that was seen via video being installed in the BMW Museum in Munich last week has finally been revealed, and the futuristic design study shows how BMW designers are thinking outside of the box when it comes to the materials that make up a car and also how the car relates to the driver. GINA stands for "Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptations", which basically means that designers from both BMW and BMW Group DesignworksUSA were allowed to throw out the rulebook. This is most evident in the GINA Light Visionary Model's outer skin, which is made entirely out of textile fabric that's pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fiber wires. The skeleton of the car is controlled by electro-hydraulic devices and can actually move and change shape beneath the fabric skin. For instance, the headlights of the concept can be exposed or hidden by the car's skin just like blinking eyes, and the hood opens from the center as the fabric parts to expose the engine. This idea extends to the interior, where BMW designers have made visible only those instruments that are required at a certain time, while the rest of the time the same fabric interior "blinks" them out of view. The car itself looks somewhat like a Z4 Roadster, though after viewing the extensive gallery of high-res images below, you'll be amazed how much the outer skin looks like normal sheetmetal. Until, that is, you see how the doors open. They lift up in a semi-scissor fashion and since there are no exposed hinges, the fabric artfully binds up as the door swings open. While the design of the GINA Light Visionary Model is very Bangle-esque with concave and convex surfaces intermingling everywhere you look, it looks appropriate and natural here. The car is very much a concept, meant more to inspire BMW's own designers and engineers rather than excite the public, but now we're excited about shape-changin, fabric-covered cars, anyway. UPDATE: In addition to the 84 images in our high-res gallery, we've also added a video of the GINA Light Visionary Model produced by BMW after the jump. We highly recommend watching it to understand how unique this concept is. Source: Autoblog

As much as we'd all like to believe rust is somehow afraid of American cars, that's not the case. There's equal number of rusting vehicles from every manufacturer. I'd be happy to snag some photos if you require proof. I see just as many of not more Corollas than Cavaliers around here...but I can tell you which one I see more of in the junkyards. Finally, the `03 "refresh" was far too little too late. the Cobalt should have debuted in `03, and havebeen redesigned by now.

I thought it was 250?

We can nickname it anything we want thank you very much. Last time I checked it was still a free country.

Mine currently has 192,000 on it. Oil light never comes on, besides when it stalls (sometimes). It does burn some oil. Gonna have it looked at tomorrow one more time by the mechanic, if he finds nothing it's going to the dealer next week.

I loved driving the bus...I miss it.

Wow, that's amazingly clean.

Right, I forgot about that.

The joint venture goes back to when GM rebadged the Corolla and sold it as the Geo Prizm. The 2nd generation was the most unique, where all of the exterior surfaces are unique, as well as most of the dash, and it had it's own seat coverings. The suspension, powertrains, and everything you couldn't see (plus some you could) were shared. The 3rd generation, badged as a Chevrolet, differed little beyond headlights, tail lights, front bumper, and badging. For whatever reason it was designed to switch the joint venture to the Matrix/Vibe, which are still based off of the Corolla platform. The exteriors of both generations share no parts as afar as I know, but the interiors are pretty much identical. The 2nd and 3rd generation Prizms were clearly superior to the Cavalier which shared the same showroom floor. They road better, had much smoother engines, much higher quality interiors, and had were generally superior and more refined than the Cavalier. Let's not forget that the Prizm was redesigned while the Cavalier continued with little change. I've ridden and drove both cars...the Cavalier is a rattle trap...noisy and unrefined...the interior is awful...both from a design standpoint and quality wise. I have a friend who has one and he would constantly have things brake on it (center console). That's not to say they are problem free, these Prizms. Like the Corollas, they had some cheap bits that should have been better constructed...the worst offenders being the door handles inside and out. The 1.6L are notorious for exhaust manifold cracks. Ours has also had the transmission replaced because the gear synchronizer failed, as well as the master and slave cylinders. I have complained about it several times on the board in the tech section, but the reality is that since the cylinders were replaced, with the exception of the tires, the car has been issue free (oh and that exhaust manifold). It runs like a new car, and sounds better than some cars much newer than it. It gets 40 real world mpg on the highway, it has working A/C, it doesn't feel scary to drive at speed (it can get loud at 80 or so due to wind noise, but what car of that era doesn't?). So what has GM learned? Good question...the Cobalt which replaced the Cavalier is superior in many areas (it's much more quiet on the highway, has more features, and feels more stable too (I've taken one up to 100 with no problem). Still, it falls short in packaging (the rear seat sucks, whereas the Prizm's is actually pretty roomy), the the interior feels much cheaper, and I was never fond of the way the Ecotec sounded...or the steering. Dunno if that's info you were looking for or not.

Why not just keep it and get a new or used car? You obviously are attached to it, and it won't sell for insane amounts of money anyway, so just keep the old girl as a weekend toy or whatever and then have your small, economical car. Best of both worlds. As for small, if you're in no rush maybe wait for the new Fiesta to come stateside. There's also the PT and the Caliber, though I'm not sure if either tickle your fancy. Atra and VW seem like strong choices to consider.

I love how they released this info the same day Bentley released info on their Continental Flying Spur Speed. Bentley got

I was thinking the very same!

What about the post-refresh Magnum? Also I think teh Sportwagon would come pretty close. Howevr they only seat 5. Minivans seat 7-8...for large families or families who have a lot of people to travel with, you still can't beat `em. This is the problem: They don't need to be sexy. They're practicle, no orgasm machines that should handle like a BMW and go faster than a Veyron. People just don' seem to get that. Buy a van, and buy a Sky or whatever...problem solved. When you try to add exterior "style" it either compromises space or makes it look weird (Nissan).

You know how there was a question of whether or not we'd ever see the Chevy Beat for sale in North America? The answer to that question is looking more like a big fat yes. Of course, a subcompact like the Beat makes perfect sense in a landscape where gas is selling for well over $4 a gallon in many areas. Our quasi-confirmation comes not from El Generalissimo, however, but from the set of Transformers 2, which was recently given its tagline: Revenge of the Fallen. In the photo above, next to Bumblebee, is the Chevy Beat -- partially covered, but the Beat nonetheless. You know what putting it in the movie does, right? It makes people want it. Last summer, it was the Camaro. Next summer, it looks like GM's gonna make the Beat a big star. You can see the above photo and more from the set at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog. Source: Autoblog

The Journey replaced the SWB Caravan, as enzl pointed out. For several years we used the Shadows (then the Intrepid and Prizm) instead of the Caravan, however after getting the T&C we once again grew appreciative of just how useful and efficient a Minivan is. Nothing beats them for practicality. Our current `07 Grand Caravan rental has Stow `n Go..and that feature alone would sell me. You get far more space in a minivan, and with the Chrysler vans both rows can fold away in a couple seconds. Combine this with tons of storage features and plenty of convenience features, it's easy to see why smart people who aren't obsessed with being hip, yo. buy them. Down the line my driveway will certainly have one of these.