Intrepidation

In addition to water Olsmoboi already said, don;t forget that the exhaust from hydrogen power is water vapor. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it can be used in a variety of applications from fuel cell to ICEs, and it produces not harmful emissions. It's the clear choice assuming a hydrogen infrastructure is ever actually set up and the price of teh technology becomes more affordable.

But they are not in the same class, therefor do not directly compete with each other. As other's have said, this car competes more with the Mustang, and to a lesser extent the larger compare and Challenger.

Ugliest Pontiac award goes to the Aztek, then I would say the plastic cladded Grand Am is next up, oh and let's not forget the $h!fire, or and the Current GP is no looker either (I liked the previous generation though). You forget that Holden is owned and operated (just like Opel and GMDAT) by GM. I find the G8 to be one of the best looking, best proportioned and most cleanly (no stupid plastic cladding) sedans on the market. Different strokes for different folks. Also I didn't mention power, although it has that in spades too. Performance is also (and importantly) about being able to actually go around a corner without understeering into a tree.

I still think Hydrogen is the long term energy source we should be working towards.

Hurray for bringing threads back from the grave! Since we've done it (again) I might as well mention that I wished the Coupe looked like this:

Agreed.

The caliber has the 1.8L, 2.0L 2.4L and 2.4L Turbo. Performance and fuel economy do indeed take a hit because of the car's weight. Off-topic....I have long wondered why Chrysler, in search of more small cars, doesn't make a sedan off of the Caliber. Mitsubishi has done it to great success. Considering that sedans historically sell better than hatchbacks in America, and considering that the Caliber sells pretty well, a sedan variant should theoretically sell very well. On the note of more engine choices...I wish we would get more diesels, especially in smlal cars. I read somewhere the diesel Fortwo gets somewhere in the neighborhood of 70mpg. That would make the car very appealing. I would think small cars in the C-segment would get a good fuel economy boost in addition to the inherit bonus of a road, flat torque curve with diesel options.

Seems that Algae is the way to go. Wood waste isn't a viable alternative because many industries actually use wood waste.

Except the G8 has something the GP never had: real performance and fantastic proportions. It even has something the Firebird never had...an IRS. Styling is subjective but the G8 is most certainly not trash.

Just throwing it in there...the base Caliber comes with a 1.8L makes 148 hp and 128 ft-lb of torque.

Happy Birthday!

I do hope CF becomes a more widely available material at a lower cost so it can be implemented in mainstream cars. It's as strong as steel yet much lighter so it's a great way to save a lot of weight, thereby driving up fuel efficiency as well as performance..

On the surface, carbon fiber sounds like a wonder-product which can replace much of the heavy metal, especially steel, that makes up the vast majority of nearly every automobile's structure. Dig a bit deeper, however, and there are a few flies in CF's ointment that make it very difficult to use in vehicles: price, supply and the time it takes to mold a the weaved material. Japan's big three carbon fiber producers are tackling each of these issues in a number of ways. First, the price of CF is expected to become more competitive as both carbon cloth goes down and rolled sheet steel goes up. What's more, as additional CF producing plants come online in the coming years, both the price and availability should improve. Third, new molding processes are being developed which could reduce the time it takes to produce a CF part from hours to minutes. Carbon fiber is expected to ease the transition to more fuel efficient vehicles as it weights a fifth of what steel does for a part of roughly the same strength. As Automotive News points out, the overall weight of any given vehicle could be halved by replacing major structural steel components with CF, so expect to see CF move down market from the exotics to more mainstream models in the next decade or so. Source: Autoblog

From C&D: I'm not trashing the Camry, although I would pick almost any other midsizer over it, but the Camry is the opposite of the Avenger: good powertrain and reasonable interior (but no where near the nicest in class) in search of a better chassis. Other reviews like from edmunds mention this too. Thing is that the powertrain/interior/quiet ride are, as you said, what people in the segment look for, not so much sporting pretensions.

If the smart had a diesel it would be a hell of a lot more appealing.

Ram > Crown Vic

True enough, but it does have a compitent chassis, something not all of the midsizers (Camry) can say.

The Avenger, with a good interior and more refined/better powertrain options would be a very competitive car.

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I agree, in addtion the bulging headlights of the production version have always bugged me.

Viper, possib;y Vharger (not all Charger sales are SE's after all).

I wondered what happened to you, welcome back!

That's awesome. I swear if one reviewer calls this thing "too big" I will personally have to find them and punch them.

It amazes me just how clean the Challenger is compared to the Mustang.