balthazar

I wouldn't look at it as 4 crossovers from one corporation as much as 4 crossovers in a sea of crossovers from every manufacturer. Excellent differentiation on these. The Lambdas are no J-Bodies.

Seems more than likely a restoration is in order- these cars are far too historically significant and amazingly-engineered to be left as is. The scuttlebutt is the resto on this one will run around $250K, but a restored Tucker has already sold for $1.1M. IIRC, #1010 (this car) is the Bonneville test car, which reportedly did 131MPH- so it has some significance within the Tucker world. -- -- -- -- -- >>"Is the audience for SpeedTV so focused on Corvettes and Mustangs that they wouldn't even want to see the other vehicles?"<< No. they're not, but unfortunately the broadcasters believe it is so. I caught intervals of B-J and every time a Corvette or Mustang rolled up, I groaned. We've SEEEEEN them all before.

Ahh sh!t- that's tempting. Wonder what he'd take for it? I would love to get into that. Why must you remember people's automotive Achille's heels ??

^ This, I know : I did say I ran a K&N (for at least 7 years), and I cleaned it around 30K (vs. the recommended 50K). I did not go thru 1 cleaning kit. You can get a paper filter in the $6 range, whereas the K&N I bought was around $50. So for the $63 paid up front to run K&N, you can get 10 years worth of annual paper filter changes. If there was a measurable performance difference, if your performance is a matter of minute advantages (IE: on the track) you're getting something for your money. If the performance is basically the same, where's the benefit? If performance is worse after a short timespan, you're getting ripped off. Increased airflow is still the reason one switches to these, and the testing I saw refuted the claim after less than a conventional filter's normal lifespan. I can tell you this- the diesel truck crowds' consensus is 'stick with conventional'.

The 'anonymous' aspect... or perhaps I should say the 'no apparent repercussions' aspect of the internet does get a lot of folk in trouble.

>>"maintaining as much interior size as possible"<< = less interior size/space.

K&N recharge kit is around $13- paper air filters aren't commonly in the $20+ range (tho I don't doubt there are ones marketed that high & higher). Last one I bought i believe was around $6.

$30 (plus shipping) for a t-shirt? Not so sure the 'vogue meter' is quite so far to the right to support a lot of sales at that level.

^ Very logical. Yes; one could clean/re-oil the K&N at much more frequent intervals than 50K (I would), but what service interval it would take to keep the K&N flowing at peak performance is anyone's guess.

I still have no issue with a 4th Lambda Cadillac- these ARE excellent examples of differentiated platform sharing. The vast majority of consumers have no idea what platforms are under what vehicles anyway.

At issue with the oiled filter debate is how (and how quickly) air flow deteriorates when they start accumulating dirt. I've read more than 1 in-depth review of air filters and while the K&N does have better flow when first installed, it quickly drops below the air flow of a conventional paper element. And unless the policy has changed, K&N recommends a 50,000 mile interval between re-oilings- which gives it a long time to accumulate layers of oily dirt. IMO, it seems K&N and the others have over-extended themselves in trying to present a 'double whammy': better performance and a much longer service interval (to help justify the price??). Before this research came out, I ran one in my Ford. Very tough to tell if there was any difference from it alone; I had installed it in conjunction with a mild chip (15HP/30TRQ). But since then, it's paper elements only. Over the life of a conventional filter, a quality conventional filter will average better flow than the K&N.

I don't feel that the sales volume validates changing the Acadia size/platform to create more differences between it & the Enclave. I don't feel there's an identity issue here (Enclave <> Acadia) to begin with. There may be other reasons to change platforms, but differentiation isn't one of them IMO.

^ Interesting, and correct. Of note tho; the Vista Cruiser line that took over from the 88 wagons was stretched and was closer to the 88 in length than the F-85 it's body shell was based on. Wheelbase was longer than the Toro's, too. That sort of pegs it as a 'tweener', but of course it's still not a B-Body.

Saw one- same year/ make/ model/ color this summer, but I thought Jetstar I wheelcovers. Who knows- maybe the same one. Real nice after all the years from last seeing one. Sharp, and about 4/5th the size of a flex (visually).

Another vote for hardtops.

I wouldn't exactly call that a "short" front overhang. And I hate the way the chromed trim around the side glass stops at the black plastic mirror base- that's a lame cut corner right there. Otherwise the design is rather generic in profile.

What did I say caused it again? What is my M.O., exactly?

Isn't NASA the same agency that was called out by an amateur researcher because it had it's proprietary climate data screwed up, and subsequently revised it, and more than once? Just because the Guv'mnt told you so, doesn't always make it correct, theorized pay-off or not.

The Perfect Storm, in other words. Uh-huh.

Nice, basic, work-oriented, but the apparent non-availability of the RamBox seems a glaring, obvious omission.

LOT better integrated that the mitsu- which has strong 'body kit' undertones. Keeping the homogenization of modern design in mind, I don't buy the idea that it's a 'mitsu nose' at all. Charger has some... interesting proportions; I really need to see on in person to judge it overall.

Does that front fascia header REALLY need to be made of 3 pieces?? Laziness.

So while I imagine some toyoyo fans are somehow relieved at this report, the flip side now is NO ONE KNOWS what causes it- which is far scarier.

I liked the Camaro commercial- lots of shots/sounds of the car, a bit of humor (the ending was a bit flat tho). Thought the passat one was pretty bad tho. Are they ever going to show this car in other colors than Medium Grey ?

maxima has some weird lumps & bumps, and at first glance the 'hook' lights looked a awful lot like 'we'll try anything', but they've settled for me. It's not great, but it's not bad. I still haven't seen a juke on the road, but from the pics, it looks so radically misshapen, I can't imagine it's all in the camera lens. I'm not necc anti-nissan styling, either; the 370 has a very nice basic shape/proportion (it just falls down on the details), and I generally like the murano's styling. No; I don't know why, exactly.