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I took a look at this thing at the L.A. auto show, I didn't think it was half bad.

'94 Prelude - bought 10/97 with 20,000 miles, now has 107,000 miles '01 IS300 - bought new 6/00, now with 32,000 miles '05 Silverado - bought new 10/04, now with 4,000 miles

What a sad little car. On the bright side for Chrysler, it makes the Sebring look good.

Egypt

This article makes it sound like a car from the old GM: not quite enough development time, crude around the edges, but is great at getting good numbers at the track and skidpad.

It's a huge improvement over the current, droopy model, but it has quite the angry look front and back, perhaps a tad too aggressive.

Yeah, Jeep was pretty busy. The Compass looks better in person, especially in darker colors. And people were crawling all over the new 4-door Wrangler. The Chrysler Sebring sedan looks ok in person, and the dashboard is quite stylish, but it has that unappealing characteristic Chrysler plastic all over the interior.

By the way, all Z71's have the fender flares standard, at least in 2005. I checked the 2005 brochure, which I have because I also have a 2005 Silverado. Maybe the decal was previously removed (for a cleaner look), and the owner decided to replace them when it was time to sell the vehicle? Or maybe it's not a real Z71, and the owner just put the decals on the truck? But then it's missing the LS or LT badge on the pillar.

With fender flares:

Here's one. And I found out that Z71 is its own model and is not a package on the LS nor LT, hence the lack of a pillar badge.

vigilante

I finally made it out to the L.A. auto show on Saturday. I normally go opening day but couldn’t make it this year. The show was more interesting than usual, and having the show one month earlier was one reason why. A few observations: Best carrying bag: Toyota. Toyota was one of the pioneers in the bags a couple of decades ago, and this year they had a new design feature—a handle made of plastic tubing that doesn’t dig into your fingers. One design flaw is that the handle was too long, such that those short of stature would be dragging the bag along the ground. Jaguar had their first bag ever, as far as I know. It was fancier than the typical bag but also suffered by being too tall and was a dragger. I saw one lady grab about a dozen, probably to use to hand out Christmas presents. Buick had a pretty classy bag that said “ENCLAVE” on it with a stylized squiggle denoting the vehicle. My favorite vehicles: Infiniti G35, Mazda MX-5 Miata with Power Retractable Hardtop, and Tesla Roadster. The Infiniti looks so much better in person than in pictures. The inside is a cut above the old model. But it has a foot-operated parking brake? Biggest crowds: Discounting the supercars, BMW was most crowded, as usual. For individual vehicles, the Dodge Challenger, Camaro, and Giugiaro Mustang concepts. Mercedes was also crowded, but they didn’t have brochures. Instead, cards were handed out on which was a printed code to access the Mercedes-Benz web site to request a brochure (though the code really isn’t needed to get on). Saturn Aura: It’s a step above the Malibu. The cloth seats on the XE are the unfortunate thin rough-feeling fabric. Overall, it appears decent, but not enough to sway determined Camry, Accord, and Altima intenders. Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia: For those who like big, jacked up station wagons, these are pretty nice. For me, I'd prefer a minivan. Mitsubishi Outlander: Better than expected. It’s styled well inside and out and seemed to be a lot of vehicle for $25K. It’s probably the only Mitsubishi I would consider if I were forced to buy one. BMW X5: The old model got lots of accolades, but I didn’t care for it because of the meager carrying capacity. That is fixed with the new model, and the muscular styling makes it one of the best looking SUV’s out there. I’m still not fond of the concept of a BMW SUV, though, but that’s what the market wants. 2008 Cadillac DTS and STS Platinum Editions: The DTS gets nice chrome accents on the door handles, but it’s unfortunate that the DTS didn’t get the pull-style handles with the remake a couple of years ago, like the Lucerne did. The DTS didn’t have the little chrome GM badges on the front doors or fenders. Chevrolet Silverado Regular Cab: Corvette up in the air. I’m not sure why, other than to draw attention to the longer warranty, but I don’t think anybody noticed the car up there. Honda REMIX: Acura Advanced Sedan concept. Ugly in pictures, ugly in person, though I kind of like the boattail. Honda Step Box Concept: Lincoln Navigator seats: A comment was previously made about the wear, and yes, there was wear, but it looked worse than it was because of color transfer from blue jeans. The previously shown Saab Aero X: Buick Lucerne in pieces: Tesla Roadster, the electric lithion-ion powered, Lotus-bodied roadster that does 0-60 mph in 4 seconds. $100K. Ford Explorer: The armrest was modified this year to add a hole for use as a door pull. The rear doors didn’t get this improvement, though it’s not as critical back there. Nissan Altima Coupe: This does look better in person, more Z than MC.

Nice looking truck. It appears to be an LT, but the badging is missing from the pillar.

asterisk

If the CTS checks out mechanically and RWD isn't an issue, that would get my vote. However, I also tend to be partial to brand new, unabused vehicles, so I wouldn't fault getting the Aura or Milan.

If this were real, the Maverick would be an easy choice. Those cars had a good reputation, unlike most of the others here.

apostrophe

Dick Clark

Happy B-day, BV. Congrats on surviving into adulthood.

The bed of the half ton Silverado Crew Cab is 5' 9". The Ford SuperCrew's is slightly smaller at 5' 7". The Tundra's bed looks about the same size as the Ford's.