axoid

That has been what I've been hoping for. The wood trim, the busy aluminum center stack with that "I want to be a Bentley" clock. It is like it's trying too hard. I have simple taste, anything more is a distraction. It is the same reasoning that will keep me from having any BMW with iDrive. Then again I would probably be happy with a car that had a striped interior and a roll cage. Wait a minute, I have one of those. If you have to ask that, then I would bet you have never driven a RWD car in anger. I raced FWDs, RWDs and AWDs and I swore to myself that I would never own another FWD car. With a FWD all you can really do is throw it into a corner and hope it sticks and if your really good maybe play with the parking brake a little. With RWD and the better AWD setups you can literally dance the car on the edge of grip using the throttle and a light touch of the steering. It is had for me to explain, you have to experience it to know what I'm talking about.

I have a Saturn VUE Readline and at 181" it just fits in my garage. The 192" Camaro takes the long side of the garage. So I'm needing something that is 183" or shorter. That kills the CTS and the Camaro. And even if I went with the Camaro, it still a 3800+ lbs beast that I doubt will be able to match the 135 in performance and will be for the next year selling for more than 36 grand price of the BMW. I did look at the CTS. I love the exterior, but the interior is too pimp-my-ride for my taste. I hadn't thought of the awd 9-3. It is still heavy at 3800 lbs. and significantly more money than the 135. The 92 Camaro is staying on autocross duty.

The VW R32 is all wheel drive. I agree the G37 is a little on the big size, but it is still more than a full foot shorter than a CTS.

Lancer Evo RX-8 VW R32 G37

I get the point just fine. Every car or truck that I have owned in the last 20+ years has been American. All but one was GM. I would by American again, if they had a car that meet my requirements, a performance car that is small, fast, seats four and is rear wheel or all wheel drive. There are at least 6 on the market that meet that spec. Most are Japanese, none are American, and since I still won’t by Japanese, that leaves the Germans. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the average buyer looking for a consumer car. I had great hopes when Pontiac was supposed to become the rwd performance division, but that has come to nothing. I was also interested when Lutz was talking about the next Caddy BTS, but that is not here ether. If I was in the market for a mid-size family sedan, I would be the first in line at a Saturn dealer.

I haven’t seen a time for the 135 on the ring, but I would guess that it would be faster than a 335 since it is lighter, smaller, runs bigger brakes and has the same engine as the 3 series. In all the other metrics that I have seen, the 135 matches or beats the Cobalt SS. Specially at 0-60, by a full second. That is me running at OVR. I missed 3 events and lost the championship by one point. The mustang only actually beat me once. Over all it was a good year.

What Chevys? The only ones on the market now that can beat the 135 are the Vettes and they cost more. I love GM. I race a Chevy. But there is nothing in the 135's size that is RWD and can touch it in performance for under 50 grand.

If only the Cobalt SS Turbo was RWD, but it isn’t so I’m buying a BMW 135i.

I was pushing the lower weight number because that is one of the things I think there going to have to do to get the mpg the feds are mandating. Building cars the way we do today they can't hit that number, but that is something else that has to change. They are going to have to use more aluminum, carbon and other ways to loose weight. I also think that the days of V8s with cam(s) are numbered. Electro-magnetic actuated cylinder valves would allow engines to run at max efficiently at part throttle, but still give max power at full throttle. Lets face it, the eco freaks and the morons in Washington are making cars more expensive.

I'm not sure how well this will go over, but I have recently fallen in love with the new BMW 135i. I think something in the size of the 1 series or 3 series would be perfect for the 6th gen Camaro. A 3000 lb coupe with a 4 cylinder hybrid for the base car, DOD V6 turbo for the Z28 and a electro actuated valve DOD V8 for the SS.

I want to see a 1LE version with the option of having AC.

It's about time some one stood up to these pansy goody-goody groups. GM should have done that with the "kids drive vettes" commercial.

I think I'll keep my '04 VUE Redline, even with the crap seats and the cheap interior. I just don't care for the new VUE, specially not the Redline.

I'll just keep my 04 VUE Redline.

Looser! Hybrids may make good daily drivers or commuter cars, but they'll make for poor sports cars. It puts down good performance once, but how long will the batteries last when you take it to a track or to a twisty back road. Once you've used all of the battery it'll fall on it's face. No one buys a sports car to environmentally friendly or to same money on gas. If you want that, buy a Prius and park it in the garage next to a Z06.