Flybrian

That's odd, because I just saw him on TV Land. Maybe he's going to debate our petroleum crisis with Norm.

Clicky I know this evokes a reaction from most of you, but if this were a year old and black, this would be just like my father's bought-new 1987 Trofeo, the very first car I remember (and the first car I 'drove' - on my dad's lap, of course!). Same digital 'gages', same throttle shifter. Ours had a moonroof and an NEC mobile cellular car phone, though. I've seen only a few Toronados of these hated downsized years, and most of them beaten hard with random wheels, busted antennas, and broken headlamp doors. But this? Almost perfect. *Sigh*

Mid-Cycle Enhancement. You can figure out when a vehicle's MCE will occur with the formula E=MC^2.

Uh, look again. The Lucerne did better than that Grand Marquis

Wow. To be honest, those figures are very sad. Another thing, not a single person would be complaining about those economy figures if those V6s were in the 260-270hp range. Alternatively, no one would say a word at those horsepower numbers if the fuel economy was 5-6mpg greater.

Are you Jerry Flint?

Be truthful! Are you a troll trying to get banned?

Airplane! And the best part of Dirty Dancing was two words: Jerry Orbach.

This was, indeed, a joke by a member who used a screenname similar to Josh's. Apologies on part of that member for any misunderstanding that came from the attempted 'humor.'

Damnit, Bob, how many times have I told you...$80.00! Take it or leave it!

If GM made this, I would still laugh and deride it because its the most hillarious, silliest-looking car on the road. I saw one down here recently with Quebec plates. That's Quebec to the west coast of Florida in a SMART two-seater. I think one of those flat-rate USPS boxes would be more comfortable. By the way, its not about choice. No one is seriously protesting it coming here. You can offer whatever you want, but from the looks of things, even the Europeans don't want it - haven't SMART sales there fallen way below expectations to the point where DCX isn't sure what to do with the brand?

I can get 28/9 mpg with cruise set at 60 and no air conditioning out of my decade-old V8 tank. Woohoo.

Why does that image remind me of how an Avalon looks from behind?

In response to the title... "...and what else is new?"

Yup. Just that black plastic you see. And thanks!

Well, China was our ally in World War II. The Nationalist part, anyway. And while the Communists didn't care for us (nor us for them), we all hated the Japanese more - and rightfully so.

What is improper about 240+hp/240+lb-ft in this segment?

Aren't all recalls voluntary to a large extent? I've never seen Ford come by to rig up someone's Contour and drive it to the service department.

This is good news. VW is listening to their US customers who admire what the brand was and should be again. The only affordable German brand. Which brings me to this review of the Jetta's less expensive little brother. I've been checking the website of the local VW dealership, and when they showed 4 Rabbits in stock, 3 five doors and 1 three door, I hightailed it in to check them out this morning. I ended up driving a 3 door with one factory option: floor mats. It was black (and you know what they say about black), with anthracite interior (dark gray woven cloth of a good quality). Of course everyone here probably knows the Rabbit comes with all of the "right" standard features, like power windows with auto-up and down (both sides) and pinch protection, plus VW's ability to open and close the windows with the key in the door lock cylinder. CD stereo, outside temp display, heated power mirrors, driver's seat height adjustment, etc., all add to the "complete car" mood. After seeing GTIs with the optional 18" rims, I was concerned that the Rabbit would look as if it were on stilts with the standard 15's. I was wrong. The tires are not of an extremely low aspect ratio, so they look fine with the factory wheel covers for the price. My sales presenter was very low-key. He took my license for a copy, slapped a tag on the back and off we went, A/C blasting in the humid 85 degree morning. As with any VW I've ever been in, the fit and finish was first-rate, with sold-feeling interior parts... and a SMOOSHY DASHBOARD! Everything was in a familiar spot, the controls seem to have not been changed for decades on a VW, and that's a good thing, imo. It was not difficult at all to make myself comfortable with the tilt/telescoping steering column. The 2.5L, 150 hp/170 lbs torque 5 cylinder engine was quiet and smooth at idle, with a smooth clutch and shifter. While I have not driven a GTI with 2.0T, this engine, along with that distinctive 5 cylinder growl, has good torque through all the gears. It has that "freight train" feel of torque coming on, similar to my '00 GTI 1.8T. Pretty satisfying for an "economy" car that feels a step above. The ride and handling were very good, as is typical of VW, with a solid, planted over-the-road feel and a well-damped ride. Meanwhile, back at the dealership, the next step was to hand over my keys so the used vehicle appraiser could take my truck out and run the crap out of it to see if it's in good shape. Of course, it is. They offered me $1100 more than what I owe on it, which is decent help on a down payment. They priced a Sage Green 3 door with manual transmission and 16" wheel package. $16,467 MSRP, which, in my book, is worth it for the standard features (6 airbags and stability control!), and the solid, intuitive VW driving experience. "My" car is in the build pipeline (not yet built at the German plant), and should hit the Wilmington port sometime in August. The only thing left to do is give a deposit so the car can be routed to the local dealer. I am seriously considering it.

Every dealership I've taken my car to be serviced at loved my business. If anything, they talked a little poorly of the other dealerships in order to drum up my repeat business.

The Dodge Magnum is not a crossover; its a station wagon. And the Nissan Armada's win is shocking.

Leno put a Toronado body and interior on some RWD chassies. Doesn't make it a Toro anymore.

So sue me, but they were the best-looking vans of the era.

Park Avenue, LeSabre, Bonneville, Grand Prix - standard or optional depending on model.