biff

Why has the mileage rating dropped to 26 highway? The 07 Aura was 28, the 08 is 26. EPA changing the rules?

Very interesting analogy. I'm sure all of the Toyota and import loving fans are sure GM or Ford paid them off to publish that.

I've lived in the corn belt where E85 is available almost everywhere. I'm not convinced it's a solution to any dependence on oil or that it's going to protect the environment. It may help, but it seems like it's more of a political game. Most E85 stations are ripping consumers off because the price closely follows the regular fuel price, even though only 15% of it is petro fuel. I asked a gas station manager about it once, he just smiled. If you factor in that there are subsidies on corn and building ethanol plants, that money is coming from tax payers. I haven't done any research to support my suspicions and I could be wrong, but the whole thing seems a little suspicious.

Answered my own question. Saw an 08 Aura sitting on the lot, and they did revise the door panels. Looks a little more elegant now. Good job GM.

Anyone know of changes for 08? Namely the fake stitching in the door panels? I'm debating between the Aura and an 08 Malibu. My wife would be all about the Aura but she's having trouble getting over the door panels.

No, I wasn't referring to the Sept. issue comparison. In the 2007 and 2008 New Car Previews editions they have low specs listed for GM and Ford. However, they do have all the correct engine configurations listed. I didn't read the comparison. What were their other reasons for picking the Tundra? I know the GM's have better stabilitrak and ride, as I've read plenty of reviews from more credible pickup reviewers and driven them myself. Silverado did win the MT comparison, did it not? They had mismatched powertrains again but concluded the Silverado was a better value. Not that MT is a real credible source either, they're not real consistent in their reviews.

Good for them. They're also available with a 4.7 too. They didn't list the tow rating as the max for the 4.7. The numbers they listed for Chevy and Ford are possibly for smaller engine packages? I don't even know where they made up the number for the GMC (which should be really be 10500 for both GM's). If they're going to list a max spec, they should be fair about it and not mislead...which is what they do.

I decided to look up what they said about the Silverado after seeing this thread. Here's their initial report: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/ne...ilverado_ov.htm While they give it some compliments, I gotta laugh when they write stuff like, "That might add a couple of mpg but the results are hardly dramatic" or "While not agile, handling is reasonably responsive" or "The front seats are firm and comfortable now". So someone didn't thing the seats were comfortable before? You know that they've never driven an all around better pickup. Because no one's made one yet.

Consumer Reports is bias. Another area they mislead is towing capacity. They list Nissan and Toyota pickups at their maximum towing capacity IF properly equipped, 9400 and 10000 lbs. I noticed they list Chevrolet haft ton at 8500 and the GMC half ton at 4700. Yep, according to the last consumer reports magazine I'll buy, the maximim towing capacity of a 07 GMC Sierra is 4763 pounds. Both of these rigs properly configured and equipped are rated over 10000 lbs.

87 and newer are the best because of EFI. The throttle body injection was pretty decent. Rode around in an 87 Suburban 4x4 a lot back in the day. It got 16-18 mpg on road trips. Had a 85 GMC pickup too. They engine was pretty weak until I revived it with a rebuilt 350.

Ok, maybe not irrelevant. But, Toyota doesn't face daunting financial obligations at any other plant and could spread the costs. Fight the union at their ONE plant and they get a media black eye. Their margins aren't as large at that plant but they still have large volume needed to profit. If people quit buying Corolla's and Matrix's then I'd expect a change.

It's only ONE plant. They have many other plants and a big business to spread out the overhead. Irellevent question.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler are going to have to take one in the shorts for a while and bust the unions or die a slow death on the way to bankruptcy. I wish they would have addressed this when the Asian competition wasn't as much of a threat. Now they have to deal with another media black eye when the country is already brainwashed into thinking that Toyota and Honda are invincible. Where I work recently dealt with a USW strike. They had a chance to kill the union because large dealer inventory and production ramp up before the strike in a depressed market. They decided to offer basically the same contract they already had and not bust the union. I hope the domestics can make a similar move, except with a better outcome.

Man, hard to believe the sales numbers on some of those imports. Fortunatly, they haven't caught on as much in the Dakota territory.

Never thought I'd be checking out Saturn, but I'm considering an Aura to replace the Impala. It's a bit on the small side for this guy, but I really like the XR's powertrain and interior (except for the cheesy door panels). The 3.6L and 6 speed combo is great. Interior fitup is good and better than the Infinity it was parked beside on the lot. I'm having a hard time getting over the fake stitching on the door panels though. That's probably a big reason why other cars will get rated better for interior. Anyone hear how the real world milage is with the 3.6?

Shame on Edmonds. The Toyota has 4.10 gears, the GMC has 3.42's. They should have figured that out.

Honda has never been very good with sheet metal. Most of their styling is bland, inside and out.

I was hoping for a 2-tone color scheme and a 6 speed. Guess I'll keep the '04 another year, because I definatly want a 6 speed.

It is pretty, but I wish it came in a configuration other than that damn short box. They must have forgot that some people still use a pickup for what they were originally intended for....hauling stuff. Must not be many people who want to look fancy and haul stuff.

I have a magazine that has a Tundra ad in it. The ad has a cut away view of the engine and it has timing belts to two intake cams. Exhaust is driven from the intake cams. I wouldn't think that's a good move for bulletproof reliability.

The only mistake I think GM made was not keeping up with the towing rating of Ford. GM's I think is 16700 lbs, and Ford's is higher. I know a construction business that buys Fords for their HD pickups because of this, even though they have Chevy's for their light duty units. I haven't driven the latest Ford super duty's, but a few years ago GM was far ahead in ride, comfort, and handling. You had to 'herd' those first super duty's down the road. Handling was terrible compared to GM.

Thanks.

Anyone that's bought an Acadia, how's the milage? I know they're rated at 24-26 highway depending on AWD or not. My wife really wants one of these things but it's hard for me to part with our 03 Impala that gets 34mgp on a good day.

The government is also partly responsible for the ineptitude of American corporations.

Probably a wise move for Nissan. Brand loyalty is expecially strong with heavy duty pickups. Some development costs higher than the 1/2 ton, and the market is smaller.