A Horse With No Name

His pockets are not that deep...

Encore is still not terribly sporty. It is a good not great product, and gm has image problems of its own. Your average car buyer will skip the small premium thing and buy a Hyundai Santa Be.

Very true SMK. It is a very tough segment.

I will admit Abarth grows on me...wicked little car!

Looks good, DF!

Exactly! LOVE the idea of a hybrid Tahoe. As far as Fiat goes, for the 500, we already have flashlight batteries, so this should not be a problem. Given the 500's nature as a sorority chic car, perhaps making it run on a cell phone battery would be more appropriate.

GM needs to get the VOLT system into the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. They would have a sweet FWD CUV and if possible to do it with AWD they would clean up. Absolutely, especially in the near future when people still want to drive SUV's and gas is 5.50 a gallon In the next ten years, I see myself buying one more premium small car (say, a MK 7 GTI) a model E, and one oddball Auto-x or collector car (think vintage Alfa GTV or something ODD)....a total of three cars...

...and as far as the roadster Market goes, it is TINY in the USA. Miata, Z4, S2000 (discontinued for five years now, I know....) Boxster....add them all together....your still under two thousand units a month...even if you throw in 370Z....BMW needs more than niche market cars already competing in a crowded Niche market with established competitors. I mean, Honda tried twice to crack into this market with a resounding thud...as did Toyota with the Mr2 and MR2 Spyder. Even though both Toyota and Honda had good if not great product, they fell flat on their ass.

Which they honestly never will. They are stuck with the same styling and the same general theme. I do not expect them to be around in five years...and yes I am still a MINI owner.

I did not know they built a V8 FWD Buick either....Thanks!

Retro only sells so well, and current MINI sales are in the tank....possibly for good. One can make a good driving FWD car....look at the MINI and the GTI. Or go to an autocross or track day.....lots of FWD cars are raced in SCCA, NASA, et al.

This is very well written, and the damned truth. They sell this thing based largely on marketing and pricing, not on the inherent value of the car itself in comparison to its competition.

And on several other cars.....they could give a rats rear end about steering feel. Pretty sure that steering feel is very low on the priority lsit for Camry and malibu owners, for example. But your point is made, my friend.

The new boxster has electric PS and it is fine, as is the golf/gti, and several other cars.

Perhaps....I do find the 68 Torino one of the cleaner designs from Ford. I almost bought a 68 Torino convertible when I bought my 71 chevelle.

Really right now I find the cheaper cars to often be the better driving ones.

68 was a good year for Torino, they paced Indy with a Torino ragtop that year.

Economy still is not good, and GM still has major brand image issues with Buick. The Koreans seem to be the real winners in the sales war, however.

Black Nissan GTR on the way to my VWTDI car club meeting last night, also several C 7 corvettes. Saw a car carrier load of C7 vetted headed east on I 279.

Hmm... At 35 or so out of the Cooper S, not doing too bad...now if VW would just bring the GTD over here so I could trade in the Miata.

Not so sure about that, they are popular here in Ohio. The Tesla is an amazing piece of engineering.

I did not know they made a GXP V8 Grand Prix, so thank you!

I think once people realize the advantages of electric cars for certain applications, sales will continue to increase at 8-10 percent a year. Grandpa Kettle can still drive his blue air cooled split window without fear, however, as the internal combustion motor isn't going anywhere.

I do not swing for the SUV thing, but that Cadillac dashboard is lustworthy.

Glad your keeping it on the road, looking good!