A Horse With No Name

Speaking with him would be great, I would love it. However, let me point out that even without the reflash the Cobalt SS TC was Eleven seconds faster around Virginia international than the NEW FASTER civic SI, 14 seconds faster than the VW Jetta GLI, 16 seconds faster than the MX-5 Miata, faster than the GTI, faster than the Golf R, faster than the WRX STI, faster than the previous Mustang GT, faster than a speeding locomotive....well you can't pull a train with the thing, but you get the point. Can't fault GM powertrain, and as hyper pointed out, they only have had gains since then.

Agreed, life is to short to drive boring cars!

Aftermarket is working on this. Still won't catch a ZO6

...that and he keeps digging in there, he might even find a Buick!

I have no trouble with Hybrids, and no trouble with small cars done right. But I do agree CNG needs to get more press... Maybe we could get some Hollywood types to get all smug and self righteous about CNG? +1000 Agreed, see my post...x10000

Again, this misses the point of reliability. Go to any amateur SCCA, NASA, Porsche Club, et al weekend and count the number of cars there running LS series GM power. Notice how these guys pretty much add gas and oil and check tire pressures...and how often the Asian "super" cars break down or have issues. I know people who have Evo's that make as much power out of 4 cyl. as your ZO6 makes out of eight....but they work on them every week to keep them on the road. An LS motor will pretty much run on monkey piss and swamp water if it needs to. To finish first, first you must finish...a classic and under appreciated rule of racing. Perhaps SMK could take this to heart.

I like both diesel and CNG...

Keep us posted, looks like a fantastic truck for your needs!

Think it found a good home, glad it did!

I think people are so busy with their lives that they don't care as much about how the thing drives. Al;so, they had to cheapen their product because the yen is so strong. A lot of the cars that Japan is selling us should be 5 to 8 k cheaper if the dollar was stronger.

Agree with you on the marketing thing.

Acura needs the same kind of emergency rehash that the Civic is getting 18 months after it's intro. Styling still really is not a drawing card with these cars like ti should be IMHO. Current Mustang and Camaro are wayyy to freaking heavy for what they are. Like I've said, we thought long and hard about both a Mustang and a Camaro before we bought the MINI. We'll be buying another car in the next couple of years, and I'm interested to see what Ford and Chevrolet are going to do with these two cars. Have I peeved everyone off yet...probably and I am sorry. But these are my current frustrations/sore spots with the current production automobiles.

Toyota FJ cruiser has horrible visibility when you drive one. Worse than my old Mustang fastback, and that's saying something. And crappy real world fuel economy...not to mention reliability issues. Acura ZDX, misses the mark styling wise, sells like crap, why is it here. A really decent car, but over priced for what it is...ILX Acura with the 6MT. Caddy Cruiser will disagree, but 30K for a Civic SI with nicer sheet metal and a better interior...really?

Other than the FRS, which is sort of really is a Suburu the whole Scion lineup sucks. IQ gets horrible reviews, ex bee and ex dee are dated, slow, and ugly. Not what Scion needs to gain youth market. Maybach is gone, but was overpriced, poorly marketed, and just a rolling joke for what it was supposed to be. VW reliability on anything other than the Wolfsburg, Germany built TDI and GTI golfs is a joke, and should be a national embarrassment for Germany. Honda Civic is actually worse for the refresh, and I've heard lots of people, not just "car people" not happy with what Honda has done. Hyundai Veloster has back seat headroom issues with the hatch that are just awkward and unacceptable for a production automobile. BMW has become bland IMHO in their styling, and while this is just a personal thing, I'm going to put it here. Lot of cars have become needlessly complex. Some cars are now using speakers to amplify/produce engine sounds for driver enjoyment...really....your going to use speakers rather than tuning the exhaust? The whole Chinese car thing, with really crappy products that will possibly be sold here at some point...yuck. Mazda dropping the ball with the whole smiley face thing on their product line....not acceptable IMHO. They need better design if they are going to survive in our uber competitive marketplace.

I think we have to look at it from the standpoint of what cars are not all that they ought to be given current market conditions. Corolla, not what it should be. Bland Focus and fiesta automatics, and along with them Ford information and entertainment systems.

Keep us posted with photographs, Mark.

They are so far behind the curve, I don't ever see them bringing an A game and being successful.

New Mazda 6 should do well...I just hope that it's enough to keep them going.

Agree with you reg....

I think it really shows up in competition. Having driven both the GM and BMW versions HARD, I can honestly God as my witness say that I like the GM version better.

Actually, I think the three series is nice but is over rated. ...and I'm a current BMW product owner, so you can't really say I have an anti BMW bias....

Good luck, all I've got to work out of is a two car garage....and I'vde been getting it organized and working in it. Good luck Balthazar, and keep us posted...

Hell of an increase...wow....

Only VW I really like is GTI/TDI Golf.... And America has sadly become bland and generic...we want cars to match....

Subaru seems to be doing a very intelligent job of marketing their product and keeping their niche line of all wheel drive intact.