ocnblu

Who took the pictures of the concept?

Lost a lot in translation from concept. Frumpier than a Focus hatch by far. Sigh.

Saint Patrick didn't have a decent car, so he moped around with his head hanging down. That's when he spotted a four leaf clover and his luck changed. He got a great deal on a Clover Green Holden Cruze v. 2 while he was on tour in Australia, and the rest is history. SRSLY. March yourself right in here and post your lucky little pots o' gold.

Yup, the Granite truck is a clever little itty bitty Sierra HD. ooooo.... shiny... Volkswagen Bulli concept! BBL. EDIT: nevermind. It looks way cool, but it's battery-powered, booooo. Back to Granite... if it is a 4-foot bed with 2 feet of extension space available, then it is useful enough for home and garden projects.

EVERYBODY gets treated better than Americans when it comes to the Chevrolet Cruze. Hatchback. Diesel. Manual transmissions. And now the Cruze v. 2.0 in Australia has been shown in a variety of vibrant colours, including that really cool green that's on the Commodore... plus a nice aggressive front lower fascia and a more detailed grille than our Chevrolet.

His dad's kinda hot.

carbide

Last week at the local Chevy dealer, I saw a super-ugly "2010" Tundra with camouflage wheel flares, bug shield, window vent shades, and bed rail protectors, on the used lot. Today in the grocery store parking lot, I saw a beautiful new Silverado with camouflage wheel flares, bug shield, window vent shades, and bed rail protectors. Coincidence? SHOOT, my big, major spot was 2 NEW CHARGERS at the local dealer. Every bit as nice in person as in pictures... base model even has wicked nice stainless dual rectangular exhaust outlets. I didn't expect that for $25,995. New Avenger "Heat" looks decent, too, in black with black and hint-of-red interior, $24,995. With Pentastar power and mileage ratings one MPG higher than the Charger SE in urban and highway tests, I know which car I'd buy.

Can anyone tell me what it says under "Mirada" on the fender? Is it "CMX"?

Drew's friend loves these. I wonder if he already knows about it.

Well are you sure? I think this theme only works if you put in competitors' clunkers and your own brand new bedazzler.

1955 Buick Special 2 Door Hard Top Complete unmolested project car in need of some TLC. Runs, inspected, solid frame, 264 V8, 2 barrel carb, auto trans, no power brakes, no power steering, no ac. This is a project car, the pictures are misleading because their quality. Price is firm. Please come see the car or ask questions. I respect all questions but please no ' can you send me a picture of the problem areas', please no wasting my time before getting approval from your wife, selling whatever car you need to sell, etc... I will consider trades prefer e-mail responses but am available on my cell at 717.296.5902 Thank you, Jason

Place your bets now... "The Beiber" (leaning back, one arm in air, finger pointing, body spazzing)will be the hot new dance move at Prom this year!

I really like the twilight background.

Back in the day, there were "Chevy men", "Dodge men", and "Ford men", with variations on a vast majority domestic theme. How did you become the type of car enthusiast you are today? What cars did you grow up with in your family, and how did they shape your preferences? I'll list some of my memories, both real and placed in my head by grainy photographs taken before my birth or when I was too young to remember... Maternal side, grandparents, '39 Mercury coupe, muddy farm car in photographs. Grandfather later turned to Chrysler cars with a smattering of Pontiacs, his last the '73 Cat he handed to me. His last car after his beloved '77 New Yorker was an '89 Caprice Classic Brougham LS, which went against everything I knew about him, carwise. The reasons for that became clear to me after he passed. He remained a loyal Ford pickup owner, though, his last an '80 F250 with 351 and 4 speed manual. His son, my uncle I grew up closest to, is before and since a diehard Ford man, but he also had a few Pontiacs, (metallic red '56 with Silver Streaks has me standing in front in a photo) the last being a bronze, '74 Grand Ville coupe with a 455. His daughter, my aunt I grew up closest to, married a lifelong Chevy man. She still holds on to her '97 S-10 Blazer, bought new, garage-kept and immaculate green. Grandfather had a brother, a family maverick, who drove Porsches and VWs. Always used to be a treat to see what he'd show up in at family gatherings, it was usually something interesting, new and different. My mother's first car was shared by siblings, a '47 Pontiac. She's had several Chevys, but likes "unique" cars as well, evidenced by the '81 Le Car she loved with the wicker headliner, and her current Cube (strangely enough, with its own odd headliner). Paternal side, grandparents, grandfather owned lots of different makes (Studebaker, Dodge, etc.) before his '57 Chevy wagon. After that, he stuck with Chevrolet midsize wagons. He's still going, at 94, and when he drives, it's his '92 Lumina Euro sedan... no wagon available by that time. His daughter, my aunt, enjoyed her second-gen Corvair as a first new car, traded it on a '68 Malibu that she kept for decades (honestly more than 20 years as daily driver!), until it would not pass safety inspection. After a detour through Plymouth Sundance territory (her husband liked Mopar, but loves his '01 Yukon XL to pieces) she now has a first-gen CR-V, which she'll probably keep as long as that old Chevy. His son, my uncle, started off in Chevrolet as well, with a yellow '68 Nova 350 4 speed. He defected, first to Audi (no luck), then to Volvo (another lemon), then settled on Toyota, where he sadly remains. Dad has always had Chevrolets (with one unfortunate 110hp 231/3.8 Cutlass Supreme and one nice last-gen Grand Am coupe thrown in the mix). I believe it was a photo of his '38 2-door I have seen myself in, standing in the back seat as a tiny tot, before he and mom bought their '66 Malibu SS396. He's now in an '07 Impala and '04 Silverado. SOOO... I get my allegiances honestly... from my mainstream loves, down to my "wild hair" moments. HOW ABOUT YOU FOLKS?

I was a car-crazed teen, and the Mirada CMX with 360 V8 (prolly 170 hp by that time, but it was 1981 after all) was on my short list of dream cars, along with Camaro Z/28, Malibu coupe with 305, and Grand Am with 301. Never got my grubby little hands on any of those. Ended up with a truly wheezy 110 hp 231/3.8L Grand Prix, which got beat in a drag race by an '81 LTD (fancy Fairmont) WAGON with a 200 CID inline six (loaned to my uncle by the Ford dealer while his '80 F-350 with crappy 400 V8 was in the shop). That was MURDER for a GM lad with a secret attraction to other boys.

Make more money, so I can put it into my house and toward retirement.

So we have to wait until the end of this year to see the official debut in Thailand? How soon do the Aussie and Brazilian versions arrive?

You're not getting my point. Sorry to upset you to the point of yet another run-on sentence, casually-spelled missive. My point IS: there ARE no Malibu "disciples" in the way there are Camaro "disciples", because modern-day Malibu owners have no passion about their cars. Yes yes yes... WE ALL KNOW that most Chevelles sold in 1970 were not LS-6 powered monsters. But you COULD buy one that way, if you were so inclined. Now you will buy a sedan with a 4 cylinder or a V6 (soon to lose even THAT much choice). No coupe. No convertible. No wagon. No way to customize your Malibu. FWD is where most of the family car market is at in 2011... that doesn't matter as much as the lack of choice. There is no magic. No reason to care that much. No reason to become a "disciple". SORRY WE HAVE GONE OFF-TOPIC. But to segue back on track... if there is a Granite wagon, panel and pickup, with several engine and transmission options, and several color and trim options inside and out, it will draw more customers.

Expand it how? They'll find no disciples for any of their other models. Malibu "disciples" would demand a RWD coupe... Impala "disciples" would demand RWD as well. The modern versions of those two nameplates will never generate "disciples"... devoted servants... because they have been reduced to appliance status.

I disagree. Showing the contrast between diesels of old and new, while drilling (at) home their virtues (economy, torque, longevity), can only improve their standing among the public at large... who may have had an eccentric uncle with a 240D or Delta 88.

Excellent commercial, balthy. Was that broadcast in our country? You can definitely hear that diesel sound in the new BMW. To me a diesel engine is a much more customer-friendly way to offer excellent fuel economy without needless complication.

Too bad the only Chevrolet cars with "disciples" are Camaro and Corvette.

$90k and the car is worth LESS than the original MSRP. It is destroyed.

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