ocnblu

How about a full saddle brown interior, or a very dark red? The yellow is a bit like scrambled eggs.

steamroom

Well, I'm glad they didn't give it too much front overhang like the new SRX, but the hood is too short. The Epsilon II platform and its hard points do this car NO JUSTICE, hate the short door-to-front-wheel distance. For me, there is something of the drama of an old-school Cadillac (as in vonVee's sig) in the design from the A-pillar back, but something is awkward. OH.MY.GOD. That's it... compare the SAAB 9-5 to this, and suddenly the XTS is BLS part II. It's in the stance. The SAAB is already out for viewing, and with this car following, it inevitably enters my mind that it shares a certain proportion and stance with the lesser Swedish sister. Not a good way to give your supposed "flagship" a commanding air of cutting-edge newness. Something else, I am already imagining it in livery service, as a limo or hearse. It looks like it would transition well that way. The interior is suitably beautiful and serene. I don't like GM's trend of tiny decklids, either.

Look how that huge bodyside sculpture echoes the headlight shape.

Holy Toledo, that profile shot is absolutely hilarious and shocking.

Here are a few idears, Paulie: "YOU BIG MONKEY!" "YOUR MAMA!" "PRINCESS TINYMEAT!" "CAMELTOE FACE!" "DO NOT PARK HERE NO MORE, FOO!"

Good to see you back, bowtie dude.

We saw the CTS-V coupe and Regal GS before the show, and they are good. So far the best thing I've seen from today is the new Focus, and it blows its competition away in the class. Otherwise... snore... Camaro Convertible, production Cadillac XTS next Malibu return of Zeta... haven't seen any of this yet, so yeah, it is boring so far.

I noticed a couple of sudden changes in the action, which broke up the flow for me, but otherwise, I like what you've got so far.

Nice photos.

asp

Haha, that Golf, whoa. You know I think of VW's as country cars because of the hippie/earth person connection.

I never understood that bandwagon either. I've only driven a customer's Sebring as part of a collision repair QC drive, but I didn't see too much wrong with the car. The only design element I don't care for is the huge headlights. The 2010 hood smooths the Sebring up pretty well, too.

We certainly do give away our country and our citizens' livelihood more freely than any other country I can think of.

miscreant

Local dealer has a Sorento (sp?). I think it looks awkward, didn't hop out in the cold to check the interior, but I think the front end looks Korean weird and the rear end looks non-descript... sort of like their BOF DOA Borrego looks like a generic SUV.

Sweet vehicle, of course, but 3 grand for a tonneau cover? I think I'd sooner go topless.

Something dawned on me, a criticism of the Equinox and Terrain. They are "city cars" (hence my thread in The Lounge). In this class, for example, a Jeep Patriot or a Ford Escape I'd not be afraid to get dirty. Both have solid, plain interiors and utilitarian looks, where the GM entries have delicately fancy interiors and "urban" exteriors. When I think of their ancestors S-10 Blazer and S-15 Jimmy, whatever shortcomings they may have had, they were both suitable for city OR country use. It's the death of the SUV. Where is the rugged, compact SUV these days? Jeep Liberty and Wrangler are the only "real" affordable compact SUVs left on the market. Where I live, outside of the city there is a lot of farm land, and country geography, hills, creeks with roads that wind along their banks and sometimes get flooded, washed over with mud. Horse manure on the roads from Amish, dirt and gravel driveways, snow in winter, people who garden and farm, raise animals... where is their compact SUV these days? Over the last few years, I've seen a few first-gen CR-Vs come in for repair, splattered with mud, interiors well-used and grimy... I just cannot see a current-gen CR-V used like that, as it's been "citified". It's not just GM, it's just about everyone abandoning the genuine SUV market for something else. Some of us miss the old school. That is certainly NOT to say that Equinox and Terrain are not fine compact crossovers.

City car: BMW M3 Country car: Subaru Outback

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASbl1QoGyK0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASbl1QoGyK0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASbl1QoGyK0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Sade - Soldier of Love

Well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, James Cameron's Avatar is bulldozing all the competition. Have you seen it? I took my mother to see it yesterday at her request, and I must say, even with the heavy-handed message(s) and well-worn love story angle, it was beautifully done. We saw it in 2-D, and I'd go back to see it in 3-D, wow, what a way to light up the screen.

Some vehicles just have that urban feel. Slick and sophisticated, a person would be downright scared to drive them on a dirt road, much less buy one if you live beyond the suburbs. Other cars, meanwhile, just have that country air about them, they speak plainly to their prospective buyers that they can hold up when the blacktop ends. Post your city car/country car picks here, if you so desire. Here's two to get started: City car: Chevrolet Equinox Country car: Jeep Liberty

*note to self: send Albert some handcuffs and nylon rope*

enema

You know very well what I'm talking about, it's called a literary device, used to get a point across. Hey, remember, I was the one who posted about the broken load floor bridge in the Terrain I sat in after hours at the local dealership. Remember I called for them in my post to overnight a piece and install it? Well I went back after a few days, it was still unlocked, so I opened it and checked... a new piece was indeed installed. Somebody at the dealership noticed the problem and fixed it. And yes, check your vehicles before they go out to be seen by the press.