ocnblu

Well, I stopped by the dealership today and checked them out once more. I was still like "ehh..., nice, but... a bit boring". Maybe it's the paint colors (I still haven't seen a blue 3 door). The interior is definitely not cheery, it seems cool and dark. They had a white 5 speed 3 door with 18" rims, that was the nicest, imo. They also have an ADM sticker on all of them ($500, which seems dumb, they're not moving atall, afaict), along with stupid "paint sealant" (a wax job), and pinstriping. So, it seems they're jacking up the price, only to give a discount. The $1500 actually amounts to about $400 off MSRP after the add-ons are counted. BFD. They can keep them.

conscience

White Fortwo cabrio, parked at the same dealership I photographed the blue hardtop I posted. Red G8 V6, no options, at local dealership. Looks great, I like the single dual pipes, and the red taillamps (although the effect was lessened with the bright red paint). Only thing that appeared questionable was the vinyl steering wheel. Leather wrapped should be standard on such a car, imo.

I had the same concern upon first seeing the 900 pickups, and even bought cans of rubberized undercoating to apply to my truck when I first bought it. I never put it on. A plastic wheelhouse liner could trap dirt, and therefore moisture, in the area, causing early corrosion problems. Simply spraying flat black paint in the area could work, but it may chip from stones, causing an even worse appearance over time. A full coat of bodycolor paint back there seems fine to me, I know the area's protected, yet free to circulate air for a drying effect.

manatee

Barry White

The problem with these tiny decklids is, although the trunk may be plenty commodious, a person can't get anything big in there because the opening is so small. Open the trunklid on a Cobalt coupe and check the tiny opening, yet look inside at the good size. Seems impractical.

See, I think that is a very cool aspect of "the old days" that could work in modern times... one or two platforms for each division, but a plethora of bodystyles on each platform.

This thing appears to be small, yet butch, like yours truly. I think I might like this thing, if it is smaller than Equinox, which seems long, yet not very space efficient. The rear suspension really cuts into the load space in an Equinox, imo.

If someone buys a case of beer for a Friday night blowout at the trailer, there should be a cupholder for each can of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the Iroc. Anything less is just so inconvenient.

Whoa, and it's not a rust bucket?

Seems odd to me that anyone would consider Philips-Sylvania an "off-brand".

This is a fantastic thread, OMG. Of course, some of the posters are no good outside of C&G, but we don't care.

I love the rakish greenhouse, it's very close-coupled, like an Audi TT, plus, check out the radio antenna placement, it's very current with what a lot of manufacturers are doing now, in 2008. Yes, I knew it was a GM product, but I couldn't place it.

Wow, looking at the dimensions, this is a nice, big car. Like everyone says, girth is sometimes more important than length. The current Epsilon lacks girth, which makes it less satisfying. There should still be room at the top for a RWD Lucerne replacement, though.

She says they're giving $1500 off all Astras until April 30. Is this a nationwide thing, or just indicative of the glut at my local dealer?

I'm waiting to see what they do for Pontiac.

This beautiful Epsilon II car deserves a new name... Invicta fits this car perfectly. As Viper said, everything lines up with the spy shots, including the interior, which is a jaw dropper, to be sure. Suddenly I am not as mindful of buttons, as I see one of them marked "blood pressure". Therefore, indications are there this will have minimal changes for production. Bravo. EDIT: the one thing that may not be perfect is the lower fascia, which looks pretty vulnerable to parking curb damage.

<Paulie> I hope you feel better quickly.

Even my little self, at 5'5", 145 pounds, uses the tilt mechanism every time I get in and out of my Sierra. The 900s use a spring loaded, "pop up" type adjustment, it's the only way to go, imo. I had a tilt-telescope column in the VWs and the Saturn. The VW system was easier to work than the Saturn, which was clunky as heck (and failed after 6k miles, had to have the entire column replaced because it wouldn't lock), but even the VW system wasn't the friendliest. And a power mechanism is too slow, blah on a power steering column adjuster.

Yeah, I was trying to plant an idea in ppl's heads, similar to that old thread about the 2000 Impala/Monte Carlo "what if this car were RWD" scenario. I guess I failed in my mission. Honestly, as I've said before, most cars up to Epsilon size are fine with FWD, as they are primarily bought as appliances, not as emotionally engaging driving partners. They are throwaways. I simply don't care about this car. The styling is derivative to me. The interior is fine, except for the obtuse looking radio.

Oh my, my '03 ION QCIII was as loose as a slinky almost from new. It creaked, groaned and flexed horribly.

New Mercedes B-class. Looks like an R-class Mini-Me. I was like, "WTH?" I wonder what it was doing here. Maybe Benz is letting US dealership people drive it. Will it be imported here?

Well Brandon, just because no one replied in the thread, doesn't mean no one went to the link. Good luck.

Good.