ocnblu

wpbharry wouldn't like it. Make one shaped like Josh's drunken, passed-out butt draped across it, and he'd be right there, bad knees and all.

lubricant

A Focus priced with a Mustang V6... yeah, funny. :AH-HA_wink:

How could Ford have done that and not shot themselves in the foot? The Euro Focus, nice as it is, would have had to sell for the same price or higher than the ASTRA here in the US... it would have gone from a mainstream compact to a niche car. Edmunds says the ASTRA is "the best small car GM has ever sold in the US". Great news we should celebrate as GM fans, but then again, it oughta be, for the price. I do have to clarify something, I prefer the ASTRA's chiseled good looks to the blobby Rabbit Mk V. Based on spyshots, I think the Mk VI Rabbit will have sharper edges.

Kanima, that's a very nice truck, sir.

I guess putting hybrid technology into a Cadillac is GM's way of trying to sell their system as "premium enough" to be incorporated into their luxury brand... that they have enough confidence to put it into their luxury brand... that they're portraying the image of hybrid technology as "high class". I do appreciate GM's logic that putting hybrid technology into larger vehicles will do more good proportionally than the Prius concept... BUT...

facilitator

Well, Knightfan, your cars are cool, and it's right there in Fly's original post in red above, you may certainly feel free to enter some new photos, as anyone can. I apologize if my post came across as trying to influence others' decisions. Can we see some pics in "Member's Rides" soon, as a preview?

sad

Uh... because you haven't noticed it? Some colors are easier to match than others, I will say, but very few match perfectly. We just had a metallic blue '07 Accord in the shop with 2000 miles on it, and it was way off. A high percentage of time when I point this out to customers, they are surprised because they never noticed it before... you can bet they'd notice it after they got their car back, though, and blame the shop for a poor color match, so I try to head it off right away. Anyway, enough thread hijacking. Thanks for these shots, Ted. All we've seen in the promotional materials have been the toplevel model. The rear end looks good in these pics, imo.

The plastic parts are painted separately from the bodyshell. Plastic parts accept paint differently from metal parts. No matter what brand of car it is, this occurs. I always try to point this out to customers when I write an estimate, so they know it is normal and not a flaw in our process.

Nos2006

Yeah... I'd run away too.

Joachim Winkelhock? :rotflmao:

A lot of people miss affordable mid- to large size RWD GM cars, even after years of being off the market (at least 11 for Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac). Do these guys feel these types of RWD cars still have a future, as promised, at GM? Will the Pontiac large RWD sedan be built in North America any time soon?

concrete shoes

Viper, you've taken a lot of really good pictures of that car, and in most of them you can't tell the top is worn. I think your Cutlass is a great candidate for this year's calendar. Since my Colorado was featured last year, I am bowing out of this year's submissions even though I have the Sierra now. Time to give some other ppl a chance. I can't wait to see the final pics chosen.

Just got my November 12 issue of Autoweek, and they give a mostly good review of the new ASTRA, lauding it for its highway stability (an Autobahn essential, so no surprise), its nicely made interior (while saying it is too dark), its good looks, and its robust-feeling chassis. Saturn claims a 9.7 second 0-60 time, and 28 mpg. It achieved 26 mpg in the test, not too bad I guess, for magazine leadfoots. Some complaints include: high highway revs (and subsequent buzziness from the 1.8L Ecotec) and windnoise from the A-pillars. Their as-tested price for a 3-door XR: $19,735. Thinking back to my VWs, they were geared toward high highway revs (and buzziness) as well, I imagine it is to keep the 4 cylinder in its powerband for passing power without downshifting on the highway (an Autobahn essential, I guess, for safety, but a gas-eating strategy). I really hope Saturn can successfully market-position this car so it sells well. It is priced substantially above the Rabbit 3-door (I know, I've said it before), more with the Mini Cooper and GTI. They're really going to have to hit the market directly on the head for it to make a dent, imo. Everybody in the world can see it is worlds better than the ION (except I think some will miss the plastic panels)... but will that be enough to get customers to pony up the big bucks?

Certainly not practical to have a truck with taillights in the tailgate... if you need to haul something long that requires leaving the tailgate down, your lights are pointing down at the road! Hehe, very unsafe.

scharmer has an innate talent. I'd need a car...and a coach. :AH-HA_wink:

goat

Don't try to involve me in your crackpot schemes, please.

Happy B-day, Drew.

Add me to the list of people who feel a great need is being unmet in the market. Affordable RWD cars made by GM need to return. The Dark Days started in the spring of 1979 with the introduction of the X-bodies... and GM's market share has not recovered since. Zeta and Alpha give me hope for a new dawn... but if my hopes are dashed by governmental interference (dingbat CAFE spikes) leading to fear by GM management to forge ahead with their plans... all bets are off. People who care about cars will have lost, and forever, I fear. I drive GM trucks because they are the only relatively affordable RWD products available in large numbers from my favorite automotive company. I feel I am not alone. I feel that people have flocked to trucks because they are one of the only truly American-type vehicles left. This goodwill toward American trucks from the buying public could easily spill over into the car market... IF THE PRODUCT IS THERE. RWD Impala, Camaro, El Camino, American-styled and built G8, G8 coupe, Alpha coupe and sedan, Velite convertible, Park Avenue and DTS are the products GM needs to make customers become patriotic once again, to feel a connection to their cars that has been squandered by so many of GM's product decisions for going on 30 years. GM is like a mini-USA in some ways. They have given so much away to foreigners, perhaps because they felt they'd always be #1, but that time for complacency has passed. It is time for GM to get real again, and start building the cars no one else can build like they can... with modern technology, of course.

Yo, yello.