ocnblu

Seriously, it's a really good looking car. The white body with those rims and the decal package really make it look good.

Hugh Jass

running

Really Borger, ew, I don't want to touch your "point", let alone belabor it. :AH-HA_wink: EDIT: Dsuupr, excellent idear!

VIPER! Finally, you got a real car! I guess you and your dad will check it over good, after a car sits for a while, things tend to dry rot and rust, whatnot. Very cool... and I am totally jealous over the price. Please don't Donk it!

outboard

Aww... thanks for the present, PCS. It seems GM wasn't above selling a little beefcake to go with that Stovebolt Six. :AH-HA_wink:

She apparently has already been peddling her ass off... where is it?

Spruce Goose = Howard Hughes

That's a hot ass SAAB! If only it came in a 3-door hatchback.

I saw a stupid new Tundra on the lot today, extended cab 4X4 with "$25,400" on the windshield... you know that MSRP had to be like $32k.

Funny, it doesn't look Australian. AT ALL. No... it is not a copy of anything. But it is gorgeous, distinctive, classy yet sporty. It is pure Pontiac.

I'm with those who could do without the wing (as always, I seem to belabor this point), and I don't think the rear bumper strakes go with the flowing nature of the bodyshell. I do like that front end and the hood.

All we can go by right now are the magazine reviews for the VE cars and the Astra. Hopefully those reviews translate to the US versions. Although Top Gear thinks the Astra OPC's engine overpowers its chassis... probably won't be an issue with the 1.8L 140 hp Ecotec.

Pontiac needs RWD cars for sure, but they also have a strong styling legacy that is being eroded by the likes of the G8. But I don't want to steer this thread away from topic. Mr. Stang, drive a Rabbit. You'll feel the difference. Shut a door with the window down. Shut the hatch lid. Pull and poke on the interior. It is solid everywhere you look and touch. If the Astra is as solidly put together as a Rabbit, it should do well. I haven't been near an Astra, but I am eager to poke around one. VW is not perfect. I've owned four so far, but the way they drive is so unique, they'll always hold a special place in my driving heart. How many years has the Golf been the number ONE selling car in all of Europe? Yes, Opel must be doing something right recently with the Astra overtaking the Golf in sales... the question is, how will that translate here in The States?

If it was too cold on the plane, then her headlights would have come on... she just couldn't win! Perhaps the steward was Muslim. Or not... prolly just jealous.

The separate-ness of Saturn is what made import intenders and others interested in Saturn in the first place. Now that they're just another assimilated division, they've lost that special something. GM started off fine, but let the S-series get stale, then when the warmed-over Opel Vectra L-series came out, it was like nobody cared. It was the IDEA of Saturn that made it interesting. That IDEA is dead, and there is a long haul ahead for GM to gain new customers for this brand, now that there is nothing unique about the vehicles, now that they've lost those independent thinkers who made Saturn any kind of success in the beginning... and their policy of selling for MSRP worked when they were unique, but now that they're not, that is going to have to go by the wayside, too. Who would buy a SKY, AURA, VUE or OUTLOOK for MSRP when other GM divisions are dealing on the same vehicles? The Saturn S-series was a tough little car that went its own road. The dent-resistant panels have kept them looking good long after other cars in their class got dinged up and rusty around the edges. It is a shame that GM ran the car into the ground until it became too late... now they have this brilliant new strategy to Opelize Saturn... well I hope it works better than EVERY OTHER experiment (Americanizing one of their European products) of this kind that was put forth by a domestic manufacturer... Buick sold Opels for a while, then when they got too expensive for the USA they stuck an Opel tag on an Isuzu T-body. Pontiac/Daewoo/Opel LeMans, anyone? Merkur? Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique? Saturn/Opel L-series? Look at Ford with their brilliant new Focus, while we get a reskinned version of the same old thing... European tastes and expectations in a small car are vastly different than what Americans expect, and it has proven difficult, time and time again to take costs out of a Euro market car and bring it here. You know VW loses money on every Rabbit they sell here because the car is too good for its class... it is unashamedly built to European tastes... currency values are certainly not helping, either. It will be interesting to see how well the Astra sells here v. the class... it is a bit expensive, like the Rabbit.

Funny how that works... :AH-HA_wink:

I just finished putting in a new toe-tapper bathtub stopper, bathtub faucet handles, and a toilet handle. Who wants to hose me down? Good luck with your barn project, Camino. Borger, so... I belabor points? Perhaps, yes, but all of us have our hot buttons. I like to think I have at least a partially open mind. :AH-HA_wink:

Autoweek subscribers will know what I'm talking about. Each week, Toyota puts some blatant bulls*it, folksy ad in the magazine, extolling their many virtues. Hehe (I can't stop snickering), this week it's headlined "Bonding on the Trail: Going Off-Road to Find the Spirit of the New FJ Cruiser". "When Toyota decided to move forward with the production of the FJ Cruiser in 2005, it charged the development team with two important missions. The first was to bring young (and dumb?) customers into Toyota showrooms; the second was to reinvigorate the Toyota truck lineup with a vehicle that was fun to drive, stylish and tough (all italics are mine)." "Styling would be another important attribute of the FJ Cruiser. 'To capture the attention of younger buyers, we needed to design a stylish vehicle that would make their hearts beat,' (chief engineer) Nishimura says." "' The audio system accepts MP3 players, and the ceiling-mounted speaker gives the system a surround-sound quality, like in a dance club.'" "Nishimura is proud of what he and his team accomplished, and even more pleased that the FJ Cruiser's off-road abilities have made it popular with the very club members who inspired it. 'The FJ Cruiser returns us to our core heritage of creating capable, affordable vehicles that are youthful and fun to drive,' states Nishimura. 'It's an authentic off-roader that is introducing Toyota's heritage to a whole new group of young people, and we're honored to have been a part of it.'" Suddenly a loud *CRRRACK!* echoes through the canyon. Hark! Is that another upper frame rail breaking in half? :rotflmao:

Do they even let those out of Florida?

mutton

Well, I already own my favorite GMC, plus K.C. said "car". I did forget Hummer (another non-car), SAAB, Opel and Holden. Hummer H3 SAAB 9-3 SportCombi Opel Astra OPC Holden Ute V8

pork loin

deja vu