Paolino

Happy Bday!

Is your mom alright?

I like that interior SO much better than the concepts, although it's not too far off.

The Prius is all new next year. People are anticipating much higher than 60mpg combined.

Yes, and mated through the back door.

I'm concerned about the Buick Invicta production version being "the next Buick flagship". I want a bigger, more-luxurious flagship.

At first I thought it was a Prius, then I looked at it more closely. It's a Prius with a Fusion grille.

This:

I've never tried. Wouldn't want to either :AH-HA_wink:

+1 with the Cruze. I'm not digging the Chrysler headlights on the Equinox, but love the rest of it. Like the SRX a lot. Waiting patiently for the Buick sedan to have its press release and production specs/pictures, being that they can show us this now.

It's awesome GM is waking up and implementing these things. I just wish there was a RWD large Buick on the horizon. Something around 198-202 inches would be perfect for me... providing the space was better used than in the 198" LaCrosse we have now.

You could never get to 90 in that car on an on-ramp on Long Island... I didn't take it above 70 today.

I'm so confused. The Cruze is replacing the Cobalt, right? And he seems to feel the Cobalt is going to stay popular when everything around it is getting redesigned? RWD Buick Invicta in the Spring? HUH? 2.3L DI 4-cyl for the Equinox? I'm sorry--I don't keep up too much on engine development, but did we know about this? I didn't hear this until now.

Two things really showing me I'm older are: 1) The scar on my forehead got "lower" (or something moved back further if you get my drift). 2) I'm learning a new language much slower now. I picked up Italian and French effortlessly at the same time years ago. Spanish, well, I feel I have a mental block towards speaking it. I just keep speaking Italian instead. Actually, I should say the third thing is that I noticed some gray in my goatee. Sigh.

Do you have a hard shift out of first too? Since the car is 2 years old, the shift out of first into second is harsh. I had this problem with my friend's 87 (I think) Celebrity. I used to trick the tranny by easing up on the gas just as it was about to shift, and that softened it. When she bought her new Accord in 2002, she kept wondering why the car wouldn't make up its mind when to shift and I said, "Are you easing up on the gas right before it shifts?" Problem solved there. :AH-HA_wink: I have to say, I miss the 3300! The engine, in my opinion, was just so much smoother when accelerating and was much smoother at 75.

I retract what I said about the Prius before. I haven't driven it in a year. Today, my car's muffler decided to go, so I took the Prius to class while mine was in the shop. I started the trip with 37.4 average mpg, and drove 10 minutes highway to and from class. When I was done, I was down to 36.6 average mpg. I almost want to say, why bother? Maybe because I was driving it like my car--feathering the gas. I only hit the gas moderately once to merge. Still can't tolerate CVTs... they freak me out--I just keep waiting for a shift and get very uneasy when it doesn't.

Anything you recommend I add for a hard shift out of first gear?

Thing is, several Prius forums advocated having a lead foot--accelerating hard to get up to speed, and coasting as much as you can. Highest we got was close to 49mpg... and it was so distracting watching the damn monitor, I felt like I was going to get into an accident just paying attention to my fuel economy.

It's been 4 years... we've tried endless times. I don't think it can be done. I'm getting 25 in the Century, combined miles (although mainly highway).

My eyes hurt.

Wow... that went quick.

You're right. But what it's making me think of is like a Kia... a car brand I would never buy from.

Thank you!! I've been complaining about faux wood for a long time now. The wood trim on steering wheels in Buicks is real... but elsewhere completely fake. And it looks it. The plood in the Lucerne is horrendous... they have chestnut plood that looks much more believable, but they only have that on ebony interiors. The plood in the LaCrosse was improved for 2007 over the orangey stuff they had before, but again, looks fake.

What do people find appealing about this? First of all, nothing in the car is illuminated this color, so it sticks out like a sore thumb. Secondly, it's not evenly lit... that is a big no-no in modern cars... it's worse than my HVAC control area in my 94 Century. Thirdly, the buttons on the bottom aren't illuminated, simply the text above them is... I like my buttons to be illuminated either by text or icons. Afterall, it is the button you aim to hit--not the text above it.

See, the Camry is almost exactly what I would look for in a car (in terms of quietness, comfort, size, etc.), but I drove my friend's parents' 2006 Camry LE, and was beyond disappointed. Yes, it's quiet. Yes, it's mushy. But something about it just felt off... very off... was it the vagueness of the steering? Was it the super soft brake pedal? Was it the fact that I couldn't find a comfortable driving position? Was it the gawd-awful styling? Yeah.