Robert Hall

Surprising...being the local rag, I would think the Detroit News would be biased towards the domestics and sugar-coat everything about them, if anything...

The bed rear fenders look pretty much the same as the regular trucks to me..looks like there are two types of mirrors available (I wonder if the vertical ones extend out like Ford's SD mirrors for towing). that first photo with all the trucks reminds me of '60s-70s truck magazine ads, with the lineup parked in a field... neat.

Good to see..I'm using an FM adapter for my iPod now and this would be a big improvement..

The HDs look good...I wonder when they will come out relative to the regular models and if they will have both interiors available.

0.005 percent?

I kind of like the style of the other Vauxhall/Opel van, the Vivaro..a sibling to the Renault Traffic and Nissan Primastar. It would make an interesting Chevy van here..call it the Astro or Zytor or..

Yeah..IIRC when I rented a Vectra at the Rome airport from Avis a few years ago, there were a bunch of surcharges..I think I paid something like 100 euros a day for it total...but I didn't have a reservation, it was a walk-up....

I used to live in Florida, work in California, and my job title is 'Software Architect' but I suspect you mean people that architect 3-dimensional solid objects rather than computer code.. :)

Maybe they should take the Iowa to Iowa...moor it somewhere on the Mississippi River.

That could be fun..I haven't been to NAIAS in years... I'm thinking about going to the LA show this year, though... I'd rather be in LA in Dec than Detroit in Jan :)

I'm not much of a truck guy, but I've always liked the looks of the '73-87..esp. the early ones ('73-75?) with the deep-set grille treatment. But I'm more of an SUV fan, so I'd have to have a '73 Suburban with the barn doors, upgraded with an LS6 454

I like the styling overall..definitely evolutionary. I like the Chevy front end but the GMC fenders (the Chevy fenders remind me to much of the Colorado). The GMC front end reminds a lot of the F150.

I doubt if very many 'serious off roaders' would want a 6000lb, 20-ft long truck.

There was a recall a few years ago IIRC on Dakotas and Durangos where the ball joints could fail and the wheels could fall off..

I wouldn't consider 23-26 mpg a 'gas hog'..that's great mileage for a largish car.

Some of the worst (arrogant, cutting in-and-out of traffic, etc) I've seen around here are drivers of late model Dodge Ram and Ford Super Duty pickups.. darn right-wingers.. (they inevitably seem to have their W04, NRA, or 'Real Men Love Jesus' stickers..) Alos, there seem to a lot of accident-prone Kia,Hyundai, and Daewoo drivers...I see alot of (esp. the smaller models) them driving around with dented panels,broken lights/bumpers, etc..

Ummm..cause it's not 1976?

I don't think it's a modified Aura..probably has some parts in common--windshield, front doors, but the rear quarters are shaped differently, as are the back doors and C-pillar.

Yeah, white bumpers don't work well on a police vehicle..they need some custom rectangular, flat diamond-tread black bumpers..something solid for smashing into things..

Ahh..rather Jetta-like rear door upper treatment.

I'm wondering how the rear doors and C-pillar are going to look..is it going to be similar to the Aura or will there be a small window in the pillar like the Impala..

That's the way I'm seeing it..the A-pillars, windshield, doors, mirrors, door handles, all look very similar to the Aura.. It's definitely a FWD Epsy... looks good, definitely an improvement over the current model.

A guy I used to work with called my Mustang a Supra the first time he saw it...(I guess a late-80s Mustang hatchback vaguely resembles a mid-80s Supra). I was driving my mom's '68 Cougar once in Ohio, and when I came out of a convenience store, a teenager said 'nice Camaro!'.

You can probably take a drill with a large bit and make your own..

I think I've only had 2 recalls on mine in 6 years.... it's been very reliable so far..