Robert Hall

I would argue the Aurora replaced the Toro as the Aurora was the flagship of the brand in same sense that the Toro was (regardless of the number of doors). The Aurora was a definite change of direction for the brand, much more of a sporty luxury sedan than the staid 98 (which was pretty much redundant with the 88 by then).

Huh? The Caliber is a compact...the Stratus is a midsize, the Magnum and Charger are full size...

Hmmm....I think power windows and A/C are probably standard on more models than they are not... (are there still any cars sold in the US with manual windows)?

Doesn't the Prius pollute 80% less, though? (at least according to Toyota's 'save the world' commercials..

Actually, with $3 gas prices the norm now, a car like the Caliber makes perfect sense for the US now.

One advantage the Calibre has over the Cobalt is the hatchback. The lack of hatchback body styles is a real limitation of the Cobalt compared to the Focus, Mazda3, and other compacts, IMHO.

They still need a Suburban Z06 (500 hp, 6-spd manual), I think....and an Escalade V-series to take on the Cayenne... :)

Hmmm...tough question..I generally notice and pay attention to the sound (I'm a big fan of atmospheric and ambient music--the work of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, for instance) and guitar work than the vocals, but I do have some favorites.. Male: for the classics I've long liked Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Rodger Waters and Dave Gilmour...more recent, Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Chris Robinson, Bono. Female: Tori Amos. She's been my favorite for over a decade. Eccentric, sexy voice coupled with cryptic lyrics, great on the piano and organ. Mmm..redheads.. vintage: I've always liked Stevie Nicks and Carly Simon's voices..

I don't think I've seen any of those '80s Mitsus in ages... they all sort of dissapeared....about the only '80s Japanese cars I see with any frequency are Hondas and Toyotas..

Wow...Cordia..haven't heard or seen that name in many years...wasn't their a sedan called the Tredia also? I guess the Mirage (or Galant?) replaced it...

Another interesting factoid is sometimes one car in effect replaces two---the Escort replaced the Pinto and Fiesta in the US, the FWD Cougar replaced the RWD Cougar and the Probe, and the Lucerne replaced the LeSabre and Park Avenue.

Yes, and in fact, the Del Sol was called the CRX in some markets.

Interesting path Chevy's names have taken over the years...the Celebrity replaced the Malibu, the Corsica replaced the Citation then itself was replaced by the ... Malibu. The Lumina replaced the Celebrity and then itself was replaced by the Impala. Flash back to the mid-60s to the early 80s, and the full-size Chevy was the Impala, and midsize the Malibu. 2006, it's Impala and Malibu again..

The Passat was called first the Dasher and then the Quantum in the US...it was always Passat in Germany and other markets, I think..

CVTs are 'proven'..maybe not with GM, but Audi is using them as are others..

Similar numbers here in the Mile High City....$2.85, 2.95, and 3.05 for 85,87,91.

Most of the base models with cloth benches will probably go to Avis, I suspect.

We had our first snow on the 10th (Columbus Day). I had the day off..very wierd to see the snow falling while the leaves were still falling. 35 degrees and about 4 inches. Next day it was 60 and sunny--yard sprinklers were going, spraying through the slushy snow-leaf mix..

Yeah, I never cared for the Sunfire front end, but I did like the backend of the last ones...the V-eed rear bumper was at least distinctive...

Hmmm...speaking of 'Ferrari GTAs', anyone remember the modified 3rd gen Firebirds that had Ferrari 308-like body work? I remember seeing a couple in Miami in the late '80s... they actually looked pretty decent up-close--a blending of 308 and Firebird styling cues..don't recall what they were called, though.

I think it's a clean, conservative design, but change the grille, remove the badges and ventiports, and you would never know it was a Buick....the styling doesn't say Buick at all...I see some Lexus in the headlights, new VW Passat in the roofline and tail, etc...

"I'd rather die quietly in my sleep like grandpa, rather than screaming like his passengers". Heard this one somewhere long ago..

Speaking of movies, I watched a couple of strange-but-interesting foreign films this past weekend--the South Korean 'Oldboy' and French 'High Tension'. High Tension was pretty scary and gory, not the usual Hollywood slasher flick. Speaking of foreign movies, I always watch them in their native language with English subtitles...dubbing turns me off completely..anyone else do that?

It's a '63 convertible, IIRC...gets trashed. The Cronenberg 'Crash' is a very twisted movie...I'll have to watch it again..haven't seen it since I saw it in the theatre when it came out.. (made for an unusual date movie..) I saw the new 'Crash' about a month ago..very good, IMHO... I liked the multiple intercutting storylines and the complicated characters... my favorite character was probably Terrence Howard's.. great soundtrack, I thought.

My addition to the random posting thread: http://ualuealuealeuale.ytmnd.com/ (some very funny crap).