Robert Hall

Trying to bring the thread back to the realm of the rational and realistic, it sounds like near-future GM full-size cars will be a mix of Epsilon II models (LaCrosse, XTS, next Impala), next-gen Zeta II (next Commodore, Chevy SS), and a future large RWD flagship platform for Cadillac, maybe? (not a stretched Alpha)...

However, the 2013 RAM will feature an air suspension as an option... Doesn't the current Ram have IRS.... At least in light duty form...

There is 'clean' and then there is '8000-mile clean'. True, but it's still just a Cavalier. It's an uncommon sight to see one of these still on the road (or any early J-car).

Its within 10% the proportions of the outgoing Crown Vic. Look how thick and slab sided the 300C and Charger are. And who says tall and square is not the next fad? Its perceived as manly, otherwise it would not be used on the pickup trucks. 10% seems optimistic...a door from an F150 looks to be a foot taller than a CV door..likewise for a Ram body compared to a 300C, or Silverado/Tahoe compared to an Impala. A truck body sits on top of a ladder frame, different than a car body dropped into a parameter frame back in the BOF era...it would be a tall, ungainly looking beast. Not to mention trucks usually have old-timey leaf-spring rear suspension.

I find all the '61 bubbletops interesting, Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Buick. GM had some great styling that year.

Saw a silver Fisker Karma at my bagel/coffee place this morning...first one I'd seen...pretty slick.

Such a mutant vehicle sounds like it would be hideous. Trucks bodies are way too tall and square to make decent looking car bodies.

I saw one even older in traffic in clean shape the other day...a beige '82-83 Cavalier CS 4dr.

Ya, look at the current Chevy lineup...Spark, Sonic,Cruze and the new Malibu are all global models w/ few appearance differences between markets...

Maybe go back towards the original Z3 formula than the SLK wannabe the current Z4 is...

An AWD TC w/ subtle fender flares and higher ride height like an Audi Allroad would be cool, but this just screams scary redneck nonsense.

11..that's a lot....I was in Denver this past weekend...have 3 work trips to Central Louisiana over the next 3 months, a conference in So Cal in June, and personal trips to Chicago and Indianapolis (Indy 500, Memorial Day weekend), Ohio, San Diego, Monterey, Ca and Denver again between now and Labor Day...

Don't think I've ever seen an H1 in that bodystyle..

Desperate times call for desperate measures? Remember, BMW is one of the last independents...

Beautiful beast.

Sounds reasonable, right in the same range as the competition.

I've seen the Penske Ferrari dealer in LV...pretty nicely done. Penske also has the Penske Auto Mall here in Scottsdale..very nice block of stores--Ferrari, Maserati, Range Rover, VW, Acura, Bentley along w/ a racing museum. I was in a few of them a couple weeks ago, the VW one has several restored vintage VWs in the showroom--a '60s camper van, Beetle, a Thing mixed in w/ the new cars...I could see a large Caddy showroom doing something like that.

Yeah, that's the silly 'art' thing in Texas..the one I'm talking about is a bar...

I like this Cadillac Ranch, here in Tempe. Has a red '60 4dr on the roof.... http://cadillacranchtempe.com/

An Ecotec would be an interesting swap into a Chevette, Vega, Monza, etc..

I miss driving a car w/ a manual, esp. with a V8. Midlife crisis approaching...

I burnt out the clutch in my Mustang GT at about 60k miles...must have been too much hooning around that i did as a teenager when it was new. Never had problems w/ the one in my M3 or the non-performance manual cars & SUV I've had. About the Dart...listened to the latest Autoblog podcast yesterday, they had a very positive review of it... so what is the on-sale date?

Here's how I'd approach it... do #1, then plug the holes (not sure with what), saw the pins off the back of the strip (the strip has pins that go through the holes to which the clips attach?), and glue the strip in place w/ super glue or some other strong glue..

It also kinda goes with Malibu. Well, the Commodore was sold as the Lumina SS in the Middle East...but I can't see Lumina making an NA comeback. Chevelle, Laguna, or Caprice would be good choices, IMO. Past Chevy big car names like Bel Air, Delray, Biscayne seem too old-timey, along with Fleetline, Master, Master Deluxe, etc...

If auto journalism went for completely neutral w/ no POV and 'just the facts' it would make for dull reading.