Robert Hall

Interesting...I see no Cadillac resembalance, but I do see a similarity to other '77-79 Buick models...

Some of those Open Road campers had a sliding glass door at the back and a porch..

I wouldn't call it 'badge engineering'...more like platform sharing...same as with other A-bodies from '64 on... these had Buick engines, specific interiors, probably no exterior panels shared except for the greenhouse..

Same risk w/ a convertible top. One has to assume the electricals are reliable enough that it's unlikely to happen.

The '73-75 looked better, IMO...in '76 they blanded out the Regal and Century coupes by smoothing out the sides and hood.

'panaormaic' may translate to 'panoramic' or 'panoramatic' (which sounds like a '50s trademarked product name). Other trivia.. Ford and Mercury had giant fixed plexiglass sunroof options in the mid 50s, don't think Lincoln had one then... Lincoln also had a large fixed glass moonroof option on the Continental coupes around '77-79.

The Astra design is interesting, but where are the sun visors? Seems like it would be awful to drive in rush hour...

Stainless Steel.

I guess the cynical perspective is they are selling models to younger, price sensitive buyers at the entry level that are clueless or indifferent to FWD vs RWD and just want the prestige brand image...

Beautiful car.

Cool...reminds me of the MPC 1/25th scale model kit, except the kit is a '69...

It's still March, but today was 92. Seems too early for such warm weather, that's a May temp here normally. But I have used the A/C in the car during the last week. Cleaned the house ceiling fans and replaced the A/C filters today...A/C season will be here soon. Anyone else notice unseasonably warm weather in their area during March?

I think it's CLA since 'CL' denotes coupe and 'A' denotes A-class. But the 'CLS' isn't an S-class coupe, it's E-class derived. And the E-Class coupe is no longer the CLK. M-B naming structure seems to have lost it's way recently.. Another strange naming thing is the new SL 550 really should be the SL 470 (4.7 V8) but they apparently kept the 550 designation to save face in the US (downsizing engine size whilst raising prices doesn't look good), though in Europe it is the SL 500.

Ford has done odd things w/ roof glass lately..like the all glass roof option on the Mustang..that makes no sense unless you want a terrarium. I don't get why they haven't offered a normal sunroof option on the Mustangs since the Fox era..even then it was just a weak popup. I prefer a powered metal sunroof, though even M-B and BMW seem to have gone to the ordinary glass ones in recent years...

Last year of the '71 generation IIRC..

It's been rumored for a while...a few years ago there was talk of it being a C-class based 4dr coupe...but now it's moved down to the A-class..

Yeah, not my choice...but if Google gets their way, it will be a reality soon on some roads, I suspect...

It's wasn't really upsized very much..the 5th gen is only 0.2 inches longer than the 4th gen, but the wheelbase is 3 inches longer...but it's perceived as larger..it's still pretty small for a midsize sedan (186.4). Interestingly, the Legacy has a slightly longer wheelbase than the new Malibu but about 5 inches less overhang.

Makes sense..kind of how Ford has both the King Ranch and the Platinum versions..

Interesting...so they are doing a Limted model...they already have a Big Horn version that seems to be like Ford's King Ranch.

I can imagine a future where cube-dwelling resources are commuting to work in a self driving Google-powered Nissan Cube or Prius whilst surfing the web, reading email, playing Farmville, working on a tablet....the future's so bright I gotta wear shades...

Sweet...last of GMs undownsized land yachts...

+1, still looks too big & bulky I think this is just an MCE of the cars that have been around since MY '09.. Pretty clearly is, it has the same overall shape & look. Sad thing is, cars rarely reduce in size, so the outback will probably continue to be an SUV that used to be a wagon. The current sedan really doesn't seem to look larger than the previous, but the Outback definitely does...I remember when I first saw one of the current Outbacks a few years ago..it looked HUGE compared to older ones...

+1, still looks too big & bulky I think this is just an MCE of the cars that have been around since MY '09..

The grille texture looks like that on the Explorer and some Merc SUVs..