Robert Hall

I think part of the allure of owning a full-size pickup - American and Foreign - is that they emulate Big Rigs! I know I for one would love to tool around in a Mack Granite, but it's just not very feasible. Now a full-size pickup in the shape of a big rig - now that's doable!! At some level it must be (in men) the inner 7 year old itching to play with full size Tonka trucks. I'm not a truck fan in general, but I have a strange fascination with late '60s-mid 70s vintage Ford F700 and Chevy C60 stake bed farm trucks...or '60s-70s International Loadstar stake bed trucks....must be my inner farmer trying to get out...just would be so cool to have one in suburbia..or maybe I play too much Farmville..

Because names like "Cruze," "Verano," "Sonic," and "Spark" are so meaningful. Wut? you know what '3' or '2' signifies but make no association from 'Sonic' or 'Spark' ? Well, the 3-series has decades of brand recognition...while Sonic and Spark are new names for disposable appliances...given GM's track record w/ compact and subcompact car names, they will probably be renamed for the next generation versions.. Anyway, going to a 4-series for 2drs while a logical move, is risky given the long history of 3-series 2drs.

Wondered about that...my sister bought the house in '02, I've lived there since '08...neither of us could remember anyone we knew visiting with a Wrangler...maybe the dog sitter on a weekend she was out of town or something.

When the '91 and up full-size SUVs rolled out. A friend of mine had an '88 GMC Suburban with a good ol' Detriot Diesel under the hood. The 6.5 turbodiesel was available in the '92-99 generation for some amount of time and on the Tahoe also according to the Book of Knowledge. It was (at least in the 2-doors) and they are very,very, rare. As for why GM didn't make the Duramax available in the Suburban, the story I got back then was that they didn't have the production capacity to even meet demand in the pickups - so no diesel for the Suburban. Of course that doesn't excuse the fact that they still haven't managed to do it. I would think they will for the next generation...with the new CAFE standards looming, I would think they would want to improve the mileage of their biggest gas guzzlers..

That some individuals WILL NOT buy a 4-cylinder vehicle in a certain segment is not necessary to make a business case for 6-cylinder, less economical, CAFE busting models. That some individuals WILL PREFER a 6-cylinder is enough justification. Why? Because in this well populated field, even if GM goes all 4-cylinders on a Malibu, Regal or ATS it doesn't mean that every car maker will. This means that if you do not have a six you are losing business to competitors that do. For a model like the Malibu, this may represent a 10~25% loss of volume, for the ATS it may be half. But, when Gm has to fight hard for that 3.4% growth achieved, even 10~25% is not something they can afford to casually walk away from. For an appliance like the Malibu, I doubt if most buyers would notice or care about the engine. Agreed that for something like the ATS the choice of a 6 is definitely critical...until recently, the ATS' main competitors (3 series and C-class) didn't even offer a 4cyl in the US (though they did in the past and have always done so outside the US). So a 4cyl base model for the ATS makes sense going forward.

This. I just had a 4dr Wrangler as a rental for 10 days in Las Vegas. it was huge enough inside, but it still was a manageable size and it had a great seating position. It didn't have any bells and whistles, and it won't do too well around the Nurburgring, but none of that mattered. There's just something about driving one with the top flipped back and the radio blasting that feels so.....right. I'd put a 2dr Wrangler at the top of my list of replacements for my Cobalt when I try to unload it next spring. Now that fall is finally here, I'm seeing a lot of Wranglers rolling around top down. They have a lot of charm.

Must have been the drugs. Someone built a super stretch Eldo that had like 20 wheels and was in the Guiness Book of Records..was like 80 feet long and articulated IIRC. Edit: googled it..100 feet long, 26 wheels. Helipad. pool. Hot Tub. Bowling alley. Insane.

That's amazing to see a car that light these days..makes me wonder just how small it is. The FT86 name was meant to harken back to the last RWD Corolla hatchback of the '80s (the AE86 which has a cult following). Hard to believe today, but at one time there were versions of the Corolla that could be considered 'fun' and 'sporty'. For that matter, it's hard to recall Toyotas that were fun and sporty at all (been so long since the MR2, Supra, and Celica)...

I wouldn't buy a car at the 3 series price point w/ a 4cyl. 4s are fine for mainstream economy cars but innapropriate for a luxury or performance car, IMO (with the exception of certain light 4cyl sports cars). I'd rather have a 6 or a V8.

Naaah....not for the Viper. the V10 is a strong part of it's brand identity.

That's different. Would be more interesting w/ a V16 or two V8s under the hood rather than a BBQ grille.

Of course not. Zeta is RWD which is automatically superior to any FWD platform. FWD is appropriate for subcompact, compact and midsize appliances.

Suburban...there isn't one. Unless someone made it look like so with the parts... I wondered about it..it had the Hyrbrid-specific front fascia. rear bumper, and badges on the doors. Was parked next to a Tahoe Hybrid...both black w/ tinted windows in use by the W Hotel as limo/shuttle service it looks like...probably made the cosmetic mods for green cred w/ the guests.

I think it's coming to the US as a Scion.

When the '91 and up full-size SUVs rolled out. A friend of mine had an '88 GMC Suburban with a good ol' Detriot Diesel under the hood. The 6.5 turbodiesel was available in the '92-99 generation for some amount of time and on the Tahoe also according to the Book of Knowledge.

GM used to make diesel Suburbans...when did they stop making them?

Had HUMMER survived, maybe they would have made a Compass-like H4 compact CUV.

Well, the Viper has always been a blunt instrument, not really about technology. I guess that is part of it's character.

I wonder if it will have Hemi heads. A V10 Hemi would be cool.

I do wish BMW's numbering scheme would be rational again...the new 328 really should be 320, since it has a 2.0L engine. The numbering is no longer rational.

My Mustang's only goes to 85..been faster than that...but my Jeep's goes to 120. Wouldn't try that. I've noticed even in 6 cyl base models of some cars today the speedos go to 160..optimistic.

Interesting...I wonder if they will be digital instruments that look like real instruments...not just numbers... Mercedes and Lexus have done digital instrument clusters, I think..

Given that formula, maybe the problem for overweight people isn't so much the mass, but too much gravity.

This is my house from Google street view. The random part is I don't know who's Jeep that is in the driveway...

Interesting project idea...wheelbase would be different also, wouldn't it?