Robert Hall

In my neck of the woods, SUVs are only fun if you don't mind getting it all scratched up off road. Scratches and dents are part of the 4x4 experience...within a week of buying my Grand Cherokee back in '00, I had it on rocky and muddy trails at 12k feet, drove on a 50 mile washboard dirt road, got a few scratches from tree branches, etc.. Well I agree, and thats great if you have a $4000 SUV... its another thing if you have a $60K Escalade. Well, my Jeep was $32k when I bought it...it's probably worth $4000 now after 130k miles. An Escalade is inapropriate for offroad use, it's strictly for urban/suburban use.

In my neck of the woods, SUVs are only fun if you don't mind getting it all scratched up off road. Scratches and dents are part of the 4x4 experience...within a week of buying my Grand Cherokee back in '00, I had it on rocky and muddy trails at 12k feet, drove on a 50 mile washboard dirt road, got a few scratches from tree branches, etc..

I would say '64-66 because of the cab...'60-63 still had a wrap-around windshield. Though a Google image search turns up '63s with both the wraparound and regular windshield... confusion.. Neat looking truck. Doesn't the dealer have the title and registration?

Yaris, Versa, Fit, Fiesta, Sonic, Accent, XD, Rio... what am I missing Mazda 2. I didn't think of the x_D, but it's in there also...I didn't count the speciality 3dr models like the Mini, Fiat 500, or Smart.. And wasn't VW going to bring the Polo here also? So the mainstream brands currently out of the B-seg action in the US currently are VW, Dodge, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Suzuki (though Canada gets the Swift and SX4)..

and I thought I was a masochist. Yeah, I love those early '70s lower, longer, wider boats..love the long hoods and sharply chisled angular lines...liked them since childhood in the '70s.

The subcompact market in the US is getting crowded...8 models in the mainstream niche by my count..will interesting to see which end up on top in sales in a year or so..

True enough...I've had a lot of fun on back country trails and paths w/ mine... and it's been comfortable and practical as a daily driver. I'd buy another Grand Cherokee w/o qualms, and would love to have a Wrangler for a toy.. If I had lots of garage space, I'd also love to have another type of 'fun' car--an early '70s land yacht for a car show and weekend cruiser...the ideal being a '71-72 LTD Brougham 2dr, or convertible, or a Marquis, or GM B/C/E body of the same era..

My '87 Mustang GT and my former '96 BMW M3 were dedicated fun cars, though I did at various times drive them daily...they were always #2 or #3 cars, except when I had only the Mustang for a brief period in 1997 when I moved to Colorado. In the future, I could definitely see using a fun new car like a Charger, Mustang, Challenger or Camaro as a daily driver, as long as I'm in a climate w/o the nasty stuff..if I do move back to a climate w/ ice & snow, then I'll still probably want an SUV daily driver...

I suppose they are dropping the 3dr version of the new Accent because the Velocstr will sort of fill that niche.

LoL..the 1st Taurus and '92 Crown Vic were like that also.. One of GM's coolest designs of olden days IMO had a grill bigger than any contemporary car grille--the early 70s 2nd gen Camaro RS..love that nose.

The story behind the effort over the last 15 years or so to get this game out may be as or more compelling as the game itself. There have been articles on it in Wired and in software development magazines as a study of software companies and development projects that have gone horribly wrong...I've worked on a few projects from hell that had deadline slip of a year or more, but the DNF story takes it to the extreme..

That was just my bluetooth keyboard apparently throwing a fit. It's fixed now. I'm with you - I think 3dr versions of both the Sonic and Accent would be quite attractive. If Mini does so well with its 2dr Cooper, I don't see why a decently built, attractive Hyundai or Chevy 3dr subcompact can't do well too. Didn't the current generation of Accent offer a 3dr in the US? And the current generation of the Aveo has one outside NA...no idea if the '12 versions of both will have 3dr bodies outside NA. I guess the Yaris will be have the only 3dr subcompact in NA next year..

For a non-retro, race inspired look, I like these alot..they look great on the current Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger IMO..

I like those wheels..nice and retro...maybe in 19 or 20 inch.

I can't see myself in an EV...too small and too compromised.

Saw a black Regal this morning w/ dealer installed tube grille, bling wheels, etc sitting on the lot at the Buick-Cadillac store..haven't really seen very many of them on the road so far.

I was under the impression that the different nozzles were for the other direction..i.e. preventing putting gasoline in a diesel.

Saw a black Volt on the lot at the local Chevy store. Saw a black '11 Camaro convertible out driving around top down on this fine Easter Sunday.

I can only imagine what was going through Nissan rep's heads when the Rio was unveiled in the same show as their competitor. Probably trying to comfort themselves with more of that "small car buyers don't want sport or style" BS. I was looking at pics of the new Versa somewhere and realized the C-pillar and rear doors kind of remind me of the 1st Prius..ugh.

Accent is the subcompact (SonicAveo/Fiesta/Mazda2/Fit/Versa/Yaris/Rio competitor) Elantra is the compact (Cruze/Focus/Mazda3/Civic/Sentra/Corolla/Forte competitor) The subcompact and compact segments are getting crowded in the US..and I didn't even list Suzuki, Mitsubishi, VW, Subaru, etc..

These are still very mainstream and ordinary looking, IMO. And they lack the frameless door glass that was a Subaru signature detail for so long..

Saw several early Mustangs over the last 24 hours, appropriate for this time of year since last Sunday was the 17th. A sharp bright red w/ black vinyl top '65 GT coupe w/ the factory option 5 spoke mags A bright red '66 coupe w/ black door on the back of a rollback truck A bright red w/ white interior '65 convertible, top down in traffic this morning A dark red '67 coupe A black w/ silver stripes '67 coupe on the back of a 6 car carhauler last night Also saw a white '11 300C at the airport last night, first I've seen..looking sharp.

Yeah, Chrysler is the ticket. GM is out of the question due to the last 15 years of sticking it to us. I could likely live without an new El Camino, considering that Dodge is selling that cheap V8 sport truck, that I can drop into the weeds. 10+ years of Jeep ownership has made me a Mopie believer. The challenge for me will be deciding what my next new car will be, there are 4 from Chrysler that I find appealing...the Challenger, Charger, 300C, and Grand Cherokee..all are at the top of my new car shopping list.

Defining generations on these is a bit of a murky business. Holden is on the VF at this point (same vehicle basically), and the true next gen is a ways off with the possibility of a (stupid) move to FWD. Hmm..well, if the next Ute is based on the '13 Malibu, then it would be appropriate to call it El Camino, since the El Camino of '64-87 was based on the Chevelle/Malibu..

No surprise...as usual, Australia gets the good stuff, GM gives NA more 4 cyl FWD vanilla cars.