Robert Hall

Yes, same here...like all those...wouldn't mind having any of those in my garage..the good stuff is all $30-40k minimum, though...anything under that are FWD appliances... I wouldn't mind having a 3 car garage w/ the Grand Cherokee, Charger, and Challenger. That would suit me fine for the next 10 years... Alas, back to reality. I can afford 1 of those 3 new, which to pick?

Yeah, but for the same price you can move up to a well equipped Sonata, Accord, Altima, Camry...I couldn't see a general consumer buying a Verano over those..

I wonder how many buyers are going to glance at the Verano, then shuffle down to their Hyundai/Honda/Toyota/Nissan store and go with a predicable, safe choice...

It would probably cost as much as a new truck to restore it...be a money pit.

But the 2010 car would have a lot more content--(more than am radio plus A/C, etc) and comfortable, adjustable seats rather than a blah bench.. What amazes me about the '62 Buick is just how basic and plain it is...looks as stripped down as a Chevy II.

? Not sure how that relates to a contemporary cab forward FWD design. Different time and place..the '62 Special was a RWD compact w/ a relatively upright windshield and conventional proportions for the time. Had a very basic interior w/ bench seats and no console or center stack. Just a lot of empty space..

That was the Skyhawk..different bird. It was a Monza clone then a Cavalier variation. Skylark was many things.. the '53-54 fullsize convertible, an early '60s compact, then a midsize, then a Nova clone (started as the Apollo in that form), then a FWD X-body as it's first FWD variation...then came back as an N-body.

You can't compare the pillar window to those, though...those are like the old time vent windows, except they don't pivot out--they are still within the door frame. These new ones like on the Verano, Civic, Prius, etc are in front of the door at the base of the a-pillar. Not part of the door. One of the oldest designs in the NA market to use this little window may have been the Ford Aerostar back in the '80s.

Yeah, started w/ minivans, I think...the first car in NA w/ it may have been the Prius back in '04. Then the Civic a few years later..

Welcome back...long time no see. Sad to hear the Regal is gone, you had that car a long time, didn't you?

2012 NAIAS? If it's supposed to be a MY 2013 release...

It's a good issue...I've been reading Scale Auto for over 20 years.

I remember the 3 years I went to the Detroit Auto Show it was fun..'95,'96,'97. Lots of changes since then in cars.

Sad..so the same all FWD $h! is happening in OZ also...

I couldn't go for a truck..I just don't need one.. but I do like SUVs, not weak FWD-based CUVs or truck based ones, but pure SUVs like the good Jeeps and a few others.. (though I do find the Ford Raptor strangely appealing)

That is a seriously cool design, even it is FWD.. As far as RWD, it's so frustrating that Australia and the Middle East markets get so many great GM V8 RWD bodystyles and we get zilch..sadly, we are now the land of the vanilla FWD sedan. What happened? America once led the world in V8 RWD cars.

V8 available, RWD, preferably over 4000lbs. It's a small niche from Detroit..about the only '11s that fit that bill are the Challenger, Charger, and 300C. I'd consider those, along with the Grand Cherokee, Mustang, Camaro and CTS. That's about it. For used, I'd consider Panthers. It's nice not having a car payment and my Jeep still makes the 50 mile daily commute w/ 125k, but sooner or later I'm going to need a new(er) car..

Rolling down the freeway this morning, right around sunrise, I see a white Impala 6-8 car lengths ahead of me, in my lane. As I get closer, I notice it seems oddly narrow. Then I get closer, and notice it's missing the gold bowtie, but has a blue emblem instead. A blue oval. D'oh. Turns out to be a current gen Focus sedan. Anyone else have a moment like this, confuse two different, unrelated models that up close really seem to be nothing alike, but from a distance.... similar taillights, decklid, fascia..

I see nothing wrong w/ the new Passat design..it's clean and simple, nothing overdone. The Camry is just plain ugly from some angles, esp. the vile grilles and bulging lights.

So the GMC Granite concept from last year didn't show up again? I guess that is a dead end.

Thanks for the write up..wish I had been there...looking forward to seeing the 300C and Charger in person. I saw the 200 at our local new car show a couple of months ago, really, really like the new GC..love the Challenger. I'm glad some people take pics at shows, I quit taking pics at car shows years ago, it's just too tedious and I don't enjoy looking at cars as much when I'm taking pics.

Admittedly, the only other FWD cars I've driven in the last 5 years (rentals) were a couple Impalas, a Grand Prix, a couple of current-gen Malibus, a couple of current-gen Fusions (which irritate me w/ their annoying distorted rear view mirrors), a previous gen Sonata, and a couple Cobalts. The other recent Fords I've driven (rentals) are Grand Marquis' and Town Cars. Old-school, but I like them for their RWD/V8 nature, size, great outward visibility (esp. the GM) and comfort. The downside is the stuck-in-the-90s cabin tech, an area where the Taurus was a great improvement. The rearward visibility out of the Taurus was bad compared to the GM.

IIRC, Ford tried selling the oval wierd Taurus from 1996 or so in Australia..it was a dud. Oddly, the '10 Taurus is the only FWD car I've really enjoyed driving in recent years...and I'm a staunch RWD fan. Maybe it was partially because I liked the interior so much..

Happy Birthday! Supposed to be in the 70s here this weekend...sounds like the East Coast is getting no break from the snow and cold.

Saw a really clean '65 Mercury Park Lane 2dr ht this morning. White w/ black roof, dark blue interior.