Robert Hall

Why? Why should every car adhere to whatever the trend of the day is? That leads to boring genericism.

I like it for it's distinctiveness... The Verano interior looks nicely put together, but the overall design esp. the pod and center stack look like 90% of GM's recent designs and so many other cars today..homogenous and generic.

The A4/A5 has one of the nicest dashes in the business, IMO...no pods..nice driver-centric design..love this interior.

It should have a bespoke steering wheel also...that's just a corporate wheel w/ a Caddy badge stuck on.

Well, automakers can't realistically tool up different front clips for the US market and Europe...I think ultimately automakers need one set of regulations across all markets...would reduce production costs.

News flash--there are pedestrians in the US also. One problem in cities (and shopping mall parking lots, etc) worldwide is the rise of the zombified peds--walking along oblivious to traffic, listening to iPods, playing w/ their phones, iPads, etc.. Another scourge of the roads are the f*cking bicyclists (who need to stay on trails and off the streets/roads, IMO).

The Astra interiors look good for an Opel, but I still think a Buick needs plood.

Maybe GM can regain some of the Avis/Enterprise sales that were lost w/ the demise of the Grand Am.

It's the poor FWD proportions that lead to it being there...the A-pillar base is about 4-6 inches too far forward because of the inadequate wheel-to-door length.

Why would it be in the Chevy first?

Interesting...I don't see anything wrong w/ the plood..the interior has plenty of color..nice change from the usual gray despair of most FWD compacts. Americans don't buy hatchbacks and wagons, right?

That is odd...gear ratios?

Ok..the rear looks like the Excelle GT. I like the brown color and really like the interior colors and detailing at first glance... I'm sure a sedan w/ the automatic is most appropriate for a Buick. Alas, without Pontiac or Saturn it seems there is no place in GMNA for the hatchback Astras (which look much better than this sedan, IMO).

Notice they don't show the rear end...I'm not sure exactly what the competition for this will be, with the Jetta having moved downmarket this year. Mercury is gone but didn't have a compact model like this--thought they were planning a rebadged Focus I think-- neither does Chrysler..Lincoln is rumored to be working on something like this based on the Focus.. The Audi A3 seems implausable--it's priced a lot higher and doesn't offer a sedan version. Maybe the higher trim levels of the Civic or Elantra are comparable? Buick is in the odd position of being the last middle brand standing now that Mercury is gone.

Maybe he meant the 'legal US citizens or resident aliens' which I would assume most of our membership that reside in the US are..

That's a good description of the framers of the constitution, circa 1776. They were mostly farmers and landowners. Odd term today, though.

It's an example of capitalism run amok..corrupt international corporations screwing over consumers and workers world wide...just the way it is.

? The aftermarket OnStar was just announced today at CES...says 'coming in early 2011'..not available at Best Buy yet..

Or when the mirror falls off on it's own (as mine did a couple years ago due to the vile summer heat). Wonder if that would cause a false positive.

I'm aware of there are differences in cultures, but I don't trust companies in this country any more than companies in China... companies are inherently corrupt and will cut corners, etc to make a profit and thus must be regulated, esp. where safety is concerned.

Same kind of thing would happen here without the FDA and other agencies..of course, some small government/ pro-business believers want to eliminate such regulation.. On topic, though, there is a wide range of product quality coming out of China, as from any market probably...some stuff cheap and nasty and poorly made, and others not so much..electronic gadgets I have that were assembled in China seem to have held up fine..

How about one of these? Based on a 3dr Astra (of 25 years ago)..and with Excitement!!

Just don't go from one money pit to another..choose wisely

Cool..the 442 and Blazer are new tools for '11, I think...haven't seen those previously in other series. Another '11 series I'm looking forward to is the Vintage Racing series.

Here's another add-on story...a coworker and his fiancee bought a new Sentra last week to replace her worn out '02 Camry..he was going on about the deal they got, incl. some kind of every 6 month paint sealant treatment (zaktek) that was normally $1500 (wasn't sure if that was a one time fee or every 6 months)...sounds like snake oil.