Robert Hall

<cynical> Because big US oil companies (and the politicos they own) have no economic interest (yet) in leading in biofuels or alternative energy? (No matter how 'green' their adverts make them sound)... </cynical>

Interestingly, doesn't Brazil have the largest ethanol (sugar cane based, IIRC) usage in the world?

I thought lead paint had been banned for years..there are always these news stories about recalls for lead paint for toys made in China..

When I read the headline, I assumed 'Viridian Joule' was the name of the Florida man that won.

Sounds like a variation on the Priceline ads w/ Shatner in the old Dodge van..

That's a pretty scary thought.

I know what a 'joule' is...learned that in high school physics.

That's pretty freakin' hiliarous.

Interesting..so the Ram brand is officially a separate brand from Dodge for MY '10? I know it had been discussed in the 5 yr plan, but this makes it sound 'official'..

Interesting

Yes, cars were colorful inside and out then, lots of greens, browns, reds, earthy tones.. no vile gray plastic interiors w/ silver exteriors. There was plenty of plastic in '70s interiors, but lots of color choices.

Yes, the roof is lower, but the body below the greenhouse is probably the same height or more as the sedan (since the front fenders are shared). It's the trend today, very high decklids and thick bodies...details I noticed strongly on the new Taurus and MKS...the doors are huge from the beltline down to the bottom, they looked as a big as doors on a full size van, taller than my Jeep doors they looked...and the decklid seemed almost up to my chin

Sat in one today, and an S5. Both white at the auto show. Very cool cars,. inside and out

Good one. Will be interesting how the continuing quest for a reliable car goes.

cream

Pretty cool..IIRC seeing a couple of those long ago when I went RVing. I noticed from the pics the badging says 'K5 Blazer'. What years did Chevy put 'K5' badges on the Blazer?

I haven't seen any mention of a Cruze coupe...I wonder if one is in the works..Civic has one, Toyota has the tC..

I picked up an unbuilt SDM at a flea market about 15 years ago, still haven't built it. I have the stock MPC '69-71 Grand Prix kits ('69 and '70 unbuilt, '71 and '72 built) in my collection. I've never seen the Grand Superfly kit. Rob

Still haven't seen one.

I'd love to go over to LA next weekend for the LA show, but too busy.

Kind of reminds me of a couple old MPC models of a customized '72 Grand Prix with 30s styling touches... first came the 'Grand Superfly' car in '74, modified into the 'Sweathogs Dream Machine' in '76.

Well, that's what they call it..and some of signs were in English and Spanish. 5th largest US city, and yet the auto show is a pretty small affair.

138hp is less than the Cobalt's 2.2 w/ 155hp, though. Why not offer the 2.2 or 2.0 Turbo as options? The C-pillar black plastic just shows a lack of imagination and screams cheap, I'm afraid.

Went to the new car show downtown today, wandered around a couple hours. Mercedes-Benz was (inexplicably) absent, as was SAAB (understandably) Impressions: GM: Sat in 4 different Camaros, incl. the Transformer edition. Hard to see out of, but overall pretty comfortable. The interior trim and materials look better in person than in the pics, IMHO. Surprised how tiny the trunk opening is relative to the size of the trunk lid. They had a gorgeous dark red '10 ZR1. Was locked and covered in fingerprints. The red Gran Sport convertible was sweet. Loved the CTS wagon. First I've seen, in CTS advert red..love that color. Nice how the rear seat folds flat. Sat in a black on black w/ black out windows CTS-v. Drool. What a beast. Saw the new LaCrosse, SRX, Terrain and Equinox up close for the first time. Sat in all...all have nicely done interiors. Strange plastic hinge covers on the LaCrosse trunk hinges. The LaCrosse has some odd proportions--narrow, tall, short nose, very short tail, long midsection. But it seems to work. Ford: Really liked the '10 Taurus and MKS. Sat in both, liked the design and detailing inside out. There was a dark green SHO on display. The MKT looks much better in person than in pics. It's a huge wagon. The '10 Fusion, Milan and MKZ are pretty nice. The Raptor is over the top, wild in orange w/ orange interior trim. Sat in a Ford Transit, neat funky white Euro van. Sat in several '10 Mustangs, love the parchment and saddle/black interiors. They had a Grabber Blue Shelby up on a dais. Outside, Ford had about 8-10 Fiesta hatchbacks, doing ride and drives. They look really good in person, nice modern European B-seg car. Chrysler: Thin on anything really new, but got to sit in a couple Challengers. Really like the heft and size of them. Wish the interiors weren't so dark and austere, though. other: Didn't really look at the Japanese brands.. though the new Suzuki Kizashi looks pretty distinctive, and the ZDX looks better in person, in a dark brown. The Insight looks like a cheap Prius knockoff. Liked the '10 GTI and Golf. The Passat CC looks really good in black. Sat in a goregous Audi S5..white, w/ red and black interior. My favorite of the Germans, I think...though the bright blue R8 was pretty special also. Sat in a BMW X6. Horrific rear visibility. Beautiful interior, wierd exterior. Didn't take any pics, didn't take a camera. Figured there are plenty of pics of new cars online.

If you remove the pics of the trucks and the voiceover, the imagery reminds me of a political ad..reminds me of Reagan's 'Morning in America' spots from the '80s.