Robert Hall

Well, as Reg would say, women (and couples w/ kids) influence the majority of car purchases, so practicality wins out. I've had a mix of 2dr coupes, 2 and 4dr SUVs over the years. For daily commuter use, 90% of the time it's just me in the car, I prefer a 4dr SUV or 4dr luxury sedan for practicality's sake because of: 1. parking lots and parking garages. Almost everywhere I've worked, I've parked in a garage, and occasionally surface lots. A 4dr is just plain easier to get in and out of in tight parking than 2drs. 2. And when I go out to lunch or dinner w/ a group of people and drive, a 4dr is just easier to get people in and out. And it's not like in the old days when 4drs were usually boring...their are a lot of great sport sedans out there--Audis, BMWs, the G8, Charger, etc to name a few. I figure I will always have at least 3 cars--- a 4dr medium-to-large luxury sedan for a daily driver, a 4dr SUV for a winter daily driver and occasionally hauling stuff, and a fun coupe or convertible for weekend and occasional use. For the last 8 years, I had the 4dr SUV and 2 sports coupes.

Besides the profits--GMC also serves the same purpose to BPG franchises that the G3 and G5 do--gives them models to compete with Chevy.

Let's see--I predict you will decide to go with a Pontiac above all else---not a coupe, not RWD. Not a sedan. You will buy the new G3 and bring driving excitement to your life. YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!!! G3! G3! G3! G3!

The problem with the Commander I've noticed is it has the same wheelbase as the 3rd gen GC, so the third row is really crammed in there. I thought the Durango was dead since they closed the plant, though I could see maybe a resurrection of the name on this platform if they could make a business case for it.

I was mistaken then...I got the impression from what I had read that this car was to have the real Prius hybrid system, not the watered-down system from the Camry. With a dedicated hybrid, no one will confuse you with someone driving a regular version of the same car...it's hard to tell a Civic hybrid, Camry hybrid etc from the regular versions, but the Prius and Insight aren't confused with anything mainstream.

Yes, in my '00, the rear seat legroom is quite tight when I'm driving with 2-3 adults in the back.

Who says it isn't?

Interesting. Since it has the Prius drivetrain, I assumed it was on the Prius platform. But I do see some resemblance to the Avensis, esp. the windshield and A-pillars.

I don't think there were any in '90-92..wasn't that when they had the thick side trim and composite headlights? I've seen some lowrider 2drs with that style trim and headlights, but I think they are earlier cars retrofitted. Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure '85 was the last year for the 2dr RWD C-body. I knew they made Coupe de Villes through then, but didn't know about the 2dr FBs. I've always liked the '77-up big Caddies (even though I was in a Town Car family). A buddy in high school had a hand-me-down '81 Fleetwood Brougham 4dr, silver w/ silver leather interior, diesel. Fun car.a grandpa car, certainly, but for some weird reason, I love cushy old school American style luxury cars, as well as modern high tech luxury cars and austere, serious German luxury cars. So many contradictions.

Gas mileage is only part of the hybrid equation. Remember, the clean (lower emissions) angle also. A hybrid IS250 would have just been a regular car with hybrid tacked on like the GS h, RX h, LS h are...this is like the Prius, a dedicated, hybrid only model.. Green + lux FTW. This way the trendoids can take care of their green guilt and also have luxury...cake and eat it too. Same idea as the Cadillac Converj Volt-based concept at the show, except this is a production model. (Personally, for efficiency and luxury, I'd take a BMW 335d as it has the bonus of performance and pure RWD superiority).

Huh? I don't see any proportional similarities...the LaX is thicker vertically in the midsection..this car is sleeker.. I love the wheels and the fastback C-pillar. Interesting variation on the traditional Audi 6 light greenhouse also..

There is a slight resemblance, but 99% of Lexus buyers in NA have no idea what an Avensis is, since it's not sold here. I see a strong resemblance to the IS in the roofline and the tail, and the side lower chrome resembles the LS. It's got strong Lexus themes. I would not be surprised if this isn't Lexus' best selling car within a year of it's launch.

The body isn't sold as a Toyota elsewhere, is it? I thought this car had a Lexus specific body.

Subaru has been struggling with styling for a while, esp. with front ends...they tried the SAAB 96 tribute front end on the Tribeca and previous Impreza and it was a flop. Moving away from the frameless door glass with the Impreza was a mistake also.

You missed the point of this car.. The Lexus hybrid is like the Prius--it's a dedicated model and not a regular, pedestrian model with hybrid tacked on like the other Lexus hybrids or the Camry hybrid. I could see some Prius owners moving up to it if they could afford it, because you would get Lexus luxury with Prius eco-cred. This car makes the hybrid statement and has luxury. Best of both worlds for some. The problem with the Prius is yes, it has eco-cred and distinct styling, but it's a cheap sh*tbox inside. This car gives you luxury with your eco-cred.

It gets more power and mileage than a typical V8 SUV...355 hp out of 3.5 litres is impressive...I don't think Ford doesn't have any SUV V8s that get this kind of power or mileage (don't most V8 SUVs struggle to get even close to 20 mpg in real world use?). And the Flex is probably much more pleasant to drive than any truck based SUV.

This is a car I didn't know existed...thought all the FBs in the '80s were 4drs. Pretty cool. 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 2dr for sale 17k miles

Riiiight. I doubt if anyone gets over 17-18 with those beasts...

Well, it does give Prius buyers an upgrade path when they want to go upscale.

Congrats!

OMG! Camry roolez!! It is TEH BOMB! Toyota IS God! :) Of course, I'm sure these photos are automotive pr0n to the guys I worked with this summer at the startup---there were so many Toyota fanboys there---from the 24yr old w/ the new Camry w/ the 20 inch custom wheels, to the 4 Priuses, the 30-something ironman triatheletes---one with a Matrix and one with an FJCruiser, etc.. they were always picking on me for driving/liking American cars.

I don't miss that sh*t...I talked w/ my Mom in E. Ohio (Steubenville area) and my sister in W. Ohio (Beavercreek/Dayton) this morning, sounds like they had snow going on and general typical Ohio gross winter weather. As much as dislike Arizona for many reasons, the winter weather here is fantastic---was out driving around today w/ all the windows down, sunroof open, blue skies and 65 degrees.

I think I'm going to vomit. Did M-B hire Chris Bangle? This is really, really bad. Personally, I prefer Mercs with big, squarish grilles and stand up hood ornaments, like the one in my driveway:

Well, since the Orlando is going to be the Cruze (Delta II?) platform, I'm assuming it will replace whatever Daewoo crud Chevy is peddling in Europe in this segment, and the HHR in the US.

You have to be kidding...are the masses that lazy? I'd rather see the key return to the dash, as it has on many cars. The key on the steering column is a bit outdated...the push button start is a novelty gadget, didn't cars have those in ancient times?