Robert Hall

I'm guessing the combination of FWD, torque, and and the slick plastic bumpers enabled the Camry to climb on the CV.. By the way, I posted this one about a month or two ago...

I'm witholding judgement of the new TL until I see one in person. I liked the design inside and out of the previous generation model quite a bit, though. As far GM goes, the SAAB Turbo X seems like the closest competitor to the TL SH-AWD. I think if I was looking for an AWD sports sedan, I'd look seriously at the A4, TL, and Turbo X. For a purely RWD model, the CTS and G8 are the most appealing to me...not sure I'd go back to BMW.

No more Buick ads with Tiger GM Ends Deal with Tiger

This reminds me of a line from an old Don Henley song that was something like 'man with a suit can steal more than a man with a gun'...

Yeah, and the cool thing about turkey day here is it's always a Thursday, so 2 days off. Woo hoo! 4 day weekend.

3 day work week, then a quiet Thanksgiving w/ my sister. We are probably going to get dinner take out from AJs (local gourmet supermarket) to avoid doing much cooking. If the weather is nice, plan to sit outside by the pool for dinner. Couldn't convince Mom to fly out from Ohio. Probably watch some football or or a few concert DVDs (Rush has a new DVD out today, and I have the David Gilmour Live in Gdansk that I haven't watched yet). Should be a nice low-key 4 day weekend. Maybe go to the movies ('Australia' and 'Transporter 3' open this weekend, I think). Going to avoid 'Black Friday' shopping except online (going to try and do my xmas shopping this weekend).

Childhood in the '70s...grew up in a family of car nuts--my older brother always had 2-3 interesting cars--'60s Mustangs, a V8 Vega, a couple '70s Firebirds, a '65 GTO, etc...my parents had 3 '67-68 Cougars, a '69 Mustang, Lincolns...I had Hot Wheels, Matchbox and other diecast from age 3, snap kits at 6, model kits from age 8, subscriptions to Road & Track and Car & Driver from age 7. In kindergarden and 1st-2nd grade, walked past a Pontiac dealer every day on the way to school. Still remember seeing the '76 Firebirds, the arrival of the new '77 Catalinas and Bonnevilles, the '77 Can Am.. I still remember the cars from my childhood neighborhood in Steubenville, Ohio---the black '67 Delmont 88 across the street, the gold '71 Sedan de Ville and black '74 Eldorado next door (owned by the neighborhood mafia capo), the blue '73 Century 4dr next door, the white '54 Coupe de Ville down the street, the dark green '68 Caprice ht down the street...

'What's a Pontiac...is that a kind of Dodge?'. ---overheard at an auto show a few years ago, a woman saying to her male companion regarding the '06 GTO. 'I don't know..I thought Pontiac only made rental cars'---the male companion 'Friday at midnight kill them all.. then replace them..' -- a colleague, talking about a server upgrade. Heard out of context, it could mean something quite different.

It nauseates me that Washington bails out garbage like Citigroup and AIG with very little effort, yet the automakers are treated like beggars...

This weekend, saw a '73 Century coupe today, black, Buick mags, very clean...haven't seen one of those in forever.... saw a couple CTSes--a black one and a dark blue one (hadn't seen that color before). Saw a silver G8. Also, there is a very clean gold '70 Impala or Caprice 4dr ht for sale at the Circle K a couple blocks away, been parked out there during the day for a few days now.,

Yeah, the Charger is a car I like as far as it's specs (in Hemi form), but the stying does nothing for me. I love the design of the G8--clean, subtle and modern with great RWD proportions.

Where is the trunk release on the G8, by the way? My '87 Mustang GT has the hatch release in the glovebox, which is odd..

Yeah, the Ws were platform mates..probably didn't share more than the windshields in any give year as far as external parts, maybe front doors on 4drs. Sky is a platform mate of the Solstice, probably no body panels in common besides the windshield frame.

I've really never been a truck fan or had a need for one, but I do have a soft spot for the mid-to-late '70s Chevy shortbed stepsides. And 'burbans of the '73-91 era.

Not necessarily. Some buyers what/need a 4dr but want a performance sedan. By the way, since you never have anything positive to contribute about GM, why are you here? Just to be an irritant?

I suspect if we eventually see Chinese cars in the US, they will be sold at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club under a store brand or at Costco as a Kirkland...since those companies sell massive amounts of Chinese products now, they would be a likely partnership venue..

Similar price range, but different market segment. I can see comparing a Challenger w/ a Camaro and a Mustang, or a G8 with a Charger. But the 335i is a BMW--a premium brand--it's competition are the Lexus IS, Infiniti G35/7, Merc C-class, CTS, Audi A4/A5 etc--other premium brand models in that price bracket. I think consumers rarely cross-shop between mainstream and premium brands, even in similar price brackets.

pointy

It's my sister's house in Phoenix and her cars... I'm renting her house, taking care of her cars and dogs while she works in Ohio (flies back and forth every couple of weeks, trusts family more than the dog sitter and 3 ex-husbands she had previously). I'm renting out my condo in Denver to a friend currently.. They drive great even with a lot of miles (the 500SEL has over 176k, the 300CE over 124k). Here's a pic of the 500SEL...I can't find one of the 300CE right now.

Different market niche than those cars, though...the G8 GXP's competitor is the Charger SRT8.

Sweet. It's priced comparable to the Charger SRT8 and has the advantage of a manual transmission. The question is, will/can anyone buy it in this market? Also, the manual should have been standard, the automatic an option.

Arizona

They've no doubt done a cost-benefit analysis that shows Americans don't buy very many manuals in midsize FWD sedans. Other than the Accord and Mazda6, what other midsize FWD family sedans are available w/ a V6 and manual in the US? Or are the Accord and Mazda6 manuals now just w/ 4s?

They've no doubt done a cost-benefit analysis that shows Americans don't buy very many manuals in midsize FWD sedans. Other than the Accord, who else offers a manual in their midsize FWD family sedans? VW used to in the Passat, not sure if they still do in the US.

Not sure how it is in the States these days, but I know after 25 it used to drop if you have a good record. I'm sure my insurance would have been outrageous for my car at that age--I got my red, V8 Mustang GT new when I was 17--but we kept the car in my Dad's name and on his-multi car policy until I was 24. (Insurance for a 70 yr old w/ 6 cars was pretty low, apparently).