Robert Hall

Surprising the Cobalt SS turned in such a good time....I usually don't think of FWD and handling in the same sentence...

Yeah, well GM's 'divisions' are little more than marketing organizations selling a brand image for a corporate-developed product.

Yes, an era long, long ago...when car ads were still often in b&w.

I like the profile and rear, but the front end reminds me too much of the Camry..

I have no problem with the safety features in today's cars... crumple zones, airbags, seat belts, ABS, etc....the better, IMHO. And I like loaded w/ options models rather than stripped down ones....the downside is the weight goes up..

Ah, hentai... over the weekend, I was talking w/ some buddies about comic books (one of my friends from HS is an aspiring comic book artist), graphic novels, movie adaptations, anime, manga, etc and one guy was talking about seeing it out in the open on newstands in Osaka and Tokyo...bizzare stuff with coprophilia, etc...

Yeah, lots of regional variations... when I'm in So Cal, I'm usually in LA County beach towns (Santa Monica, etc), OC beach towns, San Diego downtown and beaches, or some inland areas like Hollywood, Irvine, etc. I see a ton of imports--esp. BMWs, Hondas, and Toyotas....when I see current Impalas, etc they appear to be rentals..

53k Civics in May...Probably very few fit that description.

How many buyers REALLY want stripped down cars today, though? Not many, I think..

Too flashy to really be a sleeper, though..

Can't think of anything that fits the sleeper definition today, as far as production cars. You can't get a base trim level Cobalt with the SS drivetrain, for example, or a V6-trim Mustang with the Shelby GT500 drivetrain. One thing I think that would make a nice sleeper (aftermarket) by mixing and matching modern car parts would be a current Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car with a Shelby GT500 engine, etc....

I was talking new ones... a GT convertible equipped as I would want one is over $35k. I think we are comparing new cars to new cars..the used market is something else entirely..

Well, a Mustang GT vert is around $35k...but there is a 100hp difference (at least w/ the current Mustang).

I've seen 3...a red one driving around in Denver, a white one parked at an Alamo rental facility at Denver Intl' Airport (don't know if it was a rental or not), and a black one last week in Miami. Haven't seen any here in Arizona yet. I've seen lots of CTSes and Malibus..

Cool...those G-bodies were popular cars when I was in high school back in the day. Don't see nice ones very often any more.

Speaking of GNs, a buddy of mine in high school had an '87 back then, got it brand new... unfortunately, he totalled it right before graduation. At the 20th reunion this past weekend, we got to talking, he owns an auto shop now, and recently bought an '87 GN to restore (being S. Florida, it has some rust issues apparently).

I doubt if it will get IRS.. yes, this is a change similar to '99, but with interior changes as well.

Lots of wierdness...the oversized grille-thing, the Aura decklid, the Accordish taillights....they couldn't even get the rear door upper frames to lineup with the chrome trim correctly (picture 5). Dissapointing.

Yes, weighty cars can handle quite well... They can't handle as well as an all-out sports car like a Boxster or Elise, but for what they are, I would expect the Camaro and Challenger to handle very well.

Not really...Motor Trend recently tested a Challenger on the best roads in the world and reported that it handled quite nicely..

I wonder what Pontiac's consumer sales volume is relative to Saturn, though...once you factor out the fleet sales.

The NG Mustang is just a refresh of the current model, so I wouldn't expect it to gain weight.

Too bad the RS package doesn't have hidden headlights like the '67/68...that would look cool w/ the new car's grille, I think..

I'm surprised Bush didn't upgrade to a Hummer based limo a few years back..would have been appropriate for the 'War President', and put sponsor decals on it like a NASCAR--decals for Halliburton, Blackwater, Exxon, etc. .

Well, Buick is there now w/ 3 models.... I could see a 3 Pontiac line-- Solstice, G8, and G6 (keep the coupe and coupe/convertible, they are unique within the NA Epsys).