Robert Hall

What new minivan? Is Canada getting the Zafira or something?

Hmmm...I don't know about the FWD, since the big-league luxury SUVs are all still RWD based (X5, ML, GL, Range Rover, etc). But it would be nice to see something less truckish and obese for the big Caddy SUV. I'd rather have seen the SRX be redesigned and be the top of the line Caddy SUV.

Yeah, and Ford has pushed their '09 F150 launch back a couple of months...I can't imagine that these are going to do well in this market, even if they are new..

Yeah, what is it with rental car agencies? They always seem to have their car/size category mappings all wrong... a Corolla is a compact, not a midsize.

Riiight... I doubt if a Tahoe could get close to 20 mpg...maybe 15-16.

27 mpg combined is ridiculously low for such a tiny car....what's the problem?

Neat...on my trips to Europe, I didn't see many old cars, other than some '70s Fiats in Italy and a couple '70s Fords (Capri and a Cortina) in the UK. I'd love to see a mid '70s Granada or Consul GT, like the car in 'The Sweeney'...I really like the design of the '70s European Fords..

The cutlines look the same to me...the difference is in the hatch relative to the decklid, I think.. I couldn't find pics from the same angle..

It doesn't get any easier... I love a manual on windy, hilly backroads, but in real world stop-and-go city traffic, freeways, etc an automatic is fine with me.

Interesting..from studying the photos, it looks like the sedan and hatchback have the same roof, rear quarters, doors, and c-pillar shape, differing only in the decklid and hatch..

Hmmm...a LWB hatchback model like the Signum was, perhaps?

Well, the Holdens are RHD. I'm assuming they have LHD manual Zetas for the Middle East Chevys; but for the US they have would have to certify the powertrain combo for emissions...this seems to be a situation where GM is trying to avoid spending the $$$ on something they don't think the sales volume would justify. Unfortunate.

Yeah, but again, they probably ran the numbers and thought it wasn't cost effective. If they did offer a manual, what would be projected percentage? The European and Japanese sports sedan market has always supported manuals, but the American market has been dominated by automatics for so long... (i.e. buyers of domestics overwhelmingly prefer automatics).

I assume GM looked at the Charger, it sells ok with a V8 and no manual. Americans as a whole just don't like manuals...

Hmmm...sounds more like they are Lesbyterian more than Lebanese.. (mmm...Lebanese...hummus...kebabs...schwarma...)

Several of my married friends (both DINKs and DIWKs) have the best arrangement---hubby picks and buys his cars,wifey picks and buys hers. Had I married my ex-fiancee, we planned to do that...my money, her money, and some shared items.

I had a smash and grab last summer....was parked in a well-lit movie theater lot in a Denver suburb...I guess the thought I had an iPod in the car since I had my iPod adapter (cassette adapter) in plain sight...they smashed the driver's window and stole a couple of CDs that were in the center console. First break in I'd had in over 20 years of driving. I take care not to leave anything out in plain sight now..

Interesting...it definitely looks like a CTS tall wagon, which is the most appealing aspect of it to me..it looks so much nicer than the obese Escalade, IMHO.. I'd like to have seen the SRX updated with '08 CTS styling cues inside and out..

Yeah, unfortunately, it would be way too expensive to change what is really bad about the car (the C-pillars and rear end).

QUOTE(frogger @ Jun 23 2008, 02:46 PM) [snapback]406261[/snapback]After being there earlier this month/taking this pic, if I could get this for a backyard I'd choose country as long as I wasn't more than 2 hours from a major city... Not happening though so I'll stick to urban living. There are views like this less than two hours from Denver....a couple of friends of mine have moved to Summit County (Breckenridge, Dillon) full time....the downside being the cost of living there, and that they work from home or travel for work (2+ hr drive to the airport). One thing I've thought about if I go back to Denver full time is to buy a weekend getaway cabin or condo in the mountains...I do love it up there, even if I suck at winter sports...

Suburban in a large metro area for me...I like being able to go downtown when I want to, and I like the convenience of having things that are important to me close by (Target, Starbucks, a wide variety of restaurants, airport, tech company jobs, etc). I couldn't handle the isolation and lack of access to stores, a wide variety of restaurants, etc in a rural area or small town.

One scenario I know of specifically where I need a land line is a home alarm system, at least with ADT. I have a land line in AZ for that.

I'm not sure how relevant cars from 25+ years ago are.... what is important is the reliability of modern cars, built in this decade...which the domestics seem to be overall pretty equal to the imports.

Lancer

I've used it for over 4 years. Cheap, effective. Sound quality fine. Haven't had any problems with it. I had to configure the 911 service for it through the Vonage website. I'm using it in AZ now, still have my CO area code and number. One feature I like is I can listen to my voicemail through the Vonage website...I also can forward my calls to my cell (which I do when traveling). Overall, much better than the horrid land line service I had from Qwest previously...