Robert Hall

Interesting...you can definitely make out the Buick sweepspear on the door, and the front door glass looks Malibuish. I'm still wondering what it will be called in NA (not LaCrosse/Allure, I assume).

Ah....Canada numbers...those numbers did seem a bit small for monthly sales...but I'm only on my second cup of coffee this morning...

Yeah, reality intrudes in moving from concept car to production...to be useful, mirrors have to be reasonably large...

Hmmm...maybe Chrysler can get a Z-based 2 seater Crossfire replacement. It is odd, though, to think of Chrysler and Nissan, given their past and present JVs with Mitsubishi..

3rd place within the first year on the market is quite respectable, IMHO.

Not sure how accurate this is...this Inside Line article claims that Chrysler will get a B-segment model from Nissan (I thought Chery was going to be their provider for a subcompact) and that the next-gen Titan will be a restyled Ram, for 2011. Interesting if this turns out to be true. Inside Line article on Chrysler, Nissan JV

When I went out to dinner tonight, I saw a dark blue Smart... and a sharp yellow '72 Montego GT fastback.

Fascinating...I always wondered if the HQs had any relationship to the early '70s GTOs and LeManses... I have this big 'pictorial history of cars' book from the late '70s, and I remember as a kid seeing a color pic in it of an HQ Monaro and thinking it had styling cues similar to the early '70s mid size Pontiacs. For those who know Monaros of that era, what size were they relative to an NA A-body? Did they share any dirty bits with NA platforms? Those 'Super Chicken' and Sandman decals are 'groovy', to use the slang of that era..

Because the Accord and Camry are the standard bearers in the midsize category. The public likes vanilla. It looks good, IMHO..clean and modern with a few character creases and a distinctive rear end. Certainly not as bland as the FWD generics GM has churned out for the last 25+ years...(and is only recently moving past w/ the new Malibu, Aura, etc).

You are delusional.

I like that logo idea...the rings fit nicely within a circular badge, moreso than in a rectangle.

I was surprised that the 3900 is based on the old Chevy 60 degree V6 family...I assumed it was a slightly bigger 3800, but noo..

Most everything from the early 20th century looks alike to me...most cars or trucks from around 1920 or 1930 all look the same to me...hard to see brand distinctions until later, IMHO. (though some of the luxury cars of the 30s definitely stand out like the Cords, Auburns, Duesenbergs, Bugattis, Mercedes, RRs, Packards, etc or futuristic stuff like the Chrysler Airflows).

Speaking of silver greens, there is a light green (Desert Sage Metallic) on the Lexus IS that I love...I'd like to see the new Camaro in a similar color, as it reminds me of a late '60s-early '70s GM color..

It's just not very competitive to have a pushrod V6 and 4spd auto in the mid-size market in 2009 (maybe 1992)...the next gen model can't come soon enough.

They dropped the 3.6 from the LaCrosse but kept the ancient 3.8? Strange.

That was 2006. So it looks like the Dubya Impy is 2000-2005 then 2006-2010 (or 2016 if Chevy decides to do a 10-yr styling cycle like Ford did w/ the CV)?.

So the '09 Impy is going to be pretty much carryover from '06-08, I assume? I guess Avis needs plenty of them to replace their GPs...

Yeah, but nobody knows yet how different they are yet..it's just the same old ingredients mixed up a different way...just GM FWD generic stuff...

Theta, Theta-Epsilon....whatever...it's all FWD and FWD/AWD, what's the substantive difference?

That would suck...I wouldn't want to pay serious out of pocket expenses for a late model car..time to trade it in.

It doesn't sound promising... I love the banter on TG and a big part of it's appeal to me is the European cars and European settings (test driving a Jag in the Scottish Highlands, searching for the best road in the Alps w/ 3 supercars, caravanning in the English countryside, etc...)

I know... I love the dry British humour.

Well, as James May on Top Gear put it last year, "We are Britain; we are the inventors of everything." Kind of like Al Gore and the Internet and pants.

As far as Carter-era GMs go, the one I'd want to have would be a '78 Impala coupe...love that rear window treatment and the '78 grille.