Drew Dowdell

Isn't the 2.5 a very significant change in design despite just a small change in displacement?

still no pics?

Well on the fuel economy thing, we know we can only get so good. Even the CR-V only gets about 20 in the city because we have to really push it to get it up the hills. My CTS could do better than that and my Avalanche wasn't far behind.

Only the V8 model.

1969 Ninety-Eight Edit: Ocn was right, 98 not 88. Roofline gives it away.

wow, without putting them next to each other, the Legacy looks like a much larger car. I don't usually travel with my tape measure, but I've always held the impression it was between the Altima and Maxima in size.

Duuuude, be honest here. That SRX is something YOU'D love to have (and it's nice and all, but it has a high-maintenance N*)... but is it what Albert wants? It's his car. Oh he loves Cadillacs too and especially the SRXes of both generations. He just wouldn't want the V8 for fuel economy reasons. In fact, the V8 is the only likely negative on that car that I can see coming from him. put up? Is the SRX just too large for Albert? Probably just slightly.... but he'd learn to like it for all of the luxury goodies it has... We've had a 2010 and 2011 SRX from GM and he loved both of them. They just aren't inside the budget.

but it's kinda hard for me to think about a Legacy when I can find a 2008 SRX Sport V8 AWD with a buy it now price of $25,495

I think the STS is definitely going to be too big. That would more likely be a car for me if I wasn't pining for an Avalanche. The newest Legacy is also possibly too large too. No way on a Taurus. The Fusion was his goldilocks "just right" in size for a sedan. I think he would "put up" with an SRX to get the luxuries he likes if the price was right.... but that might take some pushing.

No pool = no sale for me.

I wonder what % of Audi sales in China are AWD...they are mostly AWD in NA.. Unless the Chinese are mostly buying loaded models, with the exception of the A8L, all of the Audi sedans come in FWD for the first few trim levels.

I had to google large pictures of both to even be able to tell the difference.

You mean the mostly FWD Audi lineup is selling better than the mostly RWD BMW and Mercedes lineup in China? Shocking.

Jobs for jobs sake is a bad idea. They should bring Zeta over here and build it at SpringHill... THEN there will be a reason to reactivate that plant.

Not entirely terrible! ...the interior lacks the "Saab" feel though...

Well, that would be more akin to splitting Chevy's HD and non-HD trucks. Otherwise, I might as well lump Camry sales in with Highlander, Venza, Sienna, and ES350. I would have had to combine Regal, Century, Impala, Intrigue, and Grand Prix back in the day. Clearly, GM had the best-selling midsize car, not Honda or Toyota. This just doesn't work. I think that is going a bit far down the slippery slope. Switching a Chevy to a GMC is just a front clip and a tailgate swap that someone could do in their back yard. You couldn't swap a Camry into a Venza in similar fashion though.... even though the Matrix gets lumped into Corolla sales while the Cobalt and HHR were always separate. I think that is the definition for me.... if I can convincingly convert the vehicle from one brand to another without the use of a sawzaw, then it's probably a badge job.

I'm not a "must buy new" person. I look for the best overall value in a car that fits my (our) needs. You've been warned once about being rude to others. Now you've been rude to me. You won't get a third warning.

he's got a point though.... the F-150 and the F-350 aren't at all the same truck... not even the same running gear... but they all get lumped into one.

I can probably fit in 99% of the cars BV can fit in. I can drive them in a comfortable position for a reasonable amount of time like for a daily commute. However, they are not comfortable cars to me. I could fit comfortably in the Jetta and Cruze. Drove the Jetta to Toronto and the Cruze to Detroit. Yet despite fitting comfortably, they weren't comfortable to drive for those distances. I'd rather have a DTS, Lucerne, or MKS over those small cars any day. Since I use a bus to get to work and the rest of my driving is long distance, having the larger car for comfort is important to me. There is more to it than just "fit".

How many of those Camry sales are now rental fleet? Enterprise and National are loaded with them.

It's not just room, it's packaging and comfort. Larger cars ride better and are better for long distance driving (on average). No amount of quiet tuning will get a Verano to ride like a Lucerne. I have no illusions that I need a firm riding car for my driving needs... I'm not apexing corners here. I drive the speed limit or 5 over. I loved my CTS, but doing it over again, I would prefer a DTS (with modern interior) or XTS today.

DTS is just about right and I'm 5'10" 160lbs. There are numerous subjectives involved in judging a given car's suitability to a person; it's seldom back & white. No one 'needs' a car that can exceed even 100 MPH, yet scores buy cars capable of half that again. Preference. I was clearly talking about physical size. Are we talking about needs or comfort? I need a lot of car around me to feel comfortable.

Audi has been on a tear lately..I'd expect them to be in the top 4 in the US in the next few years... uh, not with those sales rates....

Base price of $31k for a Quattro is too high, yes.

What is strange is model size growth over the last 30 years. A Fiesa is about the size of an 87 Escort. A Focus today is larger than a Contour or Tempo A Fusion is the same size as a first generation Taurus. A Taurus is larger inside than a Crown Victoria The Accord today is larger than an '87 Lincoln Continental inside. Today's Civic is larger than the Accord was in the 80s. A CTS weighs more and has more interior room than my '81 Toronado.