Drew Dowdell

This is so laughably wrong.

3 against 1. I'm not saying the switchgear is bad. It's fine, and in the case of the HVAC an interesting AND functional design. It's the other stuff. It's the headliner right out of a Hyundai Excel, it's the John Deere tilt wheel lever, it's the sharp edges of plastic along the bottom of the center console where you can scratch yourself if you wore shorts, it's the sun visors that feel like the super cheap vinyl that would have been used in a '79 F-150, it's the plastic that surrounds the NAV that GM would be crucified for if they put it in a car, it's the plastic on the door panels that everyone complained about in the 2007 Aura. but sure... the rear heated seat switches are nice to touch. I have my issues with the Cruze as you'll see when I publish the review, but in terms of material quality, with one notable exception, the Cruze is the better car. Even in pre-production form, it's clear the Verano will even further exceed the Elantra. Yeah, the Cruze is close to the top of it's class in material quality. The Hyundai is near the bottom. Civic, Mazda3, new Focus, new Jetta, old Jetta, Impreza, and Fiesta, are all ahead of it.

If I've got GM koolaid, then you have Hyundai koolaid. But I also say the Jetta, Focus, and Civic interior are also better than the Elantra interior... does that mean I have Honda and VW Koolaid too? The Hyundai "more goodness" is all fluff. It's in the details that you never think about where Hyundai falls down. The Cruze has some misses on interior ergonomics, but on the material quality side, the Cruze is much better than Elantra. Don't believe me? Ask BV or Z-06 also... they had seat time in both. I drove the Cruze a bit further than an around the block test drive. We drove it from Pittsburgh to Detroit and back through some absolutely terrible road conditions. The engine is no buzz bomb. Again, I'm not the only one to say this. In NHV the Cruze is near or at the top of the class.

Another one for Camino - someone decided it was prudent to make a Ford Festivaro... or Ranchiva... And someone put angel eyes on a new Ram, only somehow got the wiring wrong so that instead of flashing the turn signal now, it flashes the angel eye on that side.

I would expect to hear more product information coming by late this year regarding Regal

no later than 4th qtr this year

and to bring it back......

Reviewed: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Baby Got Back! Check out our review the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe

Full Review: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe <big><big><span style="font-weight: bold;="" font-family:="" monospace;=""> Baby Got Back! </span style="font-weight:></big></big> Gallery 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Let's get something out of the way. Yes you can see out the back of the Cadillac CTS Coupe. It is great visibility? No, but that's why they put a backup camera and rear parking sensors back there. That takes care of reverse. If the gear selector is in "D", then the only piece of technology you need to worry about with regard to rearward visibility is a black 2" x 6" piece of plastic on the right of the driver's side foot well. Press that, and anything mucking up your view out the back will instantly grow smaller. This car is all about going and looking good while doing it. It draws attention everywhere. The CTS coupe joins the sedan and wagon for the first time in the 2011 model year. It's base price of $39,040 is about $3,000 more than the base sedan, but the coupe gets a higher level of standard equipment. For starters, the coupe doesn't even bother with the sedan's base 270hp 3.0 litre V6, instead going straight for the 305 horsepower direct injected V6. A 6-speed automatic comes standard as opposed to being a $1,224 option as on the sedan. Other features standard on the coupe that are optional or not available on the sedan include: Limited slip differential, 18" inch alloy wheels, sport suspension, and 8-way power passenger seat. Getting in and out of the CTS coupe is a fairly easy task as far as coupes go. The doors aren't so huge that you can't open them in a tight space. They can be on the heavy side and if you're on a steep hill, the indents aren't quite deep enough to hold the door open. The electronic door release lends that air of jet fighter feel. The dash and center console are all straight out of the CTS Sedan. Controls, if a bit numerous, are logically laid out. Cadillac equipped this CTS with key-less access. You simply keep the fob in your pocket and turn the dial where a traditional key would be. I prefer this method over push button key less start for the simple reason that you have a physical indication of what the car should be doing; unlike say Lexus where you just have a button and if you need to shut the car off suddenly due to a run away vehicle situation, you aren't randomly stabbing a button trying to shut the car down. With Cadillac's system, the tragedy that occurred with the run away Lexus in California last year would not have happened. Rear seat room is surprisingly good even if getting back there is a bit awkward. There are power seat slider controls at back outside corner of the seats. Rear seat passengers can reach up and do a Vulcan neck pinch on the seat and it will motor forward. One strange bit in the back was the lack of a center arm rest, yet the outboard arm gets one leaving you leaning towards the centerline of the car. Trunk space isn't for someone who can't pack light. Two large suit cases, two small roll aboards, and you're done. Trunk supports are large goosenecks that you need to be mindful of. Looking at the rear, I don't see any other way Cadillac could have mounted the trunk lid. Form over function as they say. The Navi-tainment system is easy to use, though it took me a little bit to realize that you pair your bluetooth phone through the voice response system rather than navigating through the menus on the screen. The navigation function works well, but the maps could use an update in both look and function. They are starting to look half a version behind the times and at least in the case of one highway here in Pittsburgh, the exit numbers haven't been updated in the NAV though they changed here about a year ago. I had that same issue on the 2011 GMC Sierra Denali previously. Overall, the interior, with it's ambient lighting and great styling, feels like a very upscale place to spend your time. Now, for the part you all car about most; How does it drive? In this particular tester, the tires already had 5,000 miles of hard hard driving on them. Still lateral grip seemed very good. The CTS coupe is heavy, weighing in at over 3,900 lbs. To put that in perspective, that is more than the larger BMW 650i coupe. You feel this weight going around the curves, but it doesn't feel like a hindrance to performance. The ride is quite on the firm side and highway expansion joints can get tiresome and repetitive. Weight does hurt in acceleration. If Cadillac could shave even a couple hundred pounds off this car, it would even more firmly live up to the new cred that Cadillac is building. You never feel underpowered, but that "3, 2, 1, Launch" feeling just isn't there in this car. The CTS coupe helped to give Cadillac record growth in 2010, helping to earn Cadillac the title of "Fastest Growing Luxury Marque in 2010". Putting even the vaunted BMW 3-series coupe on notice that GM is after blood. Cadillac has an army of new releases coming over the next 4 years. If they meet or beat the CTS coupe in capability and style in their respective segments, I see no reason Cadillac can't earn that same title for 2012 and beyond. Related: Cadillac ATS Power Train Predictions Interactive Review: 2011 Cadillac SRX Turbo

Not much bigger at all on the exterior. Just packaged better to get the interior volume up.

Why not? They're trying the Equinox and Terrain and Traverse. Lexus and Toyota fans are trying the Lacrosse, Regal, and Enclave. So why can't some currently driving one of those brands try the Verano?

I call this one, Corvettes in the Midst. Mark Reuss, President of GM N.A. talking Michigan Governor Rick Snyder into a new Chevrolet Camaro.

The GMC Sierra HD All-Terrain gallery is up <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm-MEt0TysI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm-MEt0TysI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm-MEt0TysI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Get the Elantra too far out of it's $14,999 + destination bargain basement comfort zone and the gap on interior quality between it and the Cruze or Focus or even Civic and Jetta become rather clear. Even the new Jetta has a higher quality interior than the Elantra. Get someone behind the wheel of a Cruze and the interior quality and power train refinement will tell you why you'll pay $1500 to $2000 more. All two people shopping in this segment who care that the Elantra is 0.3 seconds faster to 60 can go buy an Elantra instead. I'll say it again, Hyundai is more concerned with the "flair" of things like heated rear seats and selling you on that, but then skimping on other small details that don't get bold print in press releases. GM has really put together two of the best interiors in the respective classes with the Cruze and Verano. The Cruze, BTW, gets the woven headliner the previous generation CTS had. NHV would have made Lexus proud 5 years ago. Man, pass around whatever it is that Hyundai gave you to smoke. If you had said Kia, you might have had an argument, but you're only looking at it from the bargain basement perspective. If your finances are so tight that you're only looking at monthly payment, then yes the Hyundai may be right for you; but the better quality car in terms of materials and NHV is still the Cruze. I've not driven the Focus, but I've sat in it, and it's handily beats the Elantra as well inside.