Drew Dowdell

Cutlass Supreme convertible. All the space of a W-body coupe with the top up, and still a usable trunk with the top down. Get the 3.4DOHC, bring a phillips head screwdriver to check the timing belt (just have to remove one screw), the phone number to the local alternator repair shop, and you're all set.

I don't know if this is still the case, but Subaru actually has two AWD systems. One for manual transmission cars and one for automatics. The one that goes with the manual transmission is the one you're referring to. Caveat, my information is old, so I don't know if this is still the case. GM's Versatrak was apparently very good with the ability to send most of the torque to the rear wheels if needed. There is a demo on youtube of an AWD Aztek pulling an AWD CR-V kicking and screaming backwards across the ice. Anything with the latest generation Haldex system can probably do the same as it can direct the torque to any wheel it wants to.

LOL Picking and choosing again? The 6.2 liter LS9 is offered in the Corvette with 638hp. That GM tunes it down for the CTS-V says nothing about the capabilities of the engine. Dwightlooi has already addressed the issues of displacement tax (an idiotic tax) and that the latest GM pushrods lack nothing in the quickness to rev department. We're not talking about your grandfathers Olds 307 here. This are highly advanced engines.

A CTS-V can do a lot of things those other cars can't. Where's the benefit to switching it to DOHC?

Prepping to debate Loki in politics.....

So are the GM trucks if you scrape the badges off. Ford has gotten to claim "Best Selling Truck" for as long as it has only because GM spreads it's full size trucks over two name plates. I'm sure there are some years in the past 30 where the Chevy+GMC outsold the F-150.

Anywhere you can put a DOHC V8 you can put a Pushrod V8 anywhere from 1 - 2 liter's greater displacement. Ford's OHC <not DOHC, decent size difference there> has been the laggard of the bunch for years.

We had a Richard Craver in highschool.... yes he turned out to be gay.

In the company I work for we have the following last names: Dick Cox Keister Wang Wang's first name is Hilong (pronounced Hey-Long). Because that caused too many snickers, he picked a nickname for himself. Harry.

I think Reg was comparing V6 to V6. The 3.6 litre in the Malibu is thirstier than the 3.9 in the Lucy.

Well the trip out, 225 miles at 27mpg. Rolling hills of Western PA, West VA, and Eastern Ohio for the first 25% of that, Flat Ohio for the remaining 75%, with a trunk full of equipment. Trip back, 30mpg with mostly empty trunk 70-75mph each way. So, I'd say, yes.

Or needs a bigger car?

I would have been happy with just the decade.

I don't recall if your Altima was a CVT or not, but I assume it was. From simply a NHV standpoint, the 3.9 would completely pwn a Nissan 2.4. An experiment that I had with the Lucerne was that I unwittingly put the car in 3 rather than D when leaving a rest stop. Drove that way for 20 miles before I realized.... and it was only the MPG indicator that tipped me off. There is virtually no difference in NHV in the Lucerne between 3 and D. Try doing that in any 4-cylinder... especially a Nissan one.

The 219hp is the gas only. The 227hp is the FlexFuel.

What do you mean "long haul"?

We should re-do this poll with a lot more car bodystyles made available. Kammback anyone? Shooting brake?

There are two 3.9s. I had the lesser powerful of the two as a rental and it performs just fine. You won't be winning any drag races with 5-series, but it's nice around town. Cruising at 80 is effortless and frugal. I managed 27mpg with a trunk stuffed full of computer equipment. If I recall it was 8 PC towers and 9, 19" flat screens, plus keyboards/mice/wires, and my luggage. All of that fit in the trunk. I got 30mpg on the way back with the car unloaded. Both trips were steady 70mph-75mph range. The Lucerne is likely dead soon. It and the DTS will be going out of production to make room for Volt production. edit: Updated with link to engine information.

I think it has a lot more to do with the true market conditions out there (Yes Virginia, there really is a recession for everyone except Wall St.) than it has to do with Toyota.

A G-Body coupe from ANY division would have been nice after the Riv was killed.

I would have like to seen what happened if GM stuck with Olds and had killed Saturn instead. The Aura would probably have been the new Intrigue. The Astra would probably have been a new Alero. Relay would have been the new Silhouette Outlook would have been the new Bravada Vue would have been a new model and they would have needed to update the Aurora with the 3.6 instead of the 3.5

Why? Does it annoy you that the RX/MDX sell? They are the meat of the market.

Carrera GT was built between 2005 and 2007. Have there been any sub-4 liter V8's lately? So that really means the engine is between 4.0 and 5.5. It's not the GTO, that was 5.7 Thunderbird had a 3.9 but was not available with a manual.... and was a convertible rather than a coupe.

Take two of these and count backwards from 100 Hope all goes well.