Drew Dowdell

oh.... wait...

Speedminder? Buicks had that at least back to the mid-1950s. Dominic's 1957 Century has it.

that wasn't the earthquake.... :AH-HA_wink:

a difference in tastes is fine.... I responded to OCN's comment that the car would be ok if it was RWD.

I was more using you as a RWD only example. I actually find the Insignia to be more attractive than the current Aura, which in itself is more attractive than the Accord Sedan <I like the coupe> and Camry. To me, it looks like what would have happened if you took a BMW, Benz, and previous generation Passat and combined them. No, it's not an '08 CTS, but in it's market it doesn't need to be.

I never said you did. However I do know that you'd never buy anything FWD with the possible exception of an HHR SS. In short, it could be a retro looking El Camino clone, but if it was FWD you wouldn't buy it. That was the point I was making.

What is the USB port on the stereo for? iPods?

as always, I'll be in Pittsburgh

and I think the cause of that is the Northeast and Mid-west. Since people in Phoenix and Miami will obviously still buy FWD vehicles, there is the incentive for the automakers to produce just FWD vehicles to suit the Northerners since the Southerners still buy them. GM losing Camino and 68 as potential Insignia customers <though neither would likely buy a Saturn regardless> is a much smaller loss than losing a good chunk of the potential AltiCamcord market.

Invicta means unconquerable.

it's probably just on loan....

ugh... EVERYthing has to be RWD to be any good? The Aura, if large enough, would make a decent Aurora replacement. Remember, regardless of our thoughts on the matter, there are people out there who will never buy RWD. I will agree with you that it doesn't make sense... but that is just the way it is. My mother will only ever buy FWD cars because they are better in the snow........ ...... she lives in Miami.

I nearly re-smashed the Roadmaster when I saw one on the road for the first time.

Reading the comments on his Myspace page makes me think there might have been trouble with his GF. His status is also set to "lonely" edit: And his last log on to Myspace was today.

Edmunds is now "just some website"?

Interesting point you have there... it seems familiar... you say that people buy BMWs despite their replacement of all those buttons with iDrive.....? it's almost as if that was precisely what I was saying.... the number of buttons does not matter and even a craptastic system like iDrive doesn't hinder sales.

Do I smell a C&G business franchise coming on?

I've been thinking about founding a company based on this very premise. Vintage Limos show up cheap on ebay in VERY restorable condition. If you consider that the regular Towncar stretch is over $70,000, you can quickly do the math to see that purchase + restoration < Towncar stretch .... and it gives me a way to tinker on old cars for a living....

.

One word: iDrive Cadillac is routinely praised to the ease of use on their interface. Can you think of an interface technology that has been as universally panned as iDrive? If you need extra buttons to feel more premium, print this out and tape it to your dash:

Well look at what Nissan is canceling. QX56 Armada <maybe> and Quest There was talk of a Titan HD but the Titan is already so irrelevant I don't blame them for not bothering. Look at what Chrysler is canceling Durango/Aspen/Commander PT Cruiser Convertible Viper <maybe> Compass Crossfire Pacifica The two companies could fit very well together. Restyled Ram to Nissan Joint venture on a largish SUV Work together on the next batch of minivans/midsize crossovers Chrysler gets a b-segment car Restyling of the FM platform for a Crossfire replacement

make up your mind please...

6 years?

Of course.... it wears an H.

The Camry had a 4-speed standard as recently as '04, the Accord as recently as '02<and the 5-speed that followed has been riddled with problems>, the Altima as recently as '06, the Mazda 6 as recently as '05, the Jetta in '04, the Galant still has a 4-speed standard as do the Subaru Legacy and Hyundai Sonata. Now I know other domestics don't count, but the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan started with a 5 speed in '06, 500/Montego started with a 6-speed in '05, the Sebring/Avenger/300/Charger/Magnum all still have a 4-speed standard. So.. some perspective please in terms of the rolling out of greater than 4 speed transmissions. From what I can find, it looks like VW was the first to the midsize segment with a 5-speed automatic in the Passat back in 1998. So please don't make it sound like "OMG! GM IS Teh SUXORS! GM shoulda HAD 5-speeds in '84!!!!@121!"