Drew Dowdell

1. Isuzu and Mitsubishi should leave the consumer business and just do commercial trucks. 2. Smart 3. Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep - when an entire major car company fails to have a single vehicle that even vaguely interests me.... they've failed. As much as I harp on BMW, Nissan/Infiniti, and Toyota/Lexus, they each do make at least one vehicle that I'd give a shot at my money if I were in the market today. 4. Kia.... just fold it into Hyundai and save the marketing dollars. It's not like it has any cache. 5. VW.... come back when you're relevant again and the Euro isn't so strong. 6. Saab... just leave them in Europe as Saabs. Rebadge the 9-5 as a Saturn Aurora. Runners up. 1. Subaru - as much as I like Subi, their styling direction is way off these days. Fix it before you lose relevance. Disagree with others on: 1. Mercury - I think Mercury really has the potential to be where VW thought it was going. Where VW still has the stigma of being the "people's car", Mercury, as damaged as it is <was?> is still though of as better than a Ford. Mercury is one of the few lineups where I like everything they make. 2. Lincoln - Lincoln is going through their remake and so far I want to give it time. I'm not thrilled with their design direction, but if it sells... then hey. 3. Jaguar - I think the expectations on Jaguar are a bit unrealistic. Jaguar should get comfortable with it's current sales volume, improve the cars it has, and advertise the hell out of the exclusivity of owning a Jaguar. Stop trying to go for volume. edit: I didn't include the niche players like Maseratti or Lotus. They're too small to matter.

I'm shocked... shocked... that you imply my list was not well thought out!

Everything except Chevy, Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, and Saab. I mean really..... what else could you possibly want? What's good for GM is good for the country.

I'd like to at least have the choice.....

it'll continue to work at least till the end of the year. I'm hoping to get rid of both of my vehicles no later than summer's end

I, for one, welcome our new Infiniti overlords.

I just press the little blue button.

I was referring to the NG CTS-V, not the current one. The $55k was an out of the air guess based on the ~$5k increase in base price that the '08 CTS seems to have. The NG CTS-v is rumored to be at least 500hp, but will likely have more. An additional 200hp over the 535i should be enough to over come the weight disadvantage no?

The german cars age well, BMWs especially, because the older versions look better than the new ones.

Base 5-series is $51k.... start adding some basic options and you'll easily get to $55k. For $55k, I'll take a CTS-V and there's no way a 535i is faster or handles better than that.

There is an Oldsmobile, Daewoo, Isuzu, Jeep dealer near me. He used to be an Plymouth,Eagle, Jeep dealer. talk about a glutton for punishment.

a Crappy Chrysler commercial...... but read the first comment.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Fly keeping his pwnage credentials intact.

I will give VW props where props are due. Their V6es, both the standard ones and the VR models, are the smoothest 6 cylinder engines this side of BMW.

Isn't that number for Olds actually higher than what Buick or Pontiac are doing these days? I know it way higher than Saab. Olds actually had a more complete lineup in 2000 than Pontiac or Buick have today.

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No and No. If you read the instructions Edmunds, you'd know that it is entirely possible to lower the mid-gate with the mid-glass and tonnue covers still in place. That means you can put a nearly 2 1/2 foot tall stack of 4x8 drywall in the bed of this truck, lock the bed, and have the entire cargo and cab completely protected from weather. No one would know the truck's 4x8 cargo hold was loaded up unless they were peering through the tinted passenger windows. Yes, you can open up the mid-gate and mid-glass and remove the tonnue covers.... but I've only had to do that twice on my Avalanche.... and I do construction. The other times I've done it... it's just because it's damn fun.

The hybrids don't go into any other cars at a profit either.

Somewhere in Florida, an Aurora breaths a sigh of relief....

I'm not at all surprised. My ex was a total VW nut and even he didn't get at all excited about any of the new VWs. He liked the Pheaton for it's interior... and that was about it.

:puke: :duh: :banghead: Next up.. the "Decider" ugh... this just makes me want to throw a Starbucks double soy mocha latte - no whip at every BMW ever made.....

The very idea that you say that the 66 Toronado didn't have torque steer is just plain laughable!

Interestingly, both brands were once owned by the same company.

The nose is about the same height as the nose on a Trailblazer