Drew Dowdell

Raise the tax on gas and invest heavily in public transportation. Anyone who knee jerks and says that public transportation isn't feasible automatically gets their tax doubled each time they say it.

automatic locking rear differential

Nearly always. There are less parts, the rear suspension can be simpler <IRS v. IRS or Twist beam v. Live axle>. There are packaging efficiencies that come with being able to have the entire powertrain in a 3' x 3' x 3' box which means less design time. In the hands of a skilled and experienced driver, FWD and RWD can be equal in poor traction conditions. However, 97% of drivers aren't skilled enough to know what to do in poor traction situations. The best evidence I have of this is the multitudes of 4x4 SUVs I see spun off the road in the winter here in Pittsburgh. If they can't keep it on the road in a 4x4... which generally requires the least amount of skill, I doubt they'll be able to do it in a FWD or RWD car. In terms of driving skill required, the order of skill from the least to greatest is AWD < 4WD < FWD < RWD. I'm always amused by the people who say "I'll be fine in the snow, I have <AWD, 4WD>!" as if that means that other cars don't have 4 wheel brakes......... I have no problem with a FWD Monte Carlo... I've always viewed them as a budget Toronado/Riviera/Eldorado.

No... because you can add a moonroof if you wish. The Onstar and traction control aren't even options for the other cars. If you *have* to include the moonroof on the Aura.... then you must include the V-6 on the Accord and Camry.

meaning that on some vehicles certain features may not even be available, but they get as close as possible. Neither the Accord or Camry have an Onstar like system available.... but that doesn't make the comparison invalid. Neither the Accord or Camry have traction control available... but that doesn't make the comparison invalid. Not that I've don't the research, but I'm sure there are features that are only available in certain packages in all 3 cars it's highly likely that those packages don't line up features exactly. NO ONE except Bentley, Rolls Royce and Maybach, have completely ala' carte ordering schemes. What is so hard to understand about that?

I bet it outweighs all the rest of those K-cars combined! <corolla = Toyota's K-car>

+ the Ram can be had with a diesel

Brightcove Link similar to Youtube

New Chevy Commercial against Tundra... Brightcove Link LOL

I love what you do for me.

As usual, Fly demonstrates why he pwns this site.

Why should Saturn trumpet the competitors advantages? That's the Toyota dealer's job. Saturn Marketing's job is to sell Saturns. The Aura is great enough of a car that NONE of the other competition is a "slam dunk" on the Aura and the Aura isn't a "slam dunk" on the competition. That in itself is a major step forward for any of the mid-sizers at GM. This isn't the current gen Malibu that gets pwned by the Accord and Camry on everything except price.

People generally consider getting a V6 more expensive than getting a 4-cylinder. The Aura offers V6 at the same price as the 4-cylinders in the competition. This is an advantage for those wanting a V6. But wait there's more. If fuel mileage is more important to you than engine power, there is the Saturn Greenline hybrid that bases at 22k... still well inside 4-cylinder Accord territory. If absolute cheapest price is your thing... you're at the wrong dealer. Head on over to your local Chevy dealer and test drive a Malibu. Saturn is more premium now days dontcha know.

Needs more balance. Detroit needs more middle class downtown housing that isn't a complete &#036;h&#33;hole. The idea that 300k is "base price" is laughable.

I foresee a commercial in about a years time with Daddy woods driving an Enclave with Baby woods in the back seat.

Those are sales I don't mind letting Hyundai and Toyota take.....

only if people start shrinking their Sigs proportionally.....

That'll help the Vue, Outlook, Acadia, and Nox a bit.....

When both were released around the same time and the GM replacement is mere months away... yeah, I think it's valid.

I understand where you're coming from...but I didn't mean an exact clone of these vehicles.... something more like a short wheelbase version that would take the place of the Trailblazer.

The worrying thing to me is that there are no inexpensive versions of this platform yet. While it's great that the high end models are selling, I worry about when those sales lose steam. There needs to be a Chevy version.

And then on the other side Pontiac/Olds/GMC and Cadillac/Hummer

If I were GM, I'd ignore it and keep going. Chrysler is going to have to resort to desperate measures like this just to stay alive.

Enclave probably has the highest margin too...