Drew Dowdell

My neighbor just bought a loaded one and I mistook it for a Pathfinder at first

The smaller one being sold as the Rogue Sport maybe?

They make the tC now... it is just as sporty car as the last Celica was. They make the FR-S.

The Z71 specifically? Because the Suburbans I've driven (about 8 months ago) do have it... I've scraped it when parking.

I was under the impression they might be sharing BMW engine tech too.

If it was a press car with several thousand miles on it, I'm mostly inclined to believe "unspeakable horrors by uncaring journalists" is the most likely cause. William and I have both seen the insanity that is press events at race tracks. I am more skilled on the track than the average schmoe, but I am in no way a professional racer. Most importantly, I know my own limits and usually reach them well before I reach the limits of the car (assuming the car in question is a Z-06 and not a Corolla). The problem, as William can also attest, is that these journalist events often have below average schmoes getting behind the wheel of these high powered cars and puts them on the track (supervised) and on the open street (unsupervised). You have wannabe boy racers who think they are sitting in front of their playstation in their parent's basement instead of sitting behind the wheel of a $100k super car. They treat the cars as their personal toy with zero regard for the manufacturer's property. I've nearly been hit, multiple times, by other journalists doing inappropriate things in residential neighborhoods. If this car was a private car being used on the street, I'd be concerned. If this were a car being used by a professional driver on a race course, it might not even be newsworthy. But as it was a press car after thousands of miles of use by insufficiently trained drivers, I pretty much don't care... aside from the loss to GM of the car.

I have a lot of trouble paying A3 money for a Jetta. At $32k for the base "Premium" model with the 2.0t. and that gets you basically no options. An absolutely loaded Verano Turbo (sunroof, NAV, heated seats, heated wheel, sport suspension, native iphone USB support included) is $31k. And the Verano has more horsepower and more torque. Yes, the A3 has AWD... and it is branded as Quattro... but it is not really the Quattro system. It's a Haldex unit... and Haldex units are good, but they shouldn't be branding it as Quattro.

1. So few people have seen one that to most people, it isn't "old news". 2. BMW has been selling the same design for 25 years and it works for them.

I wonder if the diesel in year 2 of the next Cruze will be the same one or a new unit.

I'm probably the only one, but I don't see Aston Martin.... I see vintage Buick.

Buick is the brand that is surprising people.

You mean I-6.

GM has been doing this to a slightly-increasing degree for some years now. From the frontal view it looks fine, but I agree it seems counter-intuitive to reduce the front break over angle this severely. It's likely also so GM can foster the 'big truck' image, too. That thing on the current Suburban scrapes on EVERYTHING.

6-speed is typically fine for work trucks.

Hah, I know exactly where that picture was taken and was likely there that day. All 6 pictures Drew??? I doubt it.. LOL All 6 pictures are taken in the exact same spot. Yes, I was there that day.

I had almost the same car, minus AWD, Adaptive Cruise, Active Park, and NAV, just last week. I mostly agree with Williams write-up. I'd put money on the Fusion being one of the best in the segment for blending ride and handling. The steering is fantastic and a class above its station. A 6-speed auto now seems rather quaint, though this particular one goes about its business with no fuss. Still, there is enough torque from the 2.0T that a higher 7th and 8th gear would be useful on the highway. The 2.0T is smooth and torquey, feeling much like a V6 in power delivery. The notable exception is when you call down to the engine room for "All Ahead - Full" and then you get a decidedly 4-cylinder unpleasant sound. It's not enough to be a deal breaker, but it won't fool you into thinking it is a V6. After 250 miles of driving, fuel economy was around 27mpg in 80/20 Highway/City. That sounds decent until you realize there are more powerful V6es in bigger/heavier cars that can do better. (Camaro, Charger, Accord, Avalon to name a few) MyFordTouch/Sync is absolutely abysmal and dated. The voice recognition got it right exactly ZERO times.... in fact sometimes it got it laughingly wrong. Me saying "Tune XM 51" would result in "Tuning AM 430" or "Tuning XM 220", as just an example. MyFordTouch/Sync is so bad that it makes me avoid Ford vehicles in general. I only took this one because it was the newest car on the National Car Rental lot and I've already had the Chrysler 200 (a car that I like) a bunch of times. My other choice was a new Sonata, but I was already pretty tired so I didn't want to go into a coma or a Neu Beetle, but that didn't have a USB input. William is also correct about the system lag. This extends to the physical buttons as well. I accidentally activated the front heated seat via the touch screen and noticed it a minute later. I tried to shut it off via the physical buttons, yet repeated taps did not change the setting. It took more than 6 taps to get a reply. The sound from the Sony audio system is great. Better than the Bose that GM puts in Chevy and Buicks, but not quite to the level of the Fender system available in some VWs (my personal favorite in the "family car" segment). Much ado has been made about the Titanium trim level, but I just don't see it. The quality of the materials isn't improved over lesser Fusions. Titanium on a Fusion does not a Buick make. In the end, the Fusion is a fantastic car for long distance, high speed travel with a bit of spirit. Yet the experience is terribly hobbled by the horrendous MyFordTouch/Sync system. At $38,820 (William's car) or $31,460 (estimated MSRP of my car), there are any number of excellent alternatives to consider too.

I really like the new look. I hope the GMC gets an update as well.

He was one of my favorite characters on West Wing. Congrats I'm having a bit of a rought time lately and haven't been on much. Thank you all for behaving yourselves.

Yes, that's fine as long as it doesn't get political.

Hah, I know exactly where that picture was taken and was likely there that day.

Our Verano will be the Astra.

As a Buick driver of the least "traditional" of all the Buicks currently offered, I do actually like the ads. Last December at one family holiday gathering, my partner and I were talking with his cousin. She knows that I regularly get cars in from the manufacturers to drive and review. She had pulled in and parked right behind us at the same time we arrived. Later that evening she asked me which car I had this week. I said, "Oh, that's not a test car. That's our car." She replied "Oh okay, well what is it?". I said "It's a Buick Encore". She quickly said "That's not a Buick!..... oh wait... I just did the commercial" She drives an older Volvo XC90 and usually doesn't care about cars. So yeah, I'd say the Buick commercials had an impact.

Lancia's dismissal has already been announced I believe. At this point they are just using up the parts they are contractually obligated to buy from suppliers.

Haul a lot of bricks and stone in your Corvette lately?