Drew Dowdell

I think the way the auto industry assistance was handled was fine, the real issues are in how the financial industry assistance was handled.

this.

It is fine from the inside. It is the outside that is objectionable.

to those who doubted that the Alpha could spawn a 2 seat roadster.....

well, yea... I was basing my estimates off a 50 cent increase since we're at $3.45 today without panicking, $4.00 doesn't seem bad except for psychological reasons.

uh... the Fisker does have internal combustion.... a good old GM Ecotec....

I wonder how much of it is psychological though (my guess is a lot) I drive a 14mpg car and fill up 3 - 4 times a month. So at most this is a $36 increase per month in my fuel costs. For someone driving a Cruze Eco, the difference in fuel costs per month are about $10.

I don't have room nor the money... so....

If anything happens to my 307, I'd probably just put an LT1 in its place and call it a day.

The Sonic was tested on the 'Ring.... just sayin...

and 130R....

You'll have to give up a lot of freedom of mobility to own such a dorkmobile. Why punish yourself?

I drive it no more than 5,000 miles a year as is... The outward appearance wouldn't change, so how would no visual change + instant torque = dork mobile?

Plus, even with twice the battery pack, I'd still have more trunk room than most vehicles out there today.

A bit pricey for just a base optioned vehicle..... Had this been an LSS.... then yea, I'd be sitting with the finance manager right now.

I prefer the Fox body

At CAS, they were supplying the RDX as a sedative to journalists who needed to take a power nap.

Back do the original question, do kids hate cars or do they hate today's cars? I think they hate today's cars and their cost more than anything else. What 16 year old wouldn't want a Camaro/Mustang/Challenger? But wander too far away from that, and what else is there for kids? Mini-Cooper maybe? No one gets excited over a Civic coupe instead of a Mustang.. I don't care who you are.

There aren't a lot of interesting options out there right now.

I still feel the bus fare is too cheap and must be raised to cover the costs without increasing tax's.

Sometimes the best way to combat increasing costs of road maintenance is to reduce the usage of the roads in the first place. Every one inbound bus can take 50 Toyota Corollas* off the road during your morning commute. More buses = fewer Corollas in your way while you drive. If my taxes have to go up slightly to get those Corollas out of my way, that is a benefit I'm willing to pay for. There is also a minimum amount of service the buses have to offer for people to opt for it over driving. Every 15 minutes during rush hour, every 30 during mid-day, and hourly at late night.

*read that as people who don't care about driving and find it more of a chore than a pleasure.

My opinion is the way to introduce a diesel is to do so as a hybrid. A diesel would be a better power source for an electric generator anyway. The problem is the American public still views diesel fuel as a fuel for dirty semi truck drivers, filthy, sooty, gets your hands and clothes smelly and slippery, and it brings to mind lot lizards and 2-liter bottles of urine on the side of the road. I'm sure in California they have special diesel pumps for the TDI and BlueTec owners that use rainforest-safe recycled post-industrial content wipes to self-clean their contoured ergonomic handles, play beautiful bird calls in the background with a light string quartet belting out Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata as you fill, and spritz gluten-free raspberry-pomegranate hand sanitizer on you when you hang up the nozzle.

You can also thank GM for not including a water filter on the 350 Olds diesel until it was too late. An rpm/speed governor would have helped, too.

Ford had some terrific diesel cars in the mid-80s. Remember the BMW turbodiesel in the Continental and Mark VII? No? How about the 2.0L Mazda diesel in the Escort and Tempo? No? Well, I can't blame you. They only sold a few hundred of each, if that. They were introduced too late and couldn't overcome GM's blunder. VW and Mercedes did fine with their diesels because they were German. I believe other cars like Nissan Maxima and Toyota Cressida/Camry could have diesels. Mazda's second gen 626 also had a turbodiesel available as well as a 4-door hatchback model. Good luck finding those these days, however.

I have a rather masochistic desire for a Continental I6 diesel. They take tweaks to the turbo charger rather willingly.

I want an Electronado

Why buy a fake Rolls for the same price as a real one?

eAssist is quite an upgrade to the base 2.4 SIDI motor, which is neither powerful or efficient and shouldn't exist in the first place. The only midsizer slower than the Regal (0-60 in 9.8 seconds) is the Prius.

eAssist gives the Buick brand a competitive advantage and its price will only go down as that system becomes more and more common.

There is a lot more to performance than 0-60 measurements. In normal driving, the gearing is such that you'd think there is a small 6 under the hood.

....because he sets the prices.....?

Other than some hardware changes as far as the engines and maybe other dirty bits, the F150 is a 9 yr old design that had one refresh a few years ago and has bland blocky styling and an ugly cheap, plasticky interior. It's nothing for Ford to crow about...(well, other than being #1 in sales for the last 40 years or so?)

They are #1 in sales for that long only if you're counting F-150 v. Silverado only. Add in Sierra and/or Avalanche to GM's count and the title of #1 1/2 ton pickup seller has flipped back and forth a few times over those years. (and back into the C/K1500 years too)

The transverse 4-cylinder, front wheel drive car was invented in 1901 but failed... we didn't see another one until the 1970s!

Interesting...I thought that configuration was invented in '59 w/ the original Mini.

I actually plan to do an article on it.

It's time to face reality, for Christ's sake.

How many car companies went under before the golden age of the automobile in the 20's.... or in the 50's?

How many new technologies were tried and failed back then till someone found the right combination?

The transverse 4-cylinder, front wheel drive car was invented in 1901 but failed... we didn't see another one until the 1970s!

I don't think the NV200 is more or less ugly than the Transit Connect or the RAM C/V for that matter. They are panel delivery vans that will have "Rose's Flowers" painted on the side eventually.

Pro: You got him into a Nissan

Con: You got him into an UGLY Nissan

I'm just glad he didn't get a pic of me in the Versa, though Chris and I did take a full 20 minutes to mock it mercilessly.

I was rather comfy in the new 370Z though....