thegriffon

No, this is the Lancer already on sale in the US, but now in RHD. Otherwise it is exactly the same, as Dodgefan says. Since this car is actually cheaper than the old JDM Lancer, I don't know why they decided to call it a Galant in Japan, when even the old Japanese Galant was a larger, more expensive sedan—maybe because the CY Lancer is no longer in the Japanese small car class (too wide). The EVO will still be called a Lancer even in Japan.

No Fly, Grand Prix GTP. Supposedly this is a Prodrive (Aston Martin, Subaru rally cars, FPV etc.) effort, not a real Toyota Technocraft (TRD) design. Toyota Australia licences the TRD branding and gets Prodrive to do the performance mods.

In Asia with a 4-cylinder this is a Camry.

2008 GMT 360s lose power across the board, probably due to a new exhaust system (not yet confirmed).

Once again, the embargo has been broken. This shouldn't have been released until the 24th.

European-voting for the Beat, Groove and Trax has opened for Spain, France, Belgium and Germany. For voting: http://www.vote4chevrolet.eu/

For the Umpteenth time, the Chevy Beat is two size classes smaller than this.

For the Chinese and Japanese getting an early start in English as critical, since it is almost impossible to learn to distinguish "L" from "R" later in life.

World premiere at IAA 2007 Opel Presents Corsa Hybrid Concept * Near future: Corsa Hybrid concept car and Vectra Flexpower show potential * Good outlook for environment: ecoFLEX variants with lowest CO2 value in model line * Clean debut: Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX with 119 g CO2 per kilometer * Ongoing advancement: Combination of intelligent fuel-saving technologies Press Release Rüsselsheim — Opel presents a range of especially economical and low-emission vehicles at the IAA in Frankfurt (September 13–23, 2007). The current models showcase how automotive technology will look in the near future: the Corsa Hybrid concept car uses innovative technology with starter generator and stop/start automatic transmission which contributes to an average consumption of about 3,75 liters of diesel per 100 km (99 g CO2/km). The Vectra Flexpower with a 2.0-liter turbo engine designed for operation with bioethanol/gasoline mix also makes its debut at the IAA. … Go to full release at AutoReport

I believe Joan Claybrook is with Public Citizen, not the IIHS. CR is financed by tort lawyers, so "malicious intent" is almost par for the course. It also means you have no chance trying to sue them.

360deg surveillance cameras to record which a— hit/keyed your car while it was parked.

There are new emission requirements for the 2008 MY apparently. A whole slew of GM engines have been effected (by 2-5 hp). A new cat with more resistance may account for the drop in the SRT-4 as well.

Not a direct competitor. Depending on pricing I would expect some degree of cross-shopping, but you might also consider a 328xi wagon or an awd 5-series wagon to be a competitor.

Car has forgotten the 2.5 L I6 has been dropped, replaced by lower-output versions of the 3.0 L I6 (PFI 328i in the US and GDI 325i elsewhere).

Citroën C5 Airscape Object of all desires Press Release Citroën is unveiling C5 Airscape at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. This exceptional concept car is a new take on the most beautiful of vehicles, the cabriolet. C5 Airscape features powerful, dynamic exterior styling and an interior of exclusive design, made for driving pleasure and the comfort of three passengers. The original mechanism of the folding roof underlines the overall sophistication of design. Styled for maximum appeal, C5 Airscape also delivers maximum performance. … Go to full release and photos at AutoReport

I'm surprised that this is what they are going to call the Crew (if indeed they are). I expected something like the Rampage.

It's hard to trade stock in a privately held company (although there are the pink sheets), but not all privately held companies are owned entirely by holding companies or investment firms (as Chrysler is). Individuals own stock in many private companies, and occasionally stock comes up for sale.

I would think any cash or cash equivalents on hand would be in a range of currencies to facilitate payment of ongoing expenses in different markets. Since a lot of expenses are production still occurs in Japan however, it will put a big crimp in the bottom line.

The process is cheaper. Ethanol from corn and other grain crops requires more processing to get to the stage sugar cane starts at (a high sugar liquid for fermenting). There are more by-products which can be sold on as well though, such as high-protein "distillers grains" (the corn left after the sugar and simple carbohydrates have been broken down dissolved), and corn oil, which some plants turn into biodiesel.

You'll always get lower mileage running on E85, no matter how much the engines improve, simply because ethanol doesn't have as much energy to be released as gasoline. Now, if GM drops the Brazilian 1.4 L Econoflex engine in he Aveo, then you might not be so concerned about the increased fuel burn.

Neither, it's on a smaller version than either. I mean it's not an SUV-style crossover like the X3 and BRX, but a larger "Personal Activity Sedan" as BMW may call the X6, i.e. a midsize hatchback with off-road pretensions. Audi's Roadjet Concept was another. The wheelbase is 2" shorter than the G35, lopping off the trunk to create a hatchback cuts nearly 3" more off the overall length. The Roadjet was a couple of inches longer, while the X6 is of course of unknown size, however, as a 5-seat hatch rather than a 7-seat wagon (X5), I would expect something around the same size as the Roadjet.

Pontiac and Buick are losing sales because fleet sales are being cut dramatically, and a lot of models have been cut (just as you said they should). Looks like that doesn't work, huh? More models will be cut from Pontiac in future, and new models will have much lower sales targets with dramatic reductions in low-margin fleet sales. Despite that BPG may still outsell Ford in most segments (not a great achievement I admit).You can argue that GM only needs 4 midsize sedans - bargain (Chevrolet), Midrange (Saturn), premium (Buick) and luxury (Cadillac), but the G6 outsells the Aura by nearly 3–1, at much higher prices than the Malibu (and the Grand Prix for that matter). That's a solid stream of revenue that is hard to give up. Of course the Grand Am sold even better, so perhaps a smaller sport sedan would do just as well and leave the Aura to target Camry and Accord. That may yet happen if an Alpha-based G6 gets the go-ahead. Great cars do not sell more. The right car will sell the most, even if there is a much better car a little off the markets sweet spot (how else does an old Corolla outsell a new Civic?). Offering more vehicle at a lower price generally doesn't work against a clearly successful competitor(s, any better than less vehicle at a higher price does, and at least the latter has the benefit of higher margins to make up for lower sales.

I didn't realize we had so many deities as C&G members.

… just like the X6, and sans the Outback/allroad/XC70-style offroad setup, like Opel's Signum. While the Outback, allroad and XC70 are wagons with an added off-road package, the X6 and EX35 are hatchbacks, pioneered in this size class by the Signum (fastback sedans with a fullsize trunk are not the same thing).

Fixed