Jazzhead

Buick barely survives as an independent brand. Here in Cherry Hill, the decades-old and classy franchise of Eckenhoff Buick closed up, and Buicks appeared shortly later at the Burns Pontiac/GMC dealership about six miles away. Buick is a partial brand, to be marketed together with another partial brand, Pontiac, and together the two brands will cover the gamut. I don't expect much more than a three-Buick line going forward. A medium and large sedan, and a crossover. What would be at least partial balm would be a return to the Buick tradition of a personal luxury coupe. Build the Velite! It still looks hotter than any concept I've seen since, including the Camaro.

I much prefer the Sebring, especially the interior on the uplevel version. I'd also prefer the "world" engine to be coupled to the CVT, as it is in the Caliber and Jeep Compass. I rented a Caliber a couple of weeks ago in Vegas, and thought the drivetrain was first rate for an economy car.

Looks sharp to me, assuming I can check off that wing delete box.

I assume they dropped the 2.3 because no one ever bought the thing. I live within 10 miles of three large Ford dealers, and I don't recall ever seeing more than one or two STs (with the 2.3 mill) on their lots at any time in the last three years. Of course, the ST was never available with an automatic, nor was it ever an available with either of the hatch models. I recall a conversation I had with one dealer when I had my 2001 ZX3 in for service - I love and still love the two-door hatch, and could easily have been persuaded to trade it in for an '06 if I could have gotten a new interior and a more powerful engine in the process. But Ford never saw fit to give me that choice, so I'm still happy driving my old one.

A "refresh done on the cheap"? That's flippin' nuts. Ford not only increased the Five Hundred's power by 30 percent, it is using an all-new six speed tranny and promises similar fuel economy. The car is quieter, safer and more powerful than before. What the hell else did you expect Ford to do? All Ford needs to do now is advertise the thing.

Good job, Ford. The Five Hundred has a substantially improved, more powerful drivetrain, a quieter interior, important new safety features standard, and retains its clean, non-Japanese look. (Interesting that empowah mentions the old Q45 -to this day I think that was the best looking large sedan Japan, Inc. has ever produced.) The car will continue to polarize, I suppose, because of the roofline which is thoroughly unlike the competition. But that roofline provides unparalled headroom and visability. And there are some of us who like the Passat-like look - it's conservative, but creased and sharp. Classy, I'd say. Ford's challenge now is to finally advertise and promote this excellent vehicle. There's a ton of positive attributes here, and the powertrain improvements should be dramatic. C'mon, Ford, advertise it!

Heck, when I was 20 I liked minivans, too. Remove the rear seat, throw down a mattress . . . The new DCXers look handsome and entirely appropriate for the segment. Congrats to DCX, likely the last domestic minivan maker, and the best.

How depressing. Another blow for U.S workers. Count me out.

Nice ride. We had a 2000 Concorde for about four years (I traded it in '05 for a 300C), and it was completely trouble free. It had the 2.7 liter engine, so it was no speed demon, but it was perfectly adequate for daily driving. The best thing was the absolutely classy interior, with, just as you report, nice feeling materials throughout. I'd say the Concorde's interior was superior to the 300C's - and a heck of a lot nicer than the recent interior I saw on the Dodge Caliber, which seemed to be hard plastic throughout. Good luck with your Intrepid.

That rear cupholder will come in handy for the adult beverage for the occupants of the "Astroturf" area of this cool cruiser!

I see that the Dodge LX twins (Charger and Magnum) outsold the 300. Total LX sales for the month were over 27,000 - that projects to over 300,000 for a year, which I assume would be near Brampton Assembly's capacity. Yes, the LX cars remain a success.

This looks like a great vehicle, exactly the sort of car I'd be interested in. Would I actually plunk down my money and buy one? That depends on whether they build it here.

For the 50's , 1956 Chevy Nomad, with surfboards strapped to the roof. For the 60's, the 1967 Pontiac GTO, the perfect musclecar. For the 70's, the screaming chicken Smokey 'n the Bandit Pontiac Firebird For the 80's, the 1983 T-Bird, which pioneered the "aero" look even before the Taurus did. For the 90's, the 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, a phenomenal sales success as the first mass market luxury SUV, and a prime example of nineties lower bodyside cladding.

I have a sunroof (the old-fashioned hand-cranked variety) on my Focus, and the power variety on my 300C. I like 'em (neither leaks), mainly because of the sunlight coming through when closed. They lend an airy feel to the cabin with more natural light. The Focus roof I will open in nice weather, but usually keep the 300C roof closed because the wind noise is atrocious. The Focus roof is, for whatever reason, much quieter.

After reading mostly lukewarm things about the Compass, I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the very enthusiastic new review for this vehicle in http://www.nctd.com The looks have also been growing on me, but I still prefer the Patriot.

Jazz's dream garage: The road trip car: Chrysler 300C, midnight blue, bone stock The daily driver: 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, hunter green with the V-8 . The very first Grand Cherokee, and just about the only Jeep, period, with an eight-slot grille. The fuel sipper: Ford Focus ZX3, black, SVT mods The family hauler: That new Buick CUV would suit me fine; that thing is sharp - in pure white with chrome rims The classic: Low miles Buick Reatta convertible, in bright blue I'm three-fifths away from assembling that garage, too!

Other than as a simple stopgap, this doesn't make much sense. To sell volume in the American market, vehicles must be assembled here. Opel means nothing in this market; the Catera was a flop because why would anyone wanting a Caddy buy a rebadged Opel? I, and many others, buy GM because we want to buy American. GM will be making a huge mistake by alienating that considerable segment of its customer base.

Funny thing is, avant, I'm the same way. No, I don't act rude towards import drivers, but I will consciously go out of my way to extend the courtesies of the road to the drivers of domestic cars. I've been that way for years - just a small showing of solidarity, 'though of course the other driver will never know just why. I'm interested to see I'm not alone!

Wow. Of the eight brands that scored above 900 in the survey, seven of 'em are American or American-owned brands. Play it up, GM, play it up! The myth of import superiority persists, but it's just that - a myth.

My ass in the driver's seat of a Toyota.

That's true, and evidence that the Dodge version will have a C-piller more like the Nissan Maxima. It won't have the slatted hood either, so it will look significantly different. Chrysler ultimately played it safe - certainly safer than they did with the 300 - with this car, which should naturally be a higher volume item. The Dodge version will no doubt be edgier; I think the basic sillouette, although derivative, has potential. I like Yellowjacket's photo shop above with the slightly larger rear overhang. That proportions the car much better, IMO.

Probably so it will run best on regular fuel. The 3.5 in my wife's Pacifica indeed is rated at 250 HP, but midgrade fuel is recommended. That costs us about ten cents a gallon - for a car of the Sebring's size and weight, 232 HP on regular fuel will be fine and dandy. As for the Sebring's looks, it's fine but Chrysler did a better job with the 300. I prefer the Ford Fusion as far as looks go.

When all is said and done, it looks like what it is - a Chevy truck. It is, on the exterior, a conservative restyle, with the look of the windows and grille very much evolutionary variations on the current trucks. What will presumably make the big difference are the improvements to the interior and drivetrain. A radical re-style of a truck designed to sell over a half million units per year simply isn't in the cards. The truck looks good, but the real changes will be most noticed by the driver behind the wheel.

What amazes me is seeing Toyota at 104, and Scion at 140 (worse than ANY domestic nameplate other than Jeep and Hummer). Those cars are both sold under the same roof - does this survey have any credibility at all? Consolation prize for Buick - the plant that builds the LaCrosse won the "Gold Plant" award for the second straight year. So where are the defects showing up - are they being damaged in transit?

Pontiac is properly GM's performance brand, but it also needs to be a volume brand. The Solstice is a nifty halo car, but little more. Cars like the G6 and Grand Prix determine the fate of the brand - bread and butter cars for those who want something different than a Chevy. The G6 is moving in the right direction, with upgraded powertrains arriving for '07. The problem, of course, is the G6 has already been out for two years. Same problem affects the Ford Five Hundred - a great design, but put on the market before the engine that was designed for it was ready. Pontiac's big car for the foreseeable future will be the Grand Prix, and it is entirely appropriate that it be a RWD and a direct competitor with the 300. With that addition, Pontiac appears to cover the spectrum quite well: 1. State of the art RWD roadster - Solstice 2. Compact FWD grocery getter - Vibe 3. Compact FWD coupe with a modern drivetrain - Pursuit/G5 4. Midsize front-driver able to compete directly with Accord, with couple, vert and high-performance variants - G6 5. Affordable performance-oriented "full size" rear-driver - Grand Prix/G8