G. David Felt

Was the same way in Denver...and Audi A4s also... I'm quite fond of the Land Rover Defender 90 also.. I agree they are all fun good vehicles, wether your in the rockies or here in the cascades, AWD / 4x4 platforms pay for themselves if you drive them in a prope defensive manner.

Weird, I thought most auto manufactures, especially the japan companies were already on a module product /assembly line to quickly build product? Was this not the reason GM, Ford, etc American auto companies were lagging in quality and ease of producing more than one type of auto off a single assembly line? Or do I have this confused with some other process?

It is amazing how many EVO's and STI's I see with mountain bike and snowboard/ski racks on top going up the mountain here in Seattle.

Starting off this months observations was the motorcycle I saw on my way into work. What looked like a restored WWII Motorcycle with Sidecar. Funny thing was the guy was all bundled up in modern motorcycle warm cloths on a day of mixed snow and rain. The motorcycle looked like it should be in a museum as it was in great condition butt clearly ridable.

+1

Interesting input from talking with my 24yr old son last night. As he saves for his new AWD/4x4 CUV he was hanging out with his friends last night who all live in Seattle and they decided to Pool their resources. The 4 all came together and signed an agreement so they are going to buy a used Subaru Forrester AWD so they can get up the mountain to do their favorite winter activity of snowboarding and still go mountain biking, etc. Due to the lack of Mass transit to get up and down the mountains and go places, they figured all 4 paying 25% of the car payment, insurance and maintenance will be a cheaper way than using ZipCar or going it alone. I know money is tight and where there is a will, the early to mid 20's will find a way.

Music

Interesting, another car for the uber rich to ride around in and think better of themselves. Glad some one has the money to get the technology down to common peoples price budget. Ove all this looks like an Electric Future Station Wagon. Not a fan myself of the styling.

WOW, I actually like this car, very fluid but clearly has a hint of Ferrari in it's design. Wonder if those are Suicide doors or front swing up doors as they do not look like they are Gullwing doors and that would be a Hella big door to open normally.

Very cool in Deed, I wish them the best of luck. I do hope they have AWD with a massively massaged turbo'd engine and cold air induction that can get about 350HP or more. This need to then be Metallic black with the Grill, the rings around the three large air intacts in the lower facia and rims all BLACK CHROME. Windows all Tinted dark. This would be one bad ass ride!

Nope, I do not see that as a financially doable deal. I think they are not as flush with cash as they would lead one to believe.

I think Black-knight that if GM could come up with a smart looking 2door and 4 door model that appeals to the 20 something crowd with a Modular dash that allows ease of upgrading as you save money to buy new features for your auto that you could end up with a very promising auto. I could see something about the size of the Mini 4 door and 2 door with FWD and the performance version being AWD but with a modular interior that would allow you to upgrade and add to your auto so customize it with your personality. I agree that the very basic entry level auto out there are TURDS!

Z and Hyper you make excellent points, I am warming up to this Alliance.

EXCITEMENT!!!! Gotta love new releases. I think this will be a mucho better upgrade for this key auto. Should help with Conquest sales.

Cows

JEERS This is a car that from the outside had a great design potential, but from the inside is nothing more than a total failure!

OOPS, Someone just got their nuts nipped. Amazing how people can seem to ignor what else is going on and still needs to be protected. Personally this is an ugly car still.

Me Like this Idea! Also as someone else stated, use this arrangement to finally kick Opel inline to clean up the house and become profitable or shut t down.

Jersey shore guido cultural renaissance

OK, Ferrari finally has a beautiful car to go along with the Lambo's I love. This one is hot!

Boy, this seems to be the Boy on the dance floor that kisses and tells and cannot seem to settle down with a partner let alone realy figure out how to have their own house in order. Does not bode well as it makes me wonder what is in their closet of uglies to show it's head in the next year or two.

WOW, imagen how expensive this car will be for something that anyone over 5'" tall cannot fit in and with poor quality to boot. Amazing how many of the All4, 4 door mini's are for sale here in seattle with low milage. While the size is perfect for small people who want an AWD car to get up and down the mountain in all weather, MINI still has not sold me that they have a quality product.

This still comes across as a big win for PSA Peugeot Citroen. I see very little upside for GM.

I totally agree, I have been working with my son for his first new car purchase and he finally got it down to the following 3 CUV's Ford Escape Jeep Compass Chevy Equinox Now all were right around 22K MSRP for your basic AWD, 4 banger motor, etc. We were looking last night on the web pages again and noticed all 3 had a considerable bump in price with the Chevy being the most expensive. They now only have 2 options on the base Equinox AWD LS and it now starts at 25. The variety of options is now gone and they seem to have gone to here is our 6 versions, 3 levels of FWD and 3 levels of AWD. Select which one you want and decide if you want the Protection package or towing package and the rest is standard equipment. Not truly having a base stripped down level for people to buy will keep people from buying. As much as I hate Toyota, I will give them credit that the Scion way of buying the base car stripped and adding what you want would be a very good thing for the US auto Makers to take to heart. My Son would love to buy a base high milage AWD CUV and add to the auto as he makes money. Purchase a NAV unit down the road, add other features. I think the First maker to take the base way of Cars but do it on more then just econo boxs will find a very willing and excited market of buyers. Think of this lineup: Base small size truck 2wd and 4x4 Small AWD CUV Small 4 door car They all come in with the only difference being 2 or 3 engine choices. Then they have a consistent base interior and you can then purchase 3rd part items to customize the inerior. I do not believe it is law that you have to have all these air bags and nanny devices. So the cost of these auto's would be low and allow people to truly customize their ride as a first auto and as they made money, they could come back and purchase modules to install into their auto.

Yes I am focused on the generation itself, I read this once and went to lunch and instead of going with coworkers, I went by myself so that I could just sit and observe. I notice that the older you are, the less you are mesing with electronics and the more social you are with people around you. Being in a very Hi-Tech city of Seattle. I could not help but notice the large amount of 20 something people in groups, but all would have a few words to each other and most of the time on their smartphones. Due to myself being crazy about auto's and loving road trips which my parents did most weekends growing up so that we could see the state of washington and learn about the world we live in, I had not really paid much attention to other young adults as m own kids grew up and while my son and daughter do not care much about the over all auto, they both require 4x4 / awd cuv's so that they can go camping, up the mountain to snowboard and live for the most part a very active life style due to how my wife and I kept them busy. Friday to sunday my daughter is out with her friends doing things and my son 7 days a week is always out after work. He put more miles on the Dodge Dakota I gave him that I bought new. I turned it over at 76K miles and now it has 212K miles. My other observation of the Y generation is that the more plugged in they are, the more over weight they seem to be. Not everyone, but thee does seem to be a corrolation about out living life as an active life style and being sedetary on your computer or phone plugged in. I think it needs to come from the 30, 40's and 50's generation to get the 20's out of their comfort zone and see the world. Auto's are a freedom machine. The Auto Industry can benefit by doing as Balthazar said. Unbundle these fully loaded Auto's and get back to a basic simple auto for transportation.