Frisky Dingo

You can still buy a 2014 Raptor new, I checked. And if that don't count, I'll just take the new one.

I said mid-pack AT BEST, being the best models of the domestic offerings. The GM duo is awful imo, and base Escapes aren't much better. The transmission kills the I4 Cherokee. V6 ones are pricey new, not sure about the used market.

Truck- Ford Raptor Sedan- Cadillac ATS-V 7MT Coupe- Shelby Mustang GT350-R SUV- Grand Cherokee SRT Wild Card- Corvette Z06 Vert w/ Z07 I would't even need to change any of the colors.

There are loads of cars on there that don't belong. Namely the Aztek, the Imperial, the Alfa, the SVX, the Aston, the Maserati, the Explorer, both Ferraris, and both modern BMW's. The E65 had questionable reliability, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary for the class. And while I hate the X6, it paved the way for a now very important niche in the market place, and is very successful. The F50 and Explorer's inclusion are completely absurd. Cars that SHOULD be on the list but aren't- PT Cruiser, Mustang II, the first Smart cars, last gen VW Beetle, Lexus HS, Lincoln MKT, first Nissan Versa, Dodge Caliber and Avenger, Jeep Compass, and countless others.

I think the domestic CUV's are largely the worst of the bunch, so if that's the route you're going, you're getting mid-pack at best options. Just my .02.

I absolutely wholeheartedly disagree. More than sufficient and 'overkill' are not the same things.

Look at those gains from Land Rover and Volvo! Bravo, gents. Shame to see Jaguar struggling so much, but I think they'll do much better this year with the new F-Pace, XF, and XE. BMW proves once again they are the most desired premium marque, and much of that is based on some really products. It is a double-edged sword, however, as their endless rush to fill as many niches as possible and expand their model line-up as much as possible is not a good mentality to have for a premium brand, imo. There's a point where you are just offering too many choices, many of them nonsensical; trying to appeal to too many; and compromising your core product on account of it. It has already happened some. Hopefully they can either reverse this trend, or at the very least, curtail it, and offer some fresh products to their loyal enthusiasts.

I don't agree with this sentiment. And I don't think buyers do, either. If the dealer facility is nice and service is great, I don't care a great deal about the fact that they also sell a few work vans.

Yup. That business model passes muster in Europe, not in North America! There are countless of examples of this that has failed in North America. Hyundai and their Genesis model. VW with their Phaeton. Cadillac with their Cimarron. Hell, even M-B with their C Class hatchback. If M-B continues this path, it wont be long when this will fall flat on their face. Sure, for now, they have finally succeeded with the entry level oxymoron marketing campaign and sheeple and badge snobs have accepted this, however, when the next generation of car buyers come along, the ones to control the wants and needs of the automotive landscape in the future when it becomes their turn to dictate what is what, these guys will have witnessed the incredible cheapening of the brand, the incredible exposure that this entry level luxury perception is producing, along with those commercial vans and school buses, and those buyers will NOT see Mercedes Benz as something special and expensive....just cheap, plebeian, and utilitarian...all characteristics that are OPPOSITE of luxury... Its happening now as we speak....slowly eroding... Proof...the article says that the 3,5,7 Series sedans are in a sales decline, the SUVs are the ones that carry the sales... Quite telling... Car sales in general are losing ground to SUV/CUV's. It only stand to reason a brand with several such vehicles, and many added ones, would experience a decrease in their car sales.

I was shocked at how well the 1.5 drives. It has more than sufficient power, and feels stronger than the outgoing car, no question. A tune WOULD really wake it up, though.

I mean, it's damn impressive. But talk about overkill. I couldn't begin to imagine justifying this car's costs, even if I had '%* you' money.

We'll make this 2 for 2 here, and just cut to the chase. The car was rather underwhelming. I might expand more on this one later, as I don't have a bunch of time right now. I've been wanting to drive a new gen WRX or STI pretty badly, as I was actually slightly considering one. No longer. I just don't see where Subaru gets off charging 35K base on these things. I'll summarize this one with a 'Highs' and 'Lows' break down. Highs- *Steering- Very nicely weighted, precise, lots of feel. It was VERY reminiscent of my E90's steering. *Sound- That trademark guttural Subaru growl and burble is present and accounted for. Love it. *Shifter- Very short, positive throws. Reminds you why manuals are so enjoyable. *Handling- Didn't get to push it too hard, but the car feels very neutral and with high levels of agility. Lows- *Ride- Pretty choppy, with notable levels of road noise. *Throttle- Too touchy, not enough travel. Makes smooth take-offs tricky. *Interior- Overall feel is of cheapness and coldness. It just looks dated, and is the most obvious source of cost cutting. *Power- It just doesn't have enough. There's little lag, and decent mid range, but just a coarse and uninspiring experience overall. No top end zing, no thrill to be had from really wringing it out. *Value- Your 35K doesn't go far here. While the absolute basics are present, you get the feeling Subaru is pricing this car the way they do just out of lack of competition. Would I buy one? A solid and easy 'no'. Overall, the car was letdown, and didn't deliver in the 'fun-to-drive' department. The car feels outdated, a little cheap, and unrefined. Like an early 2000's STI that has just had the absolute bare minimum done to meet today's regulations and pass as acceptable in today's car market. I know there are several reviews on this car that are really glowing, but I found nothing really compelling here. It really offered no more excitement imo than a much cheaper Golf GTI, Fo/Fi ST, Cooper S, etc; and falls well short of what can be had from other cars with similar pricing- Camaro SS, Golf R, etc, etc. Subaru needs to either drop the price by about 5 grand or update this car sufficiently with a modern powerplant and greater comfort/refinement to justify the price. I can't imagine the new Focus RS failing to utterly dismantle this car. Sorry Subaru, but them's the facts.

I'm genuinely shocked by the powertrain. It really makes me question how justifiable the 2.0T is. Unfortunately, there are certain options that are only available with that engine, which is something I have a beef with. On a side note, I just figured a lease on a 2.0T Premium for myself, and I'd be looking at right around $300 a month all in for 36 months/36,000 miles with no money down. Very tempting.

Drew, feel free to merge this if you want. Anywho, I'll make this short and sweet, and drop the bomb right out of the gate. The new Malibu is the best mainstream midsize family sedan I've ever driven. There. TL;DR set, you can stop right here. For those of you want a little more detail, here goes. I drove our one and so far, only, new Malibu, a 1.5 LT. It had the optional 'Leather Pkg' for $2,140; 'Driver Confidence Pkg' for $1,195; 'Convenience & Tech Pkg' for $895, and pearl paint for $995. Grand total, after a $745 In-Sticker discount, was $30,375. Let's start with the things I like. It's a list that could be titled "Just About Everything". No, really. From the overall design, to the interior, to the driving dynamics and equipment. The outside is nice. It's not a knockout, but it's fresh, cohesive, and classy. It makes the Impala, which utilizes much the same design language look kind of tired and contrived in comparison. My only complaints would be that the front bumper could extend down a little further and be cleaned up a bit, and the trunklid has a somewhat too short and sloping appearance when viewed from the side profile. The inside is a nice place to sit. The seats felt great fro my build, and the driver position was fantastic. Not too high, not too low, and with good visibility. Steering wheel is very nice all around. The layout and design of the interior is very good, imo. There are more hard plastics than I'd like, but they're not obvious until you start feeling around. Panel fitment is tight. The patterned, metallicesque trim on the center console is a bit chintzy. The dash is styled very well, and well laid out. There's now plenty of room in the back seat, and several plug-ins for connectivity. The drive is really where it all comes together. The ride is the best I've come across in the segment. Very compliant, but with first rate body motion control. Noise levels were also a plus, as in there isn't much. Road and wind noise both are very well quelled here. I would give the steering very high marks. There may be a bit of unnecessary weight, but it's within the acceptable range for such an application. Turn-in could be a little sharper, and there's little to no feel to speak of, but that's rather par for the course for newer EPAS systems. It is fairly precise, and happily directs the car where you want it to go. The handling is impressive. It's no back road scalpel, as pushing it will reveal understeer, but it is more than competent. Body roll is well checked, and the car will happily consume corners so long as remember this is a family sedan and not a sports car. Brake feel and modulation was exemplary. Now for the powertrain. I was 100% dead wrong here. I'll take back my words and eat them, because the 1.5T is more than adequate for daily driving duties. The powerband is smooth and far reaching, with the car never feeling caught off guard when asking for power. The 6AT is well programmed here, with no searching for gears, and smooth, well-timed shifts. I can't help but wonder what the 8AT could do here, however. I had no trouble getting the estimated gas mileage, either. With a rating of 27 city, 37 highway, and 31 combined; I saw a sustained 38-39 mpg indicated @ 70 mph, 35-36 @ 75, and 31-32 @ 80. After a 30 mile round trip that consisted of aggressive back road driving and WOT blasts in addition to the interstate driving, I averaged 29.3 mpg. I am very pleased with that. My complaints are few and fairly minor. Aside from the aforementioned plastics inside, I have trouble seeing how a 30 grand car doesn't have dual-zone climate control. Also, the housing in the dash for the Forward Collision Alert reflects onto the windshield while driving with on most pavement. I would absolutely have to pass on that package solely because of this. I wish there was a knob for the tuning on the radio, but that's a minor quibble. Lastly, when viewed from the side, the front bumper doesn't extend down as far as the rocker panels do, so there is a strange offset look. A darker color would take of this, however. Overall, the new car blends together nice packaging, efficiency, value and competent driving dynamics into a total package that is hard to match for others in the class. The Camry is loads more detached and feels cheaper. The Honda is compelling were it not for that dreaded CVT and ho-hum styling. The Fusion comes pretty close, but falls short on the design fronts, imo. The Mazda is fun, but lacks refinement. The Nissan is just awful. The Koreans feel sterile and still kinda half-baked to me. Ditto the 200. If I were in the market for a family sedan right now, this thing would shoot straight to the top. Can't wait to try a 2.0T.

Man, it'd be great if the rumored Chevy model were a proper SUV like the Colorado 7 overseas. I won't hold my breath, though. When bringing up the competition, it's going to be the Edge OR the Highlander. Those are two very different vehicles that occupy different places in the market. The Highlander is currently cross-shopped with the Traverse, not Equinox. This all makes sense, though. The Equinox is currently a little large for the segment, and can be run up to a much higher price tag than it's rivals.

I'll take this over an EcoBoost all day long. In fact, I'll take the 5.3 paired with the 8AT over the EcoBoost. Hell, I'll take the Tundra and it's old 6AT and dated interior over an EcoBoost.

Damn, what's with the HRE's on that bad boy? Probably gave them about a 10K addendum.

Things like this are why GM will be bankrupt or needing a major capital influx again in about 5 years. Sad thing is, it has nothing to do with their products, which on the whole, are really good.

GM messing with the (incredibly successful) recipe that is the Escalade might as well be akin to Porsche making the 911 a German Corvette. The thing is pretty much objectively perfect. Leave it the f#(< alone.

No.

That is very true. By and large, a lot of dealers just throw you to the wolves. If you've never had someone sit down with you and give you some solid one-on-one, you're flying blind. There are simple tricks that experienced people in the business can give that may otherwise take years to figure out on your own.

I'll start off on you guys' side. What I most frequently see with other salespeople is two big things- 1- Lack of knowledge. This is the most common one, and the one people complain about most. And it's very prevalent. Especially when it comes to product knowledge. The truth is, a lot of guys just don't care. Selling cars for them is 'just another job'. They're not trying to make a career out of it, they're not worried about customer satisfaction, or repeat business. It's just month-to-month for them. The other side of this is, believe it or not, sometimes too much knowledge can HURT you. It probably sounds crazy, but if you know too much, you can overwhelm customers. I started selling cars mainly because I liked cars, and I knew a lot about them, so I thought I'd be good at it. How wrong I was. I knew so much about every model, both my own and the competitors', everyone called me the walking car encyclopedia. So I couldn't figure out why I was only posting average sales. Especially when I saw others who knew way less, who were far less friendly and professional selling a lot more. Some time later, I sat down with a guy who had sold cars for many years, and then gone on to run several successful stores. He told me one of the most helpful things I've ever heard in this business- 80% of customers only care about 20% of the features. I was dumping so much info on people, I was boring them. They got bored, stopped listening, and it kept me from selling them a car. So I started tailoring my presentations to highlight the equipment that people were interested in, and I instantly saw a huge increase in sales. It may hard for you guys to wrap your head around, but 19 out of 20 customers don't give a lick about laptimes, 0-60, or horsepower. That's not to say you shouldn't know those things as a salesperson, but sounding like a press release isn't a good way to sell cars. 2- They don't know how to negotiate. This one may sound like a good thing for the customer, but it's not. Here's why. A salesperson who knows how to negotiate can sell his manager just as well as he can sell his customer. Not only that, but a lot of salespeople are so soft, they'll take any offer to the guy behind the desk, no matter how unreasonable it is. All that does is prolong the process. If I come out to with numbers on a car that my manger already discounted $2,500 for a quick sale, and you want me to go back and offer 5K less, it ain't happening. I'll look you straight in your eyes and tell you that is an unreasonable number, and I won't waste our time taking it to my manager. There's just no point. If you can't be realistic, I can't sell you a car. If I can't sell you a car, I want you to leave so I can find someone else that I CAN sell a car to. Otherwise, I take your bogus offer to my boss, he laughs, gets mad at me for even coming back with such an absurd number, and refuses to give up the extra 500-750 bucks he may have done, had you only wanted another $1,000. So he tells me to tell you to kick rocks, and neither of us win. Continually throwing out lowball offers may sound like a good idea to get a low price, but trust me when I say it's NOT the best way to do so.

Absolutely! Well, damn. I was mostly being facetious and was awaiting a witty response from someone.

Can I share my stories of all the terrible customers I've dealt with over the years?

No way would I want a boosted 4 in an old car like that Nova. That BMW with the 7.0 is dope though, sacrilege be damned.