Mule Bakersdozen LS

I'd like to see Envoy and Savana be redesigned instead of being respectively discontinued and unchanged. I'd also like to see no more cassette or CD/MP3-player free stereos-its not 1984 anymore-and no more cloth and vinyl or vinyl interiors ever, ever again. If it really has to be done, do it to a GM truck in Russia, not vinyl, and not a stereo lacking a CD player. Anyway, I'd also like to see: GMC Gaucho-Lifting a name from a circa-1977-80 Vandura package, this would be a Dodge Dakota-sized GENUINE mid-size pickup truck, with different, Terradyne and Terra4 -concept (2000 and 2002) truck styling-back to Professional Grade, and not Chevrolet grade with a duller front end and even more mismatched fenders. GMC Jimmy-The upscale compact truck-based SUV, a la Jeep Liberty. Similar to Chevrolet Blazer in 3 and 5-door enclosed SUV wagon body styles.

I think the Acura RDX is going to be a huge hit and doing something Mercury Mariner can't do-combine luxury with a car-based compact crossover SUV-why isn't Buick in on this? Whoever created GMC must be spinning in their grave right now even hearing about the product planners THINKING about a minivan-I'm thankful however that the compact crossover supposedly got canned.

I can't agree with you more-that's an awesome idea, and it would plug the gap between a potential Acura MDX fighter and the Enclave, however a 2.0-liter turbodiesel would be too small for Europe or anywhere-a Rapid Theta in China maybe, but definitely not in North America for either. I still shudder at the thought of a car-based GMC however, and unless it takes a Mazda CX-7-like styling/performance SUV turn, I see no reason for Pontiac to have a crossover.

Good rumors/news about a convertible Buick-keep going GM, there's far more expansion to be done so don't pat yourselves on the back and sit yet! There are only two reasons I would get a Buick LaCrosse-particularly over Saturn Aura-Slatestone paint, and a front split-bench seat. Other than that, I bet LaCrosse will see a steep sales drop for 2007 (also factor in Lincoln MKZ/Mercury Milan, Chrysler Sebring, Nissan Altima, Lexus ES330-whose clientele probably wouldn't even touch LaCrosse, and Toyota Camry). 2010 can't come soon enough for LaCrosse, and I hope its not a rebadged Aura or Malibu, and hopefully they'll cut the overall length a good 4-6", and increase width and passenger/cargo room, or at least keep it the same.

I saw a Victory Red or Performance Red Tintcoat G5 a couple Saturdays back, but did not have time to go down and check it out. Looked exactly as in pictures-a Canadian Cobalt with a Pontiac badge and fake grille insert, just like in pictures. (Fire would be better for Pontiac-same color, different name.)

More like GMC Yukon SLT or Denali to a Chevy Tahoe LT! :AH-HA_wink:

Anyone see the latest issue of Automobile yet? There's a nice pair of Sebring drawings (from 2002) in a fold-out poster/advertising section, worth a look. Nice article.

Looks better than the third-world-looking box we have now, but I can't say I'm still thrilled about it. The Taupe-like Amazon Green Metallic paint and vast cargo space are about all I like in the current model, hopefully this one will be better.

YellowJacket984-thank you so much for those Camaro concept sketches and models-I love seeing those processes, it makes you wonder what those different designs would be like productionized, or what it may look like under a different badge or such-either way great stuff!

Ford Edge has a competitor from GM-its called the Chevy Equinox-sure it lacks a good engine, but otherwise, that's it. I'd still like to see a sporty mid-size (Theta) crossover to tackle the daring Mazda CX-7-I always thought Pontiac was an ideal Mazda competitor-until I saw the colossal, monumental shortcomings of G5, G6, Montana SV6 that is. There's still hope, but G6 is no more stylish or powerful and G5 is a mere rebadge, and the only compact sedan that will survive the 2007 MY is the Cobalt. I think the GMC Acadia should be moved to Chevrolet ASAP, and thus discontinued-the Outlook, "Moab", and Enclave are enough; Acadia and Outlook are too close together in styling and position.

BTW, for those curious as to what ION, VUE, and Impala's Imperial/Deep Blue (37U) Metallic paint looks like, its an Indigo Blue shade, and I was told by the dealers that 14U Silver Plum/Quartz Metallic is a Lilac meets "Silver" color; not a Violet and Warm Grey 50 like I thought.

The Saturn tour came by the local dealership yesterday with a Silver Graphite Sky, Silver Pearl Relay 2 (real cheap-looking), a Cypress Green VUE, and the star of the show, a Black Onyx Aura XR, loaded to the gills. For once, its a GM car that is unbelievably as great in person as in the pictures, not too many differences there. No brochures on the 2007 models, and if I didn't get the free hot dog lunch or see the Aura, it would have been a big waste of time. However, the Aura was very elegant, stately, semi-reminiscent of the Buick Lucerne, but more fitting with the brand's styling character, even with a broken headlight and lack of rear headroom with the Panoramic full sunroof. Interesting how they're all individual glass pieces-4 I believe. Rear legroom was nice, the brown Morocco leather was nice, great dashboard, couldn't see the trunk because the door-mounted power trunk release didn't seem to work, couldn't see the dealer sticker because the windows were all down, but overall I was far more impressed with that than not only the Jeep Compass Sport I recently saw, but also probably any new/recent GM car. I think when it finally arrives, it will be a big hit, and as Motor Trend dubbed in their latest issue, "The car that will reinvent Saturn."

There also was a solid-roofed conventional Lark 5-door station wagon too-3-doors and Panel Delivery styles as well, but that was around 1959-61.

Nice trim level array, but little else. The Aveo sedan for 2007 is not attractive, this looks worse and more un-Pontiac-like-I'm glad it stays in Canada, but if they can make it sportier, help the bottom line, and actually distinguish it from the Aveo, then maybe I'd consider. Otherwise, leave it at the north and south countries in North America.

Yup, saw the Performance Red Tintcoat on a 2LT Cobalt sedan at Riverside Chevrolet in Scottsville last week-very nice, but I'm still trying to see the use of a tintcoat color on a mainstream compact car, but still, probably their best color now.

I'm pretty sure the Wagonaire was available with both canvas manual and solid power rear roofs-I don't remember-I know AMC and Willys better for independent makes. And I meant I thought Envoy XUV was too big when compared to the regular-size Envoy, thus saying XL was a bit oversized as well. You asked why the truck didn't sell, and I told you! I never said I'd tell you in order!

This is definitely the best automotive Splash, I think! The front end reminds me of the GM Sequel concept car (one I like a lot), and while its a bit tall, it is stylish.

What killed the innovative Envoy XUV is slow sales and high prices. Honestly, it was a little too big I think, but a nicely-styled, unique vehicle that was prematurely killed, IMO. Of course, the 1963-65 Wagonaire didn't do well either, especially when Studebaker Motor Car Corporation deceased after 1966 as a whole.

I agree Moltar-the Compass and Patriot, unless shipped over to Dodge or nChrysler, have no point in existence and I have been opposed from the start on any Jeep that is not an off-road capable truck (unibody is beside the point-look at the success over the years with Liberty, Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee-the Commander is a horrible vehicle period). I saw my first Compass yesterday, a cool grey (aka not-really Bright Silver Metallic) Sport with the Option package, all of whose features should be standard on all models. Seriously, can someone explain to me why air conditioning is optional on a compact crossover SUV (or anything that's a subcompact car, maybe base-trim compact for that matter)? The equipment level sucks, cheap-looking dashboard-the rear seats were more comfortable than the front, with good rear legroom with a deep under-seat footwell. However, the head restraints in front are so uncomfortable, its impossible to get a comfortable position, as the headrests protude into the driver and passenger's head. The rear seat is heavy to fold back into place, but they recline a little. Cargo space is limited, the car sits lower to the ground than any other FWD/AWD car-based SUV, the styling's okay but not great, and there's little point in having both vehicles in the lineup. It might sell, it might not-I don't care, its not a great vehicle, and I'm still curious as to what the best compact crossover SUV is, as the others are either severely dated (Escape, VUE), lousy or 4-cylinder only (CR-V), or a combination of both or other loss-leader factors.

This article makes a reader less impressed/interested in the forthcoming VUE! And honestly, I want to see it but judging by the not-that-bold Antara, I'm not totally thrilled with the always-been-a-compact VUE.

I'm pretty sure the VUE is supposed to be a 2008 model, as are Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Malibu (sans Maxx, unfortunately-I think), and Cadillac CTS. Facelifts/minor restyles/etc. would probably include the Chevy Aveo5, Buick LaCrosse, and maybe Pontiac Vibe, though I haven't heard anything yet on the latter, or if LaCrosse Super is only affected. Speaking of Buick, is the Reserve trim name still on tap for the near-future? I remember AH-HA hinted at that before he left, when all the LaCrosse Super rumors busted out.

I'm a Chevy-Buick man-if at Mopar, Dodge and Chrysler-I agree, Plymouth should've been killed earlier than it was-Breeze was embarassingly cheap looking and feeling, even less redeeming (and forgettable) than Stratus and Cirrus were/are. The only Mercedes-Benz I find desirable at all is that gorgeous CLS-otherwise, I'd wait for proper Cadillac versions-if I ever got/desired to go that far, that is. All Caliber needs now is to ditch a couple colors (Marine Blue being one of them-small, sporty cars shouldn't have boring colors), and fix somwe of the styling.

Okay-just found out cubic feet to liters (please correct me if wrong)-1420 liters converted by 0.03531 is a paltry 50.14 cubic feet. Ouch, that's ghastly-horrible for a seats-down figure-even 65 cubic feet would be pitiful for a crossover SUV wagon considering its taller than a small station wagon, such as say, a 1982-94 Chevy Cavalier wagon, which had an almost-to-this-day unbeat 64.4 cubic feet seats-down figure. So, just multiply by 0.03531 to go from liters to cubic feet.

I don't think it looks awful, but I agree in the sense that is little like the concept car, which was fabulous and had all the "wow!" styling of the 2003 Insignia concept car-destyled if you will. The front end looks outdated, the whole car looks stylish-but in a boring way that isn't wow and won't age as well. For those wondering how to convert millimeters into inches, multiply by 0.0394-for liters, if someone else can do that, that would be awesome, because I don't know how!

That Aveo bodyside molding is ugly! Also, Cobalt has a new Pace Blue (non-metallic) color; and Impala's Bordeaux Red is metallic. I saw a Cobalt 2LT sedan today with the new Sport Red Tintcoat-looks great-like the Sport Red Metallic mixed with Red Jewel. Nice compilation job!