Mule Bakersdozen LS

That Pontiac interior is so awful! The new Altima dashboard could use some zing, but the exterior is a nice evolution of the current model-stylish but not overly so, ditto the 2007. Saturn Aura and Ford Fusion (and Toyota Camry) have some serious competition here....

I thought this is what they meant by "Crossover coupe concept"-I figured it would be a repainted, rebadged Antara GTC concept-I just wish that the production car was more stylish than the concept (from the spy shots and CGI's I've seen, it was nice looking, but nowhere near as stylish as the concept car).

15.7 cubic feet of cargo space, 37.6" of rear legroom...I like! So will many happy families hopefully.

Bravo Saturn, bravo! You have a great design, vast cargo (and probably passenger) space-looks great! Finally, an initial (and hopefully all around) winner since Equinox!

That has to be interesting...well...here's a start of making a successful, new, "icy" car and division into one with street cred, sons.

I want to know what's up with Aura and Outlook too, but if they sound just as bland and such as Evok and CD/BP say they are then I'm disappointed. Now about that "Crossover Coupe concept"-any chance that's just the Opel Antara GTC concept with a Saturn badge and maybe different paint?

I'm in the minority-I like the old one much better-this one looks much blander.

Well I guess the Terazza's getting better...kind of has the importance/value of Mr. Clean's hairstylist if you get what I mean. Even though the 3900 V-6 becomes standard on all GM minivans for 2007, the van still sucks-but people are buying them...now about assasinating the Saturn Relay...keep the name, but put it on that upcoming Opel/Vauxhall Galaxy rival and send it here. Surprisingly, I see a lot of Rainier's around too, and the Rendezvous has always been quite popular.

The new Durango front end looks a lot like Nitro's-not entirely a bad thing, but it looks like the new model got the uniqueness taken out of it, and that's a great deal for Compass pricing, but in addition to the front-drive configuration, its all-wheel-drive, not a 4x4.

Well...the red interior trim, wheels and spoiler are nice-but it just doesn't do anything (else) for me-sorry, disappointing.

Actually, its because the minivans are crap altogether-with lousy upholstery (fake synthetic cloth and vinyl? In 2006? You're joking, right?), dated, undifferentiated body styles that never were all that great anyway, inferior passenger and cargo room, cheap-looking base models, overpriced, inferior standard/optional equipment listings (kudos however for the 3900 V-6 becoming standard on all 2007 models however). The only good things I really have to say for the vans are a nice color selection, Chevy and Saturn's aluminum wheels, and the interesting Kodiak-inspired Uplander grille-that's it. When compared to Odyssey, Sienna, or even Caravan/Town & Country (still by far the best domestic-name minivan except those lousy SWB models), the GM and Ford vans are all big, big losers.

Why would the regular Envoy be killed? It sells well, doesn't it? Its always popular around here, much nicer than TrailBlazer or the others, IMO. I'll miss the EXT/XL, but without overlap, what would their purpose be?

I think the Impala would look best emulating the 2003 SS concept car in style, more or less a productionized version of it, but with variety, split-bench or bucket front seats (bucket only for SS, of course), 6 taillights (round or not does not matter), regular V-8 option on volume models (if not standard), and 20 cubic feet minimum for cargo space. How about a 5-door station wagon body style too? Capable of seating up to 9 passengers? And even though I like the styling, its really time to get away from the 1995-96 Caprice in terms of the rear quarter window.

I got news for you! They were all really underwhelming models-especially after the unnecessary 2005 facelift and the adding of dull colors and taking away Yellow and Fusion Orange (i.e-WHY are there 3 drab grey colors-Platinum, Moonstone and Stealth)-I thought Base/AWD were going to get cut-just redesign this thing based off Delta, move it to Chevy, and end the NUMMI thing-way too long.

I drew a Murano-inspired X-Trail II last night-looked kind of nice, its small-scale though, and this looks like that Nissan Note, which is not a bad thing, and inspired by the quirky Renault Scenic.

Taking front end styling cues from the 2007 Chevy Aveo is a dumb move, but otherwise the car looks good, though its rear end also needs sprucing up.

My ideas: Lucerne Reserve, Super, and Ultra trims replace CXL and CXS trims (CX is dropped; Ultra is all new and above the others). 3.6-liter DOHC High Feature 250hp V-6 engine with 6-speed OD electronic automatic transmission standard on Reserve; 270hp on Super, and a 4.6-liter DOHC 'Buick Eight' 291hp V-8 (Ultra-optional Super). This would just be for the current Lucerne, and change the dashboard so that it (ditto the Cadillac DTS) don't look like that of the Chevy Impala's (not bad for Impala, but bad for Lucerne/DTS). Add increased luxury features, change the front and rear ends, and its good for now.

Looks like the front doors are shared with VUE/Equinox/Torrent-that's not a bad thing, but it may not be the most up to date circa 2011-who knows-looks alright-hopefully its wider than current models too-I wonder if the 3rd row will be suitable for anybody this time-even children, as I wouldn't dare even strap in a toddler/infant back there, but its not like I'd give the current truck-based XL-7 even a first glance anyway. Nice pics CD/BP! Its great having you on here (I know you've been on here a while, just thought I'd say that), interesting that an ace photographer posts here!

Thanks for the sketches and order link! These trucks really don't look special at all...just the same bland stuff that makes the Ford F-150 look more exciting in comparison.

While that's true about cab-forward no longer being 'in' as far as it goes in 2006 America, look at many emerging European (and Asian) designs on small cars-they're very monospace/MPV-inspired-a new sort of cab-forward which the Civic followed in most respects, not innovated. And I'm not crazy about the Civic designs either, especially when the exterior's larger and the inside's much smaller.

Totally agreed-except I think Compass is stylish-somewhat-but it should NOT be a Jeep-and what is the point of the Patriot again since Compass and Patriot seem to have the same purpose?

Why would they want to do that? The Falcon's aging fast and has no real styling direction as-is? Its a little-changed 1998 design!

Has anyone been in the third-row seat? It is absolutely useless-and the second row is hardly any better. Being only 5.4', I had like no headroom in the third row, and the legroom was smaller than that of a Lexus SC430, if that means anything at all. And the Commander is still a mid-size SUV, not a large one.

Looks very nice, but visibility looks like it'll be difficult out of that 3rd row seat, should there still be one. This is going to make the Lincoln MKX an even tougher sell than it already will be.

Is the G6 a better car than Grand Am? Of course it is! Grand Am was one of the worst cars out there, IMO! But not so fast! While G6 is increasingly popular (mainly in the Base I-4/V-6 sedans, while a few GT coupes are trickling in), there's a lot of work on those that could be done, such as increasing the passenger and cargo room by modifying the rear roofline a bit, also so it is not directly overhead of the rear passengers. The coupe is like a successor not only to G6 and Alero coupes, but I also see it as one to the former Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme/Pontiac Grand Prix, even Buick Regal coupes, and seeing as how G6 has a longer wheelbase, at 112.3" than all of the above models, it should have a lot more or at least comparable passenger and cargo room, right? And all G6's are sadly compact cars according to the EPA-really poor use of packaging, even though it is a sporty car (note: it CAN be done in a way that balances sporty fastback/semi-fastback styling with a decent balance of room). Of course, there's also engines and equipment as we all know can be worked on heavily, along with parts of the interior. If GM can do it right-we all know they're more than capable-then the G6 can be even greater.