Mule Bakersdozen LS

I know coupes are not a big market these days, but I keep reading at times that with the GTO to be green-lighted possibly for a next generation, there is claimed to be no room for a companion Firebird. If a GTO is still priced in the $33,000+ range, and a Firebird in the say-$21-22,000 range to start (figure Camaro like $1,500-2,000 less for equipment differences, etc.), then what's the problem?

Why not? Everyone else is doing it (except Cadillac and Lincoln of course, but that's probably a good thing, though it someday may be inevitable-I'm JUST getting used to the notion that a subcompact car can have power windows even on its option list). That looks like the ultimate clown car though, so what's next, a BMW Isetta rival? I wonder what that would look like modernized. That A2 is a tall 5-door hatchback crossover sedan, something like an A-Class, but more Audi and conventional looking, but its been around for a while.

All it is is what was planned-and should been available at the start. Its the same thing, I don't know what all the hoopla is for.

Not my ideal Rampage, but interesting...

Tahoe never was a 2500 truck-it and the K-5/K1500 before it were always 1500 1/2-tons. Suburban's always had a 1/2 (1500) and 3/4 (2500)-ton variations, I don't see why it wouldn't continue. I always questioned the need for an Avalanche 2500 anyway-its more a niche model, and the 2500 version probably didn't sell that well, hence its gone.

Sadly, that red-color insert in the Sport Appearence Package just doesn't do much for that 1982-89 Chrysler Fifth Avenue-inspired dashboard and rest of Caliber's awful interior. And the round wheel openings just don't work for me for a Dodge, and neither does that grille, or side windows, or air conditioning, or....well, you get the idea-I'm still not sold on this car.

Dodge also doesn't know their size class-this is still a compact, not mid-size SUV. Good move on NOT offering a 4-cylinder engine, something they shouldn't have bothered with the Liberty the first time anyway.

If Buick is going to survive, they need to branch out of their comfort zones and get with it. Enclave shows promise, but a full-size car-based crossover near-luxury SUV is not the only piece of the puzzle. They need to cater to the comfortable near-luxury segment, think ES330/Milan/Sebring (this is where the LaCrosse Epsilon II comes in, circa 2010 model year), and I think a Skyhawk Delta would still be a great idea. I see a lot of Acura TSX's in my area, and Audi A4 and Volvo S40/V50 provide nice competition for a near-luxury front-drive compact. A Cadillac or Saab is not the answer, and Saturn or Pontiac sure aren't either. It would and should look like the 2000 LaCrosse, 1999 Cielo, 2004 Velite, 2001 Bengal, and 1998 Signia concept cars in styling, with 2.4-liter ECOTEC 175hp I-4 and 2.8-liter DOHC High Feature 210hp V-6 engines.

I was referring to the Malibu sedan-but wait a minute, I thought the 2008 GMX386 Malibu was cancelled until Epsilon II came into fruition. Either way, it needs to get here soon! Fusion, Sonata, Camry, etc. will eat it alive!

Yeah Renault's quirky, but I've always liked them more or less-they're always interesting and surely not lacking on style-even their small car-based commercial vans (Kangoo I think it is) is pretty stylish for what it is, if I remember. I can't say I like the Megane's odd 3-door hatchback coupe rear roofline, but this concept is nice and follows the others in my opinion. Which reminds me...anyone else wonder what AMC would be like today if it were still alive and retained the Renault connection?

They'd better increase the wheelbase to at least 109"! It has one of the shortest wheelbases and widths in the class-1986 was 20 years ago-no more 69" widths on a mid-size car! Ever! Try 72 at least! And jack that trunk space back to 17 cubic feet, like the last Malibu, where it was at or 2nd-best (once the Saturn L-Series came along). No excuses!

I like the photochop, Toni! I was thinking whatever platform GM chooses for Evoke, it'll still have that exact styling and design, which is better than what I originally thought-I just hope it has more passenger and cargo room than Cobalt. On that note, if what AH-HA said is true, I'm thinking G5 will either be the Vibe (still Toyota-based-ugh) or the Pursuit.

Good review-I'm surprised. I mean not surprised that he liked the car, but I've never liked this car to date-just doesn't look like a Buick, seems like the same old stuff, and I thought the interior was vastly inferior, etc., but maybe it has a brighter future than I realized.

Chrominium-have you seen the Five Hundred, being in France? Honestly, I just don't see the height in the design-and that's a good thing-cars like Toyota Echo and pretty much all the new subcompacts/lower compacts now look way too tall and top heavy-not a good thing, not appealing whatsoever to most people I imagine. And its pretty wide inside from what I remember.

What's the difference, other than $10,000 between this and Escalade? Other than minor exterior differences and a Bulgari clock, weren't those two the same?

Border on the plain? They're right on the plain! They're bland! They're dull! They have nothing on Ram, Titan, or F-150 (except power), and their interiors from the pictures reflect on their understyled exteriors as well.

The only single standout and key as of right now to whether or not Buick has a future is not the Lucerne and certainly not LaCrosse, but the Enclave. Its stylish, and it'll have all the right stuff-as long as GM can get it right-something that worries me at times.

Good news! I like the Ford Five Hundred, but the styling is nothing really special unfortunately-yet another student of the "Pleasantly Bland" School of Design. They should have directly productionized the 2000 Prodigy concept, with its edgy styling (traces of which I see in the Five Hundred's style), but other than the lack of a front bench seat, more power, etc.-it seems like an otherwise fine car, with great standard and optional equipment array-to-price ratios. And how about a supercharged, 300hp ST or SHO variant? and a SelectShift II manual-capable 6-speed OD electronic automatic transmission?

I love the current ES330 model-curvaceous, roomy, nice equipment to price ratio-the front end isn't terrible, but I like the current styling much more.

Not exactly-the ES is a larger, truer mid-size car-this is just a big compact as its based on the Saab 9-3. Looks nice and Cadillac-like here, and there is a market for this kind of car-Audi A4, Acura TSX, etc. I wouldn't want to see it here personally, but that's just me-I'd rather see Buick take up some of this slack so Cadillac didn't have to, but someday it may be inevitable.

Looks very nice-like the other (than this) 2-seater I'd buy if I were ever in that market: the Chrysler Crossfire.

Not really-actually its because its an attractive car with decent passenger and cargo room at a decent price and comprehensive standard and optional equipment, and decent engines-none of which the Malibu has, and after going into quite a few Cobalts, there's nothing even remotely world-class about any of them.

I agree with Carguy22-as much as I like Enclave (there's a few things I'm not crazy about, such as the hood, not front fender ventiports, but its 100% better than the bland, cheap-looking and poorly-Chevy-like Lucerne), it should have at least the same amount of passenger and cargo room as the smaller, outgoing Rendezvous. There should be no excuses.

Century was the best or second-best-selling Buick though-it fell in sales probably because of expectations of a new model-ditto that for the 2005 Chevy Impala. And from what I saw, the Regal in this generation never sold all that well anyway.

Thought so Ghost Dog-thanks! Yeah I read in one of those articles (maybe even this one) that Opel/Vauxhall are not slated to get any Zeta VE models-the true Omega replacement was cancelled, therefore I think the only rear-drive model to come will be the Opel GT/Vauxhall VX240 (?).