Mule Bakersdozen LS

Congrats Creative Vision! Now if GMC would make the SLE a little less cheap-looking...i.e. color-key the mirrors, door handles, bodyside/rocker panel moldings, and add a bright window surround! I hope the purchase goes well!

Maybe HHR's could serve as taxi's-but there isn't much rear seat or cargo room in there, but anything's better than the Vivant/Rezzo/Tacuma they sell over in Europe, I'm sure. Sounds like a golden opportunity for Chevy to expand in Europe with a popular, relatively new car over here.

Cocoa=Desert/Medium Brown Metallic, 81U-they're one and the same. Liquid Silver 67U=Silverstone/Platinum/Silver Pearl/Ligh Platinum-different from the full-size truck's 59U Silver Birch Metallic (or Boulder Gray Metallic if you're a Hummer H3).

What's wrong with bodyside moldings? I agree on many of your parts, but if you've seen the new Chrysler Sebring or Dodge Avenger-those cars look really bare without bodyside moldings, IMO. How the heck did the Malibu LOSE interior space despite a 6-inch LONGER wheelbase? What is up with that? That's inexcusable!

25U Deep Blue Metallic-its a Navy Blue-see the Malibu, Lucerne, Aura, the full-size trucks. Its okay but far from GM's best blue. 78U Blue-Gold Crystal Metallic-its a Greyed Lavender color-you know Ford's Tungsten Metallic on Fusion, Mustang, and Escape (among others)? Its a little lighter than that. 81U Medium Brown Metallic-I haven't been up close to a vehicle with this impressive new color yet, but its a sandy brown I think. Also, something I've noticed in the past month or so-the 40U "Summit White" used on the Lambdas is the white used on passenger cars except Cobalt/G5/ION/Solstice/Sky-its more a creamy white, where the real 50U Summit White (see the trucks again) is a purer white. Does that help?

Isn't the Aura doing well? And the Outlook and Sky (and Aura) are getting good press, right? Sure, the VUE is weak compared to the other new Saturns, but next to the aging/abominable/mediocre Ford Escape, Jeep Compass, and Honda CR-V competition (and the rest of the compact crossover SUV class), I'd say its got a pretty good chance at success and one of the class' better offerings. The Astra has a lousy Opel interior from the pics and a 4-speed automatic transmission, but aren't the rest of the compact cars still saddled with second or third-rate interiors (Cobalt, Focus, etc.) and 4-speeds? If there's any division that should be on death watch, its Pontiac, not Saturn. But, I think the G8 has a chance at success, not just with the enthusiasts crowd that will never be buying anything like that for a long time (like me), but with people who might actually buy the G8.

Same here-why not a Caddy ELR (Entry Level Roadster)? Give it a high-pressure turbo ECOTEC or the 2.8-liter V-6 as standard though.

The W-Bodies are nice cars (particularly the Impala, and I can't deny the Grand Prix's individualism), but they are all past their prime and it is time to go. I just hope when the 2010 LaCrosse Epsilon (I or II is it?), that it will give the Lexus ES350 a run for its money-as in actually having comparable polish, styling (Signia/LaCrosse/Cielo/Velite concepts), and performance so Buick can have purpose, and a reason to exist along with the similar Saturn Aura. Grand Prix-while G8's not ideal in styling (but better than I'd expected, and a very complete package as far as drivetrain/equipment goes so far), Grand Prix still is a staple of the Pontiac lineup. For Monte Carlo, I'd like to see a Malibu Coupe replace it on one end, and a Monte Carlo Zeta on the other, in an ideal world. And Impala, bring it forward as a rear or all (yes, all-Charger has it too)-wheel-drive, 5-6-passenger large sedan (and wagon). And there you have it. Grand Prix has by far the best GM steering wheel, and while the cockpit-style dash is nice, it probably could've been executed better, and its styling is inferior to the modern classic 1997-2003 models.

The front end is a bit blander than I'd like (my only real complaint to the underservedly little-fanfare 2006 Rampage concept), but this looks like an improvement, and I haven't seen the interior yet, but if its like the Compass and Caliber abominations, then I'll pass. Glad Dodge finally decided to boost the 4.7-liter V-8 to a reasonable output, at 290hp. But when does the 3.7-liter V-6 get a big boost? And where art thou, regular cab?

Its nicer than before, but if anyone has ever seen the Hummer H3 book with all those different exterior styling proposals, you'd agree they were all far more daring than the production model, as it almost always is these days. Still not overly wild about that Equinox/Lambda steering wheel-the Grand Prix and (...gasp!) minivan steering wheel is much better.

Monte Carlo-I'll miss it in name-I'd miss it more if it were correctly applied and styled to a 2-door hardtop coupe, maybe as a roomier, larger, more luxurious cousin to the Camaro coming up, ditto Grand Prix, who had a great dashboard, even if styling was questionable and relic-like. LaCrosse-keep the split-bench or bucket seat options, style it (something Buick forgot to do with Lucerne-great stance but no style), and make it look like the classic 2000 concept car. I like the current Impala, but make it a little larger, expand the V-8, change V-6's, and make the formula work with rear or all-wheel-drive! And even if its lower volume, revive a Malibu Coupe to compete with Nissan Altima and to replace Monte Carlo-see the SS concept car for styling!

The front end looks more Torrent (not good) than Solstice-nonetheless its awesome Charlie Gibson was able to get a tour inside the GM Studios and I can't wait for G8 to come on the scene!

Dodge has so many holes in its lineup-a Solstice/Sky-type sports car notwithstanding-but priority one should be getting some good interiors (besides Charger/Magnum) into the rest of its cars, upgrading its SE/SXT trim levels' equipment/appearance), and oh yeah...WHERE IS THE COMPACT SEDAN (and the rest of the line)???!!! (Caliber is a compact CROSSOVER, not passenger car, so it doesn't count, plus its design is really awkward). Another concept-only SlingShot/Razor/Copperhead is great (moreso the latter two), but this really, really is far from a priority for Dodge and the rest of Chrysler Group.

How come they gave a preview yet they had the Euro-spec pictures and no solid info? This comes to Chicago, correct? Sounds awesome, sounds pointless for a FWD Pontiac now, since Chevy can easily cover the coupe/sedan segment, though a upscale compact sedan and wagon would be nice for Buick, if not to rival VW Jetta and Acura TSX.

I agree, but I think Buick should offer more models to combat imports (without overlap), or at least more than just LaCrosse, Lucerne, and Enclave.

I like the daring grille, but its still a G6....and I don't like the G6 very much (though it does far and away have the best color selection of the Epsilon trio), and there's no way I would choose this over Malibu, Aura, or Fusion. But I just might choose it over Sebring.

So Uplander is the only returning minivan for 2008? Oh well, 1 out of 4 survivors ain't bad, but I'm willing to bet most Uplanders will go to fleets the few remaining months of the model year on the market, then they'll die, and virtually no one will miss those hunks of junk.

Malibu....its reputation so far is that of an inexpensive, boring, fleet-special mid-size sedan that's been competent (or in the 2004-07, barely). This Malibu has the style going for it, haven't seen the passenger and cargo room or equipment specifications yet, but it remains to be seen whether or not it can unseat Camry, Accord, or Altima. I like the Aura-its the best mid-size GM car since the RWD G-Bodies/FWD A-Bodies (before the 1986 Ford Taurus came), and it has much promise, but there's much that remains to be seen quality-wise and how the Bu' measures up. But seriously, how about some Special Edition a la HHR for this car? Like Calibu (California Malibu)? A Malibu LS Sport package? Malibu Black Sterling with Black/Silverstone paint?

I almost thought it would follow the $2,000 extra pricing as employed by Outlook and Acadia, but that's not bad pricing-its bigger than its closest rival, the Chrysler Pacifica. Can't wait to see this thing!

BTW, Welcome Pelle31!

Yup, saw a $45,100 SLT-2 AWD model in Carbon Metallic at the dealer last Friday. It was loaded to the gills-Light Titanium Leather, the second-row (fixed) SkyScape sunroof; HUD (which I saw in person for the first time-displays outside temperature, transmission gear selector, and MPH), rear DVD player, power front moonroof, alarm/remote starter/entry, Navigation Stereo, oh it was beautiful! My only fault with it, other than a shortage of a few colors and a Cadillac-level pricetag are the lack of recliners in the 2nd row, a pair of buckets in the middle for optional 7-passenger capacity. Oh sure SmartSlide is nice, but I was (unpleasantly) surprised to find that the seats didn't recline-I figured it would be a given. A little more legroom would be nice too, but entry/exit was first rate as was the rest of the Acadia! Best new GM product I've ever seen/been in-a little expensive, but I'd surely get it if I had a family/for my family! Also saw a Liquid Silver Metallic SLE, with black OSRV mirrors and rocker panel moldings but color-keyed bodyside moldings-a bit cheap looking but still fine I bet. Great brochure, but more colors should be offered and displayed in there.

That's what I'm thinking too-since Outlook XE starts at $27,990; Acadia SLE at $29,990-makes sense that Enclave CX FWD would be....well....$31,990? I love these Lambdas, especially the Acadia I was in last week, but I still don't see how having all three makes sense-its too bad Enclave is stuck with the same piddling, so-so color selection of the others, and I'm still trying to understand why there's no Black or standard Metallic Red (i.e. Sonoma Red?) And no, the Carbon Metallic (which was on the fully loaded, $45,100 SLT-2 Acadia I checked out), a dark warm grey that is nothing like the Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl at Dodge/Chrysler, is a substitute. This is the first Buick with Xenon headlamps, right? I'm sitll impressed, but I also don't know why passenger seats only get a 4-way power adjustment, not even a 6-way. And also, note to GM, make these 2nd row seats recline! That was my only non-color complaint on the Lambdas!

I love the Slatestone color, but that's about all I like for this spy shot of the LaCrosse-let's accelerate the 2010 Epsilon II version, huh? And keep the front split-bench/bucket seat choices, but let's make the 2010 look like the Golden age (1998-2000 Buick concepts)+Enclave+2004 Velite concept cars for styling, huh? And make sure it doesn't overlap with Malibu, G6, Aura, or the Cadillac CTS!

How about the style of the 2003 GT Coupe and California Cruiser concept cars? And revive the Chrysler Airflow-as the JZ49-it would be perfect, but cross with the Airflite concept and don't make it such a lousy disappointment like the Sebring it would be based on.

I agree-this Commodore looks very similar to the last one, much in the similar (and not at all good) vain of the 1997-2005 Malibu/Classic and 2004-07 Malibu. On the plus side, Pontiac, let alone anyone, will have the first mid-sized, rear-drive sedan since the 1986 Bonneville (and 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme). Its just too bad its a badge job-hopefully it will be a little more convincing.