regfootball

jelly bean blob.

This model is nicer than the new Pathfinder, that is the only compliment I can muster. It does do its intended function well, I give it that.

timing belts suck.

what did you think of the interior and plastics?

IMO, it would be mishappen to bring this to market before bringing the Astra 3 door here as a Buick. The 3 door selling at lower prices would be more successful, but less of an image car. GM needs to transition off Epsilon to a new global chassis.

exactly, why the eff, subtract the grand and let me have the car a grand cheaper. if they slap extra rebates on them, fine. I think part of the strategy is to pump up MSRP's for leasing and other purposes. Adding the leather which maybe costs them a couple hundred to put in lets them pad the margin.

They need to combine the light weight and tricks of the Eco with the diesel. Did they? Epic fail, no cloth. That said, I am definitely going to look into this rig.

funny! made me spit my drink out!

every day on the interstate on my daily drive I see quite a few Fiestas lately. I know the basic model Fiestas have been selling quite cheap. I don't know what the real world Fiesta mpg is, but I doubt it's way higher than the Focus. Makes me think though with seeing so many lately that the gas + price of car total cost must be getting cheap on those. Fiesta could use a small tiny turbo diesel, like a 1.2l 3 or something. I bet eye popping mpg would commence.

cheap looking inside, but the exterior shape is nice.

lack. of. space. and yes, not much better mpg than larger cars. Altimas with 38 mpg, hard to compete with that.

10 speed trannies with 3 cylinders!!!!!!!!!! woot!

http://autos.aol.com/article/station-sport-wagon-Volvo-V60-family-truckster/ "Station Wagons Have Vanished; Maybe it's time we bring them back"

Congrats! The Spark seems to be hitting a nerve with the public, I see a lot on the road. I can relate to the Chevette comments, the Spark reminds me of the 3 chevettes my family had. Maybe they should have called it that. I had a Scooter myself. Good color too!

Spending some time with the TSX wagon at the autoshow made me realize how useless it was, when a CRV serves the cargo purpose so much better. Magnum, different story. Probably the only Chrysler I would consider to own, it's cargo and passenger setup were perfect, right down to the far hinged door. And then they stopped making it. I do like the current CTS wagon, but it's not all that huge in the cargo area either. Like the Mazda6 wagon the new one, but no chance of it selling. To me, a wagon, to have an advantage, has to have a real cargo advantage, like the Caprice / Vista Cruiser wagon. Otherwise, I would prefer a hatch. The mid 00's Mazda6 hatch is really a useful device and not much different looks wise than the sedan. The Buick Regal could have a hatch. I do make exceptions in the compact class. An Astra wagon and Jetta wagon make a lot of sense. They do maximize cargo. I like all the body styles of the Astra. They should sell them all here.

better fix the rear seat problems.......

Diesel is important, more than just about anything if they ever want cred in Europe. Hybrid, not sure. A wagon will contribute least to growing Cadillac. I like the logic of a CTS coupe over an XLR. If an XLR is done right, though, it would have huge payoff. Something like a Cien would have huge payoff too. Something akin to the Panamera down the road would be cool too. Current CTS coupe is striking, but the bunker interior and limited visibility are a turn off. To me, an ATS coupe is a given, and I do like the 5 door idea, but I don't think the 5 door would sell a bunch. It would sell more than a wagon though. Could be something distinctive for the marque.

the logo even is something to be ashamed about.

sorry I missed it, hope you had a good one.

I guess I have had not much time to complete this. So I will give a brief rundown. Tested, new Journey SXT AWD v6. No idea on price / MSRP. A quick build and price shows it's around 27 MSRP. This was a base SXT with no other options. HIGHS Sweet Pentastar v6 and responsive tranny. Plenty of power, and very smooth. Surprisingly good observed mileage (at least for my driving) Room and space, legs, shoulders, head A nice tweener size (in between the Traverses and Kia Sportages of the world). Still manueverable. Visibility is very good and lots of glass, no bunker feel Nice looking new front beak. Very quiet inside at all speeds, a major improvement in this area. Very well done new design interior. Attractive plastics and cloth. Vastly improved console / center stack. Some climate and radio controls they left buttons for! Nice cargo area (Equinox are you listening) Many crossover / SUV fans will like the seating height and position with it's height and uprightness. A couple unsuspected amenities like pushbutton start and dual zone climate. Priced very well, MSRP and actual prices after rebate Lighted cupholder! Very good vehicle at basic function Shares the showroom with the minivans, which it probably takes some sales from. Don't stop Believin LOWS Occassional driveline lash or jerkiness. Cruise control was a bit mishappen a few times, slow to react etc. The seat, despite looking uber comfy and well shaped, actually hurt my back and butt. It is possible other shapes of people, this may not be the case. Seat was hard, not shaped right for me, and I wonder if it will break in or break down. Legacy of some poor ergonomics before, cupholders are down low and obscure a valuable storage bin. Armrest lacks some padding, and shifter is kind of far back. You sit on, instead of in. Side mirrors need more area or width and don't give much confidence for where the cars behind you are...they conspire with the pillars to have some pretty large blind spots at times A nice looking touch screen, and this is a common complaint across many makes now, but why do we need to go through so many menus to adjust tone or other radio and climate functions? Push button start, touch screens, and dual zone climate, but no bluetooth and power seat? No auto headlamps? Yes it's all optional, but still...... I am not a fan of buttons on the backside of the steering wheel, I prefer all the buttons on the front where I can see them. Color touchscreen display is nice idea, but this one is pretty small. DATED STYLING, aside from the new beak. Not at all in the current group of sexy. It also looks more like a wagon than a crossover. Suspension occassionally felt unrefined and choppy. Over time I think this thing will feel trucky. Steering felt dead and slow, this is not a bad driving SUV but its not really much to write home about either (although it probably drives nicer than an Equinox perhaps). Doesn't really feel 'all of a piece' at times. Glossy silver dash features reflect up into your eyes when the sun is out. (Problem on may vehicles now I bet) Gauge faces, while styled fancy, lack crispness in edges and colors and lighting, enough so that the information is not always clear at a quick glance. They are too busy. I don't like pontiac excitement red lighting either. Sound system is weak as far as speakers. Despite the touchscreen and steering wheel, it would still help to have a few more radio buttons on the center stack. Same for climate. Where were the rear cupholders? OK I did not search for them. The two on the center stack were good but the ones in the front door tilt forward (no way to put a 70% full coffee in the door for later and not have it spill all over). Shares the showroom with the minivans, which it probably loses some sales to. Overall lacks style, glitz, and does not make up for that with any noticeable road pizazz either. The band doesn't come with. SUMMARY I enjoyed my time (400 miles) with this rig. As a family guy, having had crossovers for many years now, the function they provide is wonderful. But at the same time, they can be dull to drive. Any crossover you evaluate these days has to focus more on function. Yet sometimes you still want something fun to drive. I think the Journey meets criteria that a lot of folks want these days for a family hauler, and they have been able to do this by correcting a lot of the older model's huge flaws. I know what those flaws were because we also have an older Journey in our fleet, which I have driven before. The improvements are vast.....powertrain, front styling, interior.....so I view this as as close to a new model as you can get. Kudos for all that it does do. Roomy and quiet, does feel stable and secure on the road. Visibility mostly is good. Plenty of power, smooth, and if you treat it nicely, it will get good mpg. The price is very good, and it makes a great buy vs. a lot of the smaller crossovers that might seem more glitzy or cost more. Or you can save a ton of money vs. some larger competitors and get a good chunk of their room and space in a less bulky package. I think for me, I would lean to giving this my typical B+, except that I really do think the dated style and slight clunkiness and old age feel here and there make it a B to me. It does excel in function, and it a good competitor vs. say, an Equinox. Likewise it is a good alternative toward spending a bunch more on a Traverse, for example. I would rather have an Edge than this, and probably a Sorento also. In some ways, the Sorento has age and dated feel against it also, but it drives a bit nicer. Just a bit. Even though I give this a B, it hits home runs in basic value and function, and is quiet and smooth, and by all means that means a lot more to many people than the steering and suspension feeling a bit unrefined at times. Props to Chrysler for big improvements and now let's hope a replacement is on the way to clean up the really old looking station wagon style.

did you do your survey yet? that is when the customers get back at the salespeople....... the salesperson has as part of the task list to set the first service appt, and sometimes there are quotas or bonuses the mfrs set for that first service return percentage. Some sales dudes either then genuinely forget, or are too busy to follow up. If they sold the car on a busy day, they may have simply lost the info or did not turn it in. Sometimes the sales guy turns over the info, and service chokes on it. No excuses really, but the process sometimes is not terribly seamless. Sometimes it is so filled with garbage tasks that it takes away from your ability to service your sales also.

This is a little bait and switch. Release the car with the higher mpg motor, and then gradually ramp up the percentage of the motor you think more people will buy / want. The 1.4 remains for advertising and the fuel thrifty.

Lincoln needs to stay, but they are in a serious hurt bag right now. I do think an MKc could turn it around for them.. MKz needs a huge interior upgrade to get the job done. If i were Ford, I would gash MKz and MKs prices to get a few more in the market short term.

the 28.5 was achieved with the engine turning about 1500 rpm..at 60 mph. 5 mph was like 1750 rpm. pentastar is not gobs of torque, it's sort of like GM's 3.6...needs a bit to wake up and get in the powerband.

40 miles this morning, a lot at 75mph. about 21 mpg. A little more aggressive with the smooth v6. Pentastar is really sweet.