regfootball

who knows, maybe they can't keep it from hunting or some other drivability problem if its locked up in 6th. All I know is that Eco is a contented little kitty in 6th, super quiet, just a hair over 2100-2200 rpm, still has some pull when you step on the gas. 5th isn't much more rpm. The automatic has seemed so much more busy to me. Wouldn't that be bizarre if it were programmed to not be in 6th? THing is doesn't it have a gear indicator? I know when I used the manumatic that one time I was able to get it in 6th......I am pretty sure of that.

Mary Barra, new GM head of product development I absolutely respect her credentials, however there are a couple of things in this interview that give me pause......more specifically the notion that everything is marketing driven. SOmetimes you have to tell the market what it needs. Design / build it from the gut and if its good they will come. That was part of Bob Lutz' approach. I am sensing this new GM is data reactive now.

classic redux.......just say fleet bye bye v6, thanks feds should be interesting the transformation this time around. hopefully its just a good solid basic car that improves the interior and trunk space. Current Malibu is decent, but things change so fast in this segment. Malibu wants to go vanilla now. I think the eAssist may turn out to be a nice feature for this car. actually should be interesting to see how the turbo ends up acceleration wise.

in my test drive too, it was up around 2700-2800 rpm on the automatic. the stick was at least 500 rpm lower. that to me explains part of the difference between 36 mpg highway and 42 mpg. what did you think of the LS? it's actually ok.

The vans are so immense, to improve all the materials inside would be a huge expensive undertaking. So the fact that they improved your overall impression, by just concentrating the improvements in the most noticeable areas, shows good thought. I think Dodge and a lot of makers will have to rethink the minivan in a few years. A Mazda5 is too small. The Caravan is just a beast now. IMO, there has got to be a sweet spot in size in between somewhere.

Instead of taking the kid to play today we went to the Kia Dodge Chevy dealer to sit in some cars. Weird combo of brands, but it made it convenient for one stop. Anyhow, what was nice was they had a new 011 Caravan, Journey, and Durango in the showroom. So I got to sit inside and look around a little. Kid was acting up so I didn't get to poke and prod too much. But still it was easy to see that there were some nice improvements. The Durango was the first one. I still think its sorta bland inside and out but the quality of the interior is pretty good. I would say the plastics are very good, maybe a little tiny bit above average for the class. Better plastics than the Lambdas for sure. Even the cloth was pretty good. The sticker was 40k, at 40k I might think leather is deserved. But it certainly is not cheap by any means inside. It's pretty roomy and it seemed like it has a pretty good cargo hold behind the second row. The third row looked tight but I didn't climb back there. The seat bottom looked really low and looked like there wasn't much knee or footspace, that was only looks though. I'll have to try getting in one at the auto show soon. The Front two rows are really roomy. They did a nice job on it and it has a trucky feel to it so the old Durango fans should like it very much. The Grand Caravan had the new interior and to be honest it's not really an upgrade of much over what was already in the Routan as far as dash materials. But they added some padding on the armrest and the gauges and steering wheel and center stack are big upgrades. Of course compared to the 010 Caravan the improvement is huge. The layout has an interesting and simple design that is attractive. The change in the shifter design alone is huge as it feels nicer in the hand. Seat cloth is not burlap now, its a decent mouse fur type of stuff. Most of the interior improvements are in the dash and front row. They changed the second row seats to have more support and sit a little higher with a nicer curve. I did not sit in them but they looked to be more natural than the 010 model in the second row. Really there is nothing to note as a problem on this interior now. It should help them gain sales. The dash plastic was still sort of hard to the touch and maybe looked a tish cheap but because there is so much plastic inside a van you gotta cut them a little slack. Its perfectly acceptable now whereas before it was ghastly. In tan even I bet it looks really nice. The Journey's new interior was the best one. It totally transforms the vehicle. Good quality plastics. It's shocking how terrible and different the old interior is compared to the new one. I think the center stack display screen has a cheap face on it, but all display screens do, its just because its so large and picks up light so you see all the smudges and stuff. No complaints otherwise. Everything is laid out very nice, it's interesting. Nice room, good cloth. The silver dash accents are a nice theme. I sure hope they get an increase in sales. The Journey they had had a 29k sticker with the v6 and I don't recall if it was AWD or not. Dodge should be pleased with the nice upgrades they did in the Journey. In a way, its hard to see a lot of foks buying the huge bulky van when the Journey is available. Likewise, it's tough to see the appeal of the Durango when the Journey is almost as spacious and is a lot cheaper, because the Journey has the third row. I can tell you the Journey's interior is better quality than the Equinox, even though the Equinox has the interesting center stack. I think the Journey will have a really long shelf life now, it would be nice to see them put a stylish new beak on it now. Just a couple Kia comments. The Optima does not look quite so nice inside in cheaper trims. Mouse fur seats and more cheap grey plastic. With tan leather and accent upgrades like piano black the Optima inside looks a lot richer. The base car has a cheap cheap feel to it inside and out and I am already tired of the new exterior. I don't like that back door window weirdness. The Forte hatchback looks clumsy. The Sportage has a nice roomy interior but its really too bad the seats don't feel right and they really should have spent more on the interior plastics and carpets and stuff. The Sorento has a nice bland but solid interior, too bad the exterior is so freakin dull and plain. Anyways, Dodge's interior improvements are not just lip service. THey have done a good job making the needed improvements.

I know NOS, you are 100% right. I guess my point is, not only is GM seemingly not wanting real feedback from those experts, they don't even seem to have a very good pulse on the very basic $h! that the customers could give them. It's doubly ridiculous! So what I meant was, its a big organizational problem, and it comes from an org chart and decision maker tree that is piss poor at allowing the people within to design and build the best stuff possible. Some Finance or marketing or legal person is going to go out of their way to dilute greatness. And some of the easy improvements are right there under their turned up noses. I am smelling a return to arrogance at GM and it doesn't sound pretty. My first order of business would be clean out a Telecom CEO. He has no business being there. GM wanted an Alan Mullaly clone. Alan Mullaly understood science, technology, and manufacturing in the world arena for transportation vehicles. All indications point to that Akenson Akerson whatever is not as savvy as he needs to be in those areas with regards to cars.

the sad thing is, anyone who drives more than a few cars as a hobby can quickly sample them all and tell GM what is effed on their cars. it doesn't take a consultant to tell them what is screwed.

the power in the Eco with manual is shockingly nice. Once they nail down the turbo with the automatic........ any stick drivers, seriously, go find an Eco and take one for a ripper..... it's an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CAR. the 6 speed gearing is well matched to the turbo torque band. a proper use for each gear. you can decide how to use the engine. it's all good.

i just bet that 6 year old kid is a hoot. have explosives, will travel. all while the parents are off downing malt liquor. garbage in, garbage out. we don't ask anyone to evaluate things for themselves these days. although, i think we can give a waiver to the six year old. its the parents who need a lobotomy.

Cruze interior is nicer than current Malibu. Taurus interior was meant to shock, it's overdone, my bet is they revise the console and stack a bit in the very near future......

no, they didn't LET him, they were just off doing what rednecks do and left the kid alone by a fire and a gas can!!!!!! Sure, if CARB or the feds mandate that. Problem is that there is like 5 paragraphs of associated warnings also on there, its a little hard for a 6 year old to read a legal document in 5 seconds....

i regularly have adults in the third row of my taurus x, and get back there myself sometimes. It's not as much as the Lambdas, but you can still be comfortable. The footspace is good so you don't have to be cramped. But yes, the Lambda is the most commodious and has an advantage in the third row on just about everything else in the market. If only a suburban were that commodious. A huge advantage the Lambadas have is I believe you can get plywood in them and shut the hatch. At a minimum, its wide enough. At least with the Fords you get that twin turbo.

That's who's back in charge, Camino......... Marketing and finance people are the evil in the face of making truly great products. Even government is not as much of a blight.

insane! worth the money, IYO? In five years its half the price.....

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/25/how-bob-lutz-made-four-auto-journalists-his-secret-weapons-at/ neat read, and reasons to be concerned going forward........

even after the appearance of the never before known half sister? (biological definition of sister) wow, the timing of that was convenient for press. if it's OWN i guess she can't be P WNED then........ Burned Boys Family Sues Gas Can Company even if you leave a 6 year old alone to pour gas on a fire you can still blame it on the maker of the can! SUE! SUE! (I swear that lawyer's name was Beelzebub)..... farmers pissed off because it takes to long to fill the tractor

before every game....you want some?

Oprah is behind it. She has her own tv network now, you know. That is just the trojan horse to something entirely worse.

Happy Birthday, sir, hope you had a great day!

as far as engines, i think adding a four would add appeal, at least in terms of women and younger buyers which, let's face the fact, the Camaro does indeed need to snag a few more. because right now most people think the camaro is a fat old guy's car for someone who can't let go of the past, and get's their kicks on cheap beer and smoky burnouts. that said, we all know the current muscle cars are way beyond that in terms of performance today. They just are not beyond that in terms of market perception yet. With the customer base dying off, and with the need for all car lines to be somewhat fiscally responsible well into the future to justify ANY investment now, there needs to be an effort to 'package' the car enough ways to be able to meet any market trends that differ than the old school customer base, and to perhaps steal buyers from other segments or niches. Little rich turds today and younger folks probably look more at cars like the 3 series / M3 and cars like the classic asian tuner cars as cars possessing the sporty excellence they desire and want to identify with. In some aspects, and especially to cultivate a new base with people outside the US and with younger buyers weaned on this type of vehicle...the Camaro has to be a complete dynamic match or exceed the likes of the 3 series / M3 and perhaps take on some of the character of that. This is where the lightness, balance, smaller size, and handling and suspension excellence come in. With regard to the tuner cars, this is where things like the turbo 4 comes in (and helps make the car relevant outside the US). I think to some degree the Genesis couple tries to tap this. A little bit smaller than the ZETAHOG, and offering the 4 pot turbo as the base engine.....lots of value, yet still ok performance, etc. because this is what the tuner bunch would expect to see. The Camaro I still would probably have the bulk of the cars be sold with the v6, it's excellent, provides value. Maybe a base Camaro is a non turbo four, with a turbo four option, the v6 is 60% of the mix, the v8 is 25% of the mix. There could be an 'ultimate' v8, that is one with forced induction. Cars like the Genesis coupe, their niche will mesh into the Camaro / Mustang niche......Camaro and Mustang must of course include and totally exude their classic personality, but in no way can they ignore what will be required of the segment in the future. There's no reason the Alpha Camaro can't outhandle an M3, outvalue and be as accessible to the youngsters as a Genesis coupe, and still appeal to the fat oldsters while being exciting to the MAJORITY of the younger set, including women. And the traditionally import minded folks. If the styling and design recalls but not copies the heritage, but the drive is leading edge / world class, and it does it meeting fuel economy targets and at the highest value with regards to price, then it's not too much to ask of the Camaro. So I really think a 4 pot has to fit in the future at some point in the Camaro, while I don't think it should be the dominant powertrain, people need to accept that it's probably inevitable so we should all get over it, move on, and find some way to make it exquisite. I still remember how jacked my brother in law was when he got his 4 cylinder thunderbird turbo coupe. TO this day, it's still probably his favorite car he had. It was and is still possible to deliver a great package with a four cylinder and add to the legacy of an existing icon. If the next Camaro bows in 2015 the basic design has to be relevent into the early 2020's even to 2025. You are trying to speculate right now on what can still be sellable in 2025, possibly. There will be sizable change required to the formula. Myself, I would like to see a little bit of LEG ROOM added to the list. I hate cars with unusable back seats. Me would also like an all wheel drive option with some powertrain. I get that that particular thing on a traditional American pony car is not of the current and past persona, but at least in my case it would at least make the list of cars to consider sometime down the road since I have no means to buy a toy car just for the summer months.

until the feds take over your internet!!!!!!!!!!!!! which they are planning to do!!!!!!!!!!!! (one thing where the feds have a leg up on CARB)

I bet you wouldn't be a popular guy in Europe, where they seem to want tiny displacement motors at any cost and arguments of reason.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks the 1.4 was developed primarily to service Europe where low displacements are envogue, all while being shared with NA and to be made able to be produced cheaply in NA. In order to produce them cheaply in NA and invest the millions required to keep those union jobs (some of which agreed to drastically lower their labor rates) and not make the engines in Mexico, it was then determined the engines would need to service more than just the Cruze (enter Sonic). In order to make the cars and engines viable to be produced by the union in NA to look impressive for getting the bailout money, they basically have an engine that is probably a bit oversized for the sonic and undersized for the cruze. It allows production to be flexible, and adjust to demand between the two models. The other wildcard here is that the 2.4 is in high demand for other vehicle lines, they can spare a few for the Verona, Murano, whatever that Buick is, but they culd not puke out say 50,000 of the 2.4 for the Cruze. The sell price is much lower on the Cruze than the Equinox, Terrain, LaCrosse, etc...... In the past you often saw GM putting stuff in their cars not because it was the best fit, but because it was the only way they could build it and supply it to build the car, considering their typical constraints (unions, desire to invest properly in manufacturing for example). I have a feeling by 2013 MY there will be either a 2.0 or a 2.4DI on the option sheet for the Cruze.........

I know, and no strange dash or cabin noise, either.