regfootball

i think the coupe should have gotten its own unique dash too, myself.

gm committed big bucks to expand equinox production. plus, they have huge sticker prices. they did not want the chance of this stealing sales from the nox, at lower prices and less profit. cut off a hand to save an arm.........

just a note.....there was a link about this topic on the front page of -the other site- for a brief scant few minutes....and then it was gone......lol

plastic.....and then word gets around and they wonder why it didn't sell. perhaps they should have engineered it right before on sale date.

that still does not address the decade of 2000 on where altimas, accords, maximas, etc. cleaned GM's clock while the models that GM most badly needed to have comparable powertrains, the Impala, the Grand Prix, etc. GM refused to put a real motor under the hood as an option to compete. Whether it was cheapness, ineptness, or plain the desire to see their bread and butter products fail (to move people up to higher priced stuff), GM took a huge hit in customer equity. Brands like Pontiac which once had several cars in the top 20 died because GM did not put a motor in that made it attractive. Aside from to fleets. GM only had 4 speed trannies too. How many Altimas did Nissan gain in share because people even preferred their four cylinders to GM's v6 'stalwarts' (emphasis on wart). People chose to drive Camry's and Accords because their 4's were better than GM's 6's. Is that koolaid in an IV there plugged into you? You flat out deny that cars like the Impala and Grand Prix and such were not horrendously damaged and basically ruined GM? GM refused to build what people would have rather had (the REST of the market) and sold it at a competitive price. Part of the reason Pontiac died is because they refused to give it powertrains people wanted. You cite a 91 Lumina but its so ridiculous to use that because a-- it was only on the Z34, and it was rare and expensive. That's like saying people don't want turbos because the Ford Focus ST will only sell few because of its insane price.

this is one of those rare times where i say the car really needs a footbrake. also, without the wood, dare i say, it definitely goes down a notch. I'm am rarely fond of gray or silver anyways. cornsilk beige here i come. is that leather-ette? (sorry just re-read your post, answer is yes) is the steering wheel a larger diameter than the Jetta? that NAV rides pretty low.

which Buick, Grand Prix, Grand Am, Bonneville, Monte Carlo, Impala, Malibu, etc. was ever offered with a 24 valve DOHC v6? Its very much a lie to say people were choosing the 3100/3400/3800 when in GM's biggest volume sellers the DOHC was never even offered. In the GP it was maybe offered back in the nineties. What I am referring to mostly is in the late nineties through when the HF was introduced in the CTS to replace the unloved opel 54 degree motor, which was not competitive.

the current passat's interior to me is rather offputting. it's not bad in terms of quality. but it's really a weird mishmash of stuff. not as much the dash and center stack, as the doors and other places. so while the new one's design is definitely more plain, there is more of a sense of order to it to me. i can digest an interior if the design is nice. Or, if the materials are good I can live with some weirdness in the design. If the materials are good inside the Passat it can make up for some blandness in the design. A lot of buyers can't process too much going on inside an interior. the woodgrain is on the higher trim, does the base passat get faux metal or just matte black? VW did a terrible job integrating the handbrake here.

edit- canadiandriver.com says the Orlando gets a 2.4l w 178hp in Canada......

maybe they shouldn't have effed with the concept design.....

lol, um no, how do you figure not. the twin dual cam was a good performer but gained no market traction. didn't help that it was a half assed approach to coming up with a 'new engine'.... the shortstar was in like 3 cars. GM never rolled out decent v6's enmasse until the high feature v6. up until then you were stuck with pushrod motors, or hackjobs like the twin dual cam, or engines that would only put in a couple cars in limited quantity, like the shortstar. by then, Nissan and Honda had spit out hundreds of thousands of highly refined v6's....

maybe i will find the aveo specs and them to that rudimentary matrix.

all they need to do is match the regal in terms of interior. the regal is nice enough. those who have been in the Verano claim its pretty nice. its just how much extra sticker it deserves to ask because of it. there hardly any tech or features in the car that aren't readily available elsewhere.....i.e. no distinguishing features. But for awhile at least if you want any serious go juice under the hood of your GM compact, the Verano is where you will need to go.

no the old jetta is not at all better than the elantra. the verano had better be better inside, it will cost 7 grand or more, more.

A week ago when i was waiting to get my brakes done on the rex, I wrote down the stats on the Cruze, Cobalt, and Sonic I need to post that. edit (Sonic / Cobalt / Cruze) width---------------------68.3 / 67.9 / 70.7 length-------------------173.1 / 180.3 / 181.0 height--------------------59.7 / 57.1 / 58.1 track F-------------------59.4 / 58.7 / 60.7 track R-------------------59.4 / 58.1 / 61.3 WB------------------------99.4 / 103.3 / 105.7 trunk---------------------14 / 14 / 15.4 fuel----------------------12.1 / 13.0 / (either 12.4 or 15.4?) pass vol------------------? / 86 / 94.6 (cough) curb weight---------------MT ? / 2783 / a lot HR front------------------38.7 / 38.5 / 39.3 HR rear-------------------37.8 / 37.7 / 37.9 hip front-----------------51.4 / 49.6 / 53.0 hip rear------------------51.6 / 46.4 / 52.4 leg front-----------------41.8 / 41.8 / 42.3 leg rear------------------34.6 / 33.7 / 35.4 shoulder F----------------53.4 / 53.0 / 54.8 shoulder R----------------51.6 / 51.4 / 53.9 overall i would expect a more comfortable car than the Cobalt, and one that is maybe closer in real comfort to the Cruze than you'd think. For example the rear hip room and leg room are less than one inch off the Cruze. The Sonic is 2 inches taller so the seating positions will probably be more chair like which can sometimes lead to better foot comfort. It will likely be about a quarter ton lighter.

are you saying its got less overhang than the Impala? IMO the Impala is weak in many interior areas. Width, leg room in back in particular. If VW can pull that off with a smaller size and have comparable room to something like my old 500 I will be impressed. Was the trunk space pretty good?

it'd be a nice option to have. But the interior I think needs some work. The biggest issue with the vehicle is it would need a better engine in the US.

what's the size of this thing compared to the Phaeton? will this thing have rear window sunshades, that is critical!

Can't wait to see the finished product. Not diggin the rear side window and the overall blandness, but I like the packaging; lots of room. And it will probably still be a nice drive. I've never really warmed to the Fusion. I like the Regal and LaCrosse, but they get pricey quick. Few, if any of the Japanese in this segment really are a 'want' sort of car. The Kia and Hyundai are decent products, but I'm already sick of them. This works nice for VW because they can gain share with this car and they still have the really nice CC if you want something more luxurious and genuinely German instead of germane. The 5 cylinder should be a nice match for the Passat with either trans, although it would be nice to see them squeeze some extra power out of it. I think a lot of VW fans probably ask why the turbo 2.0 is not an option. That's probably a fair question. Having the TDI available is nice too. I actually think building the Passat here will give people more confidence about the reliability, people may add some value because it is built here compared to other slandered VW's.... now that is legroom.

it wasn't so much the performance of GM's v8's that ruined the rep for the pushrod motors, it was the GM v6's that were left out in the cold for so long while the other maker's passed them by leaps and bounds. Then, GM refused to play catch up. By the time GM got around to making the first 3.6, it took them ten years to get to the point where a lot of the competition had been with that sort of engine.

yeah, again, you're wrong, the cruze's interior materials are good, but not on another level. you're really overstating it. they did a nice job with it, but its not head and shoulders above like you want to believe.

sampled a manual ES today. Very much likey. Did not like the steel wheels and "Geolander" tires combo. Really though for a small CUV it handles nice and has steering feel, the interior layout is very spacious and convenient. Those interested in a CUV with manual will find on the OS that the clutch is light and easy. Very smooth to use. Glides. Almost as easy as a toggle switch. The shifter is the same way. Only a 5 speed (grrrrr), but the thing shifts like butter and is up there with some of the best shifters. The shifter is tall so it makes the throws long, but its like butter. Again, like a toggle switch. Good like the the better VW and Honda shifters. The personality of the vehicle is different when matched to the stick. The engine is smooth and is tractable. Spunky at times, it had good power. It's probably not much if any slower than that Tiguan. My Cobalt doesn't really feel too much, if any, faster. In town stop to stop driving its a very easy drive. Revs nicely. Just goes about its business. Super easy butter lite clutch and shifter. No surprises. But, a 2.4 with more power of course would be welcome. What is really missing here is the sixth gear. It is darn close to epic fail to not add that 6th gear since it would improve things so much. The gear spacing seems wide on the thing. Not a problem, but the rpm is pretty high at 60, 65, 70+ mph. I believe 65mph was around 2750 rpm. You'd probably be at 3k rpm near 75 mph. The CVT versions allows the revs to get lower at those speeds by a noticeable amount. Subsequently, with the manual, the vehicle just gets louder. Not really any louder than the CObalt I drove in with. But the engine is smooth, you just don't think the sound level should get that high. It never sounds strained or rough, it's not a foul sound, it just has a high amount of sound. Some sound attenuation is needed to cut down on the boom. For in town driving its not an issue. Long interstate trips may force you into the CVT which is way quieter at that 70 mph speed. Repeat impressions, nice steering feel and steering wheel. Nice seat comfort, wide butts will like it. Ergonomics really nice except the manual does not get the sliding armrest that the others so. I -really- like the driving position. The interior is nicely done at this price point. Front row comfort and space is more like a midsize or large car, and the backseat has ok space too. It's not luxury, but the plastics are good....simple controls. TO me its an almost perfect setup. Its a nice combination of being able to have the tall hatchback with the nice comfortable driving position and ground clearance and still the vehicle seems carlike. It does not feel large and heavy like the Tiguan. For an urban runner / errand hopper, for someone who wants a compact, tall hatch CUV (when lightly optioned) when mated to the stick it's a decent rig. TO me at least, makes more sense than a sedan of the same kit since you could fold down the rear seats and have more cargo area. More ground clearance, too. A 240hp turbo Ralliart with 6 speed man and AWD with quicker steering and some more tightness in the suspension would be quite the fun getabout actually. Even if they just had put the 2.4 in here with the 6 speed, alone that would be a nice package. As it is the only gripes I have aside from needing the extra 6th gear here for me to enjoy it in base form would be just to get alum wheels and some better tires on it. I'd get the sliding armrest and get a little more sound deadener in there. The 6th gear alone would do wonders, in town its not an issue but on trips I would need to want it. At higher price levels, the value equation is not there....once you add the glass roof, and some of the other stuff. And, the competition in the segment is pretty stiff now as the new Sportage and Tucson are both good. I thought the Sportage felt cheaper in terms of interior materials and it had a slightly cheap and loose feel to it that is not present here. I prefer the OS to the Sportage myself although i foresee the Sportage being far more popular.

i was at the hyundai dealer today looking at the other vehicle i was lookin at and they had an Elantra Limited on the showfloor. Damn nice. the interior is as nice or nicer than the Cruze. I'm on record after driving both (including the Cruze multiple times) that basically the two cars are a wash. Each has strong points and advantages. You simply have so much GM koolaid pumped into your system, and are so effing stubborn, you cannot for one moment digest the fact that the Elantra is going to kick some major ass in this segment, and when it comes right down to it, the Cruze is no better than the Elantra. The Elantra is a bangup car and your lack of objectivity in the matter is really frightening. That, and the Cruze is not all of that and box of cotton candy. The Verano is a Buick Cruze with 5k more tacked onto the price. Nice car, but its not going to make a huge dent in the market. The Cruze isn't the slam dunk NVH monster you think either. It's quiet after it settles down and doesn't need to shift, but in town driving that little lawn mower engine under hood is quite the buzz bomb in stop and go the way most folks drive these days. The Elantra doesn't need to wind up as much. The Elantra is a fetchin car. It actually reminds me of what a modern day Alero might look like. I bet an Olds logo on the front and an Alero badge on the back would be perfectly in character to the styling of the car.

love the car. nice perspective on the writeup.

hyundais are nice to a certain price point. their interiors are plenty good to live up to their price. that is the thing. at a much higher price, sure they become subject to criticism. but rest assured they make every effort to give you close to the whole package for the price they charge. the elantra's biggest fo paws are the vanity mirror and the headliner. whoppdedoo. everything else is a solid job. GM cars always had bad headliners too, the thing was that was on top of all the other big problems they had.....dated powertrains, uncomfortable and cheap interiors, NVH issues, high price, questionable reliability. hyundai, they are now meeting the standard on most of the car of what people expect at that price, and they are in some cases offering more, which allows them to be compared to what was considered uplevel competition. when that happens it just makes it more of a challenge for the Veranos of the world. Nice is nice, but Americans really shy away from spending too much on compacts of any ilk. especially the likes of Verano which to some may just end up being the new age Grand Am. I know my friend who bought the sonata limited they just love it. they were not super discriminating, but they also were not camry freaks. and they shopped hard. the kias like the optima are even better. verano basically won't sell in much volume with so many midsizers going as cheap or cheaper and really in the end pretty close to or the same quality inside. verano might be a 40k unit car for buick.....25k if they are lucky.......in the US our concept of luxury is also tied to stretch out comfort and space, that is inbred. if you feel cramped its like punishment. few folks will pay more for a smaller car that really doesn't provide much benefit in other areas. especially a somewhat damaged brand like buick........if too many of those veranos are going for 26k and over, that is where the volume drop off will be. i don't think buick really wants the verano to be huge volume anyways. hell i know the verano might be a nice car.....but a Kia Optima turbo with panarama sunroof and heated cooled seats and heated steering wheel for the same price with lots more room, um, duh, why get a Verano..... Buick just won't have the brand equity to sell a Buick Cruze for too much money. they'll snag some folks. but they are really testing the preconceived notions of the American public on how far they will go to spend on a compact. Like hyper alludes to, a lot of it is CAFE forcing the issue. remember this verano was supposed to be a saturn. i am not sure a 30k saturn was the original plan.