regfootball

oooo....my reputation.....OOOOOOOO someone doesn't agree but doesn't have the nuts to rebut

thanks, cspec. nice article. its all about social control. you can track and control people with driverless and shared vehicles. Rail is not convenient to many as a car is. what should be borne of this. cheap, safe, cost efficient, low tech electric city vehicles smart sized or spark sized that urban dwellers can purchase or lease for minimal cost. electric powertrain with a tiny gas motor ala volt could eventually become cost efficient if they can find a way to charge them cheap on reg 110. i.e. think a refined tata nano with safety and a throughly optimized SIMPLE powertrain, plastic body parts. pressed wheels with simple tires. removable simple seating. spartan finishes. of course the powers that be want to remove your transportation freedom.

CRV is a pile of $h! i don't know why it sells. oh yes, i do. women love em, and guys who don't care what they drive or care to shop too. MDX has no cargo space and no advantage aside from that over a 10k cheaper and nicer Lambda. RDX drinks fuel at a v8 rate and nobody buys them. Overpriced crap. No style. Crosstour redefines ugly. Only reason it sells is its an Accord wagon. New Pilot is ugly. I read a new recent review of it where it got trashed as being slow heavy and inferior to most other class offerings. ZDX, interesting but pointless, and the sales show it. Honda lays the biggest turds in the crossover segment. Some of them still sell because of the H but they are setting themselves up for disappointment from unhappy buyers who at some point will realize they can get better for less pretty easily and won't have to look at ugly anymore. The new SRX may be a Vue, but all you need to do to sell one is get the buyer inside it. It's posh and sellable and why you'd want an ugly turd of a Honda instead is beyond any thinking and reasoning person's ability to comprehend.

darn curse......

Imagine getting a CTSv and then getting it dented right away.

it gets crazy when it rains here. I was worried about getting rear ended again since there wasn't much area to pull off. I am actually glad now I got a cobalt instead of say, a regal turbo. Imagine getting a brand new regal and then smacking it a couple weekS later.

will do. The plastic seems ok. The paint scratches are deep enough that I am unsure if there is a way to get rid of it. Lol, maybe this IS my chance for a G5 front clip. Really, most people won't notice unless they look close. Since it was so loud I will get it inspected underneath. Ever since I got the car I have been careful where and how I park it. But my tiny car is a MAGNET for big hulking SUV's to park next to it and not give a $h! about how they park. A cpl Saturdays ago I parked with no one several spots on either side of me. Bitch in a Durango pulls in right next to me as I was walking back to my car. The inisde of her passenger side tire was at least six inches to the left ofthe stripe. She left me about 15 inches to get in. I got pissed and yelled (as she was on her cell phone) "could you leave me some F---ing space to get into my car?". She just has this dumb as $h! look on her face and starts getting back into her car to move it. I am thinking to myself, "you stupid c--_€£¥". Seriously, a small car means big trucks take free reign to park however. Again, this morn at starbucks, the Q7 a spot away from us was easily 2 feet over it's driver side line and straddling it. Fu--.

Dang. This stuff just seems lime it happens more and more. Sorry to hear about that.

actual damage was minimal. my front bumper tagged a passat in front of me. my license plate took the biggest bump. it was freakish in how the front shape of my car mated to the shape of his car so as all the damage to him visually was some red paint scrapes on his plate frame. Alas, now i have some gouges and missing paint on my NEW CAR bumper. At least far as i can tell yet the bumper cover was not deformed in any way, or cracked. Odd considering how loud the noise made when i hit his car. Thing that sucked was I planned only to keep this car for a short time and try to sell it for max value when i wanted to. Now it will be impossible to sell it for any decent price regardless of the fact that there is probably no damage other than scratches. My neck did feel a little twinge different. I am just upset because nothing seems to be going right these days, this just underscores it. How often is it you get in an accident with someone and you are in total agreement on what happened but it doesn't matter? Short description. I was third in a line of three cars changing highways and in a merge lane to get on the new highway. there was some rain out so traffic was moving many different speeds, and with the bad weather people were out shopping so hence the high traffic. the area i was in is a high incident area by the way its designed. the first person in line was proceeding to merge but then stopped due to apprehension and lack of skill and probably the rain. the second car, which i hit, had to stop and probably narrowly missed a frontal. in the extremely short time i spent checking my mirror and behind my left shoulder for traffic to merge into what i saw of his car in front changed from 'accelerating and merging' to dead stop. I actually think another foot or so if i had that i woulda missed him. I could tell at the end there he was upset with the first person in line that got away.

cheese

Hey guess what. THE CURSE. guess which one. f--k.

if you install windows ME twice what does that mean?

chevy has a spoiler they tack on some of them from the factory. i would have been ok with one of those. this one though....at least have alum wheels on your car before you add the basket handle.

maybe i should buy some SS badges off eBay, along with the spoiler. personally though, i have always been partial to those 'aircraft aluminum' spoilers on my fast and furious machines. LMAO note that bitchen hubcaps came on that coupe (not visible in the photo). my 16" alum Wheels OWN that bitches plastic trays......

so bitchen......MUST HAVE the car goes 40 mph faster just with that spoiler on it......

site reads ok mostly on iphone right now. but an iphone app would be appreciated.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XEEIzU0UA1M/TAVXw1VvCgI/AAAAAAAASno/zZ661pvJr0s/s1600/001.jpg now i am on board. this is nice. the 3 door and 5 door should be sold here as Buicks with the Opel grille slot. The wagon and sedan should be here sold with the Buick grille. Although I would even say the wagon could get the Opel grille slot too. full line up. many body styles of the same model. make the sedan here. import the other variants from Europe.

i like mercury, but it really needed a new sable to continue. i kind of wish they would continue the milan and mariner another year. i like the grille and interior differences. if Pontiac is gone, then i guess mercury gone isn't so hard for me either. wouldn't it just be nicer if most of the other Asian brands would go away so we could bring back Olds, Pontiac, Mercury?

poo-joe

For the Flex, my point of reference is the Taurus X I already own, and the GM Lambdas. When i bought my T-Rex, the Flex had just came out, and my impression of it then is the same as now. Where the Taurus X felt more agile and car like, the Flex felt a little more like a bus, larger, and a little slower with the reflexes. Same still holds true. The Flex drives comfortable and solid. Its not a floater, in fact, its ride is stiffer than the Taurus. Its just big and heavy. The FWD does help on acceleration, it was a little quicker than the AWD Flex i remember driving. It's also noticeably less quick than the 010 Taurus. But it was entirely good and non deficient for a huge crossover with standard rear air and all the space. I would guess if you 0-60'ed it it would be 8.5-8.9 seconds and probably a full second or tish more slower than the 010 Taurus. What's offputting to me is the feeling of driving a bus. while having some sort of drug induced flashback. It just is slightly creepy inside the Flex from an interior design standpoint. Materials and assembly quality are all really good except the seat cloth is an afterthought. Seats were REALLY comfy. I love the newly added tilt AND telescope on the steering wheel. center stack is logical and nicely laid out just not up as high as in the Taurus. Head room is IMMENSE. A pillars are like COLUMNS in your view. Everything is BOXING DAY because its so boxy. All the heft and solidity of the Taurus, and then some. Its like an heirloom piece. Visibility is insanely good and almost like no other vehicle in its class. Cargo, seating, and storage space are more than my T-Rex. The big question is how it compares to the Lambda. More in a bit. Not a fan of how the door wraps under on the bottom. Damage waiting to happen. It's inevitable. Tranny shifted smooth. Flex is extremely quiet. Rear air standard. You can drive 1500 miles non stop in this thing, and still hit the dance floor when you get there. You just get that feeling. It really is a better travel vehicle than my Taurus X. Its remarkably unique from it while being similar at the same time. I would give the nod to the Flex, its just more suited to full crossover duty. The Flex's main GM competition are the Lambdas. I have driven a few of those. It's been awhile. Where does the Lambda stack up vs. the Flex? Surprisingly I would rate both equally capable on hauling people. The Lambda has the wider third row which may be the deal maker if you want an 8 passenger. Third row in the Flex is extremely comfy for two though. Second row comfort on the shape of the seats may go to GM but the Flex has more legroom and foot space. Overall I think the second row goes to Flex. You just sit more naturally. Front piers are equal just that GM's sit higher. Interior design is your choice, although a tiny edge in material quality i would give to the Flex. The Acadia or Traverse have more typical interior designs even if their door panels have more cheapness. With no clear advantage on seating, it does seem clear that the cargo area of the Lambdas have advantages in size and width and perhaps even flexibility. The load height of the Flex being lower and the well behind the rear seat may be handy for some, but the higher load height of the Lambdas some consider nice as well. I would probably say that in base FWD trim the Lambda would feel quicker and more sprite. The Lambdas always felt a little ponderous to me, even if they have a decently firm suspension and sort of sharp steering. They just feel like there is too much weight, and the visibility is not as good. While the Flex feels heavy too, it doesn't advertise it as much. Maybe because its a little softer, and a little slower. More composed. If I had to pick, I think I would really appreciate the extra capacity of the Lambdas. However, something like a twin turbo v6 really could make me sway to the Flex. As could the 'unique' exterior. To own a traverse or Acadia would not feel unique. To me this one is a draw, it hinges on your styling preference, price and options, and what I consider a trade off between second row seat comfort of the Flex (and lower seating overall) and the cargo carrying and 3rd row advantages of the Lambdas. the lambda 2nd row seat does slide out of the way a bit easier too. and the hatch gets out of your way more easily on the Lambdas too. Really, too close to call. In base SEL FWD form I probably would give the Flex a B+ although I would really want to give it an A- for solid overall virtue. The seat cloth and slight lack of cargo space dings it a bit for me. Just as I would give say an Acadia or Traverse a B+ for poor second row footspace and occasionally ponderous feel. Really, too close to call. Pick which one you like, both are great options. it would EAT miles. Perfect long distance car. Just a little soft is all. No pretense of being a sporting sedan at all. Maybe that's ok! Get a LaCrosse if you want a little bit of liveliness. BTW, Fusion feels like junk compared to both of these bigger Fords. I bet an MKs with ecoboost is really nice.

In particular, the difference of the 010 Taurus to my old 500 or just about any other vehicle, is striking. The car feels larger and more substantial than the 500 or heavy Taurus X. Partly this is due to the high sill on the side windows, which actually i was fine with. Its not as confining as the LaCrosse as far as the windows (although the console and dash are more confining in the Taurus). The rear window is a mailslot though. The old 500 had exceptional visibility. The view out the back of the 010 Taurus is marginal. Fortunately, the view out the front is good. The interior itself is a unique automotive cocoon. It feels solid and substantial and swoopy with the curve of the console sweeping up into the dash. I really liked the new interior aside from the visibility issues. The center stack is awesome. I liked the controls. The removal of the center storage atop the dash sucks though. The gauges are really nice. Non leather steering wheel felt great except it lacked leather and of course was thin. Ford needs to move their SWAC up where the thumb wants to be and make them rock up and down, not side to side. I liked the paddle shifters but the car downshifts for you in M mode anyways, WTF? Rear seat space has not been compromised so much like others say, it was too big on the 500 to begin with. Seats felt a little soft and lacking support. No surprise since the target audience is blue hair baby boomers and toyota defectors. Interior quality I felt was really good. A few hints of cheapness here and there but there is so much heft and detail in the design that overall the impression is you get more than you paid for. MSRP was about 28,000, price was around 25 OTD. Power was good. Moved out nicely but didn't slam you into the seat or leap off the line with torque steer. brakes average. car felt REALLY BIG. Sort of like a luxury tank. Not as lively as I assume a 3.6 LaCrosse would be, although the tranny banged out shifts a little quicker than the 3.0 LaCrosse does. I will go on record saying that the LaCrosse has sharper steering, and a firmer ride. The Taurus is a big comfortable soft tank. Not as soft as the Lucerne. Nor is it a floater. But the Taurus is what I term the ultimate new age cruiser. If you want a little bit more involvement and maybe even a slightly quieter and smoother car, the LaCrosse has an edge (no pun). LaCrosse's motor is more aurally pleasing. Both have equally dramatic interiors. The huge trunk on the Taurus or optional SHO or generally better value vs. pricing may just tip the scale in favor of the Taurus to some. (the new Regal interior after seeing it this weekend may indeed be a little better to a lot of folks than either the LaCrosse or Taurus but clearly the LaCrosse and Taurus are going foot to foot in a larger car market). So overall I liked the Taurus and I obviously like Ford's products on this platform. Its a nice evolution of their large products and it feels worth more than its price. Its comfortable and solid and stylish. Provides great utility also. The car needs a better ride steering and handling setup on the non SHO models. Overall, because I feel it nails basic virtue, I give it an A-. Taurus SEL compared to the LaCrosse CX I drove before I would probably call a draw. Personal preference. My only comment is that the LaCrosse felt more lively and had some better ride, steering, and handling. Interior quality of the LaCrosse was maybe just a bit shy of the Taurus. Really, similarly equipped, the two cars are potatoe, pototo. I would encourage nearly anyone I know to put the Taurus on their test drive list if they want a large, comfortable, high value car, just like I would the LaCrosse.

Had to beat the deadline and do my auto show test drive to get my 50 bucks. So i went to my local Ford dealer last saturday. Considering I just bought the cobalt, and really should be getting out of my Taurus X for financial reasons, I really wasn't shopping cars. Just wanted the 50 bucks. But i hadn't driven an 010 Taurus yet. I had driven a Flex once, but very briefly and it was AWD. I have had a Ford 500 and currently the Taurus X so its kind of like dating your girlfriends sister or cousin or mom. "It's all going to feel the same". IYKWIM.....LOL. I really wanted to test the more basic trims because if i do buy again anytime in my life that would be the trims I'd probably get. I would have loved to have shredded a SHO or an Ecoboost flex but i didn't want to violate someone else's future nice ride. This particular dealer has a very short and restricted test drive loop so i really couldn't beat on it, or slalom with it, or cruise at high speed for a long time. That, coupled with the familiar feel meant I was just searching to find the unique flavor in these more recent P90 variants.

cool beans

yowsers, u cud haf 4 cobalts for dat

maybe i will hit the donut store today and check out that used G3 again across the street from there for sale tomorrow.