regfootball

the big problem in the economy right now is lack of consumer confidence. and that is because of jobs being lost. i can't recall anytime i've been alive where people have been more paranoid about losing jobs and businesses being blatantly open about foretelling job cuts. i still maintain that housing bubble crash was not entirely due to subprime adjustments, but the fact that during the bush tenure, unemployment rose, underemployment rose drastically, and real wages declined for most Americans while prices of essentials went through the roof. this did not need to happen. in the end bush and his cartel found their way to rob you of your home and investment equities. they extorted your tax money to make themsleves rich through the war and banking fiasco. they've enslavened you to work more to pay for more expensive essentials and health care and in the end, stripped you of the ability to be in investments.....so you would sell low back to the thieves, so they can kick out the middle and low class investors and just turn around and sell it again when prices go high. what a legacy.

g series infiniti cars flat out suck. the M35/45 is alright. but the G35/37 whatever is a pathetic car.

its 20 grand, over 20 grand with a slushbox. does that even have aluminum wheels? the armrest was not standard in 08. smoke and mirrors again. don't even try to paint this car as a value proposition when you can go to a GM dealer and buy a new Malibu better equipped right now for less. gets better mpg too. the 5 cylinder uses gas and is not a paradigm of NVH BTW.

merry christmas. make no mistake, this is about busting the union.

very nice. i'd love to have that interior. not sure how anyone can bitch about this. oh wait, its 'people with overbearing and unreasonable expectations'

yes, the badges. i give the s40 props on the dash plastic. its an interesting texture and pattern, and a really nice gloss, even if the rest of the interior is spartan. the toast popping out of the toaster nav setup is especially lame ass. you know someone posted something about volume and luxury cars. in this economy, please someone tell me which "luxury cars" of any kind will sell in 'volume'. FRONT OR REAR DRIVE. like the 500 some odd 5 series that sold last month? or was that 7 series?

that TSX otherwise known as (TheSeX) interior flat out sucks. you wanna talk $h! interiors, post that TSX pic again. or how bout just an accord interior with cloth and the drab black plastic. or any camry interior pic.

picky picky my gosh

oh, it's OK for the mini. it's a BMW. it's OK. a 4 door rabbit is more expensive than a malibu LS these days. the rabbit doesn't have an armrest. who's screwing who?

a 4 door rabbit costs more than a 4 door astra. and now with incentives in the mix, even more.

if chevy's were good, they could survive on chevy, buick, caddy. but chevy is always behind cool. i am fine with a pontiac, personally!

does that rabbit have a standard armrest? versa? accent? yaris? yet, it (rabbit) wins a c/d comparo for fuel thrifty cars by having the worst fuel consumption (or close to it). go down the list, how many subcompacts and compacts have a standard armrest? FEWER THAN YOU THINK. why does the astra get ragged for it?

hmmmm, looks like NAV, USB, and prob bluetooth too. problem solved. astraarmrest.com problem solved

twin panel sunroof is so available on so many other cars. rainsense wipers. stabilitrak. nice feeling shifter. customizable audio settings. decent looking gauges. superglue and a little tact at cutting up a 5 dollar autozone cupholder will fix the cupholder issue.

wow. this goes beyond 'the curse'. gosh, lets hope all goes well for awhile, jeez. hearing stuff like this really does make me rethink owning a smaller car, even though this case the car did its job pretty well.

the insurance industry needs to revise coverage policies so that your insurance costs aren't so high for extra vehicles.

g8- best looking sedan available today? anyone disagree? Jag XF and VW CC might be right up there. Mercedes S class also, but as far as AFFORDABLE....you gotta say G8.

if people took the time to look, the door pocket on each side in the front could accomodate a can in a crunch. i agree that the cupholder situation should be fixed. however, the armrest and cupholder debacle has overshadowed the fact that this car drives better than nearly all the competition. when GM killed the next Ion in favor of rebadging the Euro Astra, they should have spent more on making digital lifestyle and food convenience amenities available. But the car does not deserve to fail in the market like it has because of overblown press. i've driven these vw jetta mazda 3 subaru impeza cobalt 08 focus (2 weeks!) suzuki sx4 suzuki forenza versa i have not driven the civic or fit but to be honest the civic reviles me with its effed up interior. the fit is cheap feeling on showroom impression and its plastics are terrible. the lancer might be a nice ride but i have not driven it yet. i won't place any bets on hyundais or kias outdriving the astra. the corolla might be a legit contender but even the buff books are saying it sucks to drive. here are my comparisons of the above to the astra vw jetta- more power but coarse engine uses fuel and ride is choppy. great shifter and clutch. feels hefty but in a not that bad way. mazda 3- based on an old impression, noisy, lacks some powertrain refinement, but comfy inside and well laid out subaru impeza- grainy coarse engine, repulsive random japanese interior. rubbery/sloppy shifter cobalt- great engine, good tranny ratios. needs interior refinement. need shorter shifter throws and move it forward. 08 focus (2 weeks!)- very good commuter. but that's about it. lots of user friendly features. quiet. big trunk suzuki sx4- its a hoot. good shifter clutch and engine. great interior. huge back seat and trunk. needs front seat height adjuster. front window arrangement ruins it to some degree even though its adds some more visibility the a pillars freak you out. feels slightly insubstantial suzuki forenza- avoid versa- avoid. clutch felt nice and decent power, but shifter is nothing to write home about and the car feels cheap and tinny. in my mind depending on how i would feel about the civic, you have to put the astra in the top 3-5 in class. its price is its biggest hurdle and GM is giving some rebates right now. the 138 astra mill is not weak like people think it is (neither is the sx4). if you look at C/D's top gear times for the astra it had some of the best top gear times and the 5-60 time was right there with many of the rest of them, the 0-30 was also. i never felt the mazda was that strong engine wise, neither the subaru. the jetta had guts but revving it didn't feel right. cobalt has the most flexible engine/tranny combo. the overall feel of the shifter clutch and revviness of the astra engine makes up for some of the power loss in my mind and it gets good real world mpg. i think the astra's automatic saps a lot of power though. i've test drove one like 5 times now, each time was a stick though. you really love the shifting so much, you can't even think about the automatic.

from what i've read about that, it's a painful and time consuming practice that may not be perfect in yielding results either. i would wait to see if those euro aftermarket OEM looking radios will be for sale soon. basically GM's quick fix to make on star available on the astra was to utilize the aux port on the head unit.

europe has more factory radio options than here. if you look i think on blaupunkt website for europe you will see all the OEM opel radios including SD based nav, bluetooth, aux in.

Schosche? as of Nov 2008 is making an integrated install / face plate kit to match factory finish to allow seamless install of an aftermarket double din unit. the silvery color and trapezoid shape etc. Also, there is a Euro company that is making OEM designed aftermarket radios for the VW's and Astra/Vectra, which have full connectivity. At this point i am not sure when those will be available for sale. Info for both is in the saturnfans astra forum. i'll post the info later when i get the chance.

the whole point, a person like me does not want a Buick. OR a chevy. and cannot afford a cadillac. Pontiac or Saturn, I'll bite. GM is screwing the pooch, but it appears saturn is gone and pontiac will be put in a coma for awhile to appease the critics. NFW can i drive a buick astra.

I've often thought many of the same things and HEY. if we want to steer a POLICY? IMHO, the best way is tax incentives. Want hybrids? How does NO SALES TAX sound? How does, 5000 deduction from taxable sound? It's a daily tight rope we walk. Sell enough foreign oil to keep the people across the pond feeling wealthy, conserving our own. Prop them up enough so they don't shoot bombs at us. Stimulate our overconsumption of everything because that keeps the Chinese working in factories, so they spend time making lead toys, not war munitions to invade us and take us over by force (they'll take us over in sheer number and via economic asset takeover anyways). When the other countries see our copious consumption backs are broken by high prices, they just turn on the faucets more and the price goes down and we buy bigger vehicles again. we love paying a lot less on gas than we do for our car payments themselves. Y'all need to remember that paradigm.

man or a woman? with the social advancements in this country, etc.....why can't we have a man and a woman (if you so chose and if everyone was amenable and jiggy with it)? or two women, three guys.....

x2 on a future astra purchase. i hope it isn't a buick. i could handle a pontiac or saturn badge on it. cruze is too daewoo for my tastes even though its a big upgrade over the cobalt.