regfootball

that interior is absolutely terrible. a new level of cheapness.

i think that regardless of how well Rick really has or has not done in his job, i think in light of the this critical time, it may be needed for him to go, for symbolic reasons more than anything. actually, if rick stayed it wouldn't bother me, but i think its Time for Lutz to go. the types of vehicles needed going forward from GM I think can be shaped by someone more in touch with a less traditional and more youthful subset of folks.

there are a lot of American citizens that do not feel military and war is a neccessary tool. and they think it does not need to be maintained when things are 'peaceful'. and they also don't understand that economic war exists over time.

toyotas only calling card to success was/is the reliability myth. they are a one trick pony. they don't have many other superior traits to sell their products on. now that more folks outside their original cult base have probably owned a toyota and found out how truly mediocre they are, i don't think toyota can sustain that reputation. the camry and corolla, the basis of most of their sales, are not superior in a fashion that can continue to strengthen their case relative to everyone else. like GM, all the same forces apply, relentless competition, resting on laurels, getting too big, and a graying ownership base. toyota does not display innovation in the business in any facet. take a look at all the measuring sticks, safety, performance, design, features, etc. there is nothing there that toyota is known for. their is nothing about toyotas that can't be had elsewhere. the general public will slowly be catching on to this.

two reasons why apple is successful. design their products work correctly and are ridiculously useful and have people oriented interfaces. microsoft deserves to die for Vista.

katy perry i kissed a girl and i liked it. the taste of her cherry chapstick.

fusion, escape, taurus x, taurus, flex, edge, 6 speeds. focus not there yet. new f150's have 6 speed. (the 09 wins pickuptruck.com's comparo). GM- lambdas, epsilons, vue. all six speeds. that is a whole lot of mid range vehicles with 6 speed trannies. go through toyotas lineup. i would doubt they have a higher percentage of 6 speeds.

wow. i bet that 8 speed corolla is a great drive. does it have aluminum wheels yet?

they'd shoot the people who bemoan toyota, or force them to shoot themselves.

while the 3800 4 speed is indeed out of date, one thing it does do well in this day of concern about fuel economy......it is stingy with fuel, especially on the highway. 30-35 mpg on a large car is common / typical. had gm invested in NVH and refinement, perhaps they could have avoided the stigma they got with it over time.

vista. single word synonymous with failure. harder to use than ever, crashes, unstable, hardware hog. and we're supposed use it as an example of what's good? now mac's, they ARE good. but they are gucci computers. most of the general public cannot afford a mac. a cheap ipod, sure. but a mac with a 15" screen is 2 grand.

i just hope you don't need quality on time health care (double flame suit) LOL

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/opinion/...amp;oref=slogin yup, one year. see end of article.

um, there's no visibility issue on the 5 door. if you are having visibility issues, try removing that 24/7 tunnel vision you have going all the time. or lay off the sauce before you grab the keys.

it has to when its trying to escape that ugly ass toyota venza that's trying to keep up with it.

the aura xr is a very good drive. very good power and handling. no deficit to any honda i'm aware of. the interiors are equal. there's really no difference between the two cars. unless you prefer ugly, then the accord wins.

such as? have you driven it? this you know from scca in the prius. rabbit's not bad, but the 5 cylinder is no paradigm of smoothness and it uses 20-40% more gas than the astra. the astra is more sprite feeling and not so nose heavy. i've seen user reports, one in particular where an astra owner got rid of his mini for the astra. based on merit.

you can't say you've driven an aura XR and flogged on its paddle shifters? the accord doesn't have paddle shifters.

9-3 doesn't sell because its too high pruiced, but it is a fantastic car that gets dissed because its competing in the luxury class. it should be positioned between VW and Acura. Saab as a whole needs to have price cuts then the goodness of their offerings when the new ones arrive will shine through. G6 would be a good car with a brand new interior and some NVH. G8 needs a smoother v6 powertrain and AWD option. Vue is very good, have you driven one? Astra, same thing? Or are you simply judging it on cupholders? I suppose you like the CRv, yeah that's automotive excitement in a can.

you're not qualified to say that. have you driven both? I have. the malibu is just as good of a drive, actually feels more solid on the road. the accord lets through more of the road, not in a good way. the interiors are on par. in terms of design the malibu is nicer. the accord plastic is not all that good. depending on the color scheme, it probably would be considered a draw. the accords center stack is atrocious. the new accord is not the holy grail. the new malibu is not crap. ah, that's right, you just buy into the stereotype. drive it yourself.

but injected 700b into his buddies in wall street. how much more to his buddies through an Iraq war and his exxon buddies too? the odd irony is failure of the auto industry will cause ripple effects that will hurt our ability to buy gas from BushCheneyOil inc. no wonder an Alabama senator is against an auto bailout. his state paid for hyundai to come in and set up shop, right?

you won't fix that mindset until you set fire to consumer reports offices unfortunately. humpers do recite the same old crap. they 'research' car purchases more than other more important things, houses, insurance, medical care. Most car purchases a person does not make a huge financial mistake on if you do your diligence in the purchase phase (i.e. not overpaying vs. the real value of what is provided you). as an example, idiots pay 30k for a camry or accord loaded. they say the resale is great. But honestly, you can save several thousand buying an equally competent competitive make. For the sake of fairness, lets assume you buy a Hyundai Sonata instead. It will probably be cheaper. cars are an expense, not an investment. You pay for the use. Any higher resale you obtained for the camry vs the sonata was overextended when you bought the car. If you paid 5 grand more and add in inflation and interest to that, you paid a whole lot more for what is a garden variety midsize blandcar that has no superior benefits. but idiots like to cover up the fact they made stupid decisions by twisting the logic around and putting a spin on it that sounds good so they feel good about blowing that much more for nothing of benefit in return. GM's best approach at this point is to worry about rebuilding the value of the products in the consumers mind, after the bailout fails. I think they will have a lot easier time telling the true strengths and gaining sympathy and unbiased ear of their products once the public sees some of the financial catastrophe unfold first unfortunately. People want to see it happen, the theatrics. They want to see the people crying because they have been out of work, they want the soap opera first i'm afraid. problem is its not a very kind soap opera and its not fiction. We won't see the media report anything about what's right with the general until all the advertising checks have cleared for all the media outlets tv and internet on all the terrible news they report first.

the paper pushers who seem to have the money in this country (and visit whole foods stores) reject the notion of domestic products and in fact disdain them. give these people time. they just alleviated their white guilt for voting for a black president. give their minds some rest until they are primed for sheepishness again.

i am extending any toyota bangers and advocates to an ell expenses paid, luxury weekend driving a toyota Echo and Yaris for a length of 1000 miles.

shame it didn't go off, the airbag cover itself is huge, which to me implies lots of cushy protection to rely on. I don't think the airbag covers on the worst 90's cars were this huge even?