regfootball

year old chargers and magnums are great buys and new chargers are well discounted. the interior updates for 08 are nice. if RWD only is acceptable and you can stomach the looks of the charger its a screaming deal on a nice ride.

well, i had wanted to take out the astra today, but the sales guy practically pulled me out of the astra in the showroom and said 'try the aura'......here's why, the aura has a 20k sticker. So does the Astra. He was trying to say how good a value the Aura is. Since it was really close to close I am like, why not? I have driven the v6 model XR before and liked it, although it was awhile ago. I did buy into his idea. The Aura was an XE with a sticker somewhere between 20 and 21k. There is incentives on it too, i think. Well, i am not small so wedgning into an epsilon car is always a little bit gymnastics, but i think i have it down now. You have to limbo under the roof The Aura seats are nice, maybe a tish blocky and narrow. I wish the cabin was a couple inches wider, but for most people this car will feel plenty wide. Leg room front and back is great. The Aura has nice armrests. The gauges while small, fall into view nicely. The center stack is a bit low, but is convenient to use, if cheap looking. Interior plastics are quite good for GM but average on the whole. The Astra has better materials. I do like the seat cloth A LOT. It's not the mouse fur. Its a nice knit cloth that feels durable and not that grippy....looks good too. The rear leg room in this car is the superstar. It feels limo like even if the front seatback cutouts are not wide enough to allow you to splay your legs. You can get your feet under the front seat. Rear passengers would feel coddled despite a little less headroom that should be. Trunk space is not bad. Not a very tall trunk but it is right there with the competition. Exterior styling is nice and the base wheelcovers to me look wonderful.....never thought i would say such a thing but its gotta be easier to clean brake dust from these than real aluminum wheels. The tires could stand an upgrade. Engine....2.4 l 4 cyl ecotec. I have liked every ecotec car I have ever driven. This is no exception. The engine is smooth in the Aura. SOme minimal vibration is felt at idle but at high rpms the ecotec smooths out wonderfully. No coarseness, it rev like mad and all the sins are damped out. Steering is decent (steering wheel was not leather, needs a little more touch to it).....ride is pretty good. There is some tire noise, and some cabin noise but its not a lot. The exhaust sound of the ecotec revving is like a little race car and is wonderful. I bet the 260hp turbo would be wonderful in this car. The engine is mated to a 4 speed. In 09 we get the six speed. The 4 does well for what it is, but you really need the 2 more speeds.....well, i do. As a commuter, the 4 speed is well matched and uses the engine well. It needs more punch off the line and from stoplight to stoplight.....but above 50 mph this car comes alive. The ecotec will cruise silently at 80mph all day and I bet it gets great mpg doing it (salesdude said 35mpg highway is not improbable). As a road car, this car would do well, lots of passenger room, good mpg, attractive cabin. FOr most people who like sportier cars, I think this would be a great commuter car. Its a great value. You can get a power seat and a bunch of other goodies cheaply. Previously when i had tested an XR 6 cylinder i had felt the chassis was flexy and that front end was heavy and that the cabin noise was a bit much. I think i will need to retest the XR to see if I still feel that way. Thing is, the 4 cylinder I think is a great car by itself. I would spend extra for the 6 speed if i could, but the 4 speed is alright. The car needs more stoplight to stoplight punch, but aside from that you wont hurt for power. I would hope GM can provide like a 200hp 2.5 base 4 and the 260hp direct injection turbo as an option. The turbo with a DSG would be so prime in this car and if it meant keeping the heavy v6 from being under the hood i would maybe be ok with it. Will i get one? I'll keep it on the list. It lacks the Ford Sync feature I like but depending on the pricing at the time I may purchase, if there is a deal, I could see this car being in the running. As an aside, I should try the Malibu. I like the Aura just as much, but i see some things here why the Malibu gets good reviews as well. I think this is a great car for a first time purchaser, someone out of college, new married or partner couples looking for a spacious family car........or for someone downsizing from a larger fuel sucking car. As soon as the 6 speeds get in the showroom and if GM would fix the interior, then I think this car would get an A-. I would maybe call this a olid B or B+ as it is now, especially because of the value proposition. As an aside, of other 4 cylinder contemporaries I have driven and can rank this against...... I would get it over a mazda6 and the fusion (except for 09 fusion gets new powertrain and it already has sync). Its way cooler than the 08 accord i drove and felt more sprightly, although the accord has size. The galant 4 cylinder is not bad but the aura is more stylish and more nimble. I didnt like the sebring so the aura blows it away. I havent driven the altima yet or the malibu. I hope saturn sells a lot of these 4 cylinder auras, they are a nice car and a great way to lure new saturn buyers into the fold. If i can smartbuy this thing cheap i may do it....lol of course base taurus are under 20 grand now too....

i just took out an Aura XE 4 cylinder. nice car. 20k. were you thinking sedan at all? big savings on that over the sticker too i think.

60% of GM sales are outside the US so maybe that's ok.

if the RL is RWD, then the TL can stay FWD, IMHO. They need to bring back names, LEGEND, integra, vigor.

I like it actually! I had a 95 tbird i should get it back and do that to it.

of course it is carbiz, we wouldn't want to seem intolerant by not making it easier for those of other nationalities and such, by not putting the fruits of THEIR work on a pedestal.

Flint is right FOGM is right. it doesn't excuse the poor management of Detroit's 'best' but still, they have had to deal with issues the Japanese haven't. The Germans get by on the 'we'll pay way too much for a 3 series' factor. It's most disturbing that now 54% of so called Amercans won't even look at a domestic brand, despite they put out some really good stuff these days. And Japan has put out some real stinkers the last few years, notably Toyota. 54%. won't even look. The only way you'll get supposed citizens in this country to even consider US cars is to move the automakers out of Detroit and to some hip and trendy spot like LA, Seattle, New York or whatever, it's just so uncool for cool people to be somewhere like detroit, must not be enough mocha there.....shut down all the factories and reopen new ones in non union environments or overseas.......buy off all the press like toyota does and start sending huge dollars to the politicians. At least GM is trying. They threw up their hands at making 'north american' products anymore. The new Cobalt next year will be Asian, so that should satisfy the humpers. The next Aura will be German, so that will satisfy the humpers. The higher paid people in this country that fund the car markets don't care if our businesses are owned here, as long as they can live the self first overpaid lifestyle that goes with it for themselves, they don't care who ultimately controls the purse as long as they can suck off the hind tit.

congrats! aura is a great car.

new honda styling is a disaster. mazda 5 third row....not suitable for humans

i'll have to pass, i don't think my 4 year old could even fit in that back seat

good move. but why there is no nav is really a sin. turn by turn should be integrated with a visual map.

never turn down the hip waders. kidding aside, stay safe and we'll look forward to hearing from you when the mess is subsided.

http://www.km77.com/00/mitsubishi/lancer/sportback/t01.asp

back in 99 i had big GM bucks and needed a new car. my two choices were cavalier and prizm. i got the prizm, it was more refined. it felt light and tinny though. in my instance, i chose the prizm, had the ecotec been out, i maybe would have got the cav.

camry seems to be fine with average or lesser styling, average or lesser drving capabilities, and average or lesser value. final result = urban legend created by hysteria and past

can you get a DUI with your remote start and not being in the car? LOL

CRUISER- the dealer told me last night the HHR has a 2k rebate right now. That oddball one you are admiring would have the rebate i think, and prob a nice dealer discount. In my case, i have nearly 2k in GM card burning a hole in my pocket and GM even has an incentive out there to make up to 2k in my final lease payments on my Ford as well. What I am saying, check the rebates and test the waters on the dealer discount. The Fit is a thoughtful car, but cmon, its light, has no power, and will not have the solidity of the HHR. A few spring potholes and where is the Fit? And if you make the choice solely on engines alone, you already know the ecotec is a great torque four that gets great FE and has passing reserves. That Fit motor just can't keep up, despite how seemingly awesome hondas torqueless wonders are. Mazda 5 is nice and has more interior versatility than the HHR. I don't think its faster though and at least from when i researched it, i don't think its real world FE was all that much better than cars like the Ford Freestyle were (Freestyles consistently scored 20-25 real world city, my 500 has been seeing 22-23 this summer in town). A 20k sticker to me translates to a maximum 17k price out the door after rebate, maybe even closer to 16 than 17. If you shop around, you'll find virtually nothing as cool in that price range. Talked to my neighbor last night. He is a big car guy. He works part time for Dodge doing promotions on the side. He owns an SSR, that's his toy. his wife needed a car. he said he tried to steer her into an HHR but she wanted AWD so they got a Suzuki SX4. he didn't even get a Caliber...LOL. Point being, he thought the HHR is a super package as well.

the SS dont have em!!!! does the SS also lack armrests though?

nice. a little ricey but otherwise ok.

were the same. we want high function, low operating cost cars that are solid and somewhat interesting and mid level fuel economy. not seeking to validate our existence with an image car that cost wayyyyy too much. i did stop by a chevy dealer tonight because they supposedly had an HHR SS bt it wasnt there yet. i sat in an HHR with tan interior for a long time. i wish the cargo area was a little bigger and the hip room 2 inches wider but its a neat little cabin inside for such a cost conscious car. if you can't spring the SS a 2LT would be nice.

forester vibe jetta sportwagen, 09 escape 4 cylinder

all that glass and black paint would really tax the A/C

the 08 exterior changes really give it more road presence, too bad the interior remains so bland.

HHR SS- work on getting a deal and you can be closer to 20 than 25, get the stick Jetta wolfsburg edition.......2.0t and DSG with sunroof for 23k a great gti alternative (more than your limit, but still a whole lot of good for the dough....i am tempted to drive one) cobalt SS base taurus- 18 and change. no lie. not attractive, not blazing fast, not fun. old mans car. just a good value. ( i know, snicker away ) mazdaspeed 6 how bout a used grand prix GXP? you might actually be able to find a new 07 or 08 GP for 20 grand or less right now. skip the g6 unless you can get a v6, the grand prix is a much better buy fusion is ok only if you want something more mainstream aura? big discounts right now skip the astra, nice car, no hp there is a cool element to the HHR SS i got sitting in one at the autoshow that has me at least thinking a lot about it lately. i think its the over the top style of it. in SS trim in red with red sport seats and the saab shifter it really is a bitchen presentation. and trust me the rabbit dont have HALF the luggage space. current gen mazda6's are cheap right now too.