regfootball

why, you thinkin you wanna get in on some lizzie? there might be wheels on that house but its a very good point. people in the US that buy small cars are economically challenged most of the time. saving dough is the main reason they would even consider a small car. generally in the US, people will upsize their car as much as their pocketbooks can afford. it's deceiving now because after a long boom of buying cars on home equity etc. many people are downsizing, between that and spendy gas. most of the people even considering small cars now would not normally unless their waller wasn't in a world of hurt.

grand prix, lacrosse, impala, all are quite different. actually.

to underscore OC's point, i have commissioned a screenplay based on this story ACT 1 SCENE 1 location: typical car buyer's home, surfing internet "Joe" - wow, this sucks. gas has gone sky high and my -king truck is costing me a bundle! I've just put gas in again today and the pump stopped at 75 bucks! i had to put in another 30 just to top it off! man, pay day ain't till friday and i need to have some cash left to buy some bud light this weekend so we can have your friends over and get hammered! 4sum! yeah! "Liz" (rolling away from Joe's groin, fixing her jaw) well Joe, did you ever think about getting a smaller car?...by the way, Kristi and Jennie both think you smell, so fat chance" Joe - oh stop it you old skank! duh! i'm surfing for small cars right now! my buddy at work just got a bitchin car he said he cut his gas bill in half! and he gets excellent mileage too! He let me take it for a spin, he said its got 170 hp.....it really moves out....get me a beer! Liz - (bringing Joe a beer from the fridge) well dear, aren't you gonna get screwed when you trade your truck? (puts top back on) Joe - duh! that's why I need something CHEAP! hey, that Focus, you can tell it to play tunes!!!!!! cool fender vents! Liz - duh, Joe! everyone knows the focus doesn't have rear anti submarining headrests! Joe - (contemplating) oh. Yeah, you're right. Hey, this mazda 3 looks bitchen, the test dudes say its the best car....by buddy said that was a good car too. what's this one saturn......ass......trah.....hey, do you ever shave down there? Liz - aren't the saturns made of plastic? and by the way honey, I wax....but i guess you wouldn't know that since you never seem to check down there that close for yourself now, do you? Joe - ...nah, this saturn is new, bitchen car! wait, they tested this in one of those supercar magazines.......oh crap! Liz - what? (painting toenails) Joe - holy crap! dang thing can't even get out of its own way! thing is like 2 seconds slower than fred's car! and i can't even tell the damn thing which tunes to play! it's only got a 1.8 engine! that rabbit thing is like a 2.5, that's the one that won! and it looks like they get the same gas mileage? Liz - well you wouldn't be very happy with a slow beater like that, would you? Joe-you know me Lizzie, I like to GO GO GO! Hey Lizzie,! Liz - yes Joe? (looking quizzically) Joe - "play artist little Joe goes to town, baby" Liz - (walks over towards joe)

when you're michael bolton, and you tell nicolette sheridan to show you her plastic surgery scars, will she do that?

carbiz, the cobalt/ion with either the 2.2 and 2.4 with a manual, now that is a satisfying small car engine combo. i have always found those cars quite gutsy and torquey in addition to being able to rev and pull up high. that is why the wimpy 1.8 in the astra is disappointing, had it been the 2.2 there would have been no mpg penalty and the extra power would have been welcome.

the big question is how pathetic is it that vw cannot design and build a proper NA 4 cylinder about 2-2.2 litres, 150-160 hp and 30 mpg? oh and yeah reliable

dude the gf is pretty hot and what is even cooler is from the pics i can tell you guys are pretty hip on each other....congrats on that. nothing like those times when you and your SO just click. the car is cool too. lol.....

insignia is a nice car. hope they keep that name. saturns marketing flat out sucks. saturn needs to gain the pretentiousness of the euro brands.

i could do a jetta sportwagen diesel

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/12/toyota-...prius/#comments

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/11/vw-rabb...ports/#comments

the astra in the us should have had the same engines as the cobalt

the original mini has been around far longer than the smart. LOL the US smart should have had a 1.0l 4 popper with like a 6 speed manual. and a diesel option. a car such as the old ford escort EXP/Lynx LN7 would make so much more sense today than the smart, excepting the tightest packed urban areas. for a city dweller that never intends to get on freeways or highways much and simply just needs a getabout with shelter and easy parking, if they wanna pay the price, i am ok with that.

STS says active steering is an option.

there's no way to defend the astra's motor, it can't crack 9 seconds with a stick, and it gets its but handed to it by a lot of other cars in its segment. the rest of the car is pretty cool, but the lack of go juice is a big flaw and its hurting sales no doubt.

well see, this is what happens when the greenies take over. stupid things happen.

buying a car outright is actually a bad idea. buy a new car. boom, you just lost 10 grand in depreciation. wait, you ruined the car in an accident, now they won't give you what you paid for it to replace it. you just gave away thousands! maybe you should have saved your cash and leased the car with gap coverage. or took out a loan on monthly payments and invested the cash you had in the bank to make money on it instead of giving it to the greedy car dealer.

plain and simple if gm is commited to all the brands (because they are too spendy to kill for one reason) then the fault lies with not spending enough for proper marketing. this is a managment decision. its also a fault to not have proper produc development dollars. if gm wasn't buying off the unions and such, they'd maybe have the dough to do it but really its simply managment not realizing that they by nature must spend more for all that overhead if that have that many brands. then they have to find the cash to do it. anything else is half assed and 'no wonder why it fails'. all these brands, it can be done. they just aint doing it right. look at hamburger helper. there is like 50 different kinds of hambuger helper. that has to be a pretty massive promotion effort compared to say 'kraft mac and cheese'. but if you want to sell 50 different hamburger helper that is what is required. skirting doing it the proper way speeds up failure.

chevy = toyota hyundai, kia, ford, dodge (but better in all repsects) saturn = honda, vw, mitsubishi, subaru, mazda, nissan, more affordable acura buick = lincoln, chrysler, more affordable lexus, more affordable mercedes, more affordable audi, more affordable infiniti pontiac = cars oriented to performance yet attainable, cost effective BMW, refined capable cars at good price saab = green weirdo offbeat leftie liberal cars that also can perform like jets, ikea, etc. hummer = they'll figure it out just not too many models please GMC = refined quality trucks cadillac - competes with world's top tier.

wow. everyone has stories like this. there is no safe answer but it sounds like you are doing your part at least. all i can say is keep trying, if you give up trying, the situation gets worse.

compacts back then were guaranteed death traps. at least today with the safety equipment, you can drive say, a jetta and feel pretty good about your chances. part of that is the extra 500 pounds it carries. for me, i am ok with that. better to leave home everyday and be able to assure your wife and kid etc you at least have a chance of not being hamburger in a fender bender.

i guess mr bloke has never driven across the midwest or east or west regions of the US on the interstate. translation. people don't give a crap about windy country roads in YOU SSSSS AAAAAAAA straight 4 lane roads where passing is king. the burst that is required for satisfied driving at speeds above 50+ which little POS 130hp 4 poppers cannot satisfy. translation 2, people only buy small cars in the US when economic conditions force it. otherwise, people want larger more comfortable cars most of the time. again, the US ain't europe and never will be because it doesn't want to be. we aspire for more, despite how hard the press and liberals try to drag us into tier 2.

here's where I'd go with pontiac in the next 3 years g8- on global large rwd with awd option. v6, turbo v6, v8, include wagon, add manual to v6 mix g6- preferably on alpha with awd option, 4, 4 turbo, v6, v6 turbo, manual available on some versions, dsg type also available on some models. sedan and coupe and convertible. maybe an eps 2, if need be. this is pontiac's volume car. g4- premium delta, awd optional, 4 and 4 turbo. limited numbers. maybe sedan or hatch only. g3 solstice / solstice coupe on alpha embarass the boxster at 1/3 or 1/2 the price g7/gto- bring that baby over, there is no excuses for gm not to do it. limited numbers vibe- pontiac needs one sport hatch crossover although something more in line with the cx-7 (except actually nice). the current vibe sells but i think it needs to be a saturn or chevy. limited numbers then you basically cycle each model, one all new per year on new and current platforms and engines. is it that hard, GM? maybe to generate brand interest, pontiac should start selling sport bikes.

well, i know 3 people with grand prixs (yes i know these are not the best examples of the breed) and well, i have a pontiac, (ok, an aztek) but i sure will give a g8 a chance to be in my garage. again, pontiac would be fine if they just kept refreshing the product and did a top notch job of it. it wasn't all that long ago that the bonneville, grand am, and grand prix and sunfire all sold in huge numbers, sometimes topping 100k.

yes, like the boys above intimate, 4000 rpm at 80 mph is useless in America. Americans want more than 138hp, even in small cars. 9.3 o-60? not good enough. look at the focus......it even is over a second quicker. wow its sales are up to, way to get in sync.