regfootball

its as bad as 'big duh'.

ask britney's mom. she might be able to answer that.

oh that would be cool......!

i bet she looks terrible when she's 30 but right now, man, she is ti-te. and cute as a button. yah baybay

how's this. a complete blanket exception from CAFE for the bulk of their lineup if they also sell say, 250,000 alt fuel / hybrid / zero emissions / cars that demonstrate new techonologies like electric hydrogen biofuels etc. and while we're at it, tax credit of their IRS bill of 3 grand per car for each green car sold.

so california can set new self important rules and cause the whole cycle to start all over?

x2. also, families don't want "Zafiras". let's rip off the writer's head and poop down the throte.

one of the best posts I have ever seen. thanks.

exactly. Average joe consumer doesn't care if electrics make RWD a bit more drivable, and they do somewhat, but people still want the total solution and for most folks writing checks, it's still that FWD or AWD is a better solution in their mind. you basically cannot change it. so why force RWD only down the dealers throat if they cannot sell them in 1/3 or more of their dealers?

quite honestly i cannot comprehend why anyone wrangler shopping or any jeep for that matter would choose to buy a 2wd? help me with that one.? (besides the compass)

you mean a good contemporary new in line 6.

i thought the steering and suspension were decent on the rav (not exciting, just merely good for a majority of drivers) but the refinement and heft and quality of construction and korean interior were a big letdown. to have to drive that thing with that interior every day for the duration of one's payment book is a disgrace. the cheap crashing tinny thunk when you close the ridiculous tire in a door was the icing on the cake. Aside from all terrible noise and vibration from the motor through the seat and floor. i've driven previous gen vues (4 and 6 cyl.) i do not think they were up to par with the rav4 overall, although the 6 cyl vue was a much better driver. i'd like to take an equinox sport out. i think they will have it sorted out. the equinox's interior is nicer now, and even if it's plastics are not as good, the design of it is not as creepy as the RAV4. i suppose its possible that women buyers and the press have taken and destroyed this segment as well. make everything light and tinny. throwaway. I like solid vehicles myself.

avenger buyers can move up to a similarly ugly charger and sebring buyers can move up to an equally offensive 300, so i guess their move up strategy is pretty good

AMEN! actually, me and my BIL were talking about this today. cafe? fk em. global warming? fk em. 'urban sprawl'? oh fk em. politically correct? fk em!

I definitely think you might enjoy an Edge. I wonder if the VUe Redline is a better drive.

From Canadian Driver.com about the Vue http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/08vue.htm so you'd think a vehicle like this would get higher than SIXTH.

well the rav is junk and it won. i seriously wouldn't wish the rav an anyone. the thing will be a pile of junk in 5 years. it's flimsy and it won't even maintain engine idle with the A/C on. not to mention no mention of the terrible noise and vibration from the engine through the floor and seat. where was that? 9. Liberty. they are testing crossovers, which never are supposed to get much off road use vs. real SUV's, but then they design the test so it is criteria that they slog them all through the mud. Then, the vehicle that is supposed to be the best in the mud, they put in last place. what the f? choose what the fk you want your test to be about! 8. Tucson. I can't say much here other than they dieify the honda because of its cute interior but reality is the Tucson has a decent interior as well yet they say the whole vehicle feels old. 7. The Escape. best cruiser, open and airy cockpit. real seating space. decent off road. 'honest suv'. it's only bad mouthing was for brakes and lack of 4th gear. But the toyota wins with only 4 speeds too. WTF? oh well, the 09 escape is supposed to get a 240hp v6 and a 200hp four i think. at least its not a chick wagon. 6. Vue XE 3.5......big dings for weight and mpg. OK, the mpg is a legit concern. But mpg is mostly a function of weight in most cases. The RAV is pretty light, and boy its pretty flimsy. If I could get a more solid vehicle for this class and money, its a nice choice to have. I bet the vue's tailgate doesn't sound like its going to come off the vehicle and make a loud clink noise when you shut it like the RAV's does. The Vue also has a tremendously upscale interior, not a yucky Korean interior like the RAV does. 5. Grand Vitara. Suzuki must not be writing big enough checks to C/D. What i have encounted before is a little SUV with good interior space, nice layout and plastics, and good price. It has real offroad capability and cannot feel toylike like the RAV4. What it does lack is real engine power and that can be corrected. They had no reason to bash this vehicle like they did, considering they were supposed to be weighing highly for off road capability, which this vehicle has in spades. 4. Outlander. this was the vehicle that got the shaft. it's got a better tailgate/rear hatch than the RAV. It has a larger cargo area with more fleixibility and more comfortable seating with as much space. The interior is nicer and more normal. It's better priced has good handling. It even has optional paddle shifters. It has good styling. 3rd row seat. If there is any vehicle that out RAV's the RAV, it's this one. Yet mitsubishi does not write big checks like toyota does. that is why it does not beat the RAV. 3. Rogue. they pretty much come out and say its the best one but that they can't give it the title (because its not a honda or toyota). Ghosn should be fuming. "Somber" interior? My God did they sit in the CRV or RAV 4 for any length of time? I guess not because they would slit their wrists if had done so. 2. CRV. despite having terrible styling and no 6 cyl option, it is godlike. The interior may have good 'fit and finish', but from what i have seen before, the plastics are pretty average. Not worth accolades. Let's just chalk it up to this. You can put a purse on the floor by the shifter. So I guess girls like it. Just like buff books did with family sedans, they have reduced a popular class of vehicles to wussy, feminized 4 cylinder flimsyboxes and have glorified these fragile feminine characteristics into godlike status. 1. Simply put they gave the RAV #1 but they weren't driving what I drove (see RAV4 steaming pile topic). To put this bland and crappy of a vehicle at the top shows sheer volume about their journalistic focus. What is funny is the as tested price of the RAV and CRV you could have a 3.6l 3 row suzuki XL7 which no doubt wuld probably be a superior functional vehicle all around. Or an Equinox sport. Or pocket the 5 grand of the rav or hoyotha and get an equinox.

i had a RAV4 for 2 days and if that was the best........ i'd say more like their comparo was trash.

car and driver has a 9 chick ute comparo. the steaming pile RAV4 won and the super cute girl rav4 takes 2nd. to match the size of the paychecks. 1.rav4 2.crv 3.rogue (depsite best handling and performance and power and cheapest base price) 4.outlander 5. grand vitara (where was the xl-7?) 6.vue 7.escape 8.tucson 9.liberty (why not patriot?) where was the equinox?

wasn't VW's truck the first unibody pickup? LOL. I think there would be a market for small pickups if still done right. My BIL in CA has a nifty simple extended cab ranger. I would assume he got it for a good price because he doesn't want to spend a lot on a car or need to drive a lot. GM and FOrd screwed the pooch on their compact trucks, abondoning any sort of good effort on them. A lambda truck may be what a lot of folks need out of a pickup and you can bet they will be lot classier than the ridgeline. chevy could use a little unibody FWD/AWD delta based pickup and a mid size pickup done a heckuva lot better than the colorado. imagine a little chevy diesel truck. 40mpg, chugga chugga!

it would be fun to have some drinks with Lutz and hear his stories.

i would imagine there are a lot of SUV's being taken in on trade these days. i would also guess prices on them are good.

i like the mag and layout. do we need another car mag tho? LOL

well car and driver sure know who write their checks. they have toyota one and honda 2 in their nine chick ute comparo this month. i couldn't believe they were writing about the same vehicle. i guess if cheap tinny creepy vehicles are in, this is proof. clearly the public has no discerning taste. a vehicle that struggles to maintain idle at a stop light and vibrates through the floor and (uncomfortable) seat like it does, with flimsy rear hatch and sheetmetal and no cargo capacity and creepy cheap korean plastic must be all king sh1t these days.

equinox is not wide enough nor is it's cargo hold very big