regfootball

just go get a bmw with idrive

i have like 3 steve martin albums. dang, i gotta go check my collection!

[SIZE=1][SIZE=1][SIZE=1] only she would know that i suppose

since i own a 500 i can chime in here. the 500's tranny does soemties seem to shift a bit much, but its been way overrated in road tests. the time that it hunts the most is in town at mid range speeds when you are on and off the gas a lot. on steeper hills it shifts a lot too, until you keep your gas steady and it finds the right gear then it holds like a bulldog. the tranny actually holds and keeps gears better than my old 99 SHO, however. my SHO used to short shift a lot. the 500 does stay pretty decisive about what gear its in as long you are not fking with the gas pedal. if you punch the pedal hard, it picks a gear and sticks with it and doesn't shift that much once at cruising speed. on the interstate at high speeds, it stays firmly planted in 6th or whatever and loafs along merrily at 1700-2200 rpm, depending on how fast you are going. 78 mph is like 2200 rpm i think, and it will accelerate easily up from that or kick down quite fast and find a great passing gear with some good snap. the first trip i took with the car over t'giving my last leg i got 26 mpg and that was with plenty of stopped in the ice storm interstate traffic. once it breaks in, i should see close to 30 on a good trip. Sometimes I wish it would shift quicker, but I am made aware that there is a TSB out now on getting a tranny flash to improve the shifting...i might get that done. Shifts themselves are not 100% smooth, but still way better than almost any older Ford and not jerky or anything like that. The big culprit is the lack of low end torque and power in the engine, and the powertrain buzziness at low speeds and taking off from a start. If the engine had more gusto, then no one would need to make any comments about the tranny. The tranny is simply doing its job with an underspecced engine. Its almost never that it picks a wrong gear, actually and it must be adaptive because since about 1500 miles, its been holding gears longer, too. And even though it feels slow off the line, overall the car feels quick. above 30 mph the wholecar comes alive and has good kick down and that's when having the 6 speed really makes it shine. Any car that cracks 8 seconds is doing good. the thing revs great and never feels winded like the 3400 in my aztek does. i mean, there's NO comparison. the 3400 is more sedate in town and feels better from a stop but is quite breathless and busy on the highway in upper speeds. The Duratec 35 or Yamaha v8 will solve those issues when they and the new 6 speed hit market in 12 to 18 months. the 3.0 duratec will be fine as a base model engine. bottom line, the 6 speed is very useful, enhances the function of the car, and the overdrive gears help it get great mpg. Anything beyond 6 speeds wuld be useless IMHO, but Ford and GM will benefit greatly from their jointly developed 6 speed. i bet the 6 speed teamed with the 3.6vvt will be a great combo in the Aura and other GM cars if the tight ass beanounters let them put it in. The Impala SS alone would benefit tremendously. i didn't much care for the 4 speed in the SS when i drove it. the 6 speed teamed to that small block or even the north star will be a great combo.

rear your new car and driver. the car out of all the cars that they tested in 2005 the one that got the best mpg on their testing was a CHEVY COBALT 27mpg. a) that only confirms what i suspected, which is that the ecotec coblt gets damn good real user mpg B) and, if 27mpg is the best they can get, they must drive their cars HARD.

nah, toyota just buys consumer reports' subscription list and also gets all the names of all the urban / public radio / liberals.

heated washer nozzles/fluid is a genuine safety enhancement and is very beneficial to folks who travel in wet snow and freezing rain in mild freezing temps. I would LOVE to have it on my car. that said, its not new tech and its not something to build an ad campaign around. neither is a v8 that can only crack 60 in 7.5 (MT) because its mated to a 4 speed auto and correctme if i'm wrong but isn't it lackking vvt for low end torque also? i love the looks of the lucerne but the jury is out on whether ads focusing on this type of stuff will change minds. If Buick wanted to really play up the cold weather climate angle, then do this..... "Winter safety and convenience package" -heated mirrors -heated wiper fluid -heated seats and steering wheel -heavy duty climate control -engine block heater -quick defrost grid at base of windshield -full range stability control (should be standard on the lucerne anyways) -abs and traction control -winter driving mode in tranny if applicable -temperature display -on star -custom molded deep recess floor mats -provide a recess for a custom snow brush and scraper like VW does for umbrellas on passats that would be a lot more useful also, then they could provide a 'summer comfort package' -side rear and rear window shades -kick ass A/C -cooled and vented seats -autoventing moonroof shade -a nice 5 pound bag of ice in your crotch

sorry i didn't update the MT quotes here last night. i crashed at about 9 pm and didn't go online. i hope i can find time to throw a couple more of their quotes on here tonight.

waiting for a new solstice to arrive would be like dating elle macpherson in her prime and being apart from her for two weeks and waiting for her to arrive back at home for some catch up time. or drinking like 6 cans of red bull.

I like your optimism and thoughtful recognition of the truth, northstar. Pontiac has upgraded their machinery in useful ways, it hasn't been eintirely noticed yet. there is more work to do yet, though.

as Dr. Evil would say, "MMMM, NO .....Scott"

i am still upset i was unable to get my 500 equipped as i wanted with the side airbags. a little too rare, IMHO. it should be STANDARD. still it gets 5 star side impact without em.

anyone have a towel? I just blew chunks on my desk.

Millenia? Mazda 626? that dash has some resemblance to the dash layout in my old diamantes, too. derivitive. c'mon though, we never expected anything original from Toyota. The only reason they designed and built a 268 hp v6 was because Nissan's fabulous v6 established a benchmark and Toyota all of a sudden decided they needed to meet it. they would have never thought up building one like that on their own.

the press will point that out to us numerous times, i am sure. when GM puts a 6 speed with that Impala, it will help regain some advantage.

wow, and this new camry doesn't have rental styling all over the outside of it, either, does it.

you think the suspension, breakes, steering, engine bay etc. is all carryover? I bet it is. At least until i read otherwise. Would this new camry share its wheelbase with the current ES Lexus? If so, there's your answer.

its about as attractive as duck. and ducks are not attractive.

but remember, to get the v6 camry equipped with the luscious looking leather interior will likely be 35 grand........only a grand or two off a base STS that is discounted. just a thought. you know these things loaded to gills will have 35k plus stickers. if you lived in a southern state, you could buy a rear drive lincoln LS v8 as an option to this thing. yes this camry will be great for its 'class' but i bet there is a huge price jump that will go with it.

you forgot to add 'one or two extremely arbitrary and confusing character lines randomly on the blocky bloated side slab of the vehicle'

exactly.

no, because their criteria from review to review is suspect and limited.

again, when did digital speedometers all of a sudden become univerally ok'ed by the automotive press?

popular mechanics has better auto coverage these days from an objectivity standpoint. i cannot believe how quickly MT went from being a redneck/domestic banger book to being a full on import propaganda machine. like what 18 months?

the new S class could be the ugliest car on the road soon. conversely, the new CL whatever sedan (that rakish one) is stunning. this new C class is not much to look at. BLAH.