regfootball

i test drove a 2008 Saturn Aura XE a week ago, with 63,000 on it. Car was clean inside, overall was a peach. Eight grand would have bought it. It was a 4 popper with only the 4 speed auto though. And it was missing some goodies. So I passed on it. But its an example of that there are lots of Auras under 100k, 75k even available. Saturn did a lot of low mileage leases, and saturn drivers often took good care of their cars and didn't put many miles on them. There was another one recently, an 08 with leather and only 20k miles on it, but I didn't look at it. Recently it seems the similar vintage Malibus are going for more coin, so the Aura is perhaps a cost effective option that is easy to find if you just auto trader out some distance and you'd be surprised i think. Similar deal, lots of 2009, 2009.5, 2010? Pontiac G6's with low miles also.....

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2016-chevrolet-camaro-is-the-motor-trend-car-of-the-year/ CAMARO WINS !!!!!

if we can't build cars here, what can we build here any more?

i worry the styling isn't good enough. the interior looks ok, but the exterior is lacking, in a way like the Captiva is awkward compared to the Equinox. and i don't like so much what i've seen from the new Verano, LaCrosse and Regal teasers and spy shots. The Avenir looks American. But that's just a concept.

Having just driven the Civic, and reading that it is not being given to the Camaro, ...Civic is pretty good, not a revelation, but i just think the chances of them giving it to a sedan, and not to a 2 seater is what may give it to Civic. If its C/D then i can see them giving it to a Camaro or Miata.

(edit, down further is an update with a spin in the EX-T 1.5 turbo) DRIVEN: 2016 Honda Civic 2.0 LX cvt, MSRP around 20,200 HIGHS: New style! That looks good and is bound to find favor with existing Hondaphiles and bring in new fas as well, sexy shape and not overboard. (Looks much better in the metal, than in the pictures) Larger size, the car pushes the limits of the compact class, and it's a perfect size. Spacious interior, the front seats are spacious and even my 6'1 girthy self fit into the back seat with without cramped legs and still with a bit of headroom to spare Vastly different interior layout is spot on for a semi sporty environment and everyday comfort and usefulness Nice dash gauges, and simple radio controls, e brake frees up room too. And a singular king big gulp holder is the boss. Great armrest and console. Dashboard layout and style is simple yet stylish and logical and plastics all over are good. Really nice shifter placement and size, doesn't take up much room, just right especially for newer drivers Visibility outward is refreshing in the age of ever increasing bunkers. Trunk maximizes all the space available too. One of the largest in the class. If you are bound and determined to get a car with CVT, this has one of the better CVT's. Honda engines rev pretty well. Its at least not a complete dog, when you lay into it. About the right amount of quick in the steering. This car will score big with youths and Honda fans, and even draw in new people to the brand. LOWS: Not a new revelation, but Honda still doesn't do much to quell cabin noise, including this car Engine gets on the drone when pushed hard and in tandem with the CVT I would have liked more powertrain smoothness Mirrors on the doors seemed cheaply made Base trim tires and suspension were commuter car adequate, but not anything sporting or enthusiast approved Previously mentioned steering was sort of mushy (but that again could be the tires) Drivers seat didn't feel overly supportive and it was a bit narrow for my girth Drivers who care may find the Mazda3 nicer from a driver's car standpoint Doesn't feel substantial in any way (again, a typical Honda comment) Some folks think the change in the look and size of the Civic is too different for a Honda. Or, that it looks like a Crosstour. (I don't agree with that). SUMMARY I am not a Honda fan. The junk they've been foisting on the car world the last few years is not up to their past rep, and despite selling well, in my opinion exposes how they've downgraded what they sell and quite honestly, a lot of it had gone weird. The now previous generation of the Civic is a perfect example. There was a certain off centered ness to it, and so Honda has regrouped and decided to evolve and change the Civic and reach down for younger drivers again and try to make the car attractive to those outside the Honda fold. I believe this car scores on both both counts that way, and also should help it fend off upstarts like the Chevy Cruze and revised Focus. The size increase alone, pushing the length and width and making the car nearly as big as old Accords is risky, but has paid off. Now it is not as big a gap between the Accord and the Civic. The car is a great size for commuters, a second family car, and the single folks who only need one car, that is big enough to feel like something, but not so big to not feel 'personal'. The personal car theme continues inside with the semi-cockpit, intimate feel. Yet it is not claustrophobic, it just fits like a glove. There is no silliness on the dash, just a simple design, with old school large Honda gauges, and a simple to use radio. In terms of overall usefulness, this car scores big, and has carefully measured sportiness about it that will appeal quite well to the masses. I really wanted to drive the turbo, but those will be non existent and scarce for awhile yet. The base engine is passable and is really what Hondaphiles are used to. IMO, the current Cruze has a smoother powertrain to a point (I will get into that in another review), and many competitors are upping their game, so I believe it would be wise to sample the 1.5t until passing final judgment. I am still on the fence on CVT's. I have driven MANY cars with CVT's and this is definitely among the better ones, but there is still that rubber bandy disconnectedness that can make you still appreciate a typical automatic more and more (particularly the newest ones). But i will say this, the Cruze probably doesn't touch this car for mpg in the real world. Give Honda props for its mpg potential here. This car arrives in the market at the perfect time for Honda. It should score big in sales, and in a way to me this defines the mainstream car in 2016 and the era of tyrannical regs on MPG and emissions pushing down people into smaller and lighter cars. Upsizing the Civic hits the new sweet spot for size, efficient packaging, and value for the dollar. Accords may become luxury cars due to price and size, and soon we think maybe those early twenty somethings will eventually finally get a car. Well, a Civic may just top their list. And it would seem like a luxury car to them. Perhaps it is more a commentary of our times that a droning CVT car with not a lot of go would be considered a personal luxury; but such is the way. Many buyers don't have money for a car, or don't want to spend so much, and there is a value to this car that i believe will resonate. It's large enough to bring friends along, and looks and feels sporty enough to not be a penalty box. Plus it sheds the weird, something the Mazda3 seems to have acquired in its place. I expect the upper trim levels will drive a bit better and the turbo should help detract from the middle of the road base powertrain. I'll give this car an A- because it shows me Honda really learned what they were lacking, and took some risks, and found out a great new formula for moving ahead. Now, bring on the better powertrains.

Tesla doesn't invest in the vehicle dynamics research as much and doesn't have the knowledge and experience gm's and others do. They do build a darn nice kit car though. If gm wanted to, they could slaughter this backyard creation that tesla builds. Ah the cute little upstarts. Tesla is like a car in the sharper image or brook stone holiday catalog.

They did when I took it in to get the axle replaced last week, 'we couldn't replicate it'. ...... You know that drill. I will say this, it has been latching more reliably lately. Maybe it takes a while to break in. At least now it's in the service record. Aside from the serious lack of torque, the engine itself continues to impress.

A ford transit connect would be a good hearse.

right now would be a great time to come back with a v8 in a caddy, cheap gas. I could see gas staying below 3 bucks past the election next year, might be only a thin window of time to get 8 cylinders back in and have them sell well......

pretty cheesy logo, matches the cars though

good idea.

It's quite possible that Hyundai could become the globes largest luxury marque, and will do it with sales in countries you wouldn't think to have large luxury markets. Markets that the Germans and us makers either won't have access to, or will be too high priced for. In the US this is just an Acura redeux, but I will say this. When I went to test drive the genesis sedan a few months back, it didn't really make for a great shopping experience when the ok/decent Genesis was in the same showroom and on the same lot as their cheap $h!boxes (accent, Elantra, sonata). And the staff is the same too. That's like a guy selling at a Suzuki store trying to sell a BMW 135i with M package to a rich stuck up punk and his mom. I think I see a bit of a Lexus resurgence, but Infiniti and Acura won't ever really take off again. You still get those peeps that want Asian. Hyundais costs are so low it won't hurts them to try to lauch this brand. And it can't hurt the perception of the mother brand. As much as I don't like this, it will probably work out for them. Not huge but check back in ten years and you'll see what I mean.

The miniscule price diff between the 2.0t RWD and v6 AWD shows me that there will only be a handful of 2.0t RWD's built, and they probably are for CAFE as much as anything. Some folks may not want the weight and bulk of the v6 and AWD and so a 4 banger with RWD only helps the public relations side, they can publish a curb weight in ads and articles that is ridiculous low. My only wish here is the 2.0 was a 2.3 for this car. That said, if they make 500 of these 2.0t's they will likely sit on lots all model year and then move at the end of the year when 6-10 grand is on the hood. The buyer will get what they pay for in that scenario. The bulk of the buyers will get the plain v6 and AWD, so by pricing them low at the start, those should not need much for incentives. And, with AWD standard, it will sell well in snow climate locations. The tt 3.0 is rightfully then an aspirational product priced higher. this is the first year of a new powertrain and so they won't want to make too many of them, in case they f--cked it up and have to mass recall it for any reason. I think the CTS will have its pricing and packaging adjusted, and if not so much that, you will see lots of discounts. I would think Cadillac will cut production of the small ATS and the CTS will actually become the volume model for awhile.

i wish it were a super refined 2.3 lire to compete with the ford 2.3

i don't mind these, better than the rest of Toyota's stuff

happy Anniversary Drew

I'll be interested to see what the 2.0t rwd is priced at and how much more the other trims are

I've been shopping for used Volts or have been thinking about leasing a new one. The Volt has me sold, the eerie quiet when on electric and the torque rush the electric motor brings are awesome. The problem with the Volt for me is the achilles heel of many recent GM cars. Terrible amount of space inside. Tight interior, low headroom, no back leg room. but the industry as a whole and cafe regs have pushed to make a majority of our vehicles smaller, lower, and crash standards have forced smaller windows and doors. I would LOVE to have a 17 volt but the budget may not allow. I'd love to drive a Volt for awhile to evaluate if we are at a tipping point, the volt being the best plug in plus gas range extender option. GM needs to make a Voltec Equinox and Impala now.

before the nation (and world) can go electric only, the distribution needs to be figured out. The automakers can convene and do it in an agreed to fashion, or, they end up having happen what is most likely, the world order determines all the parameters of a global vehicle network. The time is ripe to work in electric recharging and overall regridding of America to accommodate electric vehicles that can recharge in 5 minutes like a gas vehicle can. The automakers are going to trip over themselves trying to be the first best autonomous car (which leads us down the road to oblivion but that's another story); this is going to not only divert money from developing electric distribution and recharging, its probably going to kill development money on performance and ICE vehicles too. The model 3 might turn out to be a Hurculean effort by the upstart to build for the masses, but the very thing Lutz has in his article will be Tesla's achilles heel. You can't sell and market a volume car at low price without the support of a dealer network that is large, organized, and proven. The car arena is not friendly to unproven products and unproven manufacturers. There is a huge level of trust involved by the customer with cars, and the whole CR Tesla nitpciking thing just goes to show you that when the mainstream models hit for Tesla, the scrutiny and expectations will be even higher. Enjoy the Volt. They could develop a longer range battery option for the Volt to compete in longer ranges. Right now its the best mainstream option for bridging into plug in to the grid electrics. And being able to gas up when on the road. Cadillac could build a Tesla competitor if they wanted to put the cash out to do it. So could BMW or Merc or Audi. Chevy needs to make Voltec propelled mainstream models now. Equinox, etc.

the key thing lutz hit on here was the intense amount of capital required to design and manufacture vehicles, and to have the facility sell and service them. Some posters on facebook pointed out the obvious; once you get BMW and Mercedes equivalents to Tesla in the market, who buys the Tesla? Tesla hasn't figured out how to mainstream the vehicle its building and at some point if they don't have volume they just remain the kit car builders they are. They will find out (like what CR is suggesting) that it's not all about software and electrics. There are a whole slew of hard manufacturing issues with cars and servicing them that Tesla isn't capable of handling. They think they can service a car with a software flash and that just ain't true. It's the broken door handles and faulty climate controls etc. that create the needs for huge service and parts departments etc.

i think a lot of the CR rap on the tesla was also related to symptoms of what i liken to kit cars. Tesla hasn't mastered all the expertise that the seasoned carmakers of world have and to be honest if they were selling 30,000 dollar cars they could be forgiven. But at 100k, those customers have the right to be picky on how trim goes together, things being precise and assembly quality lasting. It sorta exposes the wisdom of whether one wants to be a guinea pig. I imagine if a GM car had the foibles of the Teslas they would be raked over the coals. In the meantime the VOlt has the highest satisfaction of any GM car.

minivans are the king of handicap conversions. Ford Flex, if updated and lower in price, would sell a lot more. New Kia van is seeing an uptick, the Japanese Sienna and Odyssey always do well. Grand Caravan sells well because its price is reasonable. We got our Town and Country via lease, that was the best way to get it and not lose our ass, it got to the point that most of the three row CUV's are simply unaffordable. With the minivan segment I think it is still about making the wrapper attractive and putting AWD on the option list in addition to price. Really, think about it. Why can't Ford take the Fusion and stretch the wheelbase 4-6" and make Flex 2? In Ford's case its because they sell a lot more Explorers. If there were a new Flex out at a price similar to what we got the Town and Country for, it woulda been a no brainer, duh Ford > Chrysler. No reason why Ford can't design a second version of the funkwagon and sell 40,000 of them a year.

not waiting for the new engine for 2016? (or is it just not out yet)

I want a turbo 6