VenSeattle

I thought that when I read it... I checked the Forum CP before replying to see if anyone tampered with his post, and I didn't seeing anything by the usual suspects. :AH-HA_wink:

That's exactly what I'm wondering. He could finally get his wish if he's willing to pay enough.

Heh... You never know... Kerkorian could be back in the market for Chrysler since the GM deal didn't work to his liking. Seriously though, this chould be the reason GM backed off from developing Lambda minivans. There has to be a pretty good offer on the table for GM to consider giving someone a copy of the Suburban. I'm wondering how many versions of DCX's minivans are needed in the US. VW is getting one pretty soon... now GM?

I can't be reading this correctly... Did I drink too much on V-day or what? But honestly, Linda Carter is and always will be the true Wonder Woman. I don't have a picture to support it, but my Mother looked a lot like her while I was growing up. Kids in my class always called her 'Wonder Woman.' My mother has aged considerably since, but yes, I had the 'hot mom.'

Very cool...

68, name a pair of vehicles that directly compete between Jeep and HUMMER... The closest is the H3 & Jeep Commander, but they're targeting very different markets. Besides, the Commander is already out the door. Most (if not all) of Jeep's business is below $40k. Most of HUMMER's is above $40k. They're a perfect match to be paired up.

Yeeeeahhhh..... Grrreeeaaaattttt.... and if Ford goes Bankrupt, GM can buy them too but... for some bizarre reason, I'm going to try and picture this. Dodge & Chrysler completely overlap the B-P-G trio in every way imaginable. The only benefit GM would gain from it would be Jeep. It makes sense to have the Jeep and Hummer brands sold under the same roof, so break Jeep off from Chrysler and merge Jeep & Hummer into one division/retail chain. That's a mighty expensive move for just one brand.

Cool... I wasn't sure if the concept had them. The door panels look fantastic. I like the air-vents on the front doors and on the back of the center console.

Pics are great! I like the Pontiac Arrowhead logo concept. I hope Pontiac adopts it. One question, where are the window switches located? Particularly on the rear doors?

How about that... Daewoo continues to be GM's smartest investment in decades. Congrats GM.

That's fine. I'm not trying to pick an argument with anyone. It's my observation. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's noticed Scions turning into rolling billboards in their cities.

\Dude... I see them all over the place. It's not a "literal" number, but there are hundreds. I know it's not just an isolated occurence considering the pics above are not of Scions from the Seattle area. Small business owners (or self-employed individuals) that are usually doing this (I can tell based on the types of businesses that are being advertised) will not purchase vehicles in the "company" name. if I recall correctly, sole-propieterships keep all of their assets in their own name. It will show up as a private sale even though they intend to use it for both personal and business. Edit 1 --- I finally remembered the ones I see the most. I see "Molly Maid" Scions (Xa & Xb) driving around a lot. I believe the maids use their own vehicle, but put the "Molly Maid" decals on them for advertisement. Depending on the time of day, you can see several traveling together on the highway at once... so it's not the same one over and over (nor are they all the same color.) Edit 2 --- 614 was the 6 month total (nation wide) for xB's 2006 fleet sales according to fleet-Central (see varience's link)

See my last paragraph. I can almost guarantee you that none of the Scions pictured above were counted as a fleet sale. There are more than 614 xBs in the Seattle area alone that are driving around advertising a business: And Chris... I wasn't questioning the actual number... I was questioning (not you directly) whether or not each of those 173,034 actually belonged to the "specific crowd" that Toyota is targeting... No... not even close. Several are businesses or cities needing cheap transportation with decent MPG or private business owners for the same reasons but also using them as billboards. That was my point. I have to wonder how resale value can stay so high when many of these will be used, with higher miles, and taking more abuse than a normal privately-owned vehicle. Also, I'm not trying to highjack your topic. Thank you for the write-up. Very nice.

Thank you for the write up Chris... however, I really have to wonder about that number. I live in the Seattle area, and practically the only Scions I see on the road that have been "customized" look like these: So does that "pretty specific market" include small-business owners, government use, or fleet sales? I see these type of Scions on the road constantly so I know for a brand that sells less than Lexus, these type of purchases must make up a sizeable amount of their sales. It's hard to believe this isn't the case in other metropolitan areas. I believe Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond also own some. I see Scions sometimes driving around with the city seal on the doors. I didn't take any of the above pictures. I found them online after a quick search. It's too easy. They seem to outnumber the "tricked-out" Scion pics. If I were to take pics... trust me, there would be more than three times to show here. I'm sure Scions aren't being sold as "fleet" since they're already cheap. The dealers are probably selling them directly to businesses at MSRP prices. That protects Scions image... but rolling billboards can't be what Toyota had in mind for Scion.

So how much in aftermarket upgrades did you buy? Did the upgrades void your warranty?

I think the interior looks cheap, especially the stereo controls. They look like they were just plugged into the dashboard. The head unit doesn't even have the same shiny plastic as the surround. GM gets blasted for this and Toyota doesn't? Sorry, regardless if GM uses their corporate stereo in several vehicles, GM's radio looks better. (And yes, it's the same radio that's in the xB... so it's plug and play, just like people criticize GM)

I love the commercial. Sorry... I guess I'm insensitive. I've had severance packages (not as good as GM's employees receive), and I never thought about suicide. People just don't like to be reminded they live in their own false reality.

I take it Toyoguy isn't too impressed since he hasn't already gloated over this. But still... why a 5-Sp automatic when Toyota knows GM's debuted with 6?

Mercury's getting a version - It's called the Mercury Sable L'Attitude Yes... I'm joking, but the Sable L'Attitude was a concept for the last-gen Sable wagon.

Truthfully, this isn't a bad car. It's just dull: 260hp, AWD, stability control, two-tone leather, etc all make this a very competent & competitive vehicle in its class. People who are content with its styling will be very pleased. I need to see the interior 'improvements' and a different exterior color to say if I like the Sable's styling better than the Montego.

After looking at the Highlander interior for, oh, about 2 minutes... I realized it looks like it belongs to another manufacturer. Am I the only one? Honda should be flattered:

Let me get this straight... the xB gets HIDs but continues into 2008 with a 4-sp automatic? :rotflmao: Where to start with the Highlander? Only a 5 speed automatic? The exterior is hideous! The only highlight is the interior. It's better, but not best in class. If the plood is the same as in the Avalon & Camry it'll look paper-thin and just as appealing. Did I mention the exterior? --- Sorry, but the only Toyota Tough about this lot of vehicles will be their luck.

Pontiac finally gets the car Acura should have built. I like it. I don't see this hurting CTS sales at all. It is aimed straight at Charger/300C buyers. Bravo Pontiac. Note to GM: increase Pontiac & GMC's warranty to match Buick's with the G8 debut. No more second-class citizen treatment at BPG dealers. Make it a premium destination across the board.

I want to go.

4 1 2