bobo

Sorry about your experience. You had such praise earlier. Sounds like a lot of first-year bugs. And yes, I think the electric power steering on the Equinox is horrible.

Mainly the similarity is the slightly cat-eye headlights.

It is, but to Safeway shoppers, there's a very strong connotation to milk and cottage cheese.

The Fusion has the best-looking rear of the triplets, but the chrome is a little too heavy-handed. I like the LEDs, but the taillights of both the Zephyr and Milan over-emphasize the high rear deck. Pontiac could have done a better job with the rear of the G6 coupe. It's too soft and doesn't match the front of the car.

Not a great name, but could be worse. Enclave conjures up images of a smug, uppity section of suburbia.

The Aurora really wasn't a replacement for any particular vehicle, though it filled the spot in Oldsmobile's lineup as the flagship. While the outside of the car is big, the interior is tight--it's more of a mid-size than a full-size like the 98. I'd say that the replacement for the 98 was the 88 Regency. The L-bodies were based on the J-bodies, but it wasn't a replacement for it. While the Beretta had Camaro styling cues, I don't think it was ever meant to actually replace the F-body. There was another program for the FWD Camaro, the GM80, which used a plastic skin over a spaceframe like the Fiero and Saturn SL, but costs spiraled out of control and the program was canceled.

L.A. Autoshow dates are January 6 to 15.

The stubby Tredia was the sedan version of the Cordia. The Galant was sold side-by-side with it, but then a new generation succeeded it, and the Sigma succeeded the Galant as the top-of-the-line sedan. Another forgettable Mitsubishi is the Precis, which was a badge job of the original Hyundai Excel.

I'd say that the Eclipse replaced the Cordia, but there's a break between the two vehicles, the last Cordia being a MY '88, and the Eclipse coming out for '90. The Starion died after MY '89, and the 3000GT came out for MY '91.

Now I understand the talk of GMT360's possibly going away.

18. Mitsubishi Sigma

The first generation is my favorite version. The best color combination on the Seville was black over silver, as on the Elegante model. This Opera Coupe has silver over black, and it's still sumptuous: Here's an interesting second generation Opera Convertible:

Thanks for posting these, Flybrian. These clearly indicate that there is no equal to the class and elegance of the real thing, the Seville Opera Coupe. The Versailles just couldn't hide the fact that it's a Granada in drag.

Daihatsu Cuore:

From the article, these were the nominees: Ford Explorer, Hummer H3, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Commander, Kia Sportage, Mercedes-Benz ML, Mercury Mountaineer, Pontiac Torrent, Range Rover Sport, Subaru Tribeca, and the Suzuki Grand Vitara. I actually like the Torrent, but it doesn't improve on anything to last year's Equinox. Besides the Xterra and H3, I don't thnk any of the other vehicles really adds much to the segment.

Nissan did a great job in the current generation of Frontier-based vehicles. Perhaps the H3 would have been a contender if it had a better engine. That's one area in which the Nissan shines.

Everybody will have their opinions, and there shouldn't be a problem expressing them. Buicks should have presence. The first car I knew was my dad's '66 LeSabre. It was huge, and it was a Buick through and through. If it weren't for the portholes (ok, ventiports) and Velite-inspired grille, there's nothing about the Lucerne that says Buick. It is vastly more attractive than the outgoing LeSabre, and that should help widen its pool of potential buyers, but I don't think many people are going to feel passionate about it.

C&G is fast approaching its four-year anniversary. The board has evolved from the early days, from being a meeting place for a couple dozen guys talking cars to being a major source of automotive news. The old board was a lot tighter, and there was a whole lot less antagonism. But that's a sign of a growing community.

I think this car's main competitors will be the LaCrosse and Avalon. The car has a benign, vaguely upscale look about it. The interior isn't too bad. Perhaps the dashboard appears to be a little too plasticky, but it's not like there are huge gaps and seams everywhere and mismatched plastic. Mechanically, all the right ingredients are there. I don't think Hyundai will have a problem selling this car.

The Perodua Kelisa:

I've never heard of Perodua before.

I actually kind of like the Nouera myself, and the Galue too. There's nothing wrong with a little neoclassic styling. The Ryoga looks like crap, though.

There must be pretty lax trademark laws in Japan? The only National products that I've seen before are rice cookers.

I think it was mentioned by one of the insiders that it wouldn't be Centieme because it's too hard to pronounce. I would like to see Centurion, which was the original name of the Centieme concept, but perhaps it's too old-sounding for some.

Perhaps the most useless SUV ever, if it could be considered an SUV: I'm not an SUV fan myself, but I would say my favorite is the Saturn VUE with the Honda V6. That thing moves. The Equinox and Torrent are also good. The BMW X3 is universally derided, but it drives pretty well and has decent utility. The X5 is a better driver, but it has a very small cargo area. The new Mercedes ML is very smooth and solid-feeling. Among the truck-based SUVs, I like the GMT360's except for the awful interiors and wallowy suspensions. The Explorer is the better vehicle.