pow

Really? I quite like the TSX. Every time I've ridden in one I was impressed by how precise everything felt, looked, or sounded.

If fuel prices (or legislation) really increase, is there any chance the 2.9L will make it into trucks? 403 lb-ft is more than what the 6.0L Vortec MAX makes, and vans like the Sprinter have proven that commercial vehicles don't really need a huge amount of power.

That seems to be their motto: engineering first.

Good points all. VW NA is very poorly managed. I don't understand why more people don't buy Passats. The entry-level ones are great value for the money, but apparently people would rather spend money on an inferior, but more nicely-garnished car (hence the success of "thin" cars like the ES350, IMO). According to CarsDirect, a Passat VE now goes for $20,235. Direct-injection, turbo, six-speeds, stability control, but manual seats, leatherette upholstery, wheel covers, and 4-cylinders. Perhaps mainstreaming their product line is what VW needs, though it's certainly not what enthusiasts want.

Funny how differently VW is perceived here in the US compared to Europe. Over there, VWs are synonymous with quality, practicality, and class. Golfs are for families, GTIs are the sole non-antisocial hot hatches, and Passats are executive saloons. Here VWs are unreliable, impractical, and funky. Their sales successes and failures seem to correlate with these perceptions. My own personal experience (base '02 Passat 1.8T, 63K mi) has been positive. Five years ago, the then-four-year-old beat anything from Toyota or Honda. The Mazda 6 didn't exist yet. Neither did Cadillac's A&S revolution. Or the H2. Curtain airbags, which the Passat had standard, were still rare and exotic. Ditto a tilt and telescoping steering wheel. Now, though, others have caught up.

No, I love old fashioned PB too. Partially hydrogenated oils are for teh lose!~!!

I would groan if it were WalMart buying these Cobalts, but it's Google, and last time I checked, they're still decently cool. What if Apple suddenly buys 50 new Astra XRs...

Wow, that's quite a site. It's nice to see Google using the Cobalt.

He'd probably get 55 mpg in the Civic Hybrid then.

Go for the Bimmer. Find a good independent BMW mechanic, and you'll be fine. Our 2000 528i has 93K miles now, and I'm confident we'll keep it until 200K.

The thing is, the sort of person who will pay $50K for a Tahoe Hybrid, is unlikely to be a blue-collar worker living in a rural area trying to save on fuel costs, but rather a suburban banger "who consumes a lot more resources than they think they do with their copious consumption" and doesn't need a full-sized, truck-based SUV in the first place. The upcoming 4.5L V8 diesels will probably make the most difference among people who actually need large vehicles.

none of Toyota's vehicles are E85 capable. AFAIK, the Tahoe Hybrid will not be flex-fueled. It doesn't make much sense to increase the efficiency of a vehicle, only to have the increases eliminated by running E85. But then again, why not offer the choice, as it's not exactly expensive or difficult...

Equinox Sport? I drove the $h! out of one yesterday and thought it was impressive. It feels much more responsive than the Edge yet it's more livable than the CX-7. Not sure how much it'll cost, but if it's $24K like the RAV4 Sport V-6, it's a good deal. AWD and leather, which were present on the one I tried, might be more, though.. And CX-7s have great lease deals around here... $249/mo, $0 down, 27 mo, 10.5K mi/yr. The basic Sport models have flaws and are cheap-feeling, but for that price, you get unrivaled levels of technology and engineering. It has what I like to call "great backbones" or underpinnings... try to look beyond the cheap interior plastics and black interior.

Element, Pilot, and S2000 are too old and so yesterday's news. Minivan sales are slowing, and they've run out of the sort of people who buy Ridgelines.

I went to Chevy's revitup event in Irvine, CA today and went through quite a few cars... 2008 Malibu LTZ - I couldn't drive it as it was a pre-production model. That meant the trunklid didn't fit properly and some of the interior trim pieces were kinda falling apart. But I took that into consideration and tried to form an overall impression anyway. Styling - I love it... I think it's one of the best-looking family sedans out there. It's very Germanic in appearance, a lot like the VW Phaeton/Bentley Flying Spur, and the details are amazing. The front grille is wonderful, the one-piece chrome window trim is impressive, the hood cutline is interesting, the paint looks lustrous, the 18" polished alloys are awesome... very nice and expensive-looking overall. Back seat - Surprisingly rear seat space feels rather limited, even though the car looks very long. Maybe it had to do with the placement of the seat itself, because I found the seating position awkward and uncomfortable. There wasn't enough headroom (had to slouch) and even though my knees had several inches before touching the seatback, it's not somewhere I would spend much time in. The Accord, Camry, and even the current Malibu are more comfortable in the back, IMO. The AURA suffers from the same limiting rear seat design. Oh, and there's no head restraint for the center passenger. Interior design - I'm liking it more in person. It's certainly a more adventurous design, almost bordering on cheesy. And the parts-bin radio, door panels, and gauges look awfully cheap. Still I prefer it to the Camry's, and the overall impression I got is that they made an honest effort. Materials - Some of the dash is made of squishy, soft-touch material, but it's still rather cheap-feeling and unimpressive. The leather is the same thin, shiny stuff you get in the AURA, and the door panels are the same unsubstantial units you get in the AURA. There are no upholstery door inserts as you would find in most its competitors. The dash had a lot of different panel gaps and too many shades and textures of grey. The design team obviously worked very hard on this car, and as a result, it's very attractive.. it appeals to both the eye and heart. My concern is with practicality, which is more heavily weighted in a family sedan. The sort of buyer who walks around with a clipboard and CR in hand, who brings along the baby seat and suitcases to test, might not like the 'bu. Hopefully the looks, the performance, and whatever cool features it has will sway the decision. 2008 Equinox Sport - This was a great drive. The hydraulic steering was nicely weighted, the suspension was well-controlled, and the 3.6L V6 was strong. Interior is cheap, as is the RAV4's, but it's also roomy, comfortable, practical, and attractive. I'm not sure if the introduction of a Sport model will attract new buyers to the showroom, but it should make selling one much easier. It's a slightly crude piece compared to the new VUE and CR-V, but it has a lot going for it. Trailblazer SS - Awesome. Cobalt SS - Surprisingly nice. Good looks, decent steering, good build quality, decent interior finish, good performance. HHR LT(Z?) - Decent. Floppy suspension, spooky steering, average interior, probably a good value.

You're comparing results of old and new testing procedures. I can't find '08 Silverado EPA MPG results yet, though a recent newspaper ad I saw for the Tahoe Hybrid says it's 14/20 for an '08 Tahoe 5.3 2wd.

CA or NE requirements are at Tier 2 Bin 5 levels .

Wheels don't fit the car. And I'm assuming this is a light-hybrid... not enough with the 2008 EPA test procedures, IMO, especially when full-hybrids aren't much more.

Very nice... it's like VW's BlueMotion line. They should bring over the same attention to eco-friendliness here in the US.

Audi RS6veyron?

I think it'll do well. It makes more sense than the overengineered, overweight tank that is the Touareg. This will be especially sweet if it arrives in the US with the Jetta's 50-state diesel. BTW, I've checked out a Qashqai in a Belgium Nissan dealership, and it looks competitive. The small SUV segment really is hotting up.

It's the relatively upright and airy greenhouse, the lowish rear deck... and plus it's a lot like the 2002 in spirit, too.

Now it's Prague... it isn't as beautiful as everybody says, but the Czech sure like their discotecs. We also did London, Paris, Hiedelberg, and have Salzburg, Venice, Florence, and Greece left.

Nice... reminds me of the original 2002.

I'm in Europe, too. Brugge, Belgium.