pow

Audi Q7 BMW X5 3.0si Buick Enclave Ford Fusion Honda S2000 Jaguar XK8 Jaguar XJ8 Jeep Wrangler Land Rover LR3 Mazda RX-8 Mercedes C350 Saturn ASTRA Volkswagen Rabbit Volkswagen Touareg

As far as the marketing blitz goes, this should be Chevrolet's Tundra. Go on the offensive. "RETHINKING THE FAMILY SEDAN." Drag up something like brake size and make a big deal about it. Make the Malibu's presence heard.

It does look better in the new pictures... it has a more stately, luxury-car look. The body sculpting looks good.

Nice. What's interesting is that it has the same EPA figures as the '08 Enclave.

"My Cobalt 2.2 regularly gets 40+ MPG on the highway!"

There was no Civic in that comparison...

Sometimes material cheapness translates into visual cheapness (hence the supernatural ability of some C&Gers to determine interior quality with spypics). Other times, they can be very convincing -- Tahoe, Suburban, Lucerne, etc.

Golf and Jetta all have IRS...

If only there were more substance to that new status.... (*runs and hides*)

Passat + Altima

I happen to find the Captiva better looking... ... though the Antara probably drives better.

A new EOS (starts at under $28K) with an extended warranty?

Or maybe a CPO 9-3 Cabrio from a SAAB dealer. I believe GM now offers their 5/100 powertrain warranty on CPO cars.

If the Solara is the car that best suits her needs, convince her to buy a used one from a non-Toyota dealer.

American cars like the ASTRA, VUE, and upcoming Vectra/AURA?

It's part of "QuietTuning"... there's sound insulating material underneath them.

FWIW, that's the SE "sport" model, which replaces chrome trim with bodycolor stuff. One might argue that the Camry's projector headlights make the Malibu's reflectors look two-dimensional and cheap by comparison.

Well that's understandable with the current Malibu and Impala. But in this case it will work, because the new 'bu is legitimately a good car.

Chevy should have a four-cylinder SWB Theta. The VUE is nice, but Saturn still isn't a volume brand. I believe the Captiva is even larger than the Equinox. An HHR XC/allroad/Outback? Rebody the old VUE and sell it cheaply?

Styling is subjective -- I happen to love the 5er's interior design and find the dash very distinctive. My biggest beef is with the STS's material quality, which is below average without the V's full leather. The new steering wheel and metallic dash trim do help on the styling front. I like the STS, but in the mid-lux segment, it's not something you would consider, IMO, unless you're a Cadillac fan (and most traditional Caddy fans would pick the similarly priced DTS). It doesn't have the same brand recognition as the 5 and E, nor does it do well in comparisons like the M does. The new CTS, however, is getting 3-series and A4 owners to notice.

With our BMW, if you move the indicator stalk after the car is switched off, the corresponding parking light stays on. I guess it's a piece-of-mind thing to have when parked on the side of a dark, narrow, unlit road.

Or if we changed the Constitution...

The Associated Press is asking the candidates a series of questions about their personal tastes, habits and backgrounds. Today's question and their answers: ___ What car or cars do you drive? ___ DEMOCRATS: Delaware Sen. Joe Biden: 1967 Corvette, a wedding gift from his dad in 1967 when Biden married his first wife, Neilia. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: "For security reasons, we drive in Secret Service vehicles but the Service lets us use a Ford hybrid when we're home in New York." Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd: 2007 Ford Escape hybrid, a compact SUV Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards: Ford Escape hybrid. This spring, also reported having a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica midsize SUV and 1994 GMC truck. Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich: Ford Focus compact Illinois Sen. Barack Obama: Chrysler 300C, a full-size sport-luxury sedan New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson: "Jeep Wrangler, although my security doesn't like me to drive." ___ REPUBLICANS: Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback: Ford Taurus in Washington and Honda Civic hybrid in Kansas Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani: "I don't drive, I navigate." Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and 1995 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck California Rep. Duncan Hunter: "Suburban with 274,000 miles on it." Arizona Sen. John McCain: Cadillac CTS, a midsize luxury sedan Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: 2005 Ford Mustang convertible Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo: Toyota Prius hybrid, Cadillac, Mercedes, Buick http://www.townhall.com/News/NewsArticle.a...6a1f&page=1 ----------------------- Also... http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=120760 Driving Forces of Campaign 2008: Brand Study Gives Each Candidate a Car Alter Ego Date posted: 05-11-2007 STORY TOOLS Print thisPrint this Save thisSave this Digg this storyDigg this! Email thisEmail this Most PopularMost popular del.icio.usdel.icio.us COLUMBIA, S.C. — Do you want a Ford pickup truck or a Dodge Viper in the White House? The Presidential Brands 2008 study by Chernoff Newman/MarketSearch characterizes each candidate as an automobile. According to the results of the study, Hillary Clinton is a Volvo wagon, Barack Obama is a BMW Z4 convertible and John Edwards is a Toyota Prius. On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani's alter ego would be a Toyota RAV4, while John McCain is a Ford pickup. Why? Because the study found that perceptions of the three leading GOP candidates are of "Giuliani as an American icon, John McCain as an American hero and Mitt Romney as an American Idol." Of Mitt Romney, Chernoff Newman Chief Marketing Officer Mark Newsome said: "He's a Dodge Viper — it looks like it's built for speed, but is pretty unfamiliar to the average driver." The verdict was less flattering to Hillary Clinton, of whom the study said: "If Clinton were a car, she'd probably be a Volvo station wagon: solid, reliable and there to get the job done, not make you fall in love." The study looked at familiarity, reputation, personality, performance and "connectivity" with people to determine the presidential candidate as a brand, much as it would study cereal or other consumer goods. Full details of the study are visible at the Presidential Brands Web site. As for what the contenders actually drive, the Associated Press says Clinton, Edwards and three minor candidates — Chris Dodd, Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo — have hybrids. Obama drives a Chrysler 300C and John McCain drives a Cadillac CTS, the news service says. What this means to you: Yes, but if they were trees, what kind of trees would they be?

A 50-state VW diesel is arriving January 2008 for Jetta sedans and wagons. It meets Bin 5 standards without needing urea injection, supposedly does 50 MPG, produces 140 hp/236 lb-ft, and will be available with a six-speed DSG gearbox. They'll sell each one they have, and judging by current used '06 Jetta TDI prices (and current gas prices), there will most certainly be a mark-up..

Looks like an Odyssey melted down to fit an Accord. The side does remind me of the 5er.