pow

The Camry will get the Avalon's engine.

The XLRs have crappy resale value... I've seen them listed on eBay for under $50K.

Agreed... the X5 is an oldie, but a goodie. Its build quality is impeccable, and most SUVs seem flimsy compared to it.

Hm.. LAX to Heathrow - Virgin Atlantic Heathrow to Copenhagen - British Airways LAX to Seattle - Alaska Airlines LAX to Orlando? - United LAX to JFK - jetBlue LAX to Vancouver - United? LAX to Las Vegas - Southwest? LAX to Hong Kong, via Tokyo - Japan Airlines LAX to Honolulu - United

Rubio's Baja Fresh > most or all

Don't forget the Mini or the Golf...

AFAIK, wear and tear items aren't covered by any warranty, short of full maintenance programs. Honda has been unusually generous with their warranties, often paying for user error (dropping a clip into the engine bay and having it shred a belt, for instance) and even whole transmissions despite an expired warranty.

The extended "cab" G800 looks cool... it reminds me of a Renault concept.

The 5.3 is hardly an engine targeted for the masses; you can't expect all buyers to go for the V8, regardless of how decent the EPA figures are.

Buyers want "extras", regardless of price. Both the DOHC 3.6 (LaCrosse CXL) and OHV 3.9 (Impala LTZ) get 19/27 MPG.

Which would Cadillac put in their $50K sedan?

Then why do Chevy TV ads tell consumers to "visit Edmunds.com" for "Head2Head" comparisons?

I was thinking the same thing! The brochure cover feels a lot like the door "pull" handles on our Passat.

That's with the aftermarket plastic stick-on "aluminum" kit. The '06 models with the rosewood trim and contrasting brown leather are actually very nice.

The more I look at it, the more I like it.

Speaking of which, I got a nice Lucerne brochure in the mail today. I couldn't stop fingering the high-quality, low-gloss, soft-touch cover (a print of the ebony leather), and indeed, it looked beautiful in those pictures. I only wish it were as nice in person... somehow I get the impression that the "milimeter" this and "exceptional craftsmanship" that is nothing more than an ad campaign, created after the car was designed to cover up some faults. IDK, it's just that while sitting in the Lucerne at LAIAS, nothing about it struck me as particularly luxurious or nice.

Ferrari's sequential manual gearbox is a completely different animal against the IS's torque-converter slushbox.

What he said, plus Cantonese Chinese. I've taken four years of Spanish, but if any Hispanic ever heard me trying, I think they'd snort, point, and openly laugh.

My bad... it seemed like the European press didn't like it very much, but that doesn't always reflect on the sales. Still, smallish rear-drive cars have questionable survival in the US, IMO.

I love the concept of a small, RWD, Pontiac sedan, but look at BMW and what happened to their 1-series. It was marketed as a driver-focused alternative to other hatches, its main selling point being rear-drive. But even with a BMW badge and brilliant handling, it failed in the eyes of many because of its high price and poor practicality. I can't imagine a similar Pontiac in large-car America doing any better. GM seems better off hotting up small FWD cars and offering AWD. However, the larger and more expensive cars should definitely be RWD/AWD. Its just a shame that small, light sedans can't get it as well... this enthusiast segment is too small and import-dominated.

Don't blame 'ya... I know many people who can't discern between Punjabi and Spanish. :AH-HA_wink:

The C6's can be ordered with glass.

Toyota should stick with blandness... they're better at it. On the topic of the Tundra, I drove a friend's Double Cab SR5 V8 yesterday and was very impressed by its mechanical refinement. Everything felt very precise, and it drove like a much smaller car.

I respect the LSx motors, but would I want one in the new M5? Nah. It's a matter of character; the M5 is now a supersedan, no longer a muscled-up sports sedan, and the exotic-sounding V10 and 7-speed SMG contributes a lot to that image and feel. However, the LS7 is arguably a better engine for the '99-'03 M5, as long as they can get the pitch to vary more. Edit: And yes, it's 2:52... I'm staying up to do homework..

Wow, I actually remember seeing the '95 Nissan Z commercial...