pow

LOL That's so true... technically, many minorities (Asians) are actually discriminated against under affirmative action.

If you read it, you'd find out that they did complain about the Accord's clutch feel, they were impressed by its objective test numbers, and they did like its styling. That said, I do like the G6 as a sub-$20K car. But $29K is an insane amount of money for one, IMO.

LeSabre V. Lucerne Door panels: Rear seats: Instruments: Stereo: Dash: Switches: I think this says a lot...

56. Your neighbor is the VP for Juicy Couture.

GTO sales seemed to have a slow start (probably from the whining of traditionalists), but around here, dealers are selling all they've got. I suspect it would have done better as a Pontiac Monaro, targeted against the G35 and 3-series coupes -- "a BMW M5 for $30K" or something. The dealers would then have needed to improve, of course.

I found the political bits satirical to both the left and the right. Of course not all blue staters are ecomentalists and not all red staters like gas guzzlers, and I'm sure it was an attempt to make the article more dimensional and interesting, though the end result was poor.

Ohh... I can imagine it now, especially after those Kia commercials: a greenback revolution.

Grand Cherokee SRT-8

Yep, same thing for me... been happening all autoshow week.

Should be interesting how the market reacts... around here, all the Tahoes I see have third-rows, and the majority of them are used as soccer mom transport. I'd say Suburbans outnumber Tahoe, 2-to-1, and I suspect this trend will continue.

Or here, a 2 bedroom townhouse.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...eline.promo.3.* Vehicle Tested: 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LT 4dr SUV 4WD (5.3L 8cyl 4A) MSRP of Test Vehicle: $48,639 Price It!! What Works: Fantastic dashboard, excellent interior quality, fine drivetrain, sweet road manners, tight turning circle. What Needs Work: No folding third-row seat, lower body plastic panels vulnerable to damage, dull steering, still very thirsty. Bottom Line: Chevrolet's 2007 Tahoe is new and changed in practically every way. But is that enough for a world that's changed even more? One of America's most popular SUVs gets a complete makeover By John Pearley Huffman Email Date posted: 01-09-2006 For you "red state" residents there's good news about the all-new 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe: It's bigger, bolder, more efficient, more luxurious, and more capable than ever! It's a confident expression of all that's right with America and the best full-size SUV ever built. No wonder the rest of the world really wants to live here. For "blue state" dwellers here's the bad news on the same subject: GM is still addicted to full-size SUVs! Despite marginal improvements in efficiency, the new Tahoe is an indulgent, thirsty, oversized monster that threatens smaller vehicles while exacerbating America's dependence on imported oil and hastening global warming. So what if it's the best full-size SUV ever built? It's also why the rest of the world hates us. For good or ill, this third-generation Tahoe is being born into a different America — or two different Americas — than the one the first-generation Tahoe entered in 1995. An America where, as this is written, unleaded regular sells for an average of $2.19 a gallon, car-based crossover SUVs have won buyers, and gas-electric hybrids carry a lot of prestige among a lot of high-income buyers. However, the full-size SUV market is still thickly profitable, and GM had to change to stay in the game. All large-SUV sales have been hammered recently, but the aging second-generation Tahoe and its brother GM products have been among the worst hit. This past November Chevy sold just 7,850 Tahoes — down nearly 20 percent from November 2004. Meanwhile, sales of the larger Suburban were off 43.6 percent, and open-bed Avalanche deliveries dove 31 percent. And that's despite incentive packages that have dealers knocking $9,000 or more off suggested retail prices. "We're realistic, and we don't expect the segment to grow," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told The Detroit News. "But there are people who want and need the capabilities of a full-size SUV." The blue state hard-core is never going to embrace the new Tahoe. But the red state diehards will love it. At least those who can afford it. The sticker price of our loaded Tahoe LT test vehicle — which had such optional luxuries as a power liftgate, a DVD entertainment system and a rearview camera — was $48,639. Familiarly unfamiliar The Tahoe on sale this month is the first of 12 products — including the various versions of the Chevrolet Suburban and Avalanche, Cadillac Escalade, and GMC Yukon — that GM will introduce this year based on the new T-900 architecture. It's better not because of any startling innovations, but because this time GM finally got the details right. In general specification, the incoming Tahoe isn't much different from the outgoing one. It still rides on a ladder frame; the rear suspension is still a solid axle on coil springs; the front suspension is still upper and lower control arms; and there's still a 5.3-liter V8 in its nose feeding a four-speed automatic transmission. Initially available only as a 4x4 (two-wheel-drive versions will come later this year), the new Tahoe is slightly bigger than the old one. The wheelbase carries over at 116 inches but overall length stretches from 196.9 inches to 202. Height is up from 76.7 to 77 inches and width has expanded from 78.9 inches to 79. But it looks more massive than that thanks to featureless flanks and a tall, blunt nose. The chassis' evolution is subtle, but significant. The front torsion bars have been ditched in favor of suppler coil springs, recirculating ball steering gives way to a more precise (if no more communicative) rack and pinion system, and the ABS-controlled four-wheel disc brakes are upsized. GM may have passed on an independent rear suspension (the market has been ho-hum about the IRS under Ford's Expedition and Lincoln Navigator), but this solid axle is well located with five links, and the ride is quiet and secure thanks to the unobtrusive standard StabiliTrak stability control. And the midline Tahoe LT's P265/70R17 Goodyear Wrangler HP tires are quiet and grippy (Tahoes also come in LS stripper and over-the-top LTZ models). Is the handling sporty? No. This truck's reflexes are muted. But the turning circle is a tight 39 feet, so it's maneuverable, and aimed for the horizon on an interstate, there aren't many better cruisers. Even when the blind-to-reality navigation system recommended a shortcut across Santa Barbara County's unmaintained and rock-strewn Refugio Canyon Road, the Tahoe never lost its composure. More powerful, more efficient While the displacement hasn't changed, the engine certainly has. GM proclaims it as a new "Gen IV" version of the small-block V8. There's still a single camshaft in the redesigned cast-iron block bumping pushrods actuating two valves per combustion chamber in aluminum cylinder heads. But the compression ratio has risen from 9.5-to-1 to 9.9-to-1, and combined with a new 32-bit engine control computer and more powerful ignition, that has knocked output up from 295 to 320 horsepower while adding GM's "Active Fuel Management" cylinder deactivation technology (formerly called "Displacement on Demand"). A similarly upgraded 290-hp, 4.8-liter version of the small-block V8 will come on two-wheel-drive Tahoes. The Active Fuel Management system's operation is impossible to detect, the engine and transmission feel perfectly matched to one another, and GM claims best-in-class EPA-rated fuel economy of 15 mpg in the city and 21 on the highway. And the truck is decently quick humping to 60 mph in just 8.6 seconds. But indulging that power will quickly sink mileage down into single digits. There are only so many ways to trick physics — this is a nearly 5,600-pound truck with a big V8. Best. Fake. Wood. Ever. After decades of lackluster GM interiors, the new Tahoe's is astonishing. The dashboard looks like it was lifted out of a 1998 BMW 740iL (a great dash), scaled up 10 percent, and shoved into this truck. The switchgear operates elegantly and the materials feel high-quality. It's hard to imagine better-looking real wood than the faux burl forest inside this truck. For the first time, the Tahoe's inside door handles are high on the door where humans can reach them. The seat anchors have moved from the seats to the B-pillar where they can be adjusted to something approaching comfort. The new seats are well shaped and the plastic surfaces are well grained. There aren't auto-up functions on the power window switches to go with the auto-down, and side-source sunlight can wipe out visibility of the center-mounted navigation and entertainment system monitor. But it's hard to find fault with where the first two rows of passengers sit. And yet, the Tahoe lacks the disappearing third-row rear seat many of its competitors feature. And when the Tahoe's third-row seats are removed, they leave behind raised plastic mounts that prevent laying cargo flat against the floor. For such an otherwise well-executed interior, this is a misstep. Form, function and towing The eight-seat 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe doesn't have a big, practical advantage over crossovers like the eight-passenger Honda Pilot. Except, of course, for towing. Rated to haul 7,700 pounds behind it, the Tahoe can lug more than twice what the Pilot can and that's a bedrock virtue in red states where boats, campers and car carriers are part of the American dream. Bob Lutz is right, there isn't much growth left in the full-size SUV market as people who have been buying them as minivan substitutes move over to crossovers or even — ACK! — minivans. And in some blue states the stigma such vehicles now carry may be a load many buyers would rather not bear. But if you need this, this is as good as this gets. Restrained use of chrome and a single roof-mounted antenna that handles satellite and terrestrial radio sources give the Tahoe a clean look. Hidden just beneath the rear hatch's big gold "bowtie" is this small video camera that feeds an image to the dashboard's display screen when the truck is in reverse.

I agree that the Accord is clearly a better car, but the Impala, in LTZ or SS form, has this strangely lovable charm to it. I wouldn't buy one with my own money, but if I were given one, I'd love it to bits. It has far more character than the Accord does, even if it is a bit vulgar.

27. Domestic cars seem rare and exotic to you

The majority of the hybrids include an increase in power, so it's the equivalent of spending extra to get more power but without sacrificing fuel economy. With that said, the Honda-engined VUE V6 isn't much more, and offers 105 more horsepower than the base 2.2, and 80 more than the hybrid 2.4. Edit: And about the Europeans, they're getting into the hybrid craze as well. GM's dual-mode hybrid system was co-developed with both DCX and BMW. Imagine what'd happen if they combined a low-sulfur diesel engine with hybrid technology. GM did that with the Astra concept.

Plus, the IS350, which has 306-hp, btw, is available only with an automatic gearbox.

Not sure what you mean by "in this size." The G6 is much larger than the Sentra.

Yes, it reminds me of a real cool, clean, and crisp appliance.

Woah, HarleyEarl... is that the new Epica/Verona/Magnus in your sig? I must have missed the debut; I thought we only had spy pics of it so far.

The black bumper extensions

I've seen quite a few, mostly uncamoed, driving around for the past two years. Top Gear had a really interesting comparison test that included the Fit (Jazz); each of the presenters' mothers did the testing for these grannymobiles, which included a drag race, cargo loading, and a lap around their track.

The more I look, the more I like it. The exterior is funky and refreshing, but still distinctly Nissan. Its interior is fantastic for a car of that price; more appealing than the Mazda 3's, IMO.

Sad, especially when you consider that the LaCrosse was already overpriced. By contrast, the Lucerne's pricing was acceptable.

Too much of a Focus vibe, don't ya think? As strange as it seems, I like the 5-door more.