pow

The new MINI has it... to disengage the traction control. :rolleyes: The windows, too.

Yuck. It's almost as if the boss of DCX went "Ve have got too mekk another American car and ve shall call it ze Imperial" and then proceeded to order this thing. Reminds me of when Top Gear complained that a MINI concept was designed (by parent BMW) to be "quintessentially British" by fitting a tea set. If a US company ever got hold of a German brand, I'd give it "a navigation system that only goes to Poland".

Yeah, maybe the electronics start fritzing when they age.

OMG! GM doesn't market the Tahoe primarily as a fuel-efficient economy 'green' vehicle that will single-handedly Save The Earth? I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :rolleyes: [post="64411"][/post] Guys, sciguy_0504 is trying to be sarcastic. Lets all calm down...

Nice, a more metro H3. The regular version has too much black plastic that makes it look undetailed. I think they could have gone further by refinishing the honeycomb on the bumper, replacing the chrome with brushed aluminum, and so on. The wheels and gas cap are rather fugly.

I like the setup in our BMW and VW: headlight knob on the dash, left stalk for the turn signal and high beams (push a switch in for trip computer), and right stalk for the wiper (goes up and down, except to adjust wiper sensitivity). Cruise control on the steering wheel. The one in our Honda is too fussy (twist the left stalk for headlights, twist the right stalk for wipers). Some of the new Euro cars have toggle-style turn signals, which, when you get used to them, are rather convenient.

Speedo stays on, the rest of the lights go off

There's a market for one... fancy up the STS, limit the door count to 2, and only offer it in V8 guise. That's what BMW did for the 6-series, and if you ignore "limit the door count to 2", what Merc did for the CLS. The world could use more irrational "tailored" cars.

It's not as good as an Accord, but it's a lot, lot cheaper and perfectly usable as daily transport. A local dealer here is selling all their Sonata AT base models for $15,999 ($13,999 for MT and Hyundai owners), which is compact pricing for a midsize car with side curtain bags and stability control. I'd have one and save $3,000+ over an Accord.

Maybe "tasteful" is a better word. I realize taste is in the tastebud of the taster, but most GM products seem to suffer in this regard. I agree the majority of GM products have competitive "substance" (who doesn't?), only to be let down by refinement issues that border on offensive. It's hard to quantify subjective things like dash bongers, power seat motor speed, and the number of A/C vents, but generally, these are the only things that differentiate cars and make one preferable to another. Now I'm not to say who has a better sense of taste, but perhaps there are some quantifiable qualities, as evidenced by the general opinion that GM products are improving. The greater the effort GM spends on making their cars more "tasteful", the better they seem to be doing (as judged by the media and the public)... hmm... connection, maybe? :AH-HA_wink:

This :huh: ^_^ thread :AH-HA_wink: is :P :D going :lol: :rolleyes: -_- nowhere <_< . :)

The Malibu has side torso-protecting airbags, which the Impala doesn't have. I believe the Impy SS has Stabilitrak, though... does the Malibu SS have that? I know the G6 GTP has it.

Funny, today I saw a black Prius with "BUSH CHENEY" and "SECURE OUR BORDERS" bumper stickers along with the HOV-access ones. But then of course, it was in OC. :lol:

They haven't tested the Impala yet, though it's very possible, considering the Malibu's European underpinnings.

Biggest joke of a thread... this one.

The interior looks worse than shit, but the exterior seems successful. The fuel economy figures are impressive.

I think it's for the Japanese market only.

Agreed... the LX cars are vulgar and ostentatious, not a good thing, IMO, unless you consider that an American characteristic. There are so many aspects of modern American culture and design that Hot Wheels-retro (Challenger) doesn't need to exist. The design of Apple products is an excellent example of what "American" can look like.

Throwing on some Malibu wheels makes it a special edition? I'm interested in the interior, though... is it entirely black, or is it just the seats?

I know what you mean... today I saw first first non-rental Impala. It was a black SS with polished wheels, and it looked pretty damn good.

[cheap shot] You're using Polish_Kris as an indicator of how most "liberals" think? No wonder why our intelligence is faulty. [/cheap shot]

Best, comeback, ever

Which are already heavily monitored... that's how they learned the identities of the London underground bombers. This extends it to the public roads, not inside your home or anything.

I'm not a Honda banger at all, but I recognize a worthy car when I see one.

November '02 issue of C/D: