pow

Awesome. Saab has been churning out the best concepts lately... it's a shame their actual production cars never change.

Nearest and dearest to my heart... at the moment, that would be CA's Prop 8, the proposed constitutional amendment that eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry.

I'm liking the exterior, especially in those darker colors. The interior I'm not sure about - the molded white plastic stuff looks like a knockoff Apple product, and the display graphics and font seem rudimentary. Maybe the people at SEMA will develop a better looking iPhone-like interface. Still, I give it a 9 out of 10 for still resembling the concept car.

Meh, the electrification of the automobile can take so many different paths; it just depends on how ambitious and forward-thinking the manufacturers want to make the change. If GM is still considering the whole skateboard architecture thing, electrifying vehicles could give us amazing looking cars unrestricted by traditional mechanical and structural requirements. Cars have evolved so slowly the past thirty or forty years... electrification can be the start for wild and wacky ideas.

How about building his own electric car? That'd be a fun project for any college student. Someone in my dorm has a first-gen Saturn SL with its gasoline engine and gas tank replaced with an electric motor and a collection of batteries.

It sucks how you need $1500+ nav to get stability control. Puh-leez. You can get a Garmin nuvi for $150, and according to NHTSA, stability control costs manufacturers $111 per car. Thank goodness it'll be mandatory in a few years. Apart from lacking VSA, I wouldn't mind a Milano Red Fit Sport 5MT, and $16,870 including destination is very reasonable.

Used Fits are fetching over MSRP. Quality small cars tend to have the best resale value... my neighbor had a blue '03 or '04 MINI Cooper S, which he essentially drove for free. Then he replaced it with a silver FJ Cruiser (and an Airstream trailer), which is probably depreciating like mad.

Nice. I look forward to this and the Fiesta duking it out. My prediction is that the Ford will be better looking and sportier, while the Honda will be more spacious and economical. Both already appear to be really good, though.

I really don't like it, but I suppose it could have been worse...? (I'll go hide now)

If you squint, it kinda looks like a bullet train...

+1 People today are polarized on so many levels, and unnecessarily so, IMO. In this new internet age, you can hear only what you want to hear, and you can band together with like-minded, homogeneous individuals in a sort of bubble that neglects reality, all of which causes radicalization, scapegoating of the "opposition", and a sense of outrage fed by more and more examples of the same one-sided information, reaffirming people's beliefs as opposed to opening their minds to think critically. Eventually they conclude - everyone is wrong but me! As much as we criticize newspapers and "old media", these institutions at least bring about a sense of professionalism and accountability, and they help democratic societies in ways that blogs and message boards alone cannot.

Yeah, I checked, and it's not April 1st... Flash of Genius: The Windshield Wiper Drama You've Been Waiting For Date posted: 09-08-2008 HOLLYWOOD, California — What could be the best car movie of 2008 doesn't have a single action sequence in it and centers around the invention of intermittent windshield wipers. Swear to God. Opening October 3 will be Flash of Genius starring Greg Kinnear as Dr. Robert Kearns, the Detroit-area college professor who invented intermittent wipers and received his first patent on the design back in 1967. He spent virtually the rest of his life fighting Ford, Chrysler and other automakers to get them to recognize his patent and honor it. Lauren Graham from TV's Gilmore Girls co-stars with support coming from Dermot Mulroney and Alan Alda. The film's first-time director is Marc Abraham working from a script written by Philip Railsback. Flash of Genius is coming from NBC Universal, the same studio that has produced all the Fast & the Furious films, but this one is about one obsessed man's solitary struggle against long odds — not hijacking fuel trucks. In short, it's total Oscar bait for Greg Kinnear. And based on the trailer, it looks good. And it's set in Detroit in the '70s. Who doesn't want to relive that time and place? What this means to you: Not all car movies are action films. This one could be the next Tucker. — John Pearley Huffman, Correspondent Trailer here, with a dramatic voiceover from the BMW announcer person: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=131772 "Don't do it, dad!"

According to the VW site, the MY 2010 Routan gets a new 3.6L V6 (Phoenix?) and DSG gearbox.

My cousin recently bought a CR-V EX, and I thought it was a solid choice. The styling is fugly, but it's practical, well-assembled, and I liked the tan interior. The rear wheelwells don't intrude on the rear seats and doors, like they do on a Sportage or Escape, so it's easier to put in a child seat. Her previous car was a Volvo 960, so she doesn't mind wagons - it's just that there aren't many to choose from. And it's really not all that expensive. Her EX FWD model (moonroof, alloys, 6-disc CD) was $23K, and she got $1500 off MSRP and 1.9% APR. Real-world pricing for an '09 Escape XLT 2.5L FWD is actually higher.

The Escape Hybrid outsold all of GM's hybrids (both mild and full) combined.

Last time I went to SF, I did see quite a few Escape Hybrid Zipcars.

At least the resale value will be strong.

Yeah, I mean, Mitsu has the Lancer on the same platform. Caliber has some good bones... it just needs some work on its details.

CAFE is now industry-wide mpg, like in Europe, meaning manufacturers that sell larger vehicles have a lower target. For instance, GM passenger cars will have to average 34.7 mpg by 2015, whereas VW passenger cars will have to average 39.6 mpg. GM trucks will have to average 27.4 mpg by 2015, whereas Mercedes trucks will have to average 31.9 mpg. Here's the mpg (CAFE) for some existing GM light trucks... VUE Hybrid (BAS): 37 mpg Silverado Hybrid: 27 mpg Traverse: 26 mpg Silverado XFE: 23 mpg CAFE mpg of some existing GM cars... Malibu/AURA Hybrid: 40 mpg Cobalt XFE: 40 mpg Vibe: 38 mpg CTS: 29 mpg

You're in MN right? I heard all the Wellstone people are all up in arms with that....

And the 750 has a 300C-esque front end... though Chrysler already do have the Sebring.

Seeing how Chrysler or Dodge don't have a compact sedan, this would make a nice Jetta, Civic, or Focus competitor, if they can keep the price and equipment down..

+1 It looks more like the Clarity than the Prius. Going with the Insight nameplate was a good choice... it reminds people that Honda, not Toyota, was the first to the hybrid game in the US.

And the Insight's stance is much better... nowhere near as tippy and dumpy looking. The price is good, too.