pow

I just remembered... wait for it... the Ford Tempo!

Cause usually it's found on cars with forward-sloping beltlines, which I assume give a greater sensation of airiness for front passengers

It helps outward visibility for the side windows.

Yeah, but we're also the #1 market for Corvettes, M5s, and GTOs...

Last time I checked Toyota, Nissan, and Honda were in the auto industry, not the whale slaughter industry..

Apart from the right side of my touchpad button being a bit stiff, which I'm taking it in for, my MacBook has been faultless. It's very, very quiet and it doesn't roast my lap like my old Dell did. The only time it froze was when I had 86 tabs open on Firefox. It does seem a bit fragile, since it feels so thin and light, and I definitely handle it more carefully than I did with my 8 lbs Dell (probably because it's more expensive, too); I don't lift it up from the monitor, I try not to move it aroudn with the HD spinning, I gently rest it on my desk, I actually read the owner's manual and kept some of the packaging, etc. I got a 320 GB external HD, a memory foam case, and 3-yr AppleCare (Amazon) just in case. I guess my old PC was like a W-body: annoying flaws, ugly, probably FWD, but durable. This MacBook is more refined and stylish, with better fit-and-finish, user friendliness, and features, but it's more delicate and probably more expensive to maintain. I did get a lame-duck model (OS X Tiger instead of Leopard) so there were some incentives -- $100 student discount, free iPod nano, and free copier/scanner/printer.

I prefer this G5... it's not red hot but silvery cool instead.

I'm 5'11" and found the Malibu's front seats perfectly roomy, but then again, I like being close to the pedals. I've never been in a modern car that didn't have enough room up front, MINI included. It's the rear seat I didn't like - not enough headroom, odd seat bottom angle, and poor visibility.

Mercedes BLUETEC?

There was no interest in the SilveradoHy, likely because it wasn't placed in a prime location. The EscaladeHy and TahoeHy had some interest. There was a Malibu Hybrid on a turn wheel, and two LTZs were parked nearby, mostly ignored. Chevy didn't make a big deal out of it.

Chrysler Corporation - just so incredibly hopeless; most of their new products - Avenger, Sebring, Compass, Patriot, Liberty, Nitro - are so incredibly awful inside; minivans, Wrangler, and LX cars are okay LaCrosse - needs to die soon Smart - an interesting curiosity Ok, so basically I like... VW Volvo Jaguar BMW Cadillac Promising... SAAB Ford Saturn Blah... Toyota Hyundai Kia

Tiguan - really a surprise; looks great in person; interior is average in lower-spec models; competitive pricing and awesome powertrain (2.0T FSI, six-speed manual) Audi - like a more serious, more silver version of VW; R8 looks great in white, and I like the A6 Ford - Fusion/Milan and Edge continue to be both surprisingly nice; if the Malibu weren't brand new and "in" now, I'd probably prefer the Fusion over it Lincoln - MKS looks fine - none of the "soft luxury"-type cars stand out anyway; MKZ is lame; MKX is decent Jaguar - the XJ is one of those cars that look better in person than in pics, same with the new XF, and come to think of it, the XK, too; I like Jaguar, I really do - it has the passion, soul, and character other luxury brands don't have Taurus/Taurus X - perfectly competent vehicles; just so damn aged looking C-class - I like the styling from the outside, but build quality seems worse, and there's nothing great about it Flex - no crowd or interest at all; I loved the concept, but I'm slowly getting tired of it, and it's not even out yet SX4 - roomy, worth looking at, nice alternative to Toyota, Honda, or whatever

C30 - one of the most surprising; I love the styling, very unique and stands out; not too expensive XC70 - based on the new S80, but makes so much more sense - costs less and faces easier competition; sooo comfy and soothing inside; very nice Volvo - Ford is usually good with branding, and their Volvo area was most impressive; all the reps were from Sweden - it's more expensive, but it makes a difference, and I liked the entire ambiance, light wood floors and all; very Scandinavian feeling; if only the actual dealers were this good Saturn - mixed bag; their show effort wasn't as thorough as, say, Chevy, Cadillac, or even Saab, so it was dark and slightly underwhelming; AURA getting less and less interesting by the second Escalade Platinum - looks better in person than in photos Aveo5 - awful, but there was a red one with a mild body kit, fake exhaust, tint, and alloys, and that was surprisngly okay Malibu - I still think the Accord (and Passat) is the better car, but the Malibu is a solid effort; everythings rather average, but it looks nice 9-3 - still by far the nicest Epsilon, IMO, but that's not saying much; updates help VW - Das Auto; as good as Volvo's area, actually even better, except for the reps; from the show it's my favorite brand; Crispin Porter + Bogusky is so damn good; I love the space up! concept Jetta SportWagen TDI - lovely; it looks great in black and 17" alloys; the beige/black leatherette interior was nice; great door slam sounds

I opened and closed hundreds of doors, sat in a bunch of seats, fingered plenty of dashboards, and took a few pictures. After several hours everything seems about the same, with cars roughly being "nice", "acceptable", or "awful", and since you can't drive any of them, you're limited to styling, design, build quality, and fit-and-finish. There were only a few cars I genuinely liked or thought stood out. In no particular order... Sequoia - what an irrelevant POS; interior seems crude and unrefined, dash is right off the Tundra, the center console is like 2 feet wide; the only thing it has over the Tahoe are usable third-row seats Hyundai - what a lame brand; you can clearly tell they're trying very hard, with "ESC standard" windshield banners, flowers in modern pots, and whatnot, but they have no identity at all; the Veracruz seems alright (well-made, roomy, nothing wrong with it), but why would you buy one over an Acadia, CX-9, or Highlander? CX-9 - perfectly fine car; interior packaging is nice, built-well; not crazy about the overplayed styling Highlander - nothing special; borderline "acceptable" and "cheap" New Murano - completely forgot about it until after I left; why would you buy a Nissan anyway? Rogue - it's like a Pontiac inside; nothing really wrong with it, but nothing special; kinda cheap, I guess GT-R - a huge crowd of people wearing caps backwards formed a circle around it; I respect its performance, but give me a 911, M3, or even Vete M3 - these new BMWs look very good in white; the stand was quite nice and the cars played V8 engine noise; exciting 135i - looks good; agile; like the M3, it's perfect except for the image problem MINI Clubman - it's roomier but still not big, so might as well get the normal Cooper S, which I like

I never understood the idea of paying extra for a normal engine with power levels that everybody else had..

Especially since there's often $h! *in* the meat. The average fast-food burger patty comes from hundreds of different cows. And the only reason why it "tastes" the way it does is because of flavor and smell chemicals, which transform the $h!tiest grade of ground up "meat" into the finished product you recognize.

I don't like clear tails when they're filled with flashy reflectors, chrome, and red bits (last-gen IS300, Fusion), but these "ice blocks" are very cool and seem appropriate for an icy cool Scandinavian brand. They go well with the frosted silver trim on the trunklid. The Aero version is overpriced and underpowered, but the 2.0T looks like a reasonable balance between price, performance, economy, and style. The SportCombi configuration, in particular, offers something unique to the segment.

Kudos to Ford for improving the quality of their cars.

Back to the price of oil, I paid $3.75/gal for premium yesterday, yes, much less than what the rest of the world pays, but it's definitely had an immediate effect on my driving habits.

True, but to make up for the MKZ's lack of luxury and equipment, Lincoln prices it significantly lower than the ES350, which starts at $37,490 with leather. The MKS looks like a compelling alternative to the ES350, in that it's priced similarly but offers more interior space, kinda like how Ford positions the Taurus as a Camry V-6 alternative.

True. Given the MSRP of non-hybrid Tahoes, the pricing seems reasonable. Whereas non-hybrids get incentives in the form of financing and rebate offers, hybrid Tahoes will get a tax credit.

Interestingly, the Yukon Hybrid 4WD is exactly the same price as the GL320 CDI, which is looking rather tempting now: more torque, more towing, better fuel economy (by 1 MPG, average), significantly more rear seat space/comfort, lower curb weight, independent rear suspension, shorter stopping distances, better handling, greater ground clearance. The Merc's acceleration is probably slower, though. The Acadia AWD also offers all of those advantages, except for towing and fuel economy (1 fewer MPG compared to the YukonHy), but with even better acceleration, for $15K less.

All models with manual transmission... Yaris - 29/36 Fit - 28/34 Aveo5 - 26/34 Accent/Rio - 27/32 It should be interesting how the automatic version fares.

No, this is more an ES350 competitor, something the MKZ can only dream of doing.

I'd say wait for the next generation, when we'll see an increase in price/equipment *and* the availability of the BTS.