Flybrian

You mean 240SX? That's what these are, right?

There is some fact in those words. People love to deify the Impalas of yore as hot, fast, powerful highway bosses when in reality, the vast majority were big, floaty, and the cheapest fullsize car you could buy within GM. Essentially, the perfect affordable family sedan, something the 2000+ Impala was as well, merely in a different format for appropriate for the times - economical V6 vs. V8, trimmer size vs. huge girth, FWD vs. RWD. Not all Impalas were as hot as the '94-'96 SSs. As far as FWD vs. RWD goes, I don't see a problem comparing the two because in this segment, its very unimportant. We're talking family sedans with some guts, not all-out sports cars. I would say an Impala SS is a far better buy than a Charger R/T in both the overall package and the details (quality, layout, equipment). I'm not lobbying against RWD for an Impala, merely that the '06 is very easily the best family sedan Impala in a long, long time.

Especially the left hand side looks chintzy as all get-out.

Yeah, you really can't take that one to the Supreme Court...

were. :P

they

Yes

I find of the bad drivers, men do it intentionally while women do it with sheer ignorance. For instance, I'll be driving along and a guy will cut me off on purpose because he's got something to prove because he's 38 years old and still driving the same third-hand rustbucket Fairmont that was his first car, I'll honk my horn, and he'll flip me off. On the other hand, a woman will be too preoccupied making sure her week's worth of Avon products is correctly applied to every crow's foot and wrinkle in her face and therefore let her RX300 drift dangerously close to me, I'll honk my horn, and she'll flip me off. These are based on actual events that happened to me today alone.

Better yet, airless tires...

HHrs are surprisingly very popular around here. DTSs too.

In my mind these trim levels would be applied to appropriate cars, in a sense moving the common Pontiac line upwards. No more wheel covers and black plastic mirrors. Base GT models would come with at least painted black mirrors, flat alloy wheels, AM/FM/CD w/6-speakers, power locks/mirrors, ABS, dual side airbags, and traction control (depending on model). GTP would provide more standard equipment corresponding to the price level of the model - power windows, traction control, and 4-way power seats on lower models (think Sunfire/cheap G6); Stabilitrak, full-power seats, leather, curtain airbags, etc on higher models. GXP would provided higher-output engines (V8, s/c'd six, t/c'd four, etc), larger wheels, five- or six-speed autos or six-speed sticks, etc.

Still beautiful and I'd still want one.

That's kinda what I was getting at - GT is the base, GTP is the higher trim, and GXP is the performance trim.

Its very obvious they designed this truck to carry the navigation option heavily.

Allrighty guys. Really, this is PM material.

You took my words and said them as if they were your own...:)

General Montgomery. C'mon, if he's anything like he was portrayed in Patton, he's obvious... :P

How about GT, GTP, GXP? Simple enough. There don't need to be that many trim levels anyway in the vast majority of cases.

Speaking of tact...

Thing is, there are people like that everywhere - Tennessee, California, everywhere.

Oh, I was kidding around with the runway picture of my father's car. As far as the 9-2x, I still see no value in it. I never saw any value in it and I don't think I ever will. It offers no advantage over an Impreza except for - as mentioned - the GM Employee MSRP. And when the SAAB reps themselves tell you things like "The Subaru is a better deal" and "Unless you really, really, really need a hatch, a 9-3 would be better" it seals its fate. That's it. Luckily, it'll be gone soon. The 9-3, I like and I respect. Its a great vehicle all-around and I'm glad its finally getting a wagon to round out the line. The 9-5 is a fine machine...for 3/5ths its price. I'm sorry, but I cannot justify the old price tag. The '05 9-5 based at ~$36k, which is reasonable with the Aero sedan starting at $40k - also reasonable. However, throw in some options like the $2800 navigation system, $700 OnStar (standard on Malibus of this year), $1400 5-speed Sentronic, $1000 Executive Package, a few other options and $525 for any color besides red, white, and black and you're a shade under $50,000. For what was a six year-old car, its a lousy value. I'm not sure how the '06 9-5 pricing breaks down besides it being a few grand less than the '05, but if the structure is anything like the -'05 9-5 then I wouldn't be surprised to see them sitting on the lots like the handful of 9-5s do right now. Honestly, I like SAAB. Being a big aviation nut, it kinda makes sense to given their shared aviation heritage. However, SAAB has problems and its not all GM's fault. Pricing, as I mentioned, is an issue. Product is the big one. The 9-5 update while nice isn't really enough to make anyone notice the car who hasn't already and without anything newin the pipelines now that the quasi-alliance with Subaru has been cut, the future looks iffy for new models. But, because they're part of GM, I do hope the best for SAAB. For the record, I've test-driven a 9-2x, 9-3, and had a 9-5 for a loaner for two days. My preferred car would obviously be the 9-3 for as much as I did like the 9-5, its not at all worth the dough.

I licked Satty's mom once.

Hey it counts. :) Speaking of which, the redesigned '95 Metro was also the first car in the world to meet 1997 US side-impact standards

Looks don't mean anything. I can't see the engine. For all you can see, it may not have an engine. My whole point was to not expect KBB or NADA listed value for this...for pretty much anything really. $750 is reasonable.

That's what I would think as well - smart consumers who realize Buick quality and reliability is up there with (or in cases, above) the 'best' and would rather purchase a competant vehicle than one overloaded with gadgetry and options one would never use.