Flybrian

1) Third-row in the RAV4? Why, besides being retarded? 2) Why the quarter windows up front on the Yaris? Front quarter windows are hallmarks of poorly thought-out design. 3) HVAC controls with no knobs? I'm going to have to punch in the fan speed? Is there a spin cycle? I don't care how 'soft' the dash is, it looks like cheap, KMart crap.

The Gulf Coast. Sorry, but 'tis true right now. Really, I have no problems parking. I just avoid old, beat up cars and pickups, SUVs, and all coupes. I try to park between real expensive cars, too. Its literally pains Mr. S430 if he gets some Olds on his car.

Well, there you go - bitching about how much gas costs while still, as you put it, driving around "for the hell of it." Stop doing that and you'll use less gas. D'uh. I'm not trying to pick on you, but its like someone I used to work with who got rid of an old 4cyl Frontier and leased a brand-new Nissan Armada then bitched about how much gas was. D'uh, idiot. Here's your sign.

No. No its not. Especially when the vehicle RV drivers upgraded from is a Mercury Grand Marquis PGA Tour Congressional Town Sedan Edition DeLuxe.

If you have a 15 gallon tank and use it all in a week, you're talking $15 extra a week. *Use less a/c. *Combine trips. *Don't get high-octane unless you need it. It sucks, but its not catastrophic. I'm looking at $2.60/gal for 93 octane, $2.50 for 87.

It looks like a Miata from the front. I'd love to have one if I had that much money to blow. Better than some cheesy Ferrari and a whole lot more fun, especially to drive off a boat ramp at high speed screaming, "I don't value life anymore!!" only to float away.

With the exception of the positions of Acura/Audi and Lexus/Infiniti, this is pretty much the auto rags' accepted norm.

On the television, there was a helicopter shot of an entire Dodge lot underwater. That would be (guesstimating) upwards of 200 cars in that lot alone, and it looked to be on that area's Dealership Row, so just imagine. Watch out for ultra sweet auction deals on cars in the coming months...

An Isuzu would be a great buy once the company bites the dust. Daewooesque clearance prices on dependable GM platforms with GM parts and service availability. Right now, however, its not like anyone realizes they exist without the Rodeo and Trooper. As for Mitsubishi, it would be one thing if the North American arm was performing poorly, but back at home they're not in great shape either.

Maybe its just me, but everything except the Impala ranges from unappealing to grotesque. The proportions of the Cavalier concept are plain lousy. Bring on something hot like this '61 Dodge Flite-Wing:

Also, a range of about 20-30mpg isn't really that impressive. I'm averaging about 20mpg right now and that's out of a two-ton 250hp V8-powered sedan with city-biased driving and near constant A/C use.

God, subcompacts look ugly.

Clicky

I see two sedans and a bunch of pesudo trucks. Please, Bob, show me the improvement.

Why? Its a great engine and if/when a more improved Northstar debuts, GM should certainly put to good use a smooth, DOHC plant like that for premium Buicks and Pontiacs. I see your point if its about the name. I would've far preferred the GXP's Northstar to be called 'Arrowhead' and the version in the Lucerne to be dubbed simply "Eight" as in "Buick 8."

Its becoming obvious someone seriously fucked up the timing of Buick's transition. You never, ever leave a gap like the LeSabre/Lucerne, especially when it accounts for almost a whole fucking third of your sales. A non-GM product like what? A Sable? This has me pretty livid that these people think the Rainier and a minivan would really sell. Think about how well Buick did when its lineup consisted of four sedans on two largish platforms and two of them looked nearly identical! This product infusion is a joke because the product is trite and meaningless.

Well, let me give you the official answer to some questions and musings. Cheers and Gears has always and will always be a General Motors enthusiast site. We have sections for other makes because, let's face it, they matter in relation to the success of our home team. People have mentioned before about making the leap to being a full-blown automotive site encompassing every marque in just as much detail as we do GM. This will never, ever happen. If you want that sort of mishmash, go to TCC or Edmunds' Town Hall and we'll see you back here in a few weeks. The whole appeal of divisional site like this, BON, AllPar, VTec.net, and VW Vortex is that it offers a place for people of similar vehicular persuasions to meet, discuss, and form associations free from the ridiculousness of those free-for-all message boards where when someone wants to discuss a future Buick in ernest, half the responses amount to "Who cares? Buick sucks!" "R U 2 YUNG FOR A BUICK?!?!" and "Y NOT GET AN AVALON?!" C&G and the others are online communities moreso than TCC and the like. We do have a bias here - to General Motors. We're not going to deny that and - unlike many 'respected' publications - we'll admit that bias off the bat. However, no matter what you drive or like or enjoy, as long as you have some desire or affection for at least one GM product, you're more than welcome here. Expanding to include other car companies opens us up for far more bickering and senseless anti-GM rhetoric than we've ever had and I for one don't want that. In short, this is not Wal-Mart and never will be. This is your antique shop or comic book store or barbershop where you may need be able to get all you need, but you'll have a far higher quality of what you can get. And, yes, we will expand, but only to cater primarily to the GM enthusiast, not other companies and certainly not non-automotive topics.

I know. Just saying, be prepared for "The last time..." as in, "The last time General Motors introduced tailfins to cars, the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic bomb. If GM goes ahead with their plans, Edmunds.com expects another half-century long stalemate between the US and Russia. Buy a Prius."

If GM reintroduces Diesel, all you'll hear about is the Diesel Olds. Just like all you heard about with the CTS were the Catera and valiant attempt at an entry-level luxury car and the V4-6-8 with DoD.

Olds wins.

...going to finally get rid of all that cheap-ass rubber molding on the sides of their cars and switch to body-colored? Honestly, it makes the 9-7X more appealing because of its lack of rubber. Check out the pic on SAAB's main page - it looks sort of hot. Seriously, guys. Its not an '87 Ciera...

I must thank GM, though, for not gluing shitting-looking rubber molding all over the sides of the car like the Koreans and even expensive Europeans do.

Here's a fun fact: Corvette Z06: $65,800 Dodge Viper: $85,745 Ford GT: $141,000 Ferarri F430: $174,585 Saleen S7: $377,000 Mercedes McLaren SLR: $452,750 Even if the the last two are indeed just as fast/faster, where are you going to run it? Nevada? The Z06 beats all these in practicality plus you don't stand out like a sore thumb. Oh, and another one - the Z06 gets 16/26mpg, well over the gas guzzler threshold.

The Grand Am does look pretty goofy with the ribbing on the sides. I like it on the SSEi, yet on the GA its almost a bit too much as well as the extra set of backup lamps. Again, I still think they look nice, but Aleros have far more class, especially with chromes in darker colors. Like mini Intrigues.

GM has always been the most conservative when it comes to truck design and I for one don't see a problem with it. You'd be surprised how many people - truck fans and not - would rank the look of a GM pickup higher than an F-150, Ram, or Titan. I do like the lines on the F-150, but the lack of a true single cab is disappointing stylistically. The Titan is rather convoluted in mid- and upper-trims with ridiculous chrome stickons and billboard TITAN V8 lettering. Ram tries too hard to be a Freightliner and its a shame the acceptable truck styling has made its way to everything Dodge.