Flybrian

The was even an Electrovair in 1966 ...and the hydrogen cell Electrovan in 1967.

What about not wearing clothes?

TPS or MAF sensor. I had a similar problem, vastly diff engines, but stil...

Hug time!

Wow. I don't want to go to any of the other Buick dealers hosting the event in my area because I feel as if they may rape me when I pull into the parking lot. Oh well. I'll still go.

Of course. The guy's been building two of the greatest sports cars ever - the Kappas and the 'Vette! As far as the GM Card earnings not being accepted, I get the feeling there is some weird internal reasoning behind this or the result of some petty squabbling at some point in the past. The explanation I received was way too verbose to be real - that the inherent value pricing of a Saturn means one doesn't need to use earnings to save on top of that and that Saturn's intent is to conquest import intenders who don't have GM Card earnings anyway, etc. Doesn't make sense to me either.

Does Toyota even have a severe service section in their owner's manuals? Seriously, I'd love to see these after 100,000 miles. Compacts with uncomfortable seats and no trunk space. Great choice.

IMO, it is the engine choices that hold it back. The Toyota 1.8ls are so buzzy and tepid they make an Iron Duke look refined. And the fact that the AWD model clocked in with the lowest hp - some 15hp away from the ECHO - was unacceptable. A nice selection of Ecotecs with a 2.0l turbo in a GXP would give Pontiac a hot wagon that would make any MazdaMazdaMazdaMazda blush.

Cadillac CTS in the wild View more here @ Jalopnik

The Series II eliminated most of the problems inherent in the earlier Series I, especially most of the manifold intake gasket issues. As far as Base vs. Ultra, as Ven said, the driving quality varies slightly between them. Ultras are also more likely to have certain features like a moonroof, HUD, and chrome wheels vs. base Park Avenues. They are also rarer in general. It all comes down to your driving preferences, whether using premium is a deal-breaker, and what you can get a better deal on. In terms of reliability, well, I point to our 2000 Bonneville SSEi. Almost seven years old and nearly 130,000 miles with zero engine problems. Just change the supercharger oil (yup, it takes oil, too) as preventative maintenence. Good luck!

And the winners are... 1st place - Ethan - 11pts 2nd place - Spacecowboy - 7pts 3rd(t) - MDM - 6pts 3rd(t) - MDM - 6pts Congratulations to Ethan for taking first place for the first time in our Choppin' Competitions! Special thanks to all who entered their crazy designs and we hope to see you all in the next competition...with entries and votes! Our latest competition - Choppin' Competition #41 - Chevy El Camino - has just begun! Go ahead and create a new El Camino or Caballero and rebirth the segment! Be sure to get your entry in before the 11:59PM June 1st deadline!

Welcome to Sketch Competition #18! Parallel to our Choppin' Competition, we're going to ask you sketch artists to put your pencil or stylus to work on a new car-based pickup truck for Chevrolet or GMC. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to design a new El Camino or GMC Caballero. The exact bodystyle - traditional two-door or extended/crew cab - is up to you as are any special features you'd like to include. Use heritage or contemporary styling cues or make up new ones of your own. Please include at minimum 2 (two) of the following: -3/4 Front View -3/4 Rear View -Interior View **Entries without two perspectives will still be accepted, but will incur a 1-point penalty at the end of voting** Remember, people will be voting based on the overall presentation of your entry, so the more views, the better, including ones not specifically listed above. Also, if you want to include special features, by all means point them out! Aside from 800x600 size guidelines, remember this must be a GM vehicle. The winner will recieve a GM-related prize! Deadline is Friday, June 8th @ 11:59PM your local time. Good luck!

Welcome to the Sketch Competition #17 Voting thread! Remember, artists who entered must vote for someone other than themselves. Those that do not vote or vote for themselves will be asessed a two (2) point penalty. Voters, please nominate three (3) entries in this format: 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Each first place vote earns 3 points, each second place vote 2 points, and each third place vote 1 point. Voting begins now and will end Monday, May 28th, 2007 @ 11:59PM. Only those votes cast during that time will be counted. Remember, the 1st place winner will recieve a special GM-related prize from Cheers and Gears! 1 - Saturn R2/R3 Hybrid 2 - Saturn Sport Coupe 3 - Saturn Alpha (Compact CUV) 4 - Saturn Tornado 5 - Saturn ION GXP 6 - Saturn AURA Touring 7 - Saturn Orion VOTE----------------VOTE----VOTEVOTE----VOTEVOTEVOTE--VOTEVOTEVOTE-- -VOTE--------------VOTE---VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- --VOTE------------VOTE----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ---VOTE----------VOTE-----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- -----VOTE--------VOTE------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- ------VOTE------VOTE-------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- ------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- -------VOTE--VOTE---------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ---------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- ------------VOTE----------------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE---------VOTEVOTEVOTE-- Good luck to all who entered!

Welcome to Choppin' Competition #41! Ford was first in 1957 with a solid-bodied hybrid of a car and pickup truck, but GM wasn't far behind. Two years after the Ranchero's introduction, Chevrolet responded with the Impala-based El Camino and not only did it outlive its Ford competitor, but its name has become iconic among enthusiasts of all stripes. The beloved 'Elky' ended production in 1987, but lives on today overseas as the Ute, still rear-wheel drive and based on a fullsize car platform. With word of a US market VE-based Ute possibly greenlit, the El Camino could live again. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to design a modern day El Camino or GMC Caballero. An obvious model would be using the Holden Ute and its derivatives, but you can use whatever you want as long as your final product is a car-based pickup. Remember that today's marketplace has evolved, so an extended-cab or four-door may be a good idea. Be innovative and use any variation of Chevy and GMC design cues you wish or create new ones. Some Picture Sources... -Holden Ute @Autodeadline* Size guidelines remain at 800x600, so please size your entry accordingly. Please do not submit your images as Bitmap (.bmp) files. The winner will recieve a GM-related prize from C&G! Deadline is Friday June 8th @ 11:59PM your local time. Good luck and have fun! *Instructions for accessing high-resolution images through AutoDeadline: Replace the bold, orange section of the URL... (http://gm.wieck.com/forms/gm/*query?silverado&Source=all) ...with the make/model/etc you're searching for. Replacing 'silverado' with 'lesabre' will bring up downloadable hi-res images of the Buick LeSabre.

8 9 10 11 VOTE----------------VOTE----VOTEVOTE----VOTEVOTEVOTE--VOTEVOTEVOTE-- -VOTE--------------VOTE---VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- --VOTE------------VOTE----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ---VOTE----------VOTE-----VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- ----VOTE--------VOTE------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- -----VOTE------VOTE-------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE---- ------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- -------VOTE--VOTE---------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTE---------------- --------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE----VOTE--------VOTE--------VOTEVOTEVOTE--- -----------VOTE----------------VOTEVOTE----------VOTE---------VOTEVOTEVOTE-- Good luck to all who entered!

***NOTE TO ALL*** Because of a large number of incomplete votes in the original voting thread, we're putting SC16 up for revoting. You may cast your vote in the same manner as you did previously or change it if you so choose. Please remember to VOTE FOR FOUR (4) ENTRIES in this competition. Voting ends Monday, May 28th. Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience! Welcome to the Sketch Competition #16 Voting thread! Remember, artists who entered must vote for someone other than themselves. Those that do not vote or vote for themselves will be asessed a two (2) point penalty. Voters, please nominate four (4) entries in this format: 1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place Each first place vote earns 4 points, each second place vote 3 points, each third place vote 2 points, and each fourth place vote 1 point. Voting begins now and will end Monday May 28th, 2007 @ 11:59PM. Only those votes cast during that time will be counted. Remember, the 1st place winner will recieve a special GM-related prize from Cheers and Gears! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Welcome to C&G! I think you'll enjoy it here. Paulino will be around shortly to give you the "A-Body Hug"

Since I'm a fan of the larger cars, not much European really grabs me aside from higher-end makes that most people like anyway (Alfa-Romeo, Maserati), but I do have a penchent for 'executive' Citroens and Peugoets.

Citroens are impressive for a variety of reasons, including design and engineering. The pneumatic suspension is very advanced and the styling is usually pretty wild. Alfa-Romeos are - needless to say - extrodinarily attractive from a design and performance standpoint. All were sold here at one time. I could see Alfas and Citroens being re-appreciated, however, I think Citroen is the only French marque worth the effort of re-marketing here. In the '70s and 80s, Citroen sold top-of-the-line stuff in the USA; Renault and Peugoet sold their most worthless crap. A quick browsing of the French big three confirms my idea of only Citroen being worth importing, and maybe the Peugoet 607.

SPY SHOTS! 2008 SAAB 9-3 Rear Read on (and see a closeup pic) at TrollhattenSAAB.net

One wishes dealerships would employ a smaller number of helpful, knowledgable consultants that are rewarded for sales with a small bonus on top of a decent living wage. You eliminate the hustle and the high turnover rate and the wolf pack tactics; you do away with the predator/prey mentality that nobody likes and you help people buy a car in a respectable, professional fashion. One wishes.

Our driver's ed cars were contemporary Buicks. This was circa 2002-03, so we had LeSabre Customs, Century Limiteds, a Rendezvous, and this... ...a Regal LS Olympic Edition, which was my favorite. The year after I graduated, the dealership donating the cars stopped (and later folded completely). Now, they use base Sentras from some leasing company. Yuck.

Just in case you guys weren't aware (and frankly this slipped under my radar, too), the 2008 CTS team is apparently blogging. Check it out here: Cadillac Drivers' Log - Test Driving the CTS all over the World For all you perspective '08 CTS owners, get in on the action now because it seems pretty light in terms of traffic, so I bet you can get your detailed questions answered. Here are a few interesting ones...

My local Saturn store has - no lie - 107 2007 VUEs on their lot. That is 50% of their total inventory. The other two in the county have ~50 and ~40 each, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of their inventory. Hmmm...