Flybrian

Honestly, all Jeep interiors are passable except for the current (not '08) Grand Cherokee and the Compass. Remember, the Compass is the urban soft-roader Jeep that just sort of generally looks like it may be able to kind of go off the pavement maybe once in a while but it would really rather prefer not to unless it really has to in some unavoidable circumstance that it just has to deal with but only then maybe.

Thunderbird Syndrome. You show what is arguably the 'final' car long, long before anyone can buy it. By the time it debuts, people begin to lose interest or make other purchases because they can't deal with the wait. People will wait for an ancillary car like the Camaro or Challenger, but not something mass-market such as this.

My black '98 Taurus SHO from GT4. I call her 'I'D HIT THAT!' Actually, its very 'go'-ish with 338hp now. Its definitely the queen of my 5-car fleet (including an '81 Civic hatch and a woeful 178hp Mazda6). I don't play all the time, but when I do have time, its fun.

Unlike airbags and seatbelts, though, this is can encourage drivers to take more risks.

You can hear the 3800 II throughout, but its a very nice sound. My 4.0 Aurora is very quiet at idle and growls upon acceleration. Northstars and their derivatives have always sounded great. If I wanted to not hear the engine, I'd probably not want to drive either.

Well, whiplash can be a seriously traumatic injury, but that aside, Toyoguy has a point. Lets remember that the IIHS isn't a satin white servant of the public good; its a lobbying consortium for the auto insurance industry. Who doesn't file for injury claims in an accident? Just like the bumper bash tests they love trumpeting about, who cares? My insurance will cover it and if not, I can find an OEM part for very, very little. More bull$h! meant to reduce losses in a bull$h! industry.

My father was laid off earlier this week. so, I could care less how many slightly-above-minimum wage jobs Starbucks added to economy.

I do like the lower wagon look.

And the winners are... 1st Place BlackViper8891 (44pts) 2nd Place Zulehan (30pts) 3rd Place RJBartrop (12pts) 4th - 04MonteIntimidator - (9pts) 5th - MRDETROITMETAL - (4pts) 6th - MarioBro88 - (3pts) 6th - ScarlettSwordfish - (3pts) 7th - Peugoet206 - (1pt) 8th - JBraxxJr - (0pts) Congratulations to Blackviper8891 for taking first place in another sketch competition with his great rendition of a contemporary Firebird risen from the ashes. Lots of very creative entries in this one from MRDETROITMETAL's Covair to Zulehan's Lumina Z34. Special welcomes to our newest competitors; hope to see you next time! Congratulations to all and thank you to all who entered. Our latest competition to create the next G6/Alpha-based Pontiac is well on its way. Make sure you get your interpretation of an intermediate RWD Pontiac in before the April 13th deadline! The 1st-place winner receives a GM-related prize as well as having their concept featured on the Cheers and Gears homepage and Design Showcase! Check out the Showcase for all out past winners. Congrats and thanks again!

And the winners are... 1st place - NOS2006 - 33pts 2nd place - Skip0110 - 20pts 3rd place - Dwightlooi - 18pts 4th - MRDETROITMETAL - 11pts 5th - MarioBro88 - 0pts Congratulations to NOS2006 for his first place win in this latest competition with his G8 coupe! Maybe we'll see something like it in production one day as a GTO successor. Congratulations to the other entrants and we hope to see you all (and your great designs) in our next competitions! Our latest competition - Choppin' Competition #39 - NYIAS Redux - has just begun! Take any of the GM production or concept debuts at the New York International Auto Show and modify them in any way you see fit. Be sure to get your entry in for that before the 11:59PM April 20th deadline! Also, vote in our April Fools competition!

Welcome to the Choppin' Competition #38 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 Friday, April 13, 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 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!

Seriously. This has 'SEXY' written all over it. Well. No. Not yet. But it does have lots of rust! You gotta read the listing. And the price. 1994 Dodge Caravanarangosine 3.3 liters of FURY!

Fixed. I've experienced my fair share of Corolladom and let's be realistic about its place in this country - its a commuter car. A Camry/LaCrosse/Taurus/Accord/etc. is a family car, i.e. one that can be used to carry 4-5 people and a complement of luggage in comfort with adequate and safe power reserve for urban and interstate travel over short and long distances. I feel sorry for those that use a Corolla as a true family car and wish them a real-sized vehicle - regardless of maufacturer - sometime soon.

Corolla is not a 'family car.' Maybe a foreign family.

Welcome to Choppin' Competition #39! The big debuts have come and gone and now we've seen all GM has to offer at the last big show of the season. Some of you may have been a little disappointed in what was shown or at least think one of the new cars lacked a little pizzaz. Now, you have the chance to rewrite recent history. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to modify or alter any GM vehicle debuted at New York in any way you see fit. Be it a simple color and grille change to a full-blown redesign, its up to you. Eligible vehicles for Choppin' are the following - Buick LaCrosse, Buick LaCrosse Super, Buick Lucerne Super, Cadillac STS, HUMMER H2, HUMMER H3 Alpha, Chevy Trax, Chevy Beat, Chevy Groove. You can also find more images on C&G via our NYIAS Vehicle Link Directory. Please use one of the above listed GM vehicles as the base pic for your entry. Some Picture Sources... -Autodeadline* -Autoblog -CarPhotoSite -Netcarshow 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, April 20th @ 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.

GM @ NYIAS 2008 Chevrolet HHR Panel Wraps NEW YORK – What better way to illustrate the uses for the new Chevrolet HHR Panel than with the vehicles themselves? Chevy is doing exactly that at the New York Auto Show with two eye-popping wraps – one for business, the other for pleasure. A delivery vehicle that looks like a bouquet on wheels shows how the HHR Panel can deliver the goods without draining the gas tank. A personal-use Panel, “Skull From Hell,” was designed by student Jim McCammon of Detroit ’s Center for Creative Studies. A creative alliance between Chevrolet and Detroit's College for Creative Studies gave CCS students real-life experience in the competitive world of design and consulting, and provided Chevrolet with a glimpse of what vehicles and brands stir young adults’ souls. Seven CCS juniors researched target demographics and created exclusive designs and integrated marketing plans, aimed at 18- 25-year-olds, for Chevy’s brand-new HHR Panel. An executive team lead by GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz chose the winning concept, “Skull from Hell,” developed by Jim McCammon of Livonia, which was brought to life on the HHR Panel. McCammon’s artistry will be on display at the New York Auto Show beginning Wednesday through April 15. The show, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center , opens to the public on Friday. “This project with CCS is a unique opportunity for Chevrolet to promote the HHR Panel to a specific audience while allowing students’ creativity to shine on the vehicles’ blank canvas,” said Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager. “It’s a great way to demonstrate how to make the HHR Panel a perfect fit for its audience, whether it’s a large company, small business or an individual who just wants to be expressive. I think enthusiasts will be inspired by the student designs and we’ll see more customizing like this on the road.” HHR Panel production began this month. It will be offered in LS and LT trims, with 2.2L and 2.4L engines – both of which help the HHR deliver 30 mpg in highway driving. “We are thrilled that students in our Integrated Marketing class have been asked to take on this exciting real-world project. It provides a perfect example of how the Chevrolet brand experience extends beyond traditional media,” said Mark Zapico, chair of Advertising Design at CCS. “The commitment by Chevrolet and the time they have given to enriching the education of these students has been unbelievable.”

GM @ New York SHOW DIRECTORY Welcome to C&G's coverage of GM @ Chicago 2007! Since the main show forum is going to fill up quickly with news from other manufacturers, we're putting together this directory of GM's product debuts and announcements to be held at New York's Auto Show. The links listed below will take you to the respective thread in that vehicle's home forum. We hope this will provide you easy, unmitigated access to the GM news and information you seek. Thanks and enjoy! Concepts Chevrolet Beat, Groove, & Trax Press Release | Image Gallery | Press Conference Images Production 2008 Cadillac STS Press Release | Image Gallery 2008 Chevrolet HHR Panel Wraps Press Release & Image Gallery 2008 Chevrolet Uplander Taxicab Press Release & Image Gallery 2008 Buick LaCrosse Press Release | Image Gallery 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super Press Release | Image Gallery 2008 Buick Lucerne Super Press Release | Image Gallery 2008 HUMMER H2 Press Release | Image Gallery 2008 HUMMER H3 Alpha Press Release | Image Gallery

Nice. Are you keeping it white or repainting to a more 'moody' color?

Must...resist...temptation...to walk...through open door...

Toyota rides the environmental train unlike any other. They should be held accountable to a higher standard. Period.

Until it dies.

Tell that to Japan, China, Europe... Anyway, I'm in favor of tariffs on visually-unappealing cars.

Those buttons are useless. They do nothing about my melting smoothie!!!!

Yeah, too add, 'Flex' makes me think of a B-segment 5-door sub-Focus car.

The Official Car of the Brand Whore.