Petra

Really, I don't see why this hasn't been done already. It's such an obvious idea, only GM could overlook it. :rolleyes:

You know, in about 5 years from now, early Crossfires will be an absolute steal on the used car market due to high depreciation. If I had the money and wanted a toy, I'd definetely consider a lightly used, 7 year-old Crossfire in a few years.

I voted for RWD. Face it: If you want to build a car with any kind of serious performance, FWD sucks. AWD is better than FWD, but it sacrifices a light curb weight. Furthermore, it takes a bit more skill to drive a RWD car well, as they lose control more easily than FWD cars (which is partly why FWD cars tend to be boring to drive). Driving a RWD car with a Manual transmission in the snow & ice is an experience everyone should have. Fully Manual Transmission was my second pick. Really, though, I've got no problem with SMGs. If they're good enough for F1...

Neat. Kinda looks like a miniature Aura. It also has a little Cobalt DNA, but in the same way the Aura has Malibu DNA (i.e: the stuff you wouldn't notice unless you were really paying attention). It is a huge improvement over the current ION, but, really guys, pretty much anything would've been a huge improvement over the current ION. The problem with the ION was twofold: It was an ugly, dorky looking car inside & out, and it had ugly, dorky, econobox performance to match. This new car (whatever it may be called) certainly rectifies the first issue, but I don't know about the second part. In terms of handling and performance, the Delta platform really hasn't impressed me. It would take some signifigant re-tuning to make this car one that would be enjoyable drive, and, somehow, I suspect that GM has only budgeted for a total re-styling. Would I be ashamed to be seen in this car? No. Would I be ashamed to drive it? Well...

Seems to be fixed now.

HHR. I just simply can't see that name sticking around for more than one generation. Furthermore, to me at least, it's simply a stupid sounding name.

There's a dark green Taurus running around here with that all the sheetmetal below the front bumper ripped clean off (though the rest of the body is more or less intact). The worst WT car I ever saw, though, was an Olds 98 from the early-mid '90's. It appeared to have been cracked right down the middle, from front to back, as there was a huge strip of duct tape running the length of the car. The vehicle was absolutely covered in the silvery adhesive... All over the trunk and bumpers, holding on the side panelling, holding together the weatherstripping around the windows. It was a ghastly sight. I simply could not believe that something like that would be allowed to travel on public roads. The Tortoise gets my vote on this poll, though WT cars can be seen anywhere and anytime. Even cars that were really nice 10-15 years ago will look really crappy now if they've been abused; many BMW and Mercedes models from that era have not aged well. Of course, the ride of choice for the WT man (or woman) is whatever they can find that will meet the following requirements: 1: Runs. 2: Is sufficiently anonymous and innocuous-looking; won't attract undue attention, other than giggles and comments of, "What a POS!" from passing strangers. 3: Can be easily repaired by any mechanic, or by any novice equipped with duct tape. 4:Will meet the bare minimum of state/provincial safety requirements once (there will be no need for the car to ever be inspected again). 5: Will be able to haul an acceptable amount of buddies/alcohol/drugs. So, to sum up, I really don't see the need for a poll here. It's a lot easier for us to describe all the various WT cars we've seen than to pick and choose from a selection.

I can't see a single one of the images on the front page of C&G. It really bummed me out this morning when I couldn't see the picture for the "What new GM car is this?" thread. Also, like some other folks, I'm having to log in whenever I come back, even if I set it to "Remember me". I'm using Firefox.

Anybody actually seen the clip of Kanye badmouthing Bush? It was on The Daily Show a few weeks ago. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's absolutely hilarious! The look on Mike Myers face is priceless!

None of the above. I'm looking forward to the Hybrid version.

I don't know what hit that Bonneville, but it must've been huge, like a cement truck or garbage truck or something. Like Ocn said, it would've had to have been tall enough to hit the car above where the bumper was.

In the past, I would agree that a higher-revving engine (e.g: Honda engines) would just be moving the emisions higher up in the powerband than a less rev-happy engine with gobs of low-end torque (i.e: any Domestic V8). But a lot of rev-happy, OHC engines now have Variable Valve Timing, which does a better job of distributing power, so that you don't have to rev them so high to get useable torque. Sure, the torque may still peak @ 4,000 RPM, but, with VVT, the torque curve is a lot flatter.

[sarcasm] Chrysler makes crappy transmissions!? YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!![/sarcasm]

They could, but they won't. Toyota is sitting on a huge pile of cash, but they didn't get there by spending money constantly. They're a far too conservative company to spend the millions upon millions of dollars (which they have) that it would take to completely redesign a model every 24 months. In the short term, they might gain a little more market share, but, in the long term, they'd be financially tapped out. Interestingly, what I see with the new Toyota models (e.g: Yaris, RAV-4) is a marked upgrade in standard features. This tells me that they're afraid of the competitors (esp. the Koreans), who have begun offering as many or more standard amenities as Toyota does, but for 25% off the sticker price. The Hyundai Sonata and the Ford Fusion are prime examples.

I saw a Pinto just yesterday. I was at the Mufflerman trying to find out what was wrong with my car's exhaust (I need gaskets and a new muffler), and there was a silver Pinto parked right out front. And I'm talking mint condition! If you ever, for any reason wanted to buy a cherry Pinto, this was the one! It belonged to this old woman (she probably figured it was the last car she'd ever buy) who wouldn't stop talking to the Mufflerman employee. I guess they knew each other from way back, or she knew his dad, or something. She ended up getting stuck in the Mufflerman's little exit ramp as she was trying to leave. As I pulled up behind her, I suddenly understood why those things caught fire: The gas tank is all of a foot from the bumper! The muffler must've only been a foot long, if that! There's abolutely nothing there to absorb the shock of a rear end collision! And, I must admit, I had a bit of a sadistic urge to plow right into that Pinto with all my might, just to see what would happen. :D I didn't do it, but I made up for it by doing a wipeout in a parking lot with 3 friends aboard. Always good for a laugh.

Much of Mitsubishi's pre-1990's history seems to be half-forgotten, like something from childhood. And, of course, it doesn't help that Mitsubishis were never sold here in Canada (at least, not under the "Mitsubishi" nameplate) until a couple years ago. I have to admit, I have a soft spot for weird 1980's cars. The boxy yet space-age styling, the primitive computer technology (digital gauges, anyone?), the cheezy interiors. You can just tell by looking at them that they're from the age when Sci-Fi was king. There aren't many of these cars left in good shape nowadays, so it makes me smile whenever I see a 300ZX (the boxy, pre-'90's ones) or even a Buick Reatta. But, aside from the odd Eagle (I once saw a Galant-clone Eagle with the VR-4 powerplant), I have little hope of seeing any Mitsubishi cars from that era. So it's nice to see pictures of cars like the Sigma and the Starion and the original Galant. It's nice to see where a company comes from, even if that company is on the verge of dissapearing.

With a sick ride like that, I bet that foo' gets all the b***hes. :D :lol:

That is hilarious, and very, very clever. I'd like to give whoever came up with this idea a warm handshake, and a recomendation to be promoted to President of GM's marketing department. They need more ideas like this to erase the perception gap.

I was using the TSX as a friggin' example. Some people take things way too seriously. I feel like I'm at the McCarthy hearings here. "Acura TSX, huh? You're a Pinko Commie Japan sympathizer!!!"

I've gotta say: "The Price is Right" has to be the best tagline written about any Kia, ever. It just kinda sums everything up in four, simple words. Thanks, Steve Finlay, for making me chuckle.

Agreed. We need to know: Was it a few thousand or a few tens of thousands of vehicles recalled (as is the case with the Acura TSX) or a few hundred thousand, even millions (like the recent Ford truck recall)? Using those same two examples, was the recall for a relatively minor issue, like taillights burning out too fast (Acura), or was it for a big issue, like vehicles catching on fire (Ford)? Furthermore: What good does it do to point and laugh at the lack of progress in stopping recalls from Japan, when Chevy, GMC and Ford still top the list? This is nothing to celebrate about. It means the Big 3 have to try better to build regulation-compliant vehicles from launch, rather than gradually repairing them (at great cost to the automaker, I'm sure... think of all the replacement parts they have to make and then give away!) as they age.

Roach. That one is forever impressed upon my mind from the days of the Roach Caprice. Anybody else been on here long enough to remember that? Oh, the horrors that car was subjected to...

It has always seemed to me like the wagon never went away, they just stopped calling them wagons. I mean, really, what are most minivans but tall sedans with hatches? Same goes for most of the crossovers or sport tourers or cute utes or whatever you want to call them.

We still have Wagons. They just aren't called "Wagons" these days. I would've loved to have had a Country Squire or Roadmaster Wagon, but, the way gas is today, I'm kinda glad I didn't get one.

I'll say! From the front, that thing looks like a carbon copy of the ECHO Hatchback!