The O.C.

It's waiting for you, BV.....!

I'm amazed at how subtle the TC/SC is in the car in the default mode. Is yours like this? On rainy streets around here (especially early in the rainy season when there's lots of grease on the road already) I can do quite nice almost powerslides around wet corners if I give it enough throttle before the TC/SC actually kicks in..... Same thing happens on a straight line moderately aggressive start in first gear....in the wet, I can "light them up" for quite a bit before TC kicks in. I've left the standard 18-inch Bridgestone Potenzas on the car.....so I'm sure as a dedicated high-performance tire they will be less effective in the wet......

Camino.....you are missing Turbo's point!!!!!! Your post may be 100% true....and most of us believe that as well. But none of that matters because they have a huge readership base and they sell tons of magazines. Just as the "import humpers" may have flocked to Honda and Toyota dealerships due to CR's "flawed methods" and "falsehoods"......so will many of them, I'm sure, give the new CTS and Malibu due consideration....also due to CR's newfound attention to these vehicles. "Flawed" or not, let's all just enjoy the good press that GM is getting.....even considering the source.....

Yes....but strangely so, it's not the 275hp version that's in the Lambdas (or 281 for the '09 versions.) There are so many different variations of the 3.6L it doesn't make sense to me. For example.....why is the LaCrosse CXS still only equipped with a 240hp version when the (also FWD) Lambdas are now using 275hp versions? I think a 275hp LaCrosse CXS would be a nice package.....

Oh man it looks BETTER than the Malibu! Look how nicely all the plastic trim pieces and the center stack all fit together so much more smoothly! I really like the Traverse and think it's my favorite Lambda next to the Enclave. To me, kinda makes the Outlook and Acadia pretty much pointless to me.

To the best of my knowledge, this actually is NOT a DI 3.6L.....but a pumped-up version of the already-pumped-up non-DI 3.6L that's found in the other Lambdas. I'd assume the 280+ hp rating (I think it's actually 281 stated in the press release) is prolly what all '09 Lambdas will offer. Makes me wonder if the DI engine will be getting some small power gains too?

Probably a lot less fleets too.....basically doesn't the Astra AND Aura kinda replace the Ion....? When did the L-series go away?

I like it....ALOT....! In fact, the Traverse only signifies the massive problem GM has today of "too many divisions, too many models." This thing makes the Acadia and Outlook pointless in a way. The Acadia is no more luxurious....and the Outlook is no more stylish or appealing......so what's the point of either except to fill GMC and Saturn dealer lots. To me....GM has two excellent Lambdas.....a Traverse for the low-to-mid end of the segment, and the luxurious Enclave for the higher end. Nice job Chevy!

Let me offer an interesting alternative........ .....the 275hp non-DI version that's powering the Lambdas....(if it's able to install in a RWD chassis.) That would be more viable from a cost standpoint compared to the DI engine, and would still offer a VERY competitive base powertrain to the upgraded Mustang's Duratec 3.5L or the Challenger "SXT" 3.5L versions.

I just talked to a guy last weekend (friend of my ex's at a party) that had the original xB and just bought the new one and loves it. He loves the more powerful engine and even liked the styling. Doesn't mean everyone would agree with him.....but I think it's too early to be speculating about the demise of Scion. No matter how it compares to the old one.....in the general marketplace, the xB is still a unique piece of kit......and the xA seems to be a much more competitive product as the old xA....and the old xA was never a winner to begin with. tC seems a good product and I've known at least two people that have had it (all of these guys are young) and they've both loved them. There's a great price-to-value ratio with what you get in the tC that lends well to a next-generation model....

Ha...you think you got me.... whatEVER Whether the MINI does it or not I can't claim cause I've never driven a MINI auto.....but the 6-speed auto in the X5 most assuredly does NOT override your commands when in Sport mode using the manual shifter. That I can tell you. The fact-of-the-matter is.....no matter if it's a MINI or an Enclave, if you are going to give the driver the option of "manual" control over the shifting of the automatic, it damn well better BE full manual control. Otherwise don't even bother.....

You know....I like it. It may not be a flashy design, but it seems to fit the exterior design of the car. Challenger was/is a sporty interpretation of a mainstream sedan....so a more sedan-ish type dash fits this car IMHO. Camaro and Mustang, however, are more overtly sporty musclecars and should have more distinctive interiors. My issue with the Camaro's interior is, in my eyes, it's an ugly combination of interior design cues. Nothing seems to fit the car in my opinion. It's like the interior designers had dreams of a concept-car interior on a Cobalt budget. I'll wait to see a production interior. Mustang interior is just fine, let down by some nasty details such as the handbrake lever and the auto-trans gear shifter. I especially like the Mustang's interior when combined with one of the upscale interior options that add the silver/aluminum/fake carbon fiber trim in the dash. One new option is a stitched leather-like dash cover (similar to the CTS, etc.) that comes off quite nicely when equipped with the optional leather seats.

To me, the LR2 is a turd..... The exterior looks like a warmed-over Escape....and I don't find anything remotely "classy" about the interior. I can understand how the X3 gave the LR2 a pasting in a recent C&D comparo. I've always laughed at the British mags' overtly positive reviews of Land Rover products.....always rating the LR2 and LR3 as "best-in-class" for their segments. The ONLY Land Rover product I've been in that remotely deserves the praise it's gotten is the Range Rover (and even that LR has been a reliability nightmare.) Overweight, ponderous to drive on-road, and fit-and-finish that doesn't begin to impress next to most upscale SUVs (or even GM Lambda products.) If you really want the off-road capability, then fine. But even off-road, except in the most extreme conditions, vehicles like the X5 and others will through most of what the LRs will with much better on-road manners and an overall classier feel and image.

You know.....that's one of my BIGGEST pet peeves.....the dealer tags that dealers afix to the cars. SO TACKY....! For some reason, out here in California, NONE of the dealers use these. Instead, all the dealers put plate frames on the cars with the dealer's name/logo. That is so much better...obviously because you can easily remove a plate frame if you don't want it on your car. I don't know how or why all the dealers out here all started doing that, but I'm glad they did.

Turbo....have you sat in one yet? It's really tacky.....the details. It looks GREAT in photos....but in reality it suffers. I'm not talking about touchy-feely plastics or anything like that....I'm talking things you use and touch...the controls....center stack....door handles.....it's the details that suffer....especially in comparison to so many recent GM interiors. Take the Impala for example. Lots and lots of hard, cheap plastics inside that car. But you know what? It doesn't offend me all that much because everything seems to fit together correctly with tight seams and nice fits. The black-tie controls are quality items in this car....and everything moves and operates with a precision that GM has lacked in the past. Impala could hardly be called exciting inside.....but it's these types of things that the G8 is lacking. Even the british mags have ripped it for it's interior (but they are notoriously GM-critical....) But enough is enough from me. I'm still happy to even have this car here.....and I hope it does well.......

TOTALLY agree......and Astra even feels/looks good with extended exposure inside the car. LOL....which brings up the age-old question.....why didn't Cobalt get introduced with an interior as nice as Astra's...? When pricing the two, it seems Astra is no more expensive than a comparably-equipped Cobalt.....and is a way nicer car in many ways......way nicer interior, nicer seats, sounds like it even drives a whole lot better. Seems the 1.8L Ecotec is the only downside to the Astra.....although it seems competitive enough for me in the marketplace......?

But FOG.....GM way long ago used up all it's mulligans for this excuse....in a day and age where today's "Cadillac" and "Buick" interiors are just now CATCHING UP to the vast majority of less-expensive KOREAN products.......we can't excuse ANY GM product with a dime-store interior. I'm not saying they all have to be as LUXURIOUS as Caddy and Buick interiors....but they damn well better be built well and at least substantial to a point. To me....the G8 seemed overly cheap....maybe it's a Holden "thing" because GM is showing us now how they can do interiors.....Malibu is one less-expensive example (although I have bitches with the center stack and plain door panels) the Lambdas and CTS are other examples.....and the GMT-900s. And the black-tie units may be overused in many GM cars, but the quality of the black-tie switchgear is damn near faultless and feels a standard higher.

Damn.....be still my beating heart...!

I agree....and from pics, it looked great....but after sitting in it, not so much.....maybe those were pre-production units I sat in during the auto show....and maybe production units will be better? But they looked production....hmmm

More like miles BEHIND Charger and 300C....especially 300C.

Funny you mention that....the GTO's interior is/was far better than the G8's. Looks like Holden took the old GTO and stuck the bean-counters on it.

It's not so much the plastics but the cheap feeling of all the controls. I'd say the dash plastics are very comparable to previous-gen CTS.....that funny-textured stuff. Most of it is hard...which isn't necessarily bad if it's grained nicely....but the G8 has this weird texture that reminds me of the dot-matrix stuff in the old CTS. I'd say the actual fit is quite a bit better than the GP......dash plastics INFERIOR to the GP.....and switchgear which is about equal or worse than what GP offered. The GP's major failing, in my eyes, was the shoddy fit....console to dash for example.....at least here the G8 offers an improvement.

So tell me.....what are the potential benefits? How are they extraordinary? How do they make up for the loss in fuel efficiency? I'm not trying to be a dick.....but all I see/hear is how E-85 is not as efficient in the first place. So what's the uptick? Cleaner emissions? Don't we already have numerous gasoline cars available that are PZEV or similar?

I'm gay.....and I like any car that has a "stick shift"

Really nothing but excuses and spin......... BMW sells an overwhelming majority of their cars now with auto boxes......yet they still (and others) build a sweet-driving manual transmission......