The O.C.

I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about..... Is that why you come on these threads? To set people up with assinine comments?

True. And rumors of Toyota's newfound dependence on fleet sales is wishful thinking from the "Big 3" crowd. Through May, Toyota had only two models over 10% fleet penetration......Corolla at 15.9% (14th place in the "subcompact" segment) and Avalon at 15.3% (17th place in the "intermediates" segment.) Camry and even Solara were well under 10% fleet penetration. When you see the disparity between GM's (and Ford's and Chrysler's) fleet sales relative to Toyota and Honda, it paints a VERY scary picture.

Hear, hear......

I think this car is absolutely ADORABLE.....! Who wouldn't want a (very?) small and nimble coupe with a premium, sporty feel....AND a 300hp twin-turbo I6...? It'll probably be more expensive.....but this thing could put some serious hurt on the MINI.....ironically..... Funny....where the Benz C-Class coupe (hatchback) seemed cheap relative to the sedan, this smaller BMW actually retains alot of premium look and design features (to my eyes) of it's bigger brothers. I even like the look of the interior better than the 3-series.......

Isn't that being a TAD presumptuous for a new model that hasn't even hit the market before?

......JUST like the 1994 E320 Cabriolet that I picked up.....that has 96,000 miles on it....and is still tight as a drum, and the interior looks like new........

I don't think safety will be an issue. Check out this youtube video of a frontal off-set crash test between an S-Class and a SMART.......pretty cool stuff! Sure the front end is gone....but the safety cell appears to remain totally intact!

Even though it's branded an Infiniti.....in my eyes, the G35 has kindof become the spiritual successor to the 4DSC Maximas. In other words, Nissan's sportiest sedan. That and increasing competence in the FTD factor of the Altima....has kindof squeezed the current Maxima into a corner with nothing really to differentiate it in the marketplace.

One MAJOR advantage to PT......turbo 4cyl engines.....with some truly decent performance. I'm not a big fan of either vehicle......but have spent time in both. One of the things that I like better in the PT is that it seems MUCH airier, more open, and more spacious inside. HHR's breadbox window and beltline design really makes it seem claustrophobic. Styling both inside and outside, well that's subjective. I really don't know which I like better......although I'd probably vote PT for exterior styling but HHR for interior styling.

In my mind, the Tundra face will make it aggressive and stylish.......

Yeah it was slightly modified. It had a higher redline, a bit more power (221hp) and really zinged and revved like no other Duratec that I've driven. BUT...that's what it was....a Duratec 3.0. Why Ford didn't crib the Mazda version for everything else, I'll never know.

Well, I would never buy one of these. That being said, I think it's a very handsome design, without a lot of flash.....but it is a tad on the boring side. The interior, however, I think is fantastic and top-of-the-segment.

Uh.....5.7L is running something like 70% penetration.

Yeah....like you can tell ANYTHING with all that camo.....

I don't know.......I'd much rather have one of these than a RAV4 or CR-V......(or even a LR LR2.)

+ Mazda Miata

Yeah....LOL....like the 240-hp Impala 3.9L.....oh, I mean the 233-hp Impala 3.9L...... Let's not get into yet ANOTHER debate over the new SAE horsepower ratings changes....

Well, I can think of 2 things......a "dollars-and-sense thing".....and a "pick-your-battles" thing. It most likely doesn't make a huge amount of sense to spend significant advertising dollars on a low-volume product such as the Sierra Denali in order to "combat" Toyota's claim of superiority. NOW....if Silverado offered that same powertrain, GM would be in much better position to hit back at Toyota.......as the Silverado IS the largest volume in the range and does receive already the most advertising and marketing support.

Not necessarily.......or so my wholesaler friend tells me........

No....not just a "guide." The values established for Kelly Blue Book, NADA, MMR are based alot off of ACTUAL VALUES derived from the sales of pre-owned vehicles through auction lanes. When a wholesaler goes to purchase an off-lease Cobalt at an auction, for example, he's going to try to buy it for, let's say, $4,000 "back of book." What this means is that Kelly Blue Book establishes a wholesale price for that particular year and model (NO ONE ever refers to "retail" value in the car business.) Then, due to the poor resale value of the vehicle, most of the time it won't even go through auction for what "book" is. Therefore, the wholesaler isn't going to buy the car unless he can get it for enough "back" of "book." A MINI, for example, might go through the auction for $1,000-$1,500 OVER "book" due to it's higher desirability in the marketplace.

I'm talking about the GM-Corporate-bin radio/HVAC pieces being misaligned ON the center stack. I'm not complaining about the center stack part of the dashboard itself....but the components set IN the center stack.

I have always had a hard time feeling ANY love for the Infiniti G models.....even this new one. I can't tell you why.....I think they are attractive.....and have OK interiors.....and decent powertrains......I don't know..... I just know that I'd NEVER take one over a BMW 3-series or Audi A4/A5.

I disagree.......from 51,000 miles in a 2003 Mazda6 3.0L (admittedly with the 5-speed manual.) The car was a rocketship. (0-60 in 6.7 secs I believe from contemporary road tests of the time.)

One of the nicest all around rental "queens" I've ever had is a Fusion SE 2.3L. I've had one two times now.....and for the price, you get a decent amount of features and great interior quality.....even the "base" cloth on the seats and door panel inserts is nice. Plus the car just has a very nice feel to the chassis and powertrain. And yes, the 4-cylinder is a great alternative.

Here's some fleet percentages for auto segments.....FYI. I rec'd this report from a source that I know is legit. However, I'm not entirely sure of the timeframe. I THINK it's CYTD through the end of May.....which would be five months of 2007. For what it's worth.......take a peak: I've listed the top-ten fleet cars in each segment. If anyone is curious about any other cars or volumes, I can pull that up and tell you...... Subcompacts Mazda5 43.8% Cobalt 39.7% Ion 29.4% Kia Rio 27.3% Vibe 27.2% G5 26.9% Focus 26.5% Kia Spectra 25.7% Lancer 21.8% Elantra 21.5% Compacts Avenger 79.4% Sebring 63.5% Malibu 58.8% Optima 52.8% Caliber 45.1% Mazda6 42.7% G6 36.2% Sonata 27.6% Fusion 26.8% Aura 23.7% Intermediates Taurus 96.5% Grand Prix 77.6% Magnum 60.9% Charger 56.2% Impala 53.9% Monte Carlo 46.5% 300 44.0% Five Hundred 43.1% Kia Amanti 42.5% Mitsu Galant 35.4% Full-Size Crown Victoria 91.3% Grand Marquis 50.0% Entry-Luxury Volvo S40/V50 49.8% C-Class 15.0% X-Type 13.2% Saab 9-3 10.7% G35 9.5% Volvo S60/V70 9.2% CTS 9.0% Audi A4 6.7% MKZ/Zephyr 5.3% Audi A3 5.3% Presige-Luxury Town Car 58.5% DTS/Deville 27.4% Audi A6/Allroad 20.4% Infiniti M35/45 15.9% Volvo S80 15.3% STS 7.7% Audi S6 4.1% (counted separate from A6....memo) Acura RL 2.7% Lexus GS 2.6% E-Class 2.4% There's "Ultra-Luxury" too.....but I didn't list as all the percentages are well under 10% for each.