Drew Dowdell

why not the Colorado/Canyon platform? The platform is inherently sound for off roading. The H3 was fairly capable if a bit heavy. Remake it as a Wrangler competitor and sell it at GMC...... along with the small truck refresh.

Thank you for your very detailed clarification Dwight. After hearing that, my vote goes solidly in the TT3.6 side. I like my torque way down low.

Well, Dwight posted a torque range for the 3.6, but didn't with the small block. On the DI Ecotecs without turbo the torque curve is fairly flat and the peak is at 4900.

how comes the torque happens so high on the RPM scale with a DI small block?

That STS-V from last weekend.

So... bringing this back up again. I've seen a number of V4 marine engines that seem to run very well. Everything in this thread was mentioning mounting it transversely..... but how about a V4 mounted north/south to offer better packaging for ultra small RWD vehicles? A V4 in a Solstice could be mounted lower and with more weight towards center of the vehicle than the ecotec I4.

Replying to myself after all these years. Now that I've actually driven two Lambdas, the owner's manual actually states specifically that the "manual gear select is not intended to be used in a fashion similar to a manual transmission. It is intended specifically for gear holding during towing or hill descent situations." It's basically so GM didn't have to put 6 notches in the gear selector.

The materials are fine (with only a few flaw that I can find), but the ergonomics and layout are atrocious... enough to make a Citroen jealous. I can't imagine having to live with one day to day. I just had a rental Mini on Wednesday. Edit: Here's my review the Mini Cooper from a couple years ago. Same car I had on Wednesday.

My 1983 Caprice. Flat and with very little support. If you sat in the middle of the seat, the steering wheel was off center in front of you. If you sat with the steering wheel centered in front of you, you were much too close to the door and off center on the seat. The head rest was only useful if you were a 4'7" little old woman.

The sport buckets in my Cutlass convertible.

There's gotta be something out there that catches your eye that doesn't fall into your "type"

Vehicles that aren't your "type" but you're interested in anyway. Hopefully an ongoing thread. Many of us have a type that we go for... whether that be in dating or in cars. Tell us your type and then tell us a car that defies that type that you're still interested in. For me: I like big luxury cruisers. Buick Lacrosse, Cadillac CTS and STS, Lincoln MKS. I really dislike cute utes, crossovers, and sport utility vehicles. My admiration for the Avalanche come more from it's utility than it's aesthetic though as far as trucks go, it's one of the best looking. but one SUV keeps catching my eye. The interior is really a put off, but I can't help but stop and stare as one goes by...... So, what's yours?

For you, I'm sure she meant the female version...

Why? Audi, BMW, and Benz all offer cloth in their models in the EU.

Apparently they tested the 4-Runner and it didn't have the same problem.

Watching that video a few times, if the driver hadn't turned into the skid (as most drivers won't do in that situation) the vehicle would have completely spun out.

Wow! Here's the video of the test. If all they did was lift their foot off the accelerator while going around that corner and it still did that, then there's a problem. <object id="flashObj" width="400" height="275" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/21495733001?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=77022871001&playerID=21495733001&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/21495733001?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=77022871001&playerID=21495733001&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="400" height="275" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>

Escalade is "worst on the road" but the Lexus GX 460 has been just declared "unsafe"...... riiiiight. As I said in the other thread, I'm no supporter of Consumer Reports, but they went out and bought a second GX to make sure there wasn't a problem with their initial test vehicle.

The guy who did the Insignia and Regal, Jim Federicko, is an American. The Insigna was designed from the start to be a Buick as well as a Saturn. So it's more American than you say.

Very telling.... I'm not a CR supporter at all, but if true, this raises some eyebrows.

*sigh* you got me guys, I'll upload the rest of the NYC Autoshow pics tomorrow.

I second the vote to send the whole experience story to Reuss.

Lucky thing that Toyota didn't even have to ask the Japanese government for money, they just got it anyway. Consumer Reports' errors and manipulation of data has been documented for years. The article got the JD powers and safety ratings flat out wrong. The article is bunk.

The Regal will be here very shortly

it's an ill researched puff piece that they copied from CR to make themselves feel better while they sit in the Toyota waiting room having their gas pedal replaced. The JD Powers rating on the Escalade is wrong. It got 7 out of 10, not a 2. The base their reliability rating on "Consumer Reports Predicted Reliability".... and we all know how that worked out with the Tundra, Camry, and Avalon. Buying an Escalade for "value" is like screwing for virginity. The Escalade has 5 star crash ratings and all the safety equipment it's competitors have. Somehow with the Colorado and Canyon, one it "less worse" than the other, though they are the same truck. The Wrangler? Really? Has there been a cult car that has been around longer? The F-250? Really? One of the best selling, if not the best selling, work trucks out there....I doubt it would sell so well if it were the piece of crap that the Tundra is. In short, this "journalism", and I cringe at even calling it that, isn't worth the bandwidth used to post it.