Drew Dowdell

The current Accord coupe is one of the better mainstream Asian designs in a while. The sedan, not so much. My list: 1. Malibu - I know you'll probably think I'm just GM humping, but I think they are the most handsome mainstream sedan out there. I'll take an LTZ in black with the Black/Brick two tone interior please. 2. Milan - I liked the previous one and I like the new one. 3. Aura - Not as visually appealing as the Malibu, but not bad. 4. Fusion - I like the new one better than the previous, but the aesthetic just doesn't grab me like the Malibu and Milan. 5. Legacy - Finally an attractive Subi. I've long respected Subarus as vehicles but I just couldn't get into the styling. 6. Impala - Big car feel for not a lot of money. For those wanting a more "classic" feel without going all out and getting a Grand Marquis, this would be a good old reliable. I happen to like the styling, but wish it would get the new Chevy nose. 7. Sonata/Optima - Fine as an appliance. Mildly more interesting than a Camry simply because it's not a Camry. I'd never buy one. 8. Mazda 6 - The car itself is fine, but there just seems to be something missing in the exterior design. I can't put my finger on it, but something just seems off. 9. Passat - The design is tired but not bad. They've been milking that Passat roofline for about as long as they're going to be able to. Seeing plenty of Skodas in person, the Passat reminds me of them. 10. Accord - The exterior is just off. Coupe is nice though. 11. Camry - Very tired. There are much more solid platforms out there. 12. G6 - Never appealed to me. Interior completely sub-par. 13 Altima - Ditto G6 without the benefit of being a domestic. 14. Avenger - A slightly more attractive Sebring 15. Sebring - A complete basket case. Had a rental in May that should have qualified for Cash for Clunkers right off the lot. 16. Galant - As bad as the Sebring but without any of the "interesting personality". *Lacrosse is left off because I haven't seen one in person yet. If it's everything it's cracked up to be, it'll probably take the top slot and bump all the others down one.

For service, Cadillac treated me extremely well. They picked up my car from my office even for just an oil change. I never had to step foot in the dealership if I didn't want to yet the car was always serviced there. If I was in the area, I could stop in any time for a free car wash and a doughnut. You know what? It worked out for them.... because when I needed to buy an Avalanche, even though it was used, I called up my sales guy from that dealer and told him what I wanted him to find for me.

Absolutely not. Kudos to BMW for being able to pull off getting the Kool-Aid into the bloodstream of the American bourgeois . It does, however, reflect badly on people who buy BMW for the badge alone. Lemmings! All of them.

Those people would never be caught dead in a Cadillac no matter how good it is. You could sell them a 1994 Skoda for $60k if you pasted over the logo with a round blue and white thingy.

One wonders when you will realize you're drinking the BMW koolaid you just pointed out. I'm not at all impressed by someone who pays $20k extra for a rear power sunshade and cashmere headliner. I don't need or want 27 way power seats. If it takes longer to adjust my seat than it takes me to drive to work..... then there's a bit of a problem. I take the Ron Popeil method on power seats... "Just set it and forget it!"

uh, base CTS has 30 more horsepower and 53ft/lbs more torque than the base 528. The mid level V6 CTS roughly matches the 535 in horsepower and is down 17 on torque. The CTS V8 "sucks the doors off the M5"... to quote Bob Lutz. They both have 6-speeds all around, they both have a laundry list of interior features. I'll give you that the CTS is heavier.... but still. If you're going to convince me that the 535i is worth $15k more than the CTS, you're oging to need to do it with more than a rear power sunshade.

It doesn't matter if you buy then at Walmart or Footlocker if they're made in china either way. Find American made ones an then find the best price on them. You can still get good John Deeres, but you can't get them at the big boxes.

Wal*Mart has been responsible for the offshoring of manufacturing jobs in America. I witnessed this first hand at my previous job. Wal*Mart dictates the price of the product and manufacturers have to comply. The company I worked for shut down all of it's manufacturing facilities and moved them to El Salvador. The building in Pittsburgh became a warehouse with a few fork truck drivers shuffling pallets around. Over 40 textile workers lost their jobs.

I stopped buying that theory about 6 months ago. Japan is just as much a consumer economy as we are and they have a higher respect for education than we do, however, they still have a manufacturing base that, per capita, is much stronger than our own. The difference? Wage disparity. CEOs in the US make thousands of times as much as their average employees. Japan, out of the 15 top economic powers, has the most equal wage distribution across the classes. The CEO of ExxonMobile got a $400m retirement package. That works out to $4,819 that could have been paid to each and every one of Exxon's 83,000 employees.... or paid out in dividends..... or put into alternative fuel R&D.

*pulls out the banning stamp*

I like the opposing cylinder engine proposal posted a few days back more. It's more compact and lighter weight.

I love posting this. Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

They're out there. They just all work at walmart for $7.20 an hour since the fat cats at the top can't be satisfied with only a $100m bonus this year.

What is aging about the Sigma? The most recent iteration is forcing Jags and Bimmers to look at narrow vertical tail lamps. What more do you want from it?

And now for a dose of common sense. Do you honestly think that if someone is turning in a car on Cash for Clunkers because they can't get at least $3500 for it that they're going to be trading it in on a new CTS or SRX? Srsly?!

Thanks. Full Disclosure: I wrote it. forgot to put that in the original post.

The car was just an '09 CTS in pearl white, but the driver was a blond Kate Walsh impersonator. The license plate said "ATURNON"

There was much talk earlier this spring about so called “green shoots” in the economy by talking heads trying to coin a phrase that would stick. Unfortunately for us, they had very little evidence to back up such statements. Housing was still tanking, unemployment was still skyrocketing, and GM and Chrysler were swirling down the toilet of bankruptcy. I’ve been rather pessimistic on the economy for a while now. As recently as April I was predicting a long drawn out recovery. I also predicted that a second wave of foreclosures coming from a type of mortgage called Option ARMs would start carpet bombing the economy all over again. Well, unlike a certain ex-President of ours, I’m willing to chart a new course when provided with new information. Here is why I am cautiously optimistic for a near term recovery. I’ll go out on a limb and say that the bottom was sometime in June 2009. More here

Very handsome car.

I can cry over it! Those E-bodys are tough to find in good running condition! That was a future collectible. Assuming a clear interior, spend $350 for the bumper fillers and give it a paint job it could probably go in the $6k - $8k range on ebay. This is my fear with this program.

Well in that case, the 1970-1985 E-Body coupes were hard tops. They had frameless front windows and no b-pillar. In a move that would make 68's head explode. In the Caliente edition of the Toronado, you could add a FAKE b-pillar. It was held in with one screw at the bottom and a metal clip at the top.

I think it would be very wise of Penske to not be entirely dependent on "others" to build his cars.

A neither a Penske Saturn nor the Wilmington plant have the baggage of the British Auto industry or the UAW.

Possible... if and when it happens.

Wilmington can build a LOT more than just the Kappas. It was a huge, underutilized plant. If Penske could pick it up on the cheap with one production line already functioning.......