I meant the Kappas.... why are the Kappas poorly conceived? They look great and sell well. Probably have a decent profit for a limited production vehicle too... all the hardware is off the shelf.
XLR is a good car. It gets poor reviews because it's an in between car amongst it's competitors. It's much sportier than the Lexus and Jag but it doesn't have the HP of the SL.... but doesn't have the price tag either.
I'd say the Aura is the other decent Epsilon. It's the dealer network that is failing it. The one I drove felt like a FWD CTS at a $10,000 discount.
9-3 after the refresh is also good... but it's expected to be a 3-series when it isn't intended to be by Saab. It has top notch crash ratings. Great powertrain selection. Sweedish quirky interior. No... it's not a 3-series.... that's the point.
Sigma.... CTS v.1 Put Cadillac back on the car map. CTS v.2 Changed the entry lux game in the American's favor. STS.. doesn't do harm to Cadillac's image... and I've been seeing LOTS of the refreshed one around. SRX v.1 consistently rated one of the best handling mid-sized, mid-lux crossovers. SRX v.1.5 maintains the performance of the original, adds fantabulous interior. That GM didn't get the SRX product mix right is no fault of the platform. Yeah, Sigma is a total dud.
And not that I'm saying the W-body is great but, Impala retail sales are still up in the face of newer cars from Ford, Honda, Toyota, and even Chevy.