Drew Dowdell

Oh good, because nothing bad came from *THAT* in terms of automotive design.

I'm not so much worried about how often I have to fill up as long as the fuel economy is still great. 360 miles is longer than the capacity of most people's bladders anyway.

the idea here is that GM proact rather than react. to be fair, Mazda doesn't have the dealer network or visibility of Chevy. If you had said the Ford Fusion wagon failed I'd see your point.... but if you want to buy a Japanese wagon are you really going to go to Mazda over Subaru?

A Malibu wagon please. 1. Don't try to go the Dodge route and load it up with testosterone, just a wagon of the existing car please. 2. Make the 4cylinder/6speed option available You already have a great interior, something the Magnum never had. You'd be the only one on the market except the Mazda 6 and that one is going away. You'd have a great stepping down point from the larger CUVs and SUVs for families that finally realize they don't need so much car. You could tout it being cooler than a mini-van, more efficient than an SUV/CUV and able to haul just about as much stuff.

Hell, I did a trip across Germany and France in a 2006(?) VW Touran TDi with just a bit over 100hp and we did just fine with 3 guys plus luggage at 130kph. My only complaint was the car had no cruise control.

pics?

The Cobalt gets by just fine with 155hp and about 3000lbs and is more likely to get that type of engine. 3500lbs is first generation CTS weight. I don't see them putting a 1.4l turbo into something that size.

This is where 6 speeds... <and 7 and 8 speeds> are going to become important. A 1.4 litre turbo with a 4 speed auto probably wouldn't do well... with a 6 speed... well it'd probably be tolerable.

fixed for my case.

lol @ 2.8 litres = big.

I agree with the "huh?", I'm not sure why that wouldn't just throw a check engine light and otherwise let you be on your way. $99.99 for computerized engine diagnostic service is flat out robbery. There is less than 10 minutes of labor involved and a scan tool is about $300.

yeah, I've been watching it at the server level but I haven't had much free time lately to look into it very deeply. There are errors being thrown in the logs that I believe are related. I don't think it's a hosting issue like last time.

it would sound different when cranking if it was the timing chain. Could be a coil or fuel pump.

I found out last night that my ex, Chas, got booted out by sugar daddy he was cheating on me with. It wouldn't have happened to a better person. I can't remember when I've been in such a good mood.

Great idea... there's a little problem with Honda holding the patent on it. What about making a stripped down version of the two-mode transmission for use on lower end cars?

Where's the fun in that?

Uncle Sam, your car is ready.

what do you mean "when."?

so dated....I mean, it doesn't even have fender vents!!!!

dollar cost averaging.

"A Banker is someone who will lend you his umbrella when it is sunny and then demand it back upon the threat of rain" - Mark Twain

A Cutlabu with two Buick fender vents on each side..... which is fine except the Cutlass came with a V6 standard.

Well... yeah. The downgrade was from "buy" to "underperform". Looking at GM's financial position, I'd probably make that same call myself.

FOG, the economic situation isn't out to get GM. GM will just be collateral damage. The numbers just aren't there. You can hate on analyists all you like but that won't change the numbers. again, we're looking at a realignment on the magnitude of 1929 through the 30s. Look how many marques we lost then.

While the fed is a problem <putting it lightly>, it isn't the primary cause of the problems we are facing today. Bernake, however, is doing his best to F it up even worse.