Drew Dowdell

Drive it like you're driving your couch.

You can't go wrong with a used Avalanche. I do the same thing as you do with the rental properties.

If AH-HA took the time to come on here and wink at us, I'm gonna say this whole thread is a bust.

to match the bulbous front end

Bon Jovi is more outdated than the W-body platform.....

Oh.... nevermind.

Ah. We have Civic Hybrids, Yaris Sedans, Honda Odysseys, Tacomas, Mini-Coopers, and Toyota Solaras.

Is there a "downshift" toggle button for coasting into downtown also?

Ah, I was unaware of the rating change. I'm not sure if it was an '07 or not however. This is a flexcar and it already has 5,000 miles on it.

Today I used my flexcar account to pick up a Mini-Cooper to run some errands. This car has the 6-speed auto with manual mode and paddle shift. I was impressed with the car's roominess and more than ample headroom, but looking up, one sees what appears to be gray colored grade school felt covering cardboard. Most of the other interior materials however seem to be very nice. Handling was very good, very sporty. Ride was comfortable and not harsh. Now for the bad: Close your eyes, start the car, don't touch anything. Just listen...... rev the engine a little. Yup, you've been transported back in time and are now riding in your grandmother's '92 Escort. ALL.. and I mean every single one of the controls and indicators are in the wrong location. Tach? Directly in front of you.... ya know... where the speedometer should be. Speedometer? over to the right gas gauge? inside the furthest lower right quadrent of the speedo Window switches? at the bottom of the center stack, wide enough apart that you much use your index and pinky if you want to hit both at once. Radio? In the speedometer. Except for the volume dial.... it's about 5 inches down the center stack away from the rest of the radio controls. Turn signal has NO feel at all and it always returns to center even if the turn signal is activated. Now for the part I'm going to enjoy the most: The transmission..... as I said earlier, this car had paddle shifters. In automatic mode the tranny shifted with a small bump between each gear. It also had the tenancy to hold a higher gear longer than one might if one was in a row-your-own. It did lug the engine on more than one occasion. But wait! The Paddle shift mode! Naturally, I couldn't resist trying the system out. The transmission was fairly responsive to my inputs. A 2-1 down shift was a bit clunky, but tolerable. I got the Cooper up to highway speeds, left it in 6 and then floored it. Can you guess what happened? Go on.... I dare you. Guess. It DOWN SHIFTED!!! Not to 5th.... not even to 4th... no, when I threw the hammer down, the Cooper dropped from 6th to 3rd gear at 70mph even though I was in paddle shift, manual mode! Here I am in rush hour traffic.... stunned... STUNNED...... that this BMW built, supposedly premium vehicle had such a low rent, bean counter, cost cutting transmission program. How dare BMW think they are smarter than me when it comes to shifting my Cooper? Whatever gear is good for me is good for my car.... and that's the way I want it to be. How am I supposed to tow my boat up over the mountains with a transmission like this!? This one glaring flaw ruins any sporting pretensions it had. Anyway.... the fun doesn't end there. I would expect, since BMW already rudely overrode my command, that they'd at least put the transmission back in the gear I selected after the need for extra power was over.... but no. No the Cooper stays in 3rd gear at 70mph until you put it back up to 6 where you had it in the first place. My time with the Cooper was coming to an end and I had to take it back to it's parking spot. I left it in 6th as I entered downtown Pittsburgh and made my way through town. To my surprise when I looked down I found that the transmission had been down shifting for me. I was now in 3rd gear making my way through the city. I parked the car. Our time together was short, however I was reasonably impressed with most of it's driving characteristics. I'm not sure I'd pay as much as what Mini is asking for one, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending one to a friend who doesn't mind: 1. Out of place switches and dials. 2. A high priced small car with a lower than average fuel efficiency. 3. A Mini-Cooper that shifts like a Buick.....except... not as smoothly.

boo @ deleting my joke.

eh..... should be more CSVish

We keep selling cars like this on the site and we're gonna start catching heat from Cars.com

Hot coffee? anyone? Decaf?

What if GM found a way to avoid the problem you mention. It was brought up as a concern on the '08 CTS and yet all of the reviews I've seen have been positive.

My issue with this article is the assumption that the middle class didn't get into this predicament all on their own by trying to appear rich. When to be "comfortable" one is required to have a 5-bedroom McMansion <for 2 adults, 2 kids>, 3 car garage, 2 luxury SUVs, boat, designer clothes, all starbucks all the time, multiple flat panel TVs, all financed to the absolute max....... it's really time to go over that priorities checklist again.

how did you of all people forget GMC?

Hybrid Tahoe G8 GXP Sky Red-line Lucerne CXS GMC Yukon XL <then trade it on an Enclave> CTS 3.6DI manual H3 <then trade it on an Escalade EXT> Saab 9-3 convertible Holden Statesman Opel Astra twintop diesel manual yeah, I cheated, so what?

on the Fastlane blog there is quite literally a guy who says he won't buy Cadillacs anymore because all his previous ones gave him trouble.... and his last one, a 198x Cimirron was the worst. Tell me sir, how was that 1979 Toyota for you?

you could kick some ford ass with a VW Touran TDI...... so doing it with the GP isn't saying much.

and how does she like it now?

are there any Prius-es that are on their 3rd set of batteries?

Best Month EVAR! no... wait.

I loved the W-body, I really did. However, I feel it's best years are behind it. Given the choice of a slightly used Intrigue or a new Lacrosse CXS, I'll take the Olds. In previous generations, I liked at least one model of W-body from each division. Today, the only one even remotely on my radar would be an upper end Impala. I don't really mind the overhang at all. I'm just giving ya hell. My guess for the overhangs you're seeing would be the Citroens. The larger sedans have a front overhang that would make a W-body blush.

Oh yeah, I hadn't noticed you were in NJ. No Camaro for you.