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What'd you think of the new interior? -RBB

From what might it be derived? Does GM even have anything suitable for a small offroad platform? -RBB

Fries.

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hookup

Aston Martin DB9 convertible - pure sex. '98ish black Lincoln Continental with 3" straight pipes - pure white trash. -RBB

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I bought an '96 Accord with 90K miles on it a few years back. After about 50K miles, I took the car to the dealer b/c my engine light kept coming on. i was told the problem was the catalytic converter, and that the warantee on the converter had been "extended" to 150K miles. They replaced the converter and the exhaust system aft of it free of charge. -RBB

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IMO this was the best looking grill Buick's designed in decades: Reminiscent of the big toothy grilles of the 50's, but without being gaudy or retro - your sig is the perfect example, rivieraranch. I wonder if Buick could incorporate the alternating big-tooth/little-tooth idea in the current waterfall grill? -RBB

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AMC Eagle Redux? -RBB

You'd be correct: Aisin (pronounced "eye-sheen") is an archetypal supplier in Toyota's group. Founded during World War II to make aircraft engines, it is based in Kariya, an industrial warren occupied by many other big Toyota suppliers. Toyota holds 23% of Aisin's stock. Aisin's president is Kanshiro Toyoda, scion of the Toyoda family that founded the auto maker. GM also buys parts from Aisin: Transmission: Aisin® 5-speed manual close-ratio Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (President: Kanshiro Toyoda; Headquarters: Kariya-city, Aichi, Japan) received orders for the first time from General Motors (GM) for engine related parts, Variable Valve Timing (VVT) and Oil Control Valve (OCV), which hydraulically controls VVT, and began supplying these products at the end of March. -RBB

That's my thoughts on this as well. Ideally, it'd be more than just a badge job, but you take what you can get given the situation. I don't think that's necessary, especially if the turbo Ecotec is a Pontiac exclusive. This is what I'd like to see: G4/5: 170 HP 2.4L 205 HP 2.0L Supercharged 260 HP 2.4L DI Turbocharged Cobalt: 145 HP 2.2L 170 HP 2.4L 205 HP 2.0L Supercharged. perhaps another way Pontiac (not just the G5) could diferentiate itself would be to offer a version of the G4 sedan with either the turbocharged or the supercharged engine. Anyone know if there are any issues using the turbo engine in a FWD platform? I assume at a minimun some of the plumbing will need to be reworked. -RBB

Is there a place to find fleet sales numbers, either for fleet and total retail sales separately, or for fleet as a percentage of total sales? -RBB

What exactly is that behind the shifter? -RBB

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That's what I thought. Thanks. -RBB

Just sayin': The interior doesn't photograph well - it looks cheaper than most everyone's come to expect from Toyota, and I wonder about the ergonomics of that center stack. I'd like to hear a first-hand report about it, though, as one thing even the staunchest GM fan will admit is that Toyota usually does quality interiors. I see that they stole the pistol-grip shifter from the F-150... It looks like they were trying to be aggressive, but couldn't quite do it. It's not bad looking, but it's doesn't wow. Looks like a legit competitor. It'll be interesting to see how well it sells. -RBB -RBB

I think they should call it si. Then they could put in a 1.8 litre I-4 that makes 625 HP at 13,000 RPM and 125 lb-ft of torque at 12.500 RPM. And it needs a fat wing on the back, preferably a double-decker. Or they could call it SS to be consistent with the current performance lineup. -RBB