thegriffon

I wouldn't think there'd be any difference, especially as normal air is mostly nitrogen anyway.

There is a market for cargo vehicles this size. Most Astravans go to small businesses and company reps. They generally don't need to carry a lot of cargo, just flat-folded merchandising displays, POS promotional material, cut flowers etc. Nissan and Toyota have small station wagons in Japan dedicated to this role, and even in the US a lot of Vibes go to small businesses for use as delivery vans for items as large as washing machines. Without dedicated LCVs such as the Transit Connect, Opel Combo and Fiat Doblo, the HHR panel will fill a burgeoning market niche in the US. Note the Japanese no longer have any vehicles in this class, although Toyota briefly had one in Japan. The Japanese market for larger LCVs is filled by compact vans such as the Suzuki APV, the ancient Mazda Bongo (also sold by Mitsubishi and Nissan) and Toyota LiteAce/TownAce (Chevy/GMC style rebadging).

The Toyota Camry (V-body) is also "upgraded" far more frequently than it is completely redesigned. Since it was introduced in 1982 there has been only one truly all-new version prior to this year (the original V-body Camry lasted theough the V20 and V30 before a major change for the V40 in 1994. The "wide-body" V10 of '92 was a streched V30, the V20 a stretched V40, and the V30 simply used the lwb version of the V20 underpinning the preceding X10 Avalon [1995—the narrow V50 Camry Vista didn't arrive till '98 on a shortened version of the X10]). The W-body may not be as fresh as the 2006 Camry, but it is unfair to call it an '80s platform. Not every update has been a major change, but the MS2000 is not the same platform as the original GM10 and it is incorrect to imply it is, and the MS2000 has recieved substantial updates since it's introduction. Limited space has more to do with styling than platform restrictions, the front overhang with engine/transmission choices. As for the comparison between Toyota's vehicle platforms and the W-body, it is fair enough if you are going to ignore platform changes. The example is extreme of course, but simply illustrates that the name is irrelevant. The competitive nature of the European market is no excuse for fielding the wrong product time and time again. The Yaris is simply too small for the segment it allegedly competes in and customers are not fooled. The Koreans can get it right, why can't Toyota? It's not as if Toyota can't design more suitable product—they just don't sell it in Europe and belatedly brought it to the US as the Scion xA. Toyota may think they know better, but the success of the Grande Punto shows otherwise. The new Corolla Versa arrived three years after the E12 Corolla Spacio, not two years, and is not a redesign, but a new, additional product for the European market. The original E11 Corolla Spacio dates back to 1997, so they've taken some time to realise the tall Corolla wasn't right for Europe. As it is Toyota now has four separate C-segment MPVs, three based on the Corolla alone (Spacio [tall], Verso [wide] and Wish [long]). Sure it shows that Toyota will plug away until they get it right, but it is not a quick model change. It was probably planned while they were still selling the E11 Verso (Corolla Spacio), simply too late to arrive in time to meet the changeover to the E12.

Yet the Yaris hatchback is still a generation behind the Europeans, despite the P-body being produced since 1961. How many goes before they get it right do you think?Toyota has been increasing production and capacity for years, always well ahead of actual sales, at some point you have to wonder whether these capacity increases are running too far ahead. For some people that is happening now. Does Toyota really a need a 160,000 unit Camry plant in Russia when the most popular car costs 80% less and sells no more than 30.000 p.a.?

The W-body has recieved a new platform twice since it's introduction, it is not an '80s platform. If you say GM has been producing W-bodies since the '80s, well you have to know Toyota has been producing E-bodies (Corolla, Sprinter, Matrix etc) since 1966, V-bodies (Camry, Vista, ES-Series) since the early 80's, the S-body (Crown, GS-Series) since 1955, the J-body Toyota truck has been around since 1951, the T-body (Corona, Carina, Allion, Avensis, tC etc.) since 1957, and the P-body (Publica, Starlet, Echo, Yaris) has been produced since 1961. Like the W-body these are like the proverbial axe - over the years it may have recieved 5 new handles and a new head, but it's still the "same axe".

Go back to previous threads which shoed shots of the Antara with less camouflage and you'll see more of the Vue, including the same side panels as seen on the second of Chris's photos. E.g. http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enthusiast...S178.A9430.html

There is no Delta 2. Except for the Ion, Cobalt and HHR nothing else even uses Delta. Opel is developing a new Global Compact Car architecture, probably adapting elements from the Astra and Global Midsize architectures. This should not be confused with the Global Small Car architecture being developed by GM Daewoo.

Should not be an issue. More to the point is remaining vehicle life and calibration with available engine options. With a limited supply of 6T70 and 6T75s is it worth doing the calibration work for an engine/vehicle package that won't be around for much longer?

Ahh Chris, you have two different trucks there, one is the front 3/4 of the Chevrolet Captiva (concave side panels with crease through door handles), the other is the rear 3/4 of the Saturn Vue/Opel Antara (convex side panels with crease above door handles).

There's another minor change that isn't listed there.

211 hp is the certified figure from the Impala. The final figure for the Malibu may be higher, but not as much as the Aura and G6.

Note peak horsepower is at a lower engine speed than the LZ9, that probably accounts for the drop in horsepower, as torque is unchanged. Whether that is connected with the AFM system is another matter. If you go back you will see that this is the 3.9 L originally announced, and the cause of some confusion when the LZ9 debuted instead.

Not any more. The original Panoz Roadster was custom-built near Atlanta from 1990, while the AIV Roadster went into series production in 1996. Panoz now offers several versions of the Esperante coupe and convertible.

Only the profit from the Suzuki sale is included inthe profit statement: "These results include a gain of $317 million, or $0.56 per share, from the sale of most of GM’s stake in Suzuki…"

The Suzuki sale, the VEBA withdrawal and the other once off items were all previously announced, and so should have been factored in to analysts expectations. The real mystery was, "How much money did they lose selling cars?"

Stick to what you know BM. The previous answer was perfectly correct. The price prior to the release reflected expectations regarding the loss, the price immediately afterward was adjusted to reflect how accurate those expectations were, and in which direction they were in error. Analysts on average expected a slightly better loss, but apparently more money was behind a slightly worse loss, nothing more, nothing less. It has no bearing on short selling (if you even know what that is) or on continuing market expectations about GM's future.

Today's release says 1.3 billion, after rounding of course.

Wider use of the 3.9 and 3.6 mean the 3.5 should be more widely available.

A vibrating brake pedal is not always a feature of ABS systems, though some produce it and others still use it as a feedback mechanism so you know it's taking action. More systems these days are transparent, i.e. you only notice it when it's not working.

The Lucerne goes straight up against much more expensive European luxury sedans, most of which are rwd or awd. I doubt they've even driven a fwd Phaeton, which would be the closest thing to a Lucerne, but still, it isn't going to get great reviews until it compares well to an S-Class or 7-Series etc.

Ahh, but the Ecotec is European.

Simple—a standard size class generally spans 400 mm in length, and the Swift is 185 mm shorter than an Aveo hatch, close enough to 200 mm or half a size class down. When you look at the new generation of European and Korean compacts (Rio, Accent, 207, Clio III, Grande Punto) at around 4 m long and, you can easily see that the Yaris hatch at just over 3.8 m is fighting way out of it's league, just like the last generation. It may have critical acceptance but buyers aren't decieved — it comes nowhere near it's European rivals in terms of sales. Like too many GM models it's just too far from the sweet spot in size and price. The Swift is popular and has a lot of spark, but Suzuki is far less inclined to pretend it competes with a Clio, or a Rio. Being a "Toyota" does not make up for the Yaris's size disadvantage. It really should have had the 90 mm stretch given the Yaris/Belta sedan. ocnblu, if you like the Swift, check out the Verisa at www.mazda.co.jp Like the Scion xA it's longer and a lot cooler than the standard B-segment model sold in Europe.

ABS you'll find out if you ever have to stop in a hurry or in wet or icy conditions. LSD is more of a performance feature.

As Infiniti sells the Skyline as the G35, I'm sure they expected to also sell the Skyline GT-R.

Poison