haypops

good point.

According to the honda web site, the minivan seems to weigh 200 pounds more than the pilot which makes sense with the sliding door mechanism and addional glass. Who knows.

Could you explain why a crossover wouldn't have superior fuel mileage to the minivan? The crossover (not SUV) should have better aerodynamics than the minivan. Isn't that really how the minivan gains all those excellent characteristics that you detailed?

Some interesting comments on older Corollas above. Although I complain about my daughter's present generation Corolla, her older sister's previous generation Corolla was fine. Thanks for reminding me.

Like the present/new DC vans it was part of a seating package. The weekender package had the captains turned around back wards and the table. The standard vehicle had a middle row bench seat.

That is a fair question. Who knows. Let's not forget that the PT cruiser is a truck.

2003 Volkswagen EuroVan MV

Probaly true, but the present ones look quite handsome. article on minivan segment sales The support/channel for the sliding door seems very well hidden.

market collapse - mini vans I think the out going DC vans were more handsome, than these but the list of features is impressive. I was expecting worse from the spy pictures. The "support" for the sliding door mechanism seems well hidden.

New EPA system of measuring MPG?

Sorry about the screen name thing. I have had mine mangled elsewhere so I know it can be annoying.

I have both too. My wife and daughter just got back from a round trip from Pasadena to Paradise, CA (over the grape vine). There is no question in my mind that the GM (actually its an ION) was a safer choice than would have been the Corolla. Have you driven both with automatic transmissions under a reasonable load (800 pounds)?

I noticed from information below your screen name that you are from New Hampshire. The following article is about one of NH's new congress people. It is an amazing story. I present it in a bipartisan manner. The story here isn't party affiliation but rather victory of the little people over "big politics". If the moderator feels this to be too political, then remove it please. If you read nothing else, read the last paragraph.

Very nice!

This is going to seem far fetched, but cut me a little slack on this. The FDA(Food and Drug Administration) just declared genetically modified animals safe to eat. After a short period of time for public comment, regulations will be drafted to allow these products to enter our food supply as they should. The United States will attempt to export these food products. Our trading partners will set up prohibitions to the importation of these American products. The congress will retaliate by setting up restrictive tariffs on foreign made vehicles. GM and Ford will be saved. Happy New Year all

Vince I too had the old car and refused the new one as you did. Good move. However, now that my card "good to" date has come and gone they mailed me the new one with the very limited redemption opportunity. I would suggest that you "pull forward" and GM vehicle purchase you plan on making. The exception would be the full sized pick ups as they have a $3000 GM card rebate on them. Perhaps one of the friendly sales people here can further guide you. Best Wishes for the New Year Ernie

All that safety equipment, On Star and XM radio stuff is very impressive. I hope that they can keep the price attainable. The typical V6 LT sedan is going to have a VERY impressive equipment list.!

Saturn gained notoriety serving donuts. Perhaps Chrysler dealers will serve fried Won Tons.

The Uplander and Impala too, but surely that wasn't the original intention!

Although I was expecting the rear to resemble the taillight treatment of the Impala, I find the rest of the car most appealing. I think this is the kind of design that will please the car's owners in 5 years as much as it does today. If the 3.5 and 3.9 OHV engines are indeed not available, then how does this reflect on the development costs of these engines? Are the 3.5 and 3.9 HV, 2.8 HF, and the Atlas engine family a waste of development funds?

I think that the environmentalists would be very much against the use of past year credits, so this might work out in Ford and GM's favor.

These are not just my numbers! They are the numbers you and others here are working off of. That is why the generally quoted explanation of taking in too many calories or burning too few is just not adequate. You are correct that as body weight increases more calories are required for basal metabolism, but not nearly enough to compensate for increased insulin resistance. Data from the National Weight Loss Registry that I mentioned earlier show that over 90% of the people who loose weight by normal means gain it back. Recovering Alcoholics expend more time than you would suggest for exercise. There are daily meetings and much time alone studying too. Those that suffer from both obesity and alcoholism find the former more difficult to solve, but the latter more disruptive. Finally I would add that obese people who undergo one of several surgical techniques commonly referred to as stomach stapling undergo immediate biochemical changes to their metabolism, even if they had successfully controlled food amounts prior to surgery. There are profound changes to the biochemistry of the gut irrespective of food intake.

True! That is not the way it works and that is why the usual claims of just adjusting calories, calories in = calories out, feed back loops, will power etc. are just not accurate.

Your 3500 calories/pound is the generally accepted value. A slice of bread is 75 calories x 365 days/year x 45 years/3500 cal per pound = 351.964 pound gain over normal. Keep up the good work with your minor in health/nutrition. If you need a topic for a future term paper, you might find the "set-point theory" or the National Weight Loss Registry run out of the Miriam Hospital/Brown University Medical School intriguing.