sciguy_0504

Tiger didn't seem to work out too well. Hopefully we'll see good Buick advertising now.

Well, there are reasons why luxury nameplates exisit in the first place. Not everyone wants to drive a Chevy.

Does this compete with the Lambdas? They are large crossovers. This seems to be midsized and would compete more with the...'Nox, I guess. Compete really isn't the right word to use in that comparison, though. Edge, Murano, Tribeca, CX-7/9, XL-7. I don't know the prices of those vehicles but the new Highlander does seem a bit on the expensive side.

Maybe it's the rear window/D-pillar kink? I forget the formal name. Lexus really needs to put a manual in the IS350. It doesn't matter if the IS250 manual only sold a few hundred copies...it's the image and preception of a manual transmission in a 300 HP entry-level lux sport sedan.

The center stack looks like it has too many buttons (a la new MDX) and the screen is very stupid. However, it does look somewhat better than the new interior of the Camry and next-gen Malibu.

The whole range is beautiful and offers something for everyone. It definitely shows promise for the future of Saab. I think I'd take the SportCombi.

The 5 grew on me, too. I thought it was ugly but now I think it looks great inside and out. The whole package, IMO.

GM still hasn't said what the problem is with these cars so I wouldn't exactly be raving about the response.

The interior was far from impressive, too.

The Sebring has grown on me a lot since it's debut but the rear 3/4, C pillar area is horrible. Very stupid design. The Nitro only looks good in upper models without all the grey plastic trim and even then it's underpowered. The Nitro looks fast and looks like it could handle well but in reality it doesn't. All show, no go. The interior is horrible, too. The world engines are underpowered for the vehicles they are being used in. Chrysler has work to do. It's cars are average, adequate, barely good enough. It can do better.

From personal experience, the S80's interior is not great (IMO, the MKZ is better) and the Navigator's interior is made of better materials than it looks, though I'd still put the Escalade above it. The CR-V, in base form, is horrible. It only looks good in dual tone with navigation. The Outlook's interior definately bests it. The Aura is a surprise to me. I guess the design throws me off. The SRX is no surprise...one of the best interiors in a modern car, period. It's a damn shame GM does not advertise the car (none that I have seen, at least). I suspect we'll be seeing Enclave on this list next year.

I like the update. It doesn't look as cheaply done as the 9-5's MCE. I've also loved that green/yellow color on the convertible. Very flashy and different but still tasteful, IMO. The taillights don't really bother me. Seeing a Saab without the black plastic rub strips is a surprise to me and the SportCombi looks damn amazing without them.

I've been seeing Lambdas (or Acadias) like mad, too. Whenever I see one while driving and note it, I always think, "duh." Build damn good cars and people will buy them.

It may be a G6 refresh. I think it looks like one. You can see the Pontiac grille outline and the rise of the beltline reminds me of the current G6.

As I drive by local gas stations and see the price is over $3.00 a gallon, I know one reason why Camry, Corolla, Yaris and Prius are doing so well. People will drive almost anything that gets good gas mileage, no matter if it is outdated and homely, eccentric, an overrated MPG hybrid or the most popular car in the country.

Speculation is one of the reasons C&G is in business, though. A RWD G6-sized car would be great for Pontiac. Returning to the "Regal" name would be great for Buick. A RWD sub-CTS would be great for Cadillac. Totally new product would be great for Saab. I disagree with a large FWD car for Chevy and another RWD vehicle for Saturn, however.

The Eclipse is a nice car, the new Outlander is a solid performer in its class and the new Lancer can compete with the 3 for best-in-class premium economy car. They are three very desireable cars. If Mitsu can keep the momentum up with the Galant refresh and correctly redesign the Endeavor, it will do well. It may even have room for a smaller crossover. Just drop that nasty truck. No one is expecting Mitsu to compete with the big boys. I see it competing with Mazda, Saturn, etc. Small but competitive lineup, respectable sales numbers.

I'll wait until the real deal to form a complete opinion but I hope the next Aura will look better than this photoshops lead me to believe.

The back end is tired, IMO. I know it's classic Caddy but...uh. The rest of the car looks nice, though. The wheels look a little small but the front end is where it's at (so is the interior).

I'm warming up the new VUE, too. I think the light blue color that we have all seen was throwing me off a bit. I'm still not fond of the headlights. THe interior is great and so is the white.

I'll admit the new Malibu does look better than the Camry in the photo posted in the thread. I don't think Chevy will have a problem selling the new Malibus on merit: good design, acceptable performance and gas mileage, quality, etc. Based on merit, the cars will sell. Based on perception, however, it will be a tougher sell. That's my whole thing with the cheap 1/2 nav setup. It doesn't matter if color screen nav is an expensive toy that only a few people opt for. It deals with perception. The Mazda 3, Mitsu Lancer and new xB can be had with full color screen nav but the new Malibu cannot. It's not a big deal in the scheme of things but it is a big deal with perception. And perception is GM's biggest problem (why isn't the Aura selling?). GM does have a chance with the new Malibu, especially after seeing what the new Accord sedan will look like.

I think it will flop, too. This is not what Chrysler needs right now. Any sort of halo car is supposed to be built after the rest of the lineup is better than average.

I like it. I think it's enough to get people into showrooms and get Saturn sales up. GM needs to advertise the hell out of Saturn's new cars.

While it is much better than the current Accord (you can compare the two in one of the photos on V-Tech Temple), it is a disappointment after the coupe we have been shown. I guess they figured it's better to be safe and bland with the sedan but more sporty and luxurious with the coupe. I can understand that mentality. The new Malibu probably will not live up to the new Accord's interior but it's exterior surpasses it by a large margin.

This bodes well for the new VUE, which looks better and appears to have a nicer interior. Then again, an 'H' isn't on the grille...