pow

Just stay out of the right lanes - the onramps are shorter than some driveways, so some cars are going 40 mph, still accelerating, while others blow by at 65 mph.

It really depends on the year, and what generation the vehicle happens to be in... and there are really no conclusions to be gained: In '06, the Civic had a "good" IIHS side rating, as opposed to the Corolla's "poor" or "acceptable." In '01, the Civic had a "good" IIHS front rating, as opposed to the Corolla's "acceptable. In '02, the CR-V had a "good" IIHS front rating, as opposed to the RAV4's "acceptable." In every single year, Honda has more Top Safety Picks than Toyota (in '07, Toyota had none). So, yeah..

Another thing - if the US government were more like Japan's government, GM and Chrysler would have been dead long ago. The success of many Asian industries comes from governments picking winners among domestic players, withdrawing support from those that are revealed failures, so that resources don't get bottled up in unproductive activities. I don't think American business owners, or consumers for that matter, would find that acceptable.

The point was to compare two vehicles of different size/weight categories that both had "good" frontal offset ratings. And it makes sense - for both a midsize sedan and a subcompact to get a "good" rating when hurled into a concrete barrier, the heavier sedan must be stiffer to compensate for the greater forces involved. What would be interesting is crashing an "acceptable" or "marginal" midsize sedan (last-gen Sebring, Sonata, Grand Prix) against a "good" subcompact (new Fit, Yaris, Versa). Fifth Gear crashed a Renault Modus against a Volvo 940, and the Renault destroyed the heavier Volvo.

And this is what happened...

Or if you have a car, blasting up Latigo Canyon Rd or the many other windy roads available there.

It doesn't help the MSRP is so high... over $15K for the cheapest model.

This story reminds me of a Circuit City liquidation piece done by This American Life. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Epis...aspx?sched=1289 Sometimes the sheer assholism of people is astonishing.

According to IIHS suggestions, fuel economy and safety aren't mutually exclusive. In the video, they point to the Fusion Hybrid and Camry Hybrid as having both, and they note new CAFE targets that use a size-based system, which push for greater fuel efficiency (and possibly lower weight) but not smaller size.

Looks like ACE (Advanced Compatibility Engineering) in work... Granted the laws of physics still apply, but structural engineering, crash compliance, and restraint performance helps.

I literally ROFLed after watching this one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byh89D0ziMk...re=channel_page

I don't know much about architecture, but that's really cool. I hope they build it.

Will this get direct injection in the future? That could make it even better.

Don't get me wrong... I love the G8. It's my favorite reasonably-priced GM vehicle. And it's gotten great reviews from tougher critics as well. But the OP made it seem as if a positive review from the WP were impossible.

How about a Hertz Vette? I've heard you can get them for ~$500/wk.

Agreed. If you're driving from one one end of the LA metro area to the other, you'll want to pull your hair out. But then the region is so vast and sprawling it'll take hours even with minimal traffic. It's best to stick with one or two areas per day.

Buy a Garmin nuvi for $120 or so if you haven't already. An iPhone with Google Traffic is helpful as well.

The Washington Post's auto writer, Warren Brown has been, in the past, quite conciliatory with GM - he was once described as a "Detroit apologist", having written possibly the only positive review of the Torrent ("Pontiac's Torrent just makes you want to drive - Chock full of SUV attitude, this is a vehicle built to escape urban sprawl and crawl.") This article is written by a "staff writer", but if you've read the Post's car reviews, their praise of the G8 doesn't come as a surprise.

Agreed... restructuring to competitiveness, whether through bankruptcy court or not, inevitably means downsizing - closing plants, laying off workers, killing brands - so that the size of the company is in line with the actual car market size. The dilemma is how best to minimize the effects of this downsizing, and to make sure all stakeholders share in the pain. In this respect, a government aided bankruptcy seems preferable.

I wonder if that has anything to do with different mfg plants. Malibus are made in both Lake Orion, MI (alongside G6) and Kansas City (alongside AURA).

The Phaeton was, at least, nicely styled. Hyundai always had ugly Korean Domestic Market executive sedans... this new one is no exception, and it should remain KDM.

Congrats with the purchase! The G8 is my favorite reasonably-priced GM car. Epsilon quality seems to be quite problematic - Edmunds had a lot of problems with their long-term AURA, and we know the 9-3 can be iffy. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...rticleId=121777

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt - GM tries to convince us that 'it's different this time.' 1999 Alero, Grand Am may signal a new GM - Compacts morph from middle-of-the-road blandmobiles to candidates for best-in-class. 1980 Citation - REVOLUTION! GM blows everybody into the weeds with the new front-drive compacts! Maybe the Cruze will be the small car that finally shows GM got its act together...

Hm, road rage -- I just try not to take it personally. If there's an obstruction, there's almost always a way to get by, even if it means waiting a few extra seconds. In the scheme of things, there's little time saved driving like your pants are on fire.

High-powered weapons seized from Mexican cartels were traced to gun dealers and shows in the US: