ponchoman49

No unsold 05 LaCrosses in my area. All 4 Buick dealers sell everyone they get!

It's really sad that our highways are going to be blighted with these current fugly Toyotas. Really sad!

It's good to see Wagoner lose 50% of his salary. Maybe he will try harder in the future to earn his keep. Now if we could get the govt and states to follow this practice of trimming the fat we would all be better off.

The 2006 Grand Prix looks sharp in white with tan leather interior and chrome accents. Which model are you looking at? The best deal IMO is the GT with supercharger and the above options. The 04 and up supercharged editions don't require premium gas anymore and can get close to 30 on a trip to boot. It's like having your cake and eating it too.

It's a sad sad time to be a GM car fan!

This is after all the magazine that picks the xBox as first place against the Element, HHR and PT Cruiser. And they also think the Malibu Maxx looks odd but give the xBox kudos for styling. Whatever! How they think the Lucerne looks like a 90's Camry is beyond me. I'll bet when they review the putrid 07 Camry they won't even mention the fact that is looks just like a Mazda in front and that the overall shape is bloated and ugly. When reviewing the Lucerne they just had to come up with some stupid older 90's car to compare it's styling to. These yuppie retards should keep there opinions about styling out of the equation because few cars made today really have great styling. It's either the tired jelly bean look or the ugly box or the haunchy midget window look of the 300C etc. Thankfully GM has the best styled vehicles IMO like the Solstice/Sky, Vette, 900's, Lucerne, Grand Prix, and Ford with there Mustang and Fusion.

Check out my "2006 Impala LS review" down the list a little way. I found the 3500 to be a pretty good base engine but sadly it was still not very quiet when worked. It provided consistant 7.8 0-60 times in my test car, revved to 6200 rpms and shifted out of first gear at 60 mph! The 2.86:1 gears they use with this engine somewhat blunt the response of this engine as does the antique 4 speed automatic with it's huge gap between 1st and 2nd gear. It ran pretty free up to 60 then shifted into 2nd and lost a lot of steam until engine revs came back up. In contrast a 2006 Ford Five Hundred I rented was noticeably different. It was a base FWD model with CVT. Off the line was sluggish until around 25 mph when the engine came on very strong. Highway response was unreal with that car. The engine was always right there and highway passing response was super. It felt so much more responsive than anything with GM's 4 speed automatic that I have ever driven! Hopefully the Impalas will get the 6 speed automatics soon, which will go a long way towards correcting this.

I have to partly agree with there rankings even though VWs of the past several years have proven to be not very reliable. I drove a 06 Passat automatic 2 liter and it was quite an impressive car to drive and the interior was very nice overall. The Fusion is a solid entry as is the Sonota, the Impala is indeed improved but could still use some further improvement and the Charger is just a bit quirky with that rear end styling and treatment and the interior is kind of sterile. In all fariness they should have pitted more like sized cars such as the 500 and perhaps even a base Avalon instead of the Fusion and Passat.

Quote: Jesus, the Colorado and Eq both tanked! The reason I hear from local dealers for this has to do with there crappy interiors, poor towing and weird 5 cylinder engine in the Colorado, lackluster mileage on the Equinox AWD, 18/23 is very low indeed considering a new Tahoe is supposed to do slightly over 20, outdated engine in the Equinox etc. These are all complaints that shoppers have voiced when cross shopping these products and I agree with all of them. The TB's recent success is puzzling considering it's older than either of these 2 models.

2005 was just a bad year in general. Add to that GM still had many of there 8-9 y/o products still out like the Century, LeSabre/Park Ave, old style minivans, Astro, old gen Impala and Monte from 2000, Cavaliers/Sunfires from model year 1995 etc. How could they possibly have a good year with so much outdated product, astronomical gas prices, changing attitudes with Detroit, massive rebates etc. Ironically 2005 was personally one of the worst years for me too jobwise and financially. Lets hope 2006 gets better.

A more aggressive looking front end with something other than the boring lexus like headlights would go a long way to cleaning up the front. I much preffered the former Regals front end to this. Also I hope they put some more convincing woodgrain inside, the 3900 engine with less agressive 3.05:1 gears and mileage of around 20/29 specs, spice up the 3.6 DOHC with around 260 hp and torque around 245-250. The Super model will more than likely have the 5.3 V8 and will be the powerhouse of the bunch so there is not much need to drop in the 300 hp version of the 3.6 yet. I would also like to see the base suspension and steering more like the old Intrigue. Even better yet how about base and CXL models adopt the 240 hp 3.6 as std and make 270-280 hp version of the 3.6 the CXS engine. It would take but a few simple things like this to put it on peoples radar.

I just hope Buick listens to people with the few negatives with this car and quickly fixes them such as the center stack, intrusive trunk hinges, 4 speed only trans and no 3.6 engine option. If they let it stagnate even for more than a year it will quickly be back to incentive time. If Buick keeps it ahead of the class it will continue to sell and hold it's value better, something this car really deserves.

Wow this is light years better looking than the new 07 Camry! To bad it's V6 powertrain isn't up to the Toyotas standards though.

Oh no not another "G" name. Can't we have a real name this time around please. Does Pontiac want to totally ruin there image with these meaningless names.

They have better interiors than even some Toyotas and many american made vehicles, the new Sedona blows away many other minivans in power, refinement, features, price etc. They still have glove box lights, cig lighters, chrome trim, bodyside moldings even on there cheapest cars etc. There interiors and exteriors are very well put together. They share many parts with Hyundai who is recognised as making quality products etc. They use more modern and smooth shifting trannys than many competitors. They have better styling than Toyota in many cases.

The G6 in coupe or sedan form blows away the either the Accord or Camry in styling, especially the dumb ass 07 Camry!

Lets not forget the Avalons huge, massive 14.4 cu. ft. trunk that some compacts outclass, intrusive hinges, lack of door protection moldings for parking lot dings and gaudy overly light woodgrain and silver plastic plus that cornball door over the controls.

How in the world does C&D think the Lucerne looks like a 90's Camry. I see virtually no resemblance whatsoever. The Lucerne has far more presence than Toyotas dullmobile and far more chrome trim and those neat portholes. The rear resembles a VW if anything and the front looks very Buick like. I think they just have Toyota on the Brain!

I know that in 2000 the Northstar in both 275 and 300 hp varients were both given new heads and revised compression ratios to burn regular 87 octane gas. Why do the 2006 motors now need super to get the 275 number. I'll bet it has something to do with the new SAE ratings. The Northstars probably lost a couple of hp but were recalibrated to make that up with super unleaded. Not sure on this but it's a possibility. Is this coming from the Lucerne owners manual or Buick press release articles?

Checking with Consumer Reports was there first mistake! There reliabilty reports go against anything I have seen for vehicles on the domestics. This magazine is ok at testing appliances and Toyotas but there reliabilty ratings are so for Asian makes it's pathetic. I'm amazed that they actually admitted that the European's are last on the reliability list.

The majority of my next car shopping list is American made cars. This comes after test driving many sedans, reading articles in car rags, asking around to different owners and my own experiences. The only foreign made mid size sedan I like is actually a 2006 Sonota which I think is a much better value than the overly hyped CamCord. America is making excellent products in the new Impala, Fusion, Charger etc. They would be my first choices for a new sedan in the not so distant future.

This article just makes Car & Driver a "don't gotta have" magazine! :rolleyes:

Actually as of January 11th the Chevy Cobalt is priced at $12990 for either the 2 door or 4 door so it should be on this list bumping off one of the higher priced competitors. Bodyside moldings have been eliminated on many newly introduced cars and aren't even offered as an option on most. The Cobalt does offer them for $100.00 extra. The Kia and Hyundai products still use them but very misplaced if I might say so. Also the 2006 Sentra still has them but the new 07 will not. I am not aware of any other vehicle on this list that has bodyside moldings even as an option. In fact the only Cadillacs that have them are the truck line and the 06 DTS. Toyota has eliminated them from all there newly introduced vehicles and the new 07 Camry will not have them. All new BMW's don't have them anymore. The Accord coupe doesn't have them. It seems to be a disease that is spreading to every car manufacturer to eliminate this much needed feature. It not only protects the side of the doors but also makes them looks more dressed up and not so plain and blah. It is just yet another thing that car manufacturers are taking away from us like cigarette lights, glovebox lights, trunk keyholes, floor shift indicators, blue, red, white or green interiors, passenger side door keyholes etc. The more time goes on the more will be eliminated!

The Camry finished dead last in 2004 Consumer Reports testing which had the Malibu LT as first place, Motor Trend 2004 which placed the Malibu LT ahead of the Camry and it was again dead last, Car & Driver which placed it dead last when compared to the new Sonota and revamped Accord and once again in the December issue of Motor Trend which put the Fusion as second place, Sonota as third and Camry... you guessed it dead last! I have sat in many Fusions/Milans and was very impressed with the interior quality. It is light years better than the old Taurus/Sable and right on par with any Camry or Sonota.

And we all know who really makes the Vibe don't we.....It doesn't surprise me that Toyota lies about there ratings. The interesting thing is that they often don't get the gas mileage that there stickers claim either. Maybe they bought off the EPA too!