Lamar

+1000 Agreed, see my post...x10000 Add in my ^2. (squared, for you non-math types )

The fact that they absolutely had to incentivize sales in order to move the Caliber (and that wasn't just a Seattle thing; it was true on the east coast as well) shows how undesirable the car was and that people would only buy them if they were cheap.

dumping, IOW.....buying market share Exactly. And they've made no secret about it, either by their words or their actions. Replacing the base 2.0T in the Passat with the 2.5 I5, as well as replacing that same I5 with the 2.slow as the base engine in the Jetta, were completely cost-cutting moves. (To their credit, they are going to replace those two unloved engines for next MY.) Still, chasing market share by cheapening your product never ends well.

The newer VW sedans are actually crushing the previous models in sales for one particular reason: They're less expensive.

To be fair about the sales comparisons, the 2010 Passat was reduced to a single trim level, with only one drivetrain option (2.0T, auto, FWD). Also, there was no 2011 Passat in the States, just the CC.

Saw a last-gen Alpina B7 a couple of days ago. Only one of that generation that I've ever seen in person. Interestingly, it was parked in a driveway in the neighborhood where my church is located. Extremely surprising considering the socioeconomic status of that area.

Sorry to hear, man. I hope you were allowed back into the bedroom...

Talk shop about cars in an off-topic thread.

Catching up... It's been mid- to high 80s the past few days, which is a huge relief from the high 90s to high 100s we had been seeing. Only drawback is that now there are thunderstorms every night. Which I myself don't mind, but they wake up the little girl.

Econoline (er, E-Series) is nearly impossible to update without tearing it down and starting over.

Disagree completely on principle, dfelt. But, in the interest of not ruining the whole thread, I decline to pursue it further.

Wow, dfelt. Bring back the eugenics movement of a century ago? BTW, the vast majority of those with congenital mental deficiencies (esp. Down syndrome) are incapable of reproduction. Especially men.

I live in a college town. I don't have the time to answer this in its entirety.

Birthday greetings, fellas. Enjoy the last hour and 35 minutes of it that you have (EDT, that is).

Passat, then, is in the same boat as Accord... bigger than its competition, while still priced and equipped against it.

I like the current Maxima a lot, save for one thing... yep, you guessed it, the CVT. Still couldn't make myself like the non-shifting feel during a one-hour test drive. That aside, it was a much better all-around drive for me -- comfort plus responsiveness -- than the Altima. As it always has been to me. Given that Nissan markets the Maxima as a full-size sedan, however, I think that works against them. They didn't grow this generation enough, and so the Altima is actually slightly bigger than this car on the outside. Because of that, I had hoped that Nissan would make this generation a true full-sizer, but they didn't. Instead, we get a car sized like the Malibu, Fusion, Camry, Sonata, Passat, and Accord but marketed against the Impala, Taurus, Avalon, and Azera (no VW or Honda full-size offerings currently). No idea what will happen for MY '15... maybe they'll stretch it out finally. But enough of my rambling. Good, honest review, Drew.

Fall FTW. Especially right when the weather begins to turn and the leaves start falling in earnest.

Some of us got it, some of us don't.

101 today here in the 757. For curiosity's sake I checked the recorded high in Athens, GA. 107. Much of the same is expected tomorrow, and what am I gonna be doing? Why, driving south through all of it, of course.

I was really here thinking to myself, "are we talking about the same Caliber? "

Well, a new Mustang on a new platform (with IRS) is already all but confirmed for '15. We can reasonably expect a new Shelby no later than '16. Following that line, when is Camaro supposed to move to Alpha again?

... I meant "Dart's introduction." Daggone editing time limit.

WHY???? A dealership who sells lots of cars should get a better assortment of the new car than one who barely sold them. Because the Caliber is a pile and has been since it was introduced. I would feel differently if it were even halfway decent at the time of the Caliber's introduction.

The Caliber thing concerns me...

caddycruiser - That's an LS460, you mean. I would have been extremely surprised to see a brand new LS430 since they haven't made them in years. Agree about the nondescript nature of the car though... the LS430 was completely forgettable on the outside, whereas this is forgettable in a more curvy fashion. ------- Anyway, saw a Maserati GranTurismo out in the fringes of metro Atlanta. I'm always surprised at how far out from the big city I still see the higher-end cars...