Lamar

Littleton, CO? Red Lake, MN? Jonesboro, AR? Blacksburg, VA? DeKalb, IL? Hardly big cities. Well said.

I can't blame them for putting the car in their lineup, as a midsize family sedan is all but a staple these days. However, I (and most others) WILL blame them for making the car a ball of crap. My wife and I accompanied a friend of ours on a car-shopping excursion. When we went to a Dodge dealership, I told her to test the Charger and steer aWAY from the Avenger.

The nearest Mazda dealer to me has about 3 new '10 Mazda3s in... all sedans.

True indeed. Option-for-option, the Fusion beats the 6 in every way... but there's something about the 6 that's just... sexy. I considered that; she prefers the TL (mostly the previous one). Currently the TSX is 4-cyl only, but they're bringing out a V6 for it soon (within a year). But that aside, I went and sat in a TSX some time ago. The back seat is WAY too small, so I then ruled it out. She would have done the same.

*late* I remember that story. Didn't catch that he was Chinese. Incidentally, the same thing happened at my old school (see avatar). One Chinese grad student beheaded another at a dining hall in plain view of everybody. Didn't flee from the cops or anything, just held the evidence.

I'll probably try both.

I agree with both of these completely. And this too is true but kinda sad:

Seriously, I was thinking to myself a couple of days ago, "where is CARBIZ?" And then you show up. Good to see you're still alive. Hey, maybe you can start bringing more of a perspective of GM down there. All we usually get is NA, Australia, and Europe, but it would be nice to hear about the industry in a not-as-developed nation.

Agreed. I'm a bit surprised that others have been arguing about it longer than I have...

So since spring is upon us and today was a nice and sunny (albeit windy) day, I decided to do a little test-driving. I went to the Mazda dealership since I wanted to test drive the new Mazda6 since it's on the list as a replacement for the Maxima (the wife's car). So I got there, told the salesman which trim I wanted to drive, and we went from there. The car was the Mazda6 i Touring, which came with the 2.5L 4-cyl mill, 5-speed automatic transmission, cloth seats, and 17-inch wheels (among other things I can't remember). I chose the 4-cyl because that was the engine my wife indicated she'd rather have, so I had to see if it was going to be fun enough for me to drive on trips. My last experience test-driving a 4-cylinder car had been a used '03 Volkswagen Passat, but that doesn't count since it's turbocharged. So my last experience driving a naturally-aspirated 4-banger had been either the '07 Altima 2.5S or the Pontiac G6. I can honestly say that the response and refinement of the Mazda was better than any of them: more powerful than the older Passat, more refined than the G6, and more responsive than the Altima. I think a lot of it had to do with, besides that it's a much newer engine, the mating of the mill to the transmission. They work well together. Acceleration was stronger than I expected as well (reminiscent of the Altima), especially on the Interstate. Steering is the heaviest I've ever felt on a Japanese midsize sedan, but that's a good thing. I don't like overly light steering on anything, and the Mazda6, though lighter than my Bonneville, feels rather nice on turns and is absolutely solid on-center. Of the currently available midsize sedans I've driven, the Mazda6 is at the top of my list. I still have to test the Fusion; only then will I know what my wife's next car will be. She had said, between the 6, the Maxima, and the TL, "whichever is the cheapest." Since a fully-optioned Mazda6 i Grand Touring is around $30k sticker, I think we've got the top candidate here... until the Fusion comes out, that is...

Oldsmoboi, you know whose response we can't wait to read... if he responds.

LOL, that was the clip they played all the time on the Latin station I listen to while driving to DC.

As can I, but there are some lines that should never be crossed. That's currently one of them. We're cool, DF, but remember that not everyone on this site is as melanin-deficient as you or as nice as me.

Wait... what? . . . :lol:

Not cool, man.

Seen several VW Phaetons lately.

Family farmers and fishermen...?

Makes sense and sucks at the same time. Also, why am I only now noticing that I replied to a 3-month-old thread? I'm approaching Satty status.

That's a really good question... I'd find somebody and ask them... and then get my next battery from AutoZone if it's not covered. Oh yeah, for dropping AAA.

You sure it doesn't just need a new one?

Taurus SHO. (that was going to be my next vehicle anyway) I'm considering a CTS for the wife, but if it's no longer made, then probably a Fusion Sport or Mazda6.

I actually know a couple of current NFL players (Darryl Tapp, James Anderson) from my college days. Saw a few WWF/E wrestlers (Edge, the Dudley Boyz) in a mall in Cary, NC about 9 years back. BTW, Satty, I propose that the admins change your membership level to "Resurrector of Ancient Threads."

Interesting... your newer Intrepid outlasted my wife's old one (previous gen). I'm guessing the previous owners did crap for maintenance on her car.

I'm late... y'all post too much while I'm in transit. Or maybe not... the car gets nav everywhere else... just not here.

An old PNY Attache (old = 128 MB) that I got in college to keep documents on. Still use it. A new PNY Attache (8 GB) that I use with my car stereo so that I can keep my CDs in the house. Works GREAT. A new Sony Micro Vault (16 GB) that I got during the Circuit City fire sale... for the same reason as I have the new PNY. I don't like it so much except for the retractable design.