Robert Hall

Two things I think could really improve the GP styling across the line are new headlights (the current ones look very cheap, IMHO) and new, non-bulgy tailights and rear deck & bumper shape..the back end is just lacking...

Exactly... the Nissan Armada and Dodge Durango are agressively ugly, IMHO... the GMC is clean and 'professional grade'.... I'd have to say I like the Tahoe front end better, but both look very clean and stylish for large SUVs, IMHO...

I think they will have a smaller market share, but not go away... I suspect a lot of people that really don't need the space or towing capacity will migrate to smaller, more efficient vehicles. People that have always bought 'Burbans, will continue to buy them...

I was a child of the '70s.. Lincoln Logs and Legos when I was little...from an early age (3 or so), Matchbox, Tomica, Hot Wheels, Corgi cars... (my lifelong enthusiasm for cars began early)... 'crash-up' derby cars from Kenner... Aurora Thunderjet slot cars (a hand-me-down from my older brother)... I started building Revell and Lindberg 1:32nd scale snap kits at around age 6 then AMT and MPC plastic model kits around age 8.. Also, I was into Six Million Dollar Man and Star Wars action figures.. Those girder and panel and skyscraper sets look really neat..never seen them before..

This makes me wonder if the Sierra will have a similar face..

That would look really goofy, I think...

The Malibus of that era just seemed like cheap rental cars inside...nothing special.

I like the fascia of 3 with the wheels and color of 4.

Yes...a lot of car buyers chose poorly and now are stuck with depreciating gas hogs...

Wierd... I lived in Michigan 3 years and went to grad school at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mi) and never was aware of problems like this there...and there were a lot of students driving imports... it was very common to see imports amongst the students and faculity alike... (I was there in the mid-90s). Then again, imports seemed very mainstream in Ann Arbor..

There are other places higher...I was in Aspen, Colorado recently...it was $3.58 for regular unleaded (85 octane) there. It's always high in the mountain towns, I've noticed... it's between $2.85 and 2.95 for the most part here in Denver..really hasn't changed much since Labour Day.

One CEO I know drives a 540i, another drives a 750iL, the CEO of my current company drives a Prius, and the previous CEO (before the merger) drove a Caddy Escalade. I have a few coworkers with 3-series, though..

I like it..very clean. I like how the front end is evolved from the Envoy design. I esp. like the sides--very clean and minimalist with only a rub strip and no tacky cladding or other glued-on junk.

Maybe it's bad drivers... I agree... an unusally high percentage of late model Rios, Accents, etc that I see seem to be dented, have broken lights, etc...

Yes, I know..that's why I suggested doing a 2 seat coupe similar to that with the Revell '59 Impala (it's a readily available kit). I have the original AMT '59 & '60 Buick kits..neat models.

Yeah, they were probably no worse that some of the incredibly stupid stuff Ford did like the drop-in gas tanks in '60s Mustangs and Cougars (the top of the gas tank is actually in the trunk!).

You have issues, kid...get lost.

Yep, global economy... I don't know where my iPod was made; I don't care...same for my PowerBook, my Dell desktops, my new Toshiba DLP TV, my Yamaha and Sony home theatre equipment, Weber grille, etc, etc... I know my BMW was made in Germany, my Jeep in Michigan, my Mustang in Michigan... I think my Trek bike was made in the US..don't know about the Shimano brakes, though... My clothes are from all over...shoes from Italy, Denmark, somewhere in Asia... shirts from Sri Lanka to Costa Rica... yada yada yada...a virtual UN in my closet. Manufacturing is distributed all over...companies build stuff where they can get the best quality for the best price.. The biz I work in is distributed...(software engineering)--cubicle dwellers are here, in India, Russia, Israel (my formerly Canadian-owned company is now a subsidiary of an Israeli company) etc...

Though I think the A/G body coupes definitely have some memorable models (Monte SS, Cutlass H/O and 442, GP 2+2, Regal GN, etc---- the sedans were all snoozers, IMHO... dull, dull, dull, except maybe for the '78-79 Grand Am sedan. The only interesting Mavericks and '70s Comets IMHO were the 2dr Grabbers and GTs... I like the crisp lines of the '79-85 Eldos and the Rivs (without the stupid period padded tops), and the neat convertibles... the Toros less so.

Probably a shorter tank-to-bumper distance than the others since the Chevy was the shortest... I remember reading something about the bumper getting pushed into the tank..these car suffered from rusty rear frames as well... Not that it's related, but I've always thought the fuel filler behind the license plate was a dumb, dumb idea... in a vulnerable location and too low to easily reach.

I remember the Malibu law suits a few years ago... I wondered if that problem applied to all the other RWD A- and G- bodies from '78-88 or if only the Malibus were affected... (the '78-81 coupes were clean looking, but the '81-83 sedans were invisibly dull)..

forgettable RWDers: '81-82 Granada and Cougar 4dr/2dr (haven't seen one of these in years), '80s Malibu sedan (beyond bland), '80s Bonneville G (a LeMans in fancier clothes), '80s Plymouth Fury and Dodge Diplomats (another that's beyond bland), '70s Maverick, Comet, Granada, Monarch Keeper FWDers: Buick Riviera '79-85, '94-97, Olds Toronado '67-85, Olds Aurora, Cadillac Seville: '92-97, '98-04, Cadillac Eldorado: '67-85, '92-03, Taurus SHO, Bonneville GXP, late '80s Electra T-type, VW GTI R32, various current Alfas (GT, GTV, 155, 166), Acura Legend coupes, current Acura TL, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Intrepid R/T, Chrysler LHS.. Keeper AWDers: most any Audi... esp. the S and RS models. Subaru WRXes, BMW iXes, Mercs w/ 4-matic. Porsche Carrera 4s, of course. etc, etc, etc

I was out in Aspen the weekend before last and saw a very clean '69 Corvette coupe (dk blue), a clean '73 convertible (silver), a '50s MGA (green), a neat old '60s crew cab Dodge truck, and a clean late '70s Ferrari 308GTB in dk red.

Neat, neat car... though I'm much more of a fan of '60s styling than '50s, I like the Skyliner for the concept and (for the era) relatively clean styling.. Too bad it didn't catch on--there are several '60s cars that I can think of that would have been neat in a retractable ht form. It's interesting how the retractable hardtop idea has caught on again in the last decade... Merc SLK, SL, Lexus SC, Caddy XLR, Pontiac G6, several European models, etc..

Theres an non-running '82 Olds 98 stretch limo on ebay right now...listed as 'demo derby parts car'...