CSpec

The exterior will not age well, much like the Cobalt.

Wow, that's amazing. I live in upstate NY, which is extremely similar to Michigan in a lot of ways. Rochester is itself a small version of Detroit, which is anchored by 3 failing companies (Xerox, Kodak, and Bausch and Lomb). Many beautiful old houses are now in $h! neighborhoods and are derelict; the city can't demolish them quickly enough. Also property values here are absolutely terrible, with a high violent crime rate and awful public city schools. Basically, the people who live here have roots and family here, or they can't afford to get the hell out and move south.

This is a very good post. Economic protectionism is suicidal for prosperity, or at least any economic growth. We don't want to seal ourselves in a time capsule. I spent the last semester in France, and economic growth has been stagnant for years and years, with huge government handouts and high taxes and very little new investment or innovation. America is the most innovative and prosperous country on earth because of our willingness to take risks and our long-term economic outlook. But there are some things that are better done at home than abroad, such as spending hundreds of billions of American dollars to build up Iraq while letting New Orleans rot after Katrina.

I saw the Camaro in person finally today. It was an absolutely hideous color, some kind of electric teal. The car looks good. The size seems a bit on the large side, but it's tiny compared to the ENORMOUS Challenger.

I also saw the Lacrosse today in person at the Rochester Auto Show. It was on the floor, but locked. The interior looked great, and it has a great presence. Wipes the floor with its competitors, IMO. Watch it flop.

Yeah, I was in a nice E-class taxi in France. Leather, nav, etc. Of course the fare cost 40 Euros, but hey.

Did GMNA see this coming a while ago and that's why they started a big push with Chevy in Europe?

Hooray. If it debuted like this, it would still have been substandard for the segment it tried to be in.

These look like crappy Photoshops of the current models, based on the design themes they're working on for the next gens. The interiors also look very strange.

I think this is OK. The high performance cars were kinda hit or miss, IMO. For example, the Trailblazer SS had great performance for an SUV, but who really cared? I think their efforts would be better spent improving the driving response of the more humdrum products. How many people buy the HHR SS?

I grew up in a Boston suburb and I really like the city. Not too big and lots of historical and cool places to visit. I also really like San Francisco. New York is fun to visit but way too hectic for me. I like Washington DC for its monuments and museums, but I hear the city is actually pretty ghetto in most places.

Cool stuff. I remember concept cars that promised this sort of technology back in the early part of the decade, so it's about time someone actually implemented it.

Wow, that's some pretty good grunt. I wonder if the handling will be screwed up because of the extra weight up front.

Awesome. Saab remains my favorite brand in the US. Too bad they are routinely ignored and starved of product.

Exterior design is interesting. These small cars all have the same proportions and interior style, but this one is certainly funky and as different as it can be.

Too bad to see him go, but it was pretty inevitable given his age. He led some great changes at GM, but also pushed through some misguided products IMO, such as the Solstice, which looked great but was never as good as the competition and was a diversion of resources. It seems his replacement is a total engineering type, so we'll see how he feels about design. Lutz's passion for design and master craftsmanship is pretty rare I would think.

Usually these kinds of reports are BS, but the corn industry is pretty disgusting in this country. Anything to stop their iron grip on Congress and free trade is fine by me.

Do you mean UMass Dartmouth or the Ivy Dartmouth? I assume cost of living is pretty low in rural NH if it's the latter--maybe you could find a place with him when the semester is over. If the former, you could still probably find some kind of job in Lowell or something and live in NH with no taxes.

Looks alright... the Civic still looks like a bar of soap in my mind though. Very strange proportions throughout.

Looks pretty good I think, if a bit Toyota-ish. I always thought the back of the Lancer sedan is too high and square.

Why do the backs of cars look melted and awkward all of a sudden? The back of this thing looks like the new Fords.

Thanks for the pics--the interior looks fantastic. I hope it's at the Rochester auto show when I go next month.

That's a shame; the XLR was always very good looking, but the interior was never good enough.

Looks sort of like the old Aston Martin Vanquish, but more modern and awesome.

Yea this winter is pretty brutal so far. Nice pictures btw; I've wanted a real camera for a long time.