Snate

It has to be a unique product...not a blatant rebadge like the Saabaru 9-2X.

I hear that. What about the 07 Altima or Aura? Edit: The aura doesn't have a stick available...so nm.

How many buyers are going to upgrade the engine for a whopping 10hp more though? My guess....virtually none.

I'd say there is definitely a market for a premium subcompact/small midsize in the 22-27K range. Possibly a 2.4L and the 2.8L as engines.

So now there is 3 V6's all within 40 hp of eachother and 4 engines total? I really don't understand the logic here....why don't they just drop the 3.9L and use the capacity for other applications. I guess they are keeping it around specifically for the manual transmission.

My favorite delusional line from the autoblog posters: Right...how about all those "special service campaigns" with Toyota...or the well documented sludge problem. Even better...my favorite...when Toyota does recall a vehicle they are always the first to point the finger...saying its a supplier problem or blaming it on those lazy incompetent american workers. Sure GM has eyesores like the head gaskets...but at least they actually own up to the defect when they recall it.

Laws might differ by state...I got a co-signed loan with my dad when I was 17 for a car. Either way you need to be employed. No bank will give an unemployed person a car loan...irregardless if you have a co-signer.

Exactly what incentive do oil companies have to build new refineries?

It amazes me that Big Oil is getting any sort of tax break.

The .5% is most likely the amount of cars the defect has already happened in.

I saw alot of Toyota taxis in Hawaii. Mainly Siennas but also a Camry or two. At least half of the rentals were Toyotas too...I guess it must have something to do with the large population of Asian visitors.

Yet with the BMW you get free scheduled maintenance...not so much in the Toyota. So what do you mean "overpriced" for a "domestic"? You do realize that Buick has better quality scores than Toyota right?

I don't think it was ever "sport" with those anemic Toyota engines.

I wish the media an open field day on this one. Completely and utterly useless...and even less differentiated than the cavalier/sunfire...at least the sunfire looked strange. Someone at GM doesn't realize that Pontiac is not the volume division. Differentiate the exterior/interior more, drop the 2.2L and make the 2.4L standard with an optional blown engine, and give it some nice features you can't get on the Cobalt and then you may be on to something. All it is now is a shameful rebadge. (Ditto the Torrent).

Where did all the extra torque come from versus the normal one?

It boggles my mind how anyone could actually find the Avalon attractive...but then again that's IMO.

Yep...we will see how that works out. I haven't heard anything bad about the Murano CVT

Then they are dumb...to put it bluntly.

The root source of all of this is a small piece of rectangular green paper...thats it in a nutshell. There is way too much involved in all facets of oil for any business to change their ways.

Riiiiigghhht. It's loud and rough....in more than one instance it has been compared to a lawnmower engine which fits the bill perfectly. The transmission is notchy..every time the car shifts it makes a clunky sound that you hear and feel the vibration in the cabin. These problems were apparent in all 3 rental Altimas I've driven recently so it wasn't an isolated problem car. It's damn fast for a 4 cyl from about 0-35 but after that its a wheezer. The best GM comparison for it would be the 3.4L in the 99-04 Grand Am/Alero. Every GM engine since that has made great strides in power, fuel efficiency and NVH though.

Styling aside its a decent car. Are there better choices...yep.

That's the whole point. It looks very much the same as the previous generation which did look dated at the end. All it looks like they did was change the lights...they still have those goofy ass clear tail lenses which really don't look good on any car.

It's the ultimate appliance

No just being realistic. I don't really care for the Aura...kinda dull but it is definitely more attractive than the Altima. The "redesign but not really" of the Altima looks about 90% the same as the previous version which looked pretty dated to me. Interior design is a mix...I like the Altima one slightly better but I do realize they are going for slightly different markets. The interior quality of the last Altima rental I had was incredibly bad so I'm not going to "automatically assume" that it is much improved in that area. The V6 in the Altima is probably better but the 4 cyl and auto trans don't hold a candle to anything that GM currently produces. As for the japanese nameplate..well lets be serious...we all know how in love with japanese products most of the country is. I can't tell how many times I've heard someone say they won't buy a certain product simply because its "domestic"

Ditto...but the Aura won't succeed due to lack of Japanese nameplate.