MyerShift

K-Cars are not junk. They saved the company through their permutations and featured some of the most reliable four-cylinder engines ever made (Chrysler fours, not the carbed Mitsu 2.6). In the G-body form, they made the cool looking Daytona and Laser. The H-body form gave us the rejected-by-Americans Lancer and LeBaron GTS hatchbacks that were Chrysler's attempt at a Euro-style automobile. The E-bodies were the first extended K's. These include the E-Class, Caravelle, 600, and New Yorker. The P-bodies gave the small economy minded Shadow and Sundance which were the antecedents of the Neon. The company saving minivans! And of course, the K-Cars. These were basic transport for anyperson. And of course, with these cars, Chrysler seemed determined to bring turbocharging to the masses. Even the minivans offered turbocharged engines! Although I don't like the looks of either the Aspen or Durango, at least Chrysler is trying to offer something for everyone. I mean, with only the Durango facing the crowd as the single large SUV from the five-pointed star, at least now there are others.

Depending on how far things go, Chrysler may get a hand on Lamborghini just like it did in the early 1990's, except to a lesser extent. If a VW platform were used for any Sebring/Stratus, it would have to be for the Mark IV cars at the soonest. he Mark III cloud cars are to be based on a platform jointly developed with Mitsubishi. I don't think Chrysler's German overlords give it enough credit. It seems like Chrysler is being used as an outlet for new "Mitsubishis" and reworked old Mercedes-Benz components. I hear though Chrysler engineers actually had a hand in developing the R-Class, but I don't see why Chrysler couldn't help lead development of a small car platform instead of VW. With Chrysler leading, it could ultimately be more affordable.

Agreed on the plastics being "cheap" in that they are rock hard, but guess what- so are the Cobalt's! Seems rather nice, sat in one at NAIAS, and it was an SE with a stick, and I liked the way it moved through its pattern, not rubbery like the Suzuki Forenza's of Chevrolet Aveo's, or even the Neon's.

Yeah, I 've seen the catapulted Civic ad, and I believe it's great. Looks like VW still has some of its spunk.

I thought the new Spectra WAS based on the current Hyundai Elantra. I mean, the current engine in the new Spectra is the exact same 2.0L iron-block 138 horsepower I-4. Overall, it does seem to resemble a shrunken Azera, which, although no beauty, is far from ugly. The new Toyota Camry is one ugly can on wheels.

That just doesn't make sense to me. If Saturn is the new Opel in North America, and has the same essential styling, why do a stop gap instead of just keeping the rebadge? The Opel version will be better than the Chevrolet-based car.

Probably Struts/Multilink like the other Epsilons, and as far as tuning? Suspension settings are usually softer in American-branded cars compared to the Europeans. I would certainly hope that the tuning would be similar to the Opel Vectra's. This would technically result in tight body control and firm ride (hopefully it isn't harsh). And if CDC (Continuous Damping Control) is on the "new" Vectra, then would be most excellent for the Aura. The Aura might have more sophisticated body control than the G6 GTP with the possibility of a better ride to boot. German automobiles (Opel "technically" is just this) are renowned for the ride/handling trade aren't they? I don't have any hard-line facts here, but this is my optimistic and hopeful opinion about how the Aura shall behave on the road.

Oh that wouldn't bother me any. I wouldn't mind driving another car with manual steering. People who complain about not having power this or that or air conditioning sort of bother me. But, something doesn't add up with your statement- GM is moving Saturn upmarket to where Olds used to be, so, in this case, it would be HIGHLY unlikely for anything to not be power operated.

Interior seems a bit bland, but overall, an excellent piece. GM can't go wrong with Opel styling in North America!

I don't believe that killing Saturn (say, instead of Olds in comparison) would cost nearly as much as some say because Saturn didn't sell that many cars, so had (has?) fewer loyalists to win back with another brand. As an example, domestic automobile dealers are in far more towns/cities than imports are. Here in Coldwater, MI there is a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer, a Chevrolet/Cadillac dealer, and a Buick/Pontiac/GMC/(Olds) dealer. Saturn is the only American brand that is not widespread, so closing down fewer dealerships would technically cost less. Buick/Pontiac should be complaining more than Chevrolet. They keep getting cut and reduced. Squeeze the pennies too hard and something will break. I think Buick needs all the attention General Motors can give it. It actually has histroy, like Olds did and Pontiac does. Olds was the first American automaker to celebrate its centennial. In the Chrysler realm, they desperately need Plymouth as Chrysler attempts to move upmarket. Plymouth could be the affordable value leader, Dodge in the middle, Chrysler to the top.

BMW 1-Series Cabriolet. God, you must really want a BMW.

Stratus butt? The Stratus has rear styling far superior to the current 7- and 5-Series BMW's. BMW should probably just drop i-Drive and introduce a touch screen system with buttons that link directly to frequently used functions. And, the current 7-Series interior seems bland and cheap to me, like the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class's does. I don't really anything concrete can be gleaned from this test mule. It could be mostly current 7 with all-new hardware underneath.

The styling is definitely one of the RL's fallings. Perhaps instead of spending the money needed to develop a proper flagship, Honda saw fit to badge-engineer its Legend sedan into the Acura RL. Because it is the Legend, styling couldn't really be changed, yes? This is sort of confusing for even me while I try to explain it, because I know the TL is a sweetened, gussied up North America Accord, and the TSX is just the Euro Accord brought to NA, and what is the RSX- a tweaked Civic? So if Acura restyled and tweaked the Accord into the sexy TL, why couldn't they have done the same with the Legend? It's just so boring to look at.

Plant-type shows/displays/growing.

Expect safety? I'm sorry, but going 120 mph, you are more likely to die than not regardless of whatever safety systems a car has. Der-dee-der!

Amusing.

There's a lot wrong. Most of it is because of the governement, and then because of the people.

A smaller Buick could be delightful, especially if rear-drive and V6 powered to seem "relaxed" in driving. It's all in the details!!! Buick should have a rear-drive full-sizer along the lines of 7-Series, A8, S-Class, but perhaps for the price of a loaded E.

It looks big, perhaps a student's idea of Cadillac flagship?

BLS should be left in Europe. No more front-drive for Cadillac. I would purhcase one if I had the funds, but I buy for appearance, quality, and brand, not which wheels are driven. Sigh, I'm just not much of an enthusiast.

I really like the SRX except for the CTS interior. And in person to me, it seems big for some reason.

Ohh, I wish these things were illegal. Leave the STS's sensuous silhouette alone, let the subtle grace of the Lucerne be!

Disgusting. Amazing that people will spend money to make something ugly. Then again, not everyone can have taste like the rest of us.

Being that this is Toyota, and that we are in the U.S., we might consider saying uh-oh just because if Toyota Camry buyers need a "big" truck, and that the Camry is the "best-selling" car in the U.S. or whatever, then that could spell trouble for GM, Chrysler, and Ford, you know? That centre stack is atrocious- looks like the HVAC is too far away from Driver

Ions can be negatively charged. Depends on what substance they are from. The Astra would be the most logical replacement for the ION, and exceptionally attractive. As long as there is a similar options spread between the NA and Euro versions (HID's, Continuous Damping Control (CDC), and other nifty items) then this will truly be an amazing automobile. let's hope it doesn't get dumbed down or cheapened too much.