I spotted a NEW (insert make/model) today!

ateixeira

Saw the Motorweek review just yesterday. They pretty much liked it a lot.

0-60 in 7.5 seconds was a lot quicker than I expected from the old Duratec 3l V6.

It didn't even roll too badly on the slalom. Impressive for such a large car.

They showed some cutaways and some of the Volvo derived stuff. Even the AWD is Volvo's Haldex.

It'll be hard to sell the Taurus and Crown Vic sitting next to this on the lot.

-juice

stickguy

I drove a Freestyle, and it seemed plenty peppy (it was an AWD model).

Looked in a 500. Seemed to be huge inside. Very tasetful too. hard to believe it is related to the Taurus.

And yes, it looks similar to the Passat, but it is also tasteful and understated. At least they didn't copy the Altima.

ateixeira

They're in dealers already? I want to drive a Freestyle.

-juice

m4d_cow

its already in the dealers here, but i havent got a chance to test drive it.

stickguy

I took a quick drive, and it seemed nice. I'm not really an SUV person (current family car is a minivan), but this one didn't seem particularly "trucky", but still seemed less car-like than a minivan, if that makes sense.

It was comfortable, nice seats, good control layout, etc. The CVT is a bit different, but not enough to really matter. It was more of a novelty, and I robably spent too much time watching the tach while accelerating, but I'm sure once you get used to it, you wouldn't even notice (especially with the radio cranked up!).

It was pretty roomy, but even though it is almost as long as an Ody or SIenna, much less room inside.

The back seat was actually sorta comfy for an adult. I at least had enough head and leg room.

a_l_hubcaps

I saw a 2005 Pontiac G6 on the road today -- first one for me. It was a standard model (non-GT) in dark red with the optional alloy wheels. It looked pretty good -- definitely less cheap-looking than the Grand Am, a car that I have never liked very much.

-Andrew L

ateixeira

Saw a new Maxx at Rehoboth Beach DE yesterday.

-juice

kyfdx

And... you kept your lunch down?

ateixeira

Skipped lunch...we had Indian Summer at the beach!

I guess I held the Ruffles down.

-juice

andre1969

I spotted my first Scion tC, in "black cherry pearl" (i.e., burgundy/magenta). Not a bad looking little car, but it seemed an odd color choice. Normally I associate colors like that with old lady cars, but that could be because I have a great-aunt who's around 81 or so, who drives an '01 Intrepid that color.

It's a great looking color if you have enough chrome to set it off, or even a black or white vinyl roof, or bumblebee stripes, or something! But just by itself, on a modern car, it just doesn't seem to sit right!

kyfdx

All of the Scions just seem extremely small. Like every one of them was built off the Tercel platform..

ateixeira

xA and xB are off the Echo, that might be smaller than the Tercel. :-)

-juice

alfox

"Normally I associate colors like that with old lady cars..."

Hey - my wife's xA is black cherry pearl! I won't tell her you said that.

andre1969

similar to what Betty White had on "Mama's Family", does she? ;-) My great-aunt does, and that's one of her complaints against her Intrepid...it messes with her hair-do!

alfox

No, she's possibly the hippest 50-something you'll ever meet.

jaserb

He's well into his 80s, at least.

-Jason

andyman73

The other day, saw a new, 04 or 05 A8L, with 19 inch wheels, like shown in the car magz before release of new model design. Looked quite sharp.

ateixeira

Saw an xA in the garage at work this morning. I see many more xBs, though.

-juice

ghulet

I like the xB in that color, there's one down the street from me, also one in silver. The xA looks OK in that color, too, but I'd agree with the rest here, that's not the best color for the tC, I like it in charcoal much better.

lemko

...a new BMW 5-Series in the parking lot at work yesterday. It would make a nice-looking Maxima, but a Beemer it is not!

kyfdx

If you drove it, you might feel differently.. I'm not in love with the look.. but, its a pretty sweet drive... And, it looks better on the move.. (not sure if that is a compliment or not..lol)

a_l_hubcaps

I took a walk down the Springfield PA "auto mile" today. A few comments:

Hyundai Tucson: The interior looked a little disappointing. Obviously I didn't sit in it, but through the windows it looked cheap compared to my mom's Forester and the Mitsu Outlander we test drove recently. The steering wheel and door panels particularly caught my eye as rather cheesy. The exterior styling is nice though -- distinctive without appearing to have been styled by Martians, as is the case with the Santa Fe.

Mercury Montego: The dealer had one of these, in dark red. It was an AWD model with a sticker of almost $29K. It looked pretty nice; the interior was well done and there was nothing ugly or cheap-looking anywhere. I can't help but jump on the "bland" bandwagon, though. I mean, even a Camry has certain stylistic elements (the unique taillight shape, the "hockey stick" indentation in the door bottoms) that set it apart. If you removed the grille and emblems from the Montego, it would look extremely generic.

Ford Focus: I think the '05 restyle was a major improvement. The elimination of the bizarro dashboard couldn't have come too soon. They should have changed the steering wheel, too, though. It is very weird-looking. Also, the sticker prices on the cars on the lot seemed rather high. Many approached $20K. Maybe Ford needs a cheaper car in this market. Speaking of which...

Chevy Aveo: Just a quick note on the new wheel covers for '05: *RETCH*! The '04 ones looked fine. I don't know why they messed with them. Also, if they're going to offer optional alloys on this car, they ought to come up with a design that doesn't look exactly like a wheel cover. I have been collecting hubcaps for 17 years, and I had to get down on my knees and tap on the wheel to determine that it was aluminum and not a cover. I do like the Aveo though. It seems like a nice car for the price.

-Andrew L

ateixeira

Saw a Galant, an xB, and a Mazda6 wagon all within a minute or two this AM.

-juice

jaserb

Looked a bit awkward, IMO. I'm sure once I've seen a few zillion it'll look fine.

-Jason

stickguy

Is the cheap car for Ford. The 20K sticker is just padded so that they can offer huge discounts and rebates.

ateixeira

I agree, that's got $5000 worth of padding to cut off.

-juice

m4d_cow

what we need is the japanese market odyssey, totally different from US odyssey, very cool looking mpv id say.

m4d_cow

heres a link:
http://us1.webpublications.com.au/static/images/articles/i557/557- 46_00mg.jpg

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/newsarticle.html?&start=&sh- owall=&id=HON&doc=hnd0310211

or check www.honda.co.jp/auto-lineup/odyssey

ateixeira

That is much cooler looking. Americans like the big vans, though.

They could actually sell both, IMO. That one could complete with the Mazda MPV on the smaller end of the scale.

Saw a Saab 9-2x on the road this AM, don't see those too often.

-juice

ateixeira

This was a bit shocking, I saw a BMW 520i, yes as in 2 liters!

It had diplomatic plates, so must've been imported by the owner.

Can't imagine that accelerates very quickly.

-juice

andre1969

it's a wagon masquerading as one! 1551 mm translates to about 61", which is a far cry from most "real" minivans, which are pushing 70" or taller. Think of it as more a replacement for those old tall Civic wagons, or maybe the continuation of the first-gen Odyssey/Oasis, which was really more wagon than minivan.

I like it, though. The proportioning is lower and wider than the typical minivan, and the ratio of headlight-to-grille-width is just about perfect, IMO. Nice "floating" effect with the horizontal grille bars inset in the trapezoid, and it's nice to see some chrome (plastic or otherwise) tastefully done on a vehicle!

bhill2

I have a question about the article. Isn't a 7 speed CVT a contradiction in terms?

stickguy

SOrt of, but what they do is make 7 positions as fake "gears", to give the impression of of stepped transmission. I think Audi does this also. Not sure if it will run them automatically, or only when you are using the Tiptronic feature.

It takes a long time to wean people off what they are used to, no matter how effective the technology is. The CVT is a bit different at first, only because you are expecting one sensation and get another.

tccart

Saw a Smart Fortwo. I'm sure it would fit in the box of my 1/2 ton Chevy. Developed by Mercedes-Benz, so it should be a solid car. www.thesmart.ca

andyman73

Looked at the picture of the JDM Odyssey, very sharp, especially with the dual exhuast. Make a Type R variant, with NSX V-6, or the new RL powertrain, with 6M or the CVT. Offer it as a sport only type package, to keep the price reasonable, and it will sell. All those "Boy Racer" types and fuel thirsty non-sport UVs(I mean really, how many of them are sporty? 2 or 3 maybe) drivers will take them.

Checked out the Freestyle at local Ford Dealer, wasn't too bad. Was the bottom line model. Here's to praying that Ford has it's head on straight for the Fusion.

Have seen a few of the new turbo Suburus. That's about it.

scscars

I saw a silver Ford Five Hundred tonight on a local Ford dealer's lot. Close up, it looks to be about the same size as an Impala, but the overall design execution is much better. Bland, but better. Exterior build quality appears to be higher than that of Taurus or Crown Victoria. The body has a tight European look to it, very similar to the Mondeo, but significantly larger. I hope to get a closer look later this week.

m4d_cow

yeah its a 7 speed cvt, but the difference is in the gear ratio as far as i know, not the number of gears.

andyman73

New Caddy, had the face of the CTS, but on a full size body. Pretty sharp.

m4d_cow

i think thats the new STS

andyman73

I knew it was something, seems to me, a lot of manufacturers are abandoning the names we all know and love, or hate. Just a bunch of numbers or letters. Just imagine if BMW or Mercedes, decided to use letters or names. What an uproar that would be!

That STS was pretty sweet, almost made me want one.

scscars

I also saw a new STS this weekend. It was being shown at a shopping mall north of Chicago. The fit and finish is better than the Seville, but I must admit, I've never driven the last version of the Seville. The interior is a step up from Devilles. The wood is real this time. According to the sales person, wood accents are eucalyptus--light or dark. This particular car, dark gray with gray leather interior, had dark eucalyptus dash and console trim. While this car bears a resemblance to the CTS, it is longer, wider, and has more street presence. For $50,000, it better have some street presence.

Also saw a new Mercury Montego yesterday, and got a good look at the inside and outside of it. Yes, its a rebadged Five Hundred, however, the interior seems lots more upscale. This one was black with gray leather and beige(?) cloth upholstery. Rear seat room looks bigger than Sable, but not huge. The overall interior design makes more sense than Sable or Taurus and it reminds me of an Audi A6.

Unfortunately, a Montego won't perform like an A6. This particular Montego was saddled with a Duratec 3.0L cranking out 203 HP. If Ford were really remotely serious about competing with Passats, V6 Accords, Camrys, Altimas and the like, they would have taken the 220 HP 3.0L from the Mazda6 and made it available in the Montego and Five Hundred.

fintail

Saw my first STS today...kind of a dark silver with chrome wheels. At first I thought it was a CTS, as I had just seen one of those a few minutes before. But as it approached, I could tell it was larger. It isn't as edgy as the CTS and that isn't a bad thing. It's pretty handsome, and should be a success. If only this could spread down the line...

jaserb

Saw a new style Chevy Malibu today ... in the company parking lot ... with the telltale bar code stickers of a rental. Didn't they keep the old Malibu around as the Classic precisely to keep the new one out of rental fleets? This can't be good for GM...

-Jason

ateixeira

Now that the G6 is here, maybe they feel OK about selling the 'bu to fleets. If only to keep the G6 out of them.

-juice

andre1969

that no matter how hard they try, some of the new Malibus will end up in rental fleets. It could just be that the rental company wanted them, and ordered them. Also, isn't that a good way for the new model to get more exposure? Just as long as they're not dumping every blessed one they produce into rental fleets!

fintail

I saw a black SSR on the road today. First one I've seen being driven and not hogging up space on a lot full of cars that barely sell (relative to the amounts that the dealers take in) anyway.

a_l_hubcaps

I don't think it was ever the case that the Malibu was not going to be sold to fleets at all. They are just trying to keep the percentage down. In fact, if you look at the GM ordering guides, there is a special fleet-only package slotted between the base and LS models (equipped like a base, but with a V6 and 16" wheels). That has existed since day 1.

Eventually, they are going to have to phase out the Classic -- it's a creaky old platform and more upscale fleets don't want it. It was just a stopgap measure to keep the Malibus from flooding into the fleets immediately. They are doing the same thing with the Grand Am as the G6 comes out.

By the way, it will be interesting to see who's the loser in this game of fleet-sale reductions. Every company seems to want to reduce fleet sales, but fleet is sort of a fixed demand -- they aren't going to buy fewer cars just because GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mitsu, Suzuki, Toyota etc. don't want to sell them.

-Andrew L

andyman73

Local Poncho dealer had several G6s right out front. Saw an all new Oddy, looked sharp, driving down the road. Didn't notice them at dealer, which is 2 doors down from Poncho.

kenjabi

Since reading the posts about rental fleets here, I've made note of cars with rental stickers on them. Over the last couple days I've seen a Toyota Matrix and a Mazda 6 Wagon with the little green Enterprise stickers. Both looked stripped down from the outside, no body cladding or spoilers like these models typically have. I guess domestics aren't cornering the market on rental fleets after all.

i_luv_toyota

..as well as not one but TWO new 2005 Acura RLs (one on the highway, the other 2 miles from an Acura dealer). The Odyssey was silver, the Acuras, both of them, were a lightish blue.

I was shocked to say the least, I didn't think ANY of these were on sale yet!