View Poll Results: American Cars, do you like the design, are they just bad, or improving?
SICK is right, I can't see myself in these ugly cars and that is one of the main issues
12
31.58%
SICK is wrong, the designs are fine, its other factors that hurt them
3
7.89%
I like American SUVs, not Cars
4
10.53%
Until they surpass what I drive now, Image, quality, looks, it doesn't matter what they look like
19
50.00%
Voters: 38. You may not vote on this poll
1SICKREVIEW: American car companies, here is a hint, we need better looking cars.
01-28-06, 08:57 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
1SICKREVIEW: American car companies, here is a hint, we need better looking cars.
Well I guess the catalyst was seeing the spy pics of the new Benz CL but this has been on my mind for sometime now. And with car makers redesigning cars as often as I change my underwear, its a little worrying.
Are we Americans REALLY advancing in car design? This week, I will talk about my people, us Americans. As I was with a good friend last week and he is looking to replace his Acura CL, and sadly, we started taking how there are no American cars on his list (nor mine) and it starts with the fact, the designs are horrendous.
And when I mean advancing, I don't mean forcing ridiculous technologies on us and telling us they are better because 3 drunk engineers think so. No, I mean, are cars getting better looking? Are they distinct, in a GOOD way? Are they leading in design, influencing others?
I am going to go out on a limb, and say no.
Quite frankly, I am going to **** you off by saying your new American car is pretty damn ugly, with the rest of them. And the rest of them, ANY car built by any car maker, in any country (and another review on those companies later).
Read on.
First, we are in retro mode. The Americans more than anyone use this technique. I cannot disagree, since in the last 30 years, what American car outside the Vette or Mustang would you want to be seen in today? That Oldsmobile 88, she’s still a looker huh? Man that Ford LTD of the 80s was incredible! My goodness, I want an old Dodge Colt.
I didn't think so. GM, Ford and Chrysler basically closed their doors and gave themselves high fives for 3 decades (70s-90s) over cars the sold in the 50s and 60s.
I wasn’t alive then, I wasn't a thought, I wasn't even sperm yet. Also I have no intentions of going back in time, you didn’t have a microwave, you had 2 channels on T.V and the average womans breast size was an A cup. I DO KNOW back in the 50s and 60s, AMERICA WAS ON THE FOREFRONT OF DESIGN!!!
You may not like those bulky cars and tailfins and spaceship influenced design, but it was very American, unapologetic and leading.
The last American SEDAN to really do this was the Ford Taurus, bless its heart. No grill, large, aerodynamic, its design STILL can be felt today.
By the way, that was 20 years ago believe it or not. TWENTY years ago.
We’ve had square Caddys, then aero ones, now Art and Design language while original, it original bad. They are ugly. I get scared when they are coming. I get scared when they are parked. What the hell is so cool about 90 degree angles every 6inches on a car? No one else is doing it because I think when your sober, the designers realize “hey, this is some ugly *** crap we are drawing here?.
Outside of that, we had Fords New Edge, which worked on the Focus and nothing else. BMW calls it flame surfacing, and its cool b/c they said so, but Ford did it 10 years ago.
So we had round shapes and sharp creases in the overall shape. Not a bad idea, its just that if Ford does it, its bad, but if BMW does it, all praises due Bangle
Outside that, American cars looked Japanese for the last 20 years. Except they were unreliable and after a couple years of ownership, fell apart like Shaq and Kobe.
The Vette, bless its heart, lives on and LOOKS LIKE A VETTE, even with exposed headlights. They got that right. Why can’t they do this with most of their cars?
Ford had to go back 40 years to make the 2005 Mustang? Odd, but its selling and well, it looks like the Mustang.
Chrysler is very unapologetic of selling giant, fake Bentleys and Hearses and resurrecting more names than Jesus himself could. And its working. They are going their own way, these cars are very American in appearance. And they are influencing other designs, even if its in-house.
Funny but the best looking AMERICAN car, may very well be not branded American. The Acura TL. It’s a good looking car. It’s the first Honda since their first lawnmower to have some style. Many say it looks like an Alpha Romero. Those same people think Pizza Hut is pizza. The TL was designed in California, by Americans, for Americans. We can say, it doesn’t look like another car out there. Sales are very good. So, its odd Americans can design a stylish Japanese branded car, but they cannot make a stylish American branded car.
Look at Buick. They don’t’ look like Buicks. One looks like a failed Lexus 2GS design proposal. The other one looks like a Infiniti Q45 but with port holes. I wonder if these asshats checked to see what people thought of the Q45? They don’t. No one does. They have sold 39 in 6 years. Its ugly, not in a design language way, but in “hey, I am just ugly, my mom knows it and so do you” kind of way. Yet Buick, somehow manages to copy a failed design, and figure with FWD, they can make it sell.
Chevy, I think they have made possibly the ugliest cars in the world. The Monte Carlo is so bad, I mean awful, that if I won one on a game show, I wouldn’t even sell it for profit, because I could not wish that car on my fellow man. The Chevy Imapala, grew from being a Caprice with a BMW C-pillar, to awfully bland and ugly. Its actually uglier than an actual Impala animal. To their credit, they sell many of both a year. These same people watch re-runs of Alf and think Boy George is a fashion genius. . The Cobalt could have been huge, instead it looks like any Japanese car made the last 20 years.
Outside their SUVs, and kudos to them for adding that giant chrome bar on the front, as if I couldn’t see a 10,000 lbs rig behind me enough, to differentiate from the competition.
Wait, or differentiate from GMC, which looks identical.
Pontiac, I am going to keep this simple. Add back the damn cladding. At least, it was unapologetic (I think I’ve used this word twice already) and we could describe and know what a Pontiac was. Now they look all like Oldsmobiles.
Mind you, Oldsmobile is discontinued. So that is not a good thing.
Saturn, like the typical American company, watched for 10 years as they sat on their butts and got blown away. Now 10 years later, they want to decide to make some changes.
Too late, put them out their misery too. The only good reason for a Saturn is to hit the plastic on the side with a baseball bat for practice, since it won’t dent.
Who else is there? Not sure, and that IS THE PROBLEM. I am AMERICAN and have a BUNCH OF UNDESIRABLE AMERICAN CARS TO CHOOSE FROM!!!!!
It pisses me off, I am a American, I like apple pie. I like starting war and arguing, even if I am dead wrong. I give to everyone and get spit on in the face. I like speeding, I like freedom and cars. But here I am 28 years old, and the only car I can even consider, is a C6 Vette.
Seriously, out of hundreds of models, I can only see myself in one American car.
And its not just me. Its AMERICANS as a whole. The cars are so bland and ugly for the most par, I just can’t ‘SEE MYSELF” driving one.
The 300C, Magnum, Mustang, Vette are getting it right. Let us hope for more of the same. So it looks like for us to indeed go forward, Americans have to go backward, to their hey-day, to show the world, this is how cars should look.
AMERICAN DESIGNERS, I CHALLENGE YOU TO LEAD CAR DESIGN, NOT FOLLOW.
Are we Americans REALLY advancing in car design? This week, I will talk about my people, us Americans. As I was with a good friend last week and he is looking to replace his Acura CL, and sadly, we started taking how there are no American cars on his list (nor mine) and it starts with the fact, the designs are horrendous.
And when I mean advancing, I don't mean forcing ridiculous technologies on us and telling us they are better because 3 drunk engineers think so. No, I mean, are cars getting better looking? Are they distinct, in a GOOD way? Are they leading in design, influencing others?
I am going to go out on a limb, and say no.
Quite frankly, I am going to **** you off by saying your new American car is pretty damn ugly, with the rest of them. And the rest of them, ANY car built by any car maker, in any country (and another review on those companies later).
Read on.
First, we are in retro mode. The Americans more than anyone use this technique. I cannot disagree, since in the last 30 years, what American car outside the Vette or Mustang would you want to be seen in today? That Oldsmobile 88, she’s still a looker huh? Man that Ford LTD of the 80s was incredible! My goodness, I want an old Dodge Colt.
I didn't think so. GM, Ford and Chrysler basically closed their doors and gave themselves high fives for 3 decades (70s-90s) over cars the sold in the 50s and 60s.
I wasn’t alive then, I wasn't a thought, I wasn't even sperm yet. Also I have no intentions of going back in time, you didn’t have a microwave, you had 2 channels on T.V and the average womans breast size was an A cup. I DO KNOW back in the 50s and 60s, AMERICA WAS ON THE FOREFRONT OF DESIGN!!!
You may not like those bulky cars and tailfins and spaceship influenced design, but it was very American, unapologetic and leading.
The last American SEDAN to really do this was the Ford Taurus, bless its heart. No grill, large, aerodynamic, its design STILL can be felt today.
By the way, that was 20 years ago believe it or not. TWENTY years ago.
We’ve had square Caddys, then aero ones, now Art and Design language while original, it original bad. They are ugly. I get scared when they are coming. I get scared when they are parked. What the hell is so cool about 90 degree angles every 6inches on a car? No one else is doing it because I think when your sober, the designers realize “hey, this is some ugly *** crap we are drawing here?.
Outside of that, we had Fords New Edge, which worked on the Focus and nothing else. BMW calls it flame surfacing, and its cool b/c they said so, but Ford did it 10 years ago.
So we had round shapes and sharp creases in the overall shape. Not a bad idea, its just that if Ford does it, its bad, but if BMW does it, all praises due Bangle
Outside that, American cars looked Japanese for the last 20 years. Except they were unreliable and after a couple years of ownership, fell apart like Shaq and Kobe.
The Vette, bless its heart, lives on and LOOKS LIKE A VETTE, even with exposed headlights. They got that right. Why can’t they do this with most of their cars?
Ford had to go back 40 years to make the 2005 Mustang? Odd, but its selling and well, it looks like the Mustang.
Chrysler is very unapologetic of selling giant, fake Bentleys and Hearses and resurrecting more names than Jesus himself could. And its working. They are going their own way, these cars are very American in appearance. And they are influencing other designs, even if its in-house.
Funny but the best looking AMERICAN car, may very well be not branded American. The Acura TL. It’s a good looking car. It’s the first Honda since their first lawnmower to have some style. Many say it looks like an Alpha Romero. Those same people think Pizza Hut is pizza. The TL was designed in California, by Americans, for Americans. We can say, it doesn’t look like another car out there. Sales are very good. So, its odd Americans can design a stylish Japanese branded car, but they cannot make a stylish American branded car.
Look at Buick. They don’t’ look like Buicks. One looks like a failed Lexus 2GS design proposal. The other one looks like a Infiniti Q45 but with port holes. I wonder if these asshats checked to see what people thought of the Q45? They don’t. No one does. They have sold 39 in 6 years. Its ugly, not in a design language way, but in “hey, I am just ugly, my mom knows it and so do you” kind of way. Yet Buick, somehow manages to copy a failed design, and figure with FWD, they can make it sell.
Chevy, I think they have made possibly the ugliest cars in the world. The Monte Carlo is so bad, I mean awful, that if I won one on a game show, I wouldn’t even sell it for profit, because I could not wish that car on my fellow man. The Chevy Imapala, grew from being a Caprice with a BMW C-pillar, to awfully bland and ugly. Its actually uglier than an actual Impala animal. To their credit, they sell many of both a year. These same people watch re-runs of Alf and think Boy George is a fashion genius. . The Cobalt could have been huge, instead it looks like any Japanese car made the last 20 years.
Outside their SUVs, and kudos to them for adding that giant chrome bar on the front, as if I couldn’t see a 10,000 lbs rig behind me enough, to differentiate from the competition.
Wait, or differentiate from GMC, which looks identical.
Pontiac, I am going to keep this simple. Add back the damn cladding. At least, it was unapologetic (I think I’ve used this word twice already) and we could describe and know what a Pontiac was. Now they look all like Oldsmobiles.
Mind you, Oldsmobile is discontinued. So that is not a good thing.
Saturn, like the typical American company, watched for 10 years as they sat on their butts and got blown away. Now 10 years later, they want to decide to make some changes.
Too late, put them out their misery too. The only good reason for a Saturn is to hit the plastic on the side with a baseball bat for practice, since it won’t dent.
Who else is there? Not sure, and that IS THE PROBLEM. I am AMERICAN and have a BUNCH OF UNDESIRABLE AMERICAN CARS TO CHOOSE FROM!!!!!
It pisses me off, I am a American, I like apple pie. I like starting war and arguing, even if I am dead wrong. I give to everyone and get spit on in the face. I like speeding, I like freedom and cars. But here I am 28 years old, and the only car I can even consider, is a C6 Vette.
Seriously, out of hundreds of models, I can only see myself in one American car.
And its not just me. Its AMERICANS as a whole. The cars are so bland and ugly for the most par, I just can’t ‘SEE MYSELF” driving one.
The 300C, Magnum, Mustang, Vette are getting it right. Let us hope for more of the same. So it looks like for us to indeed go forward, Americans have to go backward, to their hey-day, to show the world, this is how cars should look.
AMERICAN DESIGNERS, I CHALLENGE YOU TO LEAD CAR DESIGN, NOT FOLLOW.
01-28-06, 09:44 AM
#3
Speaks French in Russian
Yep. You have said what I've been thinking for sometime now.
I too am not a big fan of current American designs. Something about a lot of them that are just soo cold. The Malibu for example has to be the ugliest design in Chevy's current lineup. Very wierd angles and lines, horrible grill and has a stance of a Refridgerator. Those Impalas and Monte Carlos you talk about are really no improvement over the 1996 versions. Same horrible design, same low quality, and same feature content. The new "redesigned" cars are 2006 models. The bread and butter of there car lineup. And in no way are they breaking any new ground with them. They are basically maintaining and/or playing catch up. Now with new players such as the 07 Camry, Sonata, soon to be Altima and many many others, who in there right mind would actually buy these models without a crazy discount. Oh yea...thats right...63% of its sales go to fleet.
The trucks, I dont really have a problem with that. GM has the Fullsize truck market on lock. And the new models have clearly one-upped the competition, but with gas prices soaring to new record breaking heights again, are people going to ****** those up quickly as well??
They just need to build a good mainstream car. They really dont have any mainstream cars that will attract buyers. Stratus, Focus, Malibu, etc. Those are some horrible cars.
Ford seems to be doing some nice things with there cars, well car. That is the Fusion. Good looks, nice interior, features and price to match. Not bad, but I personally think its still not good enough. Not when you have cars like the Accord and Camry. Ford trucks arent that bad as well. F150 is King. THe new Expedition looks horrendous.
Chrysler is the only US company I actually like right now. 300C, Magnum, Charger, Caliber, Ram, Crossfire, etc are all great looking cars. Maybe it has something to do with Mercedes-Benz, but then again, they are putting out some ugly designed cars as well as of late. They seem to get it.
I too am not a big fan of current American designs. Something about a lot of them that are just soo cold. The Malibu for example has to be the ugliest design in Chevy's current lineup. Very wierd angles and lines, horrible grill and has a stance of a Refridgerator. Those Impalas and Monte Carlos you talk about are really no improvement over the 1996 versions. Same horrible design, same low quality, and same feature content. The new "redesigned" cars are 2006 models. The bread and butter of there car lineup. And in no way are they breaking any new ground with them. They are basically maintaining and/or playing catch up. Now with new players such as the 07 Camry, Sonata, soon to be Altima and many many others, who in there right mind would actually buy these models without a crazy discount. Oh yea...thats right...63% of its sales go to fleet.
The trucks, I dont really have a problem with that. GM has the Fullsize truck market on lock. And the new models have clearly one-upped the competition, but with gas prices soaring to new record breaking heights again, are people going to ****** those up quickly as well??
They just need to build a good mainstream car. They really dont have any mainstream cars that will attract buyers. Stratus, Focus, Malibu, etc. Those are some horrible cars.
Ford seems to be doing some nice things with there cars, well car. That is the Fusion. Good looks, nice interior, features and price to match. Not bad, but I personally think its still not good enough. Not when you have cars like the Accord and Camry. Ford trucks arent that bad as well. F150 is King. THe new Expedition looks horrendous.
Chrysler is the only US company I actually like right now. 300C, Magnum, Charger, Caliber, Ram, Crossfire, etc are all great looking cars. Maybe it has something to do with Mercedes-Benz, but then again, they are putting out some ugly designed cars as well as of late. They seem to get it.
01-28-06, 12:34 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Excellent post, 1SickLex. 
I agree most U.S. designs are bad, but I'll go further, I think MOST designs worldwide are bad.
Have you actually looked at a Toyota Corolla lately? It's HIDEOUS.
Even my wife wants to hurl when she sees a Honda Element.
How about a Porsche Cayenne? Looks like it's got shopping cart wheels on that bloated 911 body.
I know you like the E-class, but if you look at a 'plain one' E320, it looks really weak.
BMW? Even though they're selling well, concensus is the 4, 5, 7 aren't great looking. 3's ok and 6 is decent.
I think we're in a design funk.
But to say the challenge is difficult is an understatement! Do you want to be distinctive, or beautiful? Chrysler/Dodge go for the distinctive but a lot of it is far from beautiful. Toyota generally goes for the 'inoffensive' - for people who don't want to stand out. Chevy went for the distinctive with the cars, but they're so God Awful HIDEOUS. So it's a hard problem.
But MAYBE *we* as consumers are more critical and hard to please because we have access to so much information and can share viewpoints so easily.
Frankly, most designs of the past don't do it for me either. They either look clumsy, cheap, ugly, or something...
But what designs of ANY maker today will be remembered as beautiful and distinctive in the future? I can think of a few... Aston Martin. Audi, Porsche, the current M3.
I agree most U.S. designs are bad, but I'll go further, I think MOST designs worldwide are bad.
Have you actually looked at a Toyota Corolla lately? It's HIDEOUS.
Even my wife wants to hurl when she sees a Honda Element.
How about a Porsche Cayenne? Looks like it's got shopping cart wheels on that bloated 911 body.
I know you like the E-class, but if you look at a 'plain one' E320, it looks really weak.
BMW? Even though they're selling well, concensus is the 4, 5, 7 aren't great looking. 3's ok and 6 is decent.
I think we're in a design funk.
But to say the challenge is difficult is an understatement! Do you want to be distinctive, or beautiful? Chrysler/Dodge go for the distinctive but a lot of it is far from beautiful. Toyota generally goes for the 'inoffensive' - for people who don't want to stand out. Chevy went for the distinctive with the cars, but they're so God Awful HIDEOUS. So it's a hard problem.
But MAYBE *we* as consumers are more critical and hard to please because we have access to so much information and can share viewpoints so easily.
Frankly, most designs of the past don't do it for me either. They either look clumsy, cheap, ugly, or something...
But what designs of ANY maker today will be remembered as beautiful and distinctive in the future? I can think of a few... Aston Martin. Audi, Porsche, the current M3.
01-28-06, 01:24 PM
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
Excellent post, 1SickLex.
I agree most U.S. designs are bad, but I'll go further, I think MOST designs worldwide are bad.
Have you actually looked at a Toyota Corolla lately? It's HIDEOUS.
Even my wife wants to hurl when she sees a Honda Element.
How about a Porsche Cayenne? Looks like it's got shopping cart wheels on that bloated 911 body.
I know you like the E-class, but if you look at a 'plain one' E320, it looks really weak.
BMW? Even though they're selling well, concensus is the 4, 5, 7 aren't great looking. 3's ok and 6 is decent.
I think we're in a design funk.
But to say the challenge is difficult is an understatement! Do you want to be distinctive, or beautiful? Chrysler/Dodge go for the distinctive but a lot of it is far from beautiful. Toyota generally goes for the 'inoffensive' - for people who don't want to stand out. Chevy went for the distinctive with the cars, but they're so God Awful HIDEOUS. So it's a hard problem.
But MAYBE *we* as consumers are more critical and hard to please because we have access to so much information and can share viewpoints so easily.
Frankly, most designs of the past don't do it for me either. They either look clumsy, cheap, ugly, or something...
But what designs of ANY maker today will be remembered as beautiful and distinctive in the future? I can think of a few... Aston Martin. Audi, Porsche, the current M3.
I agree most U.S. designs are bad, but I'll go further, I think MOST designs worldwide are bad.
Have you actually looked at a Toyota Corolla lately? It's HIDEOUS.
Even my wife wants to hurl when she sees a Honda Element.
How about a Porsche Cayenne? Looks like it's got shopping cart wheels on that bloated 911 body.
I know you like the E-class, but if you look at a 'plain one' E320, it looks really weak.
BMW? Even though they're selling well, concensus is the 4, 5, 7 aren't great looking. 3's ok and 6 is decent.
I think we're in a design funk.
But to say the challenge is difficult is an understatement! Do you want to be distinctive, or beautiful? Chrysler/Dodge go for the distinctive but a lot of it is far from beautiful. Toyota generally goes for the 'inoffensive' - for people who don't want to stand out. Chevy went for the distinctive with the cars, but they're so God Awful HIDEOUS. So it's a hard problem.
But MAYBE *we* as consumers are more critical and hard to please because we have access to so much information and can share viewpoints so easily.
Frankly, most designs of the past don't do it for me either. They either look clumsy, cheap, ugly, or something...
But what designs of ANY maker today will be remembered as beautiful and distinctive in the future? I can think of a few... Aston Martin. Audi, Porsche, the current M3.
Bit, I agree with you 100% and initially was going to go that route but it would have been very, very long. My rant on other car makes/countries is coming soon
01-28-06, 02:19 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
with FWD, they can make it sell.
.
Saturn, like the typical American company, watched for 10 years as they sat on their butts and got blown away. Now 10 years later, they want to decide to make some changes.
.
.
Saturn, like the typical American company, watched for 10 years as they sat on their butts and got blown away. Now 10 years later, they want to decide to make some changes.
.
01-28-06, 02:23 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
.
Too late, put them out their misery too. The only good reason for a Saturn is to hit the plastic on the side with a baseball bat for practice, since it won’t dent.
.
Too late, put them out their misery too. The only good reason for a Saturn is to hit the plastic on the side with a baseball bat for practice, since it won’t dent.
.
Trending Topics
01-28-06, 02:31 PM
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
AS a teen, I liked saturn in the early 90s. Today, I wouldn't go near them. They just stayed stagnant while the competiton got tons better. Sad.
And weird but Fox news has a similar poll. Scroll to the middle right side.
http://www.foxnews.com/
And weird but Fox news has a similar poll. Scroll to the middle right side.
http://www.foxnews.com/
01-28-06, 02:34 PM
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
01-28-06, 05:12 PM
#10
Super Moderator
One place where they can start is getting rid of those old style grills they keep smacking on the cars. Cadillac and Lincoln stick out large in my mind. Time to modernize those styles 100%.
01-28-06, 07:07 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
AS a teen, I liked saturn in the early 90s. Today, I wouldn't go near them. They just stayed stagnant while the competiton got tons better. Sad.
]
]
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-28-06 at 07:15 PM.
01-28-06, 08:59 PM
#12
Rookie
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: North Carolina
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Ford has the resources for halfway decent looking cars,but they wont bring over any of the European or Australian cars
Why do most of us lust the European magazines. Its not just the hotter engine packages. The old Escorts sold in England still look better than anyhting Ford has out. Mr. Ford cant retool his factories to have a true world car? Besides how much does it cost to have hundreds of different model around that world,when your home country has crappy sales and cars
Aussies get this ...
And we ge the Fusion and 500.
Chrysler made the 300C with a Hemi and couldnt keep them in stock!!! So Ford and Chevy think long and hard for 2 years and come up with the "new" Impala and Five Hundered ??? Are you kidding me!! Bring the cars from "Down Under" Falcons,Galaxys and Holdens. People will buy them because they dont look like crap boring! Steal back the engineers that ran to Toyota,Honda,Nissan and Mazda to get some quality control before Hyunndai's momentum becomes to great.
Toyota has a lot of models globally, but people are buying them. BMW and Merceded have the same series of vehicles over here,but switch up the engines and some safety doo dads. GM has hotter cars in Australia,but wont bring any up here unless its to rename it something else!
Why do most of us lust the European magazines. Its not just the hotter engine packages. The old Escorts sold in England still look better than anyhting Ford has out. Mr. Ford cant retool his factories to have a true world car? Besides how much does it cost to have hundreds of different model around that world,when your home country has crappy sales and cars
Aussies get this ...
And we ge the Fusion and 500.
Chrysler made the 300C with a Hemi and couldnt keep them in stock!!! So Ford and Chevy think long and hard for 2 years and come up with the "new" Impala and Five Hundered ??? Are you kidding me!! Bring the cars from "Down Under" Falcons,Galaxys and Holdens. People will buy them because they dont look like crap boring! Steal back the engineers that ran to Toyota,Honda,Nissan and Mazda to get some quality control before Hyunndai's momentum becomes to great.
Toyota has a lot of models globally, but people are buying them. BMW and Merceded have the same series of vehicles over here,but switch up the engines and some safety doo dads. GM has hotter cars in Australia,but wont bring any up here unless its to rename it something else!
01-29-06, 02:28 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by wiz2
Chrysler made the 300C with a Hemi and couldnt keep them in stock!!! So Ford and Chevy think long and hard for 2 years and come up with the "new" Impala and Five Hundered ??? Are you kidding me!!
The Impala is actually doing extremely well in the marketplace. Last year it was, I think, the third-highest-selling car behind the Camry and Accord, simply because it is a big car for not a lot of money....that appeals to a lot of people. We will have to wait, of course, for the sales figures on the new Impala but so far it seems, like the old car, to be doing quite well. The 303 HP V8 Impala SS has just been introduced....though it is FWD and, unlike the Chrysler 300 Hemi, is prone to torque steer under extreme conditions. The 300C / Magnum / Charger have a good, solid, Mercedes-derived transmission and chassis, and, of course, the nice Hemi engine but otherwise, IMO, are built like tin, with a second-class paint job, flimsy doors, hardware, switchgear, and a general feeling of cheapness inside and out despite the glitzy-looking cabin and trim.
The Five Hundred was not as popular as the Impala and is a NICE product despite what you would call " boring " styling and maybe slightly underpowered. I don't agree the looks are that bland considering it was not designed to be a sports car. Its fit-and-finish, while not Lexus-class, is worlds ahead of the car it replaces...the Taurus......and it offers AWD traction for a reasonable price.
01-29-06, 08:01 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Originally Posted by mmarshall
I'm not sure I follow you. What do you mean by stagnant? It seems to me that Saturn did everything BUT stay stagnant.....and that may have been part of the problem. They weren't broke, but GM tried to fix them anyway, made too many changes too quickly, and in the process Saturn wound UP broke.