CarShark

None. In fact, in terms of cars sold in America period that get that kind of combined mileage, it's a short list. According to fueleconomy.gov: Toyota Prius-48 city/45 highway (46mpg combined) Honda Civic Hybrid-40/45 (42) ...aaaaaaaaaaaand that's it. Two cars out of 300-odd. The next highest is the Yaris at 32 mpg. Until subcompacts take off more with even smaller engines than they have now or diesels, they could be the only two. The only mid-sizers that get over 30 mpg are the hybrid Prius, the Hybrid Camry and the hybrid Altima. As a whole, our fleet isn't terribly spectacular on the FE side. We do alright for power, though, but that'll probably change soon. When a Camry can go from 0-60 in under 6 seconds (Car and Driver), people are going to wonder how much power cars really need.

Maybe they are counting on "die hard" Chevy buyers to buy them. There was quite an outcry when the Camaro was canceled in 2002, so there might be some pent-up demand. Of course, gas was hovering at $1.40 a gallon then (Automotive Digest), so that could very well throw a wrench into GM's plans. I'm noticing that Dodge is also hurrying along the intros of the smaller V-8 and V-6 versions of their muscle car, which leads me to believe that they want to get those going as well. I know a comparison of a 250 hp Challenger, 268 hp Camaro, and 265 hp Mustang isn't exactly the stuff Car and Driver covers are made of, but arguably it's the most important. You get the looks and some of the performance without the huge fuel bill. Who knows how direct injection will liven things up, as well?

*sigh* I don't know why I'm about to do this. The conversation up 'til now has been civil, if a bit circular. Maybe it's because I read the article immediately after my last post and agreed with it. Dunno. All I know is that someone else has an opinion on all this. Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Jeremy Clarkson. Times Online

What about normal people? I'm tired of every Mustang conversation centering on enthusiasts. They are such a small part of the equation. I'm not saying they aren't important, but I keep hearing that one of the reasons the Mustang has always outsold the Camaro/Firebird is that it was always more "livable". Every article I've read since this thread started has said that a good SRA won't ride as well as a good IRS. My own personal experience has borne this out. I don't know why suv_guy keeps saying it doesn't matter. I think the cost argument is somewhat overblown. I think people have shown that if something is better, they will pay more for it. But if they don't know why the IRS is better, they may not take advantage of it as an option, which pretty much defeats the purpose. Anyways, wouldn't making the IRS standard help amortize the cost quicker? And about the extra complexity: does anyone know if there's a large recall rate for IRSs? I'd think that'd be easier to sort out, being a mechanical issue, than what the Germans are trying to do with electronics systems managing everything.

Why are there four of these things? Why did Chevy (the volume brand) get theirs last? Why haven't they made any other variant, like a minivan or a large sedan? I don't think GM utilizes their platforms as well as they should.

Has anyone ever proven "The Halo Effect"? I mean, there's only so much one car can do.

Especially with Mexico and all the "sanctuary cities" not helping the cause.

Honestly, I'd rather they not bother with one. I don't know how much the GT or Viper or Corvette programs cost, but it must be a pretty penny. Money better spent on the new Focus, Avenger and Impala, IMO.

That's why I'm worried about the direction of the next Mazda6. Every time I hear news about the Euro/Japanese version, it's mentioned that the North American version will be larger and won't be nearly as sporty. I'm going to give myself heart disease with the amount of salt I'm taking with those comments, but I've heard those rumblings for years. EDIT-Oh! And Autoblog eavesdropped on overheard someone from Mazda say that we're only getting the sedan. *sigh* Another wagon bites the dust.

Speaking of Allpar, they had an interview with the minivan PR woman (or something). She said the take rate of the regular Caravan was below 10%. Not worth the effort, she said.

Had nothing to do with the ride, but the constant scuttling and jarring from the back end of the car. Very unsettling. Hit a fairly small pothole, and I felt like I was in a blender.

Sure. Why not? No, but I've had the misfortune of riding in one. Never again. Took me at least a couple hours to fully unclench. No. Just no. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in all my life. Something bad about a car makes it good. If you take away all the bad from a car, you make it worse. Honestly, folks. You have to start making sense. Well I don't want to tune the car for maximum performance. I just want to drive my car through the badly-maintained roads of Michigan without financing an osteopath's new ski boat or careening into a ditch.

I don't care about the drag racers. If they're already going to rip out the back seats and dashboard and Lord knows what else, they can do the swap themselves. The IRS could very well make the Mustang more appealing to the majority of non-enthusiasts who actually buy them. That's what's important. I've always found that to be an exceptionally stupid reason for keeping the SRA. As for cost, well...I'm part of the camp that believes it would be money well spent. Low cost isn't the only reason (IMO not even the primary reason) why the Mustang has remained so popular. Especially not nowadays. People aren't going to compromise handling and comfort just to save a few bucks.

Jalopnik says that the first car to die in the new cuts is the Viper sportscar. Not really a big shock to me.

What car is on the top, range? The Canada-only CL? Almost as stupid as the Pontiac Wave.

Not even the Honda fanboys like this car. I went to vtec.net. Anarchy. Threads about the new RL include titles such as "My Eyes Are Soiled!", and "*Urp* Sorry, just threw up in my mouth a little bit...". Those are the nicer ones. Between this and the Pilot concept, I've never seen such vitriol directed towards a fansite's designers. Not even at BMW's. You wanna talk about "The end is nigh"'? The Hyundai Genesis has come up, too. And after seeing those photos, so has my lunch.

No, it's happening in America, too. A 2007 report by Columbia University found that 90% of fathers take some leave after their child is born. 32% take two or more weeks off. As far as I know, there's no requirement for this to be given. Columbia University

And now it's starting to include paternity leave, too. I think that if the make-up of Americans wasn't as such (2 out of 3 adults overweight, 1 out of 3 obese, with children getting fatter as well), we wouldn't be having this conversation.

But I'll bet that the ones that do are glad they were able to.

I wouldn't go as far as you, but I admit that's quite a piece of carbage.

Jeez. I hate politics. Anything and everything you ever say in your lifetime can be used against you by people who want nothing more than to see you suffer.

This thread just makes me even more sure that I want to be a health educator. In Eastern Michigan's program, they don't stop stressing how important prevention is. It's not very politically sexy, but it's effective.

Auto123 2008 Toyota Yaris Hatchback Old Price: $13,915 New Price: $13,165 Difference: $750 2008 Toyota Yaris Sedan Old Price: $14,695 New Price: $13,945 Difference: $750 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser Old: $30,725 New: $29,725 Difference: $1,000 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Old: $42,825 New: $41,075 Difference: $1,750 2008 Toyota Avalon Old: $41,840 New: $39,840 Difference: $2,000 2008 Toyota RAV4 Old: $29,400 New: $27,400 Difference: $2,000 2008 Toyota 4Runner Old: $40,580 New: $38,560 Difference: $2,020 2008 Toyota Tacoma Old: $22,760 New: $20,470 Difference: $2,290 2008 Toyota Sienna Old: $31,750 New: $29,400 Difference: $2,350 2008 Toyota Highlander Old: $39,650 New: $36,900 Difference: $2,750 2008 Lexus ES Old: $42,900 New: $39,900 Difference: $3,000 2008 Lexus IS (manual) Old: $36,550 New: $31,900 Difference: $4,650 2008 Lexus LS Old: $92,400 New: $85,800 Difference: $6,600 2008 Lexus SC Old: $93,250 New: $86,100 Difference: $7,150 2008/2009 Lexus RX Old: $51,550 New: $44,350 Difference: $7,200 2008 Lexus GX Old: $76,600 New: $68,500 Difference: $8,100 Good for Toyota for aligning its prices. Bad for anyone who bought one in January. How much do you not want to be the person who spent $7200 more for an RX350 a week ago?

Well...since the moderator started this thread I wouldn't hold my breath.

Because RJ, in an exaggerated, overblown fashion as only he could pull off is satirizing the recent spate of posters that constantly declare the end is nigh.