Anthony

I actually saw one of these over the weekend on Long Island...looks much better in person. I remember some discussion a while back they were selling these with no advertising or something?

Odd...it seems Commander is every other vehicle around here. Must be a very regional vehicle.

Some history of this award........ 2007 Saturn Aura (winner) Chevrolet Silverado (winner) 2006 Honda Civic (winner) Honda Ridgeline (winner) 2005 Chrysler 300 (winner) Ford Escape (winner) 2004 Toyota Prius (winner) Ford F-150 (winner) 2003 MINI Cooper (winner) Volvo XC90 (winner) 2002 Nissan Altima (winner) Chevrolet TrailBlazer (winner) 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser (winner) Acura MDX (winner) 2000 Ford Focus (winner) Nissan Xterra (winner) 1999 Chrysler 300M (winner) Jeep Grand Cherokee (winner) 1998 Chevrolet Corvette (winner) Mercedes-Benz ML320 (winner) 1997 Mercedes-Benz SLK (winner) Ford Expedition (winner) 1996 Chrysler minivans (winner) Ford F-150 (winner) 1995 Chrysler Cirrus (winner) Chevrolet Blazer (winner) 1994 Mercedes-Benz C-Class (winner) Dodge Ram (winner)

Looks much better, inside and out...but man, those side vent thingees are tacky! That one item look very "Pep Boys" in comparison to the rest of the car. Otherwise, not bad. Funny how Ford is raising the beltline on all their vehicles.....a trend many here said was stupid just 2 years ago.

Dealer inventory is not the same as the unassigned sales bank. "Unassigned" means not part of a dealer's inventory...hence.."unassigned". The unassigned inventory is what the Free Press article referred to and what Chrysler was having such a bad time with. 74 days of dealer inventory is pretty normal.

Presto! No more excess inventory

Agreed..I own an 04 LX and rented a newer gen on a business trip and liked the previous gen much better. The new one was bigger, but boring and floated like a Buick.

I'm just as curious how many fleet sales the 500 had with a 19.6% reduction in sales.

This may not be anything other then a mule. (ie. not showing refreshed anything on it) Those tailights are current 300C lights and the current Touring fascia...this thing is nothing. The only thing being hidden is the CHMSL in the trunk which is currently on the parcel shelf.. And when is everyone going to stop quoting fleet numbers off an article from sales a year ago? Jeez the Stang had almost 20% fleet on that one and it was new then.

Its basically in the same spot as a column shifter...just alot nicer. How is it any worse then this?

As cool as the car is....it really does not do anything for me. I'd still rather have a Stang.

Not sure if you have kids or not (or if you travel with them), but the swiveling seats and table are great selling points for families. I just showed the wife this and she said it would be the first minivan she would ever consider. (She is the "anti-minivan" mom...I think I may have finally swayed her. Minis are the most practical vehicle for families on the market today) She liked the Caravan (saying, it looks almost like an SUV, but not "pretending" like the GM Vans were) but was not too crazy about the T&C ("ehh...looks ok") This is the first time I've actually got a kick out of checking out a minivan.

Autoblog

Why did you use turning radius as an indicator of physical size? (Don't get me wrong, I love a good turning radius, but it does not tell me how big a car is as I'm sure the turning radius on many A and B sized cars are even better, yet they are much smaller). I'd pull that one out along with any exterior dimension (use only true passenger and cargo volume to get a much better indicator of how a vehicle utilizes its size) Overhangs and body protusions do nothing but artifically inflate a vehicle's length and width, but do nothing for the driver or passengers when the interior volume is not comparable to the exterior dimensions. The below would be a truer indicator of what a prospective buyer really compares when test driving similar sized cars from your list above: Altima Passat Camry Accord Sonata Fusion Front legroom 4 6 5 2 1 3 Rear legroom 1 3 2 6 4 5 Front headroom 1 6 4 2 3 5 Rear headroom 6 3 3 1 2 3 Front shoulder room 5 5 1 4 2 2 Rear shoulder room 5 6 2 4 1 3 Passenger volume 4 6 3 2 1 5 Interior cargo volume 1 5 4 6 2 3 Average rankings: 3.375 5 3 3.375 2 3.625 Using these rankings (which still do not clearly indicate a size difference) it changes the outcome considerably.

How soon we forget the Korean Aspire?

You do realise that the 427 concept was introduced at the 2003 North American International Auto show and the 300 pre-production vehicle was introduced less then 4 months later at the NY Auto Show? Do you think for a second Chrysler ripped off Ford and in a 3 month period and came out with a production vehicle in that amount of time? Anytime anyone says DC ripped off the 427, I just have to shake my head. The 300 was styled and completed long before the 427 was even a thought. I love the 427 and all, but I'm not kidding myself. If anything, the true "first" in the "new age of RWD sedans" was the HEMI Super-8 concept which was built on the yet to be released LX architecture at the 2001 NAIAS. It featured the low roof, high belt-line, V8 RWD sedan that would later become the LX trio. It was a wild "teaser" of what was already know to be coming a couple years down the road.

Yikes...and people were complaining the Magnum had a truck front end? Yeesh....

Well, that can easily be explained... The Explorer was never a timeless style. It started out as a glorifed Bronco II/Ranger and became the Camry of SUV's.

Amen, the Cherokee is timeless. I plan on picking up an 01 to build with my son one of these days.

I'll be the first to say it looks like the new Edsel incarnate, but kudos to Lincoln for finally growing a set and putting something that has some semblance of style out there. Love it or hate it...the "love it" guys are the target and they might as well target a niche as opposed to attempting to target everyone with a bland, vanilla vehicle. Incite some passion....it works. Especially in a low-volume brand such as Lincoln.

Absolutely horrible.

Perhap's it was just your wording, but I consider "basic specs" to be a vehicle's platform (about as basic as you can get). If two vehicles on the same platform is badge engineering, then the entire auto industry is badge engineering a handful of vehicles between each of them. (We do not know if the next gen Pac will look like the Dodge Crossover as noone has seen either). Take for instance, the Jeep Patriot and the Dodge Caliber: Is this badge engineering? Two vehicles on the same platform, yet look nothing like each other. THIS is badge engineering, the ONLY difference between the two cars IS the badge! Dodge Neon Plymouth Neon Badge engineering could also include the Fusion triplets, the 500/Montego, F-150/MarkLT. PLATFORM sharing could include the Mazda 3 & Focus C1. Two vehicles that are based on the same platform yet look nothing like each other. The Ford Edge and the Ford Fusion, platform mates, not badge mates. Then again, perhaps I misunderstood the meaning behind your post.

Yessh, they've only been out for 3 model years, I can't think of any maker that does major refreshes any sooner (unless the car is a certifiable disaster) Anyhow....here's the 2008 Magnum with redesigned front/rear end and interior (SRT-8 modfel pictured). Spy shots: No more truck front end. Looks almost like the Mustang in the lower bumper.

It is all new, not a rebadge of the existing Pac. The new Pac will be based on this though.

I agree...while the Mazda is clearly a great car, it still looks a bit bland.