jamesbrownontheroad

+1

Although I've always had a soft spot for the old one; first big American sedan I ever drove when I first came to the States. Still hanker for the last generation SS; nothing fancy, just a big sedan with a big engine, and suitably anonymous looks. However the new one does step it up a gear.

peteropny

Let's not give them ideas for class creep!!

drzoidberg

The new Impala's going to come with some dinky 4-cylinders, like the Lacrosse's eAssist.

So maybe we'll see those on ES, or else they'll be PCARs just as the Lacrosse's base trim are also PCARs. Which would be unfortunate...

drzoidberg

The new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe looks pretty amazing, aggressive, not like the insipid, current mode. The 2013 Ford Escape has some competition.

Too bad Hyundai insists on tuning their EPAS into having an overboosted feel.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/04/2...2012-new-york/

Yankeesfan1

I drive a 2011 Ford F150 Crew Cab with Eco Boost.
It is exceedingly quick.
The new Hyundais look pretty slick.
I am new to Flyer Talk

peteropny

Welcome!!

Yankeesfan1

Thanks

drzoidberg

Yes, welcome YankeesFan!

drzoidberg

Very likely that 2014 Impala may be a PCAR, if they're pricing it like the Lacrosse.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevy-to...et-buyers.html

dtremit

"Job 1" is an internal Ford designation referring to when they switch to "standard" production of a new model, with all the assembly line processes and procedures in place. Always thought it was an odd choice for an advertising slogan, given that.

That video is quite a flashback. The engineering shot of the greenscreen CAD graphics are the PDGS system Ford used in the '80s -- they used vector displays with light pens as the primary input device. I remember getting to play around with the system once as a kid -- it was quite impressive at the time.

Jack Wang

With the 2013 Altima, I'm finally looking forward to driving one. It looks fantastic!

drzoidberg

But remember, we only get the base to mid-level trim Altimas.

ElmhurstNick

After having driven the 2010 and 2011 Acadias SLTs and the 2011 and 2012 base Traverses, I'm a bit disappointed with what GMC has done with the 2012 Acadia SLT2, especially since that was the car I was thinking about buying used in a couple of years. I was excited to pick one up at MDW last night with only 80 miles on it, but in retrospect I should have taken the less equipped Traverse next to it, or looked for an Edge or an Explorer.

The most important thing is that they really messed up the driver's seat. I can't get a comfortable position on it at all, and its a 6-way power seat with power lumbar support. I think part of it is is that the driver's seat side airbag seems bulkier than previously, and part of it is that the angle of the back of the seat and the base of the seat seems to not be able to get to a pure 90 degrees any more. But my back actually hurts after driving it for just a half hour. Oddly enough, I think the passenger seat is more comfortable.

The second thing that really annoyed me (but wouldn't annoy most of you) was the amount of driver's headroom taken up by the new double sun roof and the backseat DVD player. It had to be at least 4 inches, because I was actually bumping my head on both the DVD/rear lighting console and the sunroof ledge. I know very few vehicles have the 41.9 inches of headroom that my 2004 Pilot has, but this couldn't have been more than 38 inches, the base model is supposed to have about 40.5.

The third thing was the lack of anything resembling the Ford or Dodge 9" screens for the entertainment, climate control, and bluetooth management. Come on, guys....

As much as I've enjoyed the Acadia/Traverse/Enclave trio in the past, this one is a rather uncomfortable ride for me, which for a 7-seater seems impossible. Is it really so hard to have 41 inches of headroom and still have a luxury package with heated leather seats and the like?

What's especially frustrating is that the 2012 GMC Terrain SLT has a perfectly lovely seat, which I sat in for 12 hours doing field work back in April. But the head room for getting in and out of the vehicle is pretty bad.

drzoidberg

The 2013 Acadia refresh might answer your problems! In terms of pure cargo carrying capacity, they are far bigger than anything Ford has to offer, but fall short in terms of cabin tech and overall build quality IMO.

I'm looking forward to the 2013 Escape, 2013 Dodge Dart, and 2013 Nissan Altima. All have had their job 1s recently, so we should be seeing in fleet service soon!

ElmhurstNick

My fear is that the Acadia refresh will just make things worse. That's why I own a 2004 Pilot - it was the last year that the sunroof was not standard on the EX-L trim level! I happen to like the style of the GMCs compared to their GM brethren, and I'm not a fan of the Ford grills or the Lincoln rears.

I'm really looking forward for the 2013 Escape, because I think Ford has done a far better job than GM in terms of interior on their loaded versions - but I still prefer the GMC stylings. The shape of vehicle that really works for me physically is the Santa Fe, unfortunately it's 2* safety ratings give me serious pause.

I have a couple of long rentals coming up out of BWI and DCA this summer, and I'm hoping to get some serious time in both a fully loaded Edge as well as a fully loaded Escape.


ETA: I found out part of the problem with the 2012 Acadia - it actually has less headroom front and rear than the Equinox - 40.4/38.4 vs. 40.9/39.2. Because I have my seat so far back, rear seat headroom is actually important to me because of the slope of the roofline...