Or you could buy a new videocard for less than $179. heck, even if you have a top of a line video card, the new 5870 and 5850 aren't too much more than $180 and will likely best your top of the line card...no?

gimme, gimme, gimme

hmmm...seems like the opposite to me. too many marketing people instead of engineers designing the cars. In the end, no matter how great your add is, you can't overcome mushy suspension and an over reliance on SUVs

@ Bob Sassone

Whoosh! Right over your head.

Yeah, it's corny...that's the point. It's like a clean prime time version of "the Aristocrats" joke. The joke doesn't matter...the delivery does.

See here for list of resolutions that have beens standardized for TV use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

Also see my previous post for an example of why you'd want to use a non-standard resolution...to match the TV's native resolution.

Another example of wanting to run at non-standard resolutions is for gaming. Some games only support the more common non-widescreen resolutions such as 1600x1200 or 1024x768.

Two major manufacturers who don't allow non-standard resolutions on the HDMI input are Sony and Panasonic. I know because I have a Panny plasma and a Sony LCD that won't accept 1680x1050 on the HDMI input. The Panny shows a blank screen and the Sony says "out of range".

I suggest the OP check the back of the manual before putting down $1000+ for a TV. My manuals actually do state the supported resolutions on the HDMI port.

Also, I suggest the OP check out www.avsforum.com. The user base there is significantly more technical and would likely have the answer you're seeking.

It depends. Most TVs limit you to the "TV resolutions" when you're inputting via HDMI, with or without a DVI converter. By "TV resolutions", I mean

1920x1080p
1920x1080i
1280x720p
720x480p
720x480i

If you want to run non-standard resolutions (say 1368x768 to match the native res), you'll still need a VGA port or at least a PC-compatible DVI port. Most HDMI ports are locked down pretty tight.

400MB hard drive, pre-2003: $200
Engineers' salaries to design enclosures that are protected from extreme tempertures, booster shock and vibe, vibro-acoustics, emi, solar radiation, first mode response resonance, etc... : $$$$$$$$

Quite a positive development, but alas too little too late. At one point in time, American open wheel racing was running neck and neck in popularity with F1 with races like Long Beach, Toronto, Houston, and the grand daddy of them all--Indy, being highly anticipated by so many people. I felt the racing was so much more intense than F1 or NASCAR, perhaps due to the inferior machines (compared to F1) which meant driver skill and race strategy mattered so much more. No diss against Schumacher for his run in F1...but how much of it was due to Ferrari's huge technical and budget advantage over it's competitor? In the old IndyCar, every car was so evenly matched, the skills of the driver really shone through. Too bad they had to split...taking away the strategy of open road courses from the IRL and taking awy the speed of the ovals from CART...erm ChampCar.

Kia could care less about what people on Autoblog or any performance auto oriented site thinks. The performance people aren't their target audience. Their audience is the cost conscience family who needs a reliable car that gets them from point A to point B without much fuss. When you make an inoffensive car that does so well below the price of the competitors, then tack on a long warranty, you're gonna get those people's attention. So ultimately, I bet this new Optima is going to be a success. It has all the positives of the current Optima (cheap, long warranty) without the negatives (butt ugly).

I'm surprised at all the negative comments concerning the looks of the car.

I personally think it's gorgeous and a huge move forward from all the staid designs of the other japanese manufacturers (hello Honda and Toyota). Nissan, in general, is at the forefront of innovative designs. I think the Renault influence helps quite a bit.

That said, why in the heck would you buy this car when you have the equally stylish Altima below and the supremely gorgeous G35 on top? And both are more fun to drive cars anyways (as compared to last year's Maxima...which was basically an Avalon competitor, not a sports sedan).