It seems like Fiat is hedging its bets. It doesn't seem like the UAW is going to give in to Fiat's demands, so it's possible that Fiat would walk away from the Chrysler deal. If the Chrysler deal doesn't go through, they can still buy over Opel. Either that, or they're using Opel to signal to UAW that they are ready to walk if they don't give in.

Well, if it's called 149, it's probably going to be the replacement for the 147, not the Brera.

@Dave,

For a manufacturer that specializes in making small cars, is it any wonder that Fiat doesn't sell well in the US?

In case you don't know this, but the maker of the humble 500 and cute Pandas own Alfa Romeo, Meserati and Ferrari.

OMG... this has the sex appeal of a tin can. No polish, all bumps and nothing sleek. Even the VW Scirocco looks better. If Ford can come up with something like the Verve, why can't they translate some of the sheen to the Focus?

Maybe because the 'Fiesta' name is already well established in Europe and around the world? Duh. Don't forget the best selling 'Focus' as well, another eff car.

"would you care when the monkeys in the zoo scream at you?"

What do you mean by this pray tell?

I didn't like Creative players because they just don't look good; clashes with my mojo. But after having had my iPods of various generations replaced (bad battery, bad HDD, bad PCB), I must say that even my very first Nomad C lasted a longer. Plus I liked having all the buttons around for fast navigation. But damn are they ugly!

Sam, have you checked Blue Dragon for the X360? 3 DVDs. The other new RPG for the 360 Lost Odyssey, 4 DVDs.

Disney, you're the one that is short on objectivity here. You only like your comparison because you know that it is based on Apple's propensity to inflate their peripheral prices. How is my comparison akin to a nano vs a zune? They are both 19/20 inches in size and about the same price. In this comparison, the iMac has almost 1Ghz of processor speed advantage and higher resolution (1680x1050)LCD, but 1GB less RAM and wired keyboard and mouse. For $50, you can get 3rd party RAM to remove the memory deficit, and that will make the iMac a lot more powerful than the Gateway. So your argument is going to be based on whether or not wireless keyboard and mouse is going to make the Gateway worth the processor and resolution deficit.

Disney, the model you quoted is inflated because of the additional memory and wireless keyboard and mouse. For $1500, you can get the 2.4Ghz iMac with 1GB RAM, 256MB video card and wired peripherals, buy 1GB of DDR2 RAM for like $50 or so, and you've got a computer that runs much faster than the Gateway. The only difference would be the wired/wireless keyboard and mouse, and let's just say that some people might prefer to have a choice in whether he/she would have to charge the keyboard and mouse all the time.

Don't forget also that iMacs come with iLife, which is a useful suite of software for home use.