Noah: Like a lion in the Sahara or a bear in the forest
Otter: Sahara?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.

PGAero, I agree with you completely. I went from a 95 900 convertible to an 05 9-2x aero. I had the Saab for three years and had the 9-2x for about a year. The seats, paint, interior quality, stereo and torque characteristics were all inferior to the old 900. The 9-2 (and all Subarus I have sat in) was horribly uncomfortable. The 9-2x aero (5spd) was actually slower than my old 900 turbo (5spd), especially in real world driving. The Saab had power at every range. The 9-2x had to be above 3000 RPMs or it had nothing. And if the A/C was on forget about it. Despite its flaws, which were numerous, I regret getting rid of the 900 to this day. IMO, the only thing that Subaru has on Saab is reliability and resale value and those aren't even close. I have had great luck with Saabs but they do have their issues. I never had a problem with my 9-2x.

As the former owner of a beautiful 95 Acura Legend LS two door with a type II engine that was the biggest pos I have ever owned I would love to see Acura die. Car only had 90k miles but everything was going wrong. Electrical system was f'ed, transmission went out, etc. I only put about 3000 miles on it in two years because it broke every time I drove it. Dealer was nice but they had no problem bending me over on every repair. I will never own an Acura again they are way too complicated and fragile. Have had great luck with simple no frills Hondas. Couple my experience with all of the horror stories I have read about the TL and CL transmissions failing and I will never buy an Acura.

The extremely heavy and long travel of the clutch and it's unpredictable engagement ruin this car for me. It made me feel like I had no idea how to drive a manual because the engagement was different every time I put the pedal down. Felt so heavy too. Extremely expensive to fix. For the money I think a 92-94 Maxima was a superior car by far.

Too bad these never caught on. My GF gets these for company cars and they have been great. Just got a new X on Monday and it is very nice. Put 99xxx miles on her Freestyle in two years with only one problem, the gauge cluster went out at 38xxx miles (Ford's warranty really should be longer than 3/36000). I could get 25-26 mpg on the highway if I went the speed limit. 22-23 at 80 mph. My GF averaged between 19-20 with a very heavy foot (she doesn't pay for her own gas). The X is an upgrade in almost every way, smooth, quiet, etc. I would recommend one to anybody. Check out the reviews online by owners. People that own these cars love them. Not sure where you live LS7, but these are all over the place in KC. I think maybe you haven't been paying attention, these are kind of anonymous.

I own own of the largest of the Volvo wagons, a 940, and love it but I wouldn't say it has the space of a Suburban. It does have as much or more space as most of the smaller utes though. I only get a combined 22 mpg in it though so it really isn't the best example. And it is painfully slow.

Miles, you have three children and a suburban!? How can you look at yourself in the mirror? Being the owner of a Suburban, how is your pen*s even big enough to procreate? Your carbon footprint is huge and completely irresponsible. You will be the first in the re-education camp. You are despicable.

Maybe its the car or maybe it is his skill as a driver or both but that lap looks easy. The car doesn't sound stressed and he makes it look so drama free that it looks like anybody could do it.

My favorite Nurburgring run:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnjqOjY0LA

+1 for Ford

Never been a Ford fan but the girlfriend gets them as company cars and the ones that she has had, '03 Taurus and '06 Freestyle, have had one problem in 200,000+ miles. Gauge cluster went out on the Freestyle @39K miles, that is it. She is getting a new Taurus X and I am considering buying the Freestyle for $7000 it has been such a good car.

I jumped in on that deal. My 9-2x with the premium package was $21500. IIRC the sticker was almost $30k. I bought one of the last Aero w/5 spd. Fun and realiable car but I was coming from a Saab 900 and the seats in the 9-2x are aweful compared to what I was used to in Saabs. I would have kept it if it wasn't for that. I am looking for a car now and it makes me realize what a great deal that was.