As well as all Fords. With both the headlights and the wipers.

Not my Ford Probe, lol

That doesn't count :lol:

I would imagine that the Probe has the more common stalk based setup because of part sharing with the MX-6.

Chevy Aveo, Mazda 3, and Chevy Cobalt over the last few months...

Both of the Chevy's were decent, though as you'd expect with a rental they seemed low on options. The only thing I really remember out of all of them is how disappointed I was in the Mazda 3. I think those things are pretty neat looking cars, especially the hatchbacks.... but the fucking thing felt like it was going to fall apart while driving it. SO MUCH road noise and shit too.

Compared to a Cobalt, yeah the Mazda is going to have more road noise because it has better handling IMO.

fixed

No...fixed.:lol

Chevy seems to feel that style & handling don't matter. And then they wonder why the only people who buy Cobalts are chicks who work at Red Lobster :lol

^ why the fuck does it have a picture of a venus fly-trap on it?

Really the headlight switches have been there for ever on many cars. At one time, they use to be pulls instead of turn dials. Pretty freakin common.

To make you ask why.


It worked.

2009 Dodge Charger
Handled well, decent power for a V6 (made it to 120 fairly easily). Front seats are decent, rear seats suck if you are over like 5'6, due to the slope of the roof. Trans shifted smooth, and when expected.

A couple things that bothered me: the placement of the turn signal stalk was oddly low (to me), no automatic headlights, and the funky stuff that started coming out of the headliner after two days of Georgia humidity.

^ also the fact that it's a very plain, stripped-down looking car, unless you spring for the R/T.

Oh I know, alot of my older chevy's had them there as well.

2011 Mustang V6
 

I just finished a few days w/ an '11 Mustang V6, and thought I'd share a few observations/impressions. A couple friends and I (plus one of their dads) flew into Denver to attend the Motocross of Nations in Lakewood, CO this weekend. I was surprised to see us end up in a new Mustang for a rental car!

I only drove it briefly, but it had plenty of power, even w/ 900+ lbs. of passenger and cargo @ mile-high altitude. The auto transmission didn't really make an impression, which I'd say is a good thing by not bringing attention to itself. It handled respectably, though I didn't find the steering feel to be that great. I can't say the live axle ever made itself known, though we weren't exactly flogging it around twisty backroads.

The doorsills lit up w/ Mustang signage when the door was opened, and the instrumentation could be selected w/ numerous color options.

Now for the negatives: seating is tight for 4 adults. My head was often touching the rear window (I'm 5'11"), and when driving w/ the seat set humanely for the rear passenger, it was uncomfortable to drive. W/o moving the seats, ingress/egress is tight from either the front or rear. As in most coupes, the doors are looooooonnng, no fun getting in or out in tight parking spaces.

The seats were an attractive textured saddle tan, w/ nice stitching. Unfortunately, they felt cheap, and I couldn't determine whether it was nice vinyl or cheap leather. Other plastics looked and felt pretty cheap.

Overall, I'd think it's a great value, esp. for those who won't be carrying passengers regularly. The GT is getting all the attention, but the V6 offers respectable performance as well w/ great economy and likely better insurance rates. Given the compromises of the platform, I'd feel increasingly less enthusiastic about it as various models' MSRP increase.

Furthermore, there's no way I would cross-shop this against an M3. Mustang no doubt offers a better value proposition, but the M3 is superior in comfort, passenger/trunk space, refinement, luxury, and I could go on and on. The ironic thing about them is that them seem pretty similar sized on the outside, but the M3 has a much larger interior - I can only surmise that the live axle is what's eating into interior/trunk space.

The point is, how many cars don't have that switch illuminated?

2011 Lincoln Towncar:

I will add more later, but this is what I've gathered in the 4 mile drive from the rental place to my office this AM

Interior:

Front Seat: HUGE.....you could breakdance or gut a full grown whale in the front seat. VERY comfy, lot's of adjustments, but everything is SO far away. Once the seat and pedals are adjusted, you feel like you could make a sandwich and eat it in the time it took you to hit the dash after a front end collision.

Rear seat: HUGE...enough legroom to seat Shaq and 4 other NBA players without ever touching knees.
Will likely test out the coital capabilities of the rear seat at some point this week.

Interior seems well put together, and no cheap buttons by playschool like the lower model Chevrolet models. Everything is very neat and clean lines. What's BAD is the placement of those buttons. Like the seat adjust. It's WAY up on the front part of the door....and not angled slightly so you can see the wording. It's just FLAT. Most japanese or german cars would angle that so you could see it better. And the dash....they cleaned up the button sizes and made them look modern, but they're just placed on the dash. Aslmost like they had this nice big flat plane canvas and cut out paper copies of the buttons and glued them on the dash somewhere until it kinda LOOKED good.

Needless to say the ergo's of the car just don't work. It's not a cockpit by any means....it's a Lazy-boy with a roll up dinner tray placed in front of you.

Exterior:

Friggin HUGE. This is a big ass car! No wonder the old folks take up 2 spaces at the Bojangles in the morning. I can't park this boat anywhere a normal car can park....and turning it takes plenty of pre-determination of where that nose will be mid-turn

Power

Don't pull out in front of anything!! This is not packing any kind of motor that was ever even shown a red bull or any sugar...no energy whatsoever but it FEELS like it would do 120 for the extent of the fuel range with no effort though

Comfort

Am I even driving a car? Holy crap this thing is so smooth and plush....I wanna take a NAP not drive anywhere.

Handling

Ever see Uncle buck?

TOTAL disconnect with the road. I mean literally disconnected. No bumps, no feel, nothing like what you get in a modern car. I truly feel liek I'm driving my grandfathers 69 caddy withOUT the benefit of the 500c.i. 8.2 liter V8 or the fadora with the feather in it.

The reason I'm driving a rental in the first place.....well......long story....so stop now if you just wanted to know about the rental car

Since the wifes new little toy came along the 5-series has been staying outside of the garage. For the first time in 11 years.

Sunday was the first day/night we've had steady rain in a month, and also since the 5-series has been in the rain all day and overnight.

About 12am the alarm goes off......I disarm the alarm, cut on the floodlights and come out of the garage in my underware with my pistol......my neighbor (a shell-shocked Vietnam vet) also emerges from his home with a weapon…..his favorite….the AR he brought back from ‘Nam :rockwoot:

So here we are, in my HOA handcuffed neighborhood, two redneck-rooted hillbilly’s in the rain, out in the driveway brandishing weapons ready to kill some thieves

We chalk it up to someone trying their luck on the door and both go back inside.

About 30 minutes later it happens again. So I disarm the alarm and figure the rain running down the windows has activated the motion sensor, and I just leave the car unlocked.

No more issues.

Until 5am this morning when I go to take the kids to the bus stop.

I open the door and no interior light. Fearing the battery was dead from all the activity I get in and start the car. Starts fine, but no interior light. So as I’m in the car I close the door and the drivers, rear window goes down??!?! OK so I may have hit the switch. I repeat and the same happens. Every time I open the driver’s door the rear window goes down. And despite hitting the up button, it goes right back down.

After a few minutes of this I lock the windows and it stops.

Well as I’m sitting in the car as it’s running with all the doors closed, the interior light comes on and the driver door indicator comes on the dash?!? The door is closed?!?! (I later conclude this was what made the alarm go off, the door indicator thinking it was opened)

Then the radio cuts off completely and will not turn back on. AC compressor shuts down and the turn signals won't work

I’ve got to get the kids to the bus stop so I tell them to come on and we leave.

Going down the road the door indicator and interior lights keep coming on and off randomly.

It looks as if I’m driving along with my own strobe light disco studio going…..and all the while the wipers MAY or may not decide to work…and even on the lowest setting, they decide to SOMETIMES run on high, low or not at all.

Then later when I turn off the wipers……and then decide to turn them on. Every time I flip the lever up, the interior light and door indicator come on at the same time. Then about 1/2 way to work the wipers lock mid stroke......no matter what I do. So I cut them off. Right before I get to work they decide to now work on HIGH....with the switch off


So at lunch I decide to head to Advance Auto to check the battery and the charging system. My buddy Scott was with me and he verfiied the reading on the meter the guy was using since he's got more expereince and knowledge with electrical systems.

Also he disconnected the neg, and jumped the battery to "reset" the computer after he called the BMW service tech at the local dealership. He said most of the time that "reset" would fix small issues. But this is apprently not a small issue.

After I had the battery checked, my buddy and I headed to K&W Cafeteria for some lunch. Then afterwards we come out and look across the parking lot at my car, and saw the wipers on high going all by themselves with me standing there with the key in my hand.


That was just TOO freaky...so I just had Scott follow me to Motorsports connection and dropped the demon-car off. I mean...if the wipers are running full tilt without the key...who knows what ELSE is running?!?!?

After about 4 hours they determine the sunroof drain was stopped up at the bottom somewhere and flooded the dash shorting out the body module (controls all the functions that went haywire) and the lighting module. SO now it's an insurance claim

So after talking to insurance I find out we have a rental car policy and I get a car. We go there this AM to pick up a car, and they want to give me a Kia

I told the guy "no offense man, but I'm just not too keen on going from a BMW to a Kia"

Granted..I'm not an elitist bastard, and in no way am I too GOOD for a Kia....but hey if you're gonna go, go BIG right?

He then says that I have the option for a ford edge or a lincoln towncar, but you have to ask for the towncar..they don't just OFFER it....SOOOO

F**k you, I have a Kia redflip

:lol:

hey I SAID I wasn't too good for one :nee: :lol:

But given the option.....when ELSE am I gonna ever drive a Lincoln? :D

:skep:

Had a Town Car a year ago......At least the gauges are nice :idk: The mirror control was pretty nice too. The rest of the car is what it is.......basically just a funeral rental.

Drove a Nissan Altima hybrid last week. It was fine except for a couple of things:

- I don't like cars with a CVT.

- The car was surging a bit while driving at steady freeway speeds. No big deal, but it was annoying.

Otherwise it was just about as exciting as any other rental I usually get.

I'm just a cheap bastard. Both cars are paid off :lol:

I'm sorry!

I'm with ya. Those cvt's are for the birds.

What's wrong with that mirror control? Turn the knob to which side you want then adjust. Center is the all off.

CVT FTL. We have an Altima V6 w/6-spd manual and it's fun as balls to drive.

Where's the wrong in "pretty nice"? :?:

Agreed. I hate the stupid things in cars. If I want CVT I'll ride the snowmobile.

Don't be: I kick the shut out of it because it's easily replaceable and it keeps coming back for more. It's a pretty solid and reliable car.

ooops!

Avis rented me a Suzuki Kazashi this week. It's like a Hyndai Genesis copulated with a Totota Corolla and this was the offspring. And there is a case of mild retardation, which explains the CVT.

I'm having a hard time finding anything I like about the car, and an equally difficult time finding anything I dislike. It's just there and it works when I want it to. Kind of like my oven.

Says Car & Driver:

The CVT includes paddle shifters as well as a manual mode with six programmed “speeds.” It’s not as wheezy as some in full automatic operation, but in manual mode, the shifts are soggy and forward progress is leisurely, particularly with the added weight of all-wheel drive: 0 to 60 mph comes in 9.4 seconds, the quarter-mile in 17.4 at 83 mph. The pace picks up for a front-drive model with a manual gearbox: 0 to 60 in 7.2.

OK - now I hate this fucking car. I spent 10 minutes feeling like a dumbass trying to figure out how to open the fucking fuel filler door. No buttons, no latches, nothing on the iKey, etc. A second closer look at the glove box let me see that there was in fact an owner's manual (stuffed in a pocket up top where it fits perfectly) so after a few minutes of perusing that I learned the secret; you have to hold in the unlock button on the iKey while pushing the fuel filler door on a certain side. Who the fuck would think of trying this shit when renting this vehicle? Good thing I found the manual, else I was about to pry open the fuel door with my truck keys and then I'd have to explain the damage.

Daewoo junk.

It's a rental, who cares? Don't forget to shit on the rear floorboard before you turn it in.

http://www.hyundaiusa.com/sonata/

Blech. The only bonus to this vehicle was you had to really pay attention while driving. That meant not falling asleep behind the wheel.

Exploder needed wheel bearings....I had a meeting

2010 Impala:

Interior seemed to be an upgrade from the traditional "playschool" knobs

Handled like an 85 crown vic with bad shocks

Responded to imput about as well as a 14yr girl listening to her father

Brake rotors could have doubled for the cannon portal covers on the mayflower

All in all it performed like a mass produced rental car/cab so I guess it was PERFECT for a rental car :idk:

Why anyone would actually OWN one of these, that didn't issue it as a company car or rental, is beyond me. But it DID catch quite a bit of air on the 1st street hump :rockwoot:

Days of Thunder Style??

ROAD TRIP style

http://onscreencars.com/wp-content/u...ridge_jump.jpg

2011 Chevy Cruze LT

1.4L Turbocharged 4cylinder Inline
6speed Automatic

Pros: Build Quality, Quiet, Electric Steering, Brake Progression, Solidity, Center electronic speedometer (as with analog)

Cons: Funky Transmission Shifting, Fuel Economy, Lack of a manual trunk release



I spent a week and 370 miles with a 2011 Chevy Cruze. Overall I was VERY impressed with this car. This is by far one of the best small cars I've ever driven and definately the best small car GM has ever made.

Engine
When driving, you wouldn't know this is a turbo model because you cannot hear any turbo noise, though you do get a little surge of power when the RPMs start to climb. The power is better than adequate, but nothing great. The motor moans a tad more than it should, but it is not loud by any means and cruises smoothly on the freeway.

Transmission
This is the biggest weak point with this car. Under light or heavy acceleration, the transmission shifts smoothly and are controlled well. However, start to play with the accelerator and the the transmission gets lost easily. Sometimes the transmission would sit in a low gear for a few seconds with no accelerator input before the upshift would occur. Quite annoying when it happens. I would recommend the manual model.

Chassis
The chassis is a perfect compromise between Japanese aloom and German thud. While I do like my 2010 VW Golf better, the Cruze handles well, soaks up bumps well and doesn't transmit any vibration to the cabin. It's a damn good chassis that results in a very quiet interior noise level on the highway.

Steering and Brakes
I like the steering alot. The full electric assist is a tad light, but I like a tad lighter then stiffer. The calibration on this was done perfectly IMO.

The brakes are firm and work progressively. They seem like typical good Japanese brakes, but not as strong as German. The pedal feel is typical good Japanese.

Interior
The controls are well placed and the gauges are easy to read. Lack of a compass is a downside, but the electronic speedometer that can be changed in the center of the IP works well. Some of the plastic aluminum good gaudy, but it is tastefully done without being too obtrusive. The build quality is excellent with use of good materials. IMO, the Cruze interior is better than Civic, Sentra and Corolla.

Conclusion
If you are looking for a small well built car, then the Cruze is a good choice. After 370 miles, I only averaged 29.8 MPG, so the diesel model in 2013 should be a good alternative IF GM would mate the 1.4L Turbo to a manual transmission or have North America develop the transmission shift logic.

Was it an Impala like this?

I don't know if this one was a 2010, but I drove it for a and it was OK. Gauges were excellent. Handling was acceptable for what it was, considering that a car this big is never going to feel sporty unless it's a BMW.

The one thing I couldn't stand was how the center headrest blocked my view out the rear window.


http://i55.tinypic.com/2ah61ea.jpg


:wtfru: :td:

http://i54.tinypic.com/1z1z6e1.jpg

Why do you look so concerned about what's in your rear view mirror? lol You look like you are waiting for a machette weilding psychopath to jump out and charge the vehicle or something.

:lol

My truck is in the body shop after a run-in with one of America's finest "guests". No license, no insurance (but had bogus insurance information to provide at the scene, a nice touch).

In the meantime, I'm stuck driving a Mitsubishi Galant. I remembered these being nice cars in the late 90's, or at least respectable. The model I have drives like a skate board - loud as hell, lousy handling, tons of play in the steering wheel, plastic interior that would make GM proud, and overall just very uninspired. And too slow to get out of its own way.

If this is the kind of car that appeals to the masses, no wonder it's hard to find a car with an edge anymore.

Can't wait to get my truck back, if I get it back. This rental car will make me appreciate it that much more.

Suck to hear about the truck. Is it bad enough that it may get totalled?

I saw a Galant the other day and thought: "I can't believe I thought that was a decent car, once upon a time." :lol:

They're supposed to finish the quote today and I'll find out if they'll fix it or not. So far, the only ray of hope I have is from the estimator telling me "I think we might be able to fix it." We just put an offer in on a house the day after the accident, so I'm really hoping to not have to shell out tens of thousands on a replacement during the mortgage approval process.

:lol: So I'm NOT the only one! When they told me they had a Galant available, I was relieved (my other option was an Impala). Then I saw the car the woman was walking toward... THAT'S a Galant?? Then she opened the door and I got a look inside; nothing like I was expecting. I'm not sure how Mitsubishi stays alive in the car business today.

...

So....you take your rear visibility very seriously. Very. Seriously.

Wat?

Moving already?

Yeah, we never planned on staying in the current house too long. When we moved up here we only had 60 days in corporate housing, so the pressure was on to find something quickly (and we weren't familiar with the area and/or where we'd like to live at all).

A short sale came on the market recently that was just way too good to pass up, so we put an offer in. I mean, who wouldn't want a 6 car garage? :rockwoot:

http://www.leenetworx.com/Homeslice.gif

No shit? Pics?

Fancy.

From experience, DO NOT fall in love with a short sale.

Yeah, we're not letting ourselves get too hopeful. We've got a contingency plan on a house that's a traditional MLS listing, so if by the end of the week we don't have any traction on the short sale we'll switch gears.

I'll post pictures if it works out, I don't want to jinx anything. :)

Holy crap...I laughed bits of pasta noodles into my sinus.

Sinus infection here i come!!

:lol:

ok someone has too much time on their hands :lol:

Only took 4-5 minutes. :lol

Maybe your father's Oldsmobile, but not the new GM.

I know you love GM quality but you and I will never see eye to eye on that. I've ridden in plenty of late model GM's and the interiors never fail to disappoint, even when it's a ZR1 (or should I say, ESPECIALLY when it's a ZR1).

My VW is on the dash (where it should be) and not illuminated. I would rather have it illuminated.

Ride in a vehicle that came OUT in 2008 or later or was revised in 2008 or later....not a 2008 MY year.

CTS, STS, Malibu etc...the interiors are better than the Japs.

I had a 2010 Malibu when I was in Colorado; the interior isn't even in the same class as a Nissan. Having driven this Mitsubishi for a few days, I'll concede and give you that.

But I'm not only comparing it to Japanese cars, more to what one should expect when spending $30k, $60k, $120k on a car. And IMO, GM fails to impress at every price point. Too much plastic, too cookie cutter, and not enough focus on layout.

The Cruze is impressive, but it's a "world car" designed in conjunction with Opel and Hyundai or something, last I checked. So, Americans can't take all the credit for it.

GM's last "home grown" small cars were the Cobalt and G5, and thankfully they're gone now. :lol:

I've drove a rental impalla many times. The backseat headrests are HORRIBLE!! They do just like he said, makes the back window almost uselss.

Other than that, the car is ok for what it is, but what it is... I hate. It's basic 4 door sedan blahness. It embodies everything I hate about normal cars. Trust me I have gave it lots of thought recently while on my new car hunt.

Couldn't agree more. I received a call from Enterprise yesterday telling me the car I was driving had been sold, and I needed to bring it back ASAP. WTF?!

They put me in an Impala instead, which lasted all of 15 minutes... the time it took me to drive home, then to another Enterprise location to swap it out. I could NOT drive that car for 3 weeks.

Now I'm in a 4-door Dodge Dakota and all is right with the world. I didn't know these were an option, and if I were put in one of these initially I wouldn't have had to skip two tracks days Memorial Day weekend.

The Cruze is a combination of Opel, Daewoo and GM North America, but mainly GM-DAT (Daewoo Automotive Technnologies). The final assembly is Lordstown, OH.

Srsly?:lol: That is fucked up.

Impala's are good for highway cruising with 5 people. They have solid engines and transmissions to last long.

I've owned a 2008 Malibu LT....VG interior build....but the 3.6L VVT engine was the bread and butter of the car....hella power returning 27mpg city and up to 34 on the highway.

Yeah I'm not saying there is anything "wrong" with the impalla/malibu of the world. They are just basic/normal cars. I just like MORE from my cars. I want something that excites me. Need some performence, nice handling, and a stick.

They gave me Malibu as my rental when my Xterra was totalled (or was it an Impala?) I don't remember because it was so boring and plain and uninspiring. It moved when I stepped on the gas but other than that, nothing about the car made an impression on me. No strong feelings about it in either direction.

Amen.

They gave you the base 4cyl. with 16inch steel wheels and shitty tires.

The LT model is much much better...:idk:

I've had 7 as rentals. I haven't written about 'em because they are so boring.

Had a Kia Sorento ('11) last week in Chicago. It was pretty nice. Good ride, decent power, lots of room. Steering was kinda wooden but not too bad. I think that will be my next vehicle when my Optima dies.

Actually you need a new Optima. That car turns heads, it looks great and you can get the turbo.

I want AWD and more cargo space and the ability to tow a snowmobile trailer.

:skep: My sister's 99 Audi A4 has its headlight switch on a separate stalk, as it should be.

BTW, massive ownage on the Impala. The average sales price is thousands less than MSRP:

Strange, I don't recall seeing any Impala cop cars around here. Plenty of Crown Vics, a pretty sizeable number of Dodge Chargers, and a handful of Explorers and the smaller Ford SUV thingy (forgot the name), but no Impalas.

I see a number of Impalas, but I think the Crown Vics are a much better choice.

I used to work for a rental car company. Driven just about everything they carried up to 2010. One thing from personal experience, VWs suck in a rental fleet. Have to have specialized tools, which most companies don't have, oil filters are a pain to get to, lug bolts instead of lug nuts make for an unpleasant surprise the first time you take a tire off one.

Impalas are decent, and pretty reliable. Hyundais and Kias are both pretty good, especially newer ones.

And to the people bashing the Cobalt, as an SS/SC driver, :gofurslf:

Rented a brand new (had 37 miles on it) Dodge Durango for the trip to PA to pick up a car for the wife. It was a nice ride, even in rental car trim. And the ability to control music from your cell phone when streaming over bluetooth was a nice touch.

Solid ride, very quiet (no idea how I made it there without a performance award) and nice feedback from the road. One of the first domestics I have been a fan of in a very long time.

Nissan Cube. More to come but: who the fuck thought this thing was a good idea?

http://images.wikia.com/tig/images/8/82/Minecraft.jpg

Yo.

I am seeing more and more impalas, as well as chargers and challengers. The current problem with crown vics is that they arent making them any more 9or will stop very soon). The design is proven and has been for the last 3 decades with some upgrades. they are the staple of police force and taxi companies across america but their terrible fuel mileage and decades old and expensive design have forced people to look elsewhere at newer and cheaper designs.

A while back I read somewhere that most police forces that bought into the impalas were sorry they did, the abuse the cars took as daily cruisers were too much for the car and while they saved on initial purchase price and on fuel, maintenance and repair costs are astronomical

I can believe that. I know a few people who own some and their biggest complaint is having to constantly either replace or grease the steering shaft and other assorted drive bits and that the suspension craps out even under light use.

I thought most police preferred RWD anyway.

The impala's were coming in to slowly replace the crown vic as a more economical car. Since the Charger was released, departments (at least around here) are switching over to that instead. Haven't seen a new impala on the force in the last couple years. Crown Vic's last MY for the public was 2009. They were going to make another run in 2010 for Law Enforcement and other fleet users and then can it completly.

Yup, hence the change to the Charger.

Had a Dodge Charger for a week and a 1/2.

Everything Homeslice has said about high door sills and small windows is true.

Ri-fucking-diculous blind spots. Terrible all around visibility and the mirrors stare directly at the rear fenders.

The sloping roof meant almost no headroom in the back seat but the trunk was huge.

The drive was decent and the interior had a few nice touches but overall I wished we had just stuck with the Impala we were originally given.

Avis tried to rent me another 4-cyl Altima for the 3rd time in a row this week while on business. Told them they were boring me and they gave me one of the new 306hp V6 Mustangs. Other than the seat comfort and the anemic sounding exhaust (the V6 Mustang I rented about 2 years ago had a throatier exhaust note), I'm having a hard time finding something I don't like about this car. Plenty of power across the RPM range, smooth shifting transmission, good fuel efficiency and I really like the styling. No blind spots, good visibility in the mirrors. Fun to drive.

4cy Ford Fusion - aka the Lawnmower. Yikes. My 10 year Toyota Camry was quieter, smoother, and had more power. Oh and it had a better ride. Rented the Lawnmower because I wasn't comfortable driving the Camry to Maryland as it had 201,000 miles on it. Wish I had though! Bought a V6 Rav4 Sport last Friday. No more Ford renting for me, lol.

Crazy, I was just about to update this thread, too. I had a Dodge Avenger last week, and was not a fan. The interior controls seemed chintzy, and the transmission usually took several tries to go from 2 to 3 under moderate throttle in town.

Also hopped in a friend's Challenger. That interior was nicer (not surprising, since the trim package was better). The glaring problem was there was no quick way to fold the driver's side seat forward so someone could climb in back. It was a power seat with no manual release, so you had to adjust it forward (and then back) with the switches. Pretty annoying for a 2-door.

Not impressed with Dodge these days.

Strange, I thought the Fusion's 4-cyl was a decent, smooth motor, and it rode very well for the class of car it's in. Problem is the horrible dashboard, with un-readable buttons & gauges.

Was this the new model Mustang? Agree they look a lot better than before.

I was sorely disappointed. My Camry was so old yet I wished several times I had it rather than the Fusion with 15,000 miles. The Camry was still running perfectly fine too, but was getting to the age where everything needed replacing.

I really thought Ford might have done something in the last 10 years.

My step-dad is a DIE HARD Ford man and after driving a Fusion bought a Honda Civic. Until then I've never seen him drive anything but a Ford.

recently rented a fiat 500 down in sofla, fun and snappy for a small car, tight handleing, smooth comfortable ride but forget getting in the back seat. and for being a small car it was horrible on gas, maybe like 26mpg

My neighbor just got one for his wife last week... hopefully snag a ride in it this week.

Yep - '12 model. I really like the slight changes they made in the 'bulges' in the quarters and the rear lip spoiler is similar to that on the new Camaros. The front end also has a more aggressive look on the profile.

I'll say it again - I find it fun to drive. An aftermarket exhuast would definitely up the fun factor.

Just saw this thread. I rented a HHR in Tampa. That car did blow. The worst part was I couldn't see shit above me. Perfect for an old short person.

I rented a jeep while in Turks and Caicos. That was badass! Especially considering we had to go down a long dirt road to get to our house then up a big hill.

Not a rental, but a gov TMP is a 2009 Jeep Patriot. How Jeep can even put its name on this vehicle is crazy. FWD w/ 4x4 option is a joke, the engine is anemic at best. A CVT transmission? Really? Ok, lets just run at 6k until it blows...
Cruising on interstate it sat around 4200 rpm. Stupid.
Cargo room blows, as does seating room in the back seat.

I see absolutely no positives about this vehicle, other than the gov bought them and I'm not paying for gas (thankfully), I'd rather pay for fuel in my 3/4 ton diesel.

I've been stuck with 7 Malibu's over the past couple months while on business trips. It's a quiet and comfortable car, however, the thing is WAY under powered with the 4 cyl engine. The transmission just makes it worse: If you push it off the line, the thing will actually red-line and bounce off the limiter before before catching up and going to the next gear... Which is interesting because you're lucky if you're doing 3mph by that point :lol:

CVTs fucking suck. Can't say it enough.

Our secretary has one. They regret that decision on a daily basis. As not only is it a suck-ass vehicle to start with, but almost everything on it has broken or worn out in 2 years. I've told her many times it'd be cheaper to pay someone to steal it, burn it and then claim it on insurance.

Umm...... Of course I never SAID those things to her....and of course we've never actually DISCUSSED this option :skep: