HUMMER JAPAN

You may've already heard about General Motors decision to send Hummer on a fast ship to Japan. Yes, Japan.

Japan is not the country where the Ford F-series outsells everything and the ever-growing Camry is the best-selling car. No, folks, Japan is the country where the Honda Fit is attempting to wrest the best-selling crown from the Toyota Corolla. Japan is not the country where legislators are trying to... er, legislate 35mpg standards while others moan and complain and try to negotiate with OPEC. No, Japan is the country where citizens receive tax breaks for driving very small cars with very small engines. You know the kind - 0.8L engines. 800cc's.

That sounds like the perfect market for Hummer. Sure, it'll be the H3, the brand's smallest member. Cadillac/Saab dealers will host their brutish affiliate.

"This looks like Hummer country, don't it Bob?".... "I believe it is, Mr. Wagoner, I believe it is."

And I have a feeling. I think I see the method to their madness. Japan's population is in decline. Attempts at incentivizing multi-child families haven't taken hold quite yet. So.... Hummer's plan? As the humans disappear and the land opens up, the remaining few will want bigger vehicles. They'll want to climb Mt. Fuji and safely deal with the snows of Hokkaido - where the depopulation is greatest - and a Honda Fit or Mitsubishi i won't cut the mustard.

Smart folks; those GM product planners. Smart folks.

WARD'S 10 BEST ENGINES

Ward's has once again named its Ten Best Engines. It seems as though Ward's Auto has staked out a claim on this category of engine ranking and is rather respected and trusted now. 2007's best engines come from four different Japanese manufacturers, the German big three, as well as Ford and GM.

Audi's 2.0L turbocharged inline-four makes 200bhp and 207 lb-ft of torque. BMW's twin-turbocharged 3.0L inline-six produces 300bhp and 300 lb-ft of torque. The 3.0L V6 turbodiesel in Mercedes-Benz's E-class produces 208bhp and 400 lb-ft of torque. Ironically, the three German companies infiltrated Ward's 10 Best list with four turbochargers divided amongst the three engines.

Ford's 4.6L V8 is capable of more than 300bhp in the Bullitt and Shelby GT. The 6.0L V8 in hybridized form that we've seen in the Yukon/Tahoe hybrids and GM's 3.6L V6 from the Cadillac CTS form the American contigent.

Honda's smooth and powerful 3.5L V6 from the new Accord is one of two three-and-a-half litre engines on the list. The V6 from Lexus' IS350 is another formidable powerplant. 3.7 litres equals V8-style power in the Infiniti G37, too. Finally, Mazda's 2.3L turbocharged inline-four ends the list as the fourth turbocharged model, as well as the second with just four-cylinders.

NORTH AMERICAN CAR OF THE YEAR - January 13

One month plus a day from now you'll hear who took the crown of North American Car (& Truck) of the Year. General Motors swept the two-title series last year with the Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Silverado. Out of 54 possible nominees, GM showrooms hold four of the final six candidates. Present in the COTY triumvirate are Chevrolet's Malibu, the Cadillac CTS and the Honda Accord. The loosely named 'truck' category is represented by the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and Mazda CX-9.

Does the Malibu, a bolder; better version of last year's winner, really deserve to win? Has it moved the game on that much? Will the Tahoe Hybrid hype override what The Good Car Guy noticed to be dismal real-world fuel economy and a poor driving experience to take the TOTY title, especially considering the Mazda CX-9's seven-seat sports-car on stilts reputation and the best-Buick-in-decades Enclave?

We shall see. It should be known, however, that it was.... today - yes; today - that Cadillac's entry won GoodCarBadCar's American Impact Car of the Year.

PRIUS = SATISFACTION

Consumer Reports surveys have shown the Toyota Prius to be the most satisfying car, as told by 92% of Prius owners who would definitely consider buying another. General Motors forgotten minivan trio did very poorly, with just a third of respondents suggesting they would want another Terraza, Relay, or Uplander. They won't be given the chance - what's left of those vans is indeed all that's left of their future existence.

Other standouts included the six-cylinder Ford Fusion and the Saturn Aura, which along with the Prius and Camry Hybrid are the top four most satisfying 'family cars'. Four GM vehicles ranked at the bottom of the list, along with two Chrysler-built vehicles and the Mazda B-series; really just a Ford Ranger. Chevrolet's Corvette, Porsche's Boxster as well as the VW GTI, Ford Mustang GT, and Audi S4 were all sporty vehicles which owners would want to buy again.

Links:
Toyota.com/Prius
Consumer Reports
Chevy Uplander

GENERAL MOTORS PLAN FOR CONGRESS BY THE NUMBERS

The United States Congress wants specifics, General Motors plans to offer Congress specifics. Well, some specifics. With the emphasis on the Numbers, GoodCarBadCar.net has narrowed down GM's tentative plan for consumption.

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3- brands to be sold, or killed, including Saab; Hummer; and Saturn

6,000,000,000- total money, in USD, requested in revolving credit form were unanticipated market changes to arise

4,700- total U.S. dealerships after a sharp reduction from the current 6,450

12,000,000,000- total money, in USD, General Motors is requesting in bridge loans, the type of loan that is typically short-term in lieu of finance rearrangement in the future, "with warrants issued as part of the loans" whereby taxpayers would "benefit from growth in the company's share price that might result from successful completion of the plan. Ha, "might".

30,000- potential job losses as a "workforce reduction" plan goes in to effect, taking the number of total GM employees from 96,000 to 65,000-75,000

4,000,000,000- total money, in USD, needed now for operating costs and to begin repaying loans

2012- year by which GM wants its wages and benefits to be fully competitive with the wages and benefits offered by Toyota

2,900,000,000- total money, in USD, to be invested in alternative fuels and advanced propulsion technologies from 2015-2012

12,500,000- total American vehicle sales volume at which General Motors would be able to compete successfully were the plan to take action

16,667 '09 GM LAMBDA CROSSOVERS RECALLED - ENCLAVE, TRAVERSE, ACADIA, OUTLOOK

Four General Motors crossovers are being recalled, NHTSA says, for failing to measure up to requirements for safety standard #209.... the one for seat belt assemblies, don't you know? The second or third row seat belt buckle could be missing a rivet.

Model year 2009 examples of the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook - basically identical vehicles under the skin and inside the seat belt buckles, apparently - will have any deficient seat belt buckle replaced free of charge under this Recall. That could be up to 16,667 CUVs, NHTSA says. The Lambda platform could even be the foundation for the next Cadillac Escalade and/or Chevrolet Suburban if General Motors money remains..... er, tight, and if fuel economy standards make the possibility of a 20+mpg giant SUV impossible.

Lambda crossovers were also involved in a GM Recall in August relating to overheating windshield washer fluid and another recall in August for detaching windshield wiper linkage. If these General Motors vehicles are going to be in the garage continuously free of charge to customers, GM is going to want to keep the issues minor.

THE DETROIT THREE OFFERS TOO MANY TRUCKS? BY THE NUMBERS

Wall Street insiders attempting to predict the demise of the Detroit Three (GM/Ford/Chrysler) blame most of the domestic auto manufacturing difficulties on the rise and fall of the SUV. They believe that General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC (mostly under the management of Daimler-Benz) didn't have the foresight to build high quality cars when money was pouring in from easy-profit vehicles like the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Dodge Ram. On the surface, these insiders appear to be correct. 

Take American luxury cars, for instance. In the early part of this millenium, the only prominent vehicles at Cadillac and Lincoln were their jumbo SUVs, the Escalade and Navigator. Mainstream brands like Chevrolet and Ford were offering an abomination called the Malibu and an ancient design called the Taurus. The few takers snapped them up at rock bottom prices.

For a deeper look at the gravity of the situation in numerical terms, check this Numbers post from a few days ago with figures supplied by TIME. For perspective on the issue, read The Good Car Guy's question from yesterday. For facts about automaker offerings in the U.S. domestic market in 2009, keep reading. Oh, and by the way, to attempt to sway the argument in favour of cars instead of trucks, models like the F-150, F-250, and F-350 were lumped together. It didn't help. Also, TSV means anything that isn't a car: trucks, SUVs, and vans.

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TOTAL CARS @ GENERAL MOTORS: 21

TOTAL TSVs @ GENERAL MOTORS: 26

TOTAL CARS @ FORD MOTOR CO.: 10

TOTAL TSVs @ FORD MOTOR CO.: 14

TOTAL CARS @ CHRYSLER LLC: 8

TOTAL TSVs @ CHRYSLER LLC: 16

Buick cars/TSVs: 2 to 1

Cadillac cars/TSVs: 4 to 3

Chevrolet cars/TSVs: 6 to 9

GMC cars/TSVs: 0 to 8

Hummer cars/TSVs: 0 to 2

Pontiac cars/TSVs: 6 to 1

Saturn cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Ford cars/TSVs: 4 to 10

Lincoln cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Mercury cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Chrysler cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Dodge cars/TSVs: 5 to 7

Jeep cars/TSVs: 0 to 7

A QUESTION FROM THE GOOD CAR GUY

Condemnation directed at the Detroit Three is running rampant. "They build the wrong vehicles", says America. "New leadership is required," say the analysts. "Why not sell us their better Euro-market cars?" inquires the umm.... auto bloggers. 

Valid points; these are, with a few problems. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler may build the "wrong" vehicles, but Americans still buys plenty of them. In fact, only in recent years has the Detroit Three's hold on the majority of their domestic market fallen away. No, that's not good news, but perhaps we should all stop acting like General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler don't sell any cars whatsoever.

And while we accuse the Detroit Three - especially Chrysler - of being too truck-heavy in their offering list, let us remember that selling a bunch of $13,487 Calibers in Canada isn't likely as lucrative as selling a handful of Rams at a $10,000 discount. Sure, that's not an appropriate long-term view, and it is in long-term perspectives that the Detroit Three has been found wanting, but still.... GM, Ford, and Chrysler were manufacturing the vehicles Americans wanted and making serious coin doing so. For a while.

As one-shot contrarian examples show, what analysts called for wasn't always the answer. Everybody was excited to see the Opel Astra heading across the Atlantic to become the Saturn Astra until we saw the price that GM needed to set in order not to lose money. Of course, furthering that argument is a third point that says Honda can build a better car and sell it at a better price soooo; why can't GM?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the Detroit Three's short-sighted views on trucks and SUVs. I just can't cease to wonder at America's collective hatred for Detroit's business methods when America collectively supported those business methods. Judging by polls that suggest American citizens don't want to throw good money after bad in Detroit's direction, I also wonder why so many Americans are willing to see large chunks of their friends and family lose their jobs. 

Acknowledging that GM's business models were - and perhaps continue to be - terribly reactionary and overwhelmingly astigmatic, one must also wonder if any federal rejection of aid is the complete opposite in a negative praxis. It's wonderful to act wise and suggest that throwing billions more dollars Detroit's way wouldn't be good for future generations and likely wouldn't help for long anyway, but that wisdom comes at a cost: jobs, jobs, jobs, and more jobs.

GM HYBRID SUV PRICING

It appears that a rear-wheel drive Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid will cost $50,490 in the States and a GMC Yukon Hybrid with all-wheel drive will cost $53,755 with the 4WD Tahoe and 2WD Yukon in the middle. This GMC page lets you select your build options for a Yukon while a separate page lets learn about the hybrid. Here is the Chevrolet link. Build for yourself and see the price differences, equipment, and potential savings you would live with.

Interested in hearing what The Good Car Guy thought of the Tahoe Hybrid when he drove it at GM's own Milford Proving Grounds? It's available right here.

CNN MONEY AND MSNBC TAKE DEEP LOOK AT AUTO BAILOUT

Sources of information regarding the possibility of a bailout for Detroit are everywhere, some misleading; some not. Depending on the avenue you take in searcing for information, you'll get a different set of facts. CNN Money and MSNBC's recent articles might help. General Motors is in deep, Good Car Nation. Without help you, your friends, or many of your friends' friends are going to lose your job. By the way, CNBC has an interesting article related to gas prices and why their drop isn't making anybody feel better.

TOP 5 DEFUNCT AUTO NAMES

In light of the possibility that General Motors will receive some money soon to keep it afloat if it meets certain conditions, and the more distinct possibility that GM will be killing brands, The Good Car Guy looked back and discovered numerous automotive brands that clearly did not receive money from the federal government. 

Now, there are many names you're very familiar with: Plymouth, Oldsmobile, and American Motors to name just three. But if we're going to wish five such brands back into existence, it can't be for the success of the cars. That would, after all, put Plymouth and Oldsmobile in the thick of things since they lasted longer than many of the hundreds and hundreds of automobile manufacturers.

No, this is purely about names. We're so accustomed to hearing words like Chevrolet or Cadillac or Mercury that they've lost their romance and their sway. So here you have it, the Top 5 Defunct Auto Names that would be nice to have around again. Read other GCBC Top 5s here.

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#5- AUBURN: More cars need to be named after colours (not universities). From 1900 to 1936, America had Auburn.

#4- ESSEX: For just fourteen years, Essex was a name auto aficianados knew. After 1932, it simply became a county in New Jersey. 

#3- NASH: Although Canadian auto bloggers can't complain when the most famous Nash is a Canadian game's two-time MVP, it'd be nice to see a car name last marketed in 1954 return with funny hair class and panache.

#2- DUESENBERG: Come to think of it, Mercedes-Benz's luxury division, Maybach, may have been better received if the name Duesenberg was revived 70 years later rather than a defunct auto name that nobody knew anything about. 

#1- PIERCE-ARROW: The only American luxury nameplate to rival Aston Martin for wow factor, Pierce-Arrow sold very expensive cars. Apparently, not enough of them. Pierce-Arrow died in 1938.

STRICTLY NUMERICAL - The Facts From A Potential GM Bailout

That sound you hear throughout the day and into the night comes to your ears all the way from Detroit, Michigan. It's the sound of $46,296 per minute being flushed through General Motors' toilets. Time.com published some of their theories regarding the wants/needs of and for a GM bailout. The Numbers you see below come from that article.

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16,000,000 - total U.S. auto sales in 2007

13,500,000 - expected total U.S. auto sales in 2008

2,000,000,000 - total cash spending, in USD, by General Motors every month

16,000,000,000 - .... and dwindling; total cash, in USD, held by General Motors

5,000,000,000 - USD saved by "throwing all manner of stuff overboard" such as retiree health benefits, workers, assets, and soon-coming designs

2,500,000,000 - total USD third-quarter loss for General Motors in 2008

10,000,000,000 - total USD needed by General Motors from the federal government to pay its bills in 2009

15,000,000,000 - total USD needed by General Motors from the federal government to close plants

54 - total plants in jeopardy (owned by GM, Ford, and Chrysler) in North America if bailout money isn't secured, thus jeopardizing another 4,000 Tier 1 supplier plants that also supply some large Japanese manufacturers you may have heard about

240,000 - total direct employees of the Detroit Three last year

974,000 - total employees of the Detroit Three's partsmakers and suppliers

1,700,000 - total (other) automotive-related workers who have jobs because of the 974,000 mentioned above; who have jobs because of the 240,000 above them

10 - likely unemployment figures, in percent, in the United States were the Detroit Three to come to a halt

12,000,000,000 - total cost, in USD, that Deutsche Bank figures General Motors would have to spend in order to compensate dealers who lose their stores and to chop labour costs and shutter plants

6,000,000,000 - total USD saved in operating costs were GM to spend $12,000,000,000 on getting rid of stuff

Saab 9-7X Aero Driven

Product detail lists, the specifications of different equipment lines and their respective features, are not the best part of GoodCarBadCar. In fact, they're completely absent. The Good Car Guy believes in supplying you with opinion, based on knowledge of those product details and experience with the product.

It's been a number of weeks since the Saab 9-7X Aero generated surprise amongst a group of bloggers at General Motors' Milford Proving Grounds near Detroit. I perceived it to be a crazy-fast Chevrolet TrailBlazer - and I was right. But just how fun to drive it would be.... I was yet to see.

Read about other sport-utility vehicles The Good Car Guy drove at Milford

Saab.com will tell you everything you need to know about their aging utility vehicle. They won't display the photograph with a GMC Acadia in the background, showcasing where your SUV$ should go if you're intent on spending those $ at a GM-owned store. The Acadia/Enclave/Outlook are superior machines in both feel and ownership enjoyment.


If, however, performance is your main reason for buying a GM sport-ute (why you're looking for performance in an SUV?), the Saab 9-7X Aero and its Corvette-derived powerplant will stir you to your very core. Besides, amongst all the Buick Rainier's and TrailBlazer's and Envoy's and Bravada's and Ascender's, the 9-7X was and is the best-looking member of the platform.

Check out every piece of information The Good Car Guy wrote regarding drives at Milford

The details are lacking. Even on the website. Clicking through the gallery, I notice the 4.2i, the 5.3i, and the Areo. Hmm? Has Saab forgotten how to spell the model nomenclature of its fastest and most expensive SUV? Out of the virtual world and back into the vehicle, you find an interior straight out of 1998 and a skinny steering wheel more suited to an early 90's Oldsmobile. When spending nearly $50K on a vehicle, you expect top-notch design. Considering that the main point of contact is disappointing and totally out-of-character, that high-dollar figure seems misspent.

Saab has been mentioned at GoodCarBadCar before... twice

For $45,750 in the USA, 390 horsepower and 395 lb-ft of torque is very welcome and appreciated. The 9-7X made every other sport-ute on the Black Lake seem timid. It roared when others growled and punched when others pinched. Straight-line speed was only one of its terrific performance attributes. Cornering in the Aero was as fun as the same activity in the Pontiac Torrent GXP, itself a surprisingly impressive handler.

Yet I stepped out of the 9-7X and wanted to drive something I could recommend to friends and readers. If you're yearning for performance and want extra space, the 9-7X is way down the list of potential suitors. Sportwagons and smaller crossovers make plenty more sense.

The 9-7X Aero provides one very good reason for buying an expensive Swedish/American ute. It sounds like a Corvette. The other European SUV that can perform this trick is in Mercedes showrooms and costs twice as much.

WATCH ANDERSON COOPER, MARK HALPERIN, AND THE NY TIMES BUSINESS EDITOR DISCUSS AN AUTO BAILOUT

Politically, the prospect of sending money the way of the Detroit three (General Motors, Ford, and.... Chrysler) is obvious but hyper-complicated. If something isn't done soon, the potential for disaster - most definitively at GM - is grave. Different types of disasters could occur.

For auto watchers, it's not news. We know that the "spin-off", as they call it, is more of a tornado than a dust devil. Nonetheless, CNN's Anderson Cooper along with a Time editor and New York Times business editor discuss the political side of the potential auto bailout in the video below.

HOW WOULD GM/FORD/CHRYSLER DESTRUCTION AFFECT YOU?

Facebook revealed an interesting memorandum to The Good Car Guy this afternoon. Written by David Cole, Sean McAlinden, Kristin Dziczek, and Debra Maranger Menk, "The Impact on the U.S. Economy of a Major Contraction of the Detroit Three Automakers" is educating and deep, to say the least. The Centre for Automotive Research's piece will surely come under deeper scrutiny than that afforded by a Canadian freelance/blogger/car expert, but that's not to say you shouldn't read it for yourself. So head to CarGroup.org or follow this link. 

"The motor vehicle and parts industries employed 732,800 workers directly as of September, 2008, and the Detroit Three employed 239,341 hourly and salary workers in the United States at the end of 2007. The international producers employed roughly 113,000 people in the United States at that time. The auto industry has one of the largest economic multipliers of any sector of the U.S. economy, and is sufficiently large that its growth or contraction can be detected in changes in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. In many states employment in automotive and automotive parts manufacturing ranks among the top three manufacturing industries."

How's that for starters?

GM WILL SELL YOU CORVETTE ZR1s ENGINE IN A CRATE

There's no dining room centrepiece quite as intimidating as  a 6.2L supercharged V8. Need your future son-in-law to know just who the boss really is? Park the LS9 Corvette ZR1 V8 between the roast beef and potatoes. Just don't let any candle wax drip on the manifold, ok?

638 horsepower and 604 lb-ft of torque could combine to make any current new car fast. Thus, General Motors won't restrict its fitment to the Corvette ZR1. No, you can purchase the engine seperately from GM Performance Parts late next year.

(For more on the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, click here or here or here)

Designed to feel rather different from a typical old-tech V8 or most supercharged engines, the LS9 is high-revving; producing power down low and in its upper range. GM will sell the V8 crate package fully fitted with ignition, supercharger assembly, and exhaust manifolds. You'll need your own ECU/wiring harness. Have fun with that.

GENERAL MOTORS OVERTAKES TOYOTA

For what seemed like years, constant headlines voiced the queries of many an analyst: when will Toyota take the crown from General Motors?

Then along came the first quarter of 2007, and Toyota really did sell more cars than GM. GM, however, has sold about 100,000 more vehicles than Toyota through the first nine months of year. Their growth can be mainly accounted for in Asia Pacific where GM vehicles sold at a rate 16% higher than last year. Toyota's worldwide sales figures are still 7% higher than they were thru the first 3/4 of 2006.

Despite the attention of automotive publications such as GoodCarBadCar, there's one comment worth hearing. A GM spokesman named John McDonald spoke thus: "But while it's a real interesting story to the media, I don't know a single customer who uses that criteria when making the decision on where to buy a vehicle."

2009 VAUXHALL INSIGNIA.... AND ALL ITS ENGINES - PLUS 77 PHOTOS

You'll know it - or something like it - in the future as a Saturn and you've known it before as an Opel. Pictured here is the Vauxhall Insignia from General Motors' British outpost. As a replacement for the long-running Vectra nameplate, GM hopes the Insignia will reignite some desire for mainstream large cars in the UK, a segment that is struggling to keep up with small MPVs from mainstream brands and low-powered sedans saloons from BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz.

Plans to bring a vehicle like this, thought at one time to be the core of the brand, back to a place of significance include a range of engines wider than the gap between Alaska and Russia. Ahem.

Starting out with diesels, Vauxhall will start the Insignia with 128-bhp and 158-bhp powerplants, both of which surely make up for their horsepower problem in the torque department and at the fuel pump. A 187-bhp mill will be added to make a diesel trio sometime next spring, a few months after the late '08 launch.

If 'petrol' is your fuel of choice, engines ranging in power from 138-256 horsepower will be available. Only that 256-bhp V6 comes standard with an automatic. 

Highlights from this engine lineup include a 1.8L gas engine that weighs 20% less than its predecessor; a 2.0L turbo with 217 horsepower; and diesels with a range of 750 miles. The turbocharged gasoline models are available with all-wheel drive. 20-inch wheels will be an option. Yes, you did just read that 20-inch wheels will be an option. This is the Vauxhall Insignia and not a Cadillac Escalade, but yes, 20-inch wheels will be an option.

Why does this matter to ye who are not Across The Pond? For one thing, there's the Saturn connection. Secondly, there's the here's-what-you're-missing factor in an age when GM is trying desperately to avoid sinking in a market where swimming is very difficult. 

ACROSS THE POND - Opel & Vauxhall Corsa

You're deep in the heart of Kansas. You have long, flat, empty roads. You want to go fast, man. You are a hop, skip, and a jump from great mountain roads in Colorado. Arkansas' back roads are not far at all.

And you're concerned that GoodCarBadCar's recommended cars from Across The Pond, though good and fine, are just not offering the juice you need. 100bhp from a small Fiat is plenty fun, but we're talking about empty roads. Let's have some fun. Suzuki's Swift Sport is very unlike any Swift we've ever known.

But c'mon - this country was built on Z28's and Mustang GT's. How can The Good Car Guy expect you to make such sacrifices? I mean, hey - oil is expensive; but you're living high on the hog. Preserve the oil, sure. Just don't starve me of it.

I hear ya. Vauxhall and Opel are - rather, were - not renowned for their hot hatchbacks. Vauxhall, being General Motors British brand and Opel the European GM outlet, built cars for straight lines with very little excitement. Then along came the Astra VXR. (We'll stick to Vauxhall talk now, Opel would call it the OPC but I don't speak German.)

Vauxhall's Astra VXR is wild, stupid, crazy fast. There is a lot of power flowing through two wheels, and those two wheels are also tasked with steering the car. It also looks like a handsome version of a very angry European hatchback. We'll see this car on our side of the pond as the Saturn Astra, with 100 fewer horsepower.

I digress. The Astra VXR sounds like it fits the bill for Kansas boy who heads to Colorado and Arkansas for roads more worthy than his straight lines. Realistically, if other options include the Fiat Panda 100HP and Suzuki Swift Sport, that Astra is thousands of £ too expensive.

Move on down the ladder, my friend. If you're willing go up two notches from the Panda, but just one from the Swift Sport, and come down a couple steps from the Astra VXR, a £15,625 Corsa VXR is your's. Oh, forgot to mention. You can't buy the Corsa in Kansas, just like you can't buy the Panda or Swift. For that reason, GoodCarBadCar is supplying the video below. Ya ain't never gonna see one of these VXR's in action - and GCBC considered it important viewing.

Pricing for this Corsa VXR is inching toward the domain of Mini Cooper S. The Corsa is unlikely to be recommended by many over-and-above that other Brit, but with 189 horsepower; 140mph capability; plenty of equipment; and modern sporting looks, the Corsa is at least worth watching.

SLOW CHEVROLET VOLT

GoodCarBadCar is on the record - if not already, then now - as saying that the Volt should succeed; will hopefully succeed; and freakin' better succeed, if GM is going to survive past 2020.

However, could there be a worse promo video, ever? I recognize that the Volt is a fragile concept car (most are), and that there is more to this video than simply blowing the doors off of the neighbour's Camaro. But, I can see the flecks of dust on a rotating spoke. C'mon. This is sad. I hope the Volt doesn't end up being portrayed as a Granny car. It looks so good, it has such potential. Spin it like they did the Bugatti Veyron prototype. That was awesome.