All Cars, All the Time

Ford Decides that Lincoln V8 Doesn't Hit the Mark; Chevy to Get a Real Minivan...in 2010; No '07 Cayenne; Cadillac Says BLS for USA is Just BS; Buick won't Get a Coupe; Alfa to Mix it Up With Mini; Saturn: No Late Breaking News, But What about Panoramic Roof for USA?

In what can be construed as a step backward, Ford is pulling the 4.4L V8 that was to power the forthcoming Lincoln MKS. Cost cutting is sited as the reason for the move. Ford may use "male enhancement pills" to boost the output of the 3.5L V6 to makeup for the loss of the V8.

With Saturn, Buick and Pontiac all losing their respective minivans after 2008, Chevrolet and GMC will be the sole divisions to tackle the competition with a new, "we really mean it this time" minivan in 2010. The new van should have all the features that the competition offers. No word on whether or not male enhancement pills will be use by GM to achieve the size that minivan customers have come to expect from the likes of Honda, Chrysler and Toyota.


Porsche will skip the '07 model year and focus on the 2008 midcycle refresh. Porsche's official line is that they don't want to confuse customers with a shortened model year, but let's face it: the Cayenne isn't flying off the lots these days.

Insiders report that Cadillac has concluded that the Euro-only BLS would be priced to closely to the CTS to ever make a go of it, so it looks like we'll never see the Swede after all. However, Cadillac will get the long rumored crossover called the BRX. With every manufacturer entering this space, how long before we see "Small Crossovers on a Plane!"

Buick is apparently saying "No Velite for you!" A Buick coupe would clash with Pontiacs sharing the same showroom floor. Instead the next Lucerne may go "Zeta lite" as GM maximizes its Camaro investment.


Alfa is getting a boost by adapting the hot selling Grande Punto for its own purposes. I pretty much ignored this news until I read that the range topping model will get a 230hp turbocharged and gasoline direct-injection version of the current 1.8-liter engine and Alfa's Q2 part-time four-wheel-drive. Part time means that it's lighter, less expensive, and gets better fuel economy than full time AWD. This model, currently called Junior, is penciled in for 2008. A little Alfa with 230hp? Now that's something that this daddy likes!

Automotive News didn't have any real shocking news about Saturn: Pretty much all the info is already out there. Aura today, Outlook tomorrow, Astra coming soon, Relay going away, and an Opel Vectra wagon spinoff in '09 or '10. But Motor Trend is reporting that Saturn is giving serious consideration to bringing the panoramic roof option over to our shores for the Astra three door and why wouldn't they? If Saturn can meet the safety regs, the panoramic option would be a real attention getter.