What's Wrong With This Picture: Not A Concept Edition

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The production version of the Opel Meriva has debuted, and as promised, the suicide doors made the cut. But will the Meriva come to America, re-grilled as a Buick? A Gamma II-based MPV is rumored for Buick’s 2012 lineup, and suicide doors might just be the gimmick that helps America understand the concept of “premium compact.” Even though, as the image after the jump shows, they are little more than a gimmick.

Look Ma, no… oh wait, there are the B-pillars. Still, America has a thing for the willfully, unnecessarily different. If there’s a way for Buick to possibly be taken seriously by compact car buyers and the young (and there might not be), this is probably it.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Dimwit Dimwit on Jan 05, 2010

    There is a B pillar. If you real close the separation is hidden by a crease. Clever design. I doubt that it will get to NA unaltered as usual. Sadly. This is just the sort of fresh thinking the General needs to pull itself out of the doldrums.

  • Thinx Thinx on Jan 06, 2010

    Aztek?? Is that you??

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  • MaintenanceCosts In Toyota's hands, these hybrid powertrains with a single motor and a conventional automatic transmission have not been achieving the same kind of fuel economy benefits as the planetary-gear setups in the smaller cars. It's too bad. Many years ago GM did a group of full-size pickups and SUVs with a 6.0L V8 and a two-motor planetary gear system, and those got the fuel economy boost you'd expect while maintaining big-time towing capacity. Toyota should have done the same with its turbo four and six in the new trucks.
  • JMII My C7 isn't too bad maintain wise but it requires 10 quarts of expensive 0W-40 once a year (per GM) and tires are pricey due size and grip requirements. I average about $600 a year in maintenance but a majority of that is due to track usage. Brake fluid, brake pads and tires add up quickly. Wiper blades, coolant flush, transmission fluid, rear diff fluid and a new battery were the other costs. I bought the car in 2018 with 18k in mileage and now it has 42k. Many of the items mentioned are needed between 20k and 40k per GM's service schedule so my ownership period just happens to align with various intervals.I really need to go thru my service spreadsheet and put track related items on a separate tab to get a better picture of what "normal" cost would be. Its likely 75% of my spend is track related.Repairs to date are only $350. I needed a new XM antenna (aftermarket), a cargo net clip, a backup lamp switch and new LED side markers (aftermarket). The LEDs were the most expensive at $220.
  • Slavuta I drove it but previous style. Its big, with numb steering feel, and transmission that takes away from whatever the engine has.
  • Wjtinfwb Rivaled only by the Prowler and Thunderbird as retro vehicles that missed the mark... by a mile.
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