Happy New Year to all from julino billym!

We're still trying to muddle through last night's New Year's Eve fest so we hope you'll forgive us for keeping this short and simple wishing you all a very happy new year and may the new decade begin on a prosperous note!

Merry Christmas and Happy "Vroom-Vroom" Holidays to all from julino billym!

We want to wish all of you, our readers, associates, fellow bloggers and journalists etc., etc. that celebrate the day, a very Merry Christmas, and to those that don't, a happy and healthy holiday season. You may have noticed that we've been taking it a bit easy these past couple of days, and we'll probably do the same towards the end of next week, but fear not as the Detroit Show is around the corner. It's like the calm before the storm....

What Should GM do with SAAB's 2010 9-5 Sedan and 9-4x SUV?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you've probably heard about GM's decision to close down its SAAB brand after it became clear that the Spyker deal could not be completed in reasonable time - or so the Detroit automaker claimed.

Some say, there's still some hope left for the once innovative and quirky Swedish brand as during the wind-down procedure, a savior might come forward and express interest in Saab as a whole or a part of the company.

There's even talk about a second life in China as GM could sell more Saab assets to BAIC or another domestic maker.

In any case, one of the first questions that arose after GM's decision, which, let's not forget, will leave several thousands of workers without a job, is what's going to happen with the production-ready 2010 9-5 sedan and the almost-ready 9-4x crossover?

Bear in mind that the premium sedan is based on GM's Epsilon 2 platform, also used on the Buick LaCrosse and Opel Insignia / 2011 Buick Regal, while the 9-4x shares its underpinnings with the new Cadillac SRX.

Officially, General Motors has not said what it will do with these two cars nor with the current 9-3s.

In what concerns the two new models, we can think of several options that GM may have including killing them off entirely, rebadging the cars under a different name and even selling the rights / assets to another automaker - although, common sense says that the last option is probably the least likely to happen for obvious competitive reasons.

So, here's the question we would like to ask you, our readers: What do you think General Motors should do with the new SAAB 9-5 sedan and 9-4x Crossover?

PS: The photoshoped 2010 SAAB 9-5 sedan with the Buick snout was made just to prettify the article

2010 SAAB 9-5 SEDAN

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SAAB 9-4X BIOPOWER CONCEPT

julino billym Wishes You a Happy Thanksgiving!

We'd like to wish you, our readers, a happy Thanksgiving, and hope that all of you celebrating the holiday, have a great time with your family and friends. Apparently, we'll be taking it a bit easy today in terms of posts but we'll gradually return to our normal state. Being an automotive site and all, we've posted a gallery with some of the cars that we're thankful they exist - rest assured, there are plenty of other cars that we also like but didn't include in the list because we'd be here all day... Follow the break to check them out and why not, tell us which cars you're grateful for.

Detroit Freep's Mark Phelan Slams the 2010 Kia Forte - Thinks It's a Mid-Size Sedan with "Forgettable Styling"

Not to generalize, but can't say that I like reading car test drives on newspapers or their respective websites for the simple fact that I often find myself looking at an un-opinionated shortened press release or even worse, a review written by someone that has little idea of what he or she is talking about. I don't know Mark Phelan personally nor am I aware of his automotive background, but in my opinion, his latest review on the 2010 Kia Forte sedan at the Detroit Free Press fits in the second group.

I could just mention the fact that he makes a mega blunder by calling the Kia Forte a mid-size sedan, and leave it that, but, what the heck, let's see what else he wrote.

If you've been in this biz for a while, you can feel the negative vibe right from the beginning. And truly enough, Phelan picks up his shovel and beats the crap out the Korean sedan straight up from the title "Kia's Forte Falls Short on Comfort, Styling" and continues in the opening sentence "That's a humble vehicle, my friend said" - as if anyone cares what "Kathleen" thinks about the car's styling...

But it gets worse as he then completely messes it up by saying that it's an "underpowered mid-size sedan with a drab interior" (okay, everyone is entitle to their own opinion when it comes to styling) that is "no match for leading midsize models like the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry"

Well, sorry to be the ones to break it to you Mr Phelan, but the Forte is actually a compact sedan that competes with smaller cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla and NOT their larger siblings.

Having said that, there's no need to comment on Phelan's ramblings on the "rather faint-hearted 156-horsepower 2.0-liter four-pot", which by the way, is more powerful than the more expensive entry-level 140HP Civic and 132HP Corolla sedans, or that the boot is smaller in capacity than the Rolls-Royce Phantom Camry, Malibu and Accord.

I'd also slightly disagree on the "forgettable exterior styling" (as if the Camry and Malibu are something to remember...) but again, beauty or the lack of it is to the eye of the beholder.

Also, since I have never driven the Forte, can't say anything about Phelan's comments on the vehicle's quality (large gaps, uneven fit etc), poor Bluetooth system or whatever else he finds negative, and there are plenty of them according to Phelan. Those of you that have sat behind the wheel of the Forte sedan, especially ones with a professional / journalist background, may have your say below.

And just for the record before someone jumps into conclusions, we have no affiliation with Kia (or with any other automaker for that matter), the ads on julino billym are sourced from Google's Adsense and we couldn't care less about the Forte's market performance in the U.S. or elsewhere.

Check out Phelan's complete review on the 2010 Forte at the Detroit Free Press here and have your say in the comment section below.

- John

Source: Freep