The FB status update made me chuckle. I saw that yesterday, too.

Sure, but there are truly cheap cars available in that segment, such as the Versa, Accent and Aveo. When you can actually find a $10k model on a lot somewhere, that pretty much defines cheap. That's a nearly 50% premium for the Ford.

Yes, please.

The cupholder bit was a nod to Paul (first commenter). He found it amusing that Nissan saw fit to advertise four cupholders on the window sticker of a two-seat sports car.

Consider it my Carol Burnett.

Bingo.

Y'know, Nicole really likes the 2+2 practicality of the RX-8. I think a 2011 GT is the next logical step.

I didn't exactly drive all 650 miles in the parking lot.

And I'm a novice drifter, but far from a novice in the realm of general high-performance driving.

I think the I4 may also be too little, too late. By this point, shoppers may have irrevocably associated the CX-7 with poor mileage.

I love that 3.0L V6, but it's getting a bit long in the tooth. Why they waited so long to bump the power up is beyond me, especially when Honda was making ~245hp from their 3.0L and still managing better mileage than the old Mazda6 (and perhaps the Fusion, too).

The 3.5L that spent a model year in the CX-9 may actually be a better candidate. It has enough grunt down low to keep drivers off the throttle unless they really need it.

I'm moving away from the D.C. Metro and switching to a commuter bus starting in a couple of weeks. I must say I'm looking forward to it.

Eeeeeasy there. =P