Seems the past week has been busy around here. I went to the Pierce St. Annex in Costa Mesa one night last week, and there was a Pacifica in the parking lot parked next to a 300 (current one), both with Calafornia dealer plates. Odd thing is, Pacifica isn't out yet. The Pacifica is a surprisingly good looking vehicle in person. The thing that stands out is that it has "presence".

Yesterday, headed to San Diego, I passed 2 restyled Chrysler mini vans, one with right hand drive, and both with Michagan Mfg. plates, and both abnormally pretty dirty. The new vans restyling is limited to the taillights and a slightly different grill, headlights & foglights. If it wasn't for the plates and what looked like salt dust (stands out here, even in the winter), I probally wouldn't have noticed them.

Earlier this week, there was a perfectly normal looking Ford Escape with Michagan manufacturer plates, but it seemed to be wired inside with alot of equptment.

Finally, barreling down the carpool lane by Long Beach, there was a car in the opposite direction, seemingly barreling just as fast in the other direction, that had it's front and rear covered. We were both going quickly, and other than catching a glimpse in the mirror to see the rear covered, the only thing I can say about it is it was a 2 door coupe. Really couldn't identify anything else about it.

Seems alot is going on around here lately.

 

I've seen two Pacifica's on the road in the past week here.

 

I have seen a couple of Pacificas here as well (Detroit 'burbs). I don't see much in them except being a more stylish alternative to the Caravan.

 

guion, do you think it may be a Camaro mule?
does it look like a GM Car?

 

I saw Pacifica here on the road (actually in someone's driveway) about 2 months ago. And it's in Canada, not US.

Strangely enough my friend who works at Chrysler Bramalea plant didn't want to believe me, saying they were not released yet.

Perhaps a couple of test mules.

 

I doubt it. It had thin or no "B" pillar, so it wasn't a Mustang, and I was looking at the new Solara pics earlier, wondering if if it might have been one of those (Toyota has TWO headquarter buildings on opposite sides of the 405 by Inglewood).

It wasn't lowslung looking, that's why I'm not inclined to think Camaro, and the bodywork didn't resemble the GTO or Monaro, so I doubt it was that either.

 

Quote:

Earlier this week, there was a perfectly normal looking Ford Escape with Michagan manufacturer plates, but it seemed to be wired inside with alot of equptment.

Hybrid Escape test mule without the styling differences of the production hybrid maybe?

 

Pacifica's are all over around the northern Detroit burbs, I've seen a Crossfire too...
Not crazy about those my neighbor had it, car was filled with electronic equip, dash looked nice from what I could see.

 

LOL....guionM misspelled his own state

mmkay, say it with me now : C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A

 

giounM-Pacifica's are out,A friend of mine works for a Chrysler dealer and said they sold one the other day.

Oh and a fleet of 9 today....

 

The dealer group I work for has a Chrysler store, they have the Pacifica as well.

 

I saw a Pacifica a couple of weeks ago at my local Chrysler dealer. What struck me, besides the $35K sticker, was how similar this vehicle looked to the minivan that spawned it. There again, it isn't as obvious as a Pontiac Aztec or Buick Rendevous.

Of course, I looked at a Honda Pilot on the same day I drove past the Pacifica. It amazes me how Honda can produce a crossover which bears no similarity to its Oddessy van platform mate. On the other hand, the stunning Acura MDX is distinctive as well. The MDX is more of a BMW X5, while the Pilot is pure Ford Explorer in styling - and neither one looks like a flimsy softroader. Talk about market differentiation.

Maybe its just me, but Honda just makes automotive design look easy.

 

This past weekend we spotted a XLR hauling *** off of a light. It was for sure a XLR. It was seen in Chicago.

 

I wouldn't be a bit surprised. It seems like these days I'm seeing new cars on the street just after the magazines print a "first drive." Cars are often hitting dealer inventory before a full road test gets published.

What's happened? Have the publication lead times gotten longer at the car mags, despite advances in technology? My guess is that car manufacturers have gotten more efficient at ramping up production, so much so that press launches aren't followed by much of a delay in product delivery anymore.

 

IMO, Honda is second to only Toyota is design blandness assuming you keep the ultra-econo companies like Daewoo and Kia out of the mix.

The new Accord sedan has been getting some bad styling reviews... a lot of people saying the taillights look 'upside down', among other things.