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Exercise is good for you. Park in remote spaces. Don't troll for close in parking spaces where you doors can get dinged.

In an auto show season when the USA audience has the chance to see an all new (to the USA) Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS460, there is an opportunity to do some deep soul searching about the group of flagship sedans that top the car market in the USA. We include the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Infiniti Q45, Jaguar XJ, and Lexus LS in this group of excellent cars. We might reach downmarket a bit to the Acura RL and upwards a lot to the Bentley Continentals, but the key competitors are Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes. By far, the best seller has been the Lexus capturing 27% of the class in its last full year of production.

Infiniti Coupe Concept indicates next G35 doesn't stray far from the family.

Even more disappointing than using alphanumerics to name a new car is when an automaker discontinues a model name that really was great. Acura Legend comes to mind - replaced by the RL. At the same dealership one can find the TL, TSX, RSX, MDX and soon the RDX. This is just one brand, there are many more.

We did get a chance to learn about the navigation expertise and capabilities of the new TomTom unit - and I had the chance to get a nice demo, which was impressive. We captured the experience on digital video - and we'll bring that to you in a new VehicleVoice video-cast in the very near future.

Our take on the styling of the Chrysler Aspen is that Durango got hit with a boring stick. An SUV aspiring to luxury tastes can still be distinctive (Escalade, Navigator, QX56, etc) and do not have to be dulled down to appeal to more upscale pocketbooks.

Believe it or not, one of the most anticipated new vehicles introduced at the 2006 North American Auto Show in Detroit is the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe mid-size SUV. VehicleVoice (http://www.vehiclevoice.com) and AutoPacific (http://www.autopacific.com) are watching this introduction very, very closely because it will demonstrate the strength of Hyundai's research and development process and ability to produce quality products at its new assembly plant in Alabama.

The concept keeps the charm of the original, but adds a sense of stoutness that gives the vehicle a more masculine appearance. No B Pillars give the estate a coupe like appearance and aid in ingress/egress. All four doors (side and “barn”) use parallelogram kinetic joints that allow them the swing booth open and away from the vehicle to improve ingress. The rear side windows slide fore and aft electronically. (So much for no frills)

The Lincoln MKS Concept shown at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will likely be added to the Lincoln lineup in 2007 as a 2008 model year vehicle. Attending an early December 2005 review of Ford auto show concept cars in Dearborn, VehicleVoice and AutoPacific analysts were struck by the Japanese and European ambiance of the car. The MK S has the presence of an Acura TL with some styling cues from Chris Bangle's BMWs.

With the launch of the Jeep Compass car-based SUV in the 2006 calendar year, Jeep customers get to decide if a car-based Jeep is still a Jeep. Though there will be two car-based Jeep SUVs to consider by the end of the year, the production Compass has been shown first with its Patriot stablemate coming later. The "talent" launchingthe Compassat the 2006 North American International Auto Show was Angie Harmon of Law and Order fame.