There aren't many 55-year-old models on sale in 2008, but Chevrolet's Corvette is officially approaching early retirement age, and in terms of pure performance it's never been better. The 1997 introduction of the C5 model catapaulted Chevy's sports car onto the world stage as an exotic challenger. The Z06 model upped its game to exotic slayer, leaving me at a loss for words to describe the 638 horsepower ZR1 coming in a few months.

So, has the Corvette ever jumped the shark? Well, yes.

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"Why doesn't Ford bring back the Zephyr?"

I can't believe anyone ever actually said this, but lo and behold that paragon of 1970s Mercury style and performance did return in 2006 -- as a Lincoln. Actually, the Zephyr was originally a 1930s-era Lincoln before it was a '70s Mercury, but how many people know (or care) about that? Should Ford have revived this nameplate? I guess its staying power (Lincoln changed that model's name to MKZ after one year) is answer enough.

I was recently thinking about dead nameplates that should not come back after someone brought up Edsel in conversation. I'm assuming Ford will never revive that nameplate, and I don't expect to see the words "Aztek," "Chevette" or "Volare" on a future model, either. But then again, who would have predicted the rise of "Aspen" from the automotive underworld. Which brings up today's burning question:

What dead vehicle nameplates do you most fear the return of? In my opinion there are two reasons for a nameplate to never come back: (A) it's associated with a horrendous vehicle (Aztek) or (B) it was a horrendous name itself, regardless of the vehicle it was affixed to (Probe).

Here are my Top 5:

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If you saw our Consumer Comparison Test last December you know how well it worked out in terms of getting real-world feedback from real-world buyers. We pitted the all-new 2008 Chevrolet Malibu and Honda Accord against the new-for-2007 Toyota Camry. Our six consumer test drivers split on their first choices, with three picking the Malibu and three picking the Accord as their favorite models.

With the positive feedback that test generated we're now pondering a follow-up comparison, but we're not yet locked in on which segment to feature.

Considering the "real-world" nature of this content it makes sense to ask you guys from some direction here. So here goes: What segment/vehicles would you like to see featured in a consumer-scored comparison test? Here are some of the ideas we've come up with:

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Edmunds.com just launched its latest product and it's worth a look, especially if you've got an automotive question you need answered. It's called "Edmunds' Answers" and it makes finding -- and providing -- auto-related answers extremely easy.

My first time cruising through Edmunds' Answers I saw that someone had asked about the sliding editors' rating for the Chevrolet Equinox. The user noted that the rating was relatively high in 2005 but has fallen every year since. It took me about 100 seconds to type in a response (basically "all-new vehicles typically perform well against the competition when new, but fall as the product cycle continues and newer competitors are introduced in the segment") and post it live. You can see the full answer here.

The first round of 2008 North American Car and Truck of the Year votes are in...

Car Finalists:

   1. Cadillac CTS                   2. Chevrolet Malibu                3. Honda Accord

Truck Finalists:

     1. Buick Enclave             2. Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid          3. Mazda CX-9

The final winnners will be announced the morning of January 13th as part of the kickoff for the 2008 North American International Auto Show (also known as the Detroit Auto Show). I just sent my second-round ballot in, so my part in voting for the car and truck winners is over. I won't know the results before that January 13th announcement, though obviously I know who I voted for.

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If you've been watching either the Straightline blog or the Strategies blog you've already heard about our Consumer Comparison Test pitting the Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry against each other. Feel free to predict the finishing order of this comparison test (that's what they're doing over at Straightline) but this post will be focusing on a different aspect of the event.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is HUGE. It's not huge because it involved letting consumers drive three competing models and provide feedback. We've seen that in various "buff books" ad campaigns for a couple years now, not to mention recent television commercials and radio spots. No, what makes this huge is the fact that no manufacturer was involved in the testing process. 

Every previous "consumer" test I've seen has always been backed by a specific manufacturer. The buff book campaigns I just mentioned involved the Cadillac CTS and Jaguar X-Type -- with associated ad pages and tiny "advertisement" text on those pages (Ugh! -- I felt dirty just quickly thumbing past them). The recent television/radio ads we've likely all seen or heard involves Ford's "Swap My Ride" effort to show that the Fusion and Edge are "better" than the Camry and Highlander. Any guess as to which vehicles fared well in those tests?

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I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. It's not much of a secret, as some of you might have already figured this out. But I'll pass the information along just the same.

As you probably know, residual value on domestic nameplates is generally lower than on the equivalent foreign model. Check our used car pricing guide and compare a 2005 Honda Accord LX sedan ($12,816) with a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu LS sedan ($8,908) if you need further proof.

Does this mean domestic cars are "worse" than foreign cars? There's a question that could generate plenty of comments -- depending on how I answer. But instead let's focus on an undeniable fact:

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Chevrolet has done it with the all-new 2008 Malibu. No, they haven't "beaten" the Japanese in the family sedan game, but they've created a fully competitive vehicle -- overall -- that has enough advantages to merit consideration from traditional Honda, Nissan and Toyota buyers. I could go into a long, creative diatribe about how the Malibu stacks up against the primary players in this segment but I'd rather get right into the competitive discussion. So let's look at how the key elements of this new Chevy stack up against the competition.

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After re-setting the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe HYBRID's fuel computer, and averaging 19.8 mpg over a 100-mile loop (from work to home, and back) I initially felt underwhelmed. But then I considered the 6.0-liter V8 under the hood, the 6,000-pound towing capacity, the nine-passenger people capacity, and the 5,600-pound curb weight. Okay, all things considered, a real-world mpg of 19.8 (without any effort to "drive it easy" for mileage) is impressive.

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Well guys, I made it to both meals, despite the urge to simply kick it in the Lexus LS 600's massaging rear seat on the show floor instead. I must get more comfortable "fancy" shoes for these damn auto shows.

The Ed Peper/Chevrolet lunch was great. There were only about 12 journalists, so each writer had plenty of time to ask his questions. Here's what I learned:

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