just picked up the May issue of Automobile and as I'm <i>perusing</i> through the "40 cars worth waiting for" section, I notice a very familiar roofline:
<img src="http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/0302_chicago_montego.jpg">

not only does that look ripped off of an A6, but the front and rear overhangs are dead on A6. the front spoilers 3-aperature grille is rather A6-y as well.

and to top it all off, the wheels look like a marriage of the RS 6 wheels and the new A8's.

very interesting indeed.

this latest issue is packed with interesting reads- Lambo Gallardo, Audi Pikes Peak test drive, Audi TT 3.2, Rolls Royce Phantom Drive, Geneva 2003 Auto Show review...

Out of the aforementioned "40 Cars Worth Waiting For Section" the VAG family has 6 spots- the Gallardo, the Pikes Peak quattro (they drive the show car and speculate what the production version "A7" will entail), the upcoming A6, Bugatti Veyron (which they say will reach a <i>top</i> speed of <b>252 mph- OMG!!!!!!!!</b>), the upcoming VW Golf/Jetta, and the Bentley Continental sedan (not a bad group eh?)

they show the BMW 6-series convertible in the mag (or a mule at least) and oh boy does it look Pontiac.

great issue, which once again begs the question- why don't I have a subscription to this mag?<ul><li><a href="http://www.automobilemag.com">http://www.automobilemag.com - you can peruse some of it online (at least some of the eye candy)</a></li></ul>

 

You'd have to expect some of it to rub off. I believe that car was originally shown as the Ford 500 several years ago in Detroit.

You'd have to admit that the Montego would be one of the nicer FoMoCo cars around (well the new Mustang is sweet too...)

 

that's not saying too much these days.

I've never been a fan of the American marques to begin with...

 

All the concepts are coming with arched rooflines and high beltlines. Started with A6, yes?

 

Re: Thanks for the post. I enjoyed seeing the exotic cars reading about them at the URL.

 

Thanks for the info. Yeah automobile is one of the best car mags out there IMO.

 

... it goes into production. Even if they make it look nice, the car will probably have to be dumbed-down for rental fleets and geriatric buyers.

Remember, the current Sable borrows some styling from the Audi A6 already, but nobody considers the Sable to be a viable alternative to an A6.

 

i can see the 'ford parts bin' climate controls already....ughhh.

if they can build it on the LS platform (280hp V8) and sell it for around 30k they might have something

 

It's a compliment to Audi's design that they are being ripped by other companies (at least two).

 

... you can assume that the beauty will be skin deep, if that, and everything that you can't see will be a compromised piece. They only need to make it better (or appear to be better) than a Malibu, so why build a BMW?

That's what bums me out about the new Mustang. It's so nice looking, and with the right drivetrain, it would be a great car at $36,000. Unfortunately, most Mustangs will be sold as $23,000 cars, so the core design will go in that direction.

It's business. Why build a premium car for 100,000 customers when you can build a Taurus for 400,000 customers?