Realy, James? The GM3800 has twin spark plugs per cylinder? Whatever the name engine means to anyone (good, bad, indiferent), it is a strong motor by today's V8 standards. Specific power, especially in the LX cars, is about as high as any other motor I can think of without variable valve timing or 4 valves per cylinder. GM3800 N/A is far below the Hemi.
The fuel economy is achieved with a tall differential gear, and the displacement on demand. We'll see how that latter works, but GM is doing it for all their Vortec V8 truck models in 2005 as well.
Now, if you don't like the style, fine. But, reserve your handling jugement for a test drive. The rear suspension design is taken from the Merc E Class IIRC, which is not exactly a light vehcile but manages some fine handling characteristics. Like I siad, I know a DCX test engineer at the proving grounds. They hamdle on par with the 5-Series.
