2006 Pontiac GTO

Pontiac revived the great name GTO from 2004 to 2006 in a sleek rear-wheel drive coupe powered by a 400-horsepower 6.0-liter LS2 aluminum V8 engine and with either a 4-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission.

2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS

For 2006, Chevrolet expanded the Cobalt's line with the naturally-aspirated Cobalt SS. All Cobalts were powered by double overhead cam inline 4-cylinder engines, but the SS sedan (shown) and coupe were powered by a 171-horsepower 2.4-liter, an upgrade over the standard 140-horsepower 2.2-liter. The SS coupe was also available with a supercharged 205-horsepower 2.0-liter.

2006 Buick Rainier CXL

I have a soft spot for the 2006 Buick Rainier, as it shares the name of my hometown: Rainier, Oregon. Alas, in a couple years the Rainier, and its companion, the slightly smaller Rendezvous, would both be replaced by the Enclave, in 2006 still a concept car that apparently the Portland International Auto Show was not worthy of.

For 2006, the Rainier soldiered on, powered by a 195-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 or an optional 242-horsepower 3.6-liter double overhead cam V6 offering not only more power but also better gas mileage than the smaller engine. Front-wheel drive was standard; all-wheel drive was optional.

2006 Buick Lucerne CXL

The brand-new 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL: the car named after a brand of milk! How exciting! Yeah, I wasn't crazy about the name. The CXL was the mid-level trim. The standard engine was a 197-horsepower 3.8-liter V6. A 275-horsepower 4.6-liter Northstar double overhead cam V8 was optional in the CXL and standard in the CXS. This Lucerne had four portholes on its flanks, indicating it was equipped with the V8.

2006 Hummer H3

 

Behold the latest vehicle that diluted the reputation of the Hummer name in 2006: the H3, with less size, less power and less off-road ability than the existing H2, which already had very little to do with the massive military-based trucks these SUVs tried to live up to. Conspicuously, no real Hummers (now called the H1) were present at the 2006 Portland International Auto Show.

2006 Toyota Avalon Limited

Toyota's flagship sedan in 2006, the Avalon, was an impressive sight, especially on the inside, where the dashboard and center console featured doors to cover most of the car's controls to give a clean-looking interior.

The Avalon was powered by a 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6. Standard features included automatic headlights, steering wheel-mounted audio & climate controls & dual zone automatic climate control. Available features included rain-sensing windshield wipers, dynamic laser cruise control and a voice-activated DVD navigation system.

2007 Toyota Yaris Liftback & Sedan

New for Toyota for 2006 was a pair of subcompacts that shared a name to replace the Echo. The 2007 Yaris liftback became available in March 2006. The Yaris delivered fuel economy of up to 40 miles per gallon with its 106-horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission. A 4-speed automatic was also available.

The Yaris featured an interesting interior with the instrument cluster mounted in the center of the dashboard.

Sharing the name of its slightly smaller sibling was the 2007 Yaris sedan. The sedan featured different exterior styling and a different dashboard, though the instrument cluster was still in in the center. The sedan had basically the same available features as the liftback; the main difference was that the sedan offered integrated audio with an LCD display as an option.