These components of value had little to do with superior design or driving characteristics.

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But a new generation of European-inspired Buicks, with their sporty good looks, sophisticated interiors and excellent driving characteristics.

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With demand for large SUVs beginning to level off, automakers are finding new ways to blend roomy interiors with better fuel economy and driving characteristics.

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Mustang, 3-Series and CTS shoppers certainly are looking for superior driving characteristics, but this buyer group comprises a small piece of the overall new car market.

FORBES: Dispelling The Notion That All Cars Need To Be Stylish and Sporty To Succeed

The idea is to be able to download different driving characteristics into the software that runs the motors and the suspensions, making the ride edgy and quick, or boatlike and soft.

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For instance, the Audi A8 not only has a 372 horsepower engine that provides exhilarating driving characteristics, but it also has an aluminum space frame that lowers vehicle weight considerably versus a steel chassis.

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"It is the very need of ethics that is driving many of us to talk about bringing the 'feminine' relational characteristics to the masculine 'wield power' characteristics of the workplace, " she says.

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