jwbouch

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about this a little lately, and I wanted to see what you all thought about it. Am I way off track?! It seems to me as though Toyota is paralleling GM of the 70's and 80's. And by that I mean, cutting corners - doing things cheaper, riding along on a reputation instead of producing the product to maintain the reputation? It seems like Toyota (and I've thought this since before this whole recall situation) is cutting corners a lot. I don't spend too much time in Toyota's, and I personally strongly dislike the company - mainly because their products all lack excitement or driving dynamics (I guess I can't say all, my experience is very limited). I don't know - I don't follow Toyota too closely and I could be way off track. I was just wondering what you though about it. If that is what is happening, I find it ironic. You would think they could see what happened to GM and how hard they are having to work to get past all the perceptions people developed of their products that were less then desirable, and possibly learn from it. Anyhow, that is my opinion and I just wondered if I am somewhat accurate, or totally off base. Have a great day all!

It seems like it is about the PERCEPTION of being green. What is the carbon footprint of producing the corn used to manufacture ethanol? You have the fuel for the farm machinery to plant, spray and harvest the crop, then fuel for trucks to transport it, plus the energy needed to make the corn into ethanol. Is it really any more green?

Hello everyone, I am on a week long ski trip out here in Colorado - and my rental car is a 2009 Flex Fuel Chevrolet HHR. There are limited E85 fueling stations out here, so the first two tanks I ran through the car was regular gas (85 octane out here - 87 is midgrade, and 91 is the high grade). Driving through some pretty serious mountain passes (tacking 5700 in order to maintain 60mph) I averaged 32.5mpg over 700+ miles. I found a station that had E85 (2.19 per gallon vs. 2.75 per gallon of 85 octane) and filled up. I knew there was going to be a drop in fuel economy using E85, but I was a little surprised at how drastic the drop was. I went from 32.5mpg on 85 octane to 24.4mpg on E85. I am only at 150 miles on the E85, so I'll update fuel mileage once I get back to Colorado Springs to return the car (at which point, it should have well over 400 miles on E85). I guess my question is - an 8 mpg drop from regular unleaded to E85 seems to make the cost benefit of 56 cents per gallon irrelevant. I am not very good with math, and don't really know how to tackle figuring out cost per mile of each variable. I was just curious if anyone else has any experience with E85, and what your thoughts are on it. I'm back to vacation now! Bye!

Have you changed your driving habits when you are in this car? Does the nature of the car make you see how well you can do MPG wise, or do you just drive it like normal? I read so many articles about people who drive hybrids doing whatever they can to get better and better MPGs. They make it into a game, is that the nature of the beast? It never fails when I'm out on the highway that I get stuck behind a Prius going 50 in a 65 zone, and of course they are ALWAYS in the center or left lane!!!!!!

gee, I wish the Chrysler 300 had one of those. Turns out those don't climb mountains well in 20" of snow!!! I guess I should have known better then to take the 300 to VT during a huge snow storm. I couldn't find anything to attach a tow line to when I tried to tow it up to the house. Thanks for the info!

HAHA, how do you like that topic title? I have been checking out 1st gen Cadillac CTS's lately, and I have noticed a little square on the rear bumper (about 2" by 2"), and I was wondering if anyone knew what that was. I have seen them on several different cars lately and was just curious. It is not a rear parking assist sensor. I am going to attach this pic that I found on the internet, but I"m not sure if I'm legally allowed to. I guess if my computer does blow up on me, I"m good!? It is on the right side of the bumper, just above the exhaust pipe. It really doesn't matter to me, but I see them all the time and have always wondered what they are. While we are talking about it, thinking of purchasing a 06-07 CTS, anyone have any experience with them? what are your thoughts/opinions? THanks for the help!

I took one out for short test drive about 3 weeks ago (I am pretty sure it just had the 3.0 in it though, not the turbo), and I wasn't highly impressed. I thought it felt like a glorified Equinox - which isn't a bad thing, just not as nice as I thought a Cadillac should be. Plus, I prefer the styling of the Equinox. It has a lot of features that I personally don't see the point in. Cooler (ice chest) in the cargo area? I did like that it has the option of posting the speed limit of the road you are on by the speedometer! I am the king of not having a clue what the speed limit is (nor caring) until I see a cop! It isn't a bad vehicle, but I wouldn't be tempted to buy one.

My brother (actually it is my sister-in-law's) has an 08 Enclave, front wheel drive. He lives in Ohio and he regrets not going AWD. He said it is terrible in the snow. I've never driven it in the snow, so I can only say what he told me.

So far, that seems to have done the trick. It is starting a lot smoother and doesn't stutter at all, or stall out (as of yet). I'm much happier with having to have bought a $7.00 can of throttle body cleaner then a $300+ fuel pump!

This is totally off topic, but I LOVE your car! That is what I want when I get a new car in 2 years! I have been fantasizing about G8's since I first read about them in late 06?

sorry everyone, I didn't mean to copy the whole previous message that I replied to. I'll figure this out sooner or later!

Can it maintain speed in 6th gear if you come to any type of hill, at highway speeds? My brother has an Enclave that I have taken on a few trips, and it seems like it shifts a lot between 5 and 6. How is the Acadia?

I checked the pressure of my fuel system, and it was at 55psi. I believe that is right where it is supposed to be and indicates there are no issues? I have read a lot of other people have had problems with a dirty throttle body and that has caused the stalling issue. I just cleaned the throttle body today and so far, so good. However, this stalling issue is hit or miss, so I'll see how it goes for the next few days. I'll keep you up to date.

Well, that job wasn't very difficult at all. Now I just have to see if that solves the problem. I have my fingers crossed!

I have no indicator lights on on the dash board. I would assume this means no codes were thrown?

Thanks for the advice! This is my project for tomorrow. With a throttle by wire system, would someone actually have to hold the gas pedal down? Or would it not really matter, since it isn't a mechanical system? I generally make my brother help me work on my car, but he lives in Ohio, and I"m in Jersey. He is the mechanically inclined one in the family!

This is in reference to my 2004 Grand Prix with the 3800 series III. This issue with stalling on start up seems to be pretty typical of the vehicle. I've been reading anything I can find on my Grand Prix starting issues, and I have read many other people who have had this issue and they say to clean the throttle body, because of the sensitivity to build up by the "drive by wire" throttle system. Anyone ever hear of this, or have any good ideas on how to go about cleaning the throttle body? I haven't had the time to check into anything else yet, such as testing the pressure in the fuel system, because I don't have a tool to do that with. Plus, I don't know nearly as much as I would like to! I am going to try to figure this problem out this week/weekend, because it is getting annoying! Thanks for the input.

1st - 1 2nd - 3

Hey, I just wanted to thank you for the welcome. I've only been on for about 20 hours, and I already have a good feeling. I think I"m going to enjoy this quite a bit!

Good evening everyone. I was introduced to this website last night, checked it out a little and thought it would be fun to join. So, here I am! I am currently living in NJ, and am pretty enthusiastic about cars. I do not know as much about cars as I'd like, but I spend a lot of time reading my Motor Trend, and any and all websites that have to do with cars, and news about car companies. This is the first forum I have ever joined, so I look forward to learning how they work and exploring! I have a 1929 Willy's Knight, It was my grandfathers car. My uncle was trying to sell it, but I told him I wanted it. Now it is mine! Too bad I don't know much about maintaining an old car! lol

I have an 04 Grand Prix with the Series III 3800. Around town (if I drive somewhat conservatively) I normally get 20-22. If I drive it hard, I've gotten as low as 16, but I was really really hard on that tank! On the highway, the best I've ever gotten is just over 30 (30.2). That is with the cruise set at 74, going through some mountains in PA.

I have never thrown a code. The check engine light has never been on since I bought the car 2.5 years ago. I can't detect a pattern, which is why I can't figure out what it is. It has been doing this for a year or more.

it seems to be without pattern. Sometimes it's raining, sometimes it isn't. It happens in the summer, it happens in the winter. It sometimes does it on the first start of the day, sometimes it will act up after it's been running all day. I really can't figure a pattern out.

I do. I have the non-supercharged 3800. Being new to this whole thing, I don't know what all information I need to post. Let me know if you have other questions.

My Pontiac Grand Prix, irregularly, will stall out when I first start it. If it stalls, it will continue to stall unless I tickle the throttle after starting it. Once it is started I don't have any issues with it. It doesn't happen very often, but often enough to annoy me, and I have no idea where to start. Thanks!