trinacriabob

Z, buddy! My kind of thread. One fine Cali. day, I was driving to the Southland. And I took the route from Bakersfield (fuggedaboutit) and on through Mojave (Mow-haw-vee, not Mow-jayv). At any rate, I am driving through town and there is an AFB near there. Behind the strip of Dennys, MickeyDs and Dunkin Donuts, there were mothballed 747s peering their heads (humps). YYYYIIIIIPPPPEEEEEE!!!! I found the next turn lane and drove all around the fence, looking at these lonely beasts. They looked deserted (no pun) and a little dowdy. Nacelles: yes, Engines: no. What a way to end a career -- having rattlesnakes encircling your feet (landing gear).

yours

Flybry, is there an Intrigue in your future? I'm coming down to vacation in So. Fla. in late May/early June. You gonna drive me around in it?

Neither, Flybry. Check out picture 1. The light metallic colors are the most flattering IMO. I love that blue you see combined with the taupe interior. Love it. I'm not one for dark colors, largely because of the safety issue at night. I'd take white over black, though, in reference to your question. One nice color that was flattering for the car was the metallic forest green, but I wouldn't choose it. Sidebar: the darn car looks WAY better WITHOUT its spoiler. This way, that gently and tastefully curved lip/crease in the rear is accentuated.

Comment 1:You don't know how painful it is for us dyed-in-the-wool WOPs to be living on the West Coast! We don't have dealerships with names like that! I'm busting up. Comment 2: Pantho - I agree. I too would pick Intrigue over those vehicles. In a heartbeat.

Caddycruiser makes some good points, almost all of which, IMHO, are accurate.The press liked the Intrigue because it straddled the middle ground between the then Regal and the still with us Grand Prix...meaning it hit the "sweet spot" in balancing nimble, athletic handling and a supple, controlled ride. I absolutely loved the ones I've rented for achieving that balance. You are right. Going into the LaCrosse is very Buick. The 3800 is a tad quieter than it has been in the past, but not to the extent that they rave about. Perhaps it is the 3.6 that gets you that level of quiet. I only know 400 miles of driving a 3800 equipped LaCrosse. I will say that the feel at idle is improved. As far as handling goes, the LaCrosse is, again, still a Buick. There is some ponderous wallowing over highway undulations and some body lean if pushed too hard. This would be the case when the suspension is in CX and CXL form. The Grand Prix is an adult's go kart. It's a fun car to drive and inspires more confidence when pushed harder. However, the Intrigue does not approach that level of sportiness as Caddycruiser indicates, though it comes damn close. The Intrigue still retains a little bit more Oldsmobile in its personality than leaning all the way over on the continuum to being Pontiac-like. That's what sold the Intrigue and reeled in different consumers. A sporty sedan with great road manners combined with a luxurious enough driving experience, all for a very reasonable price. I wish the LaCrosse could be more like the Intrigue. Maybe "Ninety Eight Regency" was right, if I recall a post of his doubting the ability of the LaCrosse to step in as a "surrogate" Intrigue (on the old board).

I think that the 350 was well represented by having Chevy and Olds versions around, with me preferring the latter. The 307 was an Olds design (305 belonged to Chevrolet and 301 to Pontiac) The place to be would be to have those great interiors (a little toned down, though) with today's improvements in hp, torque, efficiency and longevity.

verruckt, with 2 little dots on top of the u

I feel bad about what happened but am relieved that you are ok. I have never lost a car in that manner, but I can empathize as to what that would be like. About the depression: it is TOTALLY normal to feel that way after things come in doses or waves that don't make sense. If it continues, seek help from your doctor, even if it involves medications. What you will see is that the situation will rectify itself. (Every depressive bout I have ever had ends). As smart and together as you are, there are many things that will propel you upward despite the loss of a car, though the trauma and the physical discomfort are transitional and have to be reckoned with.

recipes

The color of the brick threw me. Those are definitely Midwestern. Some affluent person outside of Cham-bana or Chicago's North Shore would do a house like that! But I could see (Upper) Saddle River, NJ. As far as Denver goes, in Ken Caryl Ranch and such where I've rummaged around looking at houses, they used the redder brick and stayed away from the excesses in wood trim (Denver tends to align itself a little more with the Intermountain West in terms of house styles, IMHO). Still, if that sled were powered by a garden variety 350 V8 or even that short-lived 4.1 Buick V6, it would be nice to have.

Brady Bunch

Those of you who "know" me, but don't necessarily love me (LOL), know how I drool over the Intrigue. As for as Olds goes, it was the best of the old and the best of the new. It really was their finest hour, and that saddens me. Here's a compendium of Intrigues I've gotten to "live in." There were more, but here are those I have photographed. 1998 Intrigue - 3800 V6 Location: Northern California, toward Lake Tahoe, US 50 near Echo Summit Comment: far and away, my favorite color for the car 1998 Intrigue - 3800 V6 Location: Portland, OR, in front of Mom's Comment: what a day! Rome-Toronto on Alitalia / Toronto-Seattle on Air Canada/ driving Mom back to Portland in this Intrigue / work the next day 1999 Intrigue - 3.5 V6 Location: Pensacola Beach, FL in the National Seashore Preserve Comment: my first sampling of the 3.5 V6, the additional hp can be felt 1999 Intrigue - 3.5 V6 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada - adjacent to Toronto Sky Dome Comment: love the always illuminated amber lights in front, great root beer color, though I wouldn't choose it 2001 Intrigue - 3.5 V6 Location: Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada - 1 hour north of Montreal Comment: this picture exemplifies that this is an exquisite car from every angle. I am hard pressed to find anything about this car that isn't harmonious, balanced and tasteful. Its current stablemates, LaCrosse and GP, have some visual balance quirks not found in the Intrigue. It was fun driving this thing around the small French speaking towns outside of Montreal. Sidebar: I still gloat over the Motor Trend article that, when it first came out, gave the Intrigue the nod over the Camry and the Maxima of that year! Are you folks as fond of this car as I am?

Philadelphia, of course.

Hot damn. That is gorgeous. They even got the right number of ventiports! And look, its grille, is a mini-replica of the Parthenon!We can all dog the mechanical problems of the 80's day in and day out, and with good cause, but there is no arguing that opulent interiors probably were at their peak between 80 and 87. Not only that, it was nice to see the color choices inside - that tasteful shade of green, burgundy and royal blue. Obviously, I appreciate what's new, but if you've ever piloted something with an interior like that, it was extremely comfortable and serene...you'd almost want to sleep in your garage! Having been the owner of an 84 Supreme in Brougham form, all I can say is that I loved the tufted/pleated interior and would drive it from Nor Cal to Portland to see my parents without getting tired. That being said, I know 1 person who purchased a GM diesel. It was an 81 or 82 Century Limited and this man was constantly cursing that car. Like the posted stats indicate, the not "from scratch" design couldn't handle the jump in compression from 8:1+/- to 22.5:1. Sidebar: Mustang, where is this car? I'm (sort of ) digging the house in the background. I think it's a stock design where you can almost read the floor plan from the outside. It screams Atlanta suburb except that the color of brick is NEVER used in the Southeast, so I say upper Midwest. I think the corner quoins and dressed up oval window are a bit much, but I'll take it! More so than the car!

clogged arteries

I am laughing right now. I, too, JUST took an odometer picture of my Buick. Now, I don't feel so weird. Can the gas leak be fixed? Rotted exhaust - well, being in Binghamton doesn't help. Is the powertrain FULLY original - i.e. engine and transaxle have NEVER been touched other than routine maintenance? For all of you who repeatedly DOG the 3800, those odometers indicate otherwise!

I share your sentiment. This is a car I practically INHALE. However, if you go that route, check out the intake manifold issue ahead of time. That's what I was told by a GM service advisor within the last 2 months. I am sure it didn't affect or will affect every car, but there is a propensity. Good luck with this!

cholesterol

I will be replacing the Regal because...well...it's time. I have some personal things going on and don't want to fuss with a new car until about mid May 2007. I would order in March. That's only, 13.5 months from now...not out of line. Sure wouldn't want any major repairs in the interim, so I am babying it. Now, if there was both a discount AND a "kick-up" on the GM Card redemption, from my $ 2,235 to about $ 3,000, I would jump sooner, possibly keeping it in one of my Mom's garage "bays" up north. The car will be either a LaCrosse or a Grand Prix....the more I look around, the more I come back to these. I do think about getting a mint condition, low mileage 1998 or 1999 Intrigue to putz around in as a second car but I doubt I will. I've found the multiple car thing to be more trouble than it's worth, but that's just me!

I also don't feel the 35 to 45 year old corporate type golfer is going to RUN to Buick because of ads. He or she will still go for the import car ... unfortunately.

I'm such an academic moron. I know that in accounting parlance, there are two types of leases: a capital lease and an operating lease, the latter being just rent without anything that remotely looks like an ownership "likelihood" at the end of it all. The features in your lease which determine which you have. For you, the things to look at would be: 1. the cash outflows for the equivalent period under leasing or owning - payments, service costs, intial cap cost vs. down payment, residual value or sales value - some of which may be estimates 2. the GM Card contribution under either scenario 3. the tax effect thrown in 4. the deductibility if you use it for business and the business/personal blend 5. how many miles you drive, keeping in mind that you never know. I am not one who leases. I purchase and buy the extended GM warranty. I like to make them go a long time. Hope that helps some!

Does the rigid link between golf and Buick irritate just me? Or are there others out there who feel the same way?

G8