Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

ponchoman49

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,479

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by ponchoman49

  1. ponchoman49
    The side profile is very dull and plain and reminds me of a longer Dodge Dart. Why can't we have some accent lines or body trim back like they used to do the past 50-70 years? All this plain plain plain crap and gray/black depressing war time lack of color needs to be banished. The fact that 90% of the clientele driving these things is elderly tells me that Toyota is taking a big risk with this new car and it's crashing and banging over bumps that certain editors have complained about.
  2. ponchoman49
    Checked out a 2014 LT. The seat backs loose the plastic backing and the upper knee area is sculpted in a bit so there is indeed more knee space back there. The center console is better designed for cup holders which sees the two staggered out from front to back so that your two drinks are not sitting side by side. The steering wheel looses the wood grain. The grille looks a bit awkward but I'll get used to it. The MPG has gone up to 25/36 or the same as certain eco models. Sadly the turbo stays at only 21/30 MPG but does go up to 295 torque instead of 260. Also HP and torque drop slightly on the new VVL 2.5 to 196 Hp and 187 torque from last years 2.5 which made 197 Hp and 191 torque but performance is said to improve due to transmission shifting tweaks.
  3. ponchoman49
    Your 2003 is the polar opposite of my parents best friends who owned a 2006 XLE V6 that they just traded with 78K miles on the odometer. In that 78K miles there car was in for the following issues- left front and right rear wheel bearings, intake manifold gasket failure, plug wires, alternator and battery, spark knock when using 87 octane fuel, leaking tires on corroded alloy wheels and last but not least transmission chugging in and out of overdrive on the open road which turned out to be a prom update. All of these issues just go to prove that Toyota's supposed reliability is hit and miss and that lately there cars have been cheapened and are no better than most of the competition. This brings me to the last paragraph in this write up. There are better sedans available and folks need to open there eyes when sedan shopping.
  4. ponchoman49
    Nice truck but overpriced by about 3k!
  5. ponchoman49
    Tell that to all the 21-22 They have this already and it is called the Cruze. The Malibu is going to be a more expensive car and many of the things that need fixed will come but not till the next gen arrives. The issue is the last Malibu was a better Fusion and the new Fusion became a better Malibu. The Bu is not a bad car just a good car in a tough segment. The bottom line is you are not going to get much of a Malibu for less than $25,000 and most will cost you over $30K as this is the price range this segment is in. Tell that to all the Altimas, Camry's, Accords, Sonatas and Optimas I see being sold out the door for 20-22K. Also the Cruze is not big enough for many buyers including myself, especially in the horribly cramped rear seat. Nor does it offer a 16.3 cu.ft. trunk, a std 196 HP engine with a 259 Hp engine optional. With the 1.25 increase in rear seat knee room the 2014 Malibu will be spacious out back compared to the cramped Cruze. I had both a 2012 Cruze 2LT with leather and a 2014 Malibu 2LT for rentals while my Impala was having collision work done. The Cruze sounded, drove and felt like an economy car with the one surprise being fairly quiet road noise. The Malibu felt wider and more spacious to me, was more comfortable, quieter and larger car feeling and the 2.5 flat out was a superior drive train compared to the Cruze's buzzy always revvy but not very powerful 1.4T. Even with all the griping about rear seat legroom my folks could sit comfortably in the Malibu's back seat but felt cramped in the Cruze. Even the combined average fuel mileage wasn't all that different between the two vehicles. 26 overall for the Bu and 27.2 for the Cruze. The Malibu also had a roomier wider center storage console, overhead sun glasses holder which the Cruze lacked, fog lamps which the Cruze lacked and the headlights worked better on the Bu. It always amazes me how so many complain and gripe that the Cruze is the same size as the Malibu and that the Malibu shouldn't even exist yet here we have 3 Nissan products with very similar interior and trunk volumes selling along side each other with not a word said. The new Vera sedan, the new Sentra and the new Altima are all very close in size inside and trunk space with the only real distinction being engine sizes and power output. The Versa in fact actually seems to have more back seat leg room compared to the Sentra and Altima. There interior volumes are 90.2 for the Versa, 95 for the Versa and 100.5 for the Altima. The Cruze is 94 and the Malibu is 101.3. I didn't bring up the noticeably smaller Sonic because it is very obviously not mistaken for a mid size like the Cruze often is and Malibu and is not brought up in that argument.
  6. ponchoman49
    The 1 MPG improvement is welcome but still not enough. GM didn't go far enough with the MPG improvements. This car needed a weight loss of about 100-150 LBS across the board and maybe the aero tweaks and grille shutter treatment like the Cruze Eco uses. A little sanity with the tire sizes would sure help here too. 19" wheels are heavier and also affect your final drive which requires the engine to spin higher thus reducing mileage. They also suck horribly in the snow! Notice that most competitors use 16, 17 and 18's on the highest end models. That is plenty large enough for a car this size. The parking brake is in response to consumer feed back. I'm not sure about the new center console. Where is the armrest? I don't even see it in the picture unless it's mounted way back in which case only your elbow is going to contact it. The loss of HP and torque sucks even though it is nominal. The taillights should have been what was changed, not the front end. They took the wood grain trim off the steering wheel which is good. Hopefully GM gets a clue about packaging and trim levels with this car. It is really silly that they have no less than 8 different trim levels of this car. Is that really necessary? Just offer a basic Malibu with 2.5, push button start, 16' alloys, 6 way power seat and the current std equipment for $21595. Then offer an LT with the same engine, dual chrome exhaust, 17" alloys and leather wheel with steering controls, leather shifter, 8 way power seat, remote start, backup camera, Mylink and upgraded interior materials and color choices for 23595. Then they can have the Eco for 24595 and a top LTZ trim level with leather, 18' alloys, dual power heated seats, Zenon headlights for 26595. The turbo motor can be a 995 option on both LT and LTZ and a few option packages can gives buyers options on those models. I would also offer a Sport package for both the LT and LTZ that includes the turbo engine, 18" alloys for the LT, monotone exterior trim, specific wheels, carbon fiber interior trim and a sport steering wheel with paddle shifters, sport suspension and a unique grille a rear spoiler.
  7. ponchoman49
    The wood trim looks perfectly fine to my eyes and very upscale. Enough with the painted on silver and shows every finger print fake piano black nonsense!
  8. ponchoman49
    Proof that bland and boring sells vehicles these days because this has to be the most boring Forester to date.
  9. ponchoman49
    Technology getting a bit out of hand. What happens the moment any one of these sensors fails? Who's fault is it? Is the sensor's insurance going to go up or be dropped? Who gets the ticket if the error is computer related.
  10. ponchoman49
    Well they probably expect to sell about one of these per month as with the Equus.
  11. ponchoman49
    Say goodbye to cars like this after the stupid Cafe requirements in 2016.
  12. ponchoman49
    That sounds like a true bend over and take it like a man statement! I vote the 4-6-8 V8 as one of the worst engines ever right up with the lousy Diesel converted V8's GM built also. The 8-6-4 368 Cid Cadillac V8 is actually a very solid engine in it'self. It's the electronics that marred this engines launch. A simple one wire cut to the lock up converter disables this and your left with a rock solid long lasting Cadillac V8 and THM 400 transmission.
  13. ponchoman49
    I sure hope the Verano for 2014 gets a power seat standard. The manual driver's seat in that car leaves you in an awkward driving position.
  14. ponchoman49
    I would nominate the HT 4100 as a far worse disaster than the Chrysler 2.2. Aluminum block and cast iron heads that scrubbed the intake manifold to shreds. Weak aluminum oil pump and bottom end. Main bearing thump. While some say that proper maintenance was key to this engine's longevity, it really boiled down to GM not making the block tough enough, there cheapness in not putting in a proper temperature gauge on the instrument cluster and using two dissimilar metals and various updates along the way that point to the fact that this engine was rushed into production too quickly before the real bugs were worked out.
  15. ponchoman49
    Just looked over a base LS light blue 2014 Impala for a good 20 min. I must say that it is a nice car but Chevy has once again aimed really low with this trim level. Plastic wheels. No visible exhaust out back. Black exterior rear view mirrors, no leather steering wheel, no rear air vents, 4 cylinder only. It's as if this trim level was aimed directly at fleets, which is what I thought GM was avoiding. To get these items one must move up to the 30k LT trim where most every other competitors have a std V6. The mileage is also a let down. 21/31 for the enhanced new 2.5. 18/28 for the V6 and 25/35 for the eAssist. Notice these figures are lower than the heavier LaCrosse for the eAssist setup, with the V6 coming in one less on both counts compared to most online sources and a whopping 3 less than the Malibu with the 2.5 despite only a 150 LB gain in weight. I'm very curious why the lower than expected numbers for this car.
  16. ponchoman49
    Other than the predator grille it looks the same as the non refreshed version from last year. The goofy dash reminds one of a cheap 90's stereo system and the exterior is as bland as ever.
  17. ponchoman49
    The Honda 3.5 V6 also still currently uses a timing belt which means yet another big dollar repair item that will eventually need replacement. Even the new 2013 V6's still use this today. Just about every other manufacturer uses chains which will supposedly go the life of the engine. My neighbors Odyssey just needed this done as it stranded them in a shopping center parking lot a few weeks ago. It's also on it's second transmission and the A/C crapped out last year plus it rusting around the rear wheels wells and it's only 6 years old!
  18. ponchoman49
    The current car is too plain and generic on the outside and the interior is a little gaudy. The new interior here is okay but I wish these car companies could come up with there own look instead of copying BMW and Mercedes.
  19. ponchoman49
    I have heard the same thing time and again. "I bought such and such little car as a knee jerk reaction to high gas prices but nothing fits in the trunk, it is too small and cramped inside and it's noisy." I hate little cars with a passion. If my legs and knees are smashed up against the center console or door panels that automatically puts it off my purchase list.
  20. ponchoman49
    I wish Buick would make a modern version of a traditional full size sedan like Toyota does with the Avalon, or Hyundai with the Azera or the old G-body LeSabre. The current LaCrosse is bad in so many ways that I have actually seen customers get in the car, start it up and not even bother going on a test drive. In fact some customers have actually come in asking if my buddies dealership still have any leftover or low mileage Lucerne's left in stock. Buick has thrown away much of it's traditional clientele in favor of bringing in these so called younger buyers. That's all fine and well but it's the older buyers that have the money and want comfortable smooth driving roomy cars. Right now the Enclave is the only vehicle on there lot that even remotely fits that bill. IMO the new 2014 Impala is a much better car than the current Lax.
  21. ponchoman49
    I'm very curious what the engines/transmissions will be on these. I'm guessing for NA we will see the new 2.5 Ecotec and the 3.6 V6 tied to a 6 speed stick or 6 speed auto.
  22. ponchoman49
    The Mercury Zephyr. Come on! A list without the supremely ugly Nissan Juke and Cube, the Scion xBox or Honda Element or the Acura ZDX is just denial.
  23. ponchoman49
    I wonder if this fixes the disaster interior packaging of the 2010-2013 models some? Is there an overhead sun glasses holder? Is there cup holders in the doors? Is the center console's rear cubby large enough to hold something other than two packs of cigarettes? Is the center console less intrusive? It looks like they did nothing about the mail slot side windows but hopefully the A-pillars are smaller for better forward vision. I would also have liked to see the 2.4 replaced with the 2.5
  24. ponchoman49
    As they say you can't fix ugly!
  25. ponchoman49
    I don't know which is worse. At least with the 4100 you have a smooth quiet engine with 30 more HP. If you replace the intake manifold with the updated version and keep the antifreeze changed every other year and use stop leak I have seen these motors go over 150K without much trouble. The other nice thing about 4100 equipped Caddy's in these years is that you get a 3.42:1 rear axle ratio instead of the 2.93 from the diesel. Imagine swapping in an older 425 or 500 Cadillac engine with those gears.
×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings