GMTruckGuy74

You know, posting pictures of that bridge is not good for people that suffer from gephyrophobia!! I have a very difficult time driving over the Delaware Memorial Bridge - when I went to visit the Wilmington (Kappa) Plant two years ago with my SKY I almost freaked out b/c the top was down and I was completely exposed to the bridge I will be driving over it again this week on a family trip to Washington DC... not looking forward to driving over it, and might just make my wife handle this part of the trip. Yes, I am being serious and not joking at all.

YJ, I like how your Cutlass is turning ou t- very sharp! I love the formal roofline on your car compared to the more curved '70 Olds Cutlasses that I normally see. Is that because it's a particular model? If so, what model?

+1 And how about that chop? Someone here should be capable - we have lots of talent!!

Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine

daves87rs, in order to get out of my SmartLease early I'd have to buy a NEW GM vehicle. The fact that GMAC didn't include November leases in April is making me wait another month. I figure GMAC may include November in May, especially come Memorial Day sales. I took the day off on Wednesday and took the little guy on a trip to Allentown, PA to check out the Mack Truck Historical Museum (a very small museum, at that!) and a side trip over to the Mack Truck World Headquarters to vist the Mack Shop (in case you're not aware, Mack Trucks is moving their HQ to North Carolina in July and the gift shop will no longer be located there, so this was one last visit). On the NJ & PA turnpikes, and in parking lots almost everywhere we went, there were a ton of HHRs. I've always liked their look anyway, but it got my mind thinking about them more. I decided to do a new GM.com search of what's available and I found one equiiped 98% of the way I'd want it (it didn't have a sunroof, leather & heated seats, but those are options I don't need to have but the wife likes). It does have the 2LT Preferred Equipment Package (2.4L 4cyl, remote start, sport suspension, bluetooth, chrome pkg, etc), chrome roof rails, and the USB Port Radio (a must have feature on either the HHR or G5). It's Quicksilver Metallic with Ebony Cloth interior. Though silver is the leading color for the HHR, I like the Imperial Blue Metallic too (the one at the nearby Chevy dealer I posted previously - it's missing the USB Port Radio option though). So I just have to wait to GMAC includes my lease in the pull-ahead program and then I will start doing some test drives.

Hoping both of you have a great day today!!

Did he get into someone's pond that the water is dyed blue? Like what you see at min-golf courses.

I'm going to take a guess, new rims???

Boy, that gives me an idea - find one of those wagons and install an Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe front end on it and make it a 442 Wagon. Now there's a phantom idea (hey Camino, wanna try this?).

I'm liking the wagon!! Too bad these aren't going to Saturn, as the wagon would have been a good replacement for the old SW2 models of years past.

Well, I figured I could easily get approved for a new car loan while I was still employed, so getting a new car before the end of June is/was the plan (assuming GMAC includes November leases in a pull-ahead program during that timeframe). But if I'm lucky and have a new job for September, then I can hold out until the lease is due (November 17th)... this may allow me to get a leftover '09 G8 GT. I haven't given up on the G8 just yet... at least not until I know I can't afford one when teh dealer tells me the bad news!

Yeah, I thought about that too after making the post. It would be a lot less effort going that route! The problem is I've done a GM.com search of a ton of Chevy dealers in a 25 mile radius of me and none have the Cobalt 2LT with the Sports Appearance Package (making it look like the G5 GT Sedan pictured above or a Cobalt SS Sedan). Of course I know that any good Chevy dealer can find one outside of the range I looked and dealer trade for it. I'd rather have the Pontiac G5, but if the wife insists on a sedan then the Cobalt will go on the table for consideration.

"Oh cruel fate, why do you mock me?" - Homer Simpson That one you have pictured is just about perfect - it's the color I want (Performance Red Metallic), and just needs the Ebony <black> leather interior. What does that sticker for versus the coupe? It would be perfect if US Pontiac dealers offered the G5 GT Sedan (at least for me). It would solve my concerns of having a coupe for the next 5-7 years, and the practicallity of a sedan works better if I wanted to drive with other adults in the car (again, I will have the G6 Sedan for those duties). But the G5 GT Sedan would be a cool option to have. Is it hard to travel to Canada to buy one, then bring it to the States??

Well, as much as I'd like to say the Cobalt SS, the BMW will hold it's value more over the years. Plus the extra benefits of luxury options/features that the Chevy doesn't have, and the image you'll gain from owning a BMW over a Chevy. If that's what you want. However, the Cobalt SS is a sharp looking coupe and is no doubt a reliable little car that will give you many years of good service. Downside is resale value, but today all new cars that aren't a Mercedes, BMW, Audi, ect. don't hold value well. Can't wait to hear the backstory on this comparison!

Don't be mean to me!! And won't your new BMW colleagues make fun of you for owning an '80s GM car as a 'classic' collectible? They might force you to scrap it to make more BMW emblems!

And I thought the bug-eyed headlight design on new cars was getting out of hand!!

Well my commute through the end of June is 16-20 miles per day, so that's not an issue. It's what happens after June ends and where I find a new teaching job for September (assuming I can find one). Plus any long-distance trips/car shows over the summer, though I'm sure those will have to be cut out due to the lack of income. Of course I could always find a mid-to-late '90s beater for the winter months to keep the GP safe. Again, these are just thoughts, not making any decisions at this time.

Oh the Pontiac G8 GT is the ultimate Pontiac that I desire. If I had $32k to spend on a new car, I'd go with the G8 GT Sedan in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I'm about $9-$10k too short for the G8 GT, and why even consider the G8 V6 for a measly $1-$2k in savings??? Now I really should start playing the lottery each week, even if I won enough just to buy a G8 GT in cash!!

gm4life, I have to agree with the rest here that you should be looking at G5s/Cobalts and not G3s/Aveos. While my wife really liked the G3 at the Philly Auto Show this past February, I can't stand them! I don't trust any Daewoo model, and I think in the long run you'll be happier with a Delta-based car. Think back 20 years ago - would you have choosen the Pontiac LeMans over a Sunbird? My cousin had a new '88 Lemans and it was crap; on the flipside, I knew many people that owned Sunbirds, and while they weren't the greatest, they were 10xs better than my cousin's Pontiwoo!! Too bad the G5 GT isn't offered in a sedan version, as I'd be more inclined to go ahead with that purchase (I continously wonder how it will be owning a coupe over the next 5-7 years if I do decide on the G5 GT?).

Thank you for the well wishes. I'm hoping something changes and I can stay - I heard today that central administration is reviewing all of the teachers certifications - in my department (business education), I hold all of the appropriate state certifications to teach what we offer; there is a bus ed teacher that is one step above me that has been mysterious as to what his certifications are. If he does not have the approrpiate certifications, then he may have to leave and that means I get to stay. Seeing as how my other five colleagues like me more than this mystery-certification teacher, they're all routing for me. But I realize that my name was the one approved by the BOE and it still remains on their xut list. So I will take every prayer I can get right about now!! I've been thinking lately about seeing if the local CarSense dealer will take me out of my lease. I know I'd lose out on potential incentives if I did want to buy new, but if I get out of the lease and get a loan instead, I could buy that '87 GP and since the nicer weather is approaching, make that my daily driver until my financial situation changes. I just don't know if this 22 year old car is up to daily driver duty.

Well an automatic is the only way to go for us (wife refuses/has no desire to learn and I have a medical condition with my left foot that prevents me from putting too much pressure on it <it sucks when I have to use the emergency brake on the AURA - foot pedal vs. the G6's brake handle>). Plus I'm the guy that likes to put the car in DRIVE and go from there We did look at the ASTRAs last Saturday night. The dealership had an XE 5-door & an XR 3-door unlocked on the lot and the wife was still not liking the car (I think she doesn't like the styling for some reason, and I know the radio/hvac controls turn her off). I think the 3-door is hot and would definitely be up for a test-drive, but I'm holding off for now. Well see her reaction again when we visit the NYIAS. I like the design of the G5 in GT form (I think the non-GT models look too plain). I liked the Cobalt when they came out, buit again I'm one of those guys that prefers Pontiacs over Chevies (just like GMC trucks too). Plus the fact I'd have an all-Pontiac garage, and hopefully things on the employment side get better after July 1 so that I could look into getting the '87 Grand Prix LE I've been wanting, would make for a nice photo layout for the Reader's Rides section of Pontiac Enthusiast magazine :AH-HA_wink: But I'm thinking way too far ahead at this time. I'll be patient and continue to wait until GMAC does something with November leases.

Super Wawas are all around southern NJ, and there's a brand new one close to where I work so I'll go there. If I don't go there, I go to the Gulf station near my house. I'm not sure if this occurs anywhere outside of NJ, but about two years ago gas stations (at least in southern NJ) started charging $0.05-$0.10 more per gallon if you used a debit/credit card to pay. Some stations didn't upcharge initially, but then 99% of them did (it really sucked when gas was at $4/gallon without the surcharge). I guess some stations felt the loss of customers and now at least half if not more have stopped upcharging for debit/credit card usage. What does this have to do with the post? Wawas were the only ones that never chraged more and that's when I started using them. I used a BP gas station too and it caused hesitation with my AURA but not the G6 (and they have the same 3500 V6!!). From time to time I also used a Citgo, as I pass it on the way to & from work, but they were the first to upcharge and still do.

In May of 1994, my cousin sold me her '92 Cavalier Z24 that had less than 8k miles on it (it was practically a new car still, as she bought it in September of '92 as a leftover model). I had that car from May '94 until I gave it to my wife (then fiancee) in April of '98. She then had the car as her daily driver until August of 2000 (so essentially I still had the Cavalier). I, and then me & the wife, went everywhere in that car. I see the G5 GT Coupe as reliving those days of past. Of course now though I need to haul more than just 2 people on a regular basis! I guess the love for my old Cavalier Z24 is one of the reasons I am considering the G5 GT.

Some other GMC vehicles to compare the Terrain grille/frontend design to: Yukon/Yukon XL: Acadia: Sierra 1500:

Let's take a look at some of the Terrain's competition frontend designs for comparison: Mercury Mariner: Ford Escape: Jeep Compass: Jeep Patriot: Honda CRV: Honda Pilot: Toyota Venza: