2QuickZ's

We also just picked on of these up to replace our T&C.  It is so much nicer of a vehicle than the T&C.  A few small details I don't like as much.  They went a little backward on storage with only the lower glovebox and seeming less storage in the center console, even with the IP drawer.  The kids definitely like the seat back mounted screens more, though!

Congrats on the Volt purchase!  Been thinking about one of these (or a new one) to replace the 200, likely in the fall.  Free electricity at work is a nice incentive.  It's 25 miles each way so chances of doing it only on company provided electricity are not so good, even with a new one, though.

Picked this beast up close to the end of the month.  Got a great deal on it.  Dealer sold it to me for $250 over employee pricing so I can't complain.  2018 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus with the S package.

I've had a second gen Camaro and two different 4th gens ('94 & '02).  I can honestly say the 5th gen did not appeal to me at all.  It still doesn't.  I really like the looks of the current 6th gen a lot, though.  I understand to a lot of people they look very similar to the 5th gen that I'm not too fond of but I guess they made just the right changes for me.  This refreshed version?  Maybe the looks will grow on me.  Not awful but not better looking than the current car.

The nice part right now is all three automakers are making great pony cars (yes, I know the Challenger is not a true pony so I use the term loosely) so you really can't go wrong with any of them.  They all have some very desirable attributes.  While I would gladly own any of them, due to me having kids and needing a usable back seat, a Challenger Scat Pack would be an easy choice for me.  Seating configuration not a concern, it would be the current Camaro instead.  I like the Mustang and wouldn't mine owning one but I just like the other two a bit better.  Maybe it is because I grew up in a GM household and Ford was our main competition?

Overall it looks quite nice.  I like the exterior look a lot, even the tail lights.  The interior looks simple but elegant, though I am not digging the all black with dark trim.  I saw the other pictures with the lighter lower color and that was much better but both of them had dark wood trim.  I hope they have a lighter color wood trim available.  It would brighten up the interior a bit.

Overall I think this is a VERY nice looking SUV and that is coming from a car guy.  Exterior and interior are pretty much right on the mark with one small exception:  the seats.  I don't know what it is about them but I just don't like the design.  Everything else about the vehicle looks elegant and classy but the seats just look..... too busy?   I'm not a fan of the split thigh cushion and split side bolsters in the front and overall they just don't match with the style of the rest of the vehicle, at least to me.  Hopefully those will get sorted out before production and these are just for the concept car.

On 2/28/2018 at 9:07 PM, 2QuickZ's said:

What about Chevrolet Sonics?  You can pick sedan or hatch and the price is where you are looking.

2015 Sonic RS - $10,944

2016 Sonic LTZ - $10,921

On 3/24/2018 at 7:07 PM, balthazar said:

OK : we wrapped this up today, thank God.

'16 Sonic LTZ hatch, 1.6T, 6-speed auto, 35K miles. Got some minor dings outside (I don't care), interior is excellent. Pretty loaded up as a LTZ, drives better than I expected. It was $9700.

Oooh!  Do I get a prize?

Congrats on your purchase!  Sounds like a fun little runabout.

What's killing the numbers compared to last year is all the discontinued vehicles.  Dart, 200, Patriot.  Well, those and the Journey which needs to be killed.

Who knows what Sergio is thinking?  He is a war time general, not a peace time general.  He needed to get out as soon as the war was over and the company was on the right track.  That was the time to let the peace time leader take over.

I wonder how much of those gains is because they picked up GM and FCA's slack as they pull back from selling to the rental car fleets?

One of those Terrain sales was my Dad's.  He picked his up last Monday.

What about Chevrolet Sonics?  You can pick sedan or hatch and the price is where you are looking.

2015 Sonic RS - $10,944

2016 Sonic LTZ - $10,921

22 hours ago, balthazar said:

• Toyotas are too hugely unreliable- 50 million + reasons there not to buy.
• Veranos near me with really low miles are $15K, not $10.
• Fiats are crap, yes, but at least Chrysler/Dodge is above that level of wretchedness. Still, I'd probably pass on the 200.
• Will look into the Volt idea.

I've had my 200 for a year and a half and have put about 20k miles on it.  I bought it used and it was a service loaner at the dealership before I bought it so while it still looked and smelled new, I could hazard a guess it was not treated nicely by all who drove it.  In a year and a half it has been to the dealership exactly 0 times for anything other than maintenance.  The only real issue it has is that I get a hard 4-5 upshift but only at little to no throttle input.  Any throttle input above that and it shifts through the gears firmly but smoothly.  It is the only car I have had in the last 10+ years that has had absolutely no hesitation to downshift when you give it throttle, too.

I saw Drew recommended the Cruze.  As a past owner of a Cruze diesel, I can recommend that car as well.  Sounds odd to say since mine was bought back but mine had no driveability issues at all.  They just couldn't figure out why it kept setting check engine lights for the O2 sensor.  In spite of that experience, I would not hesitate to own another one.  The two most common loaner cars while the Cruze was at the dealership?  Chevy Volt and Buick Verano!  I enjoyed both of them as well but if I was going to get a Verano it would be to get the premium trim with the 2.0T.  If I wasn't getting the 2.0T, I would probably just save the money and get a Cruze.

#1 Buick Regal TourX Essence - $35,995

#2 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L - $35,995

#3 Ford Mustang GT - $35,095

#4 Jeep Wrangler JL Unlimited Sport S - $35,785

#5 Chevrolet Sonic Premium RS manual - $22,290

I would rather the Camaro SS than the Mustang but you can't get one within the price constraints and for the purposes of this exercise, I'll take the Mustang GT over the Camaro V6.  I know the Sonic is an oddball choice but I have been oddly fascinated with these things lately.  Not sure why.

I'm not sure how the Euros do it but the U.S. OEM's typically do their own calibrations regardless of who is providing the controller.  I'm not saying that is the case here as I just don't know for sure.  The possible exception may be the Cummins diesels in the Rams and Titans.  Since the Cummins name is all over the vehicle, my guess is they would want some role in the calibrations.

There are a surprisingly large number of them on the market at the moment.  Last summer when I was checking there were only a few.  There is probably close to a dozen now.  Here are a couple more Syclones for those that are as enamored with them as I am!

$25,900 - California

$19,900 - California

$79,995 - Arizona Ultra Rare Marlboro edition

$18,000 - Colorado

6 hours ago, dfelt said:

That CTS-V Sport looks like it has been ridden hard and put away wet. I would be careful as I saw the shattered center screen but also enough wear that who ever was the previous owner is a I do not care, lease, use it, abuse it and trade it back in. Even with the so called cleaning, that auto has considerable wear which makes me think the past lease owner was not only dirty but had high acid in their sweat due to the wear of symbols on dash, steering wheel and shifter.

Could be a good deal or it could be a money pit.

I didn't look that ad over too closely as I was just posting an example.  If I wind up buying one, it will be much cleaner than that one.  I agree after looking at the pictures that one looks like it could have had some odometer tampering.  At the very least it did not have the most caring owner.

On a side note, it is pretty easy to find a clean one in the $28k-32k range with 40k miles or less.  I've been eyeballing them for months now.  If the right one at the right price turns up locally, I may jump on it.

6 hours ago, ccap41 said:

How many is "many" that you personally know that are waiting to trade in their vehicle for an EV? 

Personally, I've only met a few people who want an EV and they're mostly just Tesla fans and one person who owns a Leaf. They absolutely love their Leaf, fwiw. 

Not a Tesla fan but not a hater either.  I'd like to see them succeed but they need to get their crap together on the quality front before that can happen in the mainstream market.  The one thing they have going for them is there probably aren't too many walk home issues which means most of their quality issues are more of an annoyance than anything.

I have always been a big HP ICE guy but at the same time, I like to try different stuff.  I would seriously consider a Bolt.  I checked one out at NAIAS and didn't think it was too bad.  In fact, I will probably even test drive one within the next few months.  Free recharging at work means no fuel bill for me. That said, the current plan is a good deal on a used CTS-V Sport that I will drive for a year or so and then strongly consider switching over to a Volt or Bolt, but only if the price is right.  I'm definitely not an early adopter that will spend whatever to be the first on the block with one. I did, however, by a Cruze diesel just because I had never owned a diesel before. haha

1) Cadillac CTS-V wagon - these suckers have held their value very well.  Still #1 on my wish list.  Would prefer a manual trans but they tend to sell for significantly more than the autos do.  Begger's can't be choosers.

2) Cadillac CTS-V Sport - very likely to have one of these parked in my garage come summer.

3) Saab 9-4X Aero - I really can't believe how well these have held their value compared to other Saabs.  I know it isn't a Saab in the truest sense but I think they are cool.

4) 2011 Saab 9-5 Aero - Okay, I am a bit of a Saab-o-file.  My 2007 9-5 Aero was one of my favorite cars I've ever owned.  How could this not be even better?

5) 1991 GMC Syclone - Like this one only a really clean driver so I could enjoy it.  You rarely, rarely see these.  Truthfully, this is #1 on my list, even above the CTS-V Wagon.  I've always loved these things and still hope to have one some day.  My problem now that I've gotten older is that I want my toys to be my daily driver because I got tired of my daily driver being parked out side while the barely driven toy took the spot in the garage.  If I ever get a house with a 3 car garage, this will be the first remodel the house gets.

If you give me a sixth, it would be a Pontiac Solstice GXP coupe, again, because of the rarity.  Not so much because it was an awesome car.  As you can see from my list, I like the oddballs.  That being said, they are all relatively easy to find on the market right now other than the 9-4X Aero.

If you are in the market for a good deal on a used sedan:  I know people like to bag on them a lot but the '15-17 200's are good cars, especially in V6 guise.  And they are available in AWD if you need it.  Depreciation has been pretty brutal so there are good deals to be had.  My guess is you could pick up AWD 200S or 200C with under 30K miles and reasonably loaded for 15K.  Heck, I bought my 2015 200S V6 FWD a year and a half ago with 5500 miles for $17,600 and it has heated steering wheel, ventilated seats and Nav (~$31K sticker).  I could have had a similar AWD car for maybe $1,000 - $1,500 more.  I personally would have preferred a 200C because I like the open pore wood trim in them better but I'm still very happy with what I got.

I live in SE Michigan and I don't know how well the deals we get translate across the country since just about everybody around here is eligible for one or more of the employee discounts (at one point in time I could have gotten it on any of the Big 3 brands), but Equinox's and Malibu's lease pretty cheaply. They have been offering cheap leases on Jeep Compasses.  You do see a ton of Escapes around here as well.  If you like big RWD, both the 300 and Charger lease pretty cheaply as well, including the AWD versions.  If you want to buy, they are giving HUGE discounts on '17 LaCrosse's.

IN SE Michigan, we had $10,000 in rebates of the LaCrosse last month.  Legit rebates, too.  $750 customer cash, $6,250 bonus cash and another $3,000 in Auto Show bonus cash.  For that kind of deal I was very, very tempted.

I'm checking them out on the Buick site again and it really is weird how they have them set up.  It's not even consistent between Sportback and TourX because TourX does not have the Preferred II trim.  TourX if you want a heated wheel you have to get an Essence which also includes heated leather seats as standard.  In the Sportback, the heated steering wheel is standard on the Preferred II trim but since it is still cloth seats, no heated seats.  Not a deal breaker for me because I happen to think you don't need heat with cloth but still odd.  Same with leather only available on the top trim.  Usually it is at least an option on the mid level trims.

It's basically like they didn't adjust the trims, packages and options for the American market.  Oh, and you like Sirius XM radio?  That appears to only available in a package with the 8" Nav radio in a $1000 - $1800 depending on trim.  It's hard to say, though, because the website isn't real clear.  A full color driver information display is included in that same package.  I guess you get LCD dot matrix style on the lower trims?  I guess they really do want it to be like Saab!

You like adaptive cruise, lane keep and automatic braking?  You better like the Essence trim because it isn't available on anything lower than that.  You also better want to spend $2,670 to get it.  It's part of the Driver Confidence II package which of course means you have to also get Driver Confidence I package.

Let's hope some different option configurations come in later in the model year or for 2019 at the latest.  I would be most likely to get an Essence anyway but it would be a shame for them to lose sales over their odd configuration choices.

Here's a couple of pics taken at NAIAS.

I checked out the TourX at NAIAS and also checked out the hatch at my local Buick dealer this last weekend.  I'm not normally big on green color cars but the Carageen Green looked quite sharp on the Regal.  Overall I quite liked it.  The one downside is the rear seat headroom is a bit lacking in the hatch but my kids are still pretty young so not a deal breaker at all for me.  I thought the lighter colored interior looked quite nice.

If I were to pull the trigger on one it would most likely be the TourX, though.  I'd to find out if you can pull the wheel well arch cladding off without there being any holes through the metal.  Again, not a deal breaker but would just prefer it without the cladding.  I'd probably stick to a black one if they don't come off but the example at the dealer was Rioja Red and it looked pretty good too.

The problem I have with these is how the options are set up.  You can't get leather as an option.  It is standard in the Essence trim and that is it.  IIRC it is the same with remote start.  Just some oddball stuff like that with the way their packages/options are set up.

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Here's the other non-blacked out grille...not sure if it's 'better' but at least 'different'.  The look will probably be ruined by a center mounted license plate (needs an offset plate, IMO) is ruined by the styling of the front end of the car below the headlights. 

There, I fixed it for you.   Actually, everything from just below the headlights and up isn't too bad at all.  That front fascia and grille, though!

It never ceases to amaze me that neither Toyota or Honda in their push to make the appearance of their vehicles less boring have figured out that ugly and busy do not equal stylish and trendy.  I guess ugly and busy don't really equal boring either so they have at least accomplished that?