Drew Dowdell

General rule of thumb is that you should never be more in debt then three times what you make annually. And save at least 10% of your salary over and above the 10% you should be putting away for retirement. He's making 100k a year. 10% of the into savings of 28 years would be 280,000 not counting any interest. I'll be kind and say that even if he only saved 1/4 of that he'd still have 70k saved up. More then enough to cover a 16k shortfall in salary for one year and give him some time to make some life adjustments to lower his expenses. I'm guessing he hasn't put anything into savings for retirement.... counting on that pension eh? I'm supposed to cry for this guy because he has money management issues?

Hate the exterior. Pretty ok with the interior.

The Aurora, while a great car, was not enough to bring Olds back from the brink. The Intrigue and Alero were still W-bodies and N-bodies respectively. Oddly, Buick is almost exactly where Olds was when it died. 1. Excellent new G-body <Lucerne/Aurora> 2. Good but not great W-body <LaCross/Intrigue> 3. Unloved SUV <Rainier/Bravada> 4. Unloved Mini-van <Terraza/Sillioette> 5. Recently demised yet popular full sized family car <LeSabre/Eighty Eight> 6. Recently demised full sized luxury car <Park Ave/ Ninety Eight> The only real difference is that Olds had the Alero and Buick has the Rendevous. Both of which sell well, but don't have enough volume to hold their respective brands.

Chevy G-series Van Dodge B-series Van

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Woah! I've never seen that add before! I love it!

But seriously folks, My Gram had one of these diesel beasts when I was a little kid: I was the one that got to tell her when the "Wait to start" light would go out and I always got to press the garage door opener button. It was waaaay cooler then my Mom's Subaru wagon and my other grandmother's VW Rabbit Diesel. It went "wacka wacka wacka" just like fozzy bear. My neighbor had an e-body eldorado and an e-body seville. I've alwasy loved those cars, especially the e-body Eldorado.

That I can tell you in ONE word! TRADITION!

but it does need more cowbell!

What the hell does anyone need with an oil pressure gauge anyway?

here's plenty of Benz, mostly of the E-Class variety, in these large machines. The aluminum five-link rear suspension on all 300s is based on the E-Class design, but the 300 has a wider track and bigger wheels and tires, with a steel cradle in place of the E's aluminum one. The 300's 120-inch wheelbase is two inches longer than the E-Class's and just one inch shy of the Mercedes S-Class's.

I don't think anyone suggested that the Lucerne is M35/45 competition. No, the competition for the Lucerne is the Grand Marquie, ES330, former Concord/LHS owners that don't like the new 300s, Camry owners that want to move up but don't like the Avalon, LeSabre, Park Ave, 88, 98 and Aurora owners. The M35/45 competes with the CTS and STS at GM.

Yes, it adds hydrogen into the combustion process allowing for a much more complete burn of the fuel.

Wasn't LeSabre the best selling full sized car after the 88 was axed?

While I'll agree that the 3.6VVT would have been a better choice. The 3800 isn't horrible. Compaired to the Camry's 190 hp, it's right in line, and it has 227 ft/lbs of torque at 3800rpm compaired to the Toyota's 197 ft/lbs at 4400rpm. If you've ever driven a modern 3800 you'll know that most of that torque hits at around 1,700 rpm so it should still feel quick off the line. But again, you can get into a Northstar for just 30k. It's almost like buying a DTS-lite for 30k. The people who recognise that will have the advantage. The LeSabre/88/LHS drivers will probably enjoy this car in V6 form.

According to the little computer in my car, I average about 23mph when I'm doing my normal routine. That means after 80 hours I will have traveled about 1800 miles. If he can increase the tank to the point there I can get 3000 miles out of it, it simply becomes an oil change item.

If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going.

Well I know they drove the Escape Hybrids through Pittsburgh. I was following them through the Squirrel Hill tunnel.

Don't let your last ride be your only ride in a Cadillac. Free rides in the back of a Cadillac to a select few. :lol: :P :rolleyes: ^_^

The 300 platform isn't all that fresh. It's based on the previous gen of MB E-class only 2 or so years younger then the most recent G-bodies. RWD is only a virtue for members of this site. For the target audience of former LeSabre, Park Ave, Continental, LHS owners, FWD is a virtue. For the LeSabre and PA owners, the 3800 will be familiar and safe. The Northstar should satisfy Continental owners. The 185 hp 3800 is so close in power output to the ES's 190hp that it won't be an issue for those people.

I predict that the Lucerne will take the title of best GM interior from the Aurora.

I would expect Saturn to jump upwards remarkably over the next few years.

I dunno. The Avalon is fairly ugly. Sure it's got the numbers, but it doesn't have the looks. The Lucerne is understated yet attractive and for 30k I can get into a V8 model that isn't even available in the Avalon.

It'd make a better Towncar. It doesn't fit with Cadillac design theme now.

Back seat of an 85 toronado isn't so bad. Quite roomy in fact.