Blake Noble

My next review is almost here ...

I actually noticed this. The Astra loaner only has 17,000 miles on it, so it still does have that new car smell. I can't exactly put my finger on what the Astra's new car smell reminds me of, though. I want to say it smells ... sweeter than a new North American or Mexican made car.

I can't believe I'm saying this but if we get this ... ... here in the States as Buick with a similar formula like I mentioned in my write-up, I wouldn't completely hate driving one until a proper and trim Camaro debuts. Why do I feel dirty now?

I suppose its strange that working on music usually helps me sleep. I always go to bed earlier when I'm trying to fix something I don't like in the structure or mixing of a song I'm doing.

I used to have that problem quite a lot when I was in school, still had a job, and a relationship (read: used to have a life). Usually when I got in that state of mind, I'd maybe give up on sleeping that night, maybe take a short nap and wake up, take a shower, and push on through the day, making sure to drink anything that could be a good pick-me-up. It isn't fun, I'll say that. It's also very hard not to just shut-down and crash when you get the chance.

Very irregular. One night I might go to bed at 2 a.m. The next night 5 a.m. The next night 3 ... ish. I'll admit, it's a little old, but I can't seem to get myself out of it. Additionally, I didn't sleep at all last night. Knowing that I had to leave at 8 a.m. to get to Lexington by 9 and knowing that I usually don't wake up until noon, I decided not to take the chance and pulled an all-nighter. I've probably downed a portion of my body weight in caffeine today. I also haven't taken one nap either. Oddly, I smoke less and eat less when I'm sleep deprived.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. It really means a whole lot. I noticed two typos that squeaked by me after proof-reading it. I'll make sure the next review I'll have up tomorrow doesn't repeat that same error.

I'm sure someone will find it useful. After all, you can buy one used and I think this is one of the best buys on the used car market as far as compact cars go.

You're welcome!

Quick Test: 2008 Saturn Astra XE Back Story: Our humble family sedan, the trusty 2007 Saturn Aura XE V6, has been in the shop numerous times over the past two months for issues that have been plaguing everything from the audio system to the braking system to, just today, the on-board computer system (for a braking system-related problem). The first stop at the service department was a grueling five hour visit late last month, while the technicians tested the car out for two bad speakers, a bad stereo, a concerning grinding noise when you push on the brake pedal and shift into reverse or park, and taillights that came on when you pressed the gas pedal, but not the brake pedal. After Quantrell Saturn of Lexington handed it back to us, still with each of those cancerous gremlins taking a huge collective dump on the car's up-to-that-point good quality, they told us we'd have to come back in the following days for another visit while they waited for a huge slew of parts to be delivered. That second visit warranted a them giving us a loaner while they waited for a brand new braking system-related switch that was going bad to be delivered overnight. The first car they loaned us was a ninety-five percent fully-loaded 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid in What-The-Hell Mystic Blue, a color that was loud and proud and drew attention to a car that I felt that didn't need to be so loudly advertised, as if it wasn't already with various, clearly visible Hybrid badges stuck to its doors and rump. My overall impressions of the Vuebrid are surprisingly quite good, although I'd never actually buy one. I think it's also due a write-up as well. So imagine my dismay when Quantrell didn't give us the keys to it today after they told us there was yet another overnight wait in store for the Aura as the on-board computer had started to sour and was causing the brake lights to, yet again, malfunction, causing them to not shut off as advertised. Ever. Instead of the cheeky blue cute-ute that I found a strange acceptance for, they gave us a swtichblade-style key that went to a dark blue hatchback, none other than an Astra five-door, the most ungainly member, in my opinion, of the Astra line-up. The following are my impressions of the car. Q: So, what's the car got as far as features go? A: This particular example of the Americanized Astra is just a few notches above having, well, nothing. It has cloth seats, the basic audio system, power windows and the oh-so-Euro central locking doors. As far as options go, it has air-conditioning, which was something that should have been standard as it was a stupidly expensive option on the Astra (the sticker price reads just a few bucks under a grand), and, strangely enough, heated seats. It's also sports a Made-In-Japan automatic. Yeah. Whoopity-do. There's no leather surfaces anywhere. No sunroof. No CD changer. No traction control. Not that any of that stuff is actually very important to me, but it doesn't even have a set of attractive rims and tires (that is a must for me). It just has ugly plastic hubcaps painted in Drab Sliver that would look more appropriate on a Volkswagen Golf or Beetle, really. It has the 1.8 liter four-cylinder, which was the only engine available for the Astra here, that feels like it could barely blend a smoothie and sounds like a YardMan mowing down a hay field when accelerating. Q: Uh, yikes, I guess? Could you maybe elaborate on the powertrain more? That particular bit doesn't sound good so far ... A: You're damned tootin' it doesn't sound good. Literally. When you're taking off from a dead stop and trying your damned best to wring the little 1.8 liter jerk of what little power it does have so that you don't get hit by that truck or that bus, the four-cylinder's annoying buzz seems to continuously bleed through the firewall and all of that sound-deadening material that lines it. You can almost hear the engine complaining, saying, "If you do that one more time, I swear, I'm going to call the Union and go on strike. Just you watch." All of the juice, especially torque it seems, is cowering way up in the rev range, just begging for you not to even get near it. Maybe I'm just too used to a V8's willingness to giddy-up-n-go the minute you say when, but this car reminds me of all of the reasons why I'm not a fan of your basic four-cylinder engine in anything with a gas pedal and four wheels. There is a bright side, though. When cruising at Interstate speeds, the buzz sort of goes away. Well, only to be replaced by the gawd-awful howl of the Good Year American Eagle tires. The transmission is nothing but standard GM goodness. That's to be expected, though. Usually, GM transmissions, regardless of weather if it's the old three-speed auto from the '70s, the four-speed that GM used for, like, ever, or the new six-speed they're putting in everything now, shift smooth and work as near-perfect as a good transmission should. No qualms here ... except for the fact that you seem to lose a truckload of gas mileage with it. The window sticker shows mileage ratings that aren't any that much better than our Aura and that oh-so-low tech center-mounted DIC shows an average MPG that's one less than what we usually get in the Aura. I think I can say that, sometimes, smaller isn't always better. Humorously, the Vuebrid we got before the Astra, seemed to be slighty better on gas than either one of them. I will add that there are worse four-cylinder econoboxes out there, though. The Toyota Corolla is, hands down, the Gutless Supreme King in this class. Q: That doesn't sound good. I'm still not turning away just yet, though. Can you tell us about how it handles? Things of that sort? Maybe there's something good there, huh? A: Yeah, actually there is. The steering is decently weighted with good feedback. You grip a fat wheel and with an effortless nudge left or right, you go left or right. For more spirited driving through curves, just hold on tight and steer, steer, steer. This car doesn't handle like an underpowered five-door econobox. It almost handles ... kinda sporty, kinda spirited. It handles like a go-cart, just without the pep to back it up. The ride isn't cushy, but it isn't spine shattering stiff either. It's quite well-poised. This car also has very little body-roll. That leaves me wondering just how the guys over at Opel tuned what is a surprisingly good suspension. I wish the Aura was as good here. The brakes, though, tend to be a little bit touchy. If you just tap them, you come to a stop with a hard jerk. This could have used some work. If this thing had the old Cobalt SS's supercharged 2.0L EcoTec, the six-speed manual, and a well-balanced all-wheel drive system, I actually might not be ashamed to shamefully park one in a far corner of my driveway and tool around in it during the winter while my rear-drive behemoths hibernate. Q: Ah! So it does have a redeeming quality after all! What about that interior, though? A: You shouldn't have asked. Yeah, I know. For once GM has made a small car that has an interior which isn't made out of old gum wrappers and melted down Tupperware. Three-quarters of the dash is at least covered by soft-touch plastics, so if you feel the need to mosey on out late at night to do some nude grinding on the passenger side dashpad or above that stupid DIC, then you'll be feelin' alright. The pillar trim is covered with a nice woven material that matches the headliner (thank God rat fur is a thing of the past). The doors always slam with a vault-like thud. Most everything does seem to feel buttoned-down and almost as sturdy as an old end-table. And my God, those seats. Like the Vuebrid we had, the seats are nice, firm, and supportive without being as rock-hard as a Central Park park bench. I could sleep in those seats if I had to. You always get out of the car with a back that feels refreshed and ready to go. They also grip your body quite well. It's short of just having a Swedish masseuse in the seat back from being perfect. Here's something else the Opel guys got right. They can make a damn good set of seats. However, the grab handles are rather brittle to the touch and feel as cheap as cheap gets whereas other cars pay attention to this area and try to make them feel as substantial as possible. It is a "high-traffic" area after all. There is no center armrest, so your right elbow always winds up falling down what feels like an endless pit. I'd trade that stupid, awkward cupholder for an actual armrest, thanks. You only have one color option for the Astra's Teutonic guts: grey and grey, with extra grey. I would image that this is what it would feel like to be Santa Claus stuck in a chimney at Christmastime. The design itself isn't something I'd really write home about, either. Yes, it is one leap and half of a bound above the Cobalt, but it sort of feels like everything is carved out of one solid block of plastic. Then there's the center stack. The stereo and HVAC panels don't exactly have the best fit in the world either. They always seem to appear to be off-centered, crooked. The stereo controls themselves also feel cheap. The volume knob makes a chintzy click with each turn, like something is broken-off back there. Every button feels cheap to the touch. The silver paint looks dull and cheap too. Was it too much to ask for some Piano Black accents, like in the Sky? And maybe use actual rubber covers for all of the buttons? The ugliest thing about the center stack, though, is the DIC that I've been randomly bitching about. The uber-pixelated font is ugly and you have three different ones for three different bits of information, so not only is it ugly, it isn't uniform. Oddly enough, the odometer on the DIC and the odometer between the speedo and tach didn't sync up by some few odd miles. Go figure. Q: Well, what's your overall verdict? A: Honestly, you can do far worse than picking up one of these. You could buy a new Hyundai Elantra or Toyota Corolla, for example. This is also better than a Focus, I think. It most certainly looks better, even as the ungainly five-door. Yes, you could also do a little bit better as well. The Mazda 3 might have the dumbest front fascia ever, but it's still a sporty compact car that, now, doesn't look awkward (except for the front) as a sedan if four-doors and an actual truck matter to you. I say that, in the end, if you want a nice, used compact car, pick up the three-door model. Overall, you won't regret it.

The part where the car gets t-boned is over the top. Is it bad that I sort of laughed at that? I mean, I've seen much worse around the 'net than this.

The interior should have been like that to start with. Very nice upgrades. There is nothing to hate about what you've done.

It's not very well executed. A little more fabrication could have went into making the sheetmetal match a little better. That little black strip of whatever that is ruins it.

I like this better:

THIS. We had to deal with this same issue last month when a few folks in administration decided to favor one member over the whole memberbase. We wound up losing a great, classic C&G personality because of it. It should have never been repeated, but here were are again, beating the same goddamned dead horse. What don't you guys understand? Quit trying to protect PCS. Anyone can be an armchair analyst on GM and make accurate predictions if they follow GM close enough (and I mean close enough). Hell, I've made predictions on GM in the past before PCS did and they came out right. What does that tell you? Until you meet this man in person, he's no more than vaporware.

Pffttt ... I hopped on this bandwagon yesterday. Nice to see you guys join me. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=43115

Happy Birthday, Cort.

Thanks for deleting my post guys. If you want a post gone, PM me first instead with a reason and I will take care of it. This is why other members have left. Oh, wait. I forgot whose thread this is ... right.

Anyway, I'll believe it when I see it. I'll still have fun with it anyway, though. To sum it up: Pro: The Commodore will still be sold in the United States. Con: You can buy one retired from chasing stolen Ford Mustangs, speeding after idiots on a foot chase, and pulling over punk ass teenagers going 5 over the limit with 200,000 miles and most everything broken 10 years from when they finally get here. Expect to pony up for some paint too. Pro: In that case I can buy one cheap, right? Say for about Three-Kay or so? Con: See above. Expect to dump another Three-Kay into fixing a broken-this and a broken-that and into turning the zebra into a thoroughbred. Costing a grand total of six-thousand dollars, you should really go out and buy something classic instead. Jalopnik sucks. I'm better.

There's a problem with your design. The glasshouse-to-body ratio is not right. There's too much glasshouse and it makes the car looks too top-heavy and tall. Other than that, I didn't see much difference between A and B. You seem to have some details right, though. I like some of the lines and the flared fenders. It reminds me of an old 1970 Chevelle that got shrunk in the wash.

How many ways are there to beat a dead horse? Let's find out ...

Why in f@#k would they charge him with anything? The man was an unwanted intruder in his home and the student reacted with self-defense. I would have done the same thing myself, I just wouldn't have used a f@#king samurai sword (Smith & Wesson 500 revolver, that's where its at).

Don't offer more than $4,000 for it. Cash helps.

Every Toyota is dehumanizing; dehumanizing to drive (especially), dehumanizing to look at, even dehumanizing to speak of.