caddycruiser

Not the point...and anymore, those discounts have shrunk with them more tightly controlling MSRP's, even though an Equinox/Torrent can still hit $30k. I really do like the Equinox/Torrent overall, but things like the growly and underpowered 3.4L, el-cheapo interior, and horrible electric steering need to go...and, hopefully, will at least be modified soon.

Typically gorgeous interior and (I'm assuming) terrific engineering and refinement, but that exterior is SO discombobulated and ungainly, it's insane. Really...how the HELL could they let it out of the design studio like that? It's like a really bad, really strange test mule made out of a bunch of different, mismatched parts...god help them, really. And the new MDX (concept, whatever...) looks almost as bad. It was always a very strong, elegant design, and now it too has been ruined and taken back several steps. The only attractive Acuras anymore are the TL, TSX, and, to some extent, the RSX...and everyone better pray that they don't get "a good idea" to f@#k those up with a refresh or the next redesign...

The current -800's have used the old 4.3L for a while, but that is going away with the truck. The new -900's will have the Trailblazer's 4.2L I-6 instead.

Shut up...it is MOSTLY a GM fansite, but there's "The Other Guys" thread here for a reason. If you don't have something productive or worthwhile to say, stay away. As for the Avalon, my best guess would be just a few minor detail changes for '07 (maybe a new wheel design or two, and some colors). It already has the 3.5L that some other vehicles in the Toyota line are just getting, so it's the most current in that regard. They did just intro a new 6-spd auto with that engine on the Camry, so that might be a possibility. But nothing really noticeable or major, I would assume, will change.

Next to come, I think.... -OEM chrome Brougham wheels -Completely new air intake system, to replace the overly restricted stock one -Window tint -Maybe a better alarm/remote start system -Etc., etc... Also have to get the A/C repaired (not working at the moment) and check out a few more things mechanically, but all pretty minor

Oh, and here's what it looks like with a Tyvek car cover, when I'm not around or just not driving it.

And, finally, a repair. When I got the car, it had the typical slit on the side near the lumbar/heat controls, but was just a slit and wasn’t more torn. Also had a small hole and a few wear marks on the driver’s left back bolster. Got a leather repair kit, custom color matched from a sample I sent in, from leathermagic.com and went to work. Cut up an old car wash sponge to fill in some spots were the foam had broken down under the cut and wear mark, then glued in a subpatch on the underside of each defect, and started filling in each spot with the special compound. I did about 4 applications of the compound, smoothing and forming in between, then re-painted the specific sections wear the repairs were made with the provided paint/coloring. Up close (as in some of these pics with the camera’s macro setting on), you can still see a few imperfections, but there’s no more tears or visible wear spots, and the seat looks brand new otherwise now.

Now, one of the BEST mods EVER for this car—a Roadmaster climate control. ocjmakaveli was the first to get this done, and I bought the Buick CC unit back in December, but just never had a chance to get it in. Fabbing up the brackets to it hang in the stock space properly took a bit, and the whole thing lasted a few hours, but I cannot believe how dramatically different this makes the car—5 completely controllable fan speeds, the ability to blow airflow wherever you WANT (floor, middle, blend), and still have an automatic control to set it and forget it if desired. The finished product, with new head unit and climate control unit:

OEM CD/cassette head unit out of a wrecked ’95 Fleetwood. The stock cassette unit worked great, but I always wanted one of these, and picked it up. As a side benefit, the fully working cassette-only unit I removed plugged right into the ’93 FWB, and now that car finally has a working cassette (which had been malfunctioning since we bought it).

OEM center armrest/console with the solid lid and pop-out cupholder arm, out of a wrecked ’96 Fleetwood. Not only looks better, but also seems just a tad taller or is at least more comfortable for my arm. The inside is also more open and larger and easier to get at with the rear hinge. Very much enjoy it!

OEM GM 5.7 Liter emblems. Got these a while ago, but wasn’t sure if I wanted to put them on or not until recently. The one on the trunk is similar in concept to the ones Cadillac used to put on some older models (really different look, but still the same idea)—and I think it looks pretty nice. But my favorite is the one I put on the gauge cluster, right below the shift indicator—the color and chrome on it looks great with the wood background, and I like advertising the 5.7L fact…in a perfect spot, too!

The stainless steel chromed front plate with OEM Cadillac emblem, and the new OEM Heritage of ownership badge with “Cadillac” in the center (replacing the original one that was on the car, #11—that’s now on the ‘93).

More than 3 months after I bought it, I finally got some new pics of both it in general and also some mods I completed. It was a BUSY Easter break, to say the least! First, the car itself.

The more I look at it, the more I like it actually. Just give me a different color, and I'm set. Actually, mom's not been very hot on her Suburban anymore, saying 1) it's too big for just her to be using 95% of the time and 2) it sucks a little too much gas. She actually keeps saying she's going to trade it for a new VW Beetle in a few years (not too serious, though), or that she'll "downsize a bit to a Tahoe or Yukon"..."providing that they get better gas mileage than my Suburban by that time". Which has me thinking...the main reason for staying with a truck is she likes the look and, most of all, the seating position (she CANNOT be comfortable in a car anymore, and always complains that she's sitting on the ground when using one of ours), so why not something like an Outlook? I want to see the final production versions of the Enclave and Acadia first (though, for whatever reason, I don't think I'll like them as much as the Saturn), but I really think this might be a legitimate replacement. Very handsome look, tall and with a high seating position, but a more economical V6 (which would be with 2wd, of course) AND both a fold-flat 3rd row & cargo space behind it and an available power liftgate. Just might be perfect...and maybe sooner than originally expected, if her past car buys are any reference.

A very minor issue, but that's one I've always wondered about too. It was never as if the moldings on the '00-04 looked at all out of place, so when they removed them for '05, it just came off as strange...and left the sides looking intentionally stripped.

I KNOW!!! I've been playing around on car maker's sites since I was like 7, and it was always clear who had the best and who had the worst. GM does have one of the better dealer inventory things going for it, but it has about the worst "Build Your Own" sections. I always loved how you could build a Honda/Acura and not just see a crappy blurred image of the car in a semi-correct color, but see clear front and rear angled views, and also see every little option/accessory appear on the car digitally. Very cool, and very informative.

Yeah, I've never driven one, but I've gotten a similar impression from just sitting in and playing around with a few over the years. Not a horrendous car, but comes off as pretty clunky and old tech in a lot of ways...

Can't exactly do that...those black nuts you see are just "fakes" holding the center cap on. The real lugs are underneath.

Very nice, I like it. The stick-on chrome rockers aren't my favorite, but the Pewter color pretty much hides them. I really like the rear spoiler and factory flares, though--wish ours had the flares. And cool Impala--nice exhaust work

Wow, that sure stinks. Amazing how little damage he had...and how much your Olds got! Guess that's just a result of big vs. small

Yeah, even if it were PERFECT in every regard, $14.5k is too much with that many miles. Closer to $10k, I could see, but whoever buys it will probably get it down lower to that anyway. Now, wonder how long it will take to sell Similarly, after we traded our '02 Avalanche for the Suburban, I knew they put it right on the used lot without doing a drop of prep work (I made sure it was detailed, as always, before going there to pick up the new truck). Gave us $21,900 and then the salesman told me they had an asking price of $24,995 when I called as a potential buyer out of curiousity. The cool part was that a guy who lives in the golf course my father works at bought it, so he got to see it still everyday for at least a year after that, and always gave my mom "check-in" reports on what he saw, since it was the most beloved car she ever owned.

Sounds good, but fixing that AWFUL electric steering better be on the list of "details not released yet". Matter of fact, either fix that POS system all together in every car they've experimented with, or just give up the fight and realize GM has no idea how to do it properly, and put hydraulic pumps in the Equinox, all G6's, and all Malibu's. The current Equinox is still a great looker and decent performer, but the steering/suspension have always been too sloppy and the interior too cheap. Strangely enough, with the Aisin 5-speed auto, even the auto mags don't complain about the 3.4L...makes you wonder, huh?

Oh, and another thing--if anyone's noticed, the styling, shape, and size stayed almost completely true to the concept. As for the blandess, the concept was just as much so, but the wheels made a HUGE difference. Sad, but true--without wheels like the concept, there isn't much flash there... I keep thinking of this car as having the same kind of key virtues to it as a Malibu or G6, but clean and unoffensive lines compared to the ugliness/dorkiness of those siblings.

Not bad, but it's like 2000 all over again and the intro of the new Sebring sedan...for gosh sake, the wheel arches, the wheel design, the body, and even (from the looks of it) some of the interior materials are the same... Between this and the Outlook, I'm pretty underwhelmed...but the Outlook at least fills a niche in the market that no one has touched successfully yet--a large crossover with an ACTUAL 3rd row AND cargo space, not to mention a decent sounding OHC powerplant and trans from this century. The Aura is just seeming like a 6 year old sedan to me, that happens to have one of GM's fresher powertrains available in it...all together with an interesting interior color choice (FINALLY) and some G6 parts (the rattly Panoramic roof). Oh well...