caddycruiser

In relation to AutoRide itself, a lot of people like the way it performs vs. the standard suspension--which itself is terrific--but it's nothing huge. I think of it mostly as computer ride with leveling thrown in, and you get the idea. On a new truck, particularly even one leased perhaps, I'd be fine with it. Not that it's a constantly failing thing, as it's essentially electronic shocks and specific coil springs to go with them, but when the shocks do go--and they do without it taking too many 10k's--they're pricier to get replaced, or the only other option is to revert back to the standard suspension, swapping out the coils, shocks and killing the electronics that controlled the AutoRide. Again, not a bad thing nor a great one, but it works well if it's kept in check and not worn out. For me, if buying used with some years and miles under the belt, I'd much prefer the standard suspension just for easier and less costly maintenance and upgrades. In experience, our '04 with the standard suspension felt exactly as good at 100 miles as it did at 56k trading it in--never seemed to start getting looser or in need. Same for the brakes and tires too, mostly. The intermediate steering shaft was an expected issue and it really was the only thing that caused any kind of a disturbance in the drivetrain, but is a quick fix. Of course, I also avoid 4wd like the plague just because there's zero use for it, really, with us, and I'd rather have less weight and zero maintenance of transfer cases, axles, and such. But I still understand wanting it, and given that it's hard to find anything but north of VA, oh well. I think you'd really enjoy one of these, and especially the most pampered, lowest mileage, best colored & optioned, etc. combo you can find for the price. They may not have some of the gadgets of the latest & greatest trucks or rich interiors, but they're solid, refined, comfortable as a living room with some of the best seats ever, relatively efficient and still very powerful. A few small bugs like every other vehicle line, but all minor and probably the best in the biz still as far as full-size SUV's for quality & lack of issues.

Haha, haha, hah I've never played, but we're planning a company competition with full on rocker dress and all, soon, as one of our many events...so hopefully I'll get the jist of it.

This is a solid list. Basically, with a truck that's clearly been pampered and quite low mileage, I'm betting there won't be much of anything to notice on a test and examination. The steering shaft clunk is a time and time again repeating thing with no fix, just quiet time for a few 10k's, and everyone knows that going in. Otherwise, solid. Takes me back to the days with our two GMT-800 SUV's...not exactly flashy, but solid and comfortable with stellar powertrains. I miss them, especially that 5.3L/4L60E.

Agreed. Bad for people who bought them new and may want to trade...but holy cow are there deals now on barely used G8's. Some V6's are under the $20k mark and GT's are not that much higher, generally. Even with a 2 month old Malibu, I've been "curious" looking at all the ads for them. A big majority are ex rentals, with under 10k or 15k miles, but some also are exec cars & demos. If you really look, there are barely used 2009's also pretty low. So yeah, hard to beat one. I'd agree. Not sure what else would entice me for the price, if a sports sedan was what I wanted.

Excellent, interesting point. I'm not a Nascar fan but my brother dabbles in it and the fans are, uh, well, pretty set in their ways with who they like and don't. Hopefully it goes well, and I actually think it might from the little I know about the whole situation.

What I've been doing for years? Having parents (well, mom, mainly) that insist on Christmas gifts to a certain level, we've had a cycle of going shopping either in the store or online, picking out & buying our own stuff, then it being wrapped right in front of us...just so there's still a Kodak moment at Christmas for opening of the gifts. I try to get away from it every year, but still, at December 15th "someone" is breathing down my neck to buy some stuff for myself with her dough so her tree doesn't look lonely. It's always a thriller unwrapping things you bought yourself weeks earlier Oh well. Weird this year, none of us have bought any of the others of us anything or for ourselves, and there hasn't been any wrapping going on. Hmm. Come to think of it, part of my not being in the spirit this year is not having gotten anything for anyone...or having wrapped...well, except for 2 gift bags (seriously, simple) for co-workers.

Aye, how foreign to me Here in the land of Oz, er, I mean Delaware, even the mention of a potential flurry in a system moving through possibly in about a week ALWAYS elicits the "bread, milk, and eggs" comments from the local news reporters. Every time. Seriously. They must stop. This, after living in western PA (at first, oddly to me, eastern PA around Philly acts like Delaware in reference to snow) and with a driveway inclined steeply from the house & yard up an embankment to the road, 1" or 4ft of snow, you shoveled, started the car and just stomped it to the top and went about your merry way on the roads--regardless of how they were either. Definitely. Oh the fun times in my '07 'Bu rental with the identical wheel/tire package sliding like skates on some slippy stuff, let alone rain. Kind of made me wonder, why bother with the tread, hah. Then again, maybe they were also a reason for it getting 37+ mpg on dry highways... Praise you! I despise 4WD & AWD largely, and until my dad's Subaru, no one in the family has had a vehicle so equipped--even in PA, eons ago. 24/7/365 extra weight, drivetrain friction, maintenance, etc. no thank you. Reminds me of, not long ago actually, in January/February trekking along the streets and roads around the Philly Mainline during a snow/ice blitz in my '95 Fleetwood WITH the 17" Impala wheels & huge 275-50 Nitto's. Just steamrolled like a tank even on a mixture of solid ice & snow, and I blew past other people in FWD & AWD whatevers puttering along and slipping, dead steady. RWD, depending on the vehicle & equipment can be iffy, but generally reigns supreme rolling along in and on anything thanks to a thing we like to call BALANCE. Then again, not that my FWD/TC/Stabilitrak Malibu wasn't mighty fine in some iffy stuff and the curves & hills of PA over Thanksgiving, but the weight all on front still didn't feel as natural as I've been used to for years with the old tanks. Better traction and electronic control, however, at the core. The worst about winter driving? I don't experience it much living in Delaware or even when in Philly, but visiting PA over Thanksgiving...all the CRAP they use on the roads chewed up my month old 'Bu like nothing else. Paint chips, big and small, all over the front, 2 small glass chips, chips and scratches on parts of the wheels...ugh. It was a nasty surprise washing it the day after. At least for the chips, I now remember why we thought it was such a good idea to get a bra for our new 300M right before the same trip 8 years ago...

Wow, that is some, well, WEIRD statistics in relation to you and innocently driving or sitting still in your cars... I've been in 2 accidents, first in 2001 with a hard slam dunk from behind in our 300M--leaving us okay--and just last year in October when my prized Fleetwood had its side peeled off by the plastic bumper cover of a Subaru Outback. I certainly hope no more, period. That is SO, SO, SO great that you guys made it out okay and even the guy who caused it, apologetic and all, is still alive. Accidents happen as you well know, and this apparently was one of them. Wow. Six is just...a LOT.

Brand new loaded Stryker Blue '09 G8 GT posed in a driveway of someone on my way to work, someone whose cars are always spotless and they daily, literally, pose them in the driveway for everyone's viewing pleasure as you roll down the road. Used to have a couple of Ford Lightning's, then most recently a maroon Jeep GC SRT-8 and blue Lincoln Aviator...now the Aviator has been replaced by the fresh & bright blue G8. Wow. What a garage, seriously. Can't wait to see what appears next, to replace the Jeep. Glad to see them with a GM finally, in the meantime. And still...jealous.

Oh, I can only imagine...an older pic with frosted hair AND a Pontiac...what a combo

Ah, I still feel a little amiss that I was only part of the red dash light family for 3 months...ah, the swoops and shimmer of that problematic coupe. At least I stayed within the family tree. Now, as said, if there was more of a future (or heck, current) direction, we'd have many more.

Is that what you really wanted? What specs? I've already been thinking about my lease end in, oh, 3 years from after a few days. I just wonder what, in those 3 years, will be the practice surrounding leases for those of us who got one before they were no more, when it comes to turn in, etc.

Agreed. That's a good inspiration for me to leave mine on my desk, instead, when nature calls...not like anyone ever calls anyway.

More... While in Groundhog land Punxsutawney, we took my little cousin out for breakfast on Saturday and there amongst the lot of winter filth crusted vehicles was a new White Diamond shorty Escalade Platinum Edition. Another first "in person". Love the wheels, which are really all you notice much of in person, and was dumb struck seeing such a pricey truck in a rather bleak little town.

Agreed. The base wheels have always struck me as odd and out of place. Even as a base you'll want to upgrade from, they're ehh. Oddly, in my travels through DE, MD & PA for days, new CTS's were one vehicle I rarely, if ever, saw. Hmm.

Welcome back :AH-HA_wink: Just bought a new HP Laptop myself about a month ago just, well, because I was tired of my 2 year old Dell's 14.1" dull screen, and very much enjoy it. Huge, glossy screen, best speakers I've ever heard on a laptop, fast, etc.

I've done it & others at work do it...ESPECIALLY the boss. He's constantly on his Blackberry as it is throughout the day and frequently moving around, into the bathroom, etc. and pretty much daily he'll be in the middle of a conversation while on the way into the bathroom (where the conversation proceeds full volume) or it'll ring while he's in there and continue on. Busy people gone, well, to the bathroom, I guess. One hand for each and you're good & sanitary, trust me :AH-HA_wink:

Returning back home to DE from the PA trip yesterday in the mucky rain, I was waiting to turn at a stoplight onto the road into DE and watched a big, black Maybach with MD tags and an old guy driving cruise by in the opposing slow lanes of traffic. Interesting car and doesn't really stand out as anything more than a slightly enlarged S-class with road filth and basic license plates. First time I've ever seen one.

I remember the "first ride in" my friend's new 25k mile doctor owned '97 Deville Northstar last Thanksgiving and telling him that and why. Went to leave a parking lot and he just dropped it "like this?", and it sung. It was brief but at least he now knows...then again, a 22 year old with a Northstar should have no trouble at this, even if it is the pampered garage queen still. That was my first ride in a FWD Cadillac of that gen and back at the time I still had my Fleetwood...liked it, but nothing special. Just felt like a 90's American luxury car, no more, no less.

Traveling from the nice Delaware beaches and weather to the Arctic that is Western PA to visit all the family in Punxsutawney, our OLD stomping ground. Staying with the grandparents, first day of usual visiting, then Thanksgiving with some cousins and such, more visiting other relatives, shopping, helping with some Christmas lights, seeing a few friends, etc. Back south on Sunday. I'm just not looking forward to leaving my near 50 degree dry & sunny to hit the freezing, snowy (apparently everyday lately), sloppy mess that's there right now. Ugh. No more daily cleaned, shiny Malibu for a while. The convoy of Malibu's heads out in the morning with me and Mr. White in the lead...unlike before, 4 people+3 dogs+stuff don't fit in a single Malibu like they did a Suburban. Even though, somehow, my father apparently thought could until a few hours ago...really. Just me, XM, heated suede seats, and a silky 3.6L for 6+ hours sounds mighty fine, except for the impending filth.

After a 4 day flu a few weeks back, I feel you...it sucks. Head cold is even worse, almost, because it's so agitating. Taking anything?

That's freakin' awesome. Even if I never wore it, I'd love to have it...and your test drive was a fun enough experience at that. Cool.

As of yesterday when I filled up the 'Bu (tried going 2 weeks between this time & did it easily...cool), it was $1.87 here in beach land southern Delaware.

Yeah, I had a freak occurrence, but I really loved that car and they're good deals used, generally. The 3.5L with the specific GT sport gearing and such is a monster, surprisingly, and the Epsilon chassis much more refined than a W-body, etc. But, still, a "new" car, any way you snap it. But if you want a new GM that has a look and cool feel, layout, etc. it's a fun package. Every time I see one on the road--coupe only, not the blah sedan--I still look. Still miss it, even though it can't compare to the 'Bu, in most ways. But I also still miss that "something" about my RWD LT1 Fleetwood, in ways I never imagined even after having new cars at 6x the price. Those are just great cars for cheap brama bull comfort, reliability, power, etc. As it's turning here, since the "I WANT ONE" doesn't seem too powerful, maybe a $1500 or so winter beater in better than beater shape would be the ticket.

That's what I always thought...for this, it sounds more like a daily grind driver, especially the newer ones. The old ones are WAY, WAY to pricey. If anything and you want to go tank-like, you could have a B/D body from the 90's with the same guts but a much better drivetrain, interior, etc. and still stick to the same price or lower. And Camino had some cool ideas^^. Otherwise, with the new ones, that's a whole different ball game and you don't seem hot to trot on any of them at all for the massive price difference.