caddycruiser

Hmm...I like. A little busy, but a new play on the Buick tri-sheld. Should forward to my father, the biggest car logo critique EVER, and who also owns a Buick...

Will be the first "real life" one for me 1) Finally graduate with by Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (not a PhD, but still noteworthy). May 18th. Yikes. Less than a month now. 2) Career! Oddly, like getting into college, this is looking to be a last minute thing. Lots of prospects, waiting on at least one sure thing, still exploring others, etc. Less than a month...so just a little on edge :AH-HA_wink: Anyone with auto industry connections...I'm all ears. 3) Moving. Completely dependent on #3. Wherever the job is, I shall go. Probably still east coast, but open to anything. Once #3 is actually known, will have the rush of finding the right place to live, too. 4) Car. Possibly selling the Fleetwood (well, I've already talked about it for a while), possibly keeping it and finally giving it the tune-up & maintenance it's due for, or who knows. The plan has always been something new, but it depends on finances starting out, and the if/who/when I could sell the boat. Comes down to what I could get out of the car and what I could possibly afford to replace it with, particularly that's smaller and much newer. Alas, and the old, paid off and gas & maintenance bill only OR car payment & gas bill dilemma. I'm split, either way. 5) After about 2 months of this^^ ? Life finally as a real adult, working everyday, paying more bills, etc. and hopefully doing something that pays well and doesn't make me want to run away screaming--hah! I've made it this far, and to what will be 22 this upcoming Sunday (always at the WORST and busiest time of my year, so far)...and still have yet to figure out that thing called life and what I want to do with it. Shall the ride begin...SUMMER 2008

Absolutely. That's TERRIBLY stupid. I actually just commented on this on another board, discussing Saturn sales, as started by an actual Saturn salesman. My beef? I agree that a lot of the dealers really do give a different and more pleasant experience, but when you're selling every car at MSRP and essentially know your profit cushion from the first second and that it won't be touched...why on God's green earth would you then ALSO force things like dealer add-ons? This alone perturbed me because I've seen and read of countless Saturn dealers who never have a single new vehicle arrive that isn't pinstriped, mudflapped, Scotchguarded, sealed (i.e. waxed) within the first day. If anyone needs the extra profit, it's the polar opposite of Saturn. But that dealer markup, thankfully, doesn't seem at all common on the Astra...actually the first I've ever heard of it. To do that AND toss other crap on there, they are simply nuts. Sell them at sticker the way they came from GM, untouched, certain people get their rebate and others can get their Supplier/GMS...and call it a day with your decent profit levels compared to most regular brands. At least in my world that's how it would work...if I could only beat it into enough Saturn dealer's minds

Hah, yes. It isn't as brash of a car, but more focused on solidity and quietness with the power--the power of which should seem revvier, in OHC V8 form.

So how do you like it so far? Especially compared to the ancient W-body car with the 5.3L it replaced? I always loved the extremely solid, refined, feel with great materials (really) of the Lucerne, but have never been in a Northstar model.

Wow...and just like the Enclave was, this "light" concept is exactly the production version, just a slight wheel change, Ultraview roof vs. all glass, etc. and you have it. Nothing outlandish and extremely different, but luxurious, rich lines, great clean details, and a gorgeous interior--finally with one of the new center stacks outside of Cadillac.

Yeah, it's $1000 GM owner loyalty cash and then they must be cutting $500 out of their own chunk. Pretty strong, on such a great little import, with tight pricing otherwise. They had smaller cash before this, either loyalty or conquest, too. A lot of it is not only is there little Saturn advertising in general...there's nothing for the Astra. But, as it's been discussed elsewhere, they're losing money on these things (apparently), so I would think it would be either a priority or not. Then again, pretty Saturn typical, with not so hot sales. I want to drive one, as in theory, it's another on my list for soon times--and towards the top. Not perfect, but oh so good, in a lot of ways, especially that vault-like, everything slick and refined, feel that is still so foreign (no pun intended) to a lot of cars.

Some day I really need to visit my grandparents and take a scanner...there are SO many pictures just like this from when they were younger, getting married, etc. and between the clothes and the insane cars, they really look like something that would be art today. Great one to start!

Okay CMG, now tell us what you really think I'm never for two corporations, especially polar opposites, teaming up to do ANYTHING (about the extent of it would be something like the 6-speed auto done by GM/Ford, which is fine), particularly in this case. As much as the PC talk coming out is "they'll share a lot but be distinctive" think of it as something like the Saab 9-2X and Subaru Impreza. Separated by some styling details and a few refinements, but not much else. AND, in reality, Saab buyers wouldn't touch the "Saab" and the main people who did were Subaru buyers wooed by getting the same car but some nicer trim and huge rebates to make it cheaper. As much of a non-success as things like the Titan have been in sales, just being 100% from the home brand is a factor that shouldn't be given up on. Trucks are dead, in a lot of ways, as it is, and selling anything that even has a hint of Chrysler at a Nissan dealer will not work. As for the small cars, that could help Chrysler, especially with typical Chrysler buyers attracted to the new character of cars that happen to have Chrysler fascias and badges, but not much else. We'll see. I get the idea of teaming up in theory to work with one another on market aspects where one does well and the other doesn't, and vice verse, but it still does not work real world with real buyers, and just ends up in discussions later of "We'll never do that again."

Oddly enough, I like the overall package as far as the layout...BUT only if it were in OEM trim. As is, looks like a Chinese knock-off (you know the ones) of the original, but with a big twist.

There's someone VERY close to home who has a '97/98 Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD, great shape and all, but that's...light pink. No other mods, OEM gold trimmed wheels and all, just sprayed a quality (well...) light pink. It's odd. Then again, people are odd, and do VERY odd things to cars...the scariest part being they think it's great But, as long as I didn't pay for it, I can't care that much...just have hurt eyes, momentarily.

Re-affirms my "thoughts" on many such Craigslist ads... Regardless

Wow, great! I've been at it for a month, but all in the "cyber" application sense, so all a lot of waiting and "in a week or so" responses. Lets of great prospects...but oog, what a lapse from start to any response with a lot. Nothing beats direct calls, from past experience, and that may also start very soon.

TWO Imperial Blue (aka dark blue) '08 Malibu LS's...in the same lane of traffic, only separated by a few cars. "Ooh, Malibu...then another."

Precisely. As evidenced by the walled off compounds and, as seen in interviews the past few days, the most sheltered women EVER who, however poorly, deny that. It's the abuse factor that has made this such a big thing, as well as the huge Koolaid factor of the adult women, like deer caught in the headlights now trying to speak with the "normal" (however much of an oxymoron that is) world.

Nothing is great when you're talking about a full-size V8 truck, but real world driving of actual buyers has shown mileage results the same as and often better than supposedly "most efficient" competitors like the GM's--the newest models of which, Active Fuel Management and all, have generally been getting worse mileage all around than the GMT-800's averaged. Goes to show all that's printed and said isn't necessarily reality. Read some owner reports and also even magazine reviews, and these mileage figures continue to be backed up.

Correct-o. That was a joke, but the Astra info will be out soon enough, just delayed a bit because of the unique Euro-base, etc. probably.

No...not finally figuring it out. This has been the plan ALL along, the issue was just getting the components up to the proper capacity so they could effectively replace the HUGE number of 4-speed, etc. equipped units. It just took time to get things rolled out, and as you can see with many of the trucks STILL with the 4-speed as well as some lower Malibu trims, etc. the ramp-up still isn't complete. Then again, there's the whole debate of why such ramp-ups weren't history long ago and these parts already here, but it is what it is. As for the 6.2L/6-speed spreading, that's a great thing, but the real question will be the volume 5.3L/6-speed combo. It's down on power compared to some others, but also has been thought to be strangled quite a bit by the 4L60E for years, so it'll be interesting to see how it works with the 6-speed and higher rear gears in these heavy utes and trucks now. Like it or not, the Toyota 5.7L/6-speed combos is one of the sweetest out there in terms of overall polish (feel, sound, gear changes, etc.), power, AND fuel mileage...the latter of which has always perturbed me a bit with some misleading competitor advertisements and such. Maybe paper ratings it isn't as high, but real world is where it really shows. A good example, in driveability and such, has been Edmunds (yes, Edmunds) long-term tests of both a Silverado 1500 6.0L and a Tundra Crew 5.7L. They fully admit the GM interior has a more friendly layout and attractive materials, but their Silverado's clunky and harsh transmission combined with an engine that has grunt but just doesn't fully show it cannot compare to the always silky, strong, beast of a 5.7L/6-speed that's perfectly matched in the Toyo, and good enough to make many of the editors able to ignore some of it's interior and other touches that aren't as great. We'll see. If anything, I'm hoping the 5.3L can really come more effectively alive backed up to the 6-speed--and hopefully be more efficient and smoother in the process.

Should be, and with more power. I never expected to enjoy the current 2.2L as much as I did in my '07 Malibu rental, but it was always zippy and my constant 37mpg on the open road/highway never ceased to astound me. Odd that most Cobalts with the same engine rarely achieved as high of mpg as Malibus of the same era with it did, but now with VVT if it feels even spunkier and is the same or more efficient...happy days.

I've read and heard the same thing with the 3.9L too--love it, hate it, or it's okay--especially since the Impala rolled out in '06. A lot of reviews, for instance, say it's pleasant enough but then compare it to their last gen Impala's 3.8L and that it "can't compare" in things like mileage vs. power. I think it can, but it's odd how much negativity it's seen since intro. At least it seems more powerful, quieter, and a bit smoother than the 3.8L, and now has AFM. Well, then with that too, if you read reviews, it being the only GM V6 with AFM, people have had odd reactions to it and/or problems, with vibration or not running properly--albeit a small number. Still, should be interesting in the Lucerne. I'm a 3.8L fan, but after my drive of two '06s, I'm still shocked at how loud and gruff it seems in such a big, solid, silent car, and it even seemed bizarre at times, so if the 3.9L can also give it more grunt but sound and feel more polished, it should be a good thing. Well, that, and keep the classic 3.8L fuel mileage at least, if not better it.

Yeah, it's very dependent on the specific trim, wheels, and colors. Not a universally great design, and really yes a bland egg, but change quite a bit with the proper trim. It sells more on the total package and drive quality it offers, plus the look to some extent.

I like silver green too...but that's not what this color is. I'm still trying to figure out where they got the "silver" part of it from: It's a lighter green, yes, but moreso a medium teal-green if anything. Not bad, but nothing spectacular about it. Reminds me almost exactly of Chrysler's "Magnesium" from not long ago, and that was killed off.

Probably, and with these changes, you must remember a lot of times it's naming that is changed...or one very small feature of a part, so it seems like more than reality.

Right, at least in a few ways--like with the Astra not yet listed. Most everything that is, is shown now, though.

Oy, sorry about the comment on that new green then :wink: Seems like a pleasant combo, nonetheless.