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Comments
Oldsmobile's presence was predictably small there, just one of each car from what I remember. The Bravada was nice but I don't think they have a chance of selling many of those near MSRP at $46K Canadian like the one on display. The interior materials did not look/feel up to that level where you can get base MB's, Acura MDX's, Lexus, etc... Not that the leather and dash materials were down at Grand Prix quality. I wonder how much GM is losing every day keeping this Bravada and Oldsmobile in general thing going.
My faves from the show were the Thunderbird (though too expensive), and I still love the Bimmer 5 series and Audi A6's.
and become the elder statesman of motorsports much like Richard Petty has.
In this sanitized world we live in it is hard to believe that someone could actually be killed auto racing. Ayrton Senna was one of those driver's whom i thought would go on forever. In 1994 I found out how wrong i was. Now, seven years later one of our most talented racers has met the same fate.
Hopefully, after all the dust settles NASCAR will get serious about safety.
My heart goes out to his family.
1415 : I was watching Auto Line Detroit (on PBS Detroit) via satellite yesterday. They did a great piece on the new GM SUVs. Did you happen to see it?
How many miles do the Eagle LS tires usually last? I'm close to 23K miles and they look like they are about halfway there. Is 50K miles about right?
A friend of mine from Canada visited an Olds dealer in Buffalo whom had received 5 Bravadas; sold 4, saved one for a local auto show. Hot merchandise.
Glad to hear that GM has upped the ante on Olds; just beating the crap out of us owners; and setting themselves for some big losses on existing leases.
Another GM winner--Pontiac Aztek--is going to be reskinned and may be discontinued until the makeover is done!!!! The Aztek owners may share the spotlight with us Olds folks. It is one classic screw-up after another with our GM folks; kinda makes you wonder if GM is just a "dot com" burning through a pile of money.
It has been said before GM has too many choices of basically the same car, sold at different divisions. Hence buying a Saturn with the options you want can be a real headache. At least Olds keep the Intrigue choices to 3 basic models, I personally think they should have only had 2, [blend the GX & GL together] and drop the MSRP by about 2k.
I have to agree with you that Ford does not take care of its customers as well as GM. Having called directly on Ford in my careers internally Ford is very political and tends to drags it feet when there is a problem. I favor GM; but the feeling is changing somewhat. I have a Ford dealer about 2 miles away--very handy, but their pricing sucks.. I have a Lincoln dealer about the same distance and I have never been in the showroom--old building-crowded facility-and I do not know anyone there to beat up..
dindak:::::::Nortel took a beating last week!!!A good hot Canadian stock would fit in my portfolio nicely..I am a 1.5 to 3.0 point taker. My portfolio is crowded with the ones that didn't pop up; but headed south..
Yes, it was sad to see Dale Earnhart leave this world so suddenly & so unnecessarily. But he was 'blocking' under extremely dangerous conditions, and it didn't look to me like what he had to gain for himself or his team w/less than 10 secs to go was really worth the risk. But then I never cared for the 'team' concept in a given race anyway.
I just posted a link to available information. Learned about the tirerack from other Edmunds boards. For unknown reasons there are two boards dedicated to tires at Edmunds: one is named "Tires" in maintenance section, the other "Tires, tires, tires" in the accessory section.
Concerning the survey: I would use the information somewhat scepticaly. For example, the users of Firehawk SH-30 are even more happy with the tires, than the Michelin Pilot XGT H4 users. Plausible explanation is it is more easy to get a pleasant surprise from $85 tires than from $105 ones. The same with brand expectations.
So I would not pay much attention to the exact place of tire in the survey. It does not matter, probably, is the model the top, or it came second or third. But I believe, that the top 5 tires are substantially better than the middle 5 ones. And I would avoid the bottom 5 tires, when buying OEM replacement.
I have only had one not so great customer representative who would not give me any recommendations.
They often times seem to push the japanese brands like sumitomo,yokahama and other brands i can't remember. These japanese brands are much less expensive than the others. Maybe the profit is higher in them, I don't know.
The key to getting a smoother ride is to move away from the speed rated tires like H,V, and Z.
A friend of mine had V rated tires on his millenia and moved to an s rated Michelin and the ride was noticeably improved. I have done the same with my camaro. From a Z rated Goodyear GSC asymmetrical, to an all season H rated Michelin.
1415, the Aztek is awful. And an AWD GT version tops nearly $30K! Who in their right mind would pay that for it? The upcoming Buick Rendezvous looks much better. It may just be a hit for Buick. If it is, I'd say ditch the Aztek alltogether and give Buick the full production. Let Pontiac focus on whats going to carry on their "perfomance" image once the Firebird is gone next year. I always wondered why Pontiac got a minivan and Buick didn't as a van fits Buick's image more than it does Pontiac's.
etharmon : List price on the Azteks is high, but the deals are flowing due to poor sales. The base models are selling for between C$24-25K (or around $16K US) here in the Toronto area. The Aztek will be re-styled for 2002. Still not a lot of Oldsmobile deals here in the north land. The push seems to be south of the 49th. Perhaps Oldsmobile sells better here?
http://www.speedster.opel.com/
Beautiful, isn't it?
This roadster is based on the Lotus Elise and will be available at your neares Pontiac dealerships in a couple of years. Notice how Pontiac is revamping their 'tacky, plastic cladding image' in favor of some serious new cars. The Pontiac Vibe (Set to replace the Sunfire and possibly the Aztek) is another example of the changes coming up at the driving excitment division.
Thank you,
L8_Apex
Host
Sedans Message Board
As for mods, I hope to eventually put larger wheels (17/) and tires, plus an exaust upgrade.
Struts are a longer term issue, but want to preserve the balance provided by the multi-stage ones now.
Anyone have any websites for such things i can reference? Anyone have experience with a "plus 1" tire/wheel upgrade to 17inch, esp. as to ride?
Had an Intrigue day, ran 384 miles, the low fuel light came on at 381.4 miles. Not bad for 60 mi of city driving, and the balance interstate I-75--Detroit to St. Marys, Ohio..Had about a 30 mile run with a A6 Audi coming back; black 4dr with oversize wheels, stayed around 90/100--big deal, I certainly was no threat to his top end; but the other person was dismayed since I did not allow pass; but they would have been nutso to have tried in the three digit area.
My gas comes from Costoco so it is from the low bidder and the price was 1.37.9..
Exhaust system has not arrived as yet.
Was 25 miles from Marysville, Ohio today; home of the Honda USA operation; really can't say more about it.
Will visit the Olds dealer on Friday for the first time since last November..
I drove the car last night for about 20 miles and was able to get it up to about a 80 mph on the interstate. Nice and solid at that speed, but a tiny bit noisy. Sounds like a lot of it is tire noise?? I wonder if a top notch set of Michelins, etc., would eliminate a lot of that. The noise is not a big issue with me -- I keep the stereo on anyway. The engine, suspension, and drive train are more important in my book.
What can I say. The car was dirt cheap given what you get as far options. I mean, price out a Nissan Maxima and add leather and premium options and see what you get. I guess the acid test for me will be durability and reliability of the Intrigue. About 75% of my driving is around town, stop and go stuff, which is hard on any car. I'm glad I'm getting that long term factory warranty.
JR
P.S. The sales guy told me that Olds was going to exist until 2004, and then the Aurora will probably be shifted to Cadillac(?). I guess the other models won't exist.
I am leaning towards a 2001 also, since the deals have been extended. I can basically get a $25,000
car for $20,000. I paid $21,800 for my '99.
My only concern is that the changes to the 2002
will mke my car obsolete. I have heard that the Cadillac CTS will have a 225 hp version of our engine. I certainly wouldn't want to buy a 2001, if the 2002 will have 225 hp.
I hoping there will be some front bumper changes, but it seems to be interior changes only.
If i keep the car a long time then the depreciation is a moot point. The 5 year warranty is the icing on the cake. The downside to it is that it would stop me from modifying the vehicle.
I am very seriously considering another intrigue, and no, we are not crazy for doing it.
Your comment on the noise tells me that oldsmobile did nothing about the road noise issue that we have posted so much about.
Even though harlanc said it was a change for 2001.
Congratulations on your car I hope you like it.
Take it easy for the first 500 miles. i think you will like its passing power.
Look forward to any assistance or advice while my service charges are going through the roof.
1415 : Good price on the gas. Costco doesn't sell gas in Canada, I'm not sure why. If they did I might just get a membership.
bz4 : Intrigue is not the quietest car on the road, but Accord and Maxima aren't any better.
Can't remember about the maxima.
b4z, I was hoping Cadillac would use the 3.5 liter V6 in the Catera, but I've been hearing lately that the CTS will get 3.2 liter version of the current 3.0 and that a supercharged version will be offered as well. Doesn't make sense to me as the 3.5 is a far superior engine. 225hp would be no problem at all. Increase the compression ratio and give it a less restrictive intake and exhaust and you could probably get even more power without supercharging. THEN, add a supercharger to the 3.5 and watch the sparks fly! Too bad we will never see that in our Intrigues. And as for engine noise, the Accord's engine may be quieter than the Intrigue's, but the Intrigue's engine is something that I like to hear. It's the road noise than I wish was better isolated. This is probably my biggest fault with the car's design as I feel there is not enough sound insulation in the floorpan and doors.
etharmon : I hope the 3.5L goes into the next Grand Prix. Last I read, the CTS was getting the 3.5L also.
Here in my area (Portsmouth NH) we have BJ's wholesale club gas pumps at $1.379 for regular which is what I have used for a couple years now - no quality issues at all.
At combined driving of 40K miles per year for our vehicles (including a Suburban) the $60 annual membership is the best thing going.
Does anyone else in the Northeast have BJ's or Costco gas? (the kind you put in your car!)
Ken
I finally got down and looked at the rear muffler which is different than the 3.8 setup; could be in for some extra charges to modify..
ghostz::::::How could you pay invoice when there are $3500 worth of rebates out there. The salesman gets a 500 bonus plus the sls mgr gets 150. Used cars are a dealer's bread and butter!!! Just curious..
The Intrigue has to be the most bang for the buck and I do believe the PCS option is a mandatory buy for the better axle ratio and 130mph top end. Speed rated tires and all the skid-control goodies thrown in for safety sake..
Sales would be robust if somebody at GM would hype the silly car--put dual exhausts on it and watch the people flock to it. Look what it did for Acura sales????
mksouthaven::::::Water in gas tank is a rare occurance in this modern day world. Do you live in a fishing village or are you buying gas from a farmer who avoids paying road taxes. Maybe you have a friend who likes to pour water in your tank!!!
Costco bargains are due to bulk savings, and initially we were buying salmon and chicken breasts in qty; but they switched to Tyson chicken and it is so damn tough and the salmon is farm raised--not fresh--good price but smells too fishy; so we quit buying both of them!!! Low fat dull foods are what I live on; yogurt is a good buy and in Flordia vodka is priced well. They sell beer and wine only in Michigan and one does not have to be a member to buy those items..
To answer recent posters questions, in my humble opinion the max is a bit quieter on road noise, and the engine is nearly very quiet. I am sometimes in wrong gear on highway and can't notice unless I see the tach or shifter position. It was that and the same ride characteristics and better resale, that made us go for a cheaper (new 2000 w/rebate) SE loaded.
I am still considering a Intr, maybe if I get a used 3.5 after a few years. I really liked the car overall. I think 17" rims would be sweet, and the car needs to be about 1" or so lower to complete the look and give better response to turns....if you're going to add the wheels go for both.
Hope the new alternator works....keep us posted.
max is fine so far.
Slope
GM is cutting car production by 25% thru balance of model year since they were somewhat amiss earlier in reductions..
dindak::::::Another thriller of a day in stocks..Flipped one for 1 1/2 pts yesterday. Bought back today at a great price and it stalled out. The index funds are now creaming the market..
Going to the Toronto Auto Show tonight. I am quite excited as it's my favorite show of the year.
I have seen some of the ones with 17" wheels, and they sit really high up in the air, almost like they have four wheel drive. It is really strange looking.
NNNN-EEE-Way, my '98 Intrigue performed like a champ! While it took 3.5 hours to get home when normally it only takes 1.5, it trudged thru the snow *almost* like a 4-wheel drive car. I left it in 2nd gear position. That along with traction control pulled me through as well (better in some instances) than SUVs. Once I got back in the city, I crossed a blvd with a Ford Explorer. He got the jump on me. Once we were in the blvd lanes, his SUV was fighting to find which wheel to use. I smoothly pulled away with the traction light keeping me company. Saw a Kia Sportage fishtailing. Must have been only 2-wheel drive. SUV owners think they own the world despite the weather. I confidently slipped past him too.
There's an empty stretch of street not far from home where I decided to do a little road test. In the snow (absolutely NO ONE was around) I pushed the car to 50. Pulled away like it was dry. Those Michelins bit into the powder like a pit bull. I slammed on the brakes. Don't know how many feet it took to stop but it did it without drama. No sliding to the left or right, very little feedback through the wheel. Confidence inspiring from acceleration to braking. Extremely impressive.
I wish I had PCS. Quite a few times it would have kicked in despite my best efforts to retain control on icy I-95. I am DEFINITELY getting another Intrigue. And it must have PCS. This is probably the most underrated car in production. We've all said it before, but it's a shame GM doesn't have its head on straight.
A royal shame.
One2one - what Michelins are you running? Last night we had 4 inches of the fluffiest snow I've seen here (Boston north to south coastal Maine) - practically blew it off the walk this morning.
Ken
The event makes me happy because you got the snow and we didn't receive anything other than a few flakes..
17" wheels seem to be the rage on some posts; has anyone driven an Intrigue with the oversize?????
Ken
Thanks again
Ken