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Comments
About the "sport" and "winter" modes, they're nothing but cosmetic features to make automatics more appealing to overcome some prejudice against them in Europe. You see, electronic automatics can do all that intelligently: push the pedal all the way and it'll shift only close to red-line, be gentle when starting off and it'll use the 2nd gear.
vcjumper : Yes, resale will be bad, but the cars may be ok, who knows.
Hi Evandro,
Glad you agree about stick shifts. Can't agree with your comments about sport and winter modes though. I can assure you that with all autos I've driven, even the "intelligent" type will not allow you to take off in 3rd gear however gently you dip the trottle. Still wait until we are all driving CVT boxes in about 5 years time. they make auto boxes seem out of date let alone stick shifts.
Take care
Ian
US Fleet Sales
Pontiac and Buick not far behind.. So much for 0% retail incentives?
We had 2 days of raining, and I had found water at rear. I can't beleeve that double strips can't prevent this water leak...
Sorry to hear about the leaks. If it's new, take it in, it's under warranty.
The only different from the Olds are front lights and the extra side turn lights and labels of course. In my town it was sold by KIA diller because we have no GM. And I can tell you he is not able even to reset oil change light, so I'am alone with my problems.
The reset for the oil light in my 02 is inside the driver side dash hatch (on the side of the dash when you open the door). Just pop it open and there is a button.
Hope that helps.
About oil reset - It's already done by myself. Also I have the instruction (You can get it for free from GM site),
and now I am searching for Service manual in the internet, but I am not sure, that I can find it for free. It's not a problem to buy it, but I dont't like to pay 50$ for money transfer + shipping expensies. In my country now 5.10 PM and my working day is over. I wish you a nice day!
I remember seeing a couple of Aleros in the Netherlands when I was there a few years ago visiting relatives. My uncle's neighbor had a Chevy Lumina van which I thought was funny since you don't expect to see many GM cars over there.
I have now 3.510 km on it. On sunday I had opened engine oil filling cup, while engine was working and found big air flow from it. Never had been seen at any car before. It looks like there is big pressure in the cranckcase, for any car it meens piston rings are blowed by. If it's normal for Alero?
I called to Olds, please find below their answer:
Dear Andrej,
Good afternoon! Thank you for contacting the General Motors Customer Assistance Center. We appreciate you taking the time to write us in regards to your Oldsmobile Alero.
We are able to assist only those customers who are within the United States, we recommend that you contact our Germany Customer Assistance Center. You may also contact them through their web site at gme-nav.service@de.opel.com to have your concern addressed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your cooperation so that we may assist you better.
Germans still are keeping silence.
Possible some where are also lucky Alero owners, but I am afraid not at this site!
It's my first and I hope the last U.S. car !
Any ideas?
The Alero has generally been a good car with average reliability. My parents have a 99 and they have enjoyed it for a very trouble free 4 years which is partly why we got one. I wouldn't panic about the car, just have it looked at.
If the piston rings are busted, the oil consumption is going to be high and maybe there's even going to be smoke coming from the exhaust pipe.
Where exactly did you have water leaking in? If it's in the trunk and your car has a rear wing, it's likely to have come from an improperly attached wing.
I'm sorry to hear about your problems. I've had a '99 Alero V6 for 36000mls and the only problem I had was a battery going bust after 2 years, but that's normal in Texas.
;-)A not so normal problem was a power steering pump breaking down a month before warranty ended (that's 3 years or 36000mls in the US).Good luck.
I wish G.M would shorten the gearing though. They are the same in Europe, they have always been obsesesed with ultra-high gearing which is fine on a long flat road, but hit a hill and you have to change down, or the box does it for you, and bang goes all the fuel you saved. In my expereince a shorter top gear would mean overall, better and easily obtained performance plus better fuel consumption as you would be in top longer. They have to get up to date with their engines thpugh. In 20003, to only get 170 b.h.p out of 3.4 liters is ridiculous.
The nice part is that I rarely have to downshift, but at 70MPH, rpm is about 2300-2400RPM. For some reason, I crave 2000RPM at 70MPH, like you get in a good cruising car, like an Impala or Buick. Maybe you have a western transmission? Do carmakers still install eastern and western transmissions?
Should I get my tires/aluminum wheels sealed? I don't notice a squeek, but the tires all seemed to lose pressure this past winter.
andrej1 - I have found my alero to be of very high quality, and I have 2 friends with 99 aleros...both with no problems whatsoever. The air coming from the crankcase is not unusual..in fact, it may be more accurate to refer to it as "wind" from all the movement going on in there. If there's a problem, it will show up in your oil (or lack of oil).
The only point is when you are buying a new car you are not expecting any troubles with it.
Before I had mostly VW Passats up to 10-12 years you can relax. Fuel economy exelent - 23-24 MPG town, now with Alero -19-20. Good luck !
;-)Unfortunately mate, it wont come near the classic BMW straight 6. Look at the output and let's be realistic. I think Bimmers are well overpriced and overated, but their engines are superb.
You guys have a choice for the USA car industry. Make the same mistake as we Brits did and stagnate with your development or move with the times. Pushrod engines have more moving parts, cause more friction and should be pensioned off now. If you don't believe me, look at the sales figures of the domestic car market, Where do you think it will be in 10 years time? You have GM marketing an engine that first saw the light of day in 1961 and Ford selling the Vulcan Taurus engine that is out of date too.
I love our Alero, but oh for a more modern engine. My Taurus 3 lite DOHC gets more MPG than our Alero, even though it's a lot heavier.
ijennings1 : Our Alero has the thoroughly modern 2.2L Ecotec which I feel is as good if not better than most other 4 cyl sedans on the road. The 3.4L is a bit old but it's still smooth and powerful. I know as my mom has a V6 Alero also.
My last English car had brilliant handling/roadholding/ride combination, won awards constanly beating the Passast and Europe Accord easily. Anti-dive suspension, ABS/EBD/EBA with 4 discs, curtain air bags and front bags which deploy on your collision speed, head rests that rise in the event of a collison to avoid whiplash, EBD/EBA brakes, fantastic driving position and great performance. Who made it? The Ford motor co, it is called a Mondeo and it is absurd we don't get it hear.
Take care guys, apologies for the long message!
But I don't have anything against OHC designs. My biggest fit is with multi-valve engines, which bloat HP figures by achieving higher RPM sacrificing low-end torque. This kind of engine may be adequate for the typical European or Japanese car, but not for the typical mid-size American car. For example, VW doesn't dare trying to sell its normally aspirated 1.8 I4 in the Passat on these shores, neither does Honda dare trying to sell a 2.0 I4 Accord, all DOHC designs. Yet, see how lethargically the 4-cylinder 2.3 Camry and Accord go... The old Buick V6 may be almost 40 years-old, but I'll take one any day over any OHC or DOHC I4 and many DOHC V6.
Multi-valve engines beg for valve phasing to get more low-end torque. The new 3.6 DOHC 24V V6 has this feature and it seems to deliver the best of both worlds. Its only drawback is that it's more expensive, but the 3.8 couldn't last forever...
The new one is nice, but shares the same characteristics that Americans value and Europeans don't with the old one.
Ford's plan is to use the Mazda 6's platform for its mid-size model, the Futura. IMO a much better platform for a small mid-size in America with its longer wheel-base and wider track.
Not everything made in America is necessarily worse than those made in Europe.
;-)Evandro : I had a 91 3.1L Cavalier and it blew away Accords and Civics all over the place for lots less $$ and greater refinement. I understand the new Accord 4 cyl motor is much better though, I should like to try one some day.
But as the old adage said, there's no replacement for displacement. And I'd add a modified version from the Pontiac Grand Prix's brochure: because a car should have more cylinders than wheels.
;-)well, a main contributor to that aspect would a rough, lifeless, uninspiring, coarse sounding pushrod motor.
My guess is that if Honda used a pushrod motor in the Accord, 95% of the people shopping for one would still buy one."
Wrong. Because, for one, people have come to expect current and superior technology in their hondas.
My recent 1000 miles in a wheezing v6 RENTAL lawn mower sounding Malibu only confirm to me again how crude and undesirable this powertrain is.
Just reminded me of my more recent 4 cylinder Altima and Mazda 6 test drives where the 4 cylinder I really enjoyed and found it to be quite enjoyable.
Oldsman, put the GM bias aside for a bit and go test drive an 'Asian' 4 cylinder and then go drive that Malibu or Alero with mushrods and tell me what you think.
That's OHC smoothness you're feeling there buddy.
If pushrods are realy the way to go then why does Kia spend the extra money to put OHC in al their cars. Why doesn't Sab use pushrods in their 4 bangers if they are part of the GM clan?
FYI, my wife calculated 27MPG last week for all city driving. I gassed up today after a recent highway trip (75% highway) and got 32.9 MPG. I was pleasantly surprised, especially since the car was fully loaded and the a/c blasting away. Mileage seems to be getting better...we'e at 7,500 on the odometer.
reg : 90% of people have no idea what's under the hood. "V6" or "4 cyl" are typical answers.
a little be bop around town won't show the deficiencies of a pushrod motor, but get it out on the highway and get the revs above 3000 rpm and its starts to show its weakness.....
i dunno oldsman, i think if Honda put that nasty and crude 3.1 in the Accord, a lot of folks who previously drove Accordswould notice something amok right away. That engine has all the charm and driving quality of a weed trimmer.
I certainly started something there with my pushrod comments. some great replies. The great thing is that we are driving enthusiasts. some great letters.
O.K, so now the obvious, what would your perfect Olds be? You do not live in a real, but ideal world where you can have what you like.
So, mine would be a STRAIGHT 6, not "V" as they are too unrefined. I would like it placed behind the seat for maximum handling, but realistically a straight 6 has got to go up front so there it is.(Although the 911 and Boxter manages it I suppose)) It would displace 3 litres with a S.O.H.C and 2 valves per cylinder (A La Alfa Romeo of some years back). B.H.P would be around 200 with todays technologies and around 230 pounds of torque at 3000 rpm. The power to weight would be of the Colin Chapman theory (a genius of course, he started his first Lotus workshop in North London where i come from). The body would be Kevlar. I would have a 2 door coupe style by the greatest design house ever, Pininfarina. It would be based on the Ferrari 365 GTB/4(Daytona).
I would have 3 triple-choke Weber carbs and would be able to pay someone to keep them in tune! Catalytic converts are banned in my ideal world so I would not need fuel injection. There's nothing like a carb set up for me. If i could not have webers, I would have a Carter 4 choke. I drove a British Bristol 411 in 1972 with the Chrysler 6.2 V8 and the Carter carb was superb.
I would aim for a body gross weight of 2250 lbs, which should give great performance and m.p.g as due to the characteristic of the engine, you would not need to rock the gearbox very often. If I could, I would have a fully autobox with tiptronic option which would have to be on the wheel.
I'm not an expert on suspension and gearing ratios, but I suppose i would have to choose a Citroen hydo-pneumatic set up. (I used to drive one as a company car in the U.K). It would adjust the car height depending on your speed with a manual override for the awful roads we have to endure in Kansas City.It is of course self-levelling and anti-dive. Also, I would not need a spare as you can drive these on 3 wheels if you have to (I'm not joking.) The gearing? Well, i would want it to hit 2750 rpm at 70 m.p.h which is a perfect setting for me. A good combination of mpg and mph!
It would handle like a series 3 Jag XJ6 which i have driven. A fantastic combination of ride, handling and roadholding. Incidentally the V12 i also drove was never as smooth as the 6, but a lot quicker of course!!
I'd like recarro seats, not leather as they are too cold in the wintewr and too hot in the summer. Problem is Recarros give me hemorroids!! Still at 52 years of age I have to be realistic. So it would a bucket seat a little wider than Recarros. i would have all the safety systems, air bags everywhere, ABS/EBD and EBA brakes. Traction too, but a switch to turn these off if required. I thought about 4 wheel drive, but experts like us do not need this to tell us how to drive. Therefore it would a a rear-wheel drive set-up so that you can drive around bends with the trottle and no torque-steer as you get with F.W.D.
Now it's your turn!!
Ian
Ian