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Hey guys! almost 3000 posts and we got our first honest to goodness TH troll! Like those small barking dogs, they tend to go away if you ignore them. And just like those dogs, you can have some fun keeping them around too! Still, this troll doesn't seem to be offering anything clever, so I'd suggest we ignore it. Of course, it does drive a Lamborghini (!!!) so it's probably not used to being ignored. I'm guessing a Countach - that's the Lambo model I see parked in most trailer parks up this way. Alright, so underneath, they're usually Civics and Integras but properly adorned with "type R" stickers, melon-launcher exhaust, VTec badging and bookshelf-sized rear spoilers, I can see why their owners can get so confused. Nevertheless, it still doesn't mean that there'll be any amusement for us to keep this particular Lamborghini owner around. Maybe we should wait - I sense the impending arrival of an owner of a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost with a keen interest to keep the world free from Pontiacs. Yeah, that'd be the one to wait for.
And, no, I don't mean get out the pellet gun.
Ken's Lambo
All the same, I feel for the guy - must be sad having to part with a "Lamborghini". Not to worry, I'm sure he already has his eyes on this Lambo. At least on this one, those VTEC stickers make sense.
Too "realistic" for my blood but I say GO FOR IT Ken - just don't forget the "VTec" stickers!
In all seriousness for our opinion-rich poster - if I had the money to buy a new Lambo rather than a used Bonneville - which happens to be one of the best buys for the money according to many sources - I'd buy a Bentley Arnage Red Label. Now that's an amazing CAR!!!!
Unless you insist on buying new to avoid "someone else's problems" or care to buy and keep for years and years you nearly always win on the depreciation game by buying a car that is one (like mine) to 3 years old and keeping it for the best years of its life - then selling or trading before major repairs begin.
Now if you're buying either Lambos or Bentleys (or any other exhorbitantly priced automobile) you're going to throw away on an annual basis more in depreciation expense than the entire purchase price of a new Bonneville SSEi - or even 2 or 3 of them!
BTW, Edmunds prefers that some words be avoided. Dung references tend to get scribbled.
BTW - I meant to say CARP as in the fish!!!
The whole thing smelled a bit 'fishy' to me.
Are you a certain 'professional sports' player from Calif that was posting under a different name a month or so ago at the Roadside Cafe???
A lot of this discussion sure sounds eerily familiar to me.
BTW - Bonnevilles ARE a bit bigger than Impalas!
The person who suggested ignoring the troll hit the nail on the head. Um, except seems like you folks forgot to do that?
I've removed some posts, left some others that might should have been removed, and will continue to remove any more posts by the many-times-previously-banned troll.
PLEASE do not respond to him. You really make my job much harder. It's a very time consuming process to delete posts. I sure would appreciate the assist!
Thanks.
Pat
Sedans Host
The Bonneville is MY car and so I actually don't normally drive the van. It was with a great deal of trepidation that I did a walkaround of the Bonneville when I got home but to my great relief, she didn't put any door dings or anything else on it while I was gone.
I was impressed with Bill's picture of his rides but what I really would have like to have seen was his sailboat, either hogging a space in the garage if it would fit or otherwise prominently displayed in the picture.
I'll try to do better next time.
Mark: I don't know if you've checked out the Venture - but it has some interesting functionality with the fold down seat and storage cubbies in the aft. I'm not suggesting that it's superior to the Odyssey (it's not) but I was suitably impressed when a friend showed me his new '02 Venture a few weeks ago.
I'd say about the only ways that GM has fallen short with their recent minivan incarnations is on the crash test ratings (fixable) and the engine choices ...er...choice (perhaps not as easily fixable).
Next time I'll bite my tongue.
Ken's Arnage dream
Hmm - Fathers' day coming......
Thanks much,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Stop tormenting yourself - besides, I'm trying to imagine that Bentley with a spoiler on the aft & it just doesn't work for me.
And that blue paint is just magnificent.
Tormenting? Gotta stop drooling here - it's bad for the keyboard.
Do you have a music video on MTV?
Has your house been showcased on MTV Cribs?
I think the Bonnie is a much better choice.
Enjoy the ride.
P.S. My wife got the oil changed today, and she brought me home a 2002 Bonneville brochure from the dealership. I love to read the propaganda, only this time I have one in the garage.
Great trip up the California and Oregon coasts. About 1,200 miles of roads that really would have been great fun in the SSEi (rather than the Avis Century... sigh).
mfahey1... you know how to make a guy smile... but the boat is still out in a barn... barely outta winter in here in Wisconsin.... but here is a pix anyway.
http://webpages.charter.net/weshelton/h101b.jpg
and another from last July with a bit more wind...
http://webpages.charter.net/weshelton/h101x06a.jpg
Toys are soooo much fun.
I wonder what they'll say when I want to go ashore to a GM dealership and check out the Monaro? I think I can guess and it won't be pretty. I think it is called mutiny on the high seas.
Only 50% of the Bonnie's sales are coming from the SE. The target 3 years ago was 60-70%. Apparently, the rental agency business has all but dried up and most sales are at the retail level - where the SSEi and SLE do better (than with rental agencies).about 25% of SE buyers opt for the bench seat.The Bonnie's G platform is a strong user of hydroformed steel and tailor-welded panel blanks. These are among the main reasons why the platform is so rigid and why the Bonneville exceeds "roof crush" requirements.
That latter stuff interests me. As for the roof crush, the Bonnie uses a hydroformed steel rail which connects the A, B, and C pillars and then anchors into the floor pan. Plus, the Bonnie uses tailor-welded blanks in both the side panels and the floor panel (the G's use of the latter is a domestic first). TWB is a steel technology which essentially puts the thicker panels of steel where it has the biggest impact - achieving safety and rigidity benefits without the weight disadvantage of thicker steel all over.
Neat.
Ken
I know Midwesterners tend to drive larger cars but to see three of these cars lined up in one block on the same side of the street had me doing double takes.
I posted the following yesterday in the Consumer Reports thread in N&V - ever since I noticed that CR rated the Bonneville as the 8th safest large family car (vs. a 3rd place for the Toyota Avalon), I've been convinced that CR doesn't look hard enough for the good in many American cars and don't look critically enough at many imports - particularly those from Toyota.
"The latest CR issue places the '00 Bonneville 8th in terms of safety for large cars. They give it a blank circle for accident avoidance and a half red for crash protection. In contrast, CR gives the 3rd place (and top of the line) '00 Avalon XLS a half red circle for avoidance and full red for crash protection.
This despite the fact that:
CR tested the bottom of the line SE model which lacks the firmer suspension (including beefier sway bars), tighter steering and traction control and stability control systems found in some SLE and most SSEi models (which comprise 50% of the Bonneville's sales). Naturally, CR tested the top of the line Avalon - I do not know if their tester was equipped with its VSC system as, unlike the Bonneville, this is optional on the Av's top of the line model. Regardless, I've driven both cars and the Bonnie has the better handling (the Avalon has absolutely numb steering and you get body roll in even moderate cornering) and other critical things (like
braking) are pretty close between these two.
As for crash protection:
the Bonneville gets IIHS's best pick for front offset in its (heavier) class - a virtually identical mark to the Avalon'sIn NHTSA testing, the '02 Avalon gets two 4 star ratings for frontal collisions and a 4 and 5 for (front and rear) side impact. Whereas the '00-'02 Bonneville gets a 4 and 5 star rating for frontal collisions and two 4 star ratings for side impacts.
CR's narrative comments for these two cars?
On the Av: "No frontal crash test. Good offset crash result."
On the Bonnie: "Very good crash results"
CR even gives the ES300 the same crash protection score as the Bonnie - despite their admission that the ES had no offset crash test (???)"
Even with respect to blenders and ice cream makers, their conclusions are usually pretty pointless as they tend to base them on ridiculous criteria.
I punched it away from a stop sign and I think his eyes almost bugged out from his head. He couldn't stop saying how different my car was from theirs. It was fun to show off a bit and to see the look on his face.
Where I had some problems were in subjective areas. It does seem that they exhibit a bias towards imported cars. It may be in part a result of the fact that CR is located in New York and big city preferences are often different than other areas.
While the ratings aren't comparing the Bonneville and the Avalon head to head, I do think that the comparison should reflect roughly equal values for the cars, which in this case would pit the Avalon against the SLE with its better handling. Of course, for maybe $50 at the production level, GM could significantly improve the SE's handling by adding the rear sway bar.
Particularly in the case of the GM V-6s, CR should be standing on top of a tall building shouting about the superior fuel economy of these cars on the highway and that the import V-6s are a disgrace for fuel economy. CR has a strong environmental slant which is fine but their failure to adequately tout the fuel economy of these cars smell of pro-import bias.
Rod, my boost gauge is working just fine, thank you. I wonder how the Buick Grand National could achieve boost levels of something like 14psi while even with the different pulley, we can only get 8-9. Only thing I can figure is that GM is protecting the transmission by restricting the boost.
Mark