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Comments
A recent article in the paper said that used car prices had been dropping about 5% each year for the last 3 years, partly as a result of all the cars coming off lease and partly because of all of the incentives on new cars which has a corresponding effect on used values.
That's a good 10-15% better than my gutless Villager ever got - with the Bonnie being driven in a far more "spirited" fashion.
ice
Trying to figure out what the sporadic noise is that I hear in the front end - clunking - sometimes when turning the wheel, other times just driving on secondary roads that may be a bit bumpy. I had the cracked windshield replaced about the same time as the pwr steering fluid filled - no more noise. I had thought it might be the intermediate steering shaft problem that plagues some GMs.
Tires - Dan - are those Nokians all seasons or winter tires?
Residual value - Yep - it really sucks! Glad I only paid $16K for my '00 SE as a 6 month old preowned - in fact it was 2 years ago this week that I bought the Bonne. It has 64K miles now and I doubt I get more than 8K for it in trade.
1. Average mpg
2. Instantaneous mpg
3. Distance to empty
4. Battery voltage
5. Tire pressure
6. Oil life
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? A V-rated performance tire which is quiet, has long life expectancy AND is also an excellent snow tire. I still have my doubts and will withhold my unequivocal endorsement until they've seen 2 winters but so far, I am simply amazed: We've had a number of small snowfalls over the past two weeks and these things have just chewed them up. Ice? No probs. Wet? ditto. Dry? They excel.
This link provides a good look at their rather unique tread: Nokian WR
Until I find reason to think otherwise, I've become a convert.
ice
Mark, mine doesn't show voltage - but then I have a gauge for that - where I believe the boost gauge is located on an SSEi. Do you not have a voltage gauge on your dash as well?
ice
;-P
ice
BTW, no fuel used on my DIC. My car was made relatively early in the model run if that has any effect. If I'm not mistaken, Rod's car is a 2000 and he has it. Very odd, indeed.
- http://webevents.broadcast.com/gm/concept2003
- http://webevents.broadcast.com/gm/cadillac2003
- http://webevents.broadcast.com/gm/atpv2003
- http://webevents.broadcast.com/gm/chevrolet2003
Ave. Fuel Economy
Instant Fuel Economy
Fuel range
Fuel Used
Oil Life
Battery Volts
Tire Pressure
Stephen
What do you think? Class action lawsuit to make me comfortable the rest of my life for the pain and suffering in not having a fuel used readout? Actually, it would have really come in handy this fall during my last trip to Maine. I was really, really pushing it in New York to get to a particular gas station and managed to run out of fuel about 3/4 mile before the station. The DTE is of only limited usefulness in a situation like that in that it is based on the last 25 miles of driving which may or may not be a good indicator of current consumption.
Bill, Madison, WI
I just test drove a Nissan Murano. Wish it was a choice two years ago! This vehicle is a beast. It was equiped very similarly to my full boat SSEi. Leather, power this and that, bose stereo, etc. It is as fast as the SSEi 0-60, ie., mid-7 seconds. It has what I would subjectively call "50%" more room for the front seat passengers. My knees touch NOTHING on either side. The rear seat passengers have an equal amount of "more" space and the seats recline wayyyy back for snoozing. My head does not hit the roof on slight bumps. The rear compartment is twice as big as the SSEi's trunk, and if need be the rear seats fold flat for about 80 cf of space, which as an unfair comparison, no sedan can do. The tranny, a CVT, is smooth and gets the most out of the engine, always shifting to keep the engine in the meaty part of the power band. MPG should also be better by a couple miles in each category if Nissan is to be belived. Will it be problemless? Who knows? It is fair to compair a sedan to an SUV? Maybe not. But if you want what I want from a vehicle, comfortable space, 5 passenger capabilities, power enough for a fun ride, handling to make driving interesting and interactive, utility to be more when needed, economy ( a relative term, no?) and reliability, then perhaps so. If I followed my own advice to friends and family, I would have gotten a mini-van like my wife drives. Overall best use of space on the planet! But after all, I am still a child......
If you're a family of five with kids in the teen years, I'd say that a minivan is getting darned close to essential.
I just can't like them. I had a '95 Villager which was problematic (and the problems - including tranny - came from the Nissan rather than the Ford components). I probably would have lived with the problems if I had loved the vehicle - I never did. It was a practical family hauler that was useful when the kids where newborns and visits to the inlaws meant packing strollers, diapers and collapsible playpens. As soon as those days were gone, I bought a sedan again - my current '00 SLE.
A minivan or an SUV are different types of rides compared with cars. We each have our own preferences and needs vis-a-vis appeal, handling, performance, comfort, fuel economy, affordability, dependability, utility, garage size constraints, etc. Each car out there represents a compromise on these. For me a large car represents the compromise that currently best suits my preferences.
Currently.
ice
ice
That Murano is a looker! I could see one of those in the driveway after we get the kids up and out!
Traction on wet has been as good as I expected and dry handling good as well. The winter driving on snow was fine last year but now, 25K miles later is another story. They definitely will have to be replaced before next winter - after all they'll have 40K+ on them by fall.
Road noise (slight hum) at highway speed is sometimes noticeable and the gas mileage suffered 2 mpg or so compared to the trashy OEM Firestone Affinities.
I've had to park the Bonneville outside a few times recently - overnight once and a couple of times for a complete working day. Because I typically park indoors (heck, I've never used the block heater!), I was concerned that I had overpampered the thing. Nothing doing - the Bonnie has started smartly each time. Perhaps locating the battery under the rear seat has something to do with it.
Any other cold weather experiences?
I want my daily fix of Edmunds.com this weedend.
As I stated earlier, my DIC from early 2000 has fuel used. I do not have OnStar.
fabulous tire.....excellent wet traxion...snow or rain,
as long as you had tread left. Mine only went about 30k miles before the tread was gone.
I was watching Car and Driver this afternoon when they were at the SEMA show. The editor was practically drooling over the GXP and said he couldn't wait to get his hands on one. The one on TV was a gorgeous charcoal metallic that might just look even better than black.
We've had one of those windshield fluid Januarys: a number of small snow falls requiring the salt/sand trucks to be out almost constantly. I saw this premium-priced -45°C teflon based fluid formulation. It claimed less streaking, faster evaporation, faster melting of ice, etc. so I bought it. It was horrible - it left a streaky film that at night would diffuse the lights of oncoming cars to the extent that my visibility was impaired. After a couple of days I pumped it out of both my and my wife's cars and went back to the -40°C stuff we usually use.
Just a warning - in case you see similar stuff on the market where you are.
ice
Heck, I can remember when -20°C fluid was the standard winter stuff and the -30°C stuff was premium.
Thank the powers that be for that change.
ice
I'd appreciate hearing what you have to say about it... (I'm considering purchasing the SLE in the next six weeks or so)
Thanks...
I was going to get the tires rotated but have decided to wait until I get back as I do not want to encounter increased vibration for the trip. It's riding great right now and I don't want to be kicking myself for screwing up a good ride this week. These Aquatreads have about 26K on them now but still sufficient tread for wet weather although the snowy rides are less controlled now. Thankfully the Suburban is a champ at that stuff!
The article simply isn't an apples to apples comparison and to me, smacks of bias on the design of the comparison. Among the items that CR takes into account are price and fuel economy. Why would you then compare the NA Avalon to the supercharged Park Avenue? Why would you compare the Avalon to cars that cost as much as $20,000 more? If they had compared a NA LeSabre to the Avalon, instead of the Buick getting only 1 mpg better fuel economy, it would have been 2-3 and the price gap would have been far less, making the Buick that much more competitive. I would maintain that someone buying a Park Avenue or Town Car is not looking for the same things that an Avalon has, not that any of them are bad cars. Reward the Avalon for the things it is good at such as reliability and fit and finish but give credit where credit is due to the Buick for fuel economy and decent reliability.
I may just do something I have never done before and write a letter to them complaining about the bias of the test. Anyone else see the article and have a similar reaction?
I send in their free trial offers and cancel upon first billing every time I get one. That take them 3 or 4 issues to get it cancelled out of their system. That's the best way I know to hurt them.
I do explain their bias to others as much as possible, including the bias in their subscriber-reported used car ratings.
I'll look for their slant in the article. Thanks for mentioning it.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I know - it's amazing I haven't gotten a ticket!
Now back to w**k (sigh)
its higher volatility for easier starting in winter but less btus and lower mileage?
Didn't you mention in an earlier post about rotating your tires before the trip?
How many miles do you go between rotating the tires?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,