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L8_Apex
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Sedans Message Board
But in the real world, declining morale across-the-board will cause the better workers everywhere (assembly, inspection, shipping) to leave and be replaced by temps and fill-ins, or nobody at all. Inexperienced and overworked people just aren't going to do as good a job.
That's part of the reason I went ahead and bought out of the current inventory.
Hmm to make this an Intrigue related post, I guess I can mention I'm about to pick my car up after having an oil change and fuel system flush.. 69,000KM on the '99 so far.
A girl I work with is looking for a new car and tested an Alero on the weekend. She said she loved it, but thought it was a Chevrolet. Just another example of Oldsmobile not getting it's name out there with sloppy marketing. Sad!
http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/01/09/home_auto/rollover/
Think they'll test the Intrigue??
Now in surfing the Aurora forum I find that five of our members are hanging around with the upscale crowd...Please keep in mind that any faults present in the Aurora will never be corrected due to phase out. It is not a cheap car and depreciates rapidly. It is not a fast car nor a sports sedan.. The engine is small and the car is still too heavy; its no econo either. The Northstar eats it alive..
My personal opinion is that the Intrigue or the Alero are really the only fun cars offered by Olds. Its your money; but the Aurora has been cheapened big time; and GM management didn't give it a year to fly before killing it.
I don't intend to buy any Olds products for I have had my fun and its still isn't over as yet.
In fact I have more fun with Olds than any forum member to date!!!!
Latest comment is that the car runs well..no shake; just a rumble which is probably a tire, and the road noise is high.
white6:::::I commutted 120 miles a day in a 71 SS350 for 90k+miles..winter or summer..in winter it was white knuckle driving and believe me when the weather was bad I was not speeding. I was running a plant 60 miles from my residence so I covered the road. It was my company car..some days the commute involved two round trips due to lunch or customer involvement. My other Camaro was a 82 Z-28 which was bought for my wife and it was all looks and no go..
The current Z is a blast to drive and not much different than the 71 SS. The current SS version is not really a great cruising car; more of a hot rod-dragging type with the fat tires and other goodies.
htwired:::::Having covered some of the Wisconsin area; I must agree that winter is a drag...The winter in Mich sucks this year however I see where the next 5 days it will be in the high 30s; so we will have wet streets and water everywhere and the car will be filthy. Drove the 388 miles today and the car is still shiny black--too cold to melt anything along the road.
I go out to my car at any time of day in any weather (heated garage or outdoors @ 10F), whether the car has been running all day and shut off for a minute or sat all night I have a problem. The car starts up great, but before I can put it into gear, it kills and is hard to re-start.
Funny thing is, I just moved into a new house with a downhill driveway. The car starts no problemo when sitting at this angle (coincidence?) Anyway, it goes to the dealer for diagnosis (yeah, right) on Thursday. I am losing faith in this car. Only 43K and the water pump has been replaced, the light flicker problem, leaky coolant tank (I fear what this is), and now the starting problem. Funny thing is, it is an early 99, and I have no brake problems at all...go figure.
Happy shopping for an new car!!!
However, my mileage is getting near the 36k miles mark and maybe the planned obsolescence will start to happen.
The brakes are totally worthless, tires are only good for holding air--and the front end is still BANG-BANG.
Engine starts great and runs like a scared rabbit; so let us know what ails...
I have had 5 camaros. MY first was an '83 that i special ordered as an H.0. 5 speed. It came in as a gutless 150 hp LG4 with 5 speed. It would 0-60 in about 9 seconds.
I kept it for 3 months, sold it and took a $1200 hit.
Those third generation cars sure are pretty, but have no structural rigidity whatsoever.
And man did they ride hard,and handled like a go cart.
... Good luck
1415 : Big potholes all over this area. Winter does indeed suck this year.
redly_one: Which engine do you have?
general thought : With the popularity of this forum, one would think the Intrigue is a much more popular car than it is. It amazes me how active this group is compared to others on the board.
Would someone list some sites for upgrade/performance parts for the Intrigue. Since I am outside the warranty, I am now interested.
Has the "Fix" work permanently of the problem has recurred?
I appreciate your responses.
So the Accord did well, but who cares, cars in particular are less to rollover anyways, and as said, nothing has been proven in tests. esp. handling and associated accident avoidance.
Had the intermediate shaft replaced this morning. Service sheet says: " Found excessise clearance in intermediate steering shaft, causing clunkning noise when steering. Inspected, tested, and replaced intermediate steering shaft. Reinspected, retested, repair complete.
.5 hours of labor.
part #26078302"
This was the "new" part Harlan mentioned and said there shouldn't be any problems with these. I hope so.
Car feels entirely different (in a good way) since fix. Hope it lasts.
Easiest way for me to reproduce was at a stop, take foot of brake and let car roll, then pump brake while turning. Never going more than 5mph. It would occure at other times but this was the sure way for it to happen on my car.
Hope anyone else having problems can get it resolved.
PS I have a 99 with a 10/98 build date.
Good luck to all!
My Intrigue has been in the garage for about 6 weeks while I was elsewhere so mileage pileup has been low..I have cut my business travel way back for I got tired of beating my butt up and down the road. I expect this will be my last year as a manufacturers rep..with the move to Fl in the future. My principals are still sending checks so I give them mininial coverage and all the office calls are forwarded to Fl.
There is the trusty little cellphone; so basically no one knows where I am unless somebody yells "Fore".
bz4::::::::The car is so damn noisy I really don't know if the rear end is BANG-BANG. I crank the radio up and of course at my age the hearing is not as sharp due to lots of skeet shotting and bird hunting years ago and years of the open exhaust of the high pitch Mercury outboards. Used a 12 gauge too long, and finally switched to a pump 28 gauge which is easier on hearing and there is more bird left to eat.
However, when driving straight or making left turns (at any speed) the steering feedback returns to normal, but when making a right turn, the clunking re-appears.
I am aware that this was a major problem with early Intrigues but almost no one over at the Impala forum has ever experienced this.
The Impala uses a different part number for the steering shaft that the Intrigue uses, but I suspect both cars share the same basic steering shaft design, thus sharing the same basic defect.
Again I appreciate your quick response.
1415::: Glad to see you back around here...I am still re-counting fallen chads, dimpled chads, burned chads..........
I am going to miss the weather of the southern end of Fl and the furniture is going into storage..My offer on the Ocala house was countered so that one is out...I will go back to WPB next week and help wife pack the little stuff, close 1/29 and off to Sarasota for a couple days then back to Detroit with wife and car..
The Impala shares the same Magnasteer as Intrigue; I really don't think so----just more of Delphi low bid hardware.. Does the Impala series off an optional sport suspension with the 3.8???
I noticed that you have been on the Aurora/Chrysler300 forum and the 300 in my opinon is a more desireable car and much less costly than the Aurora. My last Chrysler was a 66 Barracuda w/273ci hi-power and not a bad car.. Many of my friends have Chrysler products and the service is okay. My main objection is the high depreciation and flakey dealers near me in Detroit.
The performance suspension used on the previous Eagle TSI and Intrepid ES models was outstanding. The European performance suspension offered on the 300 is stiff and neat stuff.
The 3.5 engine of old required usually a waterpump by 90k and a timing belt at the same time for the radiator had to be removed to replace pump. Also by 90k the Japanese made a/c compressor is gone. Chrysler Corp climate control system is questionable at best.
The 300 is a neat looking car and they can be purchased right for Chrysler is hurting; if fact they are faced with negative cash flow for 2001.
The R/T Intrepid is cheap and uses the 3.5 engine-detuned to lower hp--using regular.
The 300 is not a race car but it is spirited and properly equipped is a good high-speed cruiser.
The more I see the Aurora the less I like it; you can buy better value.
One of these days the American population is going to wonder what in the hell happened to the Big Three Makers then we will become a second class country..We need the might of the American industrial machine--we may need it to remain free..Can you see a battle tank by Honda or Nissan..what a joke!!!
Chads:::::::The Palm Beach Post is still miffed by the election results.
The problem I am having with my Impala is the same exact nonsense that you Intrigue owners had with the Intermediate Steering Shaft....Faint clunking noises when turning the steering only to the right while riding at very low speeds....press the brake pedal and suddenly you feel the clunk coming into the steering wheel and the break pedal.
I will take the car into my dealer (Excellent service received so far) first thing tomorrow morning and will have the mechanic take a test drive with me that way he can get to feel the problem. To save time, I will ask them to check the steering shaft and replace it right away. I even got the shaft part number for the Impala....26079240 which is different from the Intrigue's (26078302).
I doubt the Impala has the Magnasteer stuff, but since it is also a W-body car, I am not overly surprised that similar problems will cross over the different model lines. There hasn't been any complaints from other Impala owners in this respect but I have strong suspicion that this part is causing the clunking when turning the wheel, so let's see what will be the final diagnose from the tech.
Otherwise the car has been troublefree for 13K miles.
I have been eyeing the Aurora 3.5 sedan but based on some recent reviews the car is a looker but more of a sleeper in the performance dept, unless one opts for the Aurora 4.0. The only reason I will switch to an Aurora is to catch some of the good financing/cash back deals to compensate some for the depreciation on this car later on. I will drive it (Haven't done it) and if I like it, hey an Aurora 3.5 might be in the horizon.
I like the Chrysler 300M, but with the prospect of quality problems, lousy dealer service and fast depreciation I don't see myself behind the wheel of a Chrysler product anytime soon. Besides, the safety ratings on the LH sedans have been so far dismal. On the other hand, the Aurora sedans have recorded excellent safety scores as these cars are heavier and stiffer than their W-body cousins.
Any likes/dislikes on the Aurora?
Oooppss I just miss the count on those chads...got to go back to the canvassing board and get one of those 'biased' machines to do the count for me..
It's still a fat car with a small engine. GM is dumping a newly introduced car because they blew it..Maybe they thought the 3.5 model would become an overnight replacement for the 88. Old farts don't really like a center console... I like an center arm rest w/o buckets; but then again the cars are narrow, seat are narrow and the doors are a mess...
Before I forget:::::does the door panel on an Aurora breath during window operation??????
My chef duties are needed if I want to eat tonight; in fact I have downed 1 martini in he last 55 mins. and while I was posting I was talking with daughter, son-in-law, and the brats....My chain of thought is going from cars to homes to moving companies to what is so important about staying up north until next Friday..Too much going on...We got up to 40* today; what a tropical blast...
sap power from the engine. Go to the Intrepid R/T forum and you will see info on new five speed autos that Dc has tried that lower the 0-60 time by .8 seconds! Remember a intrigue or aurora with
215 hp is as fast to sixty as a 300m with 253 hp.
Also the reliability of the DC transmission can't hold a candle to GM's trannies. At 253 hp the DC transmission has all it can handle.
I've also checked K&N for an air filter. No go there. This car deserves better than it got.
My 2000 GLS just turned 8500 miles after picking it up on the 31 OCT. This is a better car than my '98 because of that engine. One rattle that I need to get back to to the dealer on and the flickering alternator problem has been noted and I get my new alternator as soon as one becomes available.
I can remember a few unsettling comments to some of my thoughts; but this is about Chrysler things which is one step lower than Ford...
Truthfully I think the day may be arriving that we should show alittle respect to our homespun models--called American hertiage..Sound corny..no way.
Politics is very no-no on this forum....maybe domestic loyality should and could start with the Intrigue forum..We live in la-la land and the Chinese are doing what the Japanese, S. Americans and Europeans did to our economy years ago and the Chinese have no ethics. It is all govt. subsidized and the selling price has no bearing to reality. I know, since I specialize in steel forgings and the Chinese are literally giving things away to get the American $$$$$ Our economy will be based on service industry jobs and basic assembly with the manufacturing all going overseas due to no governing laws-safety-human rights or legal pricing since the game is based on eliminating our manufacturing base relative to protecting ourselves!!!!! Enough...
I was scared to drive it, and returned the car immediately. Made 7 miles at most.
The car looks nice, the engine purrs and the controls are easy to understand (very important for a rental car). But the road handling was terrible even in a light snow. The ABS engaged something like 10 or 20 times per mile, even while I crawled, not drove.
Additionally, the rear window defogging is absolutely inefficient, simply does not work. Had to drive with open windows to defog it. OK with me, I am from Russia, but even Russians rather prefer driving without snow on the face. Unfortunately, even this did not help after some snow accumulated on the slopped rear window. Had to use the side mirrors only.
If other Chrysler cars are build as bad as this one, I do not wonder why its German owners have serious problems with sales.
Consider the "atmosphere" in which we bought our cars spead out across thousands of purchases... Most of us are prepared to explain that we are NOT driving Delta-88 derivatives, that Oldsmobiles were good products haplessly abandoned, etc. Most of us probably made very careful comparisons with many models of cars and it was not easy to convince us to "buy American" again. Across many thousands of purchases, a "common denominator" of character can appear.
OK, it may not rank up there with the likes of Corvair owners, classic Mustang owners, or those VW-bus drivers with Grateful Dead stickers on the back! :-) But... time will tell if it's enough to support a strong parts market, and keep Intrigues on the road for a long time.
A business friend of mine has a 96 Chrysler LHS that is approaching 100k miles and he wants to buy my wifes Caddy and run it back down to Fla middle of Feb..He knows its never seen snow, always garaged, and it's maintained to the perfection plus the extended GM warranty thru 75k miles.
My replacement would be a very low mileage 00 STS for they possess the suspension that ages gracefully---it doesn't need viagra!!!!
teo:::::::I logged onto the Chevy web site and went through the pricing mode on a Impala LS equipped like the GLS leather, power seats, sunroof and spoiler--no chrome wheel option avail...The pricing settled at $25,929 and they show the sport touring suspension as std equip. and the steering is referred to as power rack and pinion.. This car is priced in with the Regal and the Pontiac GP/GT model..I assume the wheelbase is similiar to the Buick for if I remember correctly the GP is stretched..
One of our forum members had replaced the original system and was guite happy with the sound and increased performance.
The strut tower used on a Pontiac GP will fit the Intrigue..
I got up a 4:00am; tough to sleep anymore, too much to do; so I had better make some progress before the world wakes up.
We are still waiting for the "re-designed" alternator from Olds... the replacement lasted about 3 weeks and now the headlights are starting to "flicker" like before the first alternator was replaced. Hope it lasts until the "re-designed" one is available. It is also time for tires... I am considering Goodyear Aquatread III's for $440 complete (80,000 mile tire). I'll post our impressions if we go that way. I know a few folks on this forum have gone to the Michelin Pilot XGT, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra $100 to $150 for a 50,000 mile tire.
What the car needs is a supercharger and some lower gears.
But, you know, everytime I think about a LH car i sit in one, and the car's vibrating idle just turns me off cold.
If i want to sit in a car with a rough idle in drive, i will buy a 4 cylinder Honda car. Those cars shake like crazy. And i will have saved over $10,000!
Impala 174,358
grand Prix 148,521
Century 143,085
Monte Carlo 66,364
Regal 65,167
Intrigue 64,109
Thats 661,604 cars, WOW!!
My parents left for a three week vacation in Portugal today and left their Alero with us (they live 3 hours away). After driving around with it this afternoon I was impressed with everything except the engine. While not bad, it's no 3.5L smoothie. Still, I will drive it for the next three weeks on and off and see how it is to live with.
Without data on how different trims are selling, this is just a guess. Though, as can be seen from the above data, the low-level Century oversells the both trims of Regal together by more than 2:1.
Impala have two trims, a base one and mid-level LS. The same with MC. Both are selling well, with sedans overselling coupe by almost 3:1.
GP have three trims, from low-level SE and up to GTP. The total sales number are good, but do you see many GTP on the roads? I saw mostly SE, when could read the letters.
All three trims of Intrigue are mid-level to high. The same with two trims of Regal. The sale numbers for Regal and Intrigue are almost identical, and not so impressive.
etharmon: I very rarely see a Monte Carlo, but I see many Intrigues in this area. Where are all the Monte Carlos?? Perhaps it's more popular in NASCAR country??
I didn't include the Lumina (a shorter w-body) it
had sales of 46,573.
If chevy had dropped the lumina they might have had sales of 220,931 for the impala.
Like yurakm mentioned Buick with its two different nameplates racked up sales of 208,252.
That number tells you why olds was dropped and not buick.
I am old enough to remember when the cutlass by itself could sell 500,000 cars.
It has more room than the seville and is about as fast.
I believe that for a lot of people the $20k is an important threshold, both financially and mentally.
The impala is sort of close to the taurus price wise, but the impala is closer to a large car than the taurus.