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Noticed the tire rumbling getting loud on the new smooth black top roads at lower speeds--almost 48k on the originals--noise could be the wear strips, cord overlap or something not too swift..
Hate to pump more money into the beast..Found out that the Chevy dealer who appraised the Intrigue last week has a used 98 GL on his lot with 31k miles for 14500..My 99 GLS with 48k miles was given a 10,000 figure..Just love dealing with the auto folks!!!! They tried to scam me--bless their little souls..The Chevy dealer is James Chevrolet in the Detroit area..Will not waste any time going through their doors..
Best wishes for an Intriguing future.
Ken
k
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
http://www.car-parts.com/
Thanks for the great tip on car-parts.com. It just so happens that my wife's '94 Altima needs a new distributor. Retails for about $500. I spent about 10 minutes at your site and found a used one for $85 shipped. Will be shipped by UPS today. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be a good part.
Lindsey
"The blunt-talking former Marine is considered within the industry a classic "car guy" who helped shape Chrysler's reputation for making innovative vehicles. He is credited with having spearheaded designs for the Dodge Viper sports car, the Plymouth Prowler and the hot-selling PT Cruiser."
Finally!!! A real car guy at the top making decisions! Maybe if he was there two years ago, we'd be talking about the next generation of Intrigue.
Now let's just hope "Rick" gives him the authority he needs to do the job they hired him for.
I am saying this because sales of Olds vehicles have been on an increase since the announcement made back in December 2000.
Something tells me that the Intrigue might not go away completely..
I hope he does keep them around. Despite quality problems (real and imagined) GM finally did what was necessary to make Oldsmobile the division they re-crafted it to be. Throw incentives around, lower financing, longer warranty and they will come. And come they did. Problem was they started too late.
It's obvious that the demise of Oldsmobile wasn't because of poor quality (as some have suggested) but advertising. After the announcement, all I heard was 5/60K warranty, 10 years parts availability, get your Olds now, yada, yada, yada. Once they "advertised" people began giving them a look. If people thought the cars were so bad, they wouldn't even have considered them, let alone purchase one. Reference Hyundai and Kia. And they spend WAY more on advertising than Olds does.
Intrigue sales are lower than this time last year. But not because the cars aren't moving. To the contrary. The problem is that dealers stopped ordering because they didn't want to be stuck with a bunch of unsold cars on their lots. As a result, net sales are down. But you'd be hard pressed to find an Intrigue on a lot (I know I was). The same can't be said about the Accord or Camry that everyone buys.
But, to answer your question, probably not. For the past 8 months dealers, lawyers and lots of money have been running around in an attempt to close the division. The only thing that might save them, I think, is if Lutz can convince them of what we've been saying here all along: Olds has the cars in place to attack the imports, why reinvent the wheel so that Buick can take Olds place?
As we all know, by only using that fluid to top off the engine coolant, the system will have to be flushed only every 150000mls or 5 years.
As it has been said here, whenever the oil is changed the service guy may replenish the fluids under the hood, including the coolant. However, if serviced at somewhere else other than a dealer, the coolant will most likely not be GM's orange fluid, but the regular blue one.
Well, if you're like me who doesn't take your car to a dealer to have the oil changed, keep an eye on the guy so that he won't do something wrong like this when he's working in the engine compartment.
HTH
What would have made more sense would have been to position Olds as a stylish, upscale performance brand with different technology than the other divisions. Kind of an American Saab, or Citroen. And they almost sorta did this. But, not vigorously enough...
There's no reason the fuddy-duddy image of Oldsmobiles could not be turned around. In the early 1960's, Dodge was "Stodge"... workhorse blue collar cars. But Chrysler just kept pumping the message, and they reinvented the brand image.
A few weeks ago I had a tire patched. The service rep looked at my car and asked me "Is that a Taurus?" No, GM makes it! "Is it an Alero?" No, again...
We'll be forever haunted by the lack of good Olds marketing!
Thanx for the picture info. I will try and post some pix of my GL in the next day or two.
The price charged by Bill Lee Olds in Roseville Mich is 20% more than the Caddy Northstar oil change price..Maybe since they will be finished soon is the reason for the higher price..It is not my delivering dealer; but I only use them for oil changes..
I stand to correct myself because you mentioned DexKool, SO IT'S A 3.5...
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Transmission- Told him to change the oil if he felt it was needed. The manual calls for 100,000 mile interval for normal driving. My mechanic felt that it should be done at 50,000. Anyway, he looked at the oil on the dipstick, found it to be in perfect codition and decided it did not need changing.
Engine code- No codes had been saved by the computer. From the way he talked, this sounded somewhat unusual in that often some upset has been recorded. I gather this is a very good thing. BTW, I have the 3.8 l engine.
Brakes - Still have 50% pads F&R left. The old problem with warped rotors have never come back after Olds changed the rotors 10,000 miles ago.
Steering rattle - Definitely something is funny with the steering. He found TSB 73-33-04 which describes a suspension problem with early builds Intrigues. His review of my suspension found a problem and recommended new struts as per the TSB. My intention is to go back to Olds and request that they replace the struts under warranty. I am very unhappy with the steering rattle. I rent a lot of cars in my job and other cars (even the lowly Cavalier) steer just fine.
If anyone has acted on this TSB or replaced the struts, please let me know.
I haven't had my tires rotated for 16k miles and the brakes are fine so it is part of the problem..
In 48k miles the fronts have been turned twice and the rears were replaced and have been turned also..
The brakes are marginal at best..
"Saturn is nicely positioned as Detroit's answer to the imports. It's also known for great customer handling, but that may not be enough to do it. That's one of the brands that needs further handling and further defining."
As dindak said, Olds and Saturn were shooting at the same people. From the quote, it sounds like Lutz wants to make Saturn more of a contender against the likes of Honda and Toyota. They can't do that with the current lineup. HOWEVER, if the products Olds was moving forward with prior to the announcement goes to Saturn, they WOULD be in a position to challenge the imports. From a design perspective, Olds looks way better than the Saturn (if you're not conservative). Once the current Saturn models run their course, I hope Lutz will bring over the Olds concepts as replacement.
Despite what happens to Saturn, GM as a whole is a lot better off with Lutz. Finally, the engineers and designers have a voice in the boardroom! Had Lutz been there, the Aztek probably would never have happened.
Noticed Edmunds has all 2002 prices/ models up for Oldsmobile. Few small changes for the Intrigue. Alero is getting the Saturn 2.2L as a base with a rating of 140HP. The "Quad 4" will be toast.
Lutz is the best thing that could have happened to GM in decades....
No more Azteks!!!!
Chrysler has lost all personality, and Ford has that creature called Nasser running the show who is no Teddy Bear; but doesn't come across as a car guy who loves gas and oil..His speciality is beating up people..
Lutz owns a Russian training jet which about four years ago he belly flopped in landing---no wheels down.. He is a purist and I think he is 69 yrs young; and the Intrigue is his kind of car..He will add some excitement to the cookie cutter car company and get it away from the accountants..
Lutz got shafted at Chrysler by Lee in going after Eaton for the top job..Eaton was the one who saw trouble coming but hunted for a buyer instead of trying to fix the problem; walking away with 100 million..
Lutz can't remake GM; but he can change the culture..
Do you agree or are you disagreeing with the quote? Have you driven a TL?
My .02 cents, is yes at the same price-point they are worlds apart in terms of quality and refinement, the Trig can not compete. Now get the Intrigue price down in the low 20s, and it could be a better value worth a second look in some peoples mind.
It just all depends on what a person needs and wants are. Whatever floats your boat BABY.
God bless him, and may the force be with him.
Any guesses on how long it might take. Hope he has some young prodigies working under him, just in case he move on to that big garage upstairs.
Like he said, GM spends so much time trying to figure out what people want that they miss the point completely. But they did get it right with the Trailblazer, Bravada, Envoy (test drove all and rented an Envoy for 2 weeks).
I've said before that the approach Chrysler used to take was the best way. Let the designers (who studied car design for a lot longer than the executive who can designers' and engineers' ideas) get loose, let their creative juices flow. THEN present it to the public and let them tell you if they like it.
Case in point: GM does market research and decides that the Aztek is what people want. Chrysler lets their designers go hog-wild then presents the PT Cruiser to the public. We all know who won that battle! Even if the Crusier is a fad, it's selling faster than Chrysler can build them. And isn't it funny that with this same philosophy that Chrysler made such a comeback despite the problems they had with the first generation LH cars?
Now that the man who fostered and encouraged creative thinking at Chrysler is now at GM (not to mention the guy who designed the PT Crusier), we'll see some great things come down the pike.
But I still love my Intrigue :-)
How many GM cars have a "following"? The number of posts here indicate that the Intrigue does, (or could, had there been another). How many posts would there be, if we had rumors of the 2004 Intrigue to mull over?
GM just can't cultivate a following with their cars because they don't inspire enough desire in their owners to defend them, or to see them improve. I suspect most satisfied GM owners just say "It's an OK car, it was worth the money..." and that's about all.
I saved 1-large one on my CL. I do believe in company/people marking a FAIR reasonable profit. I was happy with the deal, no buyers remorse.
That TL-S is heck of a lot of car for just over 30. Sure beats paying 8-10 more for a comp. eqt. Bimmer/Benz etc. etc.
jgriff : Honda rules!
9899olds : Lutz is all good news.
focus : Intrigue is a value leader.. even without incentives.
Not even ones with 5 or 6 recalls each..
http://www.autonews.com/html/main/stories0730/cherry803.htm
One of the candidates is the Accord. I've been following its discussion board and found this pearl of wisdom about a recurring speed error (always 10% over): "Suffice to say there is nothing wrong with you speedometer or odometer that Honda has any intention of addressing, so you'll have to get used to it."
Was it an Intrigue, e.g., people would be screaming about the total lack of competence on GM's part...
I can't help thinking that most of the difference between Honda and GM cars is in the owners' minds... :^/
evandro:::::Honda Accord V-6s leather, sunroof, and all the goodies are going new in Motor City for 23k...Have no idea whether it is a good deal or not for such a small car with such a crummy dual exhaust system..They should be embarrassed to build something that looks that ugly....
Accord buyers are people who want to make a safe bet in every area (features, safety, reliability). They get a competent, but unexciting, automobile.
Nissan will be reintroducing the Sentra SE-R again, with the 170HP motor from the new Altima. That probably *will* give our 1999 era Intrigue 3.5L's a chase... Whatta shame there will be no more enhancements to the V6 Shortstar. :-(
Ad director Tallerico
jumps from Olds to Buick
General Motors on Friday said it has named Randall Tallerico director of advertising and sales promotion at Buick. He has been heading Oldsmobile advertising since October 2000.
Interesting note about their service volume is that 60% is non-warranty now; whereas a couple years ago 60% was warranty..It either means GM is making better cars/trucks or GM is disallowing more warranty work..It is easy to spin things????
I've seen the new Altima in pictures and it looks stunning! Too bad they decided to replicate those goofy tail lights from the Maxima... However, the 240HP 3.5 V6 sounds veeery interesting!
Chryslers and Dodges have weaker engines than the competition, cheap interior materials, few accessories and amenities, etc. At the same time the Viper, the Prowler and the PT are nothing but statement or PR cars. Being a Stratus owner, I think that in his term looks and image became more important than what's under the sheet metal... :^/
Has this problem ever been fixed in any model year? What other issues plague the more recent Intrigues?
TIA
At 48k miles the steering is tight; but the front racket continues..The car hasn't been seriously checked over since 21k miles so I am just running the crap out it until I get the new tires; then we shall have the dealer see if the steering is out of wack..change a few filters, pour some holy water over it and back to the track.
Don't buy the GLS unless you keeping it until death, buy the GL with PCS, chromes and sunroof plus spoiler for it tends to hold the rear end down above 90..also a good trunk handle.
This car should work well on those Texas highways..
Say Hello to George W !!!!
What Lutz's job will be is to make designs that people actually want to buy. Ask jgriff and others; they didn't leave GM because of powertrains. It was everything else. Chrysler was able to convince people to buy their cars with less competent powertrains than GM.
If Lutz can do the same thing with the designs and the powertrain folks keep doing what they're doing, GM has a shot at taking the lead.
dindak, here are a couple of things on my CL that could have been better, paint is a little on the thin side. The BOSE stereo is lacking some kick. The car that most of us mere mortals can afford [30k & under], there are going to be a lot of things that can always be better. Face it, no guy is going to be 100% happy all the time, we all can find something on our rides that we would like to make better, we just need Mo-Money man, Mo-Money.
FWIW : I do like what Nissan has coming out, looks like they intend to raise the bar a little higher. Can GM [Lutz] move quick enough, to catch up with the rest of the crowd.
Ford ::: has surely shot themselves in the foot big time.
However style is only one piece of the BIG picture/puzzle. People want reliability in their vehicles; in this fast & busy world they do not have TIME to visit the shop on a regular basis. I dont mind regular 6-months 7500 miles checkup, it is the repeat problems in-between that chaps my rear-end.