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Comments
Yes, I also am hearing alot of noise about the cheap interior on the new Altima, although i still see it as a standout car.
Camry:
I've seen quite a few of them, mostly in Southern New Jersey. IMO, the body is what the redesigned Avalon should have looked like. It is visually larger than the model it replaces and reminds me of what it looked like 2 generations ago (mid-90's). Feature content is up, price is down (relative to content) and, save the SE model, I can live with the interior. What I think would have been a perfect match is the ES300 interior inside the Camry body.
Will post pics soon.
http://63.236.108.16/news.cms?newsId=499
Look forward to seeing your pictures.
Most of you know my intrigue story so i will just get to the point of the letter.
The refund was for a recalculation of my intrigue lease. The amount was $16.37. But that was not the part that got my attention.
The paragraph that caught my eye was "Part A. Surplus from Vehicle Sale." Of course there was no surplus.
They only got $8300 at auction for my car!!! Can you beleive that?
The termination value on the contract was $13,110.
GMAC lost $4810 on my car!
Can't stay in business long with those numbers.
hours 45 minutes. 920 miles i think. I drove 72 mph.
I was in the camaro unfortunately and literally couldn't walk for two days i was so sore.
The intrigue is an excellent highway car and doesn't have the choppy ride that the asian cars have.
In '99 i took a trip to Lexington, Mass. in the intrigue. The car was sweeeeet. The traffic in the Northeast was not. I don't see how people put up with it.
The improvement is unbelievable. The handling, wet and dry traction, very quiet and looks great. I really feel like I'm driving a new car. I know the Pilots are very good but I can't imagine them being much better.
I just reached 60K on my '99 GX 3.8 with a build of 10/99 (bought used with 32K). The only problems were a replaced strut under warranty and last week I had to replace the a/c head unit (along with front rotors turned with pads and trans fluid change- Total $523).
Mosaix: Enjoy the trip, I did Atlanta to Dallas and back (1600 miles)in August. The Intrigue made it a fun drive.
one2one: Can't wait to see the wood trim pics. Might be my next project.
President Bush made me proud tonight!
Gotta take the car in next week, as noticed last nite that the console shift indicator lites are out. Oh well. Have a loose shifter handle too, so will have them fix that as well.
dealer report said that power steering rack "assembly worn and rusty"; shaft "is worn on joint area"
I gave up flying Boston to Philly almost 2 years ago. The cancellations and delays even then made the 8 hour drive from my home in Maine to Philly no more than an hour longer than flying. Imagine now!
I bought my 2000 Bonneville SE and have been driving all year - loving it! Nothing like settling in behind the wheel of a great AMERICAN road car and seeing those miles drive by. Yes traffic in the northeast can be a bear - Connecticut seems to always be the place I get hung up - but I love driving anyway.
So enjoy your road trip - who needs an airplane when you can drive?
(Turnpike) Ken
This is an old winding highway, built during Great Depression. Hilly and narrow, only 2 lanes in each direction. A bit slow, speed limit is 55 mph. But very nice and much easier to drive than by I-95. Big trucks are prohibited on Route 15.
Jams happens often on Route 15, but not as bad as on I-95. I-95 is always jammed from Bridgeport to Stamford, except probably deep in night.
The Merritt Pkwy is clearly the best way to go.
What is up with those Conn. cops? They are [non-permissible content removed] in my opinion.
I passed through the underground portion on my way to work nearly every day (and my sister actually worked in 1WTC) so I know exactly what was under there. For anyone that is still curious, there was an underground shopping mall with access to the lobbies of both towers, restaurants, subway stations for 3 different lines (8th Avenue line, 7th Avenue line and Broadway line) and a station for the PATH train to NJ. This was all located one level below the street. There were six more levels below that which were not open to the public. There was also an undergound parking garage (yes, the same one that was bombed in '93) with access on the other (west) side of the complex. There was no access to the garage from the mall.
Was not stopped by police yet, except once at Thanksgiving sobriety check point, where they stopped all cars. My wife was not stopped either. However, our cars do not stay off: first 1988 Taurus (do not own it any more), than 1998 Malibu, and now 2000 Regal. All three are/were dark-red.
I do not think the cops are especially strict in CT. They are looking mostly for speeding, and occasional running stop signs or red lights.
Speeding up to 15 mph above speed limit is OK in most parts of the state, except in the Tolland county (I-84 from MA and almost to the Hartford). The Tolland cops are fining for 10 mph. So it is advisable to set cruise control at 73-74 mph when crossing here.
The cops are not looking at all for drivers who are not using turn signals. Even when turning left. Nor for those who are cutting-up. I believe, the both is much more dangerous than moderate speeding, and ought to be be prosecuted.
The strut tower braces came (www.grandprixstore.com) but haven't been installed because I decided to get the next generation sway bars they have and put them all on at the same time.
I'm thinking about getting new tires as well. On tirerack.com I compared the Pilot HGT H4s with the Aquatread 3s. Pretty comparable but Aquatread 3 is higher in satisfaction in almost every category but is not a performance tire. Any thoughts?
Or should I send all that stuff back, refrain from new tires and trade her in for a 2001 Maxima? They have a nice lookin gray GXE at the local Nissan dealership and I'm sure I could get a killer deal on it. Any words of wisdom or fatherly advise for me guys?
Did not experienced myself, but hear/read that it happened in the following cases:
1. Just after the speed limit was increased to 65 mph on most of CT highways.
The limit used to be 55 mph everywhere, but currently the old limit is kept only on Route 15, I-95 west of New Haven, and few other spots. I do not remember exactly, when it was increased, was it 1998 or 99.
For the first months after the increase, the police monitored strictly the new limit. Stopped for the speed they easy tolerated before, like 68-70 mph.
2. When a local police chief changes, and especially if he changes with a scandal, the police in the respective city become overactive for a month or two.
Saw this in New Haven a couple of years ago.: A former police chief resigned after newspapers published a news that he have an illegitimate child from a local prostitute. The following months the cops enforced speed limits much more often in the city. Not exactly a logical relation...
3. Our friend was stopped once in Hartford for 3mph "speeding". On her usual way to work. Was not fined, just stopped.
It was around Christmas, and the cops obviously stopped people randomly looking for drunk drivers.
I have the Pilots on my Intrigue and am very happy with them. Night and day difference from the Goodyear LeSs's. No longer do the tires squeal from just the most moderate U-turns etc...
jg28 : If you want a Nissan get a 02 Altima. Looks to be a very good car though I have yet to see one. I would go for an Intrigue instead though. It's your last chance.
Great road trip to homecoming this weekend. Lots of complements from old friends on my Intrigue. One of my old buds said he was surprised that Oldsmobile made such nice cars these days. Just another example of how Oldsmobile marketing failed to get the message through.
Ct cops are definitely out to get you. I get so ticked when I see them laying in wait in their traps set at the bottom of large hills - just waiting for you to pick up speed on the decline. This is mostly on Rt 84 - anytime of day.
Ken
If you must go Nissan, go with the new '02 Altima SE 3.5 and you'll get the rear IRS from the vaunted Skyline GTR, plus great looks (and more room as its larger than a Maxima too).
...OR if you want what the new Altima has at a great deal, go with an Intrigue (GM has 0% financing now too)
It's only virtue is its good looks, which is not free of looking weird from some angles though, IMO.
About the engines, there has been a lot of suspicion about Nissan inflating the numbers. When the car magazines tested the new Q45, its performance was well below the expected for its declared power, especially when compared with less powerful competitors.
I've already read that the new power on the Maxima is hard to believe when no major changes were made to the engine or, most importantly, to the transmission to withstand the extra torque.
Looking at the Altima's 2.5 power, it may be just too good to be true, I'm afraid...
Thanks
Ken
1999-31K, 3.8
this past weekend--car stalling, has been getting progressivley worse--last week dealer couldn't find anything
today--the security light stayed on
driviing still not feel right--subtle vibration through steering wheel, very rough ride (could there be a problem with a strut?)
going back to dealer tommorow
Went out in a co-workers Mazda Millennia today. Noticed the brakes (visible through the aluminum wheels) were rusting out. Really made the car look bad. I asked the guy if he had noticed and he said ya, but he didn't care cause the car was leased. I thought it was horrible that a 1 year old car would have this problem. I'd certainly say something.
I'm an Oldsmobile freak, guys. EVERYONE at work knows I drive Oldsmobile, I have the Intrigue model on my desk and sing songs and look for a gal named Lucille.
Even so, if they'd accept my 20K offer on that new 2001 maxima, I'd trade her in in a heartbeat.
With that said, I'm probably going to end up keeping her at least until the warranty expires (does anyone know when that is? Is it from the build date on the car?)
I haven't noticed any squealing with my factory tires (eagle LS). But if the michelin or aquatread would improve noise, I'd be glad.
Does anyone know if the Aurora 3.5 has the same airbox as the Intrigue? I'd like to get a K&N filter for my Intrigue. I hope they make one that fits. Anyone know?
The interesting thing about the intrigue was that i was always expecting the outside front tire to squeal, but it was always the inside tire.
For example, in a high speed left hander, where the caution sign on the road would say 25mph. I would come in at 55-60 mph, swing wide before the curve, early apex in, and squeal the left front tire for about 50+ feet and come out still going 50 mph. What a hoot!
Could never figure out why the outside tire didn't do that. I guess the inside tire didn't have a load on it.
jg28 : Do you know which K&N fits in the Intrigue?