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Comments
One year, my car was stolen while I was in Denver and I had to return to KC in a rental. As I was driving through western Kansas on I-70, I passed the familiar KHP cars sitting in the median. I had the cruise of the rental car set at 74mph (in a 70mph zone). Much to my dismay, the KHP chased me down and pulled me over.
When the officer came to my window and looked at my Kansas driver's license, he was dumbstruck. He said "Uh... You're a Kansas resident?" I said "Yes. My car was stolen while visiting friends in Denver and this is a rental." He said "Sir, I'm very sorry for wasting your time. I thought you were from Colorado. You may want to keep it at 70mph for the remainder of your drive to KC, as my fellow officers will pull you over when they see the license plates on this car."
He let me go with an apology. I set the cruise to 70mph and finished the drive home.
Dave
Frankf, sorry I didn't look up the radio thing faster. NightOwl thanks for being quick. Family stuff and business trips have kept my nose out of the Helm books.
I bought my '01 LS while everyone else in MI was "deeruntin" up north. November 15th, that is. 16,300 miles so far. Some think that's a lot, some wonder what I do with all the time I'm not driving. It's been a great car so far. A couple of little things are nagging. No big deal since I found a close and courteous service dept.
Proud to be part of the most common aged people on this forum...
http://www.luckyjdr.homestead.com/impala.html
The person that wrote in back in April wrote back regarding the problem. His 2 posts that you may be interested in are posts 774 and 952 (in Grand Prix forum). Since I was posting mostly in the Impala forum back in April, I just assumed it was the Impala that had the problem.
I know one of the cars had the 3.8L Supercharge and the second car had either the 3.8L or 3.8L Supercharge.
I don't know if the problem had to do with engine type or other problem that was strictly Grand Prix related. Looking25 wrote on one of the above posts on how they fixed the problem
Anyway, hope this may help if you're still interested!
And for anyone who gets into the resale value crap, I have to point out that the imports HAVE to have a better resale just to break even with the domestic cars. If you spend thousands more for the (smaller lesser import), that 2 or 3 thousand is worth quite a bit of money if invested even conservatively in 5, 7, or 10 years. Yeah, if you flip cars a lot, you will be hurt more with the domestic car, but flipping cars often is financially stupid anyway.
If the imports offered as much car for the money, I'd buy one too, but it seems you get a lot more with a lowly Chevy or Ford. And I have always had a good experience with the domestic cars.
What is wrong with Toyota? If the reverse was true, People would be declaring the Camry the 8th wonder of the world.
Personally, I don't care for any Toyota. I think they are lacking in style to the point of ugly, and they are expensive.
For style and "bang" for the buck, American branded cars are quite a value. If build quality and resale value are of prime concern, then most import brands are a better value.
Paul
Maybe you could understand better with this scenario; Christmas eve and you are putting together the kids toys, other words you are assembling parts from the instruction sheet..Just like an assembly plant; but they do it every day, every hour so they become good and no longer have to read the instruction book...great job pays big time, and has a pension at the end..
Somehow this forum has gotten the idea that the skill level and engineering expertise is a Canadian function totally responsible for the the flawless car..Sorry folks, again you must acquaint yourself with the total car process..
Have fun with this one!!!
I didn't even try DePaula. I bought my Cavalier from them in '89, when I was young and didn't have a clue what I was doing and then had some other bad experiences with them regarding service. I know ten years had passed and none of those people were probably there anymore, but I still refused. I am very happy with Salisbury and their service department - even if they can't find what's causing my hesitation problem. Thanks to the Town Hall, at least I know I'm not the only one with this problem.
9899: Aw, come on. Can't we Canadians take credit for all the good Impala stuff and put the blame for the bad on Detroit??
RE speeding: I haven't had a speeding ticket since 1988. I don't speed in town, but I drive fast on highways. I credit my good fortune to driving accoring to the conditions and trying to be smart about where/when I speed. The Ontario Provincial Police on Hwy 401 are notorious for putting a cop with a laser speed gun on overpasses, then he radios to the cruisers about 1km up the road. My strategy is to stay hidden behind trucks etc in the middle lane while I go fast, slow down to peek into the left lane and check for the gun on the overpass, then if all is clear I go like stink until the next overpass. Makes for a fun game! I've told many people that the only complaint I have about my Impala LS is that it's REALLY easy to speed in!
My impala squad is pretty much stock. It has the 3.8 in it with a few extras not avail to ya. I have lighter rims with performance tires. I also have a cutoff for the daytime running lights and auto headlights. Other then that not much difference. Maybe the suspension but I am not sure.
It's a 3.8L, 2000 model. No, I haven't bought any shop manuals yet.
Thanks.
Don't know if you remember me but i was the guy with the intrigue. Now i am a pretty happy impala owner.
Isn't it just my luck that i buy an impala and a new model comes out two months later.
Any changes to the suspension? Dual exhausts?
How about post some pictures. Although i am sure edmunds would frown upon it.
I got nailed about 1500 ft before the toll booths on the Canadian side at the Bluewater bridge..He was laying in the ditch in the center grass strip and the out of country plate was a special prize..
one ticket in fifteen yrs in your country isn't bad..I have passed unmarked cars and they have been nice enough to hand signal to slow down..No complaints, for if one gets sloppy, then you pay..That's fair
Others::: I guess McDill got ahead of me today as I also happen to have picked up a copy of the new 2002 Impala brochure.
In a nutshell and to minimize confusion here are the changes included in the 2002 model year edition of the Impala:
New Colors:
Forest Green metallic (Replaces Jade Green)
Bright Red (Replaces Torch Red)
All other colors are carryovers from 2001.
Seating options:
The big news for 2002 is that you can now purchase an Impala LS with front 60/40 bench seats. However they only come wrapped in leather and they are not available in cloth for the LS. This is great if you like the 'extras' offered in the LS model and also need the 6 passenger capacity.
The rest of the seating options are carryover from 2001.
Engine/Transmission/Suspension:
NO CHANGES. Same engines/suspensions/tranny options as they were available in 2001.
Trim models:
Base and LS models are carryovers from 2001. Mid production year 2002 (Around Dec '01 - Jan '02) the new LS Sport "Appearance Package" will be available for sale. The LS Sport will not be available for the first production run of 2002 models (July - Nov '01).
This model just adds a few cosmetic enhancements but nothing different or special under the hood. Same engine/tranny/sport suspension and Goodyear Eagle GA tires available in the 'Standard' LS.
As described by McDill, these are the cosmetic improvements included in the LS Sport model:
*16" Diamond cut aluminum wheels (Very nice looking but I still prefer the ones in the 'plain' LS)
* Graphite trim interior trim replaces the fake wood trim appliques in the dash and doors.
* Standard leather seating
* Embroidered 'Impala' Logo on interior door panel inserts.
*Stainless Steel exhaust Tip.
* Body color matched rear tailight plastic panel. It looks kind of 'Ricey' to me in the picture but I will reserve judgment until I see one in person.
* Extended front bumper fascia with "Impala" front license plate cover (I like it).
* Embroidered floor mats with "Impala" name and Logo (Got to get those!)
* LS Sport only available in silver, sandrift, Black and White. (Sorry no red or green shades)
That's it.
Equipment changes:
* Air filtration system and dual zone temperature HVAC controls are now standard on Impala Base.
* AM/FM Stereo Cassette also standard on Impala base.
Wheels/Tires:
Carryover from 2001 with the exception of the new 16" Diamond cut wheels on the LS Sport package.
Stereo systems:
Carryover from 2001 including the 103 AMP.
Ok Folks, for those of you that just recently bought new '01 Impala LS you are not missing anything in the '02 LS models. The cars are identical in and out. The LS Sport package is nice but the additional premium for just cosmetics ain't worth it in my book IMHO. A Supercharged engine, DOHC or V8 powerplant is a different story, however.
If you bought a base '01 Impala, you just missed the dual zone A/C controls
Too bad my pic is no longer on page 16 either ;(..
* Multi spoke chrome wheels. They do look nice and much more desirable than the 16" Custom Aluminum wheels on the Impala Base 3.8 model. (McDill described them on an earlier post).
* Hitch mounted ski carrier. Nice add on if you happen to live in snow country and like to hit the ski trails..
* Trunk organizer. About time these plastic trays are also offered for cars with big trunks. You could only get these on minivans..
* Office organizer: get a load of this....you can actually turn the front passenger seat into a mobile office!. It has file hanger compartment, retractable writting pad, laptop holding platform, file binder compartment and pencil, pens, eraser, rulers, etc compartments. I guess that if you are in sales or spend time working in your car this is a very neat add on. I could also see the Impala Police cruiser 'men in blue' making use of this thing as well.
Oh boy its very late...going to bed.
Thanks.
The Aurora 4.0 V8 would be unbelievable in the Impala or Monte. Won't happen though. Should. The supercharger may.
It certainly matters where the car parts are built and by whom. We are talking suppliers and ownership of those suppliers directs where the money tree ends..
Garnes: CAFE regulations keep affordable and nimbler V8 sedans out of the realm of the market.
The only way Detroit can compete is to offer less options and give you a bare car or a not so bare car or, a loaded car..Three trim levels, however with the Impala you have the whimp 3.4 or the mighty corporate V-6 3.8 LS; now we have the Sport which I assume is near the SS/police package..Just guessing for the Chevy people are probably trying to copy some Asian company.. maybe they can find a 150hp/4 cyl engine for the base model, cut the trunk off and call it a Chevy Civic..
Now in order to really compete with the Buckeye cars; they have to start using skinny tires..maybe 12 or 13 inch would fit the bill..
Do you have too much time on your hands in semi-retirement?
Hey Matt! Welcome back, did you find a girlfriend to occupy your time? It's what got me when I was your age, didn't pay attention to anything...
I had the opportunity to speak to an OPP Officer on their thoughts of the car back at our Car Show (Toronto) and they said they were quite impressed with the car and thought that for a family car it would be particularly good. The only problem that he found personally was that he was a bit tall (over 6') so the cage took up some of the space behind the driver's seat thereby taking some of his legroom in that he couldn't push the seat far enough back. Otherwise, no complaints.
http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/roadtests/1999/July/199907_roadtest_chevrolet_impalapolicepackage.xml
http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/00impala.htm
You know, Z2 looks suspiciously like a product I used 15 years ago. It's even the same color and smell. I've gotta look around and see if I can find the old bottle.
I'll post a How To article on this stuff later, so I'll just give you my initial impressions.
1) The printed instructions are really, really bad. "Now remember waterspots, bird droppings and bug guts if left on the paint finish for any length of time. Will etch into the paint finish." I appreciate enclosing a direction sheet, but at least proofread it. I found the same kinds of errors on their website also. This doesn't instill a sense of confidence.
2) I tried to apply Z1 on the car but it just wasn't going on cleanly. I went to the website and a tip was to spray the applicator with Z6 first. Now that would have been a good thing to include in the instruction sheet...
3) You are supposed to wait an hour for it to dry. Does anyone actually have to wait that long? I could remove in 5 minutes if I wanted to.
4) The instructions say he has used it in direct sunlight. Has anyone had any success doing this? I got home from a long drive and parked it in the garage. I washed the car, used bug cleaner, washed it again, clayed the surface, and washed it again. The surface of the car was cool, except the hood. The engine was still a bit warm and so the hood was a little warm. Applying Z1 and Z2 to the warm hood was a disaster. The product was drying as fast as I wiped it on so I wasn't getting good coverage. I had to pop the hood open and dropped it only long enough to apply the material.
5) I used a 100% cotton polish cloth I got from Griotts Garage to remove the product and I don't see why you would need a bath towel as Zaino recommends. I would think having that large of a towel would make it more difficult to remove. Towel dragging on the floor, getting caught on trim...
6) I only had time to apply one coat of Z2. I do like that it comes off really easily and doesn't leave dust like wax does. It doesn't leave swirl marks but it didn't fill in the small scratches as I had hoped. I guess I'll have to try the Z5.
7) Why in the world are you supposed to wait 24 hours before applying another coat of Z2 or Z5? If this were the case, if I started on Friday, I could only apply three coats all weekend. Not to mention I would have to wash my car each time to remove any dust before reapplication to prevent scratching.
I'll see how this stuff holds up this week. Right now, while I am happy with the result, I am not totally convinced it was worth $70. Maybe once I get a few more coats on I'll change my mind.
Welcome back McDill, I was just wondering what happened to you, then I saw your posts about the 02 model.
Hi Cookie, good to see you're still around.
Now back to more excitement--how to remove your Impala radio or the current amp offering!!!
However it's gratifying to know the Impala is becoming the #1 AARPers choice.. It does outclass the LeSabre for less bucks and handles much better..
Another work week, so let's have a safe motoring week!!!