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Comments
"In city traffic commute is where you will see the worst; these things don't like to idle too much."
Walter (Gator)
Though I'm sure they won't take the car back and let me lease a Yukon, I have asked that, at the very least, they provide me with SUITABLE transportation for any warranty visit even if they don't keep it overnight. I was even as specific as to say "Full-Size vehicle or larger". No more crappy Neons or Cavaliers for me!!!!
I have put the vehicle up on Leasetrader.com and swapalease.com. Since I hadn't gotten any bites I even put it in the local paper. We'll see, I'm offering $500. as an incentive. I really want to get a new Yukon while the $2k cash back is around!
Keep the tires skinny, small front, and low weight for better mileage.
I'd really like to see a Liberty diesel. Does GM have any small 4 cylinder turbodiesels that would fit in a Trialblazer?
Trailblazer Woes by lp1976, I am curious - where was the gas leaking from? Did the tank itself leak, was it the fuel line leaking or ?? Sounds like when they replaced the fuel pump they musta screwed up and didn't get something put back together correctly if right afterwards you had a serious leak. Getting warranty work done properly by competent personnel seems to be a bigger issue than the vehicle reliability itself.
I am impressed!
tidester, host
http://www.customwheelsdirect.com/Ultra/191.htm
Why are you doing that to your 4x4 anyhow?
Might as well buy a car...
(rolls eyes)
Thanks.
Besides, maybe you can keep your mileage down over the life of the car!
You never answered why you would do something like this to a truck/4x4/SUV type of vehicle?
????
My question to you is why wouldn't you...? Heck, if ya got the money, spend it. I've never seen an armored Brinx truck full of cash following a funeral car to a cemetery.
NET : cant seem to get any heat from the rear upper vents - the ones in the roof. With the HVAC set to Bi-level, and the rear fan running (either from the front control, or rear control), and the temperature for the rear all the way up, they blow cold air. This isn't a matter of heating up the duct work, as It stays that way even on extended drives.
First answer from the service rep was that it "was a long way from the heater to those vents" and that "nobody uses them anyway". Thought that was a rather flip answer, so I called the service manager who wants to see the truck again (she was VERY nice about it, thought it was a bad answer too).
Anybody else seeing this? Maybe a stupid user error, but I don't think so...
Thanks in advance!
In answer to your question, see the paragraph on manual page 3-29
"...Selecting Bi-level mode will deliver warmer air to the third seat floor outlet and cooler air to the headliner outlets...."
I also have a 1999 Pontiac Montana Extended with rear a/c. It does the same thing. I actually like this. Heat rises, so it should come from the floor.
As to the regular Blazer, it's old technology, never highly regarded, with its primary selling point being relatively low cost. It truly won't offer you any more room or power than a Ford Escape. The AWD Escape would be my choice for your application, but don't expect to average 20 mpg even with it.
If SUV gas mileage is the important criteria, your wife was on track with the Toyota RAV4. Consumer Reports highest rated, small SUV. Overall gas mileage reported at 22 mpg. Of course it moves like a stone, but since your wife is used to a Neon, she shouldn't notice.
monstersinc - AHA! Guess I should RTFM ;-) Thanks for the tip, somehow I missed that. However, my read of it is that in "panel mode" I should still get heat from the headliner outlets. Ill have to try that, I typically don't use panel mode (wife likes her tootsies toasty), but if I can get a blast of warm air to the kiddies on the long trips, think I'm pretty happy.
In general I find it difficult, w/o consciously taking fuel saving driving measures, to keep the gas mileage about 15.2 mpg. I hope this will all improve when the Bravada gets 5 to 10K miles on the engine.
A few other related observations. The electronic Average MPG indicator is very accurate. Every check I've made using manual calculations versus the readout has shown the readout to be dead-on. I'll probably just use the readout from now on.
The Bravada has an incredibly low roll resistance. Once it is at speed on level ground, it will coast with little loss of speed for a considerable distance. Instantaneous MPG during those coasting hit over 60 MPG. A slight downhill and it is practically a perpetual motion machine. Very impressive! However, a slight grade really sucks the gas. I think this SUV could really use a 5-speed transmission.
Finally, how many triplet owners use Middle-Grade gasoline rather than regular. At my dealership that told me the Bravada ran on regular, but to get all the horses out of it I should use mid-grade. Of course, here in metro-Denver, mid-grade is only 87 octane, so their advice may be location influenced.
Have you looked at and/or considered the Tracker?
The dealership must know something the engineers at GM don't. These engines are designed and set up for 87 octane gas. Using a higher octane costs more but will not yield more power. A vehicle that states it requires higher octane will sense the knock and de-tune itself, but one that is set up and designed for regular will not "tune up" to the higher octane.
http://service.gm.com./gmtechlink/images/issues/archive.html
Follow this link, and select the 04-2000 (April '02) article about gasoline and octane requirements.
Reason as I undersatnd it why the octane numbers are different in Denver is the altitude- the less-dense air effectively lowers the compression and the octane spec by about 2 points.
At 500 miles my '02 Bravada showed 14.5 avg on the DIC. It's now up to 18.3 at about 9700 miles.
If one has money to spend on frivilous items to make a vehicle more apt to be stolen or car-jacked I would hope that the person has enough sense to put that money into their retirement savings instead of wasting it on a depreciating asset.
If you know the rotations per mile of your current tire (should be able to find it listed at TireRack.com), the difference in speed would just be a straight ratio of the two numbers. E.g. Mph indicated * 750/700 = actual mph. For which way to set the ratio, just remember that if you go from more r/m to less your actual will be higher, and vice versa.
Really now, what is up with THAT?
http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0209/04/c01-577692.htm
No i have not, they do nothing for me, i would buy a Ford before i buy a Tracker!!!!
It's not a "joke" that I run 25 miles a week so I don't plan on ending up dead anytime soon. It is good to be me! Don't beleive what people say about boring bean counters. We know money.
I hope you have many enjoyable miles driving your tiplet.
The Escape is another car-based SUV. Even though the old Blazer is crude and "old technology", it will blow the doors off the Escape in every way but ride quality (that is if you think a floaty ride is desireable). I had a '93 two-wheel drive Blazer and drove it off-road daily - beat the snot out of it - and I can tell you that there's no way the Escape could handle that and survive.
The Escape is really just a car.
While i have to agree with your statements 100% that the blazer is more of a truck than a Escape is the whole reality to my wife and 90% of the people who buy these type of vehicles is that they use them as cars on pavement, not offroad vehicles. I love the people on the liberty board touting how its the "only true offroad vehicle" of the small SUV class ETC and how great the ground clearance is over the CRV, blah blah blah. The only offroading ,most of them do is when they crash off the side of the road missing a deer, or at the local state parks dirt road to the picnic area for lunch, thats not offroading to me. All my wife wants is something that will get her through the snowstorms of NY and to some of my friends cabins which are dirt roads, both of these are well within the relm of the vehicles I'm looking at. Back when i was into off roading i had a ZR2 reg cab short box truck, now that truck could go through some stuff!!! I thought many a times i would be stuck in knee deep mud or bumper deep snow and it made it through, man do i miss that truck, it would do circles around my 2500HD!!
they are not made to tackle major off-road excursions.
GAM
...like she should have an Outback, or Audi, or 4Motion Passat, or any other 4wd car. Not worth the mpg penalty for an SUV if not using it. If she does use it, that's another matter.
they are not made to tackle major off-road excursions."
I didn't see that until I posted mine. I forgot the Forester. Those are real nice wagons. The inlaws took one camping Labor Day weekend. They said it rode nice, was good on gas, and swallowed loads of stuff.
The Blazer, well I'm selling a '91 (style before they shrunk it) and I can tell you they ride like a pickup, are noisy, have adequate power from a rough running engine that should never have been chopped from an 8 to 6, and still won't beat the Escape 0 to 60.
I'm afraid your wife will fall in love with the ride quality of the Trailblazer. If you really want to sell her, get her in an Envoy with the pneumatic rear springs. By comparison, the Blazer will seem like something out of the early 80s, which it is. For you, the Trailblazer/Envoy can blow the doors off anything else you're considering.
I did a little more research for you and I have one more suggestion. Check out a Saturn VUE. Pretty good zip and 18 mpg all-around driving. They seem to be picking up in popularity in the metro-Denver area, one of the SUV capitals. Is you GM credit good on a Saturn?
As to the Forrester and Outback, they are really just glorified station wagons. They get good reviews and they have their place, but I don't think your dog will be able to stand up in the back of one. They also are a bit under-powered.
A few nights ago we got called out for a lost young hunter and most of my fears were alleviated.
There was snow on the dirt access roads we were searching in the higher areas and the command post was established on a saddle where several of these came together. I completed my sector and reported to the CP for another at about 3am. The deputy was not our normal CP commander, and I requested an area I thought likely which he agreed to. About 10 minutes after I left, I was listening to chatter on the radio that the area I was heading to had a surprising amount of snow and there were large patches of ice. A little later another team heading into the area from another direction turned back after encountering this. Following this, the CP called me and suggested I turn around since I was "in a car" that would have trouble. Heh.
I seemed to have trouble getting reception in the valley, so I did not respond as I'd felt from the beginning that these exact conditions were likely to be the reason our hunter was missing - probably slid off the trail. I also had confidence in the Sube's AWD and my brand new Michelin Arctic Alpins.
Encountering the first slippery spot, I made a point of stomping the brakes, flooring it and generally driving sloppily to test my traction. I was favorably impressed and continued on. There were a couple of locations where the snow depth became an issue, but the Sube never missed a beat despite dragging the floor at times. I have lived all my life in snow country, so trust my judgement in these matters, keeping in mind that the worst thing I could do for the victim would be to get stuck and divert resources to rescue me.
I cleared the entire area over a 90 minute period without seeing the victim's truck or any indication he'd slid off the road. Upon arrival back at the CP via another direction (big loop), I pulled up and let them know the sector was clear. Several of my buddies on the Team were standing around with their trucks and SUVs parked, knowing grins on their faces while the substitute deputy quietly ate crow. I found out later he'd been talking to my buddies about sending a rescue vehicle to look for me, but they all resisted this as a waste and assured him I'd be back just fine.
So, the Sube proved itself well. I also got to rib everyone when the search appeared likely to continue all night. I'd folded the seats down and spread a sleeping bag in back with my gear along one side of the cargo area. When the continued search was announced, I let everyone know that I was going to catch a nap all stretched out in my Sube while they sat cramped in their crew cabs. Heh..
I'm sure when the snow gets deeper I'll have to switch to the Cruiser, but it was a bit of fun for me this time.
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Having been in the consumer electronics biz since 1977 I have seen enough errors mistakes and outright bias (against certain brands, political etc) with Consumer Reports to cancel my subscription many years ago. If I need to buy a washing machine or a refridgerator I borrow someones CR Buyers Guide for reference, but that might happen every 15 to 20 years or so. They are pretty good at evaluating home appliances. Sometimes.
I'll go to the library if I need another refrigerator review, which won't be for a while, either.
RE: Subarus, I hated the looks too, thinking the Forrester looked like Princess Di's hearse. That was until we went on vacation with the inlaws in one! It was a nice silver, and up close they aren't that bad. In fact, the newer ones look a little different, and I think I like them even better. There are some nice colors also, in particular, a green one.
I think I might as well soon unsubscribe from this chat room. This is not improving by any means.