Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

js06gv

Random post/question I know, but on the back cover of Motor Trend I saw an ad for the new Mercedes GLE Coupe. I know there is a whole new class of premium vehicles out there, and that Acura's ZDX was a failure and BMW has a model or two in this same mold, but exactly when did a sloped off SUV/station wagon-looking thing become a "coupe??"

Michaell

js06gv said:

Random post/question I know, but on the back cover of Motor Trend I saw an ad for the new Mercedes GLE Coupe. I know there is a whole new class of premium vehicles out there, and that Acura's ZDX was a failure and BMW has a model or two in this same mold, but exactly when did a sloped off SUV/station wagon-looking thing become a "coupe??"

When the marketing folks found they could charge a premium for doing so. 

mako1a

js06, I know where Frisco, TX is, but maybe you could tell me more about the 2015 GT you got. Lease or buy? Premium or basic? Do you like it? Did you get a good deal? What color(s)? Get stuck in Houston traffic much? Just wondering and trying to keep up on all the Mustang purchases. Thanks.

Mr_Shiftright

It's an Audi TT with 4 doors and big wheels.

js06gv said:

Random post/question I know, but on the back cover of Motor Trend I saw an ad for the new Mercedes GLE Coupe. I know there is a whole new class of premium vehicles out there, and that Acura's ZDX was a failure and BMW has a model or two in this same mold, but exactly when did a sloped off SUV/station wagon-looking thing become a "coupe??"

fezo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwV8ozElNjk&ab_channel=BootLeg Republic Airline got noted for this 20 years prior

graphicguy

dino001 said:

graphicguy said:

Thanks again everyone for your willing ears. It is greatly appreciated.

Talking to a bunch of people who have dealt with GM when it comes to buybacks, they are the worst. They seemingly do not want to admit to any sort of culpability, or any sort of admission of issues in their cars, especially when those are many and perhaps difficult to diagnose. As one person told me who had his Chevy Malibu bought back a few years ago..."they're experienced in the arbitration and lemon law cases. They know if they admit to not being able to fix your car, the consumer has the upper hand."

It took him a year and a half to finally get Chevy to buy his back (also steering issues).

So be it. I'll keep you guys posted every step of the way.

And, no...still don't have my car back. Still sitting at the dealers....3 weeks yesterday.

Looking at this, I maintain that the most efficient course for you may be to settle for a car rather than cash. You can sell it afterwards, trade for whatever you want. It may not be "right thing", but may simply save you time (which is also money). Even if you take a hit on the instant depreciation, it may still be better than long protracted process of negotiating buyout price that may or may not be successful. It may be easier for them to agree to that, too. Companies are funny, when it comes to cash. It's a completely different set of rules when it comes to handling loss (cash vs. barter).

Cutting your losses may not be pretty, but may save you further aggravation. Being principled may not pay when facing POS companies with no principles other than pushing problems away, especially if they have an upper hand against small guy (and they often do).

Dino...I'm not so certain that would be any easier. Further, what are they going to offer me? Another new CTS that costs more with the expectation that I have to pay the difference for a one year newer car? You know that's what they'll consider that "reasonable".

I'm as disgusted with Cadillac in general at this point as I am with my CTS.

js06gv

mako1a said:

js06, I know where Frisco, TX is, but maybe you could tell me more about the 2015 GT you got. Lease or buy? Premium or basic? Do you like it? Did you get a good deal? What color(s)? Get stuck in Houston traffic much? Just wondering and trying to keep up on all the Mustang purchases. Thanks.

I posted the details at the time but it may have been over at CCBA. Absolutely love the car. It's a fairly loaded Premium automatic, deep impact blue over black. I bought it on 12/26/14. List was $42,590 and purchase price was $38,364. I got $1,500 in rebates, but $1,000 of that was for having a competitive lease in the household. Oh, and the car is my wife's so I don't get to drive it nearly as often as I want!

Frisco is actually a suburb of Dallas so the only time I get to Houston is to visit family or friends. Fortunately, I get to avoid Houston traffic but Dallas is no picnic in that regard either.

graphicguy

andres3 said:

robr2 said:

andres3 said:

robr2 said:

I agree bwia. If we all refused to use products because of one person's experience, nobody would buy anything.

That's not really a fair statement. It's the "N" degree or severity of one person's experience that's the problem here. It's one thing to have a bad car, another to have a terrible one. Another yet to have a horribly terrible unsafe one, and then have the lemon buyback process treated even more despicably to make matters even worse.

There are degrees of unreliability, it's all relative, and when you go off the cliff on the bad side of the equation that is when you lose customers for life, and then need bail outs to stay in business.

Oh I think it's quite a fair statement. Remember, we are talking about a sample size of 1 car and all we have is 1 side of the story. I don't believe that gg is embellishing his story. But we have not heard from the dealer or Cadillac itself.

Actually we have heard from GM customer service right here on these Edmund's Forums/Boards. They demonstrated either a desire to keep stone walling GG's case, or a complete lack of authority to do anything to resolve the problems. Even with a buyback process started, the car should still need to be fixed, whether it is fixed for GG or for the next poor soul GM sells it to after buying it back. Either way the car must be fixed, so I'm not buying the excuses for GM online customer service being powerless to help; other than poor management and authority delegation on GM's part.

Yeah...they did reach out to me on these boards. I contacted them. Told them politely of my issues. They told me to take it back to the dealer. And, that was the end of that.

andres3 said:

graphicguy said:

Thanks again everyone for your willing ears. It is greatly appreciated.

Talking to a bunch of people who have dealt with GM when it comes to buybacks, they are the worst. They seemingly do not want to admit to any sort of culpability, or any sort of admission of issues in their cars, especially when those are many and perhaps difficult to diagnose. As one person told me who had his Chevy Malibu bought back a few years ago..."they're experienced in the arbitration and lemon law cases. They know if they admit to not being able to fix your car, the consumer has the upper hand."

It took him a year and a half to finally get Chevy to buy his back (also steering issues).

So be it. I'll keep you guys posted every step of the way.

And, no...still don't have my car back. Still sitting at the dealers....3 weeks yesterday.

Of course they are "Experienced in the arbitration and lemon law cases!" I'd be willing to bet that the Big 3 have massive amounts of experience because they have an unusually high rate of producing lemons and vehicles that create arbitration cases. I have no evidence of this other than the high rate of fallen market share over the past few decades. Sometimes making cars that last 3 years or 36,000 miles before they fall apart comes back to bite you in the butt. You miss the target on the short end and you have high warranty claims.

My other evidence is that fact that they try and fight buyback claims with maximum delays, stalls, and stone walls, rather than try to salvage a customer for future business. That tells me they have so many of these types of vehicles, that they've calculated it's financially advantageous to them to lose customers rather than try and keep them. That tells me they don't believe in their product. This is excellent circumstantial evidence in my mind.

I was just thinking of this today. What other company can you build a product, that doesn't adhere to any reasonable performance expectations, and with warranty terms that really aren't worth the paper they're written on, and still be in business?

GM's financial slate was wiped clean. They said they are a "new company", able to compete with the best since being given a new lease on life.

What I see is more of the same from Cadillac...the same malaise, the same "what's good for us is good enough" type of attitude.

Wanna know why you can't sell your cars Cadillac? You don't know to look far. You can start right here.

ab348

stever said:

My guess is that after 15 million YouTube hits, United is still breaking guitars.

That guy is local to me here. I never heard of him until that but apparently his band was moderately popular. That video made him an instant celebrity here. For me though, he went from mildly entertaining to hugely annoying in very short order., as he reinvented himself as some kind of consumer advocate, appearing on all kinds of TV shows, talking about stuff he really didn't know much about, and playing that damn song all the time. He followed it up with a couple of sequels which thankfully didn't get anywhere near as much play. I don't know what he's doing now, maybe back to playing in bars.

I did CEO-level customer satisfaction (among many other things) for the last decade or so that I was working. If our company screwed up something at the lower levels to where the CEO or Board Chair got contacted by the dissatisfied person, it landed on my desk with instructions to fix it. It usually isn't hard. Sometimes the employee involved misinterpreted a rule or a policy, or sometimes they were just negligent. Those ones were easy to make right, and I fail to understand the position of companies in situations like his United case where it was pretty obvious what happened. But there were a few that were tough because the customer did not want it resolved. They felt that they were deserving of big bucks for something trivial, or for nothing at all. It was a shakedown, pure and simple. Those were the only instances where I did not put myself on their side. Sometimes I would give up once I saw what I was dealing with and hand it over to our lawyers. I certainly wasn't about to authorize writing someone a big check if they were not willing to work with me. We were not a charity.

stever

I think a lot of it is just corporate culture and if the corp treats their employees poorly, it permeates everything.

btw, my sister is a UAL retiree and I think I can fly free if I want to, as her enrolled friend (same bene's as a spouse). I don't, LOL. Most flights are "okay" and I had one great cross-county 777 first class upgrade, but I've also been stiffed at the gate when it was obvious there were seats available (this was long ago before loads got so full) and I've also been served a nicely wrapped up sandwich with a bite out of it. Rather buy a reserved seat if I can't drive and UAL wouldn't be my first choice.

Interesting month in the car biz. Our hits are at an all time high with people researching cars, the stock market shenanigans didn't seem to have any effect on buying and car sales continue to boom. Used car prices are crazy high. For the first time since 2012, Labor Day sales won't be included in the August numbers due to some calendar weirdness. So August sales may be down year to year but will still be strong. And Labor Day weekend promises to be a blow-out.

Some of us should hunker down and go buy a car.

driver100

graphicguy said:

Thanks again everyone for your willing ears. It is greatly appreciated.

Talking to a bunch of people who have dealt with GM when it comes to buybacks, they are the worst. They seemingly do not want to admit to any sort of culpability, or any sort of admission of issues in their cars, especially when those are many and perhaps difficult to diagnose. As one person told me who had his Chevy Malibu bought back a few years ago..."they're experienced in the arbitration and lemon law cases. They know if they admit to not being able to fix your car, the consumer has the upper hand."

It took him a year and a half to finally get Chevy to buy his back (also steering issues).

So be it. I'll keep you guys posted every step of the way.

And, no...still don't have my car back. Still sitting at the dealers....3 weeks yesterday.

For whatever reason GM just isn't interested in solving this problem. If they give in to one they may have to give in to others. Some may give up, some will just trade their car in, some will live with it....a few will take it to a lawyer.

They may even find they can wear you down to the point you will accept something less than you hoped for.

That is their formula, put off paying until forced to.....well, that isn't the kind of company I want to buy from. Life is too short for that kind of nonsense.

driver100

mako1a said:

3 years ago yesterday I bought the GT Mustang. It is now officially out of factory warranty. Just turned over 13k miles, has had 2 oil changes by my local NAPA mechanic, never been back to the dealer and runs like a top. The place where I get it inspected asks how many miles since last inspection (shakes his at 4k) and after a quick look at brakes, etc puts on a current sticker. I treated it to some premium fuel yesterday as I'll be driving to West Virginia next week for a pontoon boat tour with my best friend from grade school. Summersville Lake here we come.

I wish I was like Jay Leno and could have about 25 cars. A Mustang would be on my list.

That is making me think, I wonder what else? For one, I'd love a 1958 T-Bird. Probably a baby Bentley too.
Plus mine I can still choose 21 more......................................

andres3

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Thanks again everyone for your willing ears. It is greatly appreciated.

Talking to a bunch of people who have dealt with GM when it comes to buybacks, they are the worst. They seemingly do not want to admit to any sort of culpability, or any sort of admission of issues in their cars, especially when those are many and perhaps difficult to diagnose. As one person told me who had his Chevy Malibu bought back a few years ago..."they're experienced in the arbitration and lemon law cases. They know if they admit to not being able to fix your car, the consumer has the upper hand."

It took him a year and a half to finally get Chevy to buy his back (also steering issues).

So be it. I'll keep you guys posted every step of the way.

And, no...still don't have my car back. Still sitting at the dealers....3 weeks yesterday.

For whatever reason GM just isn't interested in solving this problem. If they give in to one they may have to give in to others. Some may give up, some will just trade their car in, some will live with it....a few will take it to a lawyer.

They may even find they can wear you down to the point you will accept something less than you hoped for.

That is their formula, put off paying until forced to.....well, that isn't the kind of company I want to buy from. Life is too short for that kind of nonsense.

Sounds like the same formula many auto insurance companies use. Life is too short for that non-sense, unfortunately some claims/accidents are unavoidable unless you just stay home all the time. I'm telling you I was a hairs width away from posting a bond for my own self-insurance non-insured option in CA. Only thieves and comp claims keep me from doing it.

mako1a

Frisco is actually a suburb of Dallas so the only time I get to Houston is to visit family or friends. Fortunately, I get to avoid Houston traffic but Dallas is no picnic in that regard either.

Sorry, my memory lapse. When I was working I went to TX so many times I asked Uncle Sugar when they were going to issue me a hat and a pair of boots.

Lots of time in Corpus Christie, Galveston, Austin and a thousand flights thru Dallas. Do you ever come in contact with the guys from Gas Monkey Garage or their friends with the Jeep place? Aaron is a hoot and obviously a great mechanic. I remember Frisco being the first area to reveal any new Ford product from back when I was searching. You want a brand spanking new F-150 or Mustang, that was the place to buy it.

If I lived in TX with a 430 HP Mustang I'd be in so much trouble for speeding I'd probably get 30 days in the electric chair.

abacomike

@mako1a:

What I miss about Dallas and San Antonio is the barbecue brisket.  Nothing like it in the world.  My best friend lived in Lewisville (just both of Dallas on I-35E).  I used to visit him 3-4 times a year.  Every time I visited, he would buy 4-5 pounds of barbecued brisket.  It was so good it had to be sinful to eat - come to think of it, it was sinful.

berri

Austin too. I'm hungry!

abacomike

berri said:

Austin too. I'm hungry!

I used to travel to San Antonio frequently to visit friends.  The River Walk has many, many restaurants that specialize in BBQ brisket.  That was just as delicious, if not a bit more spicy than Dallas.  We used to wait on line for over an hour at the River Walk because it was always so busy.

DELICIOUS!!!

berri

I was in Chicago not too long ago. There is a place in the Wicker Park neighborhood just a bit northwest of the Loop called Smoke Daddy that I think has pretty much nailed Texas brisket. Just in case you're thinking of heading north for the winter

js06gv

mako1a said:

Frisco is actually a suburb of Dallas so the only time I get to Houston is to visit family or friends. Fortunately, I get to avoid Houston traffic but Dallas is no picnic in that regard either.

Sorry, my memory lapse. When I was working I went to TX so many times I asked Uncle Sugar when they were going to issue me a hat and a pair of boots.

Lots of time in Corpus Christie, Galveston, Austin and a thousand flights thru Dallas. Do you ever come in contact with the guys from Gas Monkey Garage or their friends with the Jeep place? Aaron is a hoot and obviously a great mechanic. I remember Frisco being the first area to reveal any new Ford product from back when I was searching. You want a brand spanking new F-150 or Mustang, that was the place to buy it.

If I lived in TX with a 430 HP Mustang I'd be in so much trouble for speeding I'd probably get 30 days in the electric chair.


Lots of great brisket around here. I've never personally met the guys from Gas Monkey, but I have friends who are friends of some of them. I watch the show and the spinoff of it whenever I can.

abacomike

Looks like Erika is heading to the west coast of Florida.  Here in far north Broward County, we will be spared most of the wind but they forecast very heavy rain Sunday/Monday.  I live about about 21 miles northwest of Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport or about 45 miles north west of Miami.  Miami-Dade is still in the forecast cone but we are no longer under tropical storm watch - however after living here for 15 years, I know things change quickly when it comes to tropical cyclones.

We need the rain - we are almost 20 inches below normal and are in a drought. I hope we get 8-10 inches of rain out of this.

There is another tropical wave off the coast of West Africa (Cape Verde Islands).  That is another storm we are going to have to watch carefully how it progresses - could be here in 10 days or so.  

fezo

They don't seem to have no good idea of where Erika is heading. As of tonight some models have it heading to the gulf, some straight at Ft.Lauderdale Some up the Outer Banks at least has one has it coming our way. Gas in the car? Check. Flashlights? Yep. Food, we;re good. MAnages Sandy with little disruption.

That said no way is it coming here.

stickguy

we need rain up in NJ too. My lawn is sucking wind.

as to cars, definitely seems that Caddy (GM) has bought into the "stale until they give up and go away" program. Probably easier to do with cars, because most people can't afford to just park a lemon that they are paying for, and probably need for transportation. So the war of attrition is in their favor.

I'm sure they hope that owners just give up, and go trade it in (at another brand!) to be rid of it, making it easier to ignore the problem since the new owners won't be original.

GG is probably in the minority that can, if they want, fight to the bitter end even if they never see the car again.

roadburner

We took my buddy's Mercedes-AMG E63 to the 1/8 mile strip tonight. My best run was 8.12 seconds- which is the fastest the car has gone. Beat a 1970 Buick GS Stage I with a built 455 running slicks and also dispatched a modified Lexus IS F. It was my first visit to the strip since 1976 and I had a ball. The spectators' initial reaction, "What's a Mercedes doing at a drag strip?" changed to "What kind of motor does he have in that thing?"

abacomike

fezo said:

They don't seem to have no good idea of where Erika is heading. As of tonight some models have it heading to the gulf, some straight at Ft.Lauderdale Some up the Outer Banks at least has one has it coming our way. Gas in the car? Check. Flashlights? Yep. Food, we;re good. MAnages Sandy with little disruption. That said no way is it coming here.

Our Hurricane Center in Miami has removed all of Eastern Broward County from the tropical storm watch which includes Ft. Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Hollywood, Deerfield Beach, etc.  Western Broward County (The Everglades) is still in the possible path of the storm as are Miami-Dade and Monroe (Florida Keys) Counties.

driver100

Some surprising statistics about who is buying new cars (by David Booth motor mouth, Canadian Driver)

*The numbers, especially compared to cohorts of aging drivers past, are staggering. In the United States, drivers over the age of 75, for instance, register six times as many new cars as those aged 18 to 24. The number of cars registered to U.S. households headed by someone 65 or older are up by some 65 per cent since 2010.

*The result, says the U.S. National Automobile Dealers Association’s chief economist, Steven Szakaly, is that, while the average age of the American population is 38 years old, the average age of a new car buyer is almost 52. In fact, because of the strength of their accumulated savings, “it takes four millennials to replace one boomer in terms of economic impact,” Szakaly told a Center for Automotive Research seminar. Closer to home, the Conference Board of Canada says that, for the first time, the generation now aged 25 to 29 risks being poorer than their parents (probably the same in the US).

*The conundrum in this happy growth spurt is that automakers seem to blithely ignore the trend. Get ’em while they’re still young remains the automotive marketers’ mantra; the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) claims that seniors are targeted by less than 10 per cent of carmakers’ ad dollars while, according to JD Power, those aged 50 to 63 years of age account for a whopping 63 per cent of auto sales.

*John Morel, a market analyst for Honda America told Bloomberg Business. “But your propensity to buy a car at 25 is roughly a quarter of what it is at age 65. By definition, very few cars sell in high volume to 20-somethings.”

*There is one aspect of this geriatricification of the auto marketplace that is likely to play into the hands of automakers, however. Thus far, the development of the self-driving car has been a youth-based quest — automakers new and old reasoning that millennials would prefer to be driven than drive. But, if this trend to an older, and more infirm, clientele continues, it may be the partially autonomous automobile and its ability to minimize the frailties of age that will be technology’s biggest boon

FULL ARTICLE

driver100

abacomike said:

fezo said:

They don't seem to have no good idea of where Erika is heading. As of tonight some models have it heading to the gulf, some straight at Ft.Lauderdale Some up the Outer Banks at least has one has it coming our way. Gas in the car? Check. Flashlights? Yep. Food, we;re good. MAnages Sandy with little disruption.

That said no way is it coming here.

Our Hurricane Center in Miami has removed all of Eastern Broward County from the tropical storm watch which includes Ft. Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Hollywood, Deerfield Beach, etc.  Western Broward County (The Everglades) is still in the possible path of the storm as are Miami-Dade and Monroe (Florida Keys) Counties

.

What about Bradenton - Tampa - St Petes area?

graphicguy

".....30 days in the electric chair"

Grin of the day!

graphicguy

Driver....I know I have a lot more disposable income now than I did at 25. I think that enters into it, too.

I've got another 10 years or so in my "planned" career (who knows what happens after that). But, I'm betting I've got another 5 or 6 cars left to buy between now and the time I start looking for a nice used Crown Victoria.

stickguy

like the saying goes, you can sell a young person's car to an old person, but can't sell a fogie mobile to a young person!

driver100

graphicguy said:

Driver....I know I have a lot more disposable income now than I did at 25. I think that enters into it, too.

I've got another 10 years or so in my "planned" career (who knows what happens after that). But, I'm betting I've got another 5 or 6 cars left to buy between now and the time I start looking for a nice used Crown Victoria.

GG Younger people don't mind public transportation. They also have to pay mortgages, childcare, university, new furniture, larger house etc etc. Cars just aren't that important to many young people.

For many people when they retire their mortgage has been paid off, no children around, they have enough furniture and they have a steady pension income or retirement fund income.

If the income coming in can get you a new car every few years, might as well do it and enjoy your years to the best of your ability.

Unless you are concerned with leaving a large inheritance...but, I plan on spending every last penny and just leaving some bills for the kids to pay off.

danfromm

isellhondas said:

I'm back!!!!

Tried "upgrading" to Windows 10 and it turned out to be a disaster! Lost all of my passpeords including this one so I was unable to get in. I still have no idea what it even is since it autofills! Win 10 may work for some people but not me!

What's your browser? An upgrade to Win 10 left my Firefox stored passwords intact.

driver100

stickguy said:

like the saying goes, you can sell a young person's car to an old person, but can't sell a fogie mobile to a young person!

That's exactly it....the ads are targeted to 25 year olds, but the people buying cars are over 60!

That makes me think the Lincoln ads are ingenious. A cranky good looking guy who is going to do exactly what he wants to do.....most new car buyers want to identify with him.

Maybe those large storage compartments built into the front seat of the E400 is for storing Depends!

stickguy

look at how many 60ish guys on this board alone have bought Mustang GTs.

and my small sample size of young people (my kids!) tells me that they have zero interest in public transit, and great interest in having and driving their own cars.

imidazol97

The last few days here have been in upper 60s low 70s with mild humidity if any. I commented
to my wife that it was like the small convertibles had hatched out like insects do at
certain times of season. The mild days brought out The S2000, Miata, BMW, Solstice, Sky, and some MG convertibles.

Shows who owns most of them. Several went
through the drive-thru at ChickFilA while we were there Thursday. But it's almost all
older guys (like me) who own them that were out during the days.
Maybe I should think about getting one... hmmmm.

explorerx4

My sister and her husband are on their way back home from house hunting in Dayton.

suydam

"and my small sample size of young people (my kids!) tells me that they have zero interest in public transit, and great interest in having and driving their own cars."
-- and my own small sample -- my kids -- two live in large cities and haven't owned a car since college. The other one buys and drives a used car -- for at least 10 years before replacing it.
Proving that small samples are worth bupkis!

imidazol97

explorerx4 said:

My sister and her husband are on their way back home from house hunting in Dayton.

Which are of town? Moving for a job transfer?

stever

Dunno, would enjoy a used Miata but don't see myself buying a new car every two or three years as I hit retirement age. Would rather spend the money on travel but after seeing our folks age, it's more likely it's going to medical co-pays....

Oh, my BIL has always lived in West Coast cities and has never owned a car.

fezo

imid - you should definitely pick up a Miara. What kind of odds would you get that you and I would have a car in common?

explorerx4

Yes, new job. Made offer on house in Oakwood area.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

Today, I can get a date online without the embarrassment or uncertainty of walking up to a girl and carousIng her into going out with me.

#1.) was gone for a few weeks to see my new granddaughter and get back for my sons wedding yesterday so I am trying to catch up on something like 600 new posts. On the plus side I do have a car purchase story for you, I will get to that when I have gotten caught up.

#2.) In response to your post; as long as you stay away from sites like this.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

Will you let me drive your car?

Of course, stick!  I'll show you how the meter works.  You put $20 bills into the slot for each mile you drive.  See how simple it will be?   

Great, I have plenty of those and can easily print up more.

OK I tried to get an image of a Monopoly $20 bill but it didn't take. :@

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

This car is probably a real exceptional lemon, but, no one wants to risk spending that much money and being caught in a similar situation.

Unfortunately you take that risk every time you buy a car.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

abacomike said:

Today, I can get a date online without the embarrassment or uncertainty of walking up to a girl and carousIng her into going out with me.

#1.) was gone for a few weeks to see my new granddaughter and get back for my sons wedding yesterday so I am trying to catch up on something like 600 new posts. On the plus side I do have a car purchase story for you, I will get to that when I have gotten caught up.

#2.) In response to your post; as long as you stay away from sites like this.

I like what that first guy said;

Name: TJ
I’m looking for a girl named “Julie”.. it’s just easier that way. I got this “Julie” tattoo last year, and would prefer to not deal with it. or if you want to change your name that’s cool. Location: Missouri, USA

And, I have some more advice. Don't bother signing on with Ashley Madison, only 10% are women and most of them sign up and never actually use it. Not great odds!

snakeweasel

bwia said:

stever said:

That's what bugs me about considering that Encore we test drove a couple of weeks ago with the $1,400 mop and glow package that all the cars at that dealership come with. If the dealer is so willing to rip people off right up front like that, what kind of treatment am I going to get if I need service?

Great service. Otherwise GM would drop them like a bad habit. Even before its bankruptcy GM began to shed dealerships that were not measuring up. GM's eminent bankruptcy and restructuring hastened that process. I know two Buick dealerships in my area that met their demise for not meeting GM's no nonsense revised standards (sales, service, facilities, etc.)

If that was the case there would be a few GM dealerships here that should have been shut down but weren't.

henryn

@stickguy :: “like the saying goes, you can sell a young person's car to an old person, but can't sell a fogie mobile to a young person!”

Respectfully disagree. This old fogy cannot comfortably get in and out of a really low slung sports car. Just ain’t gonna happen!

@graphicguy :: “I know I have a lot more disposable income now than I did at 25. I think that enters into it, too.”

+1 to that. I neither ‘need’, nor ‘have to have’. I simply ‘want’, and I can afford it, so why not?

@driver100 :: “And, I have some more advice. Don't bother signing on with Ashley Madison, only 10% are women and most of them sign up and never actually use it. Not great odds!”

Over the last 5.5 years, I have gotten quite a few dates from AshleyMadison. Like most everything else in life, you just have to know ‘how to play the game’. Just like negotiating the price for a new car at the dealer, you have to learn. You can read a lot, get the basic knowledge down pat. But sooner or later, you have to put yourself out there and practice the moves that you learned from reading. Whether that be at a new car dealership, or OLD (OnLine Dating), knowledge PLUS practice == win.

henryn

On the subject of GG’s Cadillac woes:

I strongly suspect that Cadillac (the corporation, not the local dealers) still don’t believe his car is really “broken”. “Not showing a code” is a really big deal to them. And the car is (mostly) drivable.

I think both of the service departments he has dealt with are not truly presenting his side of the case to the higher levels (regional manager, zone manager, whatever).

When you start dealing with huge corporations, internal communications are often terrible at best. And in this case, the dealerships and Cadillac corporation are two entirely separate entities, with completely different interests.

I have stated before, here in these forums, eventually dealerships are going to be owned / run by the car companies. I think that HAS to happen, eventually.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

Mike, cars get 2 or 3X mileage they used to,

Not to sure about that, my first car was a 1970 Dodge Coronet with the slant 6 and I got 23 or so MPG highway and few cars today will get twice that and none would get three times that.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

The article says it gets 124 mpg! If that's not saving oil I don't know what will.
They love their i3, but it is a 2nd car and it is only used to go a short distance to work and back.
A big problem I have is it is hard to know when it is coming along...no engine noise, just sound of tires.

Most new cars are very quite with the most noise coming from the tires on the asphalt.

snakeweasel

fezo said:

I don't completely get the Volt. I love the technology and where they are trying to go with it but it has half the space of a Prius and once you've done your 50 electric miles lower gas mileage.

The technology will grow into something more marketable but it isn't there.

I am starting to see more Volts on the road, so they are selling.