Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

Was in Chicago for work most of the week.

And you didn't stop and say hello.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

Off the VW scandal and on to another.  Hyundai is recalling almost 500,000+ 2009-2012 Sonatas and is REPLACING the engines because they can fail.  Replacing them - not repairing them.  Both 4 cylinder engines, not the 6.  No injuries or deaths reported as per the Sun Sentinel article in this mornings business section.

To replace the entire engine in that many cars is, in my recollection, unheard of.  Imagine, no repairs or fixes.  Also, they will warrant the new engine for 10 years or 100,000 miles, who ever comes first.

Amazing!

That's one thing I have to do today, check the wifes car to see if it is one being recalled. Thanks for the reminder.

My last car, a 2000 Elantra, ended up with a cracked exhaust manifold at around 135K miles. Seems like they got a hold of a bad batch and warranted that part for 10 years unlimited mileage. I had no issues getting that part replaced.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

Also climbing off the VW horse for a minute...

I went with my youngest daughter to the Subaru place yesterday. She expressed an interest in trading her Impreza hatch for a Crosstrek.

I researched the value of her car and what they are selling for in this area and had a good idea what the difference between the two should be, as well as what the Crosstreks are selling for.

When we got there our usual sales person was not there. The sales manager put another sales guy on us. I explained that all she wanted to do was drive the Crosstrek to see if she liked it before proceeding with anything else. Well...after all the shenanigans were over they had her keys, appraised her car, and finally let her drive the Crosstrek. I have already bought 4 Subaru's there and never ran into this with my usual sales lady.

Before we left they handed me a paper with all the $ figures on it. Everything was in line with my research except they, in my opinion, low-balled the trade - by about $1,500.

Normally I just tell my usual sales person what difference I will pay and call me if she can match that number. Four out of four times it worked fine. Until now. Everything was a whirlwind...lol. I like things a lot calmer.

This is going to be good.

Low balling the trade must be the only trick left with all the information on the Internet. Seems they hit you with auction value and hope you believe it's the best they can do. Can't blame them for trying.

Most of the time you are NOT going to get auction value when you trade it in. From what I have read, most new car dealerships make more money off of used cars than from new cars. So they hope to get your trade in "on the cheap", and make most of their profit there.

There there is the question of will they sell your trade in on their lot, or send it to the auction? If they're just going to send it to the auction, they most definitely are not going to give you what they hope to get at the auction. They have overhead, it costs them money to store the vehicle, haul it to the auction, and then hope they get what they expected.

The only times I have received "auction value" for my trade in, I strongly suspected that the dealer was actually fudging or giving a little on their new car.

snakeweasel

robr2 said:

On a personal note, I just got back from a quick 5K run. What a beautiful morning - 60 degrees, crisp air, light breeze. I felt like I could just keep running...

It was a beautiful morning here too, went out to do a 20 mile bike ride that turned out to be 50. Got a flat though, but was on my way after about 15 minutes.

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

graphicguy said:

Typically, the steering was too light. But, it was smooth...no "hangs", no intermittent quitting, just smooth power steering. I forgot what that felt like. A goodly amount of understeer built in, though.

I had to laugh at this. In case someone didn't know, I have a similar Malibu. I probably agree that the steering is lighter than most cars that are "road machines. But it is flawless. HOWEVER, I have no idea if my car tends toward understeer--I've never driven it hard enough to get a feel for it. The lighter engine in front, compared to my 3800 V6 leSabres, makes it feel nicely balance for my sedate driving style. LOL My 235x55x18-inch Goodyear Eagles might do well at gripping. But they're some stupid LS2 version.

graphicguy said:

Acceleration wasn't bad, but not great, either. I think it's a version of the same 2.0 that's in the CTS. Funny, it sounded and felt more refined than it does in the CTS. Certainly the Malibu is slower. .

Did it have the 265 hp turbo 2.0L or the 2.5L at 195 hp and 191 lb-ft. The 2.5 is not much lower in power than what my 3800 has although the rpms for peak are lower on the 3800. Car and Driver says the 2.0 turbo is 6.3 sec to 60. AND it has a "bit of turbo lag" which I think you would have noticed. I'm wondering if you actually were driving the 2.5 L.. A clue would be did it have auto stop where the engine turned off when you did a moderate braking held till the car was stopped and the tach drops to a region above 0 that says "Auto Stop."

Imid....it did have "auto start/stop". BTW, it was probably the smoothest such system I've experienced....certainly way better than what I experienced in a BMW 3 Series.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

well, based on recent news reports, I am glad that my VW and Hyundai are both leased! Only the Acura is owned outright.

Guess I made the right call there.

Looks to me like Hyundai is making a proactive move on an issue it discovered before anything happens. They are not hemming and hawing ignoring the issue hoping that nothing happens. To me that says a lot.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Was in Chicago for work most of the week. Rented a Malibu...not the entirely new '16, but a '15. I have been driving my CTS with all its faults and foibles for so long, I had forgotten what a "good" GM car was supposed to feel like.

Typically, the steering was too light. But, it was smooth...no "hangs", no intermittent quitting, just smooth power steering. I forgot what that felt like. A goodly amount of understeer built in, though.

Acceleration wasn't bad, but not great, either. I think it's a version of the same 2.0 that's in the CTS. Funny, it sounded and felt more refined than it does in the CTS. Certainly the Malibu is slower.

MY LINK actually works in the Malibu (CUE in my CTS, on the other hand, does not).

No stalls, no drips, no errors. And, this was a rental that had 10K miles on it (which my CTS hasn't reached).

Got home late afternoon yesterday. I park with an off airport sight with a valet service. Given I'm at the airport about 3 out of 4 weeks in a month, I get to know some of the parking patrons at this place, as we see each other often. When I pick up my car, it's running with either the A/C or heater running, depending on the time of year, bottled water waiting in the car, newspaper and my receipt. All I have to do is jump in and go.

Well, the car next to mine happened to be an older GS, and the owner was getting in his while I was retrieving mine. He was looking at the CTS. He explained he had nearly 150K miles on his Lexus and was actively looking for a new car, and wondered how I liked the CTS.

I laughed. He said "that's either a really good thing, or a really bad thing." I told him I wouldn't buy another Cadillac if it was sold to me for $5. I proceeded to tell him the numerous maladies, how it had been in the dealer shop for nearly two months, and still wasn't fixed. I showed him the inoperative CUE.

I asked how he liked the GS. He said he had no issues at all in his ownership, and that the Lexus dealership (in KY, but owned by the same guy who owns the one near me in OH) treated him quite well. I suggested he should stick with Lexus.

So are they going to fix that CUE thingy or what? Are you saying the power steering is still acting up even after they said it was fixed?

OF....Cadillac and dealer says CUE works for them. Doesn't work for me. I think they don't have a fix, so they're are just going to ignore it. Power steering on the GM rentals show mine in the CTS really isn't fixed, but not as problematic as it was before. Got some suspension issues, now.

They (Cadillac Corp) were supposed to call me Thursday with an update on my buyback. Of course, they didn't call.

venture

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

Also climbing off the VW horse for a minute...

I went with my youngest daughter to the Subaru place yesterday. She expressed an interest in trading her Impreza hatch for a Crosstrek.

I researched the value of her car and what they are selling for in this area and had a good idea what the difference between the two should be, as well as what the Crosstreks are selling for.

When we got there our usual sales person was not there. The sales manager put another sales guy on us. I explained that all she wanted to do was drive the Crosstrek to see if she liked it before proceeding with anything else. Well...after all the shenanigans were over they had her keys, appraised her car, and finally let her drive the Crosstrek. I have already bought 4 Subaru's there and never ran into this with my usual sales lady.

Before we left they handed me a paper with all the $ figures on it. Everything was in line with my research except they, in my opinion, low-balled the trade - by about $1,500.

Normally I just tell my usual sales person what difference I will pay and call me if she can match that number. Four out of four times it worked fine. Until now. Everything was a whirlwind...lol. I like things a lot calmer.

This is going to be good.

Low balling the trade must be the only trick left with all the information on the Internet. Seems they hit you with auction value and hope you believe it's the best they can do. Can't blame them for trying.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking too. I checked the auction prices this morning. They are actually about $2,500 UNDER auction...lmao.

I called around 11:30 this morning and talked to my sales lady. She said she would check into it and call me back. It's now after 4 and nobody has called. Maybe correct information is too much information.

dino001

venture said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

Also climbing off the VW horse for a minute...

I went with my youngest daughter to the Subaru place yesterday. She expressed an interest in trading her Impreza hatch for a Crosstrek.

I researched the value of her car and what they are selling for in this area and had a good idea what the difference between the two should be, as well as what the Crosstreks are selling for.

When we got there our usual sales person was not there. The sales manager put another sales guy on us. I explained that all she wanted to do was drive the Crosstrek to see if she liked it before proceeding with anything else. Well...after all the shenanigans were over they had her keys, appraised her car, and finally let her drive the Crosstrek. I have already bought 4 Subaru's there and never ran into this with my usual sales lady.

Before we left they handed me a paper with all the $ figures on it. Everything was in line with my research except they, in my opinion, low-balled the trade - by about $1,500.

Normally I just tell my usual sales person what difference I will pay and call me if she can match that number. Four out of four times it worked fine. Until now. Everything was a whirlwind...lol. I like things a lot calmer.

This is going to be good.

Low balling the trade must be the only trick left with all the information on the Internet. Seems they hit you with auction value and hope you believe it's the best they can do. Can't blame them for trying.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking too. I checked the auction prices this morning. They are actually about $2,500 UNDER auction...lmao.

I called around 11:30 this morning and talked to my sales lady. She said she would check into it and call me back. It's now after 4 and nobody has called. Maybe correct information is too much information.

Maybe it's simply not meant to be? The expectations being apart simply mean neither side wants it bad enough.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

Imid....it did have "auto start/stop". BTW, it was probably the smoothest such system I've experienced....certainly way better than what I experienced in a BMW 3 Series.

It is very well engineered with special starter. When I test drove, I had six stoplights on the test route, one I'm familiar with driving. I hit at least 3 and didn't even realize it had stopped. The saleslady told me it goes off and restarts without you sensing it until you're looking for it. She was right. Easily controlled by easing up on brake pressure just before dead stop to avoid having engine turn off if you want to keep it going, like approaching a stop sign where full stop may be needed for a second but you'll be moving shortly.

Did you catch on there are two AC settings--yellow light for normal AC which can block auto stop if cabin demand needs cooling and green light on next click for "green" setting to allow auto stop unless cabin demand for AC is outside of range?

I think it's a compliment to the engine and the transmission gearing that you thought it might be the 2.0L turbo. That engine gave me 38.3 mpg on 160 miles to Cincy with AC on and at speed limit of 65 all the way to downtown going to Newport car show and then Fillmore's Drive-in Cruise (Florence) later. About 10 miles on Newport/Covington streets.

abacomike

As for auto start/stop, this is the third car I've owned that has it.  In Mercedes-Benz, you can disable it by pressing the "econ" button on the center lower dashboard.  Driver said he keeps his "off" all the time.  I keep mine "on" all the time.

During the months of May-October, the engine does not remain off very long because of the oppressive heat.  We are entering the time of year down here when temps begin to moderate (80's rather then 90's).  So the engine shuts down for a longer period of time.

Mercedes-Benz cars come equipped with an auxiliary battery (mine is near the spare tire in the trunk) that is recharged from the alternator like the main battery.  That is the battery that restarts the car when auto stop/start is engaged.  

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

As for auto start/stop, this is the third car I've owned that has it.  In Mercedes-Benz, you can disable it by pressing the "econ" button on the center lower dashboard.  Driver said he keeps his "off" all the time.  I keep mine "on" all the time.

During the months of May-October, the engine does not remain off very long because of the oppressive heat.  We are entering the time of year down here when temps begin to moderate (80's rather then 90's).  So the engine shuts down for a longer period of time.

Mercedes-Benz cars come equipped with an auxiliary battery (mine is near the spare tire in the trunk) that is recharged from the alternator like the main battery.  That is the battery that restarts the car when auto stop/start is engaged.  

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

abacomike

@snakeweasel said:

"...One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?"

If you release the brake pedal, it starts the engine immediately.  I have a "brake hold" function whereby once the engine stops, I press hard on the brake pedal which automatically hold the brake engaged and I can take my foot off the brake pedal.  When the traffic light turn green, I just tap the accelerator and the engine restarts and I drive off.

tjc78

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Was in Chicago for work most of the week. Rented a Malibu...not the entirely new '16, but a '15. I have been driving my CTS with all its faults and foibles for so long, I had forgotten what a "good" GM car was supposed to feel like.

Typically, the steering was too light. But, it was smooth...no "hangs", no intermittent quitting, just smooth power steering. I forgot what that felt like. A goodly amount of understeer built in, though.

Acceleration wasn't bad, but not great, either. I think it's a version of the same 2.0 that's in the CTS. Funny, it sounded and felt more refined than it does in the CTS. Certainly the Malibu is slower.

MY LINK actually works in the Malibu (CUE in my CTS, on the other hand, does not).

No stalls, no drips, no errors. And, this was a rental that had 10K miles on it (which my CTS hasn't reached).

Got home late afternoon yesterday. I park with an off airport sight with a valet service. Given I'm at the airport about 3 out of 4 weeks in a month, I get to know some of the parking patrons at this place, as we see each other often. When I pick up my car, it's running with either the A/C or heater running, depending on the time of year, bottled water waiting in the car, newspaper and my receipt. All I have to do is jump in and go.

Well, the car next to mine happened to be an older GS, and the owner was getting in his while I was retrieving mine. He was looking at the CTS. He explained he had nearly 150K miles on his Lexus and was actively looking for a new car, and wondered how I liked the CTS.

I laughed. He said "that's either a really good thing, or a really bad thing." I told him I wouldn't buy another Cadillac if it was sold to me for $5. I proceeded to tell him the numerous maladies, how it had been in the dealer shop for nearly two months, and still wasn't fixed. I showed him the inoperative CUE.

I asked how he liked the GS. He said he had no issues at all in his ownership, and that the Lexus dealership (in KY, but owned by the same guy who owns the one near me in OH) treated him quite well. I suggested he should stick with Lexus.

So are they going to fix that CUE thingy or what? Are you saying the power steering is still acting up even after they said it was fixed?

OF....Cadillac and dealer says CUE works for them. Doesn't work for me. I think they don't have a fix, so they're are just going to ignore it. Power steering on the GM rentals show mine in the CTS really isn't fixed, but not as problematic as it was before. Got some suspension issues, now.

They (Cadillac Corp) were supposed to call me Thursday with an update on my buyback. Of course, they didn't call.

I wonder how much different Cue is than Intellink which I have in the Enclave. I have to say I've been impressed how well that works.

imidazol97

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

venture

dino001 said:

venture said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

Also climbing off the VW horse for a minute...

I went with my youngest daughter to the Subaru place yesterday. She expressed an interest in trading her Impreza hatch for a Crosstrek.

I researched the value of her car and what they are selling for in this area and had a good idea what the difference between the two should be, as well as what the Crosstreks are selling for.

When we got there our usual sales person was not there. The sales manager put another sales guy on us. I explained that all she wanted to do was drive the Crosstrek to see if she liked it before proceeding with anything else. Well...after all the shenanigans were over they had her keys, appraised her car, and finally let her drive the Crosstrek. I have already bought 4 Subaru's there and never ran into this with my usual sales lady.

Before we left they handed me a paper with all the $ figures on it. Everything was in line with my research except they, in my opinion, low-balled the trade - by about $1,500.

Normally I just tell my usual sales person what difference I will pay and call me if she can match that number. Four out of four times it worked fine. Until now. Everything was a whirlwind...lol. I like things a lot calmer.

This is going to be good.

Low balling the trade must be the only trick left with all the information on the Internet. Seems they hit you with auction value and hope you believe it's the best they can do. Can't blame them for trying.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking too. I checked the auction prices this morning. They are actually about $2,500 UNDER auction...lmao.

I called around 11:30 this morning and talked to my sales lady. She said she would check into it and call me back. It's now after 4 and nobody has called. Maybe correct information is too much information.

Maybe it's simply not meant to be? The expectations being apart simply mean neither side wants it bad enough.

I think you are absolutely correct.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

Also climbing off the VW horse for a minute...

I went with my youngest daughter to the Subaru place yesterday. She expressed an interest in trading her Impreza hatch for a Crosstrek.

I researched the value of her car and what they are selling for in this area and had a good idea what the difference between the two should be, as well as what the Crosstreks are selling for.

When we got there our usual sales person was not there. The sales manager put another sales guy on us. I explained that all she wanted to do was drive the Crosstrek to see if she liked it before proceeding with anything else. Well...after all the shenanigans were over they had her keys, appraised her car, and finally let her drive the Crosstrek. I have already bought 4 Subaru's there and never ran into this with my usual sales lady.

Before we left they handed me a paper with all the $ figures on it. Everything was in line with my research except they, in my opinion, low-balled the trade - by about $1,500.

Normally I just tell my usual sales person what difference I will pay and call me if she can match that number. Four out of four times it worked fine. Until now. Everything was a whirlwind...lol. I like things a lot calmer.

This is going to be good.

Low balling the trade must be the only trick left with all the information on the Internet. Seems they hit you with auction value and hope you believe it's the best they can do. Can't blame them for trying.

Most of the time you are NOT going to get auction value when you trade it in. From what I have read, most new car dealerships make more money off of used cars than from new cars. So they hope to get your trade in "on the cheap", and make most of their profit there.

There there is the question of will they sell your trade in on their lot, or send it to the auction? If they're just going to send it to the auction, they most definitely are not going to give you what they hope to get at the auction. They have overhead, it costs them money to store the vehicle, haul it to the auction, and then hope they get what they expected.

The only times I have received "auction value" for my trade in, I strongly suspected that the dealer was actually fudging or giving a little on their new car.

The only time I traded a car they said they could only give me $1700 less than I wanted. They magically found more money after I walked. What I asked for was what all the internet "books" said it was worth. I can only assume the -$1700 was auction value but I could be wrong.

They put my trade on their lot with a 55% mark up. It's still there as of yesterday.

oldfarmer50

venture said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

Also climbing off the VW horse for a minute...

I went with my youngest daughter to the Subaru place yesterday. She expressed an interest in trading her Impreza hatch for a Crosstrek.

I researched the value of her car and what they are selling for in this area and had a good idea what the difference between the two should be, as well as what the Crosstreks are selling for.

When we got there our usual sales person was not there. The sales manager put another sales guy on us. I explained that all she wanted to do was drive the Crosstrek to see if she liked it before proceeding with anything else. Well...after all the shenanigans were over they had her keys, appraised her car, and finally let her drive the Crosstrek. I have already bought 4 Subaru's there and never ran into this with my usual sales lady.

Before we left they handed me a paper with all the $ figures on it. Everything was in line with my research except they, in my opinion, low-balled the trade - by about $1,500.

Normally I just tell my usual sales person what difference I will pay and call me if she can match that number. Four out of four times it worked fine. Until now. Everything was a whirlwind...lol. I like things a lot calmer.

This is going to be good.

Low balling the trade must be the only trick left with all the information on the Internet. Seems they hit you with auction value and hope you believe it's the best they can do. Can't blame them for trying.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking too. I checked the auction prices this morning. They are actually about $2,500 UNDER auction...lmao.

I called around 11:30 this morning and talked to my sales lady. She said she would check into it and call me back. It's now after 4 and nobody has called. Maybe correct information is too much information.

$2500 under auction? That's just wrong.

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

That feature would creep me out. I'm with driver100 on this one. What if marauding zombies suddenly attacked and I needed a quick getaway?

In other thoughts...I would never know if SYNC is working properly in my Ford since I don't have a smart phone. GG, have you considered that there is something wrong with your individual phone? Have you tested your CUE system with another phone?

roadburner

snakeweasel said:

It was a beautiful morning here too, went out to do a 20 mile bike ride that turned out to be 50. Got a flat though, but was on my way after about 15 minutes.

My wife and I try to ride 8-10 miles per day 5 to six days per week. She has a Giant Cypress while I had the Raleigh Grand Prix I bought new in 1973 restored and upgraded. I guess I'm "Old School" when it comes to bikes, cars, and motorcycles...

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

If regulators force me to be cheated in HP and MPG then I should be compensated as well (by VW, gov't, EPA, and whoever else is responsible).

Why should anyone else but VW compensate you?

Good catch, I'm glad someone was paying attention.

Well, since it is a "after the fact" gov't mandate rule/regulation testing/requirement change that could lessen the value of my family's VW, I should be grandfathered in, as the TDI in question passes the previous version of their test. So I hold the gov't accountable for any negative effects since their tests were incompetent and ineffective.

andres3 said:

Competition is good for consumers, right, we should all want VW to survive? At least that's one of the arguments I heard back in 2008 & 2009.

Yes that was the argument made back during the bailout, but truth be told GM and Chrysler were going to remain even without a bailout. If VW wants to stay in business they will, how they come out of this is the question.

andres3

tyguy said:

As part of my job in water quality I receive regular EPA communications, and this morning I was sent a letter regarding VW, directing me to this website for more information:

www3.epa.gov/otaq/cert/violations.htm

The FAQ holds some interesting information. What caught my attention is the EPA wrote that VW must create a solution, it could take a year to implement the fix, and that affected owners outside the emissions testing states may not have to implement the fix.

When it comes to owners of the impacted vehicles, it appears the EPA is taking a rather soft approach.

Probably because the EPA would rather not get sued by all the affected owners for grossly incompetent testing, and then trying to retroactively go back and hurt owners through no fault of their own; only VW due to the dishonesty, and the EPA due to gross incompetence in testing.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

All I know is my neighbor was ready to trade in his 08 Jetta diesel Wagon for a new diesel.
Now he is going to keep the old one, he figures the cost of diesel fuel will drop a lot!

Why would diesel fuel drop a lot, or at all? Passenger cars make up a tiny amount of the diesel demand in this country.

Passenger cars with diesel are 1% of the market. But, if people don't buy diesel cars, and demand goes down, diesel fuel will lose it's credibility as a viable fuel.....demand will slacken more than that 1%. It's like Beta VCRs, once people didn't support it their value plummeted.

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

graphicguy said:

Imid....it did have "auto start/stop". BTW, it was probably the smoothest such system I've experienced....certainly way better than what I experienced in a BMW 3 Series.

It is very well engineered with special starter. When I test drove, I had six stoplights on the test route, one I'm familiar with driving. I hit at least 3 and didn't even realize it had stopped. The saleslady told me it goes off and restarts without you sensing it until you're looking for it. She was right. Easily controlled by easing up on brake pressure just before dead stop to avoid having engine turn off if you want to keep it going, like approaching a stop sign where full stop may be needed for a second but you'll be moving shortly.

Did you catch on there are two AC settings--yellow light for normal AC which can block auto stop if cabin demand needs cooling and green light on next click for "green" setting to allow auto stop unless cabin demand for AC is outside of range?

I think it's a compliment to the engine and the transmission gearing that you thought it might be the 2.0L turbo. That engine gave me 38.3 mpg on 160 miles to Cincy with AC on and at speed limit of 65 all the way to downtown going to Newport car show and then Fillmore's Drive-in Cruise (Florence) later. About 10 miles on Newport/Covington streets.

Imid....I did detect some minor turbo whine as it spooled up and down, which I don't experience in my CTS. Just slight (and I do mean quite slight) turbo lag. But, I had to really concentrate to feel it. Clearly it's detuned for the Malibu application, also as my CTS has more power and torque up and down the reve range. I didn't mess with the HVAC that much. I got it to a certain temp and just let it do its thing.

As I said,"MY LINK" worked perfectly. My rental didn't have NAV, but had pwer seats, windows, tilt wheel, cloth seats which weren't bad.

Not sure what they sell for, but thinking mid to high $20s. Good car for that kind of money.

New one is supposed to be better. If I get a chance to rent one of those, I will.

I noticed that Hertz has "Prestige Colletion". They had Jags, MBs, Porsches, etc. I might rent a C300 for the weekend and see how I like it.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

That feature would creep me out. I'm with driver100 on this one. What if marauding zombies suddenly attacked and I needed a quick getaway?

In other thoughts...I would never know if SYNC is working properly in my Ford since I don't have a smart phone. GG, have you considered that there is something wrong with your individual phone? Have you tested your CUE system with another phone?

OF....I've tried 4 different phones with my CUE. Two office phones....one and Android, one an iPhone 5s. I've tried two personal phones...one an iPhone 6, and my latest iPhone 6s. None of them work.

[Deleted User]

snakeweasel said:

imidazol97 said:

Outrageous that EPA wouldn't require ALL cars to be "fixed."

I would think it is because of the same reason they don't test in those areas, the pollutants in those areas are very low and the few VW diesels spewing additional pollutants are not going to create dangerous levels. Now in high density areas where there are a lot more cars and manufacturing where pollutants are much higher the VW diesels (more in number too) could make dangerous levels of pollutants.

Secondly if they don't test in those areas how do you enforce any changes to the cars? Simple, you can't.

Perhaps there should be a "penalty" for VW for the number of vehicles that are not updated within a certain time frame, something along the lines of carbon offset. VW could contribute to a superfund cleanup or install solar/wind generation, and the amount invested dependent on how many cars that they "fix". If they could offset a coal fired power plant with renewable and clean energy production, the benefit to U.S. air would offset the excess pollution from the vehicles.

[Deleted User]

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

That feature would creep me out. I'm with driver100 on this one. What if marauding zombies suddenly attacked and I needed a quick getaway?

In other thoughts...I would never know if SYNC is working properly in my Ford since I don't have a smart phone. GG, have you considered that there is something wrong with your individual phone? Have you tested your CUE system with another phone?

OF....I've tried 4 different phones with my CUE. Two office phones....one and Android, one an iPhone 5s. I've tried two personal phones...one an iPhone 6, and my latest iPhone 6s. None of them work.

When I bought my Subie, the first thing the salesman did as part of delivery was grab my phone and pair it with the car, and then demonstrate the related features. Has the Caddie dealer not tried that yet with your phone?

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

As I said,"MY LINK" worked perfectly. My rental didn't have NAV, but had pwer seats, windows, tilt wheel, cloth seats which weren't bad.
Not sure what they sell for, but thinking mid to high $20s. Good car for that kind of money.
New one is supposed to be better. If I get a chance to rent one of those, I will.

If it had MyLink, it's a 1LT, 2LT, or LTZ.
If it had Auto Stop, it's got the 2.5L engine; the 2.0L turbo does not do start stop in any model.
If the wheels were 17 in, 1LT; 18 in, @LT; 19 in, LTZ.
1LT, none in stock--best value over LS. 2LT, no leather or sunroof, $26,500 on site for $24000 and make offer. Dealer has only 4 Malibu listed; earlier in summer had 40 if not more. The new ones are due NOW my own dealer told me this week.

abacomike

GG, you said CUE was not working for you, but the dealer said it works for them.  Did you have the dealer prove to you it was working?  And did you try to use it in front of the dealer?  It seems something is rotten in Denmark and it isn't a sardine!

henryn

tyguy said:

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

That feature would creep me out. I'm with driver100 on this one. What if marauding zombies suddenly attacked and I needed a quick getaway?

In other thoughts...I would never know if SYNC is working properly in my Ford since I don't have a smart phone. GG, have you considered that there is something wrong with your individual phone? Have you tested your CUE system with another phone?

OF....I've tried 4 different phones with my CUE. Two office phones....one and Android, one an iPhone 5s. I've tried two personal phones...one an iPhone 6, and my latest iPhone 6s. None of them work.

When I bought my Subie, the first thing the salesman did as part of delivery was grab my phone and pair it with the car, and then demonstrate the related features. Has the Caddie dealer not tried that yet with your phone?

I was wondering exactly the same thing. The last 3 new vehicles I purchased had the ability to connect my phone via bluetooth, and in every case the salesman wanted to do that for me. I refused in all 3 cases, saying "I do not use my phone when driving."

Of course, since then, I have discovered Google Maps and love it. But I do set everything and start the navigation before I pull out of my driveway or the parking space.

I do believe, quite strongly, that the future is going to be "android auto" and "apple carplay".

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ht8yzpIV9M0

Leave the fancy features to apple and android (google), who have invested hundreds of millions if not billions into making this work right.

stickguy

I tend to think the EPA has a major agenda and a lot of flaws, but in the VW case i really can't fault them (at least based on my superficial paying attention level!). They set the test, ran it, and VW passed. Should they have thought to look for a 2nd ECU map? that seems to be stretching it.

and yes, the system is built, because it has to be, with some level of trust in the manufacturers. Had to be probably, even if it looks a bit fox in the hen house.

So if anyone needs to make owners whole, it is VW.

stickguy

I agree with Henry about the future. The screen in the car will basically be a monitor, with all the "good" stuff coming through the phone. Of course, that costs the owner more money paying for the data, but no free lunch.

I do like the Navi built in now that I have it. Much better than a garmin (much larger screen and nicely integrated), but have never tried the carplay. If I had leased the Civic Si I looked at, it came with the feature (same with Acura ILX). $49 to buy the app, then you run the phone through it, but I am not sure that includes google maps. From what I remember from asking the salesman, it might just run Apple maps (the one that sucks and no one uses).

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

graphicguy said:

As I said,"MY LINK" worked perfectly. My rental didn't have NAV, but had pwer seats, windows, tilt wheel, cloth seats which weren't bad.
Not sure what they sell for, but thinking mid to high $20s. Good car for that kind of money.
New one is supposed to be better. If I get a chance to rent one of those, I will.

If it had MyLink, it's a 1LT, 2LT, or LTZ.
If it had Auto Stop, it's got the 2.5L engine; the 2.0L turbo does not do start stop in any model.
If the wheels were 17 in, 1LT; 18 in, @LT; 19 in, LTZ.
1LT, none in stock--best value over LS. 2LT, no leather or sunroof, $26,500 on site for $24000 and make offer. Dealer has only 4 Malibu listed; earlier in summer had 40 if not more. The new ones are due NOW my own dealer told me this week.

Felt sluggish off the line, so I thought it might be turbo lag. Could have been transmission whine I mistook for turbo whine, too.

Still, nice car for that kind of money.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

That feature would creep me out. I'm with driver100 on this one. What if marauding zombies suddenly attacked and I needed a quick getaway?

In other thoughts...I would never know if SYNC is working properly in my Ford since I don't have a smart phone. GG, have you considered that there is something wrong with your individual phone? Have you tested your CUE system with another phone?

OF....I've tried 4 different phones with my CUE. Two office phones....one and Android, one an iPhone 5s. I've tried two personal phones...one an iPhone 6, and my latest iPhone 6s. None of them work.

Maybe you should make the dealer give you his phone since it's the only one that works. I admire your restraint through all this. I think by now I would have driven the car through the showroom window. :@

nyccarguy

The Mailbu is a really nice car for the mid-sized segment. I think I saw an ad for an ultr-low mileage lease of a 1LT with $0 down, due at signing, 1st month, bank fee for $177 per month. We talk about this on the mid sized 2.0 board all the time. It is so hard to get the accord buyers away from the Honda showrooms & the Camry buyers away from the Toyota showrooms. The segment is super competitive with so many choices for so many buyers. Each plays to their own strength. The 2.0 Turbo sounds kinda sexy (says the guy with the NA 2.5L H4 rated at 175 hp)

jpp75

nyccarguy said:

The Mailbu is a really nice car for the mid-sized segment. I think I saw an ad for an ultr-low mileage lease of a 1LT with $0 down, due at signing, 1st month, bank fee for $177 per month. We talk about this on the mid sized 2.0 board all the time. It is so hard to get the accord buyers away from the Honda showrooms & the Camry buyers away from the Toyota showrooms. The segment is super competitive with so many choices for so many buyers. Each plays to their own strength. The 2.0 Turbo sounds kinda sexy (says the guy with the NA 2.5L H4 rated at 175 hp)

Honda and Toyota haven't given their buyers a long-term reason to leave their showrooms. The Malibu is competitive for sure but nothing to draw attention anyway from any competitor (Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai).

And don't forget, "the guy with NA 2.5L H4 rated at 175 hp" has the best AWD sedan and will be on one car payment soon. (Says the guy who says "I don't mind the payment").

isellhondas

I have to say, I parked next to a new Malibu recently and I thought it was an Impala. It was VERY good looking and I was very impressed.

Still what prevents then from being good cars to lease is the dismal resale compared to Honda and Toyota. Low resale makes for high residuals which equate to higher lease payments.

This why they have that "ultra" low mile lease in effect. They are trying to keep payments attractive.

Most people drive 12-15,000 miles a year. I wonder how many "ultra" allows? Anyone know?

imidazol97

Has anyone else been having trouble loading pages from Edmunds. It has been off and on throughout today and some yesterday. I've paid my dues.

The URL line will have the spinning circle indicating it's loading. Then eventually the browser will say
the page failed because the connection reset during the load.

abacomike

I think I am done watching football until the Super Bowl unless I can find a Canadian League team to root for the next two months.

The Bufallo Bills didn't beat Miami tonight - Miami once again beat themselves.  Last week Miami did the same thing - beat themselves.  The penalties are just pathetic.  If I was Joe Philbin, I'd take a cruise around the world this week.

Michaell

isellhondas said:

I have to say, I parked next to a new Malibu recently and I thought it was an Impala. It was VERY good looking and I was very impressed. Still what prevents then from being good cars to lease is the dismal resale compared to Honda and Toyota. Low resale makes for high residuals which equate to higher lease payments. This why they have that "ultra" low mile lease in effect. They are trying to keep payments attractive. Most people drive 12-15,000 miles a year. I wonder how many "ultra" allows? Anyone know?

 Usually they are 10,000 miles per year 

robr2

Michaell said:

isellhondas said:

I have to say, I parked next to a new Malibu recently and I thought it was an Impala. It was VERY good looking and I was very impressed.

Still what prevents then from being good cars to lease is the dismal resale compared to Honda and Toyota. Low resale makes for high residuals which equate to higher lease payments.

This why they have that "ultra" low mile lease in effect. They are trying to keep payments attractive.

Most people drive 12-15,000 miles a year. I wonder how many "ultra" allows? Anyone know?

 Usually they are 10,000 miles per year 

Yep 10,000 per year and $0.20 per mile over that. If you drive 12,000 miles a year, put $20 a month into a jar and you'll be able to cover the overage.

Michaell

robr2 said:

isellhondas said:

I have to say, I parked next to a new Malibu recently and I thought it was an Impala. It was VERY good looking and I was very impressed. Still what prevents then from being good cars to lease is the dismal resale compared to Honda and Toyota. Low resale makes for high residuals which equate to higher lease payments. This why they have that "ultra" low mile lease in effect. They are trying to keep payments attractive. Most people drive 12-15,000 miles a year. I wonder how many "ultra" allows? Anyone know?

 Usually they are 10,000 miles per year 

Yep 10,000 per year and $0.20 per mile over that. If you drive 12,000 miles a year, put $20 a month into a jar and you'll be able to cover the overage.

 The difference between 10,000 miles per year and 12,000 miles per year is just 1% of the MSRP -  if the sticker price is $25,000, it's only $250 over 36 months 

isellhondas

OK, I was thinking "ultra" would be less than that. Hard to say what they will bring at auction when the lease ends. Setting residuals can be a tough thing to do and mistakes can be costly. Even Honda learned that lesson a couple of times.

nyccarguy

jpp5862 said:

nyccarguy said:

The Mailbu is a really nice car for the mid-sized segment. I think I saw an ad for an ultr-low mileage lease of a 1LT with $0 down, due at signing, 1st month, bank fee for $177 per month. We talk about this on the mid sized 2.0 board all the time. It is so hard to get the accord buyers away from the Honda showrooms & the Camry buyers away from the Toyota showrooms. The segment is super competitive with so many choices for so many buyers. Each plays to their own strength. The 2.0 Turbo sounds kinda sexy (says the guy with the NA 2.5L H4 rated at 175 hp)

Honda and Toyota haven't given their buyers a long-term reason to leave their showrooms. The Malibu is competitive for sure but nothing to draw attention anyway from any competitor (Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai).

And don't forget, "the guy with NA 2.5L H4 rated at 175 hp" has the best AWD sedan and will be on one car payment soon. (Says the guy who says "I don't mind the payment").

You see, this is how I get into trouble;). By starting to look at things from a payment perspective;)

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

If regulators force me to be cheated in HP and MPG then I should be compensated as well (by VW, gov't, EPA, and whoever else is responsible).

Why should anyone else but VW compensate you?

Good catch, I'm glad someone was paying attention.

Well, since it is a "after the fact" gov't mandate rule/regulation testing/requirement change that could lessen the value of my family's VW, I should be grandfathered in, as the TDI in question passes the previous version of their test. So I hold the gov't accountable for any negative effects since their tests were incompetent and ineffective.

andres3 said:

Competition is good for consumers, right, we should all want VW to survive? At least that's one of the arguments I heard back in 2008 & 2009.

Yes that was the argument made back during the bailout, but truth be told GM and Chrysler were going to remain even without a bailout. If VW wants to stay in business they will, how they come out of this is the question.

It is not an after the fact government mandate, the mandate was in effect before the affected vehicles were manufactured. The fact that VW cheated the system doesn't change that fact.

As for the EPA being incompetent and ineffective that is a major stretch, do you really think that the EPA has to download the computer code and examine it in detail to avoid things like this?

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

All I know is my neighbor was ready to trade in his 08 Jetta diesel Wagon for a new diesel.
Now he is going to keep the old one, he figures the cost of diesel fuel will drop a lot!

Why would diesel fuel drop a lot, or at all? Passenger cars make up a tiny amount of the diesel demand in this country.

Passenger cars with diesel are 1% of the market. But, if people don't buy diesel cars, and demand goes down, diesel fuel will lose it's credibility as a viable fuel.....demand will slacken more than that 1%. It's like Beta VCRs, once people didn't support it their value plummeted.

I would think that passenger cars are a bit less than 1% and VW doesn't make up all that 1%. But lets presume that all passenger cars stop using diesel, demand will not slacken more than 1%. Semi-trucks, locomotives, ships and the like will still be using diesel, gas just will not do for those. So the equipment that uses the other 99% of the diesel will still use that 99%, they won't use less. This will have little, if any, effect on the price of diesel.

snakeweasel

tyguy said:

snakeweasel said:

imidazol97 said:

Outrageous that EPA wouldn't require ALL cars to be "fixed."

I would think it is because of the same reason they don't test in those areas, the pollutants in those areas are very low and the few VW diesels spewing additional pollutants are not going to create dangerous levels. Now in high density areas where there are a lot more cars and manufacturing where pollutants are much higher the VW diesels (more in number too) could make dangerous levels of pollutants.

Secondly if they don't test in those areas how do you enforce any changes to the cars? Simple, you can't.

Perhaps there should be a "penalty" for VW for the number of vehicles that are not updated within a certain time frame, something along the lines of carbon offset. VW could contribute to a superfund cleanup or install solar/wind generation, and the amount invested dependent on how many cars that they "fix". If they could offset a coal fired power plant with renewable and clean energy production, the benefit to U.S. air would offset the excess pollution from the vehicles.

I would think that it would be unfair to penalize VW based on the number of vehicles not updated by a certain date, especially if they have a fix up well before that date. Why punish VW if the owners refuse to get the fix done.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

If regulators force me to be cheated in HP and MPG then I should be compensated as well (by VW, gov't, EPA, and whoever else is responsible).

Why should anyone else but VW compensate you?

Good catch, I'm glad someone was paying attention.

Well, since it is a "after the fact" gov't mandate rule/regulation testing/requirement change that could lessen the value of my family's VW, I should be grandfathered in, as the TDI in question passes the previous version of their test. So I hold the gov't accountable for any negative effects since their tests were incompetent and ineffective.

andres3 said:

Competition is good for consumers, right, we should all want VW to survive? At least that's one of the arguments I heard back in 2008 & 2009.

Yes that was the argument made back during the bailout, but truth be told GM and Chrysler were going to remain even without a bailout. If VW wants to stay in business they will, how they come out of this is the question.

It is not an after the fact government mandate, the mandate was in effect before the affected vehicles were manufactured. The fact that VW cheated the system doesn't change that fact.

As for the EPA being incompetent and ineffective that is a major stretch, do you really think that the EPA has to download the computer code and examine it in detail to avoid things like this?

How about just designing a test that actually measures emissions in real-world scenarios? I don't think that's too difficult. I always had an inkling that smog checks in CA were a scam and a waste of money, and this incident proves it.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

snakeweasel said:

One thing I have always wondered about that auto start/stop; if you are stopped and the engine is off does simply releasing the brake start the engine or do you have to depress the gas pedal?

The engine restarts as soon as the brake pedal is starting to be released. As soon as the pressure on the brake is lowering, the engine restarts. Occasionally, I'll release pressure some like I do in my leSabre and the engine restarts sooner than I needed for it to start.

That feature would creep me out. I'm with driver100 on this one. What if marauding zombies suddenly attacked and I needed a quick getaway?

In other thoughts...I would never know if SYNC is working properly in my Ford since I don't have a smart phone. GG, have you considered that there is something wrong with your individual phone? Have you tested your CUE system with another phone?

OF....I've tried 4 different phones with my CUE. Two office phones....one and Android, one an iPhone 5s. I've tried two personal phones...one an iPhone 6, and my latest iPhone 6s. None of them work.

Maybe you should make the dealer give you his phone since it's the only one that works. I admire your restraint through all this. I think by now I would have driven the car through the showroom window. :@

OF...yeah, the wife said the same thing yesterday a.m. over coffee. That I was showing "restraint". Apparently, in some circles that's considered a positive.

The dealer, who I am certain has been in contact with Cadillac for answers, gives me varrying excuses. Their lead tech originally told me he would contact Cadillac for a fix that he was certain would take care of my problems. That turned into some gobbledy-[non-permissible content removed] about the 2014 CUE not working with iPhones. When I showed them how it didn't work with an Adroid phone, they said they got it to work with some dealer associate's iPhone and that everything was normal. Once I reported that it didn't work with any of my iPhones (yet again), they said everything was "normal" on their end and there were no issues.

Said it originally, Cadillac and their dealers remind me of the 3 monkees...."hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil".

The most frustrating part of this is Cadillac and the dealership(s) I go to for service must think I'm some kind of stupid.

My daily phone call to Cadillac Customer Service comes today. Might file a new claim with Better Business Bureau, but I already have had one of their responses. Cadillac tells the BBB to have me continue taking it to the dealer for service. That's the very definition of insanity...keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

I guess they think they'll just out wait me. Not happeining. I really can't imagine any other car company, anywhere, who could possibly be this inept, and customer service dropping this low. It continues to be unbelievable along with astonishing, also plumbing the depths of terrible when it comes to Cadillac.

ab348

None of this makes any sense.

FWIW, my 2014 ATS, CUE, and my iPhone5 all get along just fine, always have.