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One thing I find interesting about the GP GXP is that, in doing a local search on cars.com, I see one that:
Has a 5 year, 100, 000 mile Factory Warranty on the driveline.
And should be eligible for GMPP B2B wty extension – to way, way beyond the 3 year / 36,000 mile OEM wty.
And I see both of these as something akin to [ a factory version of ] “I’ll take a fairly pedestrian sedan & shoehorn a hotter V8 under the hood – just for chuckles & grins."
Just my 0.2 gallons worth . . .
- Ray
4-cyl Altima? Really?????
[[ Edit: Meant to include the link:
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listin- gId=33731012&listingRecNum=1&criteria=sf1Dir%3DDESC%26mkId%3D20035%26stkTyp%3DU%- 26mdId%3D21251%26rd%3D30%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId-trId%26zc%3D- 30096%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-1%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%- 26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26trId%3D24023%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national
In the Grand Prix GXP [ with 2.93:1 final drive ]
2,000 RPM is over 70 MPH...
I know...that almost doesn't sound like me talking, does it? I remember last year, when one of my co-workers bought a new Acura TL, I went out to look at it. There was a new-ish Civic parked nearby, and I mentioned that I kinda liked them, and thought about trying one out next time around. He just looked at me shocked, and said "Okay...who are you, and what have you done with Andre?!"
I gotta admit, I do still like the Civic, but I have a feeling that it would just be too small for my tastes on a regular basis. I'd probably be most comfortable in something at least midsized.
I hear you .. in a previous wife-time, when I lived in California, we bought a '91 Protege. Nice car, decent pickup. It was dark blue and an automatic - wife's choices.
Not many months later, it was time for me to get a new car .. we found another Protege - similar trim level, except this one was light blue and a stick. I passed, thinking that I didn't want two of the same car in the family. Bought a '91 Sentra SE instead - a couple thousand cheaper than the Protege, but not nearly as well equipped.
If you can find an Aura with the 4-cyl and 6-speed auto, I think that would make a good commute / road trip car. I think that combo gets 33 MPG highway, which is better than the AltiCamCord triplets. Plenty roomy, too.
God knows I've sat in enough of them over the years as I was getting my Saturns worked on at the dealership. I was focused more on the XR with the 3.6L V6, however.
corvette: The Camry is a 36 month lease .The dealer paid my first payment for me so I have 35 payments left. I am hoping that this one lasts. If it does, it will be the car that I hand down to little Gee in 10 years when he is ready for his first car. I already like it more than I liked my 09 Accord. It is quieter and does not have the annoying issues my Accord had (sticky drivers door handling, click in steering wheel, warped rotors, and random pop from the rear suspension). It is just as roomy as has the same fuel economy, and in my opinion, the Camry SE looks better than the Accord.
Yeah, if I go the 4-cyl route, I definitely want that 6-speed auto. Although I think I'd be happy with the 3.5/4-speed. I do like the sound of that 33 mpg on the highway, though! And I wonder if it would be easier to get even better than that, since that 33 is the newer, "dumbed-down" figure? Using those figures, my Intrepid got dumbed down to 27 highway, but its original EPA listing in the window sticker was 29. And it was easy to hit 29 with that car. I thin the best I ever did with that car was something like 32.1! So I wonder if that 33 mpg would equate to more like 36-37 mpg using the older ratings?
Jumping back to Bonnevilles, I was curious to see what was local in the way of GXP's, and found this black 2005 with 46K miles for $12,974
There is something sharp and minimalist about current Civic. And they aren't that small these days--about the size of an 82-85 Accord, I think.
If you're thinking about Aura and Altima, however, what about that big other "A" name in the segment--the Accord. I own one myself, but I think they are terrific cars. But there are a lot of great choices out there for you.
No comment on the 2011 Hyundai?
I've sat in a few Civics, and found them to be fairly roomy inside. But with a 106" wheelbase, they're not exactly tiny! Not too long ago, that would've been considered a midsized-car wheelbase. Back in college, a friend of mine had a 1984 Accord sedan. I rode in it a couple times, and seem to remember the passenger seat going back so far I could almost stretch my legs out straight! I never drove it though, so I dunno how the driver's seat was, in relation to the pedals and such. And with the seat all the way back, the back was really cramped. The new Civic though, still seems decent up front to me, and I can fit in the back okay too, although that's partly because of the way the seatbacks are shaped...my knees actually straddle the seat a bit.
I have thought about the Accord, too, but I think here I'd just go ahead and buy brand-new, since they don't depreciate that fast. As for that 2011 Hyundai, I'm not too crazy about it. I like the look of it from the rear, but not too crazy about the front, side, or most other angles!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I like the Accord but my experience will not let me buy a new Honda for a while. As much as I loved them, I am a woman scorned right now and it would take something special to make me buy another new Honda. My cut off is 2007, I will buy used, but not newer.
OT: Recently bought a new piano, which is as fascinating and complicated as buying a car. On the piano world forums discussion there was a thread about weird things young students say when taking lessons from teachers. One little kid was told by her teacher that they were now going to work on their first "Sonata." "Sonata??!" The kid said, "That sounds like the stuff that comes out of your nose!" Well, it made be laugh a bit. But keep in mind that little "joke" if you can call it that was free--no extra charge. Somehow, thinking about the new Hyundai Sonata with it's super high pressure direct injection engine put that joke into a whole new vivid horror-film like light. Sorry. I apologize in advance if I've gone out of bounds. I'm easily amused in my middle age.
Now back to our regularly scheduled car shopping program.
The TL looks great in the 2004-2008 generation. The current generation TL is almost Aztec-ugly. Something went very wrong, although I kind of still like it a little in a bizarre way--kind of like andre liking the dash of a Bonnie, I suppose.
Anyway, a used TL could be a great car. 80k seems like a lot of miles, but maybe not for a Honda. For the price of a new Civic it sure is a lot more car.
A new Civic, however, is likely to go for 10 years without much more than oil changes, a set of brake pads, and a set of tires. The TL would likely need a lot, lot more...
http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/infiniti-i35-cars332482514;_ylt=AnT5CCvnPWuOzNQ- 5xrioquA6VI54;_ylv=3?sortcol=price&sortdir=up&location=Hagerstown%2C+MD+21740&li- stingtype=used&model=&make=infiniti&distance=50
(the Fitzmall car was in Florida)
LOL...I really wish I COULD make up my mind, though. My 2000 Intrepid was the most expensive automotive purchase of my life...yet I had no trouble at all making that decision. And yet I'm in better shape financially now than I was then, plus I'm considering used cars that will cost a lot less than that Intrepid did. The Intrepid was $22,389 out the door, which included a $1200 extended warranty that I probably overpaid for, and never needed to use. Adjusting for inflation, that's probably like paying $28-29,000 for a car nowadays!
I know what you mean on deciding. When we bought the Accord it only took a week tops from when we decided we were in the market to buying. We were in a hurry to dump the Windstall before anything else went wrong with it. We looked at a Passat wagon which I'd have bought had i not owned a Rabbit before and got a case of VW jitters. Looked at a Leagcy wagon which we absolutely would have bought had it been just a touch bigger. Loved it but the rear seat was tight. Had I known the girls were only going to be 5'2" I'd have bought it. So we went back to Honda. We'd had two previous Accords so it was a playing it safe selection.
If I had to replace the Accord now I have no idea what I'd do. I'd be looking at most things in its class - Fusion, 6, Altima, Accord, Outback.... I might not look at a Malibu but that is only because of the distance from the dealer. The same thing might rule out VWs.
The best way to find something without getting distracted is to browse the net, read some reviews, browse your head and make a list of all cars you' would be interested in. Even if the list has 30 different models on it, just write them all down.
Then start corssing them out based on price, availability, impracticality, or if they don't meet any other criteria you chose.
After that you should have a list of 5-10 cars left.
Go out and test drive each of those models from the list. When you're done you should have crossed out another half off your list, leaving you with 3-5 cars.
Then start shopping for exact models, Ideally leave 3 vehicles on your final list and go out and actuallylook at potential examples you'd be willing to buy.
Don't forget to consider resale. Although you do keep your cars forever (which is anti-CCBA behavior) consider resale should you get bored of the car. A Bonny will be worth considerably less than a TL in 3 or so years. I'd also check Consumer Reports as their reliablity indicators are pretty accurate for older cars.
But that's how we bought our condo. There were always new ones coming on the market, but time was running out and I was getting tired of the shopping and looking at countless units. I made a list of about 20 condos and gave it to my realtor. I told him we'll be buying one of these off the list that month. So he crossed out the crappy ones for us, told us about the rest, which then we crossed out leaving us with 4 units. We looked at all 4 on the final list, picked 2, narrowed down to 1 and bought.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Andre, take a "walk on the wild side" (Lou Reed). Life is too short just to keep buying the same brands of cars that all seem so similar. (Unless you have a bmw or Porsche addiction maybe). You like TL's? Altimas? Check them out. Subies? No-one's tried to talk you into a Subie yet--......Old Volvo, 850 say, drive one, maybe??
It's a 2000 with almost 91k on it. My service advisor just called and said it checks out 100%, and he put his most nitpicking tech on the car. I won't need another service visit for @5k.
Now, if I can only get it for around $2k + my MS3...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I'd jump all over that.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Your name is Andre and you like American cars. If you got a European car, you'd have to change your name to a standard American name, like Andrew. No one wants that... :P
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
The interior also seemed higher quality than what I was expecting. No, it's not a Lexus or Benz, but it didn't feel like anything was going to fall off, either. And everything lined up fairly well. GM's current efforts are better, but I'd say this thing is a big step up from my Dad's '03 Regal, where the dashboard is off by about 3/4 inch on the passenger side.
The supercharged 3.8 sounded nicer than I expected, too. Maybe my standards are just too low, or I got used to driving around in that '79 NYer with no muffler and I'm now going tone-deaf, but it didn't bother me. I stomped on it a few times, and it seemed to take off pretty well, but somehow it didn't seem as fast as I thought it would be. But then, it's also a bigger, quieter car than my Intrepid, and sometimes those cars that isolate you feel like they're slower than they really are. What's one of these good for 0-60 for? Around 7.5-8 seconds?
I took it down a narrow, bumpy, back country road, to see how bad the interior rattled. I was impressed. Not a squeak or rattle to be heard. And I had a friend with me, to listen out for that kind of stuff, so I could get an objective opinion (even if he does drive a Chevy truck :P )
Now, it was dark when I looked the car over, and I really want to see it in the daylight, but overall the only thing I could find wrong with it was some small scratches on the rear bumper fascia, possibly from taking stuff in and out of the trunk. And on the edge of the trunk lid, there were some minor scratches.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the car had a sunroof! I didn't think it would, as the website didn't mention it, and unfortunately there are no pics. And damn, I forgot to bring my digital camera!
It also has a heads-up-display for the speedo, which I thought was a cool touch. It also has heated seats on both sides, power seats on both sides, dual zone climate control, a nice sound system with an amplifier, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting to mention. Now my friend was ragging on the radio, because it won't tell you the name of the song that's on, but I don't think too many cars did that back then!
It was also owned by an older lady, but one not too ancient. 65, so she would've been 55 when she bought it. She traded it on a new 2010 LaCrosse CXL, or whatever the one is with the 3.6 DOHC. So, maybe she's more the little old lady from Pasadena type, but if she was, she still seemed to take good care of this Park Ave.
Anyway, $7500, 56000 miles, Maryland inspected, and they're throwing in a new battery. It started fine for me, but the salesguy said it seemed a little weak when he first started it.
All of a sudden, that Pontiac Bonne-whatever I'd been lamenting over has sort of slipped my mind. :P
Mark
Heck, I'd want to be in Andre's for the DeSoto.... But he's much younger than I am....
I've driven my late grandfather's PA Ultra, and it's not for me, but it did have some neat features (the telescoping plastic covers over the seat rails come to mind).
Maybe I am jumping the gun a bit, but I do have a good feeling about this. I mean, c'mon, how often is it that you find a GM car of that vintage that's rattle-free and doesn't have things falling off of it? :shades: It's also rare to find a Park Ave of this vintage around here in this kind of condition. Usually they're more beat-up and a bit ghetto-ed out, and tend to pop up in the buy-here-pay-here yo' job's yo' credit type lots closer in to the District.
The Ultra is a supercharged 3.8, right? That seems like a pretty well proven drivetrain at this point.
Tires and shocks make a big difference on those cars. Worn shocks make the car feel bloated and unresponsive, and crummy tires make it worse. Good shocks give a comfortable, controlled ride, and a "performance touring" tire should help it soak up the bumps without feeling totally disconnected from the road.
Well, I like the older Seville-type STS, but the current model just doesn't do it for me. There's just something about the styling that seems a bit anonymous to me...kinda like a slightly larger CTS without the pizzaz. I didn't really care for the previous DeVille/DTS, but the newer one, like what Lemko has, is really nice. They're probably more than what I want to pay though. Plus, I have heard that the Northstar doesn't always age well and can get a bit expensive when it needs work. With the way I drive though, that might not be too much of a concern. If I do decide to buy this 56000 mile Park Ave, my guess is that it's going to be about 7 years before I hit 100,000 miles. Unless something happens like I take a job further away or something, but I don't see that happening.
And I don't think Lemko really needs to worry too much, either. I think his 2007 DTS has a whopping 10,000 miles on it after about two years of ownership!
Yeah, I know - he also has other cars to drive around...
I rented an Ultra once and loved it. You step on the gas and it goes.
Loads of room everywhere. And if you haven't already seen it, you won't believe the trunk. It's huuuuuge. Great trip car. Dashboard is a bit plain, but better than most bonnies imho. Nice features throughout.
Get a mechanic to check it out, I think, but here's hoping it pans out.
Even if it only lives 5 years you'll get your money's worth, imho, and it's likely to last longer than that, maybe a lot longer. Might even have a good 10 years/100k miles left in her.
Someone will get this.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Well, I'll let you know if I get clawed. :shades:
Fairly often. The Buicks are well built. My 170,000 1998 leSabre doesn't rattle--well, the cigarette lighter rolls a little in the ash tray because I don't leave it in the socket: it's never been used. My 95,000 03 leSabre doesn't rattle. Drives like a dream with quality Michelins 225x60 on the 16-inch wheels. I would have bought the burgundy Park Ave the dealer had but my wife (and I liked the crimson red available again on the leSabre for the Celebration instead of the older colors).
The supercharger oil change is a turkey baster type suction removal and refill with a couple of bottles of dealer oil specifically for superchargers. Reported to stink fairly strongly probably high sulfur content like some differential oils were.
The gear ratio may be different for the supercharged car vs the standard engine. That might make it feel less responsive. It also may need some "tough love" miles to get the computer used to a "youthful" driving style as opposed to the little old lady's style which probably never engaged the supercharger boost!
I assume it has Stabilitrak and Traction Control...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
were not turbo's. The Lucerne has an 8cyl. He has had good luck with all three.
The 97 went through 2 alternators and a starter I think. He told me it was never
towed and never left him stranded. He liked the Park Avenues better than the
Lucerne. He always admired The Bonneville but never owned one. I think he test
drove one once and liked the Park Avenue better. It may not have been equippted
the same way.
I have another friend who had a 1994 Bonneville and now has a 2003 Bonneville. He loved them both. He told me that the trunk was bigger on the 1994. He is upset
that he can not get another. He has ridden in my Concorde and he says that it
has more room inside than his Bonneville.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Come on, man, I was going to wait until he bought the Park Ave, and then suggest he change the supercharger oil himself, as a way of getting to know the car, since "it's an easy job." (Actually, it's probably never been done on that car, since most people don't bother to change it.)
I thought the supercharged engine had a shorter, more responsive final drive, which is part of the reason it gets lower fuel economy than the standard version. I don't think they had Stabilitrak on the Park Ave in 2000, but it would've had traction control.
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
I'm almost afraid to ask, but what brand/model/vintage piano? There's something crazy about musicians who are also car nuts; it's fairly common tho......(I have stories, but I'll restrain myself).....