Other than the great year round weather, a unique thing about L.A. is that it is one of the few places in the world where you can swim in the ocean, ski in the snow, and visit the desert, all in the same day.
Ah ha ha ha ha!
If I had a dollar every time I heard that line from someone in CA....
Even with today's traffic it is still possible to do the above. I have driven from the beach area of Santa Monica up to my son's house in the San Gabriel Mountains near Lake Arrowhead, and then down to my wife's relatives house in Palmdale in the high desert in one day. It's true that it's not as easy as it used to be because of the traffic, but if you travel at the right times of day it is no problem.
Is there any more car related discussion on this board? California real estate prices are fascinating but this doesnt seem like the place to discuss such issues. One thing I do know about CA is that it is dominated by imports and I wonder if that gives CA based journalists a warped view of the automotive world. I read that 20% of Toyota's sales come in the state of CA which means that Toyota really isnt nearly as dominate in many of the other states. When I read info written by people from CA I get the impression that they think non-imports arent sold to anyone other than rental fleets. They also seem to think that no one outside of UAW territory drives domestic vehicles. I live in a pretty balanced area where Toyotas and Chevys are very common. All the normal import success stories (accord, altima, camry, etc.) are big here of course. But not everything import is popular here, I rarely see Titans, Tundras, Sequioas, Ridgelines, etc. In other words, import trucks are not nearly as successful as import cars in my area. I rarely see pickups of any kind unless it's a construction site, and when I do see pickups they are from the Big 3. BMWs, Cadillacs and MBs are very common, but Audi's are not that common by comparison. The RX330 and ES330 are big sellers, but the GS is rarely seen around here. Same goes for GX470 or LX470.
Anyway, I would like to see the Acura TL compared to the Passat V6 and Maxima. Three wonderful FWD V6 sedans that would appeal to the same prospective buyers. I think that is a very even match up and Edmunds should be the first to see how they compare. You really cant go wrong with any of those class leading luxury sedans.
I think there is a variety in every area--it even depends where you live. In my neighborhood of Minneapolis, you don't see that many domestic products. I went to an in-law wedding a ways out of town--we were the only import car in the lot. Audi is very common here--as are the LX/GX 470, etc...
If the temp is less than a set amount, it turns on the heat full-blast, thinking its winter.
If they just let the auto climate control system maintain the current set temp (instead of going to one extreme) then this wouldn't be a problem. But this isn't your fault.
Over-using? No, I just want to keep the car cool some times when I go into a store.
Why are you even using the remote start feature? Just leave the car running!!
I think a big reason ATTS "failed" is because, to properly utilize it, you'd basically have to push a FWD compact to 9/10ths and mash on the gas. On the street, few people drive like that.
I spent yesterday driving three of the most capable performance cars built in the good ol' U.S. of A. My seat time came at Willow Springs Raceway, one of the fastest race tracks on the West Coast. I love the fact that each of these cars has over 500 horsepower and a top speed above 190 mph. And while few of them will be used as daily drivers by most buyers, all of them could easily serve that level of functionality. What a blast!!
I think the Dodge Viper is really facing an uphill battle at this point. It essentially has no advantage over the Corvette (except maybe styling) and it has several disadvantages. It costs more. It's harder to get into and out of. It doesn't offer any convenience features like cruise control, stability control or automatic climate control, not to mention the Z06's optional DVD navigation, satellite radio and Heads-Up display. Both cars have an interior that can cook you, but the Corvette needs to be driven hard before the central tunnel area heats up. The Viper gets hot pretty not matter what. I was driving it at highway speeds in a relaxed nature -- during a cloudy day with a slight drizzle, and it STILL got hot inside. Both cars are easier to drive than you might think for 500-plus horsepower beasts. The Viper Coupe is particularly easy to manage, at least compared to earlier versions.
Then there's the Ford GT. You could buy both of the other cars for the price of the GT, and yet I still consider Ford's supercar a bargain. Unlike the Dodge or Chevy, Ford's car talks to you with communicative steering and a nimble, willing nature. Obviously the mid-engine design adds a level of exoticism the other two don't offer, but the interior quality and overall execution is also twice as good as the others. The Ford also pulled the quickest lap times at the track, though all three cars were within a second of each other. We'll be doing instrumented testing for 0-60, 1/4-mile and braking on Friday. Stay tuned for those figures!
If they just let the auto climate control system maintain the current set temp (instead of going to one extreme) then this wouldn't be a problem. But this isn't your fault.
Actually it would. Right now it gets warm enough during the day in AZ to use the A/C, so I set the temp for 70 degrees. Then the next morning, its in the 50s so I want to turn on the heat. If I remote started the car with your programming it would turn on the A/C, further cooling the vehicle. It makes perfect sense for the climate system to figure out that if its cold outside, I want heat and if its warm or hot outside I want A/C.
Why are you even using the remote start feature? Just leave the car running!!
If I did that, all someone would have to do is smash the window in and drive off with my car. With remote start, my car isn't going anywhere.
Actually it would. Right now it gets warm enough during the day in AZ to use the A/C, so I set the temp for 70 degrees. Then the next morning, its in the 50s so I want to turn on the heat. If I remote started the car with your programming it would turn on the A/C, further cooling the vehicle. It makes perfect sense for the climate system to figure out that if its cold outside, I want heat and if its warm or hot outside I want A/C.
But you don't get what I am saying. If you set the auto climate control on 70°, then during the day when it's really hot, the HVAC cools the car to 70°, all autonomously. Great. You're happy. Then let the car sit overnight where it's in the 50s, remote start it and - guess what - with the auto climate control set on 70° it's STILL going to bring the car's interior to 70° which requires - HEAT. What's the problem again? It takes care of itself, setting the interior to 70° regardless of whether it needs HEAT or A/C to do it. That is the WHOLE POINT of automatic climate control.
I thought you owned a Ford GT according to what I read in some of the old posts. I am curious to know what other drivers with no personal attachment to any of these cars wrote. They compared these cars in Automobile and overall the GT was their favorite due to it's styling an superior steering but they said there was no denying the Z06 was the best buy.
Who writes the comments for the news updates provided daily on Inside Line? I read today's news and saw the comments suggesting that GM is late to the party because Lexus may have a 8 speed auto next year. That didnt make much sense to me because we all know the majoity of vehicles on the road today have 5 speed auto. Even Lexus/BMW/Audi use 6 speeds. Acura and Infiniti don't even offer a 6 speed at this time so I fail to see how GM is late with their 6 speed autos.
Who was driving? You? If it was you, I'd argue that you're more familiar with the handling dynamics of the GT.
No, we had a hot shoe who doesn't even work at Edmunds/Inside Line do the driving. He will also be writing the story. He regularly drives various late-model cars on test tracks as part of his job, but he had never driven the GT or current-generation Z06 or Viper before his time at the track. Made for a great "How easy are these cars to drive for people who haven't already mastered them?" test.
For obvious reasons I didn't want to be involved with writing or scoring this test.
Especially since I already know the GT is the best car... :P
I think 6-speeds is ideal (at most) for a manual. Automatics, whatever. If the computer shifts, it doesn't really bother me. But, I don't see a good reason for, say, a 7-speed auto instead of a CVT in theory. In practice, I suspect it's easier to build a complex 7-speed automatic for powerful heavy cars (MB) than it is to build a CVT for the same application (???).
Same way a 4 or 5 speed is better than a 2 or 3 speed, just incrementally so. And assuming the same levels of efficiency, a CVT is better than any discrete speed auto...
I have a four speed, and I will vouch for its inadequacy.
I'd rather have five than six though, so that combined with R you only have three rows of shift gates, and they don't end up crowded close together. Not that I've ever tried a 6spd.
Now, if you're varying your speed between 0 and 200mph, more gears makes a lot of sense.
We just tested the cars, but unfortunately I can't remember all the numbers we got. But I do remember 1/4-mile times (always my real benchmark for performance...must come from my drag racing days of youth...). Anyway, they stack up like this (these numbers are uncorrected, so figure about 3/10ths off each to account for the altitude of our facility):
Ford GT: 1/4-mile 11.91 seconds Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 1/4-mile 12.10 seconds Dodge Viper Coupe: 1/4-mile 12.80 seconds
Yup, these cars are all very FAST!! With the corrected number for the GT coming in around 11.6 seconds...well, there are only about three street legal production cars ever made that are clearly quicker, and they all cost A LOT more and are A LOT harder to acquire (McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron). Pretty wild...
And no, I wasn't the driver for these numbers. We used a professional driver hired just to do the testing for these bad boys.
...and the multilink suspension with coil springs and antiroll bar prevents even rear passengers from being bounced around unnecessarily.
Really? The 2006 Rio has a crappy torsion beam in the rear, and since they are platform buddies the general assumption was that the Accent would get the same sad treatment. Can you go look and see just what Hyundai stuck under there?
Also: Date posted: 01-01-3000 Since this is being posted from the future, can we get a sneak peek at the fun stuff coming in the next few decades?
In the past two weeks I've driven five different GM cars...and I must say that I really liked them all. Not, "really liked them, as GM cars go" or "really liked them, despite their GM-ness." No, I just plain liked them.
2006 Corvette Z06 -- Of course many will say this car is a unique offering from GM, or that at $70,000 it better be good, but even so the car means nothing to most normal people. Whatever. This car offers masssive performance regardless of its price point. The fact that it's among the 10 quickest cars ever made, but anywhere from 1/2 to 1/12 the cost of the other nine is damn impressive. I wish it had a better transmission, but it's easier to live with on a daily basis than most of the other nine "quickest cars" too. Very cool car!
2006 Pontiac Solstice -- I know our comparison test put the Miata ahead of the Solstice, but I personally would take the Solstice any day over the Miata -- and twice on Sunday. Great value, great styling, great interior design, excellent performance. Both the engine and transmission could be better, but they aren't terrible -- or even bad -- and at this price point the car is simply a great value.
2006 Pontiac Torrent -- I already liked the Equinox, so this isn't a big surprise, but after driving this car 150 miles I got out of it and couldn't think of anything I could seriously mark it down for. Some of the interior plastics could be better, but just like with the Z06 and Solstice it represents a solid value overall. Great engine/tranny, solid handling and ride quality, comfortable seats, great sound system. Just a fine SUV by every important measurement.
2006 Chevy Trailblazer SS -- This car was just plain fun! We had it at the track Friday for instrumented testing, and it was very fast (low 14s in the 1/4 mile). It also had a great automatic transmission with some of the most rewarding upshifts I've felt since driving the shift-kitted 727 torqueflight in my GTX. It really slingshots forward during upshifts (without feeling at all harsh or "clunky"), which is exactly how a performance automatic should feel. Handling was solid, and it even looked really cool, too, with the upgraded wheel/tire package. I turned off the traction and stability control (our test car was rear-wheel drive) and couldn't stop grinning as I was steering it with the throttle at our test facility. I was actually running the "sell" conversation with the wife through my head after driving it. "But honey, think of all the room for carrying the kids' bikes when going to the park with them."
2006 Impala SS -- While not a redesign, GM did wonders with the existing platform. Steering feel is much better than I expected -- and "good" by any standards for a 2006 family sedan. Firm and responsive without being too heavy. Interior design/materials were also good, as was seat comfort. The V8 in the SS was excellent in terms of torque and smoothness, and despite the high power output there was no torque steer when flooring it from a dead stop. Very impresive! I wish it had a more controlled ride quality (especially since this was the "SS" version), and the brakes could have been stronger (it took 140 feet to stop from 60 mph). But neither of those items will be issues for 90-plus percent of customers 90-plus percent of the time. The rest of the time this car will offer more comfort, interior room and performance than comparably priced family sedans.
Anyway, I'm still not a huge fan of some of their recent introductions (HHR, Grand Prix GXP, Cobalt), but I thought it was worth noting that everything I drove from GM in the past two weeks I really liked -- certainly more than I expected to. Maybe we're past the "darkest" and into the "dawn"...
Good to hear your positive comments. I must say, I am surprised you liked the Impala SS and the Torrent.
Did you like the steering on the Torrent? I could not stand (steering wise) the Nox I drove - the electric steering felt horrible and sloppy. That is one of my complaints with the Malibu as well.
So, have you driven a G6 GTP? I have yet to see any reviews on this vehicle yet. I am really curious if the conventional steering system has had a positive effect on the G6. Maybe I should go drive one myself - the local dealer has a dozen or so, amazingly even 4 with the manual.
Do the Equinox and Torrent definitely use the same steering system? I don't rememeber loving or hating the Chevy's system, but I felt like the Torrent's was fine. Remember, I'm more fogiving of SUVs because, well, they're SUVs. The Impala SS steering was better than "fine"; in fact, I'd have to call it "good" (which really surprised me...)
I haven't driven the G6 GTP yet, but another editor did and he said it was pretty good. We're getting one in a few weeks so I'll know soon enogh...
I agree with you there, GM does have some good products in the market now, and many more to come. They have yet to bring out the Pontiac G6 coupe and convertible, Buick Lucerne, Saturn Aura, Sky, Cadillac DTS, STS-V, XLR-V and the latest batch of fullsize SUVs and trucks. Btw, if you've seen the pictures you will agree that they look really nice, especially the interiors.
I'd say the domestic manufacturers are hitting homeruns in terms of having new products in the line. Ford doesn't have too much in the future, mainly because most of their cars were just introduced or redesigned. Chrysler will flood the market next year, and so will GM.
Those comments you made about GM products seem a little hard to believe. I would have to check those vehicles out for myself to know for sure. I dont really understand how you could like the Impala but not the GXP. Arent they basically the same V8 powered front drivers on ancient platforms with nothing but sheetmetal to differentiate them? I am seeing a lot of Impalas around and it looks decent, no worse than any Accord and Camry I guess. I would like to see a comparison between the Impala and the 500 or the Impala vs Camry vs Accord. If you think the impala is decent what is your beef with the cobalt? I dont see how the Impala is any more modern or competent than the Cobalt. At least the cobalt is on a modern platform and features modern DOHC engines.
Two print mags have the same family sedan comparison in their December issues and the results were the same. The finishing order was Accord, Fusion, Sonota and Camry. Do you agree with thos results Karl? I'm sure you have driven all of these models. Just as I thought, the Fusion isnt going to be able to beat the Accord or Altima in any tests because of it's engine. It just doesnt have enough power to run with the Accord V6.
A while back I proposed a comparison between the TL, Passat V6 and Maxima. Any thoughts on that? I also like the idea of a Fusion vs G6 vs Accord comparison.
The Equinox/Torrent use the same electric steering as the Malibu, G6 and Cobalt. However, there is room for tuning them differently, so maybe that is what you felt.
I drove both G6 coupe and G6 GTP. Both have good steering feel (I swear that it is not an electric one). Three-spoke steering wheel is very good, unlike Malibu’s ugly steering wheel, and engine sound is kinda refined and smooth (have no idea what engine was, but it had enough power). But I did not drive on freeway so don’t know how good it is on freeway. Steering is good but not as good as on German cars (from what G6 was originally derived).
The new Impala has unrefined engine sound on base model and thin 80-s style steering wheel. Interior is pretty good though.
I dont really understand how you could like the Impala but not the GXP. Arent they basically the same V8 powered front drivers on ancient platforms with nothing but sheetmetal to differentiate them?
Umm... no. The GXP tries to be a performance car, as best a FWD vehicle can be. It has a staggered tire setup (larger on the front than the rear), PBR brakes, Bilstein shocks, et. al. The ride and handling is completely different between the two cars. The Impala is more of a boulevard/highway cruiser with power.
And, dont forget that 80+% of that platform was new for the '04 Grand Prix. What percentage of the platform was all-new for the Impala, I don't know, but the Impala's platform code is now GMX211 (was MS2000/GMX210 - derived from the 1988 GM10 W-body, but virtually all parts have changed over the years). Do Honda and Toyota specify what percentage of their platforms are all-new when they update models? I don't think their floorplans are as new as people assume they are...
And Karl, given that the Impala has a completely new exterior skin, new interior, and an all-new slate of engines, how is this not a redesign?
I drove both G6 coupe and G6 GTP. Both have good steering feel (I swear that it is not an electric one)
IIRC the standard G6 coupe and sedan uses the electric steering, but the GTP has hydraulic steering. I'm not sure if they've recalibrated it or not. My wife drove a G6 last fall and I didn't care for the steering at all - but, then again, I hated it on both the Equinox and the VUE, too.
2006 Pontiac Torrent - (snip) Great engine/tranny, solid handling and ride quality
OK, who are you and what have you done with Editor Karl?
I haven't test-driven the Torrent, but I hope they've recalibrated the electric steering from the numbness that was the '04 VUE and '05 Equinox.
I've NEVER seen anyone refer to the old 3.4L V6 (made in China for the Equinox/Torrent) as "great". It doesn't get that great of mileage (an aqcuaintance of mine, whose father works for GM, dumped his 'nox because he only got 12-15 mpg with it - but GM could not find anything wrong with it. He just got the first Trailblazer SS produced, and he's getting better mileage with it! :-) GM would do far better to put the new 3.9L V6 in there (and the rumor is that this is what will happen for 2007, when the 3.4 and 3.8L engines finally bite the dust). I had older versions of this engine (2.8L in a '91 Grand Prix, 3.1L in a '96 Lumina) that were fairly bulletproof (no head or intake gasket issues on my cars in 10 years and 170K miles of driving on the two, combined), but these were common with others), but ideal examples of NVH they were not.
It's actually a shame that GM beancounters continue to cheapen product due to financial considerations. A former GM product manager posted how the 2004 Grand Prix was to get a 3.7L performance-oriented version of the Olds 3.5L "ShortStar", only to have the plug pulled after a few months of engineering (when the decision was made to axe Olds). Go back and rework the 3800, they were told, and they did (coming up with the Series III). Said product manager also said how much better the G6 would have been had it shipped with the 3.6L DOHC engine like was intended - another decision made by the Product Board to cut corners and costs, due to the company's financial obligations...
Comments
Ah ha ha ha ha!
If I had a dollar every time I heard that line from someone in CA....
Even with today's traffic it is still possible to do the above. I have driven from the beach area of Santa Monica up to my son's house in the San Gabriel Mountains near Lake Arrowhead, and then down to my wife's relatives house in Palmdale in the high desert in one day. It's true that it's not as easy as it used to be because of the traffic, but if you travel at the right times of day it is no problem.
Anyway, I would like to see the Acura TL compared to the Passat V6 and Maxima. Three wonderful FWD V6 sedans that would appeal to the same prospective buyers. I think that is a very even match up and Edmunds should be the first to see how they compare. You really cant go wrong with any of those class leading luxury sedans.
Audi is very common here--as are the LX/GX 470, etc...
If they just let the auto climate control system maintain the current set temp (instead of going to one extreme) then this wouldn't be a problem. But this isn't your fault.
Over-using? No, I just want to keep the car cool some times when I go into a store.
Why are you even using the remote start feature? Just leave the car running!!
And don't forget who designed the system: Delphi.
I'm not sure if you're saying that's good or bad?
Delco/Delphi has engineered many things through the recent years. I would consider that a plus.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think the Dodge Viper is really facing an uphill battle at this point. It essentially has no advantage over the Corvette (except maybe styling) and it has several disadvantages. It costs more. It's harder to get into and out of. It doesn't offer any convenience features like cruise control, stability control or automatic climate control, not to mention the Z06's optional DVD navigation, satellite radio and Heads-Up display. Both cars have an interior that can cook you, but the Corvette needs to be driven hard before the central tunnel area heats up. The Viper gets hot pretty not matter what. I was driving it at highway speeds in a relaxed nature -- during a cloudy day with a slight drizzle, and it STILL got hot inside. Both cars are easier to drive than you might think for 500-plus horsepower beasts. The Viper Coupe is particularly easy to manage, at least compared to earlier versions.
Then there's the Ford GT. You could buy both of the other cars for the price of the GT, and yet I still consider Ford's supercar a bargain. Unlike the Dodge or Chevy, Ford's car talks to you with communicative steering and a nimble, willing nature. Obviously the mid-engine design adds a level of exoticism the other two don't offer, but the interior quality and overall execution is also twice as good as the others. The Ford also pulled the quickest lap times at the track, though all three cars were within a second of each other. We'll be doing instrumented testing for 0-60, 1/4-mile and braking on Friday. Stay tuned for those figures!
Who was driving? You? If it was you, I'd argue that you're more familiar with the handling dynamics of the GT.
Actually it would. Right now it gets warm enough during the day in AZ to use the A/C, so I set the temp for 70 degrees. Then the next morning, its in the 50s so I want to turn on the heat. If I remote started the car with your programming it would turn on the A/C, further cooling the vehicle. It makes perfect sense for the climate system to figure out that if its cold outside, I want heat and if its warm or hot outside I want A/C.
Why are you even using the remote start feature? Just leave the car running!!
If I did that, all someone would have to do is smash the window in and drive off with my car. With remote start, my car isn't going anywhere.
http://ford.jbcarpages.com/GT/2005/index4.php
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=107665
rather it is the upcoming Acadia based on the Lambada paltform.
At least that is the consensus at a GM enthusiast site.
But you don't get what I am saying.
If you set the auto climate control on 70°, then during the day when it's really hot, the HVAC cools the car to 70°, all autonomously. Great. You're happy. Then let the car sit overnight where it's in the 50s, remote start it and - guess what - with the auto climate control set on 70° it's STILL going to bring the car's interior to 70° which requires - HEAT. What's the problem again? It takes care of itself, setting the interior to 70° regardless of whether it needs HEAT or A/C to do it. That is the WHOLE POINT of automatic climate control.
Rendezvous never really caught on, so this should give GM a better shot at some mid-size SUV/Crossover sales.
-juice
Who writes the comments for the news updates provided daily on Inside Line? I read today's news and saw the comments suggesting that GM is late to the party because Lexus may have a 8 speed auto next year. That didnt make much sense to me because we all know the majoity of vehicles on the road today have 5 speed auto. Even Lexus/BMW/Audi use 6 speeds. Acura and Infiniti don't even offer a 6 speed at this time so I fail to see how GM is late with their 6 speed autos.
No, we had a hot shoe who doesn't even work at Edmunds/Inside Line do the driving. He will also be writing the story. He regularly drives various late-model cars on test tracks as part of his job, but he had never driven the GT or current-generation Z06 or Viper before his time at the track. Made for a great "How easy are these cars to drive for people who haven't already mastered them?" test.
For obvious reasons I didn't want to be involved with writing or scoring this test.
Especially since I already know the GT is the best car... :P
I'd rather have five than six though, so that combined with R you only have three rows of shift gates, and they don't end up crowded close together. Not that I've ever tried a 6spd.
Now, if you're varying your speed between 0 and 200mph, more gears makes a lot of sense.
Have you seen the topless Ford GT pictures? It looks awesome!!!!
All car manufacturers it seems first release some fancy exotic, and a drop top a a bit ater. BMW did that with the M6, and Ford with the Mustang.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=107665
rather it is the upcoming Acadia based on the Lambada paltform.
At least that is the consensus at a GM enthusiast site.
I thought the Lamabada platform was forbidden.
:P
-juice
jaserb, "Karl's Daily Log Book" #518, 11 May 2005 2:30 pm
-Jason
Well May 11th was a Tuesday.
It probably went over better today because it's a Friday.
Remember, timing is everything. :-)
(great, now I got that freakin Macarena song in my head)
My Macarena comment was a follow-up joke.
-juice
Ford GT: 1/4-mile 11.91 seconds
Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 1/4-mile 12.10 seconds
Dodge Viper Coupe: 1/4-mile 12.80 seconds
Yup, these cars are all very FAST!! With the corrected number for the GT coming in around 11.6 seconds...well, there are only about three street legal production cars ever made that are clearly quicker, and they all cost A LOT more and are A LOT harder to acquire (McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron). Pretty wild...
And no, I wasn't the driver for these numbers. We used a professional driver hired just to do the testing for these bad boys.
Really? The 2006 Rio has a crappy torsion beam in the rear, and since they are platform buddies the general assumption was that the Accent would get the same sad treatment. Can you go look and see just what Hyundai stuck under there?
Also: Date posted: 01-01-3000
Since this is being posted from the future, can we get a sneak peek at the fun stuff coming in the next few decades?
2006 Corvette Z06 -- Of course many will say this car is a unique offering from GM, or that at $70,000 it better be good, but even so the car means nothing to most normal people. Whatever. This car offers masssive performance regardless of its price point. The fact that it's among the 10 quickest cars ever made, but anywhere from 1/2 to 1/12 the cost of the other nine is damn impressive. I wish it had a better transmission, but it's easier to live with on a daily basis than most of the other nine "quickest cars" too. Very cool car!
2006 Pontiac Solstice -- I know our comparison test put the Miata ahead of the Solstice, but I personally would take the Solstice any day over the Miata -- and twice on Sunday. Great value, great styling, great interior design, excellent performance. Both the engine and transmission could be better, but they aren't terrible -- or even bad -- and at this price point the car is simply a great value.
2006 Pontiac Torrent -- I already liked the Equinox, so this isn't a big surprise, but after driving this car 150 miles I got out of it and couldn't think of anything I could seriously mark it down for. Some of the interior plastics could be better, but just like with the Z06 and Solstice it represents a solid value overall. Great engine/tranny, solid handling and ride quality, comfortable seats, great sound system. Just a fine SUV by every important measurement.
2006 Chevy Trailblazer SS -- This car was just plain fun! We had it at the track Friday for instrumented testing, and it was very fast (low 14s in the 1/4 mile). It also had a great automatic transmission with some of the most rewarding upshifts I've felt since driving the shift-kitted 727 torqueflight in my GTX. It really slingshots forward during upshifts (without feeling at all harsh or "clunky"), which is exactly how a performance automatic should feel. Handling was solid, and it even looked really cool, too, with the upgraded wheel/tire package. I turned off the traction and stability control (our test car was rear-wheel drive) and couldn't stop grinning as I was steering it with the throttle at our test facility. I was actually running the "sell" conversation with the wife through my head after driving it. "But honey, think of all the room for carrying the kids' bikes when going to the park with them."
2006 Impala SS -- While not a redesign, GM did wonders with the existing platform. Steering feel is much better than I expected -- and "good" by any standards for a 2006 family sedan. Firm and responsive without being too heavy. Interior design/materials were also good, as was seat comfort. The V8 in the SS was excellent in terms of torque and smoothness, and despite the high power output there was no torque steer when flooring it from a dead stop. Very impresive! I wish it had a more controlled ride quality (especially since this was the "SS" version), and the brakes could have been stronger (it took 140 feet to stop from 60 mph). But neither of those items will be issues for 90-plus percent of customers 90-plus percent of the time. The rest of the time this car will offer more comfort, interior room and performance than comparably priced family sedans.
Anyway, I'm still not a huge fan of some of their recent introductions (HHR, Grand Prix GXP, Cobalt), but I thought it was worth noting that everything I drove from GM in the past two weeks I really liked -- certainly more than I expected to. Maybe we're past the "darkest" and into the "dawn"...
I had to read the first paragraph twice. I didn't believe what I was reading! Good.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Did you like the steering on the Torrent? I could not stand (steering wise) the Nox I drove - the electric steering felt horrible and sloppy. That is one of my complaints with the Malibu as well.
So, have you driven a G6 GTP? I have yet to see any reviews on this vehicle yet. I am really curious if the conventional steering system has had a positive effect on the G6. Maybe I should go drive one myself - the local dealer has a dozen or so, amazingly even 4 with the manual.
I haven't driven the G6 GTP yet, but another editor did and he said it was pretty good. We're getting one in a few weeks so I'll know soon enogh...
Did you ever look into whether or not the spy pics of the 07 Envoy are really the Envoy or are they indeed the Acadia?
That plus the cargo area tower eat up half the potential cargo space.
Some minor re-packaging and it could be a lot better. Just swap out the engine and re-do the shock towers so they're not so huge.
-juice
I'd say the domestic manufacturers are hitting homeruns in terms of having new products in the line. Ford doesn't have too much in the future, mainly because most of their cars were just introduced or redesigned. Chrysler will flood the market next year, and so will GM.
Two print mags have the same family sedan comparison in their December issues and the results were the same. The finishing order was Accord, Fusion, Sonota and Camry. Do you agree with thos results Karl? I'm sure you have driven all of these models. Just as I thought, the Fusion isnt going to be able to beat the Accord or Altima in any tests because of it's engine. It just doesnt have enough power to run with the Accord V6.
A while back I proposed a comparison between the TL, Passat V6 and Maxima. Any thoughts on that? I also like the idea of a Fusion vs G6 vs Accord comparison.
The new Impala has unrefined engine sound on base model and thin 80-s style steering wheel. Interior is pretty good though.
Umm... no. The GXP tries to be a performance car, as best a FWD vehicle can be. It has a staggered tire setup (larger on the front than the rear), PBR brakes, Bilstein shocks, et. al. The ride and handling is completely different between the two cars. The Impala is more of a boulevard/highway cruiser with power.
And, dont forget that 80+% of that platform was new for the '04 Grand Prix. What percentage of the platform was all-new for the Impala, I don't know, but the Impala's platform code is now GMX211 (was MS2000/GMX210 - derived from the 1988 GM10 W-body, but virtually all parts have changed over the years). Do Honda and Toyota specify what percentage of their platforms are all-new when they update models? I don't think their floorplans are as new as people assume they are...
And Karl, given that the Impala has a completely new exterior skin, new interior, and an all-new slate of engines, how is this not a redesign?
--Robert
IIRC the standard G6 coupe and sedan uses the electric steering, but the GTP has hydraulic steering. I'm not sure if they've recalibrated it or not. My wife drove a G6 last fall and I didn't care for the steering at all - but, then again, I hated it on both the Equinox and the VUE, too.
--Robert
OK, who are you and what have you done with Editor Karl?
I haven't test-driven the Torrent, but I hope they've recalibrated the electric steering from the numbness that was the '04 VUE and '05 Equinox.
I've NEVER seen anyone refer to the old 3.4L V6 (made in China for the Equinox/Torrent) as "great". It doesn't get that great of mileage (an aqcuaintance of mine, whose father works for GM, dumped his 'nox because he only got 12-15 mpg with it - but GM could not find anything wrong with it. He just got the first Trailblazer SS produced, and he's getting better mileage with it! :-) GM would do far better to put the new 3.9L V6 in there (and the rumor is that this is what will happen for 2007, when the 3.4 and 3.8L engines finally bite the dust). I had older versions of this engine (2.8L in a '91 Grand Prix, 3.1L in a '96 Lumina) that were fairly bulletproof (no head or intake gasket issues on my cars in 10 years and 170K miles of driving on the two, combined), but these were common with others), but ideal examples of NVH they were not.
It's actually a shame that GM beancounters continue to cheapen product due to financial considerations. A former GM product manager posted how the 2004 Grand Prix was to get a 3.7L performance-oriented version of the Olds 3.5L "ShortStar", only to have the plug pulled after a few months of engineering (when the decision was made to axe Olds). Go back and rework the 3800, they were told, and they did (coming up with the Series III). Said product manager also said how much better the G6 would have been had it shipped with the 3.6L DOHC engine like was intended - another decision made by the Product Board to cut corners and costs, due to the company's financial obligations...
--Robert