I've still got the flickering headlights - replaced alt, etc. Dealer doesn't know what to do. Any thoughts to if this could create other problems in the car do to the appartent voltage surges and underruns? I already had to have a headlight assembly replaced because it kept burning bulbs - dealer said it wasn't related, but I tend to question.
On the long trips - just went on a Midwest trip and pulled off 2800 miles in 4 days in a Sunfire. Wasn't too bad, so the intrigue would be a treat. I took the Sunfire because it is new and more reliable than the intrigue has been lately!
I don't have an answer for the flickering problem. A couple of months ago i saw a used '99 at my dealer that had black soot around the headlights, and it looked like the plastic headlight assembly was discolored and warped. Maybe there is too much voltage going to them or something.
We just had the new-new-new alternator installed yesterday shipped directly from GM with the latest "julian" number(don't know what that meant but the service manager said it was important). It doesn't have a new part number...This is our 3rd and it is supposed to be the latest fix. We haven't had any bulbs burn out. Love the car and will have to wait until tonight to see if the problem is really fixed.
This is one of the things I have to agree with jgriff on. Here's how Mark Reuss answered when asked: "The Rendezvous is a premium vehicle. Why not a premium engine?"
"That's a good question. The engine is a 60-degree V-6, and it's a pushrod engine. The speed-to-market element of this was very important to us. The splay of the cylinder bank angles would have prevented us from doing this in the time frame that we did because we would have had to revalidate the pulse and crashworthiness of the front end. That is part of the price difference, quite frankly. We are going after high value, high sophistication and high beauty without the high price tag. That's what Buick is about."
Hmmm, sound familiar? Besides not answering the question, this guy admits that Buick is releasing the vehicle prematurely. A premium engine "might" be coming in the future. But because they want to push it to market, they're putting an engine in it that won't let it realisticly compete with the RX300 and Highlander.
Let's see if we remember this story: GM wants to release a performance sedan that will compete against foreign makes. Because they weren't ready with the "premium" engine they put in a pushrod from off the shelf because "the speed-to-market element of this was very important" to GM. As a result, GM caused a lot of people not to look at the Intrigue. And they're making the same mistake again with Buick.
It's plain to see that GM execs haven't learned from the destruction of Oldsmobile. While I am a fan of GM engines and transmissions, this is just another example of what I stated in an earlier post where I said: "GM is behind the curve in a lot of things. Look at the mismanagement of Olds for examples."
How long is it going to take for GM to decide on corporate standards for each car size segment? If they do that they can spend more time on other things. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was turning into a Honda convert. But it just ticks me off royally that GM canned Oldsmobile and they STILL haven't learned from it!!!!
Since loyal Olds customers moved to Buick, they are now in the same boat Olds was in (the pressure to lure younger buyers). If they continue on this path, get ready to see another division vanish from the GM harem. When asked if Buick was under a lot of pressure to succeed, Mr. Reuss said: "We have (done) everything we can possibly do on this to succeed."
Never drove the Camaro much and was retired in 1987. I think it had around 40k miles after 4+yrs and it really never caused any problems..Put new tires on it about a month before its demise.
The next wife's car was an Electra T-Type 87 new, white with red leather. Had the Goodyear GT tires along with touring suspension; what a farce of performance BS. I flat spotted all four tires on a Flordia trip and bought new rubber at 20k miles..Sold the car to my neighbor at around 35k miles and he drove it until 90k..
Meanwhile wifey is on her third Caddy..
Drove an SS Camaro today--Chevy dealer at my Golf Club give me his for 30 minutes. By the way he is also an Olds dealer and he is not aware of my Olds history or any complaints pertaining to my Intrigue..I decided last year to overlook the car beefs and keep everything static free for good times at the club.. He's a local dealer in the same town as the Golf Club, and I live 43 miles from the club, so I don't need the pressure..nothing gained but grief..
The SS is a wild one; but I decided not to venture into the past of supercars because I might not be able to handle the temptation to go at reasonable levels.. Triple digits come up very quick and it just keeps climbing until my stupid foot lets up..Fun; but scary with my setup..
Relax my friend; I am at ease for you are watching S.Flordia for us all.. How is the water supply holding up???? Remember if the Everglades needs the water first, then to be in vogue...you must let the reptiles have first refusal!!!!
How's the Chevy doing????? You have got to get connected with an Intrigue before it goes under; for the experience is worth the risk.. Buy one...don't rent it....enjoy life.. I was lectured today on the merits of the 3.8 by a 3 handicap golfer who is two years away from retirement from GM large car Engineering. He totally dislikes multi-valve engines and is tickled that the 3.5 is being tubed..I told him he was old-fashioned!!!
I played golf today with a design engr. of truck interiors and he had a couple weeks driving around in the new Trailblazer.. Nothing but praise for this entry in the SUV scene..
The biggest problem in the multi-valve engines is the casting of the alum blocks and the porosity element..
From Mr. Reuss regarding the Aztek. How anyone at GM could think that thing could sell in any volume explains much about their series of bad decisions over the last several years. While they waste money trying to flog that turkey they starve Olds of any decent advertising and promotion until they make another bad decision by discontinuing the best value GM makes, the Intrigue. The types of decisions made by GM execs explains why the company is spiraling downward with no end in sight.
The TSB number for yellowing paint is 83-17-04 (Oct 98) according to the Alldata web site. They don't describe the TSB unless you pay them for it but it should be obvious: "Problem: White paint turns yellow. Solution: Repaint it".
One2one : I have to disagree with you on the Rendezvous. While the engine is not a DOHC or an I-6, it doesn't mean it's bad. The 3.4L is a pretty good engine and the fuel economy is stellar. In fact, Chevy Venture with the same engine is the most fuel efficient mini van available. I am seriously considering the Rendezvous to complement my Intrigue. As for quality, Aztek owners are happy and word out of the Mexican plant is that Rendezvous quality is exceeding expectations. Sure it would be nice to see the I-6 in the Rendezvous, but I am more than happy with the more fuel efficient 3.4 in there. I do feel the same about GM killing Oldsmobile though. It still irks me.
ab348 : While I would never buy an Aztek, I'm starting to get used to it's looks. You see a fair number of them in the Toronto area. With ugly vehicles like the Santa Fe and Echo driving around, it really doesn't stick out that much.
I have talked about it before on this thread, but the 2003 Mercury marauder has really picqued my interest. The intrigue is my first front wheel drive car, so i really miss the feel of having the rear wheels driven. llsoc.com has some pictures from the auto show in their gallery section. Click on Mercury marauder and there are bunch of different views. The rear and side views are terrific. Even with all the incentives i am getting form olds. The marauder may be the way to go.
The production is presold, so one will get stiffed by their Ford dealer..He learned from the Honda dealer how to treat people on hot cars..
Buy a Crown Vic with the performance pkg and send it to the converter outfit in Indiana along with $8500. You will get a supercharged 300hp+ with the std Ford warranties..I can't think of the name; but with our great auto minds on this forum it shouldn't take long.
I saw the Buick SUV at the golf club yesterday; sure looks better than the stupid Aztek. They should refer to these new SUVs as "PowderPuffs" for they are nothing more than a damn station wagon with a high center of gravity..
for the huffed Fords! I believe it was Car and Driver magazine that went round and round with one of the "professional tuners" and blew up at least one engine. They never did get any reliability. The Ford OHC V-8 is not the stoutest of engines to start with. Go buy an IRS Cobra if you really have to have a blue oval.
They blew up a lot more than one engine if i remember correctly.
I am not really concerned about the engine, it is the tranny that worries me. Neither ford not chrysler has figured out how to do trannies like GM has.
The tranny is marginal behind the 215 hp version. I can't see how it could live behind 300+ horsepower. I am hoping they use the tranny that is in the lightning but i doubt it.
I have never owned a ford before. So that is two strikes against it.
It would kill me if i bought a 2001 intrigue and had to look at the those two huge exhaust pipes that are on the marauder. I would probably be looking at that view a lot with my 215 hp intrigue.
Buick Rendezvous is indeed a glorified minivan. cross over, but it's better looking than a van and has more space than a SUV. Fits our growing family well at a decent price.
Get the SLP exhaust with the twin tips and go styling in your Intrigue with PCS and the wing.
Ford as mentioned has not been too successful in the area of automatic trans..and it is a mystery because their cash position is much better than GM.. They have always stayed away from the high HP large car engines and gotten by using the std engine to power the Town Cars.. The current Lincoln SUV has a 300hp with automatic..maybe they have a production capacity problem..
One of areas where Ford excels is keeping the capacity and sales pretty well in line..They did away with excess capacity years ago and decided to run lots of overtime to meet the demand. GM is still trying to get rid of the excess capacity.
Learned yesterday where Cadillac has approx 1500 Northstar engines installed in 01 cars that have crankshafts which were improperly machined and must be replaced b4 selling.. The crankshaft is machined by GM, not outsourced..Sounds like a $5,000,000 tiny problem. Must be nice to have money to burn when my Intrigue could use a set of complimentary front struts and brakes..from the General..
Changed the oil in my '01 today. I tried Jiffy Lube but they don't have the filter or the cup to remove it. I found the cup and filter at Autozone. I think only AC Delco and Fram make it. Funny looking filter, not a cartridge. Looks like a fuel filter. Very easy job with a pair of Rhino ramps. Kind of messy though, because when you remove the plastic filter holder, a lot of oil pours out on you. I would have the dealer do it, but getting down there during the week is a problem because of my job. Wish the service dept. was open on Saturdays. Plus, I wanted to use Mobile 1. Feel better that I'm running synthetic with the hot weather coming.
Well my 99 Intrigue build date 7/99 is starting to show signs of the problems others have had here. Over the last week it has started roughly a couple of times or required a couple of tries. It has also just not done anything at all when I turn the key to engage the starter a few times. It has always started after a few tries though. Runs like a deam once it is running. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Has anyone had it fixed successfully?
If GM hasn't figured out a surefire fix for it, I'm not going to bother bringing it in for service yet (I'm not under warranty anymore). Sure is embarrassing though having problems attempting to start a new looking car. Good free advertising for GM.
The '01 Intrigue GL is about 26,400. That is with PCS and the leather package as the only options. With all of the rebates I can actually buy it for less than what i paid for my '99.
No wing for me. It ruins the lines of the car. JMHO.
I wonder if i put a K&N and SLP exhaust, would i have about 230 hp? Somebody needs to make a chip for this car. I would still like some low end, I don't suppose the 3.71 gear from the aurora would fit in the 4T65E tranny? Then i would have to do something about the speedo calibration, probably with a chip. How about a supercharger?
I am just an old hot rodder at heart.
There is a 2000 GX for sale at my dealer for $13,900. Thats some serious depreciation.
The wing is a great trunk handle; otherwise one must use the fingertips to pry the lid up at the rear bumper facia..
The flickering light problem and the hard start has not surfaced on mine as yet..knock on wood!!! I am ready for tires and I have been collecting prices over the phone; but hard to make a decision anymore...must be old age..
The Goodyear Aquatred 3 is inviting; however I haven't priced it locally as yet..I assume it has to be the best riding tire; however with the stiff suspension it might not be any better than the LS racket.
You crack me up. Everytime i post about a year old intrigue for sale, I get the same response from you.
I am sure that it is a former rental car and has about 20,000 miles on it.LOL.
Let's say that it was a GL with leather, with 12,000 miles. The best one could hope for is $15,900. That is still a $9,000 hit off of MSRP. There is a privately owned GX here that has been for sale for over three months. They are now down to $11,900. I think that the auction price on mine is about $9,500. That is more than %50 in two years.
These are just the realities of owning an intrigue.
" I am sure that it is a former rental car and has about 20,000 miles on it.LOL."
Well, that's a guess. While I don't dispute the larger depreciation on Intrigues, I don't think it's that bad. Where do you live? I look around here (Toronto area) and you are looking at more like 40% in 2 years. That being said, no one pays anything close to MSRP for these cars. I got about $3600 off when all was said and done.
1415: You say you are ready for new tires, how many miles do your Eagle LS's have? I've got 24K on mine, and it looks to me like they are about halfway gone. Is 45K to 50K about average for these tires?
I put some Pirelli P3000 tires on my wife's 1996 Saturn SL a few weeks ago. People think the tires on the Intrigue are loud, but you should hear these. They hummm like a big truck/SUV tire when you go over 45 mph. The tread is very deep, so that may contribute to the noise.
Don't do it. Save yourself signifcant frustration; don't buy the Mercury Marauder or any other Ford. You are right about the Ford transmissions. They are not reliable; but what really frosts my behind is the arrogance of their customer service. Ford simply does not care about its customers. I owned one Ford, a 1991 Taurus. It was driven responsibly for 60,000 miles when transission had a total meltdown. Transmission design was changed from 1990 to 1991. I did not know it but failure rate for 1991 taurus transmissions was four times that of 1990, obviously a design problem, Ford told me to pound sand or sue them. Never again!
1415 is gone; but my LSs are at 39.6k miles and thin, but wearing evenly across and around. The center of the tire is gone for they are kept over-inflated. The other factor is speed which erodes the mileage..
Under normal driving it's a 50k tire, maybe 60k; but I can't complain for they are vibration-free since day one of the marriage.. No Pirellis for me; they come from the land of Fiats..
Since the Intrigue is governed to 108mph the speed-rated tire is a waste and tends to wear quickly.. Besides the suspension after 40k miles has lost some of it's sharpness and the stiffer sidewalled tire will just beat up the strut and the driver. To compensate for the rough ride one will decrease air pressure; soon the tire is wore out..
I am after the tire that will coast to the 90/100k mark with some tread left for the next owner..
To compensate for the weaker sidewall in the touring tire, I over inflate slightly to fight the sloppiness of the std tire..
Considering you live in a major metropolitan area, you really should check out tirerack.com. They have a search to find a local "authorized" installer in your area. I purchased the Aquatreads from a local Goodyear dealer only because they had a $50 off promotion and 90 days same as cash if you use your Goodyear Credit Card. I'm sure they do this cause they know most people won't pay it off in 90 days and they can charge their 22% interest on the balance. I just paid mine off; $452.50 total with tax and the $50 discount. I think a set of four from tirerack would be about $360 with shipping. They will drop ship to your "authorized" installer, too. If you pay another $60 to $70 for installation, you are at about $425 for four 80,000 miles tires that DO ride better and ARE quieter than the LS's. I just had four 17-inch monsters mounted on my 01 Formula by a "authorized" tirerack installer. He used a high-dollar "load" balancing machine. This is, supposedly, what gives you a "factory-smooth" ride. My Formula is smooth as silk; every bit as good as the factory balance. The LS's on our Intrigue lasted about 40,000 miles; probably could have stretched another 3-5000, but it's definitely not the time of year to be running on nearly bald tires. My wife's safety is much more important to me than getting another $20 in wear out of a set of tires.
htwire----agree fully with your appraisal of the FoMoCo automatics.. The last Ford product I owned was a beautiful 78 Mercury Cougar, cream w/white interior, 351 V-8 with the small automatic trans that went on a shifting frenzy when we lived in Crystal Lake, Ill.. The local Ford fessed up that due to lack of the larger trans they occasionally stick in a small one and the 351 would shread it up.
My wife's car; so it was fixed with the right deal and later traded on the 82 Z-28..
I had a 79 T-Bird with the works for the business end and piled 90k miles quickily without any trans problem; but it had the larger automatic..The only problem with my T-Bird was the front rotor warpage..
htwired ::: ditto on the Ford service. I have had one Ford van, & my son currently owns a 95 Probe. The service departments [and we are talking several different ones] all try to nickel & dime you to death, plus they just do crappy work. Father-in-law Tarus [company car] tranny crapped out around 40k miles, in the middle of no-where.
white6----appreciate the input and your expertise on the tire game..Goodyear is a client of mine in an area that is not tire related; however I do not seek any special deals..it keeps things simplier. I do try to keep Goodyear tires on the business car and Michelins on the Caddy..
The Caddy dealer in Fla balanced the replacement tires and used one of the load balancing machines with a nice paper readout..In fact I made him do it twice and they got it right on the last try..Since Caddy replaced the original chrome wheels at 49k and I had the Mich dealer install new tires with the wheels; the tire dealer balanced the wheels with all weights on the inside..I didn't notice until several weeks later; so that bugged me and there was vibration,(maybe imagined) for the lack of weights on the outside got the better of me.
I will try the tire-rack bunch to see what appears on the horizion..
Has anyone ever used Koni struts? I looked on carparts.com and found a set of yellow Koni's. They claim that they are driver selectable ranging from soft to firm. If they are any good, I may consider replacing them. I guess if I keep replacing original equipment parts I won't think about getting a new one. The wife likes the sound of that.
Months ago I posted my intent to swap factory struts for Konis. In as much as I intend to own my Intrigue for the long haul (15 yr plus), my strut replacement will wait until I have used up life of factory struts. If you decide to switch, please post your impressions Thanks htwired in Milwaukee where golf weather has finally arrived, but my swing has not.
On the second Porsche purchase; a 1959 1600 coupe, the only option was Koni shocks for an additional $15.00. The ride was a little on the brutal side; but neither myself or the German dealer could figure out how to adjust them properly..
I am sure that they have a great product; but who would develop a strut for Intrigue only, it would fit all W body structures.
GM's killing of the Olds shortstar is a sad mistake. The strenghth of Olds Intrigue is engine tranny setup. I am glad I purchased my Intrigue while it was available. Too bad the most of the motoring public will not have chance to enjoy shortstars smooooth performance
This is sequel to my experience with SH-30 tires on slab highways.
After the trip to NY City I bled some air from Malibu tires. Still overinflated. 3 psi, as I like, but not 6 psi any more.
After this had a short trip from New Haven to Hartford, CT, partially on concrete slab highway: the CT route 9, about 15 miles every way through New Britain, CT. Mostly 75 mph, 65 in city. Did not feel the slabs: no noise, no jumps. Smooth almost as on asphalt. Even with the soft suspension, and 40k miles old struts.
The highway looks about the same as NY (state) ones through suburbs of NY City. Though, in the city itself the route 9A (NY) was something special. The gaps between the slabs looks being about 2-inch wide, and on some miles of the pavement the edges of the slabs are beefed-up by sheet(?) metal.
I think the non-domestic portion of the automobile business would complain if Detroit suddenly started to sell cars in a price range that hurt their advantage..
The playing field isn't level..
Need some help on what models of "F" bodies would one buy on the closeout in 2002. Convertibles w/6spd,spd rated rubber,and cloth seats. Zs orSSs
To celebrate retirement, and create a side-line or maybe a pain-in-the-neck; I was considering buying up 6 "Fs" for storage and future speculation.. Is a/c mandatory in the F body???
The struts are obviously absorbing the jolt.. My problem with the concrete slabs is at low speeds 15/30mph where there is enough height difference or tilt to really bang..
I am sure that the SH-30 tire offers a greater safety factor than the std touring tire; does it have any long wear factor???I have a small Firestone privately owned store about 2 miles from me where I have done alot of past business with the previous owner. The current owner is a real car buff and a Chrysler 300M fan/owner. I suffered a run-in with him on tires they had put on my 94 LeSabre because of stiff sidewalls. They removed the tires about 3000 miles later and replaced with another tire. The problem was the Buick struts were shot at 50k miles, and I had the Buick dealer put on the Monroematics for $700.00; solved the shake and went another 63K..
I will go see him. His assistant quoted me $99.00ea for the SH-30 and $120.00 for the XGT-H4 Michelins.. There has to be some room left to bargain..
are great. Though, after adding S&H, installation, balancing, and valve stems, they cost about the same as from tire dealer (Firestone in my case). Even more, than the dealer practically always have discounts, about 15%, often even without asking.
On top of this you still need alignment. And the road hazard insurance is a nice, not expensive, addition. All of this in one place, at tire dealer.
The tire dealer usually also provides extra freebees, like free tire rotation. For all family cars, not only the tires bought from him.
Possibly, Tirerack provides better deals with wheel/tire combos, installed and balances. But with tires only, in my experience, the local Firestone dealer was better than Tirerack.
i shopped at goodyear almost exclusively from 1985-1991, except for some tire rack purchases and take offs from SLP.
They LOVE to replace idler arms. I took my '87 in there that was only 6 months old. They said it needed a new idler arm. Because there was play in it. Of course there was play, it is supposed to have a little. They would shove that crowbar up in there and yank on it. Bunch of crooks.
Can you imagine driving away your new '05 Aurora just as they're taking down the Oldsmobile signs at your dealer? Sure, I would be convinced that a Chevy or Caddy dealer really wants to work on it. Makes me wonder why they don't just kill Olds now, rather than let it shrivel up over the next 5-6 yrs. Just rebadge whatever they want to keep.
It appears the 3.5 dohc is officially termintated. I guess if you want high tech, get a Caddy. Otherwise you get old tech.
b4z-----Only use tire stores for tires; they would replace the whole car if you let them. You younger folks have gotten the idea that the internet is a cure of the worlds ills..Wrong baby!!
Through the eyes of the dot com world, all we needed were giant warehouses and delivery trucks.. Everybody was too busy to go to a store and buy anything;;right.. Wrong,wrong and wrong, only the confirmed couch potatoes were in that world..
The only way a dot com survives is if it can buy something cheaper than the store.. If the tire companies decide to let the dot coms have tires for less money than their dealers, then we all have a problem.. If you can buy a different wheel w/tire and it saves you mucho time; go for it.. If you have a problem with the wheel or tire; what is the immediate cure????meanwhile your credit card is processing your purchase whether you can use the merchandise or not..
I check the websites for pricing on tires and appreciate their info; but they will not get the plum..
SH-30s installed w/tax $420.00 with free rotations and free warranty.. The tire is a 50k deal..I don't know whether it's good or not but the people know that I am not a cake walk.. Balance is the name of the game..
I do not let tire stores align either front or rear.. They do not possess much talent except for brawn, all I ask for is a good balance, because that is all you ever need for a set of tires..
My SES light came on today after a no-start (it didn't even try to turn over), then it started my next try. Will bring to dealer hopefully this week to check the codes and see whats up. My TRAC OFF light is on permanently too. Some of you may remember I had an incident where my car stalled after a brief engagement of the traction control this winter.
Went by my dealer today to ask him when was the last day i could order a 2001 from the factory. He said it had already passed by. that means if i want one, it will have to come out of dealer inventory. It will probably be a northern car that has been sitting in the elements for 6 months. Probably has acid rain problems and the bad alternator. Can you tell that i am mad? I want a bronze mist GL with PCS and leather, thats all. I will take blue if i have to, but neutral is the only interior color i will accept. I am kicking myself bigtime.
rbb - did your dad order a 2001, or is a dealer FINDING him one?
It does make sense that they are not producing more 01's, considering that Olds had such a surplus in Dec.
It's funny. Everywhere you look people are hoo-rahing about how sales have dramitically picked up since the Dec announcement. DUH. When was the last time you saw a clearance shelf stay full at your local Target or Walmart. The only reason they are moving ANY inventory is because they are making the deal so sweet. I hope the 01's and 02's arent the bitter pill that my 99 is turning into.
I think GM exes (Wagoner specifically) really need to examine why domestic vehicles sold by a division that has a recent history of not selling, has had documented quality control issues and that is about to go under has a limited supply of cars and are flying off the lots. There are reasons besides rebates. I feel the warranty is a big reason why they're moving.
And so does the media.
So that Buick can benefit from what is happening to Olds, I think a few things that Olds is doing now should be incorporated into Buick's policy. They sell well already so rebates aren't necessary. When they change the corporate look from the geriatric crowd to appeal to "young-bucks", implement the 5/60 warranty. Tell the petty crybabies at Cadillac they better not whine about it and look at the big, corporate picture: the need for GM as a whole to compete, not just to preserve the snob-appeal of the Cadillac division. If all the divisions don't make money, GM could cease to exist which would mean Cadillac would disappear too.
If they do just that,--- and implement it **BEFORE** changing the styling of the cars--- they have a good chance of not repeating the same mistakes of Oldsmobile.
Comments
On the long trips - just went on a Midwest trip and pulled off 2800 miles in 4 days in a Sunfire. Wasn't too bad, so the intrigue would be a treat. I took the Sunfire because it is new and more reliable than the intrigue has been lately!
"That's a good question. The engine is a 60-degree V-6, and it's a pushrod engine. The speed-to-market element of this was very important to us. The splay of the cylinder bank angles would have prevented us from doing this in the time frame that we did because we would have had to revalidate the pulse and crashworthiness of the front end. That is part of the price difference, quite frankly. We are going after high value, high sophistication and high beauty without the high price tag. That's what Buick is about."
Hmmm, sound familiar? Besides not answering the question, this guy admits that Buick is releasing the vehicle prematurely. A premium engine "might" be coming in the future. But because they want to push it to market, they're putting an engine in it that won't let it realisticly compete with the RX300 and Highlander.
Let's see if we remember this story: GM wants to release a performance sedan that will compete against foreign makes. Because they weren't ready with the "premium" engine they put in a pushrod from off the shelf because "the speed-to-market element of this was very important" to GM. As a result, GM caused a lot of people not to look at the Intrigue. And they're making the same mistake again with Buick.
It's plain to see that GM execs haven't learned from the destruction of Oldsmobile. While I am a fan of GM engines and transmissions, this is just another example of what I stated in an earlier post where I said: "GM is behind the curve in a lot of things. Look at the mismanagement of Olds for examples."
How long is it going to take for GM to decide on corporate standards for each car size segment? If they do that they can spend more time on other things. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was turning into a Honda convert. But it just ticks me off royally that GM canned Oldsmobile and they STILL haven't learned from it!!!!
Since loyal Olds customers moved to Buick, they are now in the same boat Olds was in (the pressure to lure younger buyers). If they continue on this path, get ready to see another division vanish from the GM harem. When asked if Buick was under a lot of pressure to succeed, Mr. Reuss said: "We have (done) everything we can possibly do on this to succeed."
Now that's a statement we've never heard before
http://www.autonews.com/html/main/stories/qa416.htm
The next wife's car was an Electra T-Type 87 new, white with red leather. Had the Goodyear GT tires along with touring suspension; what a farce of performance BS. I flat spotted all four tires on a Flordia trip and bought new rubber at 20k miles..Sold the car to my neighbor at around 35k miles and he drove it until 90k..
Meanwhile wifey is on her third Caddy..
Drove an SS Camaro today--Chevy dealer at my Golf Club give me his for 30 minutes. By the way he is also an Olds dealer and he is not aware of my Olds history or any complaints pertaining to my Intrigue..I decided last year to overlook the car beefs and keep everything static free for good times at the club.. He's a local dealer in the same town as the Golf Club, and I live 43 miles from the club, so I don't need the pressure..nothing gained but grief..
The SS is a wild one; but I decided not to venture into the past of supercars because I might not be able to handle the temptation to go at reasonable levels.. Triple digits come up very quick and it just keeps climbing until my stupid foot lets up..Fun; but scary with my setup..
Did you get rid of the Intrigue?
How's the Chevy doing????? You have got to get connected with an Intrigue before it goes under; for the experience is worth the risk.. Buy one...don't rent it....enjoy life.. I was lectured today on the merits of the 3.8 by a 3 handicap golfer who is two years away from retirement from GM large car Engineering. He totally dislikes multi-valve engines and is tickled that the 3.5 is being tubed..I told him he was old-fashioned!!!
I played golf today with a design engr. of truck interiors and he had a couple weeks driving around in the new Trailblazer.. Nothing but praise for this entry in the SUV scene..
The biggest problem in the multi-valve engines is the casting of the alum blocks and the porosity element..
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
ab348 : While I would never buy an Aztek, I'm starting to get used to it's looks. You see a fair number of them in the Toronto area. With ugly vehicles like the Santa Fe and Echo driving around, it really doesn't stick out that much.
llsoc.com has some pictures from the auto show in their gallery section. Click on Mercury marauder and there are bunch of different views. The rear and side views are terrific.
Even with all the incentives i am getting form olds. The marauder may be the way to go.
Buy a Crown Vic with the performance pkg and send it to the converter outfit in Indiana along with $8500. You will get a supercharged 300hp+ with the std Ford warranties..I can't think of the name; but with our great auto minds on this forum it shouldn't take long.
I saw the Buick SUV at the golf club yesterday; sure looks better than the stupid Aztek. They should refer to these new SUVs as "PowderPuffs" for they are nothing more than a damn station wagon with a high center of gravity..
I am not really concerned about the engine, it is the tranny that worries me. Neither ford not chrysler has figured out how to do trannies like GM has.
The tranny is marginal behind the 215 hp version. I can't see how it could live behind 300+ horsepower. I am hoping they use the tranny that is in the lightning but i doubt it.
I have never owned a ford before. So that is two strikes against it.
It would kill me if i bought a 2001 intrigue and had to look at the those two huge exhaust pipes that are on the marauder. I would probably be looking at that view a lot with my 215 hp intrigue.
Ford as mentioned has not been too successful in the area of automatic trans..and it is a mystery because their cash position is much better than GM.. They have always stayed away from the high HP large car engines and gotten by using the std engine to power the Town Cars.. The current Lincoln SUV has a 300hp with automatic..maybe they have a production capacity problem..
One of areas where Ford excels is keeping the capacity and sales pretty well in line..They did away with excess capacity years ago and decided to run lots of overtime to meet the demand. GM is still trying to get rid of the excess capacity.
Learned yesterday where Cadillac has approx 1500 Northstar engines installed in 01 cars that have crankshafts which were improperly machined and must be replaced b4 selling.. The crankshaft is machined by GM, not outsourced..Sounds like a $5,000,000 tiny problem. Must be nice to have money to burn when my Intrigue could use a set of complimentary front struts and brakes..from the General..
JR
If GM hasn't figured out a surefire fix for it, I'm not going to bother bringing it in for service yet (I'm not under warranty anymore). Sure is embarrassing though having problems attempting to start a new looking car. Good free advertising for GM.
With all of the rebates I can actually buy it for less than what i paid for my '99.
No wing for me. It ruins the lines of the car. JMHO.
I wonder if i put a K&N and SLP exhaust, would i have about 230 hp? Somebody needs to make a chip for this car. I would still like some low end, I don't suppose the 3.71 gear from the aurora would fit in the 4T65E tranny? Then i would have to do something about the speedo calibration, probably with a chip. How about a supercharger?
I am just an old hot rodder at heart.
There is a 2000 GX for sale at my dealer for $13,900. Thats some serious depreciation.
The flickering light problem and the hard start has not surfaced on mine as yet..knock on wood!!!
I am ready for tires and I have been collecting prices over the phone; but hard to make a decision anymore...must be old age..
The Goodyear Aquatred 3 is inviting; however I haven't priced it locally as yet..I assume it has to be the best riding tire; however with the stiff suspension it might not be any better than the LS racket.
I am sure that it is a former rental car and has about 20,000 miles on it.LOL.
Let's say that it was a GL with leather, with 12,000 miles. The best one could hope for is $15,900. That is still a $9,000 hit off of MSRP.
There is a privately owned GX here that has been for sale for over three months. They are now down to $11,900. I think that the auction price on mine is about $9,500. That is more than %50 in two years.
These are just the realities of owning an intrigue.
Well, that's a guess. While I don't dispute the larger depreciation on Intrigues, I don't think it's that bad. Where do you live? I look around here (Toronto area) and you are looking at more like 40% in 2 years. That being said, no one pays anything close to MSRP for these cars. I got about $3600 off when all was said and done.
I put some Pirelli P3000 tires on my wife's 1996 Saturn SL a few weeks ago. People think the tires on the Intrigue are loud, but you should hear these. They hummm like a big truck/SUV tire when you go over 45 mph. The tread is very deep, so that may contribute to the noise.
Save yourself signifcant frustration; don't buy the Mercury Marauder or any other Ford. You are right about the Ford transmissions. They are not reliable; but what really frosts my behind is the arrogance of their customer service. Ford simply does not care about its customers. I owned one Ford, a 1991 Taurus. It was driven responsibly for 60,000 miles when transission had a total meltdown. Transmission design was changed from 1990 to 1991. I did not know it but failure rate for 1991 taurus transmissions was four times that of 1990, obviously a design problem, Ford told me to pound sand or sue them. Never again!
Under normal driving it's a 50k tire, maybe 60k; but I can't complain for they are vibration-free since day one of the marriage.. No Pirellis for me; they come from the land of Fiats..
Since the Intrigue is governed to 108mph the speed-rated tire is a waste and tends to wear quickly.. Besides the suspension after 40k miles has lost some of it's sharpness and the stiffer sidewalled tire will just beat up the strut and the driver. To compensate for the rough ride one will decrease air pressure; soon the tire is wore out..
I am after the tire that will coast to the 90/100k mark with some tread left for the next owner..
To compensate for the weaker sidewall in the touring tire, I over inflate slightly to fight the sloppiness of the std tire..
My wife's car; so it was fixed with the right deal and later traded on the 82 Z-28..
I had a 79 T-Bird with the works for the business end and piled 90k miles quickily without any trans problem; but it had the larger automatic..The only problem with my T-Bird was the front rotor warpage..
The Caddy dealer in Fla balanced the replacement tires and used one of the load balancing machines with a nice paper readout..In fact I made him do it twice and they got it right on the last try..Since Caddy replaced the original chrome wheels at 49k and I had the Mich dealer install new tires with the wheels; the tire dealer balanced the wheels with all weights on the inside..I didn't notice until several weeks later; so that bugged me and there was vibration,(maybe imagined) for the lack of weights on the outside got the better of me.
I will try the tire-rack bunch to see what appears on the horizion..
I am sure that they have a great product; but who would develop a strut for Intrigue only, it would fit all W body structures.
Intrigue is the first to go, followed by Alero/ Silhouette in 2004, Aurora in 2005 and Bravada in 2007.
After the trip to NY City I bled some air from Malibu tires. Still overinflated. 3 psi, as I like, but not 6 psi any more.
After this had a short trip from New Haven to Hartford, CT, partially on concrete slab highway: the CT route 9, about 15 miles every way through New Britain, CT. Mostly 75 mph, 65 in city. Did not feel the slabs: no noise, no jumps. Smooth almost as on asphalt. Even with the soft suspension, and 40k miles old struts.
The highway looks about the same as NY (state) ones through suburbs of NY City. Though, in the city itself the route 9A (NY) was something special. The gaps between the slabs looks being about 2-inch wide, and on some miles of the pavement the edges of the slabs are beefed-up by sheet(?) metal.
I think the non-domestic portion of the automobile business would complain if Detroit suddenly started to sell cars in a price range that hurt their advantage..
The playing field isn't level..
Need some help on what models of "F" bodies would one buy on the closeout in 2002. Convertibles w/6spd,spd rated rubber,and cloth seats. Zs orSSs
To celebrate retirement, and create a side-line or maybe a pain-in-the-neck; I was considering buying up 6 "Fs" for storage and future speculation.. Is a/c mandatory in the F body???
Guess i should start planning now!!!
I am sure that the SH-30 tire offers a greater safety factor than the std touring tire; does it have any long wear factor???I have a small Firestone privately owned store about 2 miles from me where I have done alot of past business with the previous owner. The current owner is a real car buff and a Chrysler 300M fan/owner. I suffered a run-in with him on tires they had put on my 94 LeSabre because of stiff sidewalls. They removed the tires about 3000 miles later and replaced with another tire. The problem was the Buick struts were shot at 50k miles, and I had the Buick dealer put on the Monroematics for $700.00; solved the shake and went another 63K..
I will go see him. His assistant quoted me $99.00ea for the SH-30 and $120.00 for the XGT-H4 Michelins.. There has to be some room left to bargain..
On top of this you still need alignment. And the road hazard insurance is a nice, not expensive, addition. All of this in one place, at tire dealer.
The tire dealer usually also provides extra freebees, like free tire rotation. For all family cars, not only the tires bought from him.
Possibly, Tirerack provides better deals with wheel/tire combos, installed and balances. But with tires only, in my experience, the local Firestone dealer was better than Tirerack.
They LOVE to replace idler arms. I took my '87 in there that was only 6 months old. They said it needed a new idler arm. Because there was play in it. Of course there was play, it is supposed to have a little. They would shove that crowbar up in there and yank on it. Bunch of crooks.
It appears the 3.5 dohc is officially termintated. I guess if you want high tech, get a Caddy. Otherwise you get old tech.
Through the eyes of the dot com world, all we needed were giant warehouses and delivery trucks.. Everybody was too busy to go to a store and buy anything;;right.. Wrong,wrong and wrong, only the confirmed couch potatoes were in that world..
The only way a dot com survives is if it can buy something cheaper than the store.. If the tire companies decide to let the dot coms have tires for less money than their dealers, then we all have a problem.. If you can buy a different wheel w/tire and it saves you mucho time; go for it.. If you have a problem with the wheel or tire; what is the immediate cure????meanwhile your credit card is processing your purchase whether you can use the merchandise or not..
I check the websites for pricing on tires and appreciate their info; but they will not get the plum..
SH-30s installed w/tax $420.00 with free rotations and free warranty.. The tire is a 50k deal..I don't know whether it's good or not but the people know that I am not a cake walk.. Balance is the name of the game..
I do not let tire stores align either front or rear.. They do not possess much talent except for brawn, all I ask for is a good balance, because that is all you ever need for a set of tires..
He said it had already passed by.
that means if i want one, it will have to come out of dealer inventory.
It will probably be a northern car that has been sitting in the elements for 6 months. Probably has acid rain problems and the bad alternator.
Can you tell that i am mad?
I want a bronze mist GL with PCS and leather, thats all. I will take blue if i have to, but neutral is the only interior color i will accept.
I am kicking myself bigtime.
I have 11 months to go on the lease.
2002's may not have a $2000 rebate.
There may be no 2002's.
Just spent a couple of hours looking on the net for a GL PCS, can't find any.
It does make sense that they are not producing more 01's, considering that Olds had such a surplus in Dec.
It's funny. Everywhere you look people are hoo-rahing about how sales have dramitically picked up since the Dec announcement. DUH. When was the last time you saw a clearance shelf stay full at your local Target or Walmart. The only reason they are moving ANY inventory is because they are making the deal so sweet.
I hope the 01's and 02's arent the bitter pill that my 99 is turning into.
I think GM exes (Wagoner specifically) really need to examine why domestic vehicles sold by a division that has a recent history of not selling, has had documented quality control issues and that is about to go under has a limited supply of cars and are flying off the lots. There are reasons besides rebates. I feel the warranty is a big reason why they're moving.
And so does the media.
So that Buick can benefit from what is happening to Olds, I think a few things that Olds is doing now should be incorporated into Buick's policy. They sell well already so rebates aren't necessary. When they change the corporate look from the geriatric crowd to appeal to "young-bucks", implement the 5/60 warranty. Tell the petty crybabies at Cadillac they better not whine about it and look at the big, corporate picture: the need for GM as a whole to compete, not just to preserve the snob-appeal of the Cadillac division. If all the divisions don't make money, GM could cease to exist which would mean Cadillac would disappear too.
If they do just that,--- and implement it **BEFORE** changing the styling of the cars--- they have a good chance of not repeating the same mistakes of Oldsmobile.
I know I said it would be short but... oh well.