Oldsmobile Intrigue

winter9 · May 2001

I just spoke with my local dealer and he told me he just received an official announcement from Olds today that 2002 will be the last year for production of the 3.5L "Shortstar". He said the motor needs to be tweaked to meet the more stringent 2003 emissions standards and GM ain't gonna sink another dime into this "underutilized powertrain". Since Olds is not going to put a different motor in the Intrigue (more $), you guessed it - 2002 will be THE FINAL model year

The Aurora might see 2003+ production, but only with the V8.

2002 Intrigue changes:
All trim levels:
New headliner - Winchester fabric; new radio family with radio data system; std CD player; latch child seat attachments in rear seats; pewter interior replaces dark gray; paint - teal replaces forest, indigo blue replaces midnight blue
GX changes: sunroof N/A
GL changes: new sun & sound package available
GLS changes: 2 tone leather, driver power lumbar, sunroof & homelink all std; sterling accents on interior

My local dealer is evaluating an early out option in dealing with the Olds brand. He will order one for me now but maybe not come fall. Way to kill a good thing GM! The way thing are headed at GM, this may be my last GM purchase. Management needs to pull their collective heads out!
Mike

swagled · May 2001

Car & Driver pointed out in their Intrigue review last year that the 3800 had it's roots in the early 1960's. Considering the debate which has run on here, how close the vote is on the "new motor" vs. one tweaked and refined for over 30 years, the 3.5 probably had a lot of untapped potential.

Well, the world will never know.

The Intrigue came frustratingly close to being an outstanding car. Can you imagine a manual Intrigue with the 3.5? 3rd gear would be right between where 2nd and 3rd are in the automatic... perfect for that 45-65 passing most of us do in normal traffic. (Olds wouldn't have done it, but Pontiac probably would somewhere.)

I'm not ready to give up on GM yet, though. There are some people there still pushing to make GM prove it can create vehicles that are interesting and exciting. I think the Chevy SSR will be a *huge* home run hit.

whertz · May 2001

One question, I am considering to buy a intrigue 2001. If the engine fails to meet the emission standard for 2003, will I be in trouble then?

b4z · May 2001

No, it will not effect you in the least.

b4z · May 2001

I hope i can option the 2002 the way i want without the sunroof. I am leaning toward the GL.

b4z · May 2001

Great information!
I thought that the midnight blue and indigo blue were the same color.

dindak · May 2001

winter9 : You have one heck of a knowledgeable sales person down there. Oldsmobile's own press release last week said Intrigue would run until the 2003 model year. Perhaps they will cease production of the 2003 models before the end of 2002??

swagled : I agree, the SSR looks very good. Also think the new Pontiac Vibe, Saturn Vue and Buick Rendezvous will all be big hits.

tpken · May 2001

What's this - another name change? LOL

Ken

redline65 · May 2001

I guess 1415 is now a joker.

etharmon · May 2001

Hmmm, those actually seem like good changes. The indigo and midnight blue are very close. The indigo is the dark blue offered on the Bravada and Silhouette. With the upgraded radios and adjustable lumbar(finally!!!!), the Intrigue may be nearly perfect. And in typical GM fashion, perfect for it's final year. Any idea when they will be available for order? I'd almost be tempted to wait around for one except me lease is up in 2 months and I'll need a car. As for the 3.5 not meeting emissions standards. If it can't meet them, how the hell can the 3800 V6 meet them?

one2one · May 2001

I'm with you on the Indigo. I saw a Bravada in that color on a dealer's lot and said to myself: "An Intrigue in that color would be BEAUTIFUL!" Can't wait to see it.

As far as the 3.5 emissions, don't even sweat it. Took my wife's 95 Bonnie in for it's inspection last Sat. As was true with mine, it barely registered. One rating had a limit of something like 1165. The Bonnie said 42... no where near polluting. And that's a '95! I can't see the 3.5 doing any worse, especially when it was designed during a time when the Feds were pushing for lower emissions.

Now those big 'ol 18 wheelers...

dindak · May 2001

I think the new regulations apply to new car sales only. If the 3.5 L is going because of that, the 3.8L will also. I don't think emmisions have anything to do with the 3.5L demise.

yurakm · May 2001

Now those big 'ol 18 wheelers...

and school buses, city buses, dump tracks...

jr45 · May 2001

I still can't see Olds being around at all past next year. The problem is with the dealers. They can't be left to twist in the wind for 3-4 years. Despite any current press releases, the situation has got to still be in flux within upper levels of GM.

On a brighter note, I did get a can of touch-up paint in the mail from Olds for my '01 silver GL.

vezini · May 2001

My 99 has had many trips to the service center for repair. Alternator replaced (lights flickering), intermediate steering column replaced, door locks that won't open, rail dust, brake adjustments, and broken door hardware. I have 30K on the car and I am wondering if others are seeing this many regular visits to the shop?

I had several Tauri before the Intrigue (GLS), and while the Tauri were not as exciting to drive, they were more reliable.

If I keep this car past the 36K I feel that I will need to buy an extended warranty.

Any Comments??

ehaase · May 2001

The 3.5L will be discontinued, but a new 3.7L V6 based on it will debut in 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix. This engine will replace the 3.8 across the board.

timmyv · May 2001

Took a drive through the local Olds-Chevy dealer tonight. It is the only Olds dealer in our city of about 100K people. Anyways, not a single new Oldsmobile. NOT ONE!! They had one used Alero and a few used Intrigues. Nothing else!! Sad :-(.

redly_one · May 2001

1st - According to the GM Internal Website, as of 2001, both the 3.5L and 4.0L Olds motors meet NLEV (National Level Emissions Vehicle) status. (FYI, 3.8L meets ULEV standards) Lots of other interesting stuff there about GM's powertrains. Too bad the even MORE interesting stuff required a password.

2nd - Once again someone is talking about the next gen GrandPrix having a 3.7L DOHC. All I want is a reference to this information. Sounds good, but I have read that the project was cancelled.

3rd - Got to race some punks tonight. Them - Mazda RX7 - Me- The Intrigue. Let's just say I had fun!!

b4z · May 2001

I waxed an older RX7 about a year and a half a go.
We raced from three different stoplights and i beat him everytime.

I thought the shortstar was history too. Why does it keep coming up?

white6 · May 2001

I believe the "new" V-6 to be used extensively by GM will be a slightly enlarged and updated version of the 3.0 liter V-6 currently installed in the Catera and Saturn LS. CTS (Catera Touring Sedan) will supposedly use a "pressurized" version, good for about 250 hp. This engine is cheaper to build than the "shortstar" and we all know that the bean-counters rule at GM.

vcjumper · May 2001

Lets hope if they do start to use this motor it gets a lot more hp than the current 3.0L does. With the next round of midsize cars appearing within a year with more hp than the current Intrigue (Camry 220, Altima 240, Maxima, base TL 260, Honda promising to match Altima with their next Accord), things are getting interesting and hopefully GM keeps pace.

timmyv · May 2001

Talked to a dealer today who said that an announcement came out yesterday (Fri 5/4) that there will not be a 2002 Intrigue, 2001 is it! Any truth to this??

redly_one · May 2001

Hmmm, at this rate, next week we will all get a letter from Olds telling us the Intrigue never existed

b4z · May 2001

Exsqueezeme? Baking powder?

I don't think i can handle any more bad news.

b4z · May 2001

Yesterday my dealer got in a bronzemist GL with leather as the only option.

The ruby GL is gone. Was on his lot only two weeks.

The midnight blue GX with no options is still sitting there.

dindak · May 2001

timmyv : Absolutely not true. The 2002 models are definitely a go. You dealer is trying to sell you something off the lot rather than try to find an Intrigue for you.

ehaase : Where did you read about the 3.7L? I have read about it also, but I'm wondering where you saw it will be in the 2003 GP for sure?

b4z · May 2001

Slow board the last couple of days.

david161 · May 2001

Yes, the door self-lock can happen when I leave the car just for an instant to pick up something. Once I stopped at the post office to drop a letter in the mailbox and returned immediately to the car, not two minutes after I had left it. I had left the doors unlocked. When I returned, the driver's door was locked, but none of the other three. Occasionally, but not usually, all four doors self-lock. Usually it is only the drivers door. Fortunately, the only time it happened with the key in the ignition (at a parking garage), only one door locked. I try to make sure I always take the key.
That was a very helpful post with the service bulletin on the pulsating brakes. The last time I had my tires rotated, I took the car to a local gas station. From now on, it will be the dealer.

etharmon · May 2001

While out last night I stopped at several dealers to window shop. First off, the Olds dealer had 4 Intrigues. A sandstone GLS with everything but Bose, a sterling and white GL that were pretty well loaded, and a forest GX. Thats it's except for some pre-owned 2000s. There were a little better on Aleros and Auroras. Most of the Aleros were light colors like Bronzemist, Sandstone, or Sterling. So next I go to the Pontiac dealer. First off, not a single 2001 Bonneville there. They had about a dozen Grand Prixs, but none were the supercharged GTP model and very few of the GTs were equipped as I would have liked. Lastly, I stopped at the Cadillac dealer for some dreaming. Now they know how to keep their stock. At least 2 dozen Devilles, severals STSs, an ETC, a few Cateras, and one 2002 Escalade. On their used lot I found a pearl red 1997 Deville Concours which someone left unlocked so I naturally got inside it. It had the Beechwood interior and just about every option including the integrated cellular phone. No price was listed on the sticker(typical of used cars) but it did say it had 56,xxx miles. I'm very tempted to go back and drive it sometime and see what they are asking for it. Anyway, I don't understand how some of these dealers stay in business. I mean I could not believe the Poncho dealer didn't have some Bonnevilles. And you'd think Olds would have more Intrigues too. No wonder GM sales are down, they don't have any product on their dealers' lot to sell!

dindak · May 2001

Local Honda dealer has only 3 or 4 new Accords on the lot. I'm sure they are just low on inventory as Honda Accords sell well for some reason. I suppose that doesn't mean Intrigues are selling well though. ;-)

Local Oldsmobile store has 3 new Intrigues and 2 used as of yesterday.

jgriff · May 2001

etharmon & dindak ::: do any of your dealers have hidden back lots, covered garages/parking lots?? With main street real-estate being a premium, many of our car dealers have only a few vehicles up front, a lot of the stock is around back out of public view. I know that seems like too basis of a question or thought.

vezini ::: welcome to the wonderful world of the Oldsmobile Intrigue. You will find that there are many people [both past & present] that have all experience that same problems you are having. You have one of two choices, 1) deal with it on an on-going basis or 2) if you can afford the lost, trade/sell out of it.

dindak · May 2001

"Jgriff " thinks that everyone has had the same problems he did. Fact is most people are very happy with their Intrigues. Sounds like you have a lemon which is unfortunate. Are all the problems worked out now? If so, I would hold on to it. It's a fantastic car.

b4z · May 2001

Took my flexi flyer camaro in for a brake job this morning and was shuttled home in a '00 Ford expidition. Talk about a vehicle that creaks and rattles. This truck had only 8000 miles on it, and the driver had to slow to a crawl on the rough streets of downtown charleston.

My intrigue has much better structural rigidity in comparison.

htwired · May 2001

I was stopped at red light in left lane. Right lane was also parking lane. Milwaukee uses parking lane during rush hour as traffic lanes. Honda accord pulls up next to mewhile I am waiting for light to change. I can see the 200 yards down the road there is a car parked in right lane. I can also tell by the way Accord pulled up and body language of driver that he wants to jump the light to get ahead of me. I know that in as much as he was going to merge into my lane of traffic, I had the right of way. Being the gracious soul that I am, I wanted to make certain that there was sufficent seperation between me and the car behind me so that Accord conveniently merge into left lane BEHIND me. It was fun, the Intrigue has plenty of low end torque and when accelorator is fully engaged 6500 rpm redline comes up in a hurry. Yes the Accord did ultimately merge BEHIND me. He did not seem to appreciate my efforts though I can't quite understand why. DWG , unfortunately I do not do plaitififfs litigation, however if I was injured by the tortious misconduct of another, I would use a Cannon.

vcjumper · May 2001

Had a consultant in today from out of town.. Come lunch time, was to take him out and he offered to drive the rental. As we got outside, he said.. Wait a minute, you better drive, he didn't want to be seen in his rental car.

I then saw thirty feet away a Pontiac Aztec in all its glory, laughed and said A#$tec? He just nodded, lowered his head and told me we needed to find a new rental car company. Stopped at intersections, I usually try and make eye contact with Aztec drivers then laugh at them. It would have been funny if I saw him earlier on the road.

He liked my Intrigue quite a bit until he got to witness its bad starting condition on the way back. He made a witty remark about GM quality and got a good laugh.

b4z · May 2001

Kind of hard to make a point when i describe the wrong vehicle. It was an Excursion that was the hard riding rattletrap. Not an Expidition.

vcjumper · May 2001

Are you sure it wasn't one of these?

New Ford SUV

b4z · May 2001

Thats a hoot! Although probably not much of a stretch. The only person who needs an excursion is someone who moves houses for a living.

I couldn't believe how big this thing was. The engine roar was unbelievable under acceleration.

if this thing was creaky at 8000 miles, think what it will be like at 100,000 miles.

I am looking at the intrigue differently now.

vcjumper · May 2001

Your mentioning the GM front end noise option becoming standard over in the SUV forum was better!

dindak · May 2001

As much as I still don't like the looks of Aztek much, I am getting used to them now. I see at least one every day on the road some where. Apparently the quality on Aztek is a+. This is a good sign for the Rendezvous coming out now.

b4z · May 2001

Yeah, saw your reply to my post. Sometimes a sense of humor is the only thing that keeps me from getting totally disgusted.

I wonder if GM is monitoring this forum?

vezini · May 2001

Any suggestions on an extended warranty? I have looked at the forum that covers that area; however, I was wondering what experience any Intrigue owners have with GM Major Guard?

Thanks for the previous responses; I do think mine is a lemon, so, if I am going to keep it past 36K, I will need an extended warranty.

This is a fun car to drive, and very handsome; ... it is too bad that it can't match Japanese quality. If GM could make a more reliable car they would be kings again. It is really sad that they choose not too.

etharmon · May 2001

Honda dealer has rows of Accords, although most are probably 4 bangers. Same for Toyota on Camrys, Nissan on Maximas, and Ford on Tauri. So why can't Olds dealers stock their lots like that. They might actually sell some product if they had a good selection to pick from. The Cadillac dealer next door has no problem keeping a good selection of cars on the lot.

jgriff, the Olds dealer does have a back lot sort of and it's full of GMC trucks and Yukons as they are also a GMC dealer. The 4 Intrigues I saw were it! GM powerbuy website confirmed this as well. They currently don't even have one in their showroom. When I got my Intrigue back in the summer of 98 near the end of the 2 month GM strike they had more to pick from. I may just have to pocket that $1000 GM voucher for several years(it's good until 12/31/05) and go with a nice low mileage 97 or 98 Cadillac. After sitting in that Deville Concours the other night, there is no comparison in the quality of materials between it and the Olds. Shut the door on the Caddy and you hear a deep, solid "thud." The Intrigue just doesn't sound that good, but then again it cost less than half what that Concours did when new. I guess I just have rich tastes.

dindak · May 2001

Ya... I'd say 80% of the new generation Accords I see on the road are four bangers with plastic wheel covers. Really makes me not want an Accord even more. Even the base Intrigue GX with no spoiler looks better than a V6 Accord and you can pick one up for C$3K less.

b4z · May 2001

I would get the warranty. While the engine and tranny are sound, you never know about the electrical and a/c stuff.
If you had an a/c repair and a intermediate steering shaft replaced it would probably pay for itself.

redline65 · May 2001

The Accords with the wheel covers aren't as bad as the Avalons with the wheel covers. I'll never understand that one.

dindak · May 2001

It's that magical Toyota quality I think.

etharmon · May 2001

Or the VW Passats with plastic wheel covers. One of the things I liked about the Intrigue was even the cheapest most basic model came with 16" alloy wheels, V6 engine, and a decent level of standard equipment.

b4z · May 2001

Was over in the regal forum and you guys should check out post #938 by rcarboni. There is an mpeg of a guy doing a smoky burnout, then running a 13.84 quarter. Talk about a Grand Prix that can run.

jr45 · May 2001

About 6 mons ago, I ordered some of the Zaino polish from the brothers based on the buzz about the product. Put it on my '01 sterling over the weekend. OK, goes on and comes off quick and easy. Good shine, but doesn't seem better than a paste wax. Anybody use this stuff? I guess I'll wait and see how long it stays on.

b4z: I can't remember which of those Fords is which either. I think one is huge and the other mammoth. On the other hand, you never know when you might want to pull some stumps. Think I can get one cheap when gas hits $3+ gal.?
JR

Oldsmobile Intrigue

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