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Actually, it's funny that the Northstar/Aurora was redesigned to run on 87 octane gas, but that Olds didn't even bother to make that fact known by having the correct info on their website. media.gm.com is in fact where the media gets their specs from. Most every maker has a site specifically for the media to get info to them. So if the media.gm.com specs say it uses premium, then that's what the magazines will report.
Speaking of a black interior, why dont they offer a black interior with the current Auroras? I had to settle for that dark grey, which looks nice, but black would have been so much better.
Finally, I was wondering what the performance transmission mode was that I hear about sometimes. I have looked all over my car's interior for a button of some sort, but I cant find anything. Can anybody explain what the deal is? Thanks!
Personally, I've never really liked wood steering wheels or shifters as they don't feel good on the hand. They look nice but I prefer the soft grippy leather that is on the wheel now. Grab the wheel on a wood-equipped STS and compare it to your Aurora's wheel. I doubt you'd want to trade. A bump in power would be nice, but I doubt it will happen... Actually, Taylor has shown that you can squeeze a fair amount more out of the car with some well-though-out mods. It looks like he'll get at least 280hp with some intake and exhaust finessing without any driveability trade-offs. I would be interested to see how the new Aurora compares to the classic in terms of tuneability. I tried the ram-air yesterday and will post some picts and the story on Acces & Mods later.
The power button was on the classic Aurora but was dropped for the new one. It was just a button that adjusted the transmissions "attitude". In the normal mode it probably shifted with similar logic to our tranny. In the performance mode, it would hold gears longer under part-throttle and downshift sooner. However, under WOT they all do the same thing. I've been very satisfied with the way the tranny shifts, and don't miss having the button. It will downshift when I want it to, and upshift when it should.
It's interesting you mentioned the interior colors. They actually pared the choices down for 2002 from 2001. You should be glad you could even get the gray. Apparently no one bought anything but the neutral. I really like the two-tone neutral interior because it highlights the wood and chrome and is a very welcoming color.
Pat
Sedans Host
Surely, you don't believe everything you see on a website!
I don't think the Classic has an air filter for the passenger cabin (would have been nice for us allergy-prone folks, though :-)
--Robert
badging cause the Aurora was the only car they make that could carryout the "name".
I'd really be surprised if they pulled that name up, though.
I too was a bit disappointed in the CE Intrigue. I can't believe they didn't base it on the GLS and load it up. Pretty dumb if you ask me.
Since the AC has been leaking, I would hope it is just the compressor. Too bad the leak hasn't been visible, which means that it is probably not JUST the compressor.
I guess the lesson is that 200K miles is good enough for any air conditioner.
As for the noise, you might try looking under the hood to make sure everything is ok.
The mechanic said I should replace the receiver/dryer and orifice tube at the same time since they can get contaminated with bits of the compressor.
These new parts plus the compressor installation will set me back an additional $538. I probably still have leaks in the condenser behind the dash.
Louis
"For all of us who feel only the deepest affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives:
At a recent computer exposition (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If General Motors had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."
In response to Mr. Gates' comments, GM issued a press release stating: "If General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice aday.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason, you would simply accept this
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun,was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive --but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "General Protection Fault" warninglight.
7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off."
pretty good huh?
800wattAURORA
Concerning the C.E. Olds', I agree they are pretty lame considering they are the last of a legendary, 100+ year-old brand. They definetly should have made them more special than they are. Furthermore, the Aurora should be the last Olds ever produced, not the Alero. Think of how sweet it would have been if the last ever Oldsmobile was a souped-up Aurora with like 350 horsepower and every luxury feature available in the GM parts bin.
...Oh wait, nevermind, we wouldnt wanna put any extra money or resources into a stupid collectors edition car, especialy if its only the last car for America's oldest car brand.
After looking at the sales figures for Oldsmobile this year (through May), I am suprised that GM is even going to finish the 2003 model year at all. Sales were down last year, and this year is running at about half of last years pace. I bought the last 2 new Oldsmobiles (2002 Aurora 4.0 & 2002 Silhouette Premiere AWD) to be sold within 50 miles of home, so even though I would love to have one of the last off the line, I will wait for them to show up used.
Re: the 442, Those of you with 17" wheels, pull off one of the center caps and look at the mold number. Yep, mold # 442. Somebody at Olds design has a sense nostalga afterall.
Oldsmobile 1896-2003, the only car sold in America in the 19th, 20th, AND 21st centuries.
Yes, I don't see the point in "winding down" Oldsmobile. Once you decide to kill it, the sales are obviously going to suffer. I'm not sure what the point of dragging it out is. I mean, I don't want to see Olds go but that isn't going to change. So at least let it go with some dignity. Magazines won't even include them in comparos anymore since they are getting the axe. I imagine the Alero will probably still sell pretty well next year, though, since it is so much more attractive than the Grand Am.
I painted my brake calipers gold today with some high temp paint. I like it and really goes well with the gold package. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.
The part is an "evaporative emissions canister purge vacuum switch."
I've put about 3500 highway miles on my classic over the last 2 weeks and weird things are starting to happen (car now has a total of 85K miles). I typically run about 85MPH +or-.
The biggest concern to me is what seems to be the torque converter locking up and releasing under a steady cruise. After about 2-3 hours at speed in the Florida heat, I can see the tach drop about 200-300 RPM and a few moments later it jumps back up (very fast, like you threw an electrical switch)and I feel a jolt (kinda disconcerting at 85-90MPH in the middle of nowhere late at night). This happens over and over again with varying frequency.
Other weirdness that began in the last few weeks:
1- The car has started surging at low speeds. When pulling into a parking space or up to a stop light it will suddenly want to surge forward.
2- My 95 doesn't have the security system but does have the GM Passkey. The security light (owner's manual says it indicates a failure in the passkey system)came on one day for the whole day. The next day it's off and hasn't come on again.
3- The check engine light hasn't come on once so I assume there are no fault codes being written.
So what do you think, guys? Is it finally time to get that 3rd party warranty?
I'm not sure what I'd have to do to paint them with exterior paint, though. There is already a black coating on them.
If you want your calipers to look nice behind the wheels, get them polished. Or get them POWDER COATED black. The powder coat will be more durable and the black won't be obscene like some other colors mentioned above.
The only time red belongs on calipers is when it is in the shape of the word "CORVETTE"
T-minus 10 days till the carshow/ 1/4mile runs, starting to get pumped!
You are welcome. Yes, my bracket is rusty also; I hadn't noticed it until seeing your post.
Good luck with the 1/4-mile runs. I look forward to seeing your results.
It could be named the 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-2. For 4.0 liter, 4-on-the-floor, 4 camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder, 4-bolt mains, 4 doors, 4 ignition coils, 4 wheels and tires (stretching a bit here), and dual exhausts (sort of).
Seriously, as the owner of a 1970 4-4-2 I cannot agree that either Aurora carries out the "name." Don't get me wrong, I love my '97 Classic. Its luxury creature comforts exceed the 4-4-2 without a doubt. But 500 ft-lbs of torque certainly exceed our 4.0's output; that 500 gross equates to something like 350 to 400 ft-lbs net as measured today. Zero-to-60 in less than 6.0 seconds versus 7.3 to 8.0+ depending on whose figures you believe. Comments are always made about how heavy the classic Aurora is; it is less than 200 pounds heavier than my 3800-pound 1970 4-4-2 sport coupe. 1970 top speed of 132 mph at 6000 rpm redline (with 3.42 rear end) is lower than the Autobahn top speed. While today's radial tires are far superior to 1970 Goodyear Polyglas bias-belted tires, I do not believe the rest of the suspension is better for handling.
I enjoyed reading your tasteful comments about brake caliper colors. Clever, insightful reference to Uncle Ben.
The calipers on my '97 were showing some rust, so I pulled the wheels, sanded off the rusty spots, and painted the calipers with a medium gray spray paint called Cast Blast. I cut a piece of card board to use as a shield to prevent spraying paint on the rotors. Powder coating would be nice, but is mucho more than I can afford.
I guess the Z06 has the red lettering? In 1996 the Collector's Edition and the Grand Sport had white lettering on the front caliper. Maybe I should get some stencils and paint "Aurora" on mine... Just kidding...
Blk97, by 1987 (the last RWD 442) the 442 only put out 170 horsepower and 250 lb-ft and had a top speed of 120 mph. Plus, a 0-60 time in the mid 8's. By 1990, the 442 was a FWD Calias with only 4 cylinders. So I have to say, I don't think the Aurora would be the car that cheapens the 442 name...
If your 1970 442 weighs 3800 pounds, then it is pretty dang close to the new Aurora's 3802 pound weight. Plus, the new Aurora tops out at 132, but isn't at it's redline. So the new Aurora could keep pulling to an even faster speed (perhaps with 2003 442-specific Z-rated rubber). I suppose you could make the case that the 442 was about the biggest power, in which case the Aurora and Calias are still cool as they have the most powerful engine Olds offers at production time (even the 3800 didn't make the 180-190hp of the Quad 4 in 1991). You could also make the case that the 442 was about putting this biggest of engines into the lightest car that can fit it (which would make the Calias a legit 442). While the Intrigue might fit a 4.0 Northstar (but I doubt it) there won't be any Intrigue for 2003. That leaves only the Aurora and the Alero. I'd say the V8 Aurora is much more "442" material than the V6 Alero... If they do go with 442 for the last year, I hope like hell they don't paint "442" onto the doors!
Also, a favor to ask of anyone who has had a road-force balance on your Classic (to eliminate the "65 to 74 mph vibration" issue). May I ask what you paid to have this done? Has anyone had this done and had it NOT resolve the vibration?
Thanks, in advance,
--Robert
Anyway, they did this without charging because I had just bought the tires and was having problems. They said the normal charge was $15 wheel.
It seems to have worked. They said they found two of the wheels over the limit of 16 lbs of force. They remounted them to cancel out rim/tire high spots. Apparently they monitor the rolling force and a high spot will produce a spike in the force reading as the wheel rotates. The tires and rims were OK, they just were unfortunately mounted in the worst way - just bad luck. Sometimes the tires can be defective or the rim bent as well. They can detect all this.
Apparently, there are different levels of sensitivity this test can be done. I'd ask about this too.
This equipment is pretty expensive - 11k or 12k. Some Goodyears have it (I think they quoted me $150 or so). But try Discount Tire if they are around. Just remember to re torque all the lugs. They can't do that right as I documented before.
Oh yeah - absolutely go with the weights clipped on the rim. The ones they stick inside the barrel are less accurate and actually end up using more weight.
Like I said, I didn't know what I was doing, and I can't say that it will work for you. Be careful and don't break anything.
The high mileage Aurora is no longer in my possession. I sold it with 213,000 miles on it. It apparenly got pissed at me for listing it last weekend. The A/C compressor siezed. I got one for $200 in a junkyard and had it installed. Now it's colder than I ever remember.
Just checking, but what's the general reliability and problems with 95-99 Auroras? I'm just now starting to look into a first car (though probably still many months off), and have always been a fan of 1st gen Auroras and Rivieras. My current fave is the Intrigue, I just love driving my grandmother's 99'. Seeing that an Aurora had 213,000 miles before being sold is quite inspiring.
I have a black interior in my black car, and the center console is more likely to squeak/groan going over large bumps than my mother-in-law's tan interior on her pearl white car - probably due to the higher heat levels inside my car causing the plastic surfaces to distort somewhat. I'm just super-picky about my car - the average person would probably not notice anything.
The big achilles heel of the Classic is the A/C compressor - very common, and easily a $1k+ dealer repair. Lots of other "common" GM problems - water pump, alternator, etc. The fuel pressure regulator is another common repair item. Some people have tranny problems. Every model of car has its "known" problems, some are just more extensive (and expensive) than others.
I don't want to scare you away from the Aurora - it's a great car - but, if your expectations are flawless reliability, it ain't the one to get. I highly recommend an extended warranty - mine paid for itself when my A/C compressor seized earlier this year, and I've had a subsequent repair, too. These third-party warranties can be expensive ($1k - $2k), and you have to clearly investigate what they will cover, and what they won't (and the financial soundness/backing of the company). There's more info/horror stories on the finance and warranty board here on Edmunds.
I know the thought of having to spend another $1k-$2k for a warranty probably doesn't appeal to you, but this is mitigated by the fact that the "street price" of used Auroras is so low (due to the demise of Oldsmobile, as well as other reasons), the car represents a tremendous deal as is. Of course, resale value also isn't great, so don't plan on it holding its value. If you intend to drive it until the wheels come off, it's a great car and will, with proper maintenance and care, do 150k-200k miles (the engine is fantastic).
Hope this helps,
--Robert
I'm still thinking more towards an Intrigue. I just loved driving the 99' GX with the 3.8 my grandmother has. I've been looking around at just about every other GM sedan or coupe (used) in the same price range, but keep coming back to the Intrigue, with the Aurora a close second or third.
It's a beatiful car and no doubt luxurious and high performance, but maybe a bit too large and/or fancy. But, you never know. I haven't driven one yet, but sure would like too!