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Comments
Subaru is putting together the Opel Zafira AWD wagon for both domestic and export markets (Unfortunately we don't get it here).
GM also had a vested interest in Isuzu before. The late Chevy Spectrum (Aka Isuzu I-mark) and the Geo Storm (Isuzu Impulse) where the by products of that early relationship. GM indirectly gives Honda Isuzu SUVs (The Passport) and the old Acura SLX (Trooper).
GM just started assembling a special Chevy model for the Japanese market in Japan last month. First time an US automaker manufactures a new car in Japan, using Japanese labor and materials (See we are returning the favor).
It gets more complicated. GM-Shangai manufacturing operations, assembles and sells Buicks in China. The Regal/Century and the Venture (Buick Sintra) minivans have been well received in that country. A new Buick Regal is considered to be a luxury car and sells for more than $40K in China. The lates hit is the Buick Sail, which is the current model Opel Corsa small hatchback sold in Europe. We don't get the Corsa in North America either.
By the way, GM also owns Daewoo of South Korea.
Well, apparently the old design has the seat woobling/moving problem. The new design is non-adjustable and therefore it doesn't exhibit the seat track woobling issue. It appears to be that cars built with the adjustable seat track can be retrofitted to the new non-adjustable seat track.
Daewoo was very recent. I didn't even know that it was completed. I thought it was still in the discussion stage.
ISS and CRADLE - Anybody know for sure what the taxi and police Impalas use? Did / do they have the same history steering problems as the civilian Impalas? While staticstically speaking the cradle problem is small - if you're one of the unlucky ones (compounded by an ignorant Service Department) that's little comfort.
WARRANTIES - If you don't trust the car or have the finances, then an extended warranty is the way to go. When I bought my slightly used (18,000mi) Plymouth Grand Voyager, it paid for two of the infamous A605 Ultra Drive (to the tranny repair place) transmissions. Just make sure it's from somebody reputable. Many are nothing more than insurance policies that collect money for the company and cover nothing or involve more headaches than the paper they are printed on to collect on.
Hmmmm maybe my next Impala will be an ex City or State cop car.
Apparent to you and me...not to GM/Chevy, as far as they'll admit.
the only reason I see GM bought Daewoo was to gain an entrance in the hot Korean/Asian market. They have covered China and now Going for the rest of Asia so it seems. Daewoos are crappy cars in my opinion and most ride on very old GM/Opel platforms. For example, the Daewoo Lanos hatchback rides on the old Pontiac Lemans/Opel Kadett platform....scary!
I had a 1987 Isuzu I-mark 4 door in High school (Car was new then). It had zero power and the 1.5L Carburated four banger was rated at only 70HP. Couple that to a slow shifting 3-speed automatic and then you are in for quite possibly the slowest car ever made by Isuzu.
I am waiting to wear down the Goodyear Eagle GA's to jump into a new set of Yokos as recommended by our resident Impala expert in performance add-on's Garypen! ;-)
FYI, the Yokos do seem to wear quickly, so don't expect long life. I can also vouch for their wet weather handling, as the rainy season has begun in San Jose. Very good.
The '97 3.2TL had Michelins as OEM.
Almost fell off my seat when I read that.
There is a little play in the seat. If you position your left hand so your palm is on the edge of the seat and your fingertips touch the doorsill then rock back and forth in the seat, you can feel the seat move.
One of these days I'll look under the seat and see what's going on.
Nathan - Try doing that test with the seat in various positions. You may find that it is worse in some postions than others. Personally, I hate it.
Fully raised or lowered or tilted front to back or back to front?
I agree, having a woobling seat is not only annoying and uncomfortable but dangerous as well.
What statistics are you referrring to?
By the way, I checked my Micron Air Filter on my LS under the psgr wiper...and boy was it dirty,,1st time since new in 12/99... If you have a LS, I reccomend taking it out once in a while and brushing/blowing it off... Don
Has anyone had any problems with exterior rust at all on their car. I haven't heard of any problems but just something I want to watch for if a few posts indicate paint blistering or slight rust in a particular area. So far everyone seems to be happy with the paint on their Impalas.
THATS GOOD NEWS !!!
On my 2000 LS the only sign of not really Rust but a little oxidation is under the front lip of the Hood next to the Latch opening, to the left, there is a Round Dime Sized hole Factory drilled there for???, But it seems to go thru 2 layers of steel and that is the only rust colored spot I have. I am going to treat it to get the oxidation off before it really rusts.. Can't miss the hole, it is to the left of the hood latch along with some other oblong holes, this is the only one doing this..Don
You're car is definitely before the seat track design change.
Someone here once had his seat fixed. I forget the part numbers off hand. But, they replaced the seat "adjusters", which I believe are the little motors that raise and lower the seat vertically.
I even gave my dealer's service manager the part numbers, and described how it fixed my "aquaintance's" seat. They still refuse to do the repair, because "They're all like that."
What are the chances that a deer could be mashed under a moving Impala without breaking or bending something? This week I am taking it in for a tire rotation and oil change, so I'll ask the mechanics to look at it. At least the deer was not alive and on its feet when hit!
Garypen::: have you tried a different dealer? It seems that you have to deal with some air heads at your dealership.
The one I've been using doesn't sound much different than most of the others I've heard descritions of. Yours seems to be one of the exceptions.
FYI, I'm having the antenna/defroster module replaced tomorrow. I, too, got the lost radio reception and poor defroster performance, with the defroster actually interfering with AM reception.
You know, I seem to remember that replacing the rear glass fixed that for a couple of posters here. I'm sure I'll have to go back to get that done, as well. It's OK, though. I'm keeping a spreadsheet. :-)
Interested?
I don't take trade-ins..well except Corvettes, etc
Actually, I've been fortunate with the clicks and clunks. No cradle or ISS problems. The minimal hesitation stopped after an ECM reprogramming.
The defroster/antenna problem only just started, and seems to be a recurrent GM-wide problem with those rear windows and modules that handle both circuits. I've also begun recently experiencing the intermittant auto-locks.
I doubt anything can be done about the snapping dash. I won't have to worry about that until it gets hot again, anyway.
My main problem has been that dang driver's seat.
B4z:: Could it be that your car was painted (but not made) on a Monday?..LOL
Gas mileage has improved slightly.
I have about 10,400 miles on it.
My best new car ever.
At close to 7.5K miles I have only had 2 Oil changes and a tire rotation.
Personally, my LS has 8,700+ miles and is as solid as the day we picked it up. The dealer let us go home with the "wrong" car. We test drove a 04/01 with a 100 miles, signed the final lease papers that Monday for the present 5 mile 01/01. They had the same color and options.
At the end of the lease I'll have a hard descision to make - lease a new one, keep the old one, etc. Hopefully by then we'll find out if it is design, manufacturing, quality control, or environment.
K-cid
My latest set is X-one's which again are a great tire. 80,000 mile rated and like new with 25,000 on them. I'm waiting impatiently for my stock Goodyear's on my Impala to wear out so I can get some X-ones for it. Best price I've seen for X-one's in the Impala size (235/65/16) is $97 each at Discount Tire. Incidentally, Discount is trying to tell me Michelin discontinued the X-one and is selling its replacement which costs more like $120 each. I don't know if the X-one's are still available but if they are, that's what I'll get.
BTW, Goodyear tire stores in Canada are having a rebate program on right now; we got $80 off a set of four.
By the way, I can never get 300 miles before the "low fuel" light comes on. I normally get 270 miles by the time the "low fuel" light comes on. That means I"m averaging less than 20 mpg! Uggh.
Here it is 21 years later and you're paying just $.99/gallon. That's great.
In 1999, I paid $2.65 a gallon in Big Sur, CA.
As it stands, we are at the mercy and whim of OPEC and the price can fluctuate broadly.
The 3.8 liter 200 hp Impala gets great mileage on the road -
I've done as much as 32 MPG and gone almost 500 miles on a tankful !
However, in stop-and-go local driving, the car is a guzzler.
DIC usually indicates low fuel with about 3 gallons remaining.
If the USA would stop selling so much of our currently tapped Alaskan oil (NOT the controversial ANWR) to other countries, we would be that much less dependent on foreign oil.
Ethanol (made from corn) is another viable option that has not been fully exploited.
LRCobra
Wow! I tried to supply some information that was asked for and I get a tirade from you demanding "clear cut evidence", specific statements and "answers" ! (post #6679). My post (#6676) was not directed at you nor submitted for your approval. It was posted in answer to a request for individual ownership experiences to help potential new owners make informed evaluations. Nevertheless, I will attempt to respond to a few of your questions and assumptions as I pick my way through the straw men you have knocked down.
"Ok, this is fine and dandy but I have a problem with some of these "general" statements. If your SD has been in contact with GM Tech assistance, then those guys up in Detroit must have a technical explanation to their claims that the clicks will come back. How they will come back? By magic? By coincedence? By supporting bracket stress/failure? Those are the kind of answers that most of us are looking for..."
First of all, posts on this board, don't have to supply the answers you are looking for - even if, as you imply, you represent "most of us".
Secondly, it was the service manager that said the clicks will come back and that some 2001's have the problem. There was nothing general about it. He was being candid, projecting the experience the dealership already had and continued to have, confirmed with his GM contacts. 2001 replacement cradles as well as some 2001 Impalas had developed the click problem No "crystal balls" involved. He didn't say , as you suggest, that ALL replacement cradles were coming back. Nor did he say ONE 2001 Impala had the problem.
It isn't necessary to have technical explanations for projections based on on-going empirical evidence - even if that technical knowledge exists, And I have some doubts that it does. Further, to belabor this just a bit more, my post points out the service manager's statement that "GM has not yet solved the problem and is authorizing no fixes for now" . I doubt if GM is working on and not authorizing a fix for a non-existing problem.
Without going into the voluminous technical questions and speculations you have presented, let me just say that from my experiences with the dealership and information on this board, it clearly appears that the cradle problem still exists. Exactly why and to what extent are, for now, open questions.
Because of your experience with the 2000, I can understand your wanting the 2001 to be perfect and your resistance to anything said negative about the car. But not having documentation and verifiable evidence at your disposal does not negate the fact that at least two dealerships are continuing to have the cradle problem - unless, of course, you don't believe the dealerships or the posters. Dismissing an on-going problem as pure speculation does not make it so.
My post was to supply information, not to solve the cradle problem. I am sorry if bringing up the topic "spoils the experience", as you have suggested on some posts.
Hank -
Peace.
Depending on how high the deer was, the Impala could have passed over it. If she hit it with the tires, you may have some steering damage. Maybe your alignment is screwy or you might have a bent tie rod, the mechanic will be able to tell you. Is the front air dam still intact? I would imagine that would be the first to go. I believe the engine cradle is the lowest point of the car and it's beveled so if you ran over something as "soft" as a deer, the cradle would smash it down and allow the rest of the car to pass over it. Hey, a positive point for the cradle.