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Comments
Re the price, I should add that we had $1000 credit for a GM card bonus (rebate) in addition to another $800 in accumulated credits in our GM Card account, None of this would have applied had we bought a Saturn, Honda, Jeep etc., so went a long way toward making the deal attractive.
Impressions of the vehicles we looked at.
CUV's masquerading as SUV's
The Lexus RX350 was nice in looks and ergonomics but not having a third row seat for the occasional 6 passenger made us both feel that the vehicle was not for us.
We both felt that the MDX was way overpriced and the third row jump seats were a joke :P . Access to the third row is only from the passenger side and then you have to be a 4'8" gymnast to squeeze by.
We both felt that the driver area was small. I'm 6' 2" and felt that I was right on-top of the dash/wheel, yes I adjusted the seats. My wife was not bowled over by the CX-9. I kind of liked it and we will test drive it in Jul-Aug.
XC90 was a vehicle prior to the auto show that my wife was interested in after seeing it she hated it. The Edge looked nice but I read the braking distances were bad on this vehicle so I am a little leery.
Minivans
The interior of the fully loaded Ody was cheap looking. It looks like it came out of a Soviet Union design bureau.
The driver position did not go far enough back, I felt like I was eating the wheel. This was kind of shock to us that this vehicle was scratched of our list of contenders so early.
The Sienna was ok but I am not a fan of the exterior styling.
CUV
The Lambdas my wife and I both liked the outlook and the acadia, the relatively easy access to the third row and the comfort of them are a great feature. The interior styling,fit and finish were very good. As a previous poster had mentioned the Enclave was not available for inspection. However my wife who had said before "I'm not driving a Buick!, Buicks are for 80 year olds" admitted that she liked the looks of the vehicle.
We both like the Audi Q7 but don't like the price and the reliability of Audi/VW cars.
Most likely a Lambda will be in our garage come summer.
We can turn in our 2005 V6 Cadillac SRX (fully loaded, MSRP $49,025) through a GM pull ahead program.
He called back with a shocking number - $835.13 (including MA tax and excise) for 24/15k, $1900 up front costs. No incentives available except for someone not currently driving a GM vehicle. I own a Saab.
That's $345/month more than what I'm paying for the SRX! If this is how GM plans to retake its place in the market, they're off to a bad start.
Now I understand this is without any haggling over the MSRP but this vehicle (as nice...and new as it is) should not be leasing out at anything more than $450/month...maybe $475/month max...in my opinion.
Anyone else getting these absurd numbers? I'm off to the local Audi dealer... currently offering a Q7 3.6 Premium 24 mos. lease @ $475/month, 12K/month with $1500 total upfront costs.
I just drove an Acadia for the first time yesterday. It was fresh off the truck this week. I did indeed notice the lag in this vehicle. I don't know why some do it and some don't but I am guessing that some type of fix has been implemented.
I don't yet know if it would keep me from buying the vehicle if I was in the market at the moment, which I am not. I was doing research for a purchase at some later date.
I think Toyota has had similar issues with a lag, but hasn't yet addressed it. Not sure why all so many car companies are programming their software this way, maybe to minimize torque steer? I wonder if the AWD version of the Acadia has a similar lag?
Do you have any data? If you make too many unneeded/unwanted features standard then the price gets too high and you lose sales. If you force someone to buy a whole bunch of features to get the one they want they may walk away to someone who offers what they want. It is a tough line to walk to get the right combination of features. Saturn has taken the closest tact to a Honda type packaging method.
are you really going to curse Honda because for the price you wanted they threw in a DVD player?
they do not "throw in a DVD player" You pay for it. Perhaps there is a discount because of volume but not that much. Of course if this is an incentive to buy then I would not "curse" them, of course I would not curse anyone.
GM will probably put out a TSB (technical sevice bulletin) on the issue in a few months and hopefully do a software update.
Panel fits both inside and out were excellent. Styling, in my opinion, was very good and contemporary. The quality of the materials were good, not great. Although everything is nicely textured, some pieces felt loose and unsubstantial. They were also hard. I found the front seats to be comfortable and at a good height (some crossovers have very low seats)Controls were easy to reach, and i found it easy to get comfortable behind the wheel. My mom, who the car is for, is only 5 ft, and also had a good view out the front. Visibility from the sides is better than i thought it would be, the only place where sightlines were restricted was out the hatch, as the glass isn't very tall. Both the second and third rows were bench seats, and although they were a little lacking in thigh support, it isnt nearly as bad as most people have said it is. I didnt find it a major issue, as there was enough legroom for me to put out my legs. As it seems in pictures, the cargo space is huge, only rivaled by full size trucky suv's (tahoe), and minivans. On the road, the outlook felt composed, it had tight handling and a very smooth ride. The enginie had good, if not abundant power, and it was also extremely smooth and quiet, far more than the pilot's. There was a little bit of acceleration lag, but i didnt think it was a big problem. Overall, the outlook impressed me with how it drove much smaller than what it actually is (huge). we'll probably buy one (or an acadia)as soon as they start shipping more FWD ones in our area, which the salesman said woud be soon. i was very happy with this new crossover.
Please state where you get this information. Are you saying the Acadia does not do well in front crashes?
I have not seen any reports on the crash worthiness of these cars (both Safercar.gov and iihs.org have no data as yet) and but personally I would be surprised is they have poor results.
If you are after space and want high safety the the Ford Freestyle gets top marks all round for safety and crash worthiness.
Also, newer models of the other two most popular minivans (the Toyota Sienna and Honday Odyssey) were rated "good" in the same test. So you really don't need to go away from a minivan to get good crash protection (unless you want to).
Sorry, late night.....
I would be surprised if the Lambdas don't get 5 stars in the government crash tests and at least "good" in the IIHS frontal offset test. Not sure about the IIHS side impact test because many vehicles have only been rated "acceptable" in that test even with side curtain airbags.
Thanks!
A New GM Fan, Specifically the Acadia!
We loved the Acadia over all. The HUD was neat, although not worth the price IMHO.
The fit and finish was great. The rails for sliding the 2nd row seats were covered with the floor mat, but even uncovered were smooth and would be simple to keep clean. A great vehicle, tho we will probably extend the lease on the Pilot for a few more months.
I think you hit it on the head with your comments. If you make a car "softer" you allow the shocks to move more under impacts which gives a more comfortable ride and less harse impacts (tar strips/potholes). However there is less dampening so there will be more movement under non impact inputs like swells in the road. I have never driven either but I would bet if you took the Pilot on some real bad roads (potholes/road cracks/high tar strips) you would find it a bit more uncomfortable than the Acadia.
A good example is how Acura tunes their cars vs. Lexus. In Michigan a TL is almost painful on most roads due to tarstrips and potholes while the Lexus just absorbs the impacts and feels smooth. However on undulating roads and curves the TL will feel great and stuck to the road while the ES will give a whole bunch of car movement. The cars were tuned differently.
One idea. What are you driving now? I find if I get from one type of car to another with very different handling characteristics I tend to have an issue with the 2nd vehicle but once I drive it for awhile the 2nd vehicle actually starts to grow on me and is fine.
No, I do not think it will "break in" much. A little perhaps.
I plan on ordering the Enclave next week. I do know for a fact that the Enclave will be the smoothest of the three if you can wait till the summer to get it.
Can we now price out an Enclave somewhere? I know the base MSRP's have been announced but I have heard nothing about the price of options.
Car Audio Deals
Here's a remote mount DVD player you can tuck away almost anywhere as it's slim design allows for installation versatility:
Sonic Electronix.com
This allows you to keep your factory headrests in pristine condition if you should decide to trade the vehicle in at a later date.
The guestimate so far for a fully loaded (minus tow and engine heater) CXL FWD is $42,500.
I've got a small, round pressure gage I could carry with me to check before test driving...at least you would know if each vehicle in on equal footing instead of having to wonder.
Well also at lease these new Lambda CUVs have tire pressue monitors. Before the test drive juct check and see what the monitor says.
Dealer prep? We bought a new '85 or '86 Mazda 626 from a local Memphis dealer. Within a couple of days after I got it home, I decided to jack it up and make sure the lug nuts were torqued correctly, or something like that...been so long ago. Well, guess what I found? Under one of the front wheels, there was a dense cardboard-like disk brake cover. Should have been removed during prep. I delivered it back to the sales manager with a comment that he needed to discuss with his service dept.
Gotta be kidding? the gages will not be changing.
Thought it was in the roof
maybe in the Enclave
gotta be kidding on the rear taillights.
I would recommend you go out and buy the mazda. I do not see any reason why they would change any of the above items.
Get the 6 disc in-dash unit and buy and aftermarket DVD system that come with the DVD player built in (I know of a 10.4" model being sold by XO Vision...very nice unit you can get for less than $400), as well as wireless headphone capability as well.
You can do a rear camera unit and replace the rear view mirror with a unit that has a built in screen that comes one when the back up camera comes on.
Amber turn signals...again, are you serious...as long as they blink to warn others you're turning, what does it matter?
You can't be serious.
Well it's safe to say you'll never buy a Lambda.
It's your money so I suggest you find a vehicle with all that.
I have a feeling that you still wouldn't buy a Lambda even if it had all that.
Other comments from the article:
Favorable:
Outstanding road manners
Amazing brakes (stops shorter than a Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5)
Loads of room (more than a full size Tahoe)
Steering is accurate, informative, and beautifully weighted
Low noise levels
By far GM's best ever people mover
Unfavorable:
Power is just adequate--could use 30 more HP
View to the rear bad--hard to back up, no camera now
In my opinion I would want the DVD player in the back as you want. But I do not care about 6CD player anymore (I used to) because I never listen to CD's anymore. It is XM for me 100% of the time and I know for others it is iPods. The day is coming, believe it or not, that the CD will go the way of the cassette (You can still get a cassette in a Lexus but rarely elsewhere). But a 6CD
Rear camera is a safety item that may come later. I would bet the Enclave will.
On the others none would effect my buying decision. They are plus's but the overall vehicle would effect my decision more. I have variable wipers now and easily would get rid of them.
As you approach the vehicle, it gets bigger and bigger. Once inside you realize this is one spacious ride. Looks great from all angles, and has a tight finished look. GM has hit a home run here.
You may pay more, but sat. based nav units are so much better, just pay for the subscription and there's no updating needed. You are provided with up to the minute information!!!
On another note, looks like Acadia is getting pretty good ratings, and alotta buyers. Great job, GM!