GM EUROPE ROCKS

[regfootball]

ish, that Opel influence is something. Test drove a Vue tonight. So now, in addition to my mancrush on the Astra XR, I have a similar mancrush on the Vue XR. The 4 cyl XE even too.

Solid as a rock. The XR has mucho cajones under the hood. XE shocked me, i had to look at the Monroney to make sure it was only a 4 cyl. Corners on rails, for a crossover. HOW DO THEY SELL RAV4's? There is no comparison. The new Forester is junk by comparison. (yes, i've driven both of those).

Yup, I'm a Saturn fan now. Sorry folks. Still like the other GM stuff, but Opel's done it homework here.

Now if they could just get the word out! (and the prices down)

Edited October 21, 2008 by regfootball

[Z-06]

ish, that Opel influence is something. Test drove a Vue tonight. So now, in addition to my mancrush on the Astra XR, I have a similar mancrush on the Vue XR. The 4 cyl XE even too.

Solid as a rock. The XR has mucho cajones under the hood. XE shocked me, i had to look at the Monroney to make sure it was only a 4 cyl. Corners on rails, for a crossover. HOW DO THEY SELL RAV4's? There is no comparison. The new Forester is junk by comparison. (yes, i've driven both of those).

Yup, I'm a Saturn fan now. Sorry folks. Still like the other GM stuff, but Opel's done it homework here.

Now if they could just get the word out! (and the prices down)

An odd cold chill in sunshine state and reg gets his senses knocked. .

I am glad you enjoyed the Vue.

[Camino LS6]

How much did PCS pay you,Reg?

[Oracle of Delphi]

Not one thin dime, we do it all for you reg! There sure are a lot of man crushes going on around here.

Edited October 21, 2008 by Pontiac Custom-S

[AAS]

Only problem I see is, the base price on all the Astras went up by a little over a grand...

[regfootball]

Not one thin dime, we do it all for you reg! There sure are a lot of man crushes going on around here.

i have a mancrush for anything with a meaty steering wheel to lock the hands around and excellent handling.

nothing like love of the Opel Blitz.

vues got some flaws but it rocks that you can get rainsense wipers and it has the same '3 clicks and done' blinker that the astra has.

best part about the vue is the dashboards vents are perfect. round, up high. in fact, everything on the center stack is located very nicely.

one factoid that i did not know. the 4 cyl vue i drove had TAPSHIFT! not that it matters much with a 4 speed, but it did help keep the 4 popper in its powerband on hills and such. GM really geared that sucker to optimum speeds, even if fuel economy is down a bit and you occasionally lose some steam north of 75 mph.

the 6 cylinder? all balls. tranny blasts out quick shifts too, even if its caught in a lull a time or two.

sucker does cloverleafs nicely. on the XR, leave tapshift on the 6 in second gear, and then charge hard off the end of the cloverleaf, nail the gas and thumb it into 3rd. you're OUTTA there!

I used to think paddle shifters were the sht but the thumb rocker is almost better because your not trying to figure out where the paddle shifter is when turning the wheel!

GME may show the US a trick or two yet. Now, about that INSIGNIA.......

Edited October 21, 2008 by regfootball

[regfootball]

Only problem I see is, the base price on all the Astras went up by a little over a grand...

in addition to having no incentives this month. which makes no sense for a end of year with so many of them on the lots.

now i am even stuck. i can't decide between an astra or a vue. that is, if i go GM. in my price ranges (after incentives are factored in), these are 2 of my top 5 GM faves. The XR really shocked me for a soft ute CUV. You can actually have fun in the thing! Way better than the worthless piece of crap 09 forester i drove the other day. that's MT's "SUV of the year" but don't believe the hype. Its basic crap.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Which ever one you buy, we thank you for your support.

[ocnblu]

oink.

[Drew Dowdell]

I thought the Vue started as the Daewoo designed Chevy Captiva or something

[Robert Hall]

I thought the Vue started as the Daewoo designed Chevy Captiva or something

Isn't the Vue a rebadged Opel Antara? Same platform as the Captiva, but different body, interior, etc.

[GMTruckGuy74]

reg, I like the new Saturn VUEs too. It is on my list as a possible replacement for the AURA this time next year. I'm waiting to see what the GMC Terrain looks like before making a final decision though (and I still can't give up my love for the Pontiac G8 GT!). Seeing as how you liked the XR (AWD I'm assuming) and love the ASTRA XR, did you drive a VUE REDLINE too??? I think you'll really like that one the most.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I found this picture about two weeks ago while looking for something Saturn-related and saved it. I like that angle, even if the truck is on the porky side a bit!

[saturnd00d]

I have an 08 Vue XE (4 cyl.) and while it's no speed demon, then fuel economy does improve a bit when the engine's broken in (roughly 6K-8K miles). I was in love with the Vue XR with the 3.6 but I couldn't afford to get that and pay the extra gas and insurance for it too. It was more than I "needed" so I didn't opt for it.

I have to tell you, I love my Vue XE and although it's not as fun as some of the cars I "wanted" in the first place, it is, I find, to be one of the best Small utes out there right now. It's the best of everything out of all the other utes. The only other one I gave real serious thought to was the Nissan Rogue. It was a distant 2nd though.

As far as mancrushes go, I also have one on the Astra XR. When we are in the market for a 2nd vehicle in 3-4 years or so, I'm going to look for a Salsa Red 3 Door XR, with 5 speed and hopefully handling package too. Wouldn't mind having the 5 door, but the 3 door is sexier. If I go with the 3-door, I'll get an aftermarket webasto roof installed. That will round it out nicely.

Glad to hear you liked the Vue, reg.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

HOW DO THEY SELL RAV4's? There is no comparison. The new Forester is junk by comparison. (yes, i've driven both of those).

Biased media + pop culture(ignorant population) = MANY IMPORT SALES!!!

[Sixty8panther]

I understand that you have a kink in your neck and your

wrist hurts, at least next time ask for knee-pads. :AH-HA_wink:

[regfootball]

i never got around to bothering to get a quote on the vue. dood, what mpg are you getting with yours? low 20's? if i got a vue, it would have to be a v6.

i really kind of decided i would prefer to get another ford before i ante up for the v6 vue. even with the incentives, its too pricey for me just right now. but i may just check on a lease. just to make sure.

Edited October 24, 2008 by regfootball

[saturnd00d]

With my Vue, I get around 23-24 MPG with roughly 80% highway driving. When I babied it earlier on, I reached an all-time high of 29MPG exceeding the mileage ratings. It can be done, but to be honest, you'd be accelerating to speed on such a slow basis, you'd get fed-up after awhile. I sure did. Just driving it normally though, I frequently get 23-24 MPG.

As many have stated on saturnfans.com, both the 4-banger and both V6's in the vue all loosen up after the engines break-in. Mileage improves a decent amount after 6-8K on the odo.

Whichever vehicle you pick, best of luck. Post pics.

[gmcbob]

I love my new Vue XR with the 3.6L V6. The more I drive it the more I'm really happy that I decided to get that (I looked at that and a new 4.8L Silverado). I went with the Vue for a couple of reasons - 1) I've already owned 2 full size trucks and 2) my wife really liked it too, ,and that was important to me. In all reality, I really wanted a go fast G8 or a Mustang GT, but the wife has a new G35 and I have that old Impala, so if I really felt the need to go fast, I already have two other options sitting in my driveway fortunately.

At first I was slightly skeptical that I'd really like it as much as I do, but in all actuality, I can really say that it's one hell of a nicely equipped, well built little SUV that I'm very happy to own. It's one of those vehicles that grows on you the more you drive it. It was perfect for me as a daily driver. And hell, the 3.6 with the 6 spd. runs pretty strong IMO.

My only gripe - and I've learned to adjust to it (literally, adjust the seat to it), was that the steering wheel, when down all the way, which is how I like to drive, doesn't tilt far enough backwards. I feel like it's slanted a little bit too far forward. But the precise steering and the feel of the wheel itself more than make up for it. Okay, gripe two, I am a little disappointed with the mileage right now (around 20 even), but it sounds like it will start creeping up as I break her in a little more.

I'll put some better pics up of it when I actually take the time to take some good photos (i.e., not using my camera phone) and give it a good cleaning. In the few weeks I've had it, it's become insanely dirty.

We took the Vue out to Fredericksburg, TX last week:

Edited October 25, 2008 by gmcbob

[Oracle of Delphi]

I love my new Vue XR with the 3.6L V6. The more I drive it the more I'm really happy that I decided to get that (I looked at that and a new 4.8L Silverado). I went with the Vue for a couple of reasons - 1) I've already owned 2 full size trucks and 2) my wife really liked it too, ,and that was important to me. In all reality, I really wanted a go fast G8 or a Mustang GT, but the wife has a new G35 and I have that old Impala, so if I really felt the need to go fast, I already have two other options sitting in my driveway fortunately.

At first I was slightly skeptical that I'd really like it as much as I do, but in all actuality, I can really say that it's one hell of a nicely equipped, well built little SUV that I'm very happy to own. It's one of those vehicles that grows on you the more you drive it. It was perfect for me as a daily driver. And hell, the 3.6 with the 6 spd. runs pretty strong IMO.

My only gripe - and I've learned to adjust to it (literally, adjust the seat to it), was that the steering wheel, when down all the way, which is how I like to drive, doesn't tilt far enough backwards. I feel like it's slanted a little bit too far forward. But the precise steering and the feel of the wheel itself more than make up for it. Okay, gripe two, I am a little disappointed with the mileage right now (around 20 even), but it sounds like it will start creeping up as I break her in a little more.

I'll put some better pics up of it when I actually take the time to take some good photos (i.e., not using my camera phone) and give it a good cleaning. In the few weeks I've had it, it's become insanely dirty.

We took the Vue out to Fredericksburg, TX last week:

Include a pic of yourself too, I would be interested in seeing what you look like.

[ocnblu]

oooo, love the cabin. I'd live in it.

[gmcbob]

We rented the cabin for the weekend - I actually thought it was a little too expensive for just a couple of nights, but it was cool. I like Central Texas - very hilly.

[regfootball]

agreed, the vue has the makings of a great daily driver. the handling and power are awesome with the v6 also.

i did get some lease quotes, and while i like the vehicle, its befuddles me as to why with nearly 5 grand in incentives and money down i can barely match the payment of the lease of my 500 which had a higher sticker and i only put like 1000 down 3 years ago. bottom line, we all know leasing isn't there anymore. even as a purchase its more car than i can justify as the second car, at this time. if the economy and our jobs were paying off more, than the vue is a great blend between economy and luxury. i think anyone who drives a CRV really ought to take a VueXR out too, and then decide what's best for them.

[Oracle of Delphi]

We rented the cabin for the weekend - I actually thought it was a little too expensive for just a couple of nights, but it was cool. I like Central Texas - very hilly.

Were you near Kerrville, Tx? They never did catch the Kerrville Killer. He would park his 18 wheeler behind motels and then break in and kill the occupants in the room. I also liked Johnson City, where President Johnson's ranch is.

[gmcbob]

Were you near Kerrville, Tx? They never did catch the Kerrville Killer. He would park his 18 wheeler behind motels and then break in and kill the occupants in the room. I also liked Johnson City, where President Johnson's ranch is.

We drove through Kerrville on our way to Garner State Park (we hiked up "Old Baldy"). I've never heard of the Kerrville Killer.

[Oracle of Delphi]

We drove through Kerrville on our way to Garner State Park (we hiked up "Old Baldy"). I've never heard of the Kerrville Killer.

Know one knows what lurks "Deep In The Heart Of Texas"!