PurdueGuy

...too late, wife & I decided to go with newer & nicer. http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...c=18981&hl= 1998 Chevy Suburban K1500

1998 Suburban LS K1500 (K = 4WD) Very nice shape -power windows -power locks -roof rack -3rd row seat -5.7L V8 (gasoline) -"barn door" rear doors I was surprised when I started looking at Suburbans at just how comfortable both seats of rear seats are. I could see myself being comfortable in any seating position for a long trip. We bought it because we recently moved to Idaho, and our Saturn coupes just aren't made to get along with hard packed dirt mountain roads. So, we have our Saturns for good fuel economy daily drivers, and the Suburban for hauling people (friends here, or friends & family that come to visit) and for rough-roading adventures. Plus we got it for about $1,000 under Kelley Blue Book TRADE-IN value!

you should check out RRT 3...

the 2.4L does NOT require premium fuel ...though it is recommended in the Sky, it's not required in the Vue, Ion, or Aura.

It's all a conspiracy by the airlines...

They're bringing so few over, and there's enough people salivating over them that they'll do ok... for the stopgap product they are. The next gen is near, and will surely be built on this continent, and include a sedan.

I believe the news said at one point that 140k cars a day cross this bridge... I'd call that pretty busy. *edit* ARGH! I hate stupid comments from reporters. The bridge was stated to be "structurally deficient", and the media is running amok guessing what that means and making stupid statements. The bridge received a score of 50 in its last inspection, and one reporter commented "that's not good - sounds like it had a 50/50 chance of being safe..." That's a load of crap - if the DOT had though it was 50/50, they'd have shut the bridge down. I hate it when idiots speculate about the meaning of things they have no clue about, and then state those speculations on national TV & proceed to anger and scare people with their stupid comments...

The bridge is (was) not really that old (about 40 years - not that old for a bridge), so it's likely to be more of a maintenance or design question. A 40 year old bridge with proper design and maintenance should still be fine.

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2007/08/2008-aura.html

You are correct - they've already stated that there will be a 2-mode Vue, with a plug-in 2-mode Vue to follow. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if they get it in the Lambda too, though.

looks good

yeah, the 'burbans are nice - the truck would have advantage basically if I wanted to haul something big and/or extra dirty. Like a 4 wheeler if I were to decide to own one (though it might technically fit in the burban, IDK, but it'd definately be tougher to do). Rear seat out & mid seat flat, though, that's a lotta cargo space! I'm really getting to where I like the idea of getting a diesel. I can easily get an 80s diesel in decent shape for about $1,500, but it's so slow I'd pretty much have to get the banks turbo kit for it, which would add another $2,200. Round that off to $4,000, and that's a big chunk toward a newer one, which if diesel would already be turbo... so I gotta shop around & see what I can find. Or just buy an 80s one & live with it non-turbo for a year or two, then sell it & buy something better when financials like me better.

Alright, I'm almost convinced I'm going to buy a suburban. My vehicle needs: people hauler: I just moved to Idaho, and when friends/family come to visit I will need to pick them up at Salt Lake City (2.5hr drive). Thus, 5 or more comfortable passenger capacity needed. stuff hauler: Cuz sometimes you want to haul stuff. I'm currently tempted to get a kayak or something like that. Beautiful land out here in ID. rough-road warrior I want to explore the back roads of Idaho, which are generally dirt (though today I got my Saturn stuck in sand...) I don't want to have to worry about whether my vehicle can handle it. As a part of this, ground clearance is important due to roads that are basically two ruts, or if I accidentally venture into sand again. This pretty much narrows the field to trucks and truck-based SUVs. Also because of the rough roads, cosmetics are NOT important. I don't want an absolutely ugly vehicle, but blemishes will just be a part of life for the vehicle. I am not intending this to be a true off-road vehicle, but capable enough that it can get by if it happens to wander that way... cheap: I'm a tightwad, and this is an extra/occasional use vehicle. Definately below $10k. Probably more like $5k or below. Even cheaper is better - I don't mind fixing some things. So basically I've come down to a crew cab full-size truck (GM preferred, Ford's ok, others if the price were right I guess), or a full-size truck based SUV. 80s suburbans seem to be pretty common out here, and are running around $1500. I can afford to fix some minor stuff for that, and I don't mind the styling. I'm currently eyeballing a loaded 86 GMC Suburban 1500 w/ 6.2L diesel. I test drove it today, and it's painfully slow, so I would likely consider a banks turbo setup down the road (about $2,200 and drastically improves performance). If I don't find a good deal on a crew cab pickup, then it's basically 80s suburban + turbo kit later vs 90s suburban left alone Thoughts & input?

http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_ne...ext_saturn_aura Nothing in this article that hasn't already been revealed on Cheers & Gears directly, or through other linked articles. This article mainly served to annoy me by: A) getting the build location of the current Aura wrong (they say it's built in Spring Hill, TN instead of Kansas City) B) not clearly labeling their photos as the concept version (it's stated in the article text, but it should be stated under the photo, IMO.) This is especially annoying since we already have seen pretty good spy photos of the production version, and it's notably different from the concept.

I actually had to look up to see if the prius' speed limiter would let it go that fast. IIRC, it's at like 105, so I guess it's possible, though it must've been a looong straight road...

A) yuck B) vehicle for these roads will need to meet one core requirement - ground clearance. 4 wheel drive preferred. I love my little efficient Saturns for driving on-road, because they meet pretty much every need I have on-road, but this opens a whole new set of vehicle requirements. What I didn't get a picture of is where the dirt road on the other side becomes two ruts with a raised grass strip down the middle, which required turning the Impala around. Thus: ground clearance #1. Going up & down one side I was on a sandy surface that the Impala made me a bit nervous on. Thus: 4wd preferable. Actually, that would fit the bill very well, but at this point I am still sticking with my long-held belief that it would be incredibly silly for me to buy a brand new or even almost brand new vehicle. I don't mind fixing a problem or two occasionally, and the depreciation vehicles go through in the first few years of life could pay for new drivetrains, especially if the work is DIY. I may look at an unlimited sometime when they've been around for a while. I actually will be looking at another vehicle when I get out there. Currently my wife & I have 3 cars: 2 '99 Saturn SCs (one SC1, one SC2 project car), and a '93 Buick LeSabre. The LeSabre isn't worth hauling across the country, so we're selling it here and will just have the two Saturn coupes out west. They'll do for most running around, but we have some other wants/needs, which would be nice to meet in one vehicle: -hauling people that come to visit (most of our family/friends that will come to visit are on tight financials, so we'll be picking them up in Salt Lake City, about 2.5 hrs away). So, we need a vehicle that can haul 4+ people comfortably for several hours at a time. We probably wouldn't get any more than 2-3 visitors at a time, so more than 5 person seating probably isn't necessary. -good on iffy roads like those above and much worse. Those above weren't too bad with the Impala, but like I said, there was worse, and I didn't like having to turn around. This means good ground clearance, and a preference toward 4wd/awd. -hauling stuff including dirty stuff (a.k.a., a truck. Maybe an SUV with a good cargo liner). Also, good for camping. -towing in case I want to get a trailer for the project car, or we get a boat, etc. -don't mind abusing - shouldn't be a piece of crap I'd hate to be seen in, but shouldn't be so nice that I cringe driving it down a gravel/dirt/iffy road. -affordable, a.k.a. used. We're looking to put money toward paying off student loans, and buying a house. Gotta be fairly cheap, or we'll just forgo some of the more fun vehicle wants, and rent/borrow a car occasionally for some of the needs. So far, it seems that what takes care of most/all of these wants/needs is a crew cab truck, or at least a comfortable extended cab. I need to sit in the back of my dad's extended cab silverado again (forget what year, early '00's I think). I know it's comfortable, but I don't know if it's comfortable enough for longer rides, especially for someone in their 50s or 60s (parents, in-laws, etc). An SUV with good cargo space & a good cargo liner might do the trick as well, though a truck would still allow for more hauling capability (may want to haul stuff like stone, dirt, etc with fixing up a home once we buy one). I hate to think about covering the needs with more than one vehicle, because having 4 vehicles for 2 people seems silly. *shrug* I'll have fun no matter what happens. Even if it just means taking my project car down these roads (it has plenty of paint damage anyway). Just limits where I can go, & how many I can take with...

I'm going to have to buy a truck... not that it wasn't fun to get the rental filthy driving this... This is from my trip this week to the Idaho Falls, ID area, where I will be moving in a couple weeks. First, you drive along seeing pretty much nothing but this... Then you suddenly come to this... What's this? A road? SWEEEET! Just to clarify... It gets better, you can drive up another road to the other side, or follow along the bottom of the ravine. From the other side: Road along the bottom: The area I'll be living in is flat, but is right beside the foothills to the rockies. This was barely getting into rolling hills, not even the foothills, let alone the mountains. This road is on maps, is not marked as private or anything like that. The only other vehicle I saw on this road was a road grader that just seemed to be passing through. Oh yeah, and the rental Impala afterward. Made it much easier to find in parking lots. lol

Why is this in GM news...? This isn't news, it's a rant.

they should make whoever made that vault & whoever made the "sealed" bags around the car split the cost of restoration.

sounds like another unnecessary "super performance" spark plug, which probably won't really give any better results than a good spark plug. At $25/plug, that's an expensive experiment to take. Reminds me of those Bosch +4 platinum plugs. They brag about all the power, but at least in the S-Series, they generally just cause misfires and power loss.

...and if the state decides to spend tax money on the buses like 2 new hybrid buses in Lafayette, IN. Still, it was a good idea, in my opinion. The buses have the hybrid tranny setup from Indianapolis, and a Cummins diesel from somewhere else in the state, plus one or two other major things from in the state. That makes them an awesome PR buy. Add on top of that the possibility that the buses will save enough fuel to help pay for themselves (they couldn't say if they would come out ahead or behind fiscally compared to regular buses), and it's a great buy for our city/state.

I see one major reason why the tail lights should be at least a little difference - that black line across the middle. Half of the tail light is on the trunk lid, half in the rear fender. If the trunk lid isn't perfectly lined up, that black line will make it obvious. The one in the picture is not lined up, and at least to me, it is obvious. They need to tweek the design so that it hides any minor misalignments of the trunk lid. Would be a whole lot easier than having to tweek every car so that line lines up perfectly...

Well, you're comparing a mild hybrid to a full hybrid. You're correct, that is not a fair comparison. I don't see how it proved a point further - that comment just seems to be showing of a bias. You can compare the two and talk about value or whatnot if you like, but in talking about value of technology in smaller vs larger vehicles, you'd better talk apples to apples. Wait a year for the 2-mode to be available in the Vue, then compare two full hybrids.

Apparently not that this thread hasn't been posted in since Feb...

The current gen Corsa does not meet US safety requirements. That means a bunch of time in engineering, testing, and manufacturing setup. It adds complexity to the manufacturing to have that much more variation in the product, which also adds cost. Personally, I think they should split the difference by waiting until the next gen, but speeding the next gen up.