regfootball

love those big gm wagons

to an airhead anchor on CNN http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/business/2013/10/01/audi-pushes-diesel-intv.cnn.html

we insure 2 cars full coverage 250 deductible for 120 bucks a month at state farm. but, we have been incident and ticket free for the most part. same co. for 25 years or so. to me, that is not bad, especially in comparison to fuel, car payments and maintenance. when i was selling, we had to make sure insurance was set up before the car is delivered. teens and the under 25 set are getting hit hard. Maybe rightfully so because of bambi texting and driving, and in general a lot of teens not having to much clue how to drive......the insurance company should be able to charge a rate commensurate with the risk. But still, 200/mo to insure some of these folks........too much. Especially since you can't just get a 1000 dollar beater to reliably drive any more. It's 3,4,5 thou for a decent beater or minimum 200-250 car payments if you can get credit for an already ancient car. Our two car payments are 600/mo total. gas is amounting to 5-600 a month now with me putting 25k miles a year on. Running one car for a lot of folks, gas plus car payment plus insurance is like 700 a month. For some, they have to pay for parking too. That's too much. Your gas bill used to be much less than your car payment. SOme people now even with average driving, gas is 3-4 hundred a month. Of course, 30k for an average car is ridiculous. So is having 40k student loans upon leaving college. As is health care premiums, etc. Something has to give, cars are giving for a lot of folks. There is almost no cheap way to drive anymore. And don't say bikes. They don't work in blizzards. to me, if you have a big transit bill, then it is tough to also make that car payment.

I think this one will do better.

ah, to be held hostage by transit. yet, the cost of a vehicle is exhorbitant. the system gets engineered that way so you pay hard for your freedom. And if you don't get a car you still pay. Transit fees ain't cheap either. Once they get people hooked on that they can jack the price of that up but then subsidize it for a select group.

sexy car! knot

Possibly. Lots of GM cars seemed to have the issue from what i recall. The switch moves around a lot.

there is some side detail to this. My old b0ss (where i sold) runs the chevy dlshp where i got it fixed. Outside of my frustration with the notion of a lock cylinder failing at 50k, as I would expect, their service process was excellent. Was quoted half the price and 2 hours to fix vs. all day to get part and fix a bunch of other stuff for 700 bucks. The side story is i took the car in at 30k with the switch not working and at that time they said it was. So when i was there yesterday i reminded the SA of that and asked to look into it. I got quoted a price to fix it and that it may even be the motor and I said, no way, not gonna happen. When i paid to get my car when it was done SA said in passing, 'oh the tech was checking on that window switch and says it is working now, not sure how, but it's working'. I think maybe there was some good will there, or they just tweaked something to get it to work. Point being, why does a power window switch fail at 25k miles? Why does a lock fail at 50k miles. Junk is why.

this whole topic reminds of the misery i encountered selling suzuki....... here is the thing. to build a car brand, you need to sell some mainstream market models. then the other thing, you need to promote your brand like you will be there forever and that you are a player and are professional and that you have the customer's back. You need to be available with lots of dealers and convey the notion that you will not be selling them something that you won't be around to back up, even in 10 years. the dealerships that sell them need to be as sleek and inviting as the major brands, and have customer service and sales process that is to the same standard as such. As even Mazda is finding out, to survive, its not just the mechanical excellence, you have to provide meat and potatoes in the major segments to compete. 10 miatas in the showroom won't do it. A mazda3 (compact car) , mazda6 (midsize family car), cx5 (smaller crossover), cx9 (larger crossover) are sort of the major segments and if you want to survive and be taken as not a niche, you have to sell in those segments. Those segments have staying power and will be the basis for your selling operation for years.

well done all around, particularly the interior. Almost makes me want to own one and live in Texas and just drive around and burn gas all the time. Perfect to continue the aura of the Escalade.

350 bucks lighter. grrrrrrr

Yup a stick. Google 'cobalt cylinder lock recall reimbursement' or something like that. Your 2009 might fall under GM paying now. I was told I have to pay for the work. Gm may add this to the recall in the future and reimburse. I figure the chance of that at 40%. In the meantime, my crapped out drivers power window switch which I brought in under warranty not working and they said it was ( so they didn't fix it then) they gave me a price. Not gonna fix that. It wasn't working under warranty. It's also a cobalt issue. I realize I bought a super cheap car when I bought it, but overall now at 50k miles if this car is going disintegrate , in addition to being a crappy driver, I really don't want it anymore. The cobalt is about the most joyless car I have ever had. Since I did not pay much for it, it's not worth much now either. You sorta get what you pay for.

Guess where I am this morning! Chevy dealer. KEY STUCK in ignition. Happened once last week and today, no dice.

anyone think a hatchback Regal would do anything in the market? Buick, when the new Anthem arrives, will explode. Female buyers and crossovers........

update, as of an hour ago or so, i have her heavily intrigued on the Mazda3...............tried like hell on the Verano.....

sat in the Cadenza last weekend. It is a weak presentation all around. The optima in the same showroom is more interesting and less dough. I liked the shape of the dash, but again, the Optima is so much more interesting! rode in the borrowed Regal today, love the car! but it just doesn't make a splash with the public! Maybe all the Regals should come with GS bodywork. Right now to solve the coupe issue, Buick needs the Astra 3 door as Verano coupe! I doubt a Regal coupe would sell much but it would add identity to Buick. Brass tacks is would a Regal coupe take the place of the CTS coupe?

by July or Aug 2014, GM will slap 5-6k incentives on remaining 14 XTS and if you are lucky to find a base XTS, it will be a good buy compared to loaded LaCrosse or Impala.

a toyo diehard friend i have who currently drives an ancient solara is looking now to get something soon. She already said she is trying to pick 'between the corolla and the camry or maybe the Prius'. Wow, lots of choice! BUT perfect example of how toyo lovers think. Won't even try anything else. I suggested to look at the subarus if they want a toyota (for AWD) but also look at Verano, Fusion, Malibu, Cruze, Focus etc........

DI changed the game and made turbos da schizzle.

vehemently disagree. which is also why i started the thread. I think what Buick needs to do is refine the focus of what is between the Verano and LaCrosse. Verano and LaCrosse are comparably mild, I think there is room for a performance Buick. And it's size should bridge the gap better as well. CTS size RWD / AWD chassis? yuppers

For some bizarre freaking reason I have periodically been intrigued with that Lexus hybrid hatchback. If I were looking hybrid, I would give it a chance.

A coworker's 50k Impala is in the shop (oil and water leaks) so the dealership (my old dealer group actually) gave a new Regal loaner. (disclaimer, they have recently gotten like 10 new 13's that aren't going anywhere any time soon). She is impressed with the car, the leather is 'silky smooth'. It's 'smaller than the Impala though'. Otherwise it's apparently just a nice car. We know the Regals lack some real bling and wow. I like Regals a lot. I think a big problem is it is not much bigger than a Verano, but it sells at a near LaCrosse price. Malibu Turbo is arguably the same car with the possibility for a better price. Buick made some great improvements for 2014. New nose, new dash, AWD, turbo improvements. It's been getting great reviews. I doubt the sales will be impacted much. Talk is the Regal production may move back over the pond. Folks who want the big Buick get the LaCrosse. The Verano is successful because its an expensive way to get a Buick and it's a quality piece too. Currently, some complaints for the Regal are no v6, no AWD with stick. No coupe, no wagon, safe styling. It is likely that something will need to be done in the future to give Buick a more defined niche. There have been rumors that the next Regal may be RWD based, but then wouldn't it compete with Cadillacs? Does it need more body styles? LaCrosse will always be regarded as having more space. Verano will always be priced more accessibly. REGAL : THE FUTURE. Give us your predictions and opinions. How does it fit in moving forward?

I saw a new diamond white XTS the other day with a fake convertible top on it. I was appalled. I would have taken a photo, but the geezers who owned it were hanging out in there and I was afraid they would call the cops. The must have been trying to figure out CUE.

awesome interior but it does need to ditch the console shifter. i have a feeling this new model will be bring cool back to the full size SUV's.....

they nail so many basics with this car. the design is old though.....!