GMman

Leave it to California to screw things up for the rest of the country....today's diesels are pretty dang clean and if allowed to flourish, the increase in fuel economy would greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil....right now....but it makes the politicians feel good to set crazy friggin' standards... As far as a 4 cylinder diesel, Lutz just said GM has diesels all the way down to a 1.3 liter, which, I'm sure is a 3 or 4 cylinder....

I'm not going to get all torqued up over Chrysler teaming up with the chinese to import a small car. The Big Three have been doing that stuff for years.....I just don't understand why it is that the Big Three supposedly can't be profitable on small cars. I've heard that over and over and I don't know what the rational behind it is. For now though....I'm going to throughly celebrate Chrysler Corporation becoming an American company again, the way it should have been all along...and btw, the pentastar is the ONLY Chrysler Corp logo there should ever be!

Great article!

now all they need is lobotomies for the customers.....

Ridgelines ROCK. I love that honda didn't really mess with the natural good looks of the ridgeline. What a truck! I threw up a little while writting this.....

Well....the toyota uses more 'soft-touch' materials in the interior than GM and.......everybody knows toyotas are better than Chevys.......so this demonstration of the Chevy's rear locker proves nothing and it's so.....barbaric......

My wife and I looked at a hard loaded Enclave the other day. Not only is it stunning to look at, the materials are first class and the sound of that 3.6 was a real surprise. It almost sounded like a V8. If the smart ass high end foreign car buyers give the Enclave a look, they'll become patriotic. I understand the BPG thing. They complement each other, I just hope each brand keeps their distinct identities. Buick will always be my favorite GM brand. What a proud heritage! I never have understood the Saturn thing though... Killing Olds was one of the dumbest things I've seen out of GM. Olds had one of the best overall lineups in GM when they killed them. I remember when Saturn was born. It was supposed to be a entry level economy line with fixed, no haggle sales prices. I'll always be turned off by Saturn "replacing" Olds.

The people who bought a tundra deserve to have their camshaft break in half. I hate toyota.

Averaging low 20's with mostly city driving in that big of a car is so impressive. I love that. So what happens when regular gas is used...spark knock? I'm guessing? What kind of real world MPG are you getting for HWY miles? I've driven a regular 2003 Park Ave and thought it was pretty floaty. I've read the Ultra is more firm and that would suit me better...I think. Very classy in and out. My brother has an Olds Intrigue with the 3.8 and 220k. Never a wrench on it and running like a top. Quite amazing.

I am currently looking for a used (2002-2004) Park Avenue. My initial thought was only the Ultra would do...but I've found some great deals on the regular Park Ave, which has left me thinking that maybe I don't really "need" the Ultra. I am unaware of any inherent problems with the supercharged motors, but I thought I might ask everyone for some input.... I have discovered that Buick recommends premium fuel on the Ultra (as if anyone can afford premium these days...)

Why?

Why?

They had both. We rented it from Avis and there were two older gentlemen in the building where you pick up the car. I asked if they had any V8's and his reply was "Yeah, we have some four-holers out there". I love that he knew what I was talking about. The one we rented was a 2007 CXS with 18k miles on it. I almost went with the V6 CXL because the color was better (Dark Garnet with Ebony leather) and it had 2k miles on it. The CXS was Sandstone with cashmere interior. In the end the CXS won out because I had to try the Northstar and I'm glad I did. I think the ebony interior helps the way the hard plastic dash looks, but I agree that BUICK needs to rethink the dash materials, regardless. I was impressed with the mileage too. They were soft and comfortable. Not squishy, but not sports car firm either. For that car, my opinion is that they're just about right. The backseat was probably the MOST comfortable seat I've ever sat in. The headrest is in exactly the right place for me. I loved it. And of course there was room-o-plenty. I read the mags too and have always disagreed with a lot of what they say regarding the "non communicative" steering thing. The magazine writers want EVERY car to have communicative steering. They even criticize the ever perfect lexus for having non-communicative steering. My opinion is that a luxury cars are supposed to be isolated. I happen to like that. As far as the handling being "floaty" that's a crock of crap. My 1993 Chevy pickup needs shocks right now and when I get on the right road, at the right speed...I'll show you floaty... The Lucerne handles very nice. I was driving through twisty two lane mountain roads. It didn't handle like my wife's former 2003 BMW 525i with the sports package, but BUICK didn't design it to. It's a really great driving car. Doesn't drive like it is as big as it is, braking was spot on, acceleration was very quick, and twisting and turning at a pretty good clip on those mountain roads didn't phase the Lucerne at all. Sure it would be nice to have a 6 sped auto, which I'm sure is coming. I'd also be nice for it to be RWD. For the $$, I'd consider this car just the way it is. A couple of cosmetic changes on the interior and I would have a hard time picking this car apart.

You bet I did. 20.5 MPG (by the computer). That was driving through the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee with my right foot buried fairly often in the luxurious carpeting. I was impressed with the mileage. I agree with the 4 spd comments. The Buick needs a 5 spd...if for nothing else, just for credibility. It gives the domestic car "haters" something to grab hold of....(pricks) Even with this older platform, Buick has a really nice car on their hands. I'd buy one...and I'm "only" 35.

I know there are people who bash GM for selling any of it's vehicles to rental car companies, as if that is the only way they could sell their vehicles, but I think it's a good marketing tool in the sense that you can really find out about a car when you take it on a 5 day test drive. My wife and I rented a V8 Lucerne a couple of weeks ago and we both fell in love with it. Even my wife had sort of bought into the perception gap thing that Buicks were for "old people". But after spending quite a bit of time in it, she began to realize how great the car really is. Not only is it really gorgeous on the exterior, but it's like a vault when you're cruising at 85 down the interstate. The trunk is huge and the seats are extremely comfortable. The Northstar is a friggin' screamer. We were driving through the mountains and were not taking our time. Keeping your foot out of it is impossible. I know it's not considered a sports sedan, but it's close to handling like one. Absolute pleasure to drive. I encourage anyone who doesn't own one and has never driven one, to try one out next time you rent a car. There were only two things that I didn't like about the car. One was the turning radius. I've read about this forever with this platform, but WOW. Seems like two turns and you're locked! Very odd. The next thing was with the interior. The sunroof didn't have any trim around it, to finish it out. I couldn't believe that. Every other GM vehicle I know of has trim around the headliner at the sunroof, except the Lucerne. And then the plastic on the instrument panel behind the steering wheel. It's like a giant punch bowl made of hard plastic with some funky "graining" going on. Again, very odd for a premium vehicle like BUICK. Overall I love that car. Styling is great and the ride and drive is fantastic! A couple of places it seems like GM went cheap and that's a shame because Buick deserves better.

I saw the tundra at the auto show last week and it's a stupid looking truck. The interior is hideous. It's almost unbelievable how crazy the different shapes, textures, colors, and themes pan out. The exterior is awkward. The door on the regular cab is the size of a billboard. It's like the japanese don't know how to work their slide rulers properly. Ditto for the t100 and first gen tundra. They plaster "TEXAS EDITION" all over that thing. It was on the floor mats, on each fender, on the tailgate, on the signs hanging above the truck, on magnets stuck to the side of it. I wonder why???? Think they're trying to make potential customers forget that it's a japanese truck?? I can't believe that it doesn't bother every American that a japanese company like toyota wants to eradicate Domestic automobiles IN AMERICA. I hope it fails as miserably as the t100 and first generation tundra did.

I saw the Enclave for the first time in person at the Dallas Auto Show last week. I thought it was stunning from every angle. Lots O' Chrome, but it didn't seem real blingy, fo-rizzle. The Saturn and GMC version are both great looking, but the Enclave seemed like it was in a different class. You guys are right about the santa fe having similarly shaped tail lights, but overall the santa fe is boring and kinda ugly. The Enclave doesn't make me think about that car at all... Buick really needs to put the big wheels from the concept back on there...

Yeah....but I bet it lasts about as long as Dan Rather's black eye......(anything less than "from now on" isn't long enough, IMO)

This is a really good idea. I'd buy this car in a heartbeat. No better way to stick it to the middle east than to get 150 mpg in a Chevrolet!

:rotflmao: I hate toyota and consumer reports.

just in case you didn't open the link and read it, here is a little bit: The automakers have also sought support on trade, arguing that Japan has artificially weakened the yen, allowing Japanese automakers to price their vehicles more aggressively in the United States and offer more options. Last year, GM's chief economist told the House Ways and Means Committee that this alleged currency manipulation gave Japanese automakers a "subsidized" cost advantage of between $3,000 for a small car to $12,000 for a luxury SUV. Conversely, that cost advantage acts as a "tax" on U.S. cars sold in Japan, automakers say. I'm not sure if you're missing the point on purpose or have your head shoved so far up your milliena's tailpipe that you can't understand what this article is talking about. What's retarded is not giving a $h! that American car companies are getting bent over by some japanese companies and for some reason this is being allowed to happen.

I've used car wax to buff out scratches like that before. Saved some DVDs that my kids attempted to destroy. Depending on how deep the scratches are, you may have to use something more abrasive than wax, like mild polish. As long as it's just scratches, you can fix it....

I love hearing this kind of news!!!

Both are pathetic losers and not worth talking about. Except for sports, there's nothing on TV.....

If anyone here thinks that japanese car companies would not like to see GM and Ford go away, you're kidding yourself. toyota is very concerned about overtaking GM as the world's largest automaker. The point of the article I posted the link to is that japan is 'cheating' so that they have an unfair advantage. So what I see is japanese companies posting profits not because of a superior product but because of deceit. I totally reject the notion that japanese companies "assembling" cars here makes very many Americans richer. They do provide jobs by doing that, but why don't they move their headquarters or base of operations to the USA? The profits are being sent back to japan. They want to portray themselves as 'American' by saying a car was assembled in the USA (usually of japanese made parts), but the bulk of the profits go right back to japan. I'm not economist or statistician, but I bet GM and Ford have made more Americans "richer" than all the japanese car companies combined. I like that competition from japanese car companies make American car companies better. I just don't like unfair and deceitful practices that hurt American companies. How can anybody defend that???