ponchoman49

Can't blame me for dreaming. If only!

Which auto brands that should go: 1) Toyota 2) Mistubishi 3) Isuzu passenger vehicles 4) Mercury 5) Hummer In this exact order

Too bad the 36 rating is only XFE stick shift models which will see very limited availability for 2009. There is no word on what the VVT 2.2 Ecotec will acheive with automatic. According to Chevy only the LS and supercharged models will have std shift for 2009.

The Saturn Aura is shown in both hybrid and regular models with no bodyside moldings. That sucks! Hopefully they are at least available as an option. Also is doesn't say that the Lucernes 3900 engine is AFM which would mean that it's getting the low output 227 HP version as installed in the G6 which is rated at a stunning 15/22 MPG, yikes! The should have just left the 3800 in there.

Improvements needed in the current Malibu: 1) Rear seat armrest 2) Overhead assist handles 3) Larger trunk opening 4) More fuel efficient V6 5) No more price increases as the Malibu is now base lined at well over 20K 6) Get rid of the dreadful electric power steering on 4 banger models. 7) Dual zone climate controls on LTZ models Leather steering wheel, fog lamps, rear spoiler need to be offered on lower end LT1 models 9) Revised interior color options on LTZ versions 10) More HP on 2.4 in the 175-180 ballpark to match Nissan Altima, Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonota Are you listening Me Peper. Do at least some of these things and the Malibu will be a non excuses mid size world beater.

Todays cars and trucks still have rust issues in Upstate, NY. I am seeing 2000 cars and minivans with rotted out rocker panals, rust on the bottoms of the doors and holes in the floors and subframes. Trucks usually last 2 Winters and then are all rust scale underneath and on the frames. It's true that todays cars last longer before the car it totally rotted out but rust is still a major problem in areas that continue to use salt that destroys everything from Bridges to roadways to the land surrounding it. Imagine if we switched over to the non corrosive stuff used in PA and other smarter states and all the bridges, roads and automobiles lasted longer. That little extra money spent in keeping the roads clear would far outweight the constant expense of having to re-surface roads every 3-4 years, install new bridges every 20 or so years and the land around the roadways would be in far better shape too.

I like the telescoping function in my 07 Malibu. It enables me to bring the wheel closer to the dash and thus move my seat up a little to preserve rear seat legroom. In a non telescoping car like the Impala, I find myself moving the seat back a little more to compensate thus reducing legroom. Offering the telescoping function on the Impala would help in this regard. A half inch extra rear seat room is precious in this car and my Malibu also.

The Nox and Torrent also suffer from the dreaded electric steering with clunks/pops and various noises. My 07 Malibu currently has this issue with the same steering setup and 4 trips to the dealer remains unresolved. The 3400 performs ok in these vehicles mainly due to the 5 speed automatic. Better engines exist such as the 217 HP 3500 in my Malibu that would make the Nox/Torrent a much better drive than the noisier China built 3400 that can only muster 185 HP. Heck even GM's own 2.9 liter 4 cylinder in the Colorado has 185 HP! That is a power figure from 12 years ago (13 when it's 2009). The 3400 engine should never have been offered in these vehicles back in 2005 when the superior 3500 existed. The mere fact that they are STILL offering it for 2009 is almost surreal.

Gearing with the old 4 speed automatic is where GM gets into so much trouble. To make the G6 convertible pull better off the line they install an agressive 3.69:1 ratio which brings highway RPM's up and mileage down. Note that this same 3900/4 speed auto/3.69:1 gear ratio in the old Malibu SS and G6 GTP was only rated 18/26 on the old ratings system. The 15/22 rating is rediculously low and very embarrassing to say the least. It makes the 3.6/6 speed auto look good at 17/26 in other G6 models. I'm really surprised they offer this combo in the G6 convertible. On the 2009 Lucerne, it's 3900 engine will be teamed to the same 4T65 tranny as the Impala but with 2.93:1 gears straight from the Impala SS, GP GXP and the older Supercharged 3800 engined cars of yore. I'm going to guess mileage at 17/27.

My numbers are what I saw on actual car window stickers here in Upstate, NY. It's the websites that are in error because that 17/25 rating for the 3900 Impala was a preproduction estimate in 2007. I have driven all of the above cars whether they be weekend rentals or cars my friends have owned. The Lucerne 3800 seems to be slightly underated as I saw 18-19 in city driving and 27 or so on the open road. My buddy has owned two 3900 Impalas, one 06 and one 07 that was sadly totaled in a bad accident. The 06 would average about 23-25 MPG in 50/50 mix and a few highway trips saw 27. His 07 with AFM averaged about the same MPG in 50/50 driving but climbed to 28-29 on pure trips. The AFM engine felt about the same at the non AFM 06 engine for NVH characteristics but one interesting thing was the RPM redline was reduced to 5850 instead of 6250 hence the reduction from 242 HP to 233 HP. The 2007/2008 Impala 3500's I rented averaged 26-27 MPG in 50/50 work and 32 pure highway, the LaCrosse 3800 returned 24 average and 29 highway in a 2007 rental. I also had a 2006 LaCrosse CX rental with the same 3800 series III but it used the lazier 2.86:1 axle compared to the 07 cars 3.05:1 and it got over 30 on pure highway driving. So my theory holds that the 2009 Lucerne with the AFM 3900 and lower 2.93:1 gears is going to be around what the current Impala 3900 with it's 18/28 rating obtains. I'm going to hazard a guess at 17/27. 2008 Lucerne 3800 16/25 2008 Impala 3900 18/28 2008 Impala 3500 18/29 2008 LaCrosse 3800 17/28

Well they finally fixed the Bluetooth issue. Now they just need to up the Auras V6 mileage to Accord/Camry/Sonata levels, add a rear seat center armrest and overhead assist grips and fix the terrible electric power steering on 4 banger models. Oh and where is the 4 door sedan Astra and 36 highway Ecotec AKA Cobalt/G5?

No wonder Pontiac is losing market share. The Torrent, which is just a badge engineered Equinox, STILL uses the China 3400 for 2009 with 1996 power levels! The G5, which is a Cobalt with a different grille and taillights, loses it's more powerful 2.4 and only offers the Cobalts base engine while the lower end Chevy offers a superchared coupe and sedan! The G6 is still much the same save for better availability of the 6 speed automatic finally! The other changes are useless for the most part and do nothing for what really needs to be changed in this car, the dash, lack of pleasing interior colors, a Malibu like interior light package and more cohesive design with bodyside moldings offered on the coupe as at least an option. The Toyota Vibe- need I say more! And lastly the silly named G8 with it's Holden clone BMW like exterior styling which just isn't Pontiac to me. At least this model offers some rear drive driving excitement and an interior that GM only dreamed of making a few years back. Too bad production is so limited and V6 mileage so low.

Speed limit notification! Look out because big brother has you covered.

Kudos for finally making side thorax airbags, ABS, lighted visor mirrors and dual zone std on every Impala. This should have been the case when this car was redesigned in 2006. Demerits for keeping the same lower 211 HP 3500 in the Impala when the 224 Hp version is used in most other applications. Also not adding the telescoping steering column to Chevys flagship is utterly ludicrous, especially when it's offered on the nearly identical LaCrosse W-body. Floor shift indicators and a glovebox light would also be welcome and help make this car feel less cheap. And instead of fussing so much with exterior colors and wheel options Chevy really needs to make the Impalas seats a tad softer with more side bolstering. On the Cobalt, couldn't GM have spared a few dollars to change the front end appearance to be more like the Malibu. That and the engine/mileage changes would have helped give this car a new lease for 09 until something better pops along.

I wonder which 3900 this is with only 227 HP? It put out 242 in the 06 Impala and Monte, 240 in the Malibu SS and G6 is currently 233 in the 08 Impala with AFM. How do they continually manage to detune V6 engines that sit in the Lucernes engine bay? I imagine it will be for noise reduction with reduced RPM's. Also notice that the Lucerne's 3900 will use 2.93:1 gears compared to 3.29:1 in the Impala which may help a little in mileage. The 08 Impala with the AFM 3900 rates at 18/28 and the 08 Lucerne with the old 3800 rates 16/25 so we may see a slight improvement here if were lucky.

It looks like a typical boring generic Lexus with it's usual misplaced chrome molding at the bottom of the door where it does no good and is all but useless. Word to GM: send it back to the styling studio and come up with Buick expressive styling and not Lexus clone boring genric!!!!!

Prediction for 2009 changes LaCrosse: Deletion of several exterior paint colors and a few new additions Carryover 3800, 3.6 and 5.3 Super models No other changes Lucerne: Paint color revisions as per LaCrosse Carryover 3800, 4.6 and HO 4.6 engines and 4 speed automatic Carryover late 2008 model lineup with base CX, CXL Special Editions, Super CXS model deleted Enclave: DI V6 replaces regular 3.6 with 281 HP Bluetooth available 20" rims optional on CXL Shuffed exterior colors

The 1987 3800 wasn't even designated a 3800. It was a regular 3.8 liter sequential port injected V6 based on the previous carbed 231 V6 with roller lifters and distributerless ignition. It produced 150 HP and 200 torque. The 1994 LeSabre/Park Ave has the Series I 3800 with tuned port injection and 170 HP/225 torque. 205 HP Series II didn't debut until 1995. Yes the 2000 Northstar had it's heads revamped to run on regular gas with the same power outputs. For some reason the 06-08 Lucernes and DTS now recommend super for optimum performance which is a step backwards and the former HO Northstar with 300 HP is now rated at 292 under the new standard which means it was never really outputting 300 horses on regular gas in the first place.

Toyota- RUSTING FORWARD!

It's not as creamy smooth as the 3.6 DOHC but my 2007 Malibus 3500 is not growly and unrefined and my 4 speed automatic may be shy on gears but shifts better than most 6 speed automatics I have driven, including a 2008 Malibu LTZ and a Saturn Aura 3.6 XR. That and I constantly average 28-29 MPG in everyday 60/40 driving with it, a pipe dream with anything with the 3.6 Global engine. As for power, no it's not as fast as the 3.6 or Fords 3.5 for that matter but it beat numerous 4 cylinder automatic mid size cars I have raced including a new 2008 base Accord and Camry. It's also faster and has a better powerband compared to my 2002 Intrigue with the DOHC Shortstar V6 so i'm happy with it. I also like the way it sounds when you have your foot into the pedal and the way it eagerly revs to it's 6250 redline.

The Impala does have a place in Chevys lineup as a decently furnished larger sized value sedan with lots of choices for the consumer who isn't into the forign is automatically better scene. Throw a telescoping wheel and optional climate control, open up the toe space under the front seats and spice up the interior a little and the Impala can easily survive for quite a few more years.

I saw this one. It was indeed very weird to see this car without the dual sport mirrors. I always hated those little chrome ones that you had to roll the window down to adjust!

Now they just need to address the lack of rear seat fold down armrest, overhead assist handles, no glovebox light(even a Kia Optima has this), poor fuel economy on the 3.6 and Hybrid, no 6 speed auto for the Hybrid and poor interior fit and finish. We test drove a 2008 XE 3500 and liked the way this car drove and it's features but interior fits were terrible in spots and the lack of rear seat armrest was very noticeable when every single other competitors car has these things. My buddy actually specified the 3500 V6 because of it's superior mileage and it was plenty fast enough with it's 224 HP. A 6 speed would have made it even better. At least the now std 6 speed/2.4 setup will make this competitive with the 09 Sonota at 32 highway and better than the Accord and Camry 4 banger automatics.

Should read: "Pontiac is a shadow of it's former self"!!!!

Why are they slowly eliminating all the neat things that made the Epsions stand out. The power pedals, fold flat passenger seat, heated cloth seats all made these cars stand out. Now all they have left is the telescoping wheel which most everything has lately that is new.