GMTruckGuy74

Creative, I went through pretty much the same thing when I leased my AURA XE back in November. I had to have an exact color combination, with the right option packages, in order to make the deal. Unfortunately my Saturn dealer didn't order any of their XEs the way I wanted and the search began. One dealer had exactly what I wanted, but was in the same situation as yours (customer coming in on it). They never got back to my salesman, so he found two others. They both wouldn't trade, and the outlook (no pun intended!) was grim. But a day later another one was found, a little farther away, and the trade was made and I got my car. Don't be down yet, give your salesman/manager a couple more days. On the plus side you have some time left before those incentives run out, and I'm sure they can make a delivery (back-dated though) after March 1 with those incentives in place (I've seen it done when I sold cars).

CARBIZ is right, the choice is going to come down to personal taste. I recommended the Torrent (my choice) over the Equinox because of the "truckier" design and the little upscale touches (I guess that means the available Ebony interior and the standard red lighting, if the interior designs are the same in both <I didn't bother with looking at the Equinox at the Philly Auto Show>) are what make me like the Torrent over the Equinox. But their basically rebadges, with some slight differences. Again, what you prefer will ultimately lead you to the one you like best. Good luck - you've got a lot of input here so far.

1994 Caddy Fleetwood sedan (not a Brougham). For sale locally. I have admired this car for the past two years, as I've seen it parked at ACME several times and just driving around town. Problem is that finances aren't supporting this purchase, neither is the wife. Caddycruiser has been a big help so far with answering questions for me - thanks bud! Pray for me that I hit the lottery this week... I'll go and play today! In the meantime, if anyone wants to donate to my "cure this disease" fund, I'll be happy to take your money! :AH-HA_wink:

Thanks guys. Well, the damage isn't as bad as the wife made it out to be. Don't get me wrong, it will still need a new bumper. But I was expecting for the darn thing to be all mangled up and the damage is hardly noticable when you're viewing the whole front. Attached are some pictures. Since I'm off tomorrow for President's Day, I scheduled an appointment at a different Saturn dealer's body shop (I won't be going back to my Saturn dealer after the SKY fiasco). Plus their body shop is one of those "preferred repair shops" by my insurance company, so no inspection by my agent is required and all I have to pay is my deductible. Hopefully it will be a quick repair job. The downside is that my insurance company only gives me $20 per day for a rental car through Enterprise... I have a feeling that an AVEO (or similar car) will cost me more than $20 per day. The wife said take the cheapest car they have, so I already informed her that she'll be the one driving it and not me!!!

Balthazar, my vote would go towards the TORRENT over the Equinox. I prefer it's truckier design and the little upscale touches over the Equinox ('Nox owners, please don't be offended!). We seriously considered a Torrent AWD V6 as a replacement for the '04 Malibu, but the wife liked the VUE better (she liked it's smaller size and dash design over the Torrent) and I liked the AURA better than the current VUE. I will say that there is a ton of room in the second row of the Torrent & Equinox. We had no problem with the way the V6 performed or the ride & handling on our mixed local road/highway test drive last summer.

Well, the wife called about 45 minutes ago to let me know that the AURA was struck by ice flying off a tractor-trailer on her way into work this morning on I-295 North. She wasn't able to swerve into a different lane, but was able to brake without being rear-ended. The damage? The front bumper is heavily damaged, as it took the brunt of the force. She drove over the ice, so I'm hoping nothing underneath is damaged. She didn't stop and check the car out, rather she drove the rest of the way to work, said nothing seemed wrong with the car. When she got out though she noticed the damge to the bumper. I'm glad she's okay and that the ice didn't hit the hood/windshield, but I'm not thrilled with having to file another claim and paying another deductible to fix my 2nd Saturn. I'll take pictures either tonight or tomorrow, depending on when she gets home. BTW, is this a sign that I'm not suppose to own Saturns?!?!

Congrats on the new vehicle and here's hoping the dealer-trade goes smoothly. You know that I approve of this vehicle choice big time too! :AH-HA_wink:

No biggie. I went to my local K-mart around 10:30 AM and they didn't have much of anything good left. Definitely no yellow Ram or white GMC Motorhome. I'll have to check out a couple of the other K-mart's around me soon to see if they have any leftovers available. Thanks for posting what they offered.

Well, what everyone here hasn't mentioned about the G8 to be successful is retraining of Pontiac's dealership salesforce. The recent past is what I'm basing this on. First there was the GTO, with $5-$10K in markups OVER MSRP. Then there was the Solstice with $2,500 to $5K in markups over MSRP. The G8 will be in limited supply, so do you really think that the Pontiac dealers won't put a markup on them? That right there will screw with the success of the G8 and ultimately hurt Pontiac's future. And while I did pay MSRP for my SKY, I have never paid MSRP or over for any of my other nine new GM vehicles bought/leased to date. And if I was in the market for a G8, I would not make an exception either (the SKY is my toy and is driven as such; the G8 would be regulated to daily driver duties). Pontiac would definitely drive me away as a customer. I can already forsee all of the Pontiac dealers readying their "Market Price Adjustment" stickers now :angry2:

Thanks for the compliment RBB, but in actuality I'm more compared to this actor: (Jason Alexander, aka "George" from Seinfeld) And I'm not saying that to boast my ego...

FOG, I have to inform you that you're wrong here. The '03-'07 VUE RL isn't as you make it out to be - it is still a wheel & bumper package, with some differing interior materials and colors. Just like the 2008 VUE RL. Here's the option package description for the 2007 VUE RL: I'll bet the farm that the 2008 VUE RL option package will be similar.

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Camino, you have now officially earned the new nickname of "EARL"!!!

Here's me at the Philly Auto Show last weekend (2/4/07) sitting in a 2007 Corvette convertible (photo courtesy of Chevrolet).

Well, when the first thread started, I stated I was wanting to trade-in my '04 Malibu LT sedan for either an AURA or Lucerne, and in the middle of November I went with the AURA XE (XE was the wife's choice, I wanted the XR). That is being leased, so I know at some point in 2009 (Pull-Ahead programs baby!) I'll be in the market for its replacement. It's too far away to even start guessing, but not too far away for dreaming - so far I'd say the G8 is a contender, but also a Sierra SLE Z71 4wd Crew Cab too (I sat in one, equipped 98% how I want it, at the Philly Auto Show last week). Now next summer (August '08) our Envoy lease is up - so far the wife is interested in one of the Lambdas (Acadia is leading, Outlook isn't too far behind; however, I think the Enclave will be out of our price range and I'm not all that crazy for it as much as the other two) or quite possibly the all-new 2008 Saturn VUE (I'm liking the Redline). It has to be a family vehicle, and it has to offer 4WD/AWD as an option (my wife works 32 miles away from our home). So I don't think a car will be replacing the Envoy, nor my choice of the 2008 Sierra SLE Z71 4wd Crew Cab, but who knows!

In last weekend's K-Mart sales flyer on the back cover, it stated that Saturday, February 10th is the 2007 HOT WHEELS COLLECTOR'S DAY EVENT at 9:00 AM. I know I'll try getting out to my local K-Mart, but that is usually a crazy morning. Last time I went about 3-4 hours later and found just about what was talked about (collectible K-Mart issues). Anyone know what to look out for this time?

I have to say that if the production car stays 99% true to it's showcar version, I might just be enticed away from Saturn when the AURA lease is up at the end of 2009. By that time, I'd be looking at a leftover 2009 M-Y G8 or a fresh new 2010 G8. And I have to say that I just love this picture: It's what I've always liked about Pontiacs - bold, in-your-face styling. I was a Pontiac-guy for a long time (owned a '95 TA, '99 GA GT, and the wife had a '00 GP GT). So the fact that Pontiac currently had nothing in my price range or style led me over to Saturn. The G8 may just bring me back

Geez, you guys just have to throw salt into old wounds by bringing up the fact that I'm no longer the GMC Truck Mod... j/k! For the record, I didn't resign but was one of several cut in a restructuring move. That's life for you and I hold no resentment towards anyone for that decision. FOG, you have been around as long as I have (I probably found the site in late 2000 or very early 2001). I've seen too many people leave here (Budman, god I forgot about him!) and hate to see some of us ol' timers going away. Please stick around, as I have always enjoyed your posts

Sorry to change the subject somewhat, but what diesel engine was offered in the 1981 Buick Regal? There's a used car dealer around with the following advertisement: 1981 BUICK REGAL 2Dr: Blue, Auto, Factory Diesel Car, 1 Owner, Only 73K, Garaged, Collectable Car, $3550. Just wondering if this car is anything special?

I can't wait to see all the new VUEs at the NYIAS in April. At the Philly Auto Show last weekend, the Saturn information booth had the all-new 2008 VUE booklets. I took one and didn't bother to look at it right away. Next day I looked it over and thought the picture made it look nicer than what I originally thought here. Showed it to the wife and she likes it too. She said now she has to decide between a big and comfy OUTLOOK/Acadia or a small and efficient VUE. I think I'm liking the Redline version the best, but it depends on how the driver's seat is designed. A regular VUE XR AWD would be nice too.

I believe that someone in the Northeast did that to their Lumina APV or Pontiac TranSport... I recall seeing an orange one at the Carlisle All-GM or All-Truck Nationals within the last 2-3 years. And it looked 10x better than the one featured here (was completed, with rear glass, an actual bed, and taillights!

Thanks caddycruiser, I changed the album to "public". The link should work correctly now!

Here's the 2008 H2 Dash: ] Now here's the 2007 GMC Sierra's "pure pickup" (or WT/SLE1) dash: Can you see that the new H2 interior has GMT-900 pickup parts in it? I wouldn't be surpirsed if more of the H2 is based on the all-new GMT-900 pickups/suvs!

It was great to meet Camino, Black and Blue Landscaper, and BatmanVW at the show, even if it was only for a small amount of time. It's really nice to finally put faces (and some personality) to the names here. I'm sorry I missed you caddycruiser... it looks like we weren't far from each other at the Saturn press event (I already looked at your photos & videos). It would have been nice to go over the Acadia on the floor there to see if it had the same issues as the one at your dealer did. I took my regular SLR 35mm with me, as I forgot to charge up the batteries for my digital camera the night before. Big mistake, as most of my pictures came out "blurry" or "fuzzy". That's sad too, as there were hardly any people around to get in the way Tomorrow the wife and I are going with another couple to the show - they've never been before and asked to join us. I'll make sure I charge up the batteries tonight for the digital camera this time! Anyway, here's a link to my photobucket account of some of what I shot today: http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/GMg...2007/?start=all The Saturn SKY Redline that was on display was Silver Graphite (same as mine) and had the Black & Red leather -- which is how I originally placed my order, but for it to be accepted, I had to go with the all black (that option was constrained at the time). This was the first time I saw that color combo in person, and while I don't regret my decision, I do like the black & red leather with the Silver Graphite!!!

This picture was posted over at Skyroadster.com: I think I like what GM has under the wraps better!