The O.C.

I don't know how many they can jump......but I do know that the 7-speed we had in the S500 never seemed to "hunt" and always seemed to pick the right gear for whatever the driving condition was. It never seemed to have "too many ratios or gears." MY only bitch with the Benz 7-speed was that it was too easy to induce shudder in the driveline if you "tripped" it up....say by getting on the gas hard....then lifting suddenly....then getting back on it SOFTLY. OR, from a stop, you had to feather the throttle to get a smooth engagement of the torque-converter-clutch.....almost like it didn't have ENOUGH torque-converter-cusioning of the transmission... Make sense???

Well, many modern 5-or-6 speed transmissions have somehow been even more compact than their historic 4-speed predecessors.....I think I read somewhere that the 6-speed in the Corvette and STS-v is actually smaller and lighter than the old 4T65-E...? I like the idea of VW's DSG.....however, I'm only guessing that by offering up 7 or 8 ratios, you (the manufacturer) really is trying to give the consumer THE perfect ratio for whatever driving situation you are in. I don't THINK I need 7 or 8 gears.....I like most modern 5-or-6 speed automatics. The 6-speed tranny BMW uses is one of my favorite all-time automatic transmissions. What I don't like.....are CVTs.....

Maybe not JUST Michigan....but your basic theory is true...... I'd call it the midwest in general....but that's about it.....

Exactly my point, Northie....

Very well said.......

<Chris (me) swooning over BV>

:AH-HA_wink: I think I'm in LUV with Mr. VenSeattle....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the millionth time....that's no excuse for a company supposedly trying to duke it out in the "big leagues." ESPECIALLY since doesn't DTS offer it RIGHT NOW?

Sorry....I think this guy's just another GM kool-aid-drinking, midwestern-mindset-living manager. I know...I KNOW....you expect him to say good things about his products. I know. However, I just can't take too much of it seriously.....for example: BB: "We build great cars. Our new models are stylish and contemporary." Well.....Lucerne is a step in the right direction, but Enclave isn't here for another six months...and I don't find ANYTHING stylish or contemporary about an old-W-body LaCrosse, or Rendezvous, Rainer, or Terraza. BB: "We continue to offer the things....features you don't expect in an entry-level luxury car." Where's the navigation for Lucerne? Where's the xenon headlamps? Where's the 5-or-6 speed automatic? Where's the 3.6L HF V6 in the Lucerne? Where's the power tilt-and-telescope? BB: "You'll see us offer high-technology features (see my above rant) and V8 power....we have a high-feature V6 in the LaCrosse." HF V6 in the LaCrosse? You mean an engine with the technology that is considered a standard of the industry for every other manufacturer of midsize vehicles? Are we supposed to think that the 3.6L option in the LaCrosse is anything special? BB: "Our customers line up with sophisticated living." Buick certainly isn't a definition of "sophisticated living" where I am....Buicks are more apt to be found in the parking lots of senior-citizen centers or rental-car parking lots. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac, Land Rover,.....those suggest "sophisticated living" to me.....and to most other people. Sorry for the negative rant....but &#036;h&#33; like this brings back too many sad memories of when I LIVED this crap working for GM..... I guess what pisses me off the most is not so much that he insinuated all those things, but that sadly enough the product doesn't live up to his PR hype. I truly wish it did.

I'd say an even bigger similarity is LaCrosse/Taurus.....(at least from the A-pillar rearwards....)

.....and its always like a picture of a Lucerne CX or Impala LS when you are really building a CXS or SS.... BMW's car configutor is also one of the best out there....by changing the wheels, interior colors, wood trims, even adding "blackout trim" around the windows to replace the chrome when you pick the "sport package."

You've GOT to be EFFING kidding me...... This company really is CLUELESS......it makes me sometimes want to just totally give up on GM....instead of causing myself any more grief.... Anyone that thinks that GM's "American Lexus" needs a tacky, cheesy, add-on spoiler on the rear of their upscale $30-40K sedan needs an brain-enema....

I bet that convertible is going to have a curb weight of 3,800+ lbs......

It's funny..... I compared the new fob to mine....and I was all like...."who cares?" I never use the fob anyways....never really see it....as it always just stays in my pocket.

The old SE with the metallic-silver/grey trim was much better. As far as the old Camry....Fly's right that the console didn't line up perfectly with the center stack. The key difference here is.....the console to dash FIT well and looked like it was designed to be that way......there was no apparent flimsiness in the design either. Everything was solidy mounted and attached (as opposed to say the G6 and Malibu consoles as they meet up with the center stack....they are very flimsy and look like they weren't designed to attach to the center stack. For a worst-case scenario, take a look at the Trailblazer.....if you ever look at that SUV, the console doesn't EVEN begin to try to line up with the dash. It looks like two people designed the two different components and they NEVER talked to each other.

......rrrrrrriiiiiiight....... A 2.5L L4 with 175hp (that's supposedly improved and updated in the new Altima) certainly is pretty class-leading for a 4cyl midsize sedan if you ask me. Just WHAT do you propose GM offers that beats this??????? I'd love to hear it... I've driven plenty of Altima rentals with this engine and it KICKS ASS........ It's kinda moany and growly, but noise aside, it is pretty smooth....and has serious power for a 4-banger.

Ah yes....BUT Regardless of what the actual ratios are, in my C6, only 6th gear "feels" like a long-geared "overdrive." On the freeway, even in 5th the thing has ample torque to accelerate quickly. It's only 6th that seems to knock the breath out of it. Thank you torque!

Well, I'd agree with you on a 5-6 speed being optimal.....however, the benefit of the Benz or Lexus 7-or-8 speed trannys is that the transmission is designed to totally skip gears as necessary on acceleration or deceleration in order to give you the proper gear for the driving conditions. In other words, this is said to severly reduce the "hunting" sensation you might otherwise experience with a transmission with this many gears. Example....cruising at 55mph in 8th gear in the Lexus. You floor it to pass on a two-lane. The tranny automatically selects, say, 3rd gear from 8th....DIRECTLY....instead of downshifting from 8, to 7, to 6, to 5, to 4. It's kind of like how you would do it in a manual.....you don't downshift a manual through the gears (typically) you grab the gear you need for the situation. That's how the Benz 7-speed operates. While it wasn't my favorite tranny, it was pretty good at masking any sort of hunting between gears. It just always seemed to be in the right gear whether you were accelerating or decelerating.

LOL There is....I just haven't ordered it yet. $19.95 from online Corvette parts suppliers. Installs easily by any typical mechanic. Basically just a bypass "switch" that gets you around the skip-shift function and does NOT invalidate the warranty and does NOT interefere with the ECM, or any of the emissions stuff, or even any of the service diagnostics. It's widely known and used by Corvette enthusiasts.....and one of my Managers that I work with, who has an '04 Z06, recently installed it on his car.

I don't think you need ANYTHING other than a normal 6-speed manual tranny. Let ME decide if I want to skip shifts as I accelerate.....and usually, I do. Frequently I go 1st-2nd...and THEN sometimes into 4th....then 6th..... But I almost always use 1st and 2nd to some extent. The ONLY reason GM uses skip-shift is to get by the EPA tests so that Corvette doesn't succumb to a gas-guzzler tax. I'd rather pay the gas-guzzler tax then have to deal with such a ridiculous system that NO OTHER high end sports car/sports sedan maker makes you deal with (other than the Viper...which has it too.) V8 BMW 5-and-6 series with manual transmissions don't have any such feature.....neither does V8/manual Audi S4s.....or any manual tranny Porsche.....I could go on-and-on....

WOW.... What a beautiful car....! And I love the slight 6-series-like-roofline..... If my job changes to where I lose my company car, this WILL be my next vehicle.....a 335Ci coupe with the new twin-turbocharged inline-6. I'm thinking Jet Black (non-metallic) with Terra leather (as in two-tone black with terracotta seats and door panel inserts.) Keep the std 6-speed manual, sport and premium packages, but without navigation, iDrive, or active steering. BMW keeps doing it again.....

Let's just reevaluate your statement, oh, say five years from now? Shall we?

Not actually. Go back and check. The first year or few years you could actually get a base model with the 2.5L "Iron Duke" L4.....as doggy as that would have been.....

(about the '02 to '06 Camry) I think that's kindof an ignorant statement to make. I understand you don't like the car......I wouldn't have bought one either..... But please clarify exactly what about the car causes you to call it "junk?" The powertrain? The fit-and-finish? The reliability? The ride-and-handling? The quality of the interior materials? The interior roominess? The conservative exterior styling? Fly....how EXACTLY is this car "junk?"

I agree....... Old-school GM to me.....