caddycruiser

Good stuff! Sounds like the kind of auto parts store I'd enjoy, and it's nice when you can feel good about what you're doing & who with.

Quote I grew up with, always scoffed at, and still heard frequently from dad until he got his Subaru..."GM's...they fix themselves." Apparently so.

Welcome back, and bad stuff aside, what a great car story to bring it back up

I enjoy it...but am putting WAY too many miles on it. 95 miles a day since mid July is adding up and giving it a beating. I've been considering a car again, just because I do miss the car "connected" feeling more and more. But I am crazy, so you never know. Now at 7 months and 10800 miles, no problems. Although fit & finish is visually great, and I love the look, I've been less than enthused with actual build quality. Door panels rattle & make a lot of noise on bad roads, dash buzzes at the same times, and early on (though it seems to have quit) the Midgate area used to creak. All in all, plastic noises, but our '02 1st gen Av "felt" more solid with a complete lack of noises. The '09 looks better, rides/handles/steers better, but feels less solid and the interior noises annoy me. Not as solid "feeling" as either my G8 or even my Malibu when it comes down to the interior...tempted to pull apart and dynomat/felt/pad/otherwise various sections, but annoyed again I even have to think about that. Great truck, looker all around, great gas mileage and general performance, comfortable as could be...I just wish it felt and sounded as solid as it looks, or like our '02 did.

Good news! It's hard in so many avenues right now, lots of us are doing something "different". Some are still not sure what to think about what I'm doing selling cars with an engineering degree, but it was the right time, right place, I had to get out of what I was doing, and ultimately it's the automotive field I wanted to get into and here I get that in spades, meet company reps from time to time, sales experience and contacts galore. Sometimes you just do something different, and it works. Glad to hear this is working for you, for however long.

Intriguing... Red last gen Dodge Ram SRT-10 Crew Cab...we took in on trade. Not sure for what, but it's been parked behind our building waiting for detail, and I want to find the keys...never see these things anymore, crew cab especially.

Nice truck! Quite a few Craiglist'esque mods and things to clean up...but that's usually par for the course. Get it how you like, bond in the process, and it should be back to exactly "right" in no time. Very cool looking little truck, especially since you don't see that package too excessively often, yellow included.

I've watched it from the start, too, and it is hilarious. Great show. That first clip above was just one of the best. "The Middle" on Wednesdays, usually before, is pretty good too.

Oh, I HAVE to take some pictures...my father built them as a little kid through his teens, then my brother followed suit and has hundreds. Being an auto body tech, let's just say he's "good" at the details. So many...all over...but where are they...the coolest being a 70's Cadillac hearse my dad built, but when I was small and found the stash in the attic, I liked to take things apart and let's just say it doesn't exist anymore

Wow. Glad you are okay after all that, and I like the Saab idea.

Congrats. Different people's thoughts on the looks aside, I like them. They're different and at least not a marshmallow blob. Move up from the base wheels, and they dramatically change. One of my best car friends who had the twin to my '09 G8 GT, color and all, and sold his at the same time I did early this year just leased a new '10 TL Tech SH-AWD in Mayan Bronze. He loves it. Had a questionable run with the quality/durability on a last few cars, and when his wife's Lexus IS lease came due, the Acura was better priced and the quality/performance/looks factor sealed it quickly. He's not easy to please, but the TL did so. So...I like them...congrats. Still also like the looks of the last gen cars, but the build quality and performance of the current gen is definitely better, as is the space, AWD and performance.

Didn't have my phone at the time, of course, but... On Sunday was in the midst of a lot of out of state beach traffic, exiting. Was next to a brand new local black with blacked out windows '11 Grand Cherokee Laredo for a while. Instantly still a GC, but looks 10x more upscale than the "it couldn't have been cheapier" '05-10 model. Then saw, and it kind of shocked me for some reason, a new deep burgundy '11 Infiniti QX56. Nice shape, nice curves, and is tall. But stands out and in a good way, I thought, very classy and curvy for the segment. Certainly held its own in heavy traffic, for looks.

Too amazing. And I miss having a Pontiac that much more, after seeing it all. Hmm.

Now THAT is a good point...and observation. I've seen it. And as for "why did they price it like that?"...well, lots of people are willing to pay certain $$ levels for lots of things, regardless of any book value or otherwise, and all it takes is for us to put a number down & go to work. Easier & quicker than even I had imagined, until having worked on this side.

One of the very few and seldomly seen Sunset Orange Metallic (SOM) '01 Silverados. One of my favorite shades, from back in the 1st gen Av days. 2nd new '11 Mazda 2 we received, this one a black Touring automatic. Fun little car & I really like the Touring's cloth with red piping.

All this used Av pricing talk...I'm now at month 6 of my '09 Z71...I was thinking it was about time to change Working for a dealer now, it is interesting, I will say that. Not just what the values are coming back at, what things are auctioning for, etc. BUT what people, daily, are ready and willing to gladly pay for certain used vehicles. Trucks & SUV's, etc., for the most part because selection is so slim for everything, and trucks are even more so from there. I keep having customers looking for certain pre-owned trucks or SUV's, and often by the time something appears as a trade, it's gone by the time we get it to our used car list. F-250's are an example, and another which I'd consider to be the hottest...Excursions. Traded in a loaded black '09 Tahoe Z71 4x4 with 25k miles for a '10 Ford Edge a couple weeks back (wanted smaller, but still sit up higher, and less "stuff I never use")...so many of the salespeople had a list of customers looking for such a ute, mileage, year, etc., wise, it was gone before we even got it on the list. I bought a leftover '09 Av in February of '10 and am accordingly upside down, but it was a great deal. Then I look to what others are selling similar used '09s for now, with even 2-3x the miles already and am intrigued. Pondered trading it back in the summer for something random Ford, and was getting "$30-32k" back from local dealers...wonder if it's gone up now... Don't even get me started on my G8 GT...if the February snow hadn't gotten me all stupid...and I kept it even just now into the summer, I'd have easily gotten THOUSANDS more for it than I did a few before...the appreciation on those have been fun to watch. Kick yourself in the back fun, but still.

A new Bright Magenta '11 Ford Fiesta on our lot yesterday. Not exactly pink, and parked next to a new candy red '11 Mustang 5.0, it was playing tricks on me...something different. But up close, yep, deep, deep magenta. Interesting color on that little thing.

Followed a silver '95/96 Roadmaster Limited home for a big chunk of the drive. Seeing less & less & less of these, rarely from the rear so the view intrigued me. Older lady, but from stops & on straightaways, she had that LT1 roaring...not the typical older driven by an older Buick everyone is used to following.

Pearl white '11 Mazda 2, fresh off the truck to our lot. Fiesta shared platform aside, looks & feels like a smaller car. First one we got, last night.

Today while off & out for errands, a fitting Av shot outside Lowes. Looks happy.

Will do. I have a few shots, need to find it. I drive 45'ish miles each way, 5 days a week, so do about 90-95 total a day, and an hour time-wise in each direction. It's still a standout for looks, in so many colors. I remain a fan of the cladded original, but as I said, my father's 1st day remark was "it's SO much better looking than the one your mom had..." regarding her '02. No more 6.0L. They had it an option through 2009, in 2LT, 3LT or LTZ models. I think there are still a few leftover new '09s with the 6.0L floating out there, or at least there were a few months back.

As for another Avalanche update...still doing well, nothing new, really. On that regard, although it took a several thousand $$ jump in vehicle price & size to do it, mods have been ZERO aside from the 3M clear wrap & Michelins. I did have custom engine/trans tuning by the company that did my G8, but after some use decided to swap back to all stock because I just really liked how it felt & the mileage it got. May still play with it, trans particularly, but we'll see. Up to 7400 miles now, quickly racking up with my commute...bothers me, especially on this truck, but for now, it is what it is. At one time or another, I keep wanting an intake, a Corsa exhaust, a built in Nav or at least proper iPod integration, but I enjoy it exactly as is and have no "must have" to change it. Not having time to be on a forum specific to it daily helps too, for preventing ideas. Great truck. Got over the hump of parental "why..." after 1) my father looked it over silently, 2) mom drove it, and 3) "we need to haul tables home...can I borrow..." only to not see just that, but that they went ahead and had the Midgate flipped, seats down, etc. no questions asked. Aside from the luxury liner comfort, and high up which I enjoy most, it's the combination of 5.3L AFM, 6L80E and the standard 3.08 rear gears that make for just WOW gas mileage. My previous 13 mile each way commute of 2 lane roads and frequent lights/stops/turns, mixed in with a weekend run would result in around 17-17.5mpg pretty much from day one. Now that I drive 45+ miles each way 5 days a week, again mostly 2 lane roads and cruising 55-65, with a few lights, I'm now averaging over 20mpg and last week's tank hit 20.768mpg. I track it here: http://www.mpgtune.com/fillupHistory.php?carId=4700 So, couldn't have made a better choice sticking to my favorite 2wd setup (still no desire to drag around a transfer case on a truck like this with G80 locker & Stabilitrak as it is), and the "gas mileage" 3.08 rear gears with the 6-spd that make it incredibly peppy but also a super low RPM cruiser. Drops gears & passes like a beast. Love the combo. I may have red light raced an '04/05 custom F-250 4x4 diesel last night too, running neck & neck up to about 70 until he gave up...felt good, however unexpected. Love how this truck drives and the interior, plus all that functionality out back I might not use much but is great to have. Only complaints might be a few door panel & dash "click" rattles I wish didn't exist, otherwise impressed by the fit & finish, paint, etc. If only it had that freakishly "how did they do it..." silent tank solid feel of a new F-150, for instance, but alas. Great truck. Now, stay outta my way

Absolutely. Can't hurt to check them out. TireRack.com & DiscountTireDirect.com reviews of any models you're looking at also are the best.

Love 'em. Smooth, solid, silent, crisp handling, and look/feel like they'll wear like iron, as I expected from reviews, for many miles and years to come. Out of the options I had in stock size, nothing really could beat them. I like most that they're not as soft as a lot of others, which has helped with both control and fuel economy. Actually, on that note, aside from the engine breaking in, I swear these tires have helped add a nice dose of extra mpg's to the mix as well, as verified from my first day riding on them. Recommend. Super highly. I never bought into the "Michelin is the holy grail" before, but when it comes to their truck tire like this, they are.

Yesterday afternoon our first sedan, in bright blue, showed up via dealer trade. Interesting looks as a sedan. Also have a black hatch remaining & a loaded dark red hatch soon to be prepped.