Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

"purple with ghost flames, put a folgers can on the tailpipe and a 3-foot wing."
 
That's so 9 years ago,
 
Anyway, used cars are a better buy, but then look what happens when new cars sales drop. Catch22

Replies to this message:
• qbrozen (Jun 29, 2009 11:54 am)
  • michaell (Jul 10, 2009 7:00 am)

Replying to: tomcatt630 (Jun 29, 2009 10:03 am)

oh-ho.
I beg to differ. Bad taste never fades. ;b
Here are a couple of pics from the last SEMA.
 

 

Replies to this message:
• michaell (Jul 10, 2009 7:00 am)

Replying to: qbrozen (Jun 29, 2009 11:54 am)

.. suspended - for now:
 
Update \ Review at [ nearly ] 10,000 miles
I recently returned from a round trip drive to visit friends on the Florida [ panhandle ] coast – and passed 9,500 miles on the return leg. So – as I approach 10,000 miles, I decided to document a few impressions of my 2009 G8 GT.
 
Executive Summary: I enjoy every drive in this car & it has met or exceeded every expectation. If it was flattened by a meteorite in the parking lot today, I’d make every effort to replace it with an identical G8 GT – same color & equipment. That is very high praise, indeed.
 
Car: Sport Package, Premium Package, Sunroof.
 
A few details: MPG has risen slowly but steadily, as I have added miles. In my first 3,000 miles, including a virtually identical trip to visit the same friends in Florida, I was averaging 18 MPG overall – and that trip MPG was approx. 22.5. This past trip – driving exactly the same route the same speeds, & under somewhat less favorable weather conditions [ much hotter ] for fuel mileage, I averaged approx. 25.0.
 
My overall average has gradually risen to nearly 20 MPG [ 19.97 according to my Excel spreadsheet ], from about 18 early on.
 
My ‘best’ MPG, under near ideal conditions has risen also. Typically once each week I stop at the same station & fill at the same pump – then immediately drive 20 or so Interstate miles as the first portion of my commute to work, leaving before 6AM and entering the highway when traffic is relatively light and I can generally maintain 65 to 70 MPH. I reset the DIC at the fill. When I exit the highway portion of my commute I check the DIC. When new, the MPG would display 22 to 23. I have seen this rise to 25 then to 26 then to 28 – and this morning, best ever, it displayed 29.4 MPG. Not bad at all, in my view.
 
Dynamically, I still see this as the closest thing to a four door Corvette [ I traded in a C6 ‘Vette Coupe ] on the market in the U.S. of A. - for a reasonable price. And I see the actually transaction prices, now that the initial MSRP + + nonsense has long disappeared, as a screaming bargain.
 
I do have some concerns about long term parts availability & service – we shall see.
 
Driving 6+ hours at a time, to and from Florida on this past trip, I was reminded of several things:
 
1 - How comfortable the cabin is. The seats remain comfortable & supportive even after long stretches of seat time. The seat, steering wheel, pedals relationship is ergonomically excellent, for me. I find the quality of the interior materials, fit & finish to be very acceptable. And I have experienced no squeaks, rattles, moans or groans – even when driven over poor road surfaces.
 
2 – How terrific the performance of this drivetrain is. For example, I had occasion a couple of times during this trip, on rural 2 lane roads, to blast past someone dawdling at 5 or 10 MPH below the speed limit. By the time my foot moves from steady quarter throttle in sixth gear to WOT and I start to swing into the other lane, the 6L80 trans. has quickly dropped to second or third gear and the acceleration rate is quite satisfying. Very nice.
 
3 – How steady & secure the handling is. I hit over an hour of steady [ often monsoon ] rain on the return leg of the trip. The car handles this annoyance very well – feels precise & secure at all times. In my daily driving, the Sport suspension performs with a near ideal compromise [ for me ] between firmness \ responsiveness and comfort. I find that the damping rates, bushings, springs and tires work very well together.
 
4 – I have had my issues with XM marketing \ sales \ [ automatic re-]billing, but on such a trip, I really enjoy and appreciate the choices & the good reception outside metropolitan Atlanta.
 
5 – The Turn-By-Turn directions are useful & generally well implemented.
 
6 – I enjoy having a sunroof again - with the option of closed, open, multiple vent positions, sunshade, etc. This is one feature I really missed driving the Corvette – the coupe’s removable roof I found basically useless.
 
7 – Fun. This car is remarkable fun to drive.
And that is very important to me.
 
Cheers,
- Ray
No buyers remorse here . . .

Replies to this message:
• roadburner (Jul 10, 2009 11:30 am)
  • woodyww (Jul 12, 2009 10:45 am)
    • corvette (Jul 12, 2009 7:09 pm) and 4 more...
    • kyfdx (Jul 13, 2009 8:13 am)
    • roadburner (Jul 13, 2009 10:29 am) and 1 more...

Replying to: rayainsw (Jul 10, 2009 7:34 am)

Replies to this message:
• woodyww (Jul 12, 2009 10:45 am)
  • corvette (Jul 12, 2009 7:09 pm)
    • british_rover (Jul 12, 2009 7:12 pm) and 3 more...
  • kyfdx (Jul 13, 2009 8:13 am)
  • roadburner (Jul 13, 2009 10:29 am)
    • woodyww (Jul 13, 2009 11:13 am)

Replying to: roadburner (Jul 10, 2009 11:30 am)

Replies to this message:
• corvette (Jul 12, 2009 7:09 pm)
  • british_rover (Jul 12, 2009 7:12 pm)
    • corvette (Jul 12, 2009 7:17 pm) and 2 more...
• kyfdx (Jul 13, 2009 8:13 am)
• roadburner (Jul 13, 2009 10:29 am)
  • woodyww (Jul 13, 2009 11:13 am)

Replying to: woodyww (Jun 27, 2009 10:48 am)

Car-buying plans for me keep getting put off by house repairs. I paid $1750 today to have 6 dead or marginal trees removed. 3 of them were right next to the house. All either big, or gigantic. Took the large crew several hours to remove just one gigantic dead "2-trunk" tree.
 
Now there are 3-4 more gigantic trees left way too close to the house, that could easily demolish part of the house if even one giant limb fell. I hate to spend the $$, because I still want to move, but stuff like collapsing chimneys, or huge dead trees near the house, or leaking roofs, you're kind of forced to deal with.......
 
Makes me almost wish for the Good Old Days when maintenence or repairs on my M6 or my range rover was the big issue.....

Replies to this message:
• roadburner (Jul 13, 2009 10:31 am)

Replies to this message:
• lilengineerboy (Jul 12, 2009 5:44 pm)
• british_rover (Jul 12, 2009 6:18 pm)
• corvette (Jul 12, 2009 7:00 pm)
  • boomchek (Jul 13, 2009 11:00 am)
• woodyww (Jul 13, 2009 11:34 am)

Replying to: stickguy (Jul 12, 2009 4:32 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Jul 12, 2009 4:32 pm)