The New Fleet

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Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
if gas was 2 bucks a gallon, would his dad still have the expedition?
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No. They both love their cars more than I've seen them love anything before (well, besides each other and their children of course
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) I love mine as well, it is just fantastic.

Anyway, I promised pics did I not? I'll include them in several posts.

Here are those of my mom's, the Equinox LTZ.

What a pretty color that is.

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The cavernous backseat.

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I'm 5'10" and the seat slides back/forwards.

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My little brother and sister are in heaven.

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Lots of storage room, even with the rear seats up.

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Durn engine cover

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My Cruze.

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Look at that itty bitty engine, and all the extra room in the engine bay. Maybe for a future 2.0T, or V6 maybe? Hmmm....

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Itty bitty turbo to go with it.

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WOW. Great view of the camshaft. You can see the VVT limits there, and it's so clear once I figured out to change Autofocus to center..... =P

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Computer and battery covering the transmission.

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You can see the power steering rack down against the firewall

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Nice alloys.

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Dad's Cruze. His has the "RS" Package.

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Cruze, with my grandmothers Malibu behind it. And garage which got cleaned out today.
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Our fleet.

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This is what our neighbors currently see, with my grandmothers malibu there as well. (She says she got 33mpg on the way up here)

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We didn't realize until we pulled them in that we went from having 3 gold cars, to 2 red cars and a red motorcycle.

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I hope you and your family enjoy these new rides.
I tend not to trade cars off frequently, but I know many who do.
Financially, I'm not sure the whole thing makes sense, but it isn't my money we're talking about, so what I think is irrelavent.
Anyway, you have a nice new fleet, and I hope that it serves you well.
 
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
That dealer must have a nice service waiting area.. or you better hope they do...


Whatever dude.
 
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
That dealer must have a nice service waiting area.. or you better hope they do...


Don't worry, my post was deleted, LOL! And it was nicer than yours.

Nick:

When are we going to hear you putting new tires on the Cruze?
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
That dealer must have a nice service waiting area.. or you better hope they do...


Don't worry, my post was deleted, LOL! And it was nicer than yours.

Nick:

When are we going to hear you putting new tires on the Cruze?


Hopefully these last longer.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
That dealer must have a nice service waiting area.. or you better hope they do...


Don't worry, my post was deleted, LOL! And it was nicer than yours.

Nick:

When are we going to hear you putting new tires on the Cruze?


Hopefully these last longer.


I assume you feel better, being back at your "Chevy Roots" ?
 
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Nice rides! The digital display for the information in the gauge cluster and radio are nice. They give a lot of info, and having the digital speedo is a nice touch.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R

Nice alloys.

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And they had to blemish it by using clip-on weights which over time will produce rust stains. I hate when mfgs cut corners just to save a few pennies.
 
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
That dealer must have a nice service waiting area.. or you better hope they do...

Real added value...I have some words, but I like to post here.

Nick, the new rides look nice. Really like the Equinox. The new ones are much better than my 07.
 
Congrats, nice cars, but I bet you will miss the Jeep the next time you get one of those 24" NY snow storms.
 
Originally Posted By: TurboLuver
Congrats, nice cars, but I bet you will miss the Jeep the next time you get one of those 24" NY snow storms.


Actually not so much. The Baja Claws on the Jeep were NOT good in the winter at all. We haven't really had a good winter car. My focus had average snow tires. Did well in turns, but going forward... Not so much. Truck tires were down to 2/32 and were horrible even in 4WD. Baja Claws sucked for turning, but were ok for starting and going through drifts.

That is the reason mom got the AWD version of the Equinox.
 
To answer the questions I'm getting about the cars thus far, these are my experiences.

Cruze

Engine: The 1.4LT is interesting. At first hitting the gas, there isn't much go power. Half a second or so delay before the turbo spools up and it pulls very strongly. It takes some getting used to, and traffic will be a little bit interesting if you don't get used to it. But it's a torquey little engine, and it has plenty of grunt.

Transmission: The 6T40 they used is also interesting. I wasn't sure about it at first, it seemed a little bit strange. But I drove around town and on the highway for a bit today, and the shifting has either gotten more predictable and it is indeed "learning", I'm getting used to it, or or I'm adjusting my driving style to the transmission. Probably all three. Either way, it shifts very smoothly, if a bit slowly, especially the (I think) 3-4 shift. The Torque converter does lock up fairly nice and early (~1500RPM, which is ~40mph). It tries to stay in higher gears going uphill on the highway, which is nice. If you give it some gas, it does take a second sometimes to downshift, but it does downshift. OVerall the throttle response is good, but different, not what most people are used to.

Ride: So far it's very planted, and composed on the highway. Smooth riding. Over bumpy surfaces though, like a rough patch of pavement, it doesn't absorb the bumps quite as well as the Focus did, but the mustang was much, much worse. And it's quiet. I mean, REALLY quiet. With the fan and radio off at 75, you can hear just a whisper of road noise, it is very well muted and insulated. The equinox is similarly quiet, and that was one of the reasons my mom liked it so much. They make the expedition, mustang, my car, and the jeep (which is about as quiet as train wreck) all sound very noisy inside.

Interior: Overall the interior is well designed, and well executed. The designers really payed attention to the details. Most materials have a good feel to them, solid and somewhat soft touch. There are a few harder plastics, but they aren't really cheap feeling. The cloth around the interior (like on the dash) is interesting, I would have preferred it in the leather version, but it isn't bad. The leather on the steering wheel is phenomenal, and the steering wheel itself is well designed, it just fits well in your hands, no matter where you hold it. The stitching on the leather on the inside did bother me a bit at first, but I quickly got used to it. The telescoping steering wheel is just awesome. The 8 way manual driver seat does take some finagling to get it right, but the seats themselves are very comfortable. The bolstering felt a little odd at first, but they are actually very comfortable, lumbar support is excellent, and they are well upholstered. Again, the attention to detail is very very good. The back seat is fairly comfortable, legroom is similar to the Focus, and headroom is a bit more, I can sit upright without hitting my head. Center console is very tiny, room enough for sunglasses, ipod for the USB ipod integration, and GPS charger. Elbow, headroom is excellent. Controls and buttons have nice feels to them, especially the volume/tune, and temp/fan knobs. They feel very good, and feel expensive when you turn them, in a good way.

The radio is pretty easy to use as well. Headlights are very good. one of my favorite things is the intrument panel though, I love GM clusters, they just look sharp.

On the information display in the cluster it displays...

-Current speed in MPH (Which is what it is on 90% of the time
-2 Trip meters
-Average Fuel economy
-Average Speed
-Fuel Used
-Tire Pressure (PSI for all 4 tires)
-OLM
When you turn the cruise on, it tell you for a few seconds what it is set at (70 vs 71 for example. No more guessing)

The doors shut with a nice solid thunk, which is something I haven't heard on any cheaper vehicle before.

The 215/60/16 tires a much cheaper than the 215/45/17s I had, but if I get all my maintenance done at the dealership, we get free tires for life. Idk if I'm going to take advantage of that, again depends on how much I like these tires (Firestone FR710)

Trunk is pretty large. Not as deep as he Focus, but wider, and just as long. One thing that does bother me, is the use of gooseneck style hinges, instead of the fancy lever/hinges that the focus had.

That's all I can think of for now, more to come later.

Oh, I did drive 110 miles today, about 75% highway, 25% city, and averaged 28 mpg with the A/C on at all times. I expect that to improve, especially with more highway. About to a bit more than what I got with the focus with 90% highway. Oh yeah, and the A/C is excellent as well.

One thing, the 45% Domestic content stamped on the tags is from the original, engine from Austria (Shows 19% Austria on tag) and transmission from Mexico) Mine and dads are USA on both, so I'm guessing that puts domestic content around 75-80% at a guess.

Comments, questions are welcome.

I do have one question though. I've heard that VW, and some Ford DI engines may have potential deposit problems, but I haven't head anything- good or bad, about GMs- anyone have any more information, I suppose time will tell, the Cruzes are SMPFI, but the nox is DI.
 
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I personally don't like the instrument of either the Equinox or the Cruze, its look is so tacky. The tachometer and speedometer should be in center, coolant temp and fuel level should be outside.
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Or this instrument, tachometer in the center with speedometer on the right and others on the left.

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Nick congrads on the new rides.
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Thanks for the news and members should be HAPPY to post their new rides WITHOUT the bias that has been demonstrated in this thread.

For those members who have to inject their bias in most threads consider this a warning.

How bad is it? MANY members have bought new vehicles but don't want to post their news because of the HASSLE with the narrow minded members here who have to "comment".

It will end. Either by the members choice or other means.

Bill
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R

The 215/60/16 tires a much cheaper than the 215/45/17s I had, but if I get all my maintenance done at the dealership, we get free tires for life. Idk if I'm going to take advantage of that, again depends on how much I like these tires (Firestone FR710)


Nick, I'll bet large amounts of money (if I lived in another state that allowed gambling
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) that the stealership will NOT put what you have on it now when it comes time to give you your "free" tires.

All the stealerships do that here plus the engine for "life" if you take the vehicle to them for EVERYTHING that is outlined in the manual.

Trust me they want you to take them up on their "generous" offer.
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Take care, bill
 
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Nick congrads on the new rides.
thumbsup2.gif


Thanks for the news and members should be HAPPY to post their new rides WITHOUT the bias that has been demonstrated in this thread.

For those members who have to inject their bias in most threads consider this a warning.

How bad is it? MANY members have bought new vehicles but don't want to post their news because of the HASSLE with the narrow minded members here who have to "comment".

It will end. Either by the members choice or other means.

Bill


I'm glad of this. Too many times, someone posts their good news only to have someone come and rain on their parade. What momma used to say never goes out of style. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

Nick, congratulations to your whole family on your new rides. A change of scenery in your driveway for sure.

I join Bill in cautioning you about their free tire deal. I'd say up front that the Firestone FR710s are not rated that well to begin with, and the dealer would likely put even cheaper tires on when you do need them. And they likely won't put tires on until all four are at 2/32" or less, which may be longer than you want to wait.

Bottom line: I'd do my own maintenance unless you have any free coupons and put tires on myself when the time comes. Fortunately, the P215/60R16 size is about as ubiquitous as any other passenger car tire size, and a ton of excellent choices awaits you.

Enjoy your 4th!
 
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