G.M. Wonders Whether You’d Really Rather Have a Buick

[HotZ28]

Click Here

['97ventureowner]

Sounds like an attempt to woo Pontiac buyers by making Buick appear the type of car no longer for the "older set". I figured they would have to do something in the order of reimage themselves to keep buyers purchasing GM products. I think, as we go "down the road", we may see something like this for the other lines of GM as well as they jockey into their new positions within the brand. Chevrolet will probably pick up more buyers at the lower end of the age range, leaving Cadillac and Buick to cover the rest. To do this they will have to look at their offerings and make any necessary changes.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

of car no longer for the "older set".

I have owned Buicks as long as I can remember and only recently would be considered the "older set". The only vehicle I ever drove that made me feel like an old man was the 2000 LeSabre. I was 42 at the time. A fine vehicle, but really for the old farts..
The new Lucerne is not an old man's car, it is reasonably sporty, fast, and if you don't mind a lot of problems, is a great car while under warranty. My wife just bought a new Lacrosse...... nice car, and that is what I will replace the Lucerne with once it is off warranty. I will own Buicks until they put me in a box,
and if all goes well, that will be a lot of years from now.

[Jrs3800]

GM over the last soo many years has done a lot to turn me off..

A couple of things I saw that were not too smart on GM's behalf was killing off the F-Body... Just push the Camaro and Firebird( Trans Am ) right off a cliff... At the time ford still had the Mustang... Way to go GM...

In 2000 The all new Bonneville came out... Same Cahssis as the Aurora.. Really a nice car.. Too bad the 4T65-E's sucked and still suck( I have one it needs a shift kit bad ).. The Bonneville all of the sudden was easily a $27,000 car... People were looking for a sporty 4 Door sedan to haul the family around and still have a little fun.. even a nicely loaded 95-99 SE with the series II and Alloys could be had for $22,000... My 2003 SLE was a $34,000 car new.. Pretty much loaded with everything except the Supercharger.. Seems like they tried to turn the pontiac into a Caddy.. Don't get me wrong I love my Bonnevilles, but they got a little too pricey for the middle class family.. And even better yet they came out with the GXP and plopped the Caddy 4.6 N* in it... Meanwhile I'm looking at the LS4 wondering why the GP GXP has the LS4 the larger Bonneville got the 4.6?? Then they dropped the Bonneville.. So much for me ever buying a Pontiac.. And then as of 2010 Pontiac is gone.. I like some of the buicks but don't see myself buying one anytime soon...

If they were building T-Types and or maybe Grand Sports, or like a friend of mine has a LeSabre with the Grand Touring suspension and every option( Grandpa Car that rids stiff and handles like it ) Then I may consider a Buick..

End of my Rant I guess...lol

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Jrs3800

Meanwhile I'm looking at the LS4 wondering why the GP GXP has the LS4 the larger Bonneville got the 4.6??

Good question. I looked at one too and decided to purchase. GP GXP that is.

[HotZ28]

Wow, nice car Bob! Did you trade the Regal GS, GTP; or both for the GXP? I hate to see Pontiac go, because I was a hard-core Pontiac man back in the 60's. I owned and raced a 65-66-67 GTO and a 69 Firebird Ram Air III. I have been looking very close at the G8-GT since a friend of mine bought one last month. After driving his, I was impressed with the power & rear wheel drive (tires spinning) it reminded me of my first 65 GTO with 3-deuces & a 4-speed, but much tighter & quieter. Anyway, since the GM announcement concerning Pontiac's fate, the incentives are getting better and prices dropping every week, so I am just around and waiting for the best "Dealer close-out specials!" Click Here for G8 GT Full Test~

Pontiac G8 GT
Click on Img Below for a complete high-res Gallery
(Source)

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

Wow, nice car Bob! Did you trade the Regal GS, GTP; or both for the GXP?

Hi Bo. Thanks. Nope. I bought the '08 GXP outright used. Certified GM. No trade-ins and keeping the two Buick Regals, the GTP and the Alero for now.

It has all the beeps and bells including sunroof, remote start, On-Star, DIC with so much info I can't keep up with it, heads up display (HUD), CJ2 ACC, leather/heated seats and Tap Shift on the steering wheel. The LS4 5.3L engine is very smooth and really good on power considering with the AFM fuel management system. It has the FE4 suspension with Bilstein struts and will pull over .82 g on handling. Weird stock tire configuration with Bridgestone Potenza P255 on forged aluminum 18s up front and P225 on the rear.

Will probably mod with 3" Hogan downpipe, CAI, Magnaflow 3" hi-flow CAT converter and Magnaflow CAT Back exhaust system. Also, found a shop on-line that does powertuning on the PCM.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

Hi Bo. Thanks. Nope. I bought the '08 GXP outright used. Certified GM. No trade-ins and keeping the two Buick Regals, the GTP and the Alero for now.

I was figuring you traded in the Ford truck as that disappeared from your signature when you added the GXP

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

I was figuring you traded in the Ford truck as that disappeared from your signature when you added the GXP

Good observation Tom. No, I sold that to my brother in law for about a $1K profit.

BTW - I hate pickup trucks and SUVs.

['97ventureowner]

I don't care for SUVs either, but pickups do have their place when needed. I still have my 1994 C1500 2 wheel drive pickup (work truck edition) I bought brand new. I license it for the road during our "good weather seasons", (roughly April to October.) I use it to get mulch and compost from the municipal site, take excess trash to the transfer station, and get any items from the big box home improvement center that won't fit in the minivan.
My nephew got a new F350 4 door pickup last year, which surprised me. He just got rid of his '94 F150 4WD that was so problem plagued over the past few years, (mainly from plowing snow. Trucks up here take a beating between plowing all that snow and road salt.) He said he was looking to replace it with a smaller truck like a Ranger or S10 that was better on gas. So imagine my surprise when he pulls in my driveway with this behemoth. At that time gas prices were around $4.25/gal as well. And to add insult to injury he leased the thing . He's a paid firefighter in the city and makes a decent salary but I would've thought he'd be better off buying a smaller used truck. He did have a small remodeling/contracting business before being accepted as a firefighter, and really doesn't do as much of that work now, rather sticking to his own house which needs a lot of work ( former bank foreclosure), so I thought a smaller truck would've fulfilled his needs for what he uses it for.Time will tell. ( I think the truck you had listed in your sig prior to the GXP was similar to the one he leased. I will say they have made quite a few improvements in creature comforts in the cab relating to technology and such.)

[Jrs3800]

Bob, I just wanted to say you made a good choice..

My best friend has an 06 Pontiac Grand Prix 3800 L26 with just about every option except sunroof.. I love driving that car..

Here is the deal tho... He also has an 08 Impalla SS with the LS4 like your new Grand Prix.. I like the SS, its nice but if e have to take off and go somewhere we usually end up in the Grand Prix.. He says he should have gotten a Grand Prix GXP as opposed to the Impy... We both feel that the Grand Prix is more of a drivers car.. I am dead set on my Bonnevilles and love the way they drive and handle for a large car... But I sure would not mind a GXP GP...

We were almost ready to mod the 95 Transport with an LS4... But Price became an issue...LOL

In any event, great choice... Maybe one day I'll drop an LS4 into the bonneville as thats what it should have had from the factory...

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Jrs3800

Bob, I just wanted to say you made a good choice..

My best friend has an 06 Pontiac Grand Prix 3800 L26 with just about every option except sunroof.. I love driving that car..

Here is the deal tho... He also has an 08 Impalla SS with the LS4 like your new Grand Prix.. I like the SS, its nice but if e have to take off and go somewhere we usually end up in the Grand Prix.. He says he should have gotten a Grand Prix GXP as opposed to the Impy... We both feel that the Grand Prix is more of a drivers car.. I am dead set on my Bonnevilles and love the way they drive and handle for a large car... But I sure would not mind a GXP GP...

Thanks Jrs. I'm happy with it.

I looked at a '09 Impala SS and was turned off by the rental car look and poorly designed interior. The dash is a joke. The GXP has a superior interior and all the extras many of us look for.

[BNaylor]

Well Gentlemen we liked the GXP is so much that I had to purchase another one. This one is GM certified.

BTW - The color is not black but dark slate metallic only available on the '08 year of final production.

[Jrs3800]

Thumbs Up Bob.. I still do feel that the DP with FE2 or the LS4 GXP is a drivers car as opposed to the Impy SS...

Looks great... Can I drive it? I promise I won't hit Abuse Mode

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Jrs3800

Thumbs Up Bob.. I still do feel that the DP with FE2 or the LS4 GXP is a drivers car as opposed to the Impy SS...

Looks great... Can I drive it? I promise I won't hit Abuse Mode

Thanks JRS. Yeah I know what you are saying and agree. We have a contributing member at the Grand Prix forum and he says the same. He has a '06 Impala SS he got for under $15K a few years ago due to hail damage. Wish he had the GXP. When you analyze the features offered the GM Engineers didn't do enough on the Impala SS for the cost. Lack of HUD, Tap Shift, the special brake calipers and rotors and the lack of the FE4 Bilstein strut suspension. Not to mention the boring Buick style dashboard. ....