Yes, from a consumer-choice point or view, basically I agree with you. I like big sedans myself (particularly the soft-riders). But unfortunately I live in an area that has seen such huge growth over the years, such a vast increase in traffic, and conditions that are now so difficult to park in and maneuver at close quarters now that large vehicles are simply not practical for the type of driving I now mostly do.

BTW, although I can't say I agree with 100% of them, IMO you have made a lot of good posts in your time at CL, and (also IMO), I think some people have tossed barbs at you unfairly.

 

Thanks I appreciate it. I have pretty strong opinions about things and sometimes people won't agree with me, which is fine. I don't mind criticism or anything from others. I'm pretty set in my ways so whatever people wanna say, go for it.

 

What will happen when artificial intelligence becomes smart enough, and self driving cars start developing pretty strong opinions about other self driving cars driving around them?

 

Maybe the older LS will be cruising along on a highway when it encounters a big giant lifted 4-door truck that blocks the view in front. Or it'll laugh when it sees a BMW on a tow truck or a Kia on the side of a road because you can see smoke coming out the hood.

 

Yeah, those are pretty soft opinions, I was thinking something along the lines of one car cutting another one off and digitally yelling at it "that's what you get for being a f-ng hyundai", lol.

 

It is still very easy to drive big cars around our area, I have two big cars and we live in the same place, and I drive and park a lot more than you do. You simply got to a point in your life where a crossover made more sense to you. The area hasn't changed, your needs changed. Thats why consumers have moved to crossovers, for all the reasons that you found one attractive this time. They sit higher up, they are easier to maneuver, you have better sight lines, they are easier to get in and out of, you don't have to be as cognizant of curbs and such.

 

My money is on GM making their self driving tech work before Tesla. I think Super Cruise is the leader right now.

 

Super Cruise is likely the leader right now, I agree

 

I think it is important to note that you didn't quite trade your Buick LaCrosse for an equivalent type car. You downsized significantly, you went from a V6 to a I3, much smaller model. You in essence (no Buick trim pun) found the alternative to your old Verano. If you purchased a Buick Enclave, that is the alternative to a LaCrosse...you'd still have parking problems..even worse

 

Haven't been paying attention to SC progress how does it do on city streets?

 

I never did like the idea of the turbo-three, but, with actual ownership experience with it, outside of a couple of vibration-issues in start-up and at low speeds, it is just fine for the kind of driving I do. How well it will hold up in the long run, however, remains to be seen.....I'm probably going to keep this vehicle, for several reasons, longer than I did the Lacrosse, although I'm not expecting to get the kind of trouble-free miles from the engine that one would get, say, with a Toyota 4Runner or Land Cruiser.


The Encore GX also has several features the Verano didn't, or didn't offer...available AWD, softer-riding 55-series tires, and, of course far greater versatility. And, hopefully, less oil-consumption.

But I don't regret my Verano ownership for a single minute. Outside of a couple of issues which I listed, it was the first Buick product in 40 years that Would actually spend my money on....partly because it was so much of a rebadged Opel at a time when Opels were known for their quality.

Yes, the Enclave is comfortable and impressive to drive (and Steve said he liked the one he had as a rental), but it has had some reliability problems, particularly with the 9T65 transmission, and shares the over-bulkiness of the Lacrosse for the type of driving I now mostly do. Other Buicks are generally well above average in reliability (at least according to CR and J.D. Power), but the Enclave drags the nameplate down a little from what it probably could be.

 

I live in central Fairfax County. Driving and parking conditions here have changed very, very much in the last several decades. I know....I deal with it every day. I would not waste time and wear on my computer keyboard if it were not so.

Having said that, you are partially-correct about my own needs changing. By my needs changed because the driving-environment did....not the other way around. To claim otherwise is to out the cart before the horse.

 

Yep, so is mine. I'm quite-impressed with how well the existing driver-aid systems work on the Encore GX, although, of course, it is not a fully-self-driving system.

 

I am in Fairfax county at least once a week, things have not changed in the short term to where buying your Lacrosse made sense when you bought it and then it stopped making sense a couple years later. The driving environment has changed over the last 30-40 years sure, but not in the last 5 or even 10. You changed, not the environment around you. Why can't you just admit that your opinion on these vehicles has evolved with time? All of our opinions evolve over time.

In fact, you have MORE room in Fairfax County than we have here in Montgomery County or in DC, and every car I have bought has been bigger than the one before it...yet easier to drive.

 

Well, of course my opinion changed...but it changed because of my local needs, not vise-versa. Otherwise, like I said, one is putting the cart before the horse.

You also have had a some variety of vehicles in your own family, at least in recent years.......................Two JGCs, two Pacificas, a Lexus LS460, and now an S560. And, at least from what you told us earlier, you came close to taking home either a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport.

However, I will say this.....I don't blame you for passing up the LS500. I was not terribly impressed with it, either, and felt it a disappointing letdown from the 460.