Sulu

The current-generation and newly introduced next-generation mid-size Buick Regal are the American versions of the GM Opel Insignia.

The last-generation and current-generation full-size Buick LaCrosse are important to the Chinese. The last-generation LaCrosse had much Chinese design influence.

Aron9000

A few years ago, I drove my buddy's cream-puff 1992 Roadmaster sedan, it was a sort of silvery-blue color with blue cloth interior. I must say I was rather impressed with the way it drove, compared to my 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood I had at the time. My Fleetwood had around 50-55k miles on it, that Roadmaster had 150kish miles if I recall correctly, it was a lot more than 100k, but man the car was in beautiful shape, great paint, no dents, all the trim looked great, interior was MINT, it looked almost as nice as my Fleetwood(interior might have been nicer).

Anyways, compared to the Fleetwood, the steering was tighter, it didn't wander as much on the highway, it rode nicer, not as much float, but still isolated from the road, and it didn't roll as bad in the corners, it felt A LOT lighter on its feet, the Roadmaster drove like a much smaller car. Power wise, it had the 5.7 TBI 350 Chevy vs the 5.7 LT1 350 Chevy in my Fleetwood, the Roadie had great low end, off the line torque but ran out of breath quick above 30mph, the LT1 Cadillac would run circles around it. If you never pushed the throttle past about 1/2 on the Roadmaster, it never felt slow, its just that if fell flat on its face when you floored it and revved the engine up. I think my buddy's car might have had the tow package or uprated supsension, it wasn't the base "Dyna-Ride" according to him, but man it rode and cornered great for a big car, best handling big car I've ever driven besides a P71 Crown Vic.

mmarshall

Silver-blue is a very attractive color (one of my favorites among the duller shades)...but, along with silver-green and silver itself, ranks among the most difficult for a body shop to perfectly match after an accident or body-work. That's because only a tiny amount of pigment has to be added, and that amount measured and mixed in with the metallic-base in precise exactness, with very little room for error. It takes a really good body shop, with skilled and careful painters, to do it correctly.

Johnhav430

Not at all! I like to think that as ordinary people who happen to be interested in cars, we can only have so many, and so we have to choose. So it's interesting to see others' thoughts on what they end up choosing. And, I think it's something worth the wait. Nowadays I wish time could stand still, I hate everyone I know getting older. But back in late '06, when I ordered the BMW 335 coupe, I couldn't wait for another day and another week to go by, because that brought me closer to the 9 wks. it took to get the car. there were a bunch of us on the forum tracking our cars even on the ship from Regensburg to Newark, NJ. Oddly back then, once the car reaches NJ, it's untrackable except by the dealership! Those are a very long 3 days!! btw I took delivery in Dec. '06, and it just so happened to be hot (relatively speaking), like 70F many days that month...

I don't know if GM provides all that or if the dealer is the liason, but I think it's worth waiting for what you really want, especially if it means deleting things that are common which you don't want....

mmarshall

Thanks for your attitude and civil tone. How did you like your 335? I did a full-review on the last-generation model, and was extremely impressed with the steering/handling/chassis/suspension engineering, which, at least at the time, for drivers who like a tactile feel for what the car is doing, IMO ranked as some of the best on the planet. Even the Sport-Package wheels and 35-series tires provided sharp handling but still rode decently over bumps.....a rare occurrence for rubber-band tires like that. I considered buying one, but at the time, for several reasons, I felt I wasn't ready to spend that much on a car (45-50K), and a number of them ended up having electrical and fuel-pump issues. I haven't test-driven the latest one, but, from what I've read from other reviewers, it's not even in the same league as yours.

At the dealership, when I placed an order for a 2017, they assured me that there was still time (I asked them at least two or three times to verify it). So, I did a write-up here in the Car Chat forum (as many other members do when they get a new car) to share it with my colleagues, stating I had ordered one. The very next morning (I hadn't even finished my coffee), the dealership calls......"Oh, Mr, Marshall, GM says it's too late for a factory-order 2017". So, I'm stuck with a 2018 instead (I agreed to the order-shift), and that new complex 9-speed transmission they'll be using next year, though some Chevys used it this year, so it isn't completely untested. Fortunately, despite color-changes for 2018, I still get the same color I ordered (Pepperdust Metallic, a light grayish-bronze color), the same N/A V6 engine, dove-gray/neutral interior color, tires/wheels, equipment, and (hopefully) the same smooth-riding suspension, though automakers sometimes tend to stiffen their base suspensions from year to year.

Johnhav430

I still have the 335i (plan on keeping forever), it's my garage queen! The '06 LS430 which I picked up last Oct. is my daily driver.......when the original runflat Potenzas wore out, I replaced with non runflat Pilot Super Sports...

The only major issue out of warranty on the 335 was the ABS system failed last year at just under 50k....that is a $4,200 job at the dealer, but thank goodness for the forum and YouTube, was able to DIY and get the pump repaired for $250 online...even with software and a few line wrenches and a Motive and OEM fluid, the whole job was under $500, so a rare DIY serious bang for buck....(repair has a 5 yr warranty). It was subject to the Takata airbag recall, but BMW provided a 328i x drive Enterprise rental for the 4 1/2 mos. it took to replace the airbag...

It really is a blast to drive and even better since I don't drive it daily, really disappointing the way the steering has become over the years at BMW since....

But in your case, maybe it's really a blessing in disguise to get an '18 over a '17, why not, right?

2008GS

Congratulations MMARSHALL! I am a big BUICK fan, back to the days when their quality rivaled all others. Buick was always a pioneer in building quality automobiles. Their motto "When better cars are built, Buick will build them" was a representation of their work ethic and desire to be the best. My dad worked at the local Buick dealership, and I developed a fondness for the brand. Not to mention they produced one of the fastest muscle cars in the 1970s (Buick GS Stage1.) I am glad they were saved from nuking as Pontiac/Olds/Saturn experienced. After all, Buick was the founding brand that GM was built upon. Owning Buicks and being exposed to their quality was a natural progression for me to Lexus automobiles. My 1997 LS' smooth glass-like ride reminds me in some ways to the big GM boulevard cruisers of the 1970s but with so much more responsiveness, performance, and technology. Good luck on your new Buick!

mmarshall

Congratulations on the LS430. Though they are aging somewhat now, I always felt the 430 was the best overall LS version ever done.

Yes, if you can do (or get) an adequate repair, for less money, apart from the notorious BMW stealer-ship service departments, more power to you.

You weren't alone. That Takada campaign impacted on millions of cars. Probably the biggest recall since the older GM ignition-switch issue.

You can (at least partly) thank the all-demanding EPA for that. CAFE rules have the manufacturers doing all kinds of tricks to meet them. One of those tricks, among a number of others, was conversion to electric power steering. That also simplifies the rack, of course, and eliminates the possibility of pump-failure or hydraulic leaks, but also detracts from the tactile-feel through the steering wheel, where the older BMW units were unquestionably some of the best.

We'll see. As long as the new 9-speed transmission shows the silky-smoothness expected in a Buick, is reliable over time (I'll have this car at least several years...possibly more), and the base suspension isn't stiffened for 2018, I won't have any complaints.

mmarshall

Thanks.

Yeah, I remember that old motto, and the similar one...."Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick"? Buick, in those days, represented refinement and smooth operation. Their Buick-exclusive Dynaflow and Super-Turbine 400 transmissions were even smoother than the Turbo-Hydra-Matics used in the upmarket Cadillacs and other GM divisions...the Caddies sometimes had a slight bump going from first to second, where the big Buicks were absolutely seamless. But the Buick drivetrains of that period, though good, were not necessarily the most durable. The most durable were (generally) the Chrysler 3.7L Slant Six, 5.2L V8, and the Chrysler Torqueflite transmission....that's why, along with the Checker Marathons and their Chevy Stovebolt sixes, you saw so many Plymouth and Dodge taxicabs with the slant six/small V8. I didn't particularly like the Torqueflite transmission, though, even though it was the first transmission (in a Plymouth Valiant) that I actually learned to drive on as a 16-year-old (later, I got used to a clutch and manual). The Torqueflite, though tough as nails, lacked the refinement and smoothness of Buick units....and the Chrysler products of the period were also noisy from the torsion-bar/leaf-spring suspensions and unit-bodies. GM and Ford products of the period were (mostly) coil-spring and body on frame, which ran quieter and smoother.

Buicks of that period, though having the excellent GM Body by Fisher, also had the notoriously lousy GM acrylic-lacquer paint jobs that would start fading in a year or two if you didn't keep them religiously waxed (this, of course, was in the days before clearcoat paint was used). Ford and Chrysler, in contrast, used baked-enamel paint, which, though easier to chip than the acrylic lacquer, kept its gloss much longer....especially the Fords. Buick V8s of that period also had weak water-pumps that needed frequent replacement. But overall, yes, the Buicks (especially the big full-size ones) of that period were a real pleasure to sit in and drive....I'll certainly agree to that.

David Dunbar Buick, an auto engineer of Scottish origin, once worked for Walter P. Chrysler at (you guessed it) Chrysler Corporation, but had some disagreements with Chrysler, and left to start his own company.....later, of course, absorbed into GM. The famous red/white/blue tri-shield that later became the Buick logo is the official coat of arms of his old Buick family-clan from Scotland.


Yeah, I agree that the LS400 of the 1990s took over a lot of Buick's (and Cadillac's) former market....but that was also partly because GM was building sub-standard vehicles at the time....certainly not like today or back in the mid-late 1960s, when they were at their peak. Lexus (re)-introduced the quality, at that time, that the American companies were lacking....and even proved to be strong competition for Mercedes-Benz.

Johnhav430

My dad actually explained to me those things on the fenders were portholes, and that if it had 3 on the side it was a middle of the line, and the tops of the line had 4. I don't think it always corresponded with cylinders, because mid level cars could have V8's....isn't it amazing that a few years ago, it became stylish to glue on things to the fenders, that resembled the portholes (but rectangular).....I saw one set glued on the fenders of a BMW 335is, and was beside myself!!!! But I like how Buick has that tradition, and I notice some of those portholes are now on the horizontal surface of the hood I believe, rather than the fenders....

oh btw, back in 2012 or so, we went to a Buick event, and my wife and I met Chef Ming Tsai....so they have taken their stabs at going upscale...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

4 and a half months to replace an air bag?

mmarshall

Probably not unusual, considering the number of Takada replacements needed, the number of replacements ordered, and the back-ups at repair shops. It's the same way with the huge number of GM ignition switches....some shops are still backed up wth appointments to get the new ones.

Johnhav430

Yeah it was interesting, the priority was supposed to be for older cars in a humid climate, but I'll put this out there--BMW seemed to start fixing those who had a loaner/rental first even in low humidity areas (I know this makes financial sense, I saw the invoice for my rental, it was nearly ten grand, but there was a formal plan submitted to the NHTSA). They could have been like MB and Audi who said, no loaners warranted, but BMW provided "alternate transportation" to anyone who asked. So my wife's cousin's husband told me at a bbq last August he got a call his airbag is in. I said uh-oh, bye bye rental and got the same call. That's when I decided to buy the used LS430, as I don't want to drive the 335i in the winter due to salt....I believe there are still cars not fixed yet, as I type, it's kind of sad....

BrownPride

Congrats sir!

mmarshall

Thanks. I do this about once every 5 or 6 years, but I might (?) have this one longer than that. We'll see.