GM Rental Car

[Oaktree]

The Camry has been in production and development since about 1986, given the rapid advancement and improvements Toyota makes in their cars I am surprised you didn't like the one you drove. Will you tell us what you didn't like about it?

Uncomfortable driving position, very cramped feeling for a car of it's size (for some reason, it seemed like there was more legroom in the backseat than the front...whose bright idea was that?). I thought the controls, etc. were badly thought out, awkwardly placed, etc. Kind of tinny feeling (ugly too, but that's subjective).

I've never seen anything that convinced me that their cars were any better than anyone else's, marketing hype notwithstanding.

I had a chance to drive a Nissan Altima recently and was rather impressed with it. Never really gave them much thought one way or the other previously.

 

[JDgreen227]

We tryed both 2010 malibu and the Impala.. Liked malibu better, then the salesman became a pain, and would not order a 4 cyl with a 6 speed trans..Why so much extra for a six-speed,?? Insane.. What happened to the customer having rights..So no GM for us???

Does anybody remember back in the 70's when you could get half a dozen engine choices in a full size Ford, take your pick of different transmissions and a whole slew of axle ratios in the Torino line, etc? We used to have a LOT more choices of equipment in cars. My '04 Lesabre was available with ONE engine, one transmission choice, one final drive ratio. I would have preferred to have a smaller V6 (3.1 liter) and slightly lower axle ratio available. No, couldn't get those.

Seems automakers today have a "take it or leave it" attitude towards customers.

 

[dmccarty]

We flew in to Ft Lauderdale yesterday. ...

Going to the Strip for Spring Break?

When I was growing up in that area of FLA many of the old people, and especially the Snow Birds, had big huge land yachts. Never could understand it. You would see a little old blue haired lady driving with her head barley above the steering wheel.

Now that I am older, but not that older, and certainly not a little old lady with blue hair, I am tired of cars I have to crawl into. I really do like my truck. Comfortable to drive in especially on long trips. Given my commute is 45 minutes each way I spend quite a bit of time in the truck. I certainly don't want to have to crawl into a car.

Course the truck is a PITA if I have to park in the city. But thankfully that is not often.

These cars today are small even if they lie and call the car a mid size. Mid size to what? An MG? :laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[JDgreen227]

Going to the Strip for Spring Break?

When I was growing up in that area of FLA many of the old people, and especially the Snow Birds, had big huge land yachts. Never could understand it. You would see a little old blue haired lady driving with her head barley above the steering wheel.

Now that I am older, but not that older, and certainly not a little old lady with blue hair, I am tired of cars I have to crawl into. I really do like my truck. Comfortable to drive in especially on long trips. Given my commute is 45 minutes each way I spend quite a bit of time in the truck. I certainly don't want to have to crawl into a car.

Course the truck is a PITA if I have to park in the city. But thankfully that is not often.

These cars today are small even if they lie and call the car a mid size. Mid size to what? An MG? :laughing:

Later,
Dan

Well, Dan....today we are being sold 1.5 quart ice cream containers instead of what used to be a half gallon....you pays the same money (or more) for the smaller package. Why should cars be any different?

 

[jwstewar]

The car is a 2012 and the seats are power except for the seat back, which is manual.

I guess I was expecting something great after all the gov't money poured into the company. Also I have driven a new Altima and a new Mazda 6 recently. Same size and price and the Impala is not half the vehicle.

They need to put the GM truck engineers in the car dept.

I had to travel for work a couple of months ago. We had a Mazda 6 for a rental car. Man that car sucked. Uncomfortable, road rough, and a lot of road noise. I think it had 3k miles on it. All 3 of us complained how uncomfortable the seats were. We were actually fighting to see who got to sit in the back seat as it was less uncomfortable than the front. When we do the trip again, I will request something besides a Mazda 6.

 

[jonyyuma]

Does anybody remember back in the 70's when you could get half a dozen engine choices in a full size Ford, take your pick of different transmissions and a whole slew of axle ratios in the Torino line, etc? We used to have a LOT more choices of equipment in cars. My '04 Lesabre was available with ONE engine, one transmission choice, one final drive ratio. I would have preferred to have a smaller V6 (3.1 liter) and slightly lower axle ratio available. No, couldn't get those.

Seems automakers today have a "take it or leave it" attitude towards customers.

Yes, Remember well, just how custom it could be 1966-1971..I had a Senior flash a year ago and decided to buy a sporty model..Camero came to mind..Dealers refused the idea of ordering a V-6 model for me, with 6 speed automatic...Afterall they had a lot full of SS models and big v-8 engines??? I don't need to feel the rumble any more and my hearing is failing?? I pay more attention to buying just as efficient engine as i can, still avoiding an electric model.. I decided to keep my Highlander , until i get the urge again?

 

[JDgreen227]

Yes, Remember well, just how custom it could be 1966-1971..I had a Senior flash a year ago and decided to buy a sporty model..Camero came to mind..Dealers refused the idea of ordering a V-6 model for me, with 6 speed automatic...Afterall they had a lot full of SS models and big v-8 engines??? I don't need to feel the rumble any more and my hearing is failing?? I pay more attention to buying just as efficient engine as i can, still avoiding an electric model.. I decided to keep my Highlander , until i get the urge again?

The only really fast car I ever had was a '70 Mach 1 with a 351 4V and 4 speed. Today's V-6 Camaro could probably outdrag my old pony car and get 2X the gas mileage to boot. It amazes me that car makers today are building 450 hp engines when the speed limit is 70 mph and gas is $4 a gallon. Nobody needs 450 hp for ANY reason. Wife's car is a 3 liter Saturn L-300, that is the standard engine (182 hp) and it is quite overpowered for a 3100 pound sedan.

 

[JDgreen227]

I find it more amazing to see the cars coming with 140-160 mph speedometers. :confused2:

My '04 Lesabre has one that reads to 140...like an old fart like me will ever go over 70 !!!

 

[jonyyuma]

My '04 Lesabre has one that reads to 140...like an old fart like me will ever go over 70 !!!

YES, it is silly of them to put in 450hp plus,on any of the family cars. Plus the fancy 140 mph speedos...Like auto makers have no clue as to proper uses..Neither of our new cars have seen over 80 mph and it takes that to stay out of the way in Texas and Alabama, or Florida..Best mileage is about 60-67 mph...they have 4 cylinders and double cams for 170hp.. I wanted the V-6 as it runs plenty fast and gets 30 mpg as a average??Then they wonder why more people don't want their product??

 

[JDgreen227]

Every time I read a story about a high speed pursuit by the police, I wonder why people are even permitted to buy cars that will exceed 80 mph to begin with....my wife's older brother has a late model Corvette and he has told me his will do at least 145, because he had driven it that fast. I couldn't even afford the insurance on one of these !