Long-Term Road Tests

Magrath: Okay, by training you're a scholar of religion, and I'm a journalist. So let's dive headfirst into a heated, highly sensitive, incredibly difficult business topic: Detroit.
Magrath: You cannot be relevant with a headquarters in the midwest. You can't be impartial and forward-thinking when 8/10ths of the people in your area depend upon you and buy your products.

Continue reading 2008 Pontiac G8 GT, et al.: Textcast -- How To Fix GM, Part II.

Categories: 2006 Pontiac Solstice,2007 Cadillac SRX,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Chevrolet Tahoe,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Pontiac G8 GT

Sadlier: So, continuing its pattern of hiring random people to do important things, GM taps us to be the guys who make sure that the new GM is devoid of the stupid stuff that plagued old GM. Where do we start?
Magrath: I suppose we start from the outside in. It's how I pick my books and women; why not evaluate companies likewise?
Sadlier: Good, let's focus on outer beauty. It's the LA way.
Magrath : GM has never really had a problem selling to GM fans, so the trick, it would seem, is to get non-GM folks to take the cars seriously. This means that Chevrolet, the largest and most important brand, needs to ditch the bowtie.
Sadlier : The bowtie is obviously tainted, but I think it's potentially salvageable. Hire a design firm with money they don't have and sex it up.
Magrath : Salvageable? Except for Colonel Sanders and Tucker Carlson, who wears a bowtie? And as you may recall from Jon Stewart's pummeling of Tucker , the bowtie was a key part of Stewart's argument that what Tucker did on Crossfire is theater and not real news. Bowties are gags.
Magrath : They could try to sex it up, but that would end with the thing being a bolo tie like you see at rodeos or in Arizona. There'd be turquoise and a cow skull...not good.
Magrath : Besides James Bond, whom I don't think GM wants to evoke unless the new Camaro is a submersible, name something positive associated with a bowtie.
Sadlier : Ummm...the tuxedo? 17th-century Croatian mercenaries ? Balzac ? Hell, the Playboy bunny wears a bowtie. This is too easy.
Sadlier : The bowtie can rise again. Just not in its current form.
Magrath : Fine, then if GM is sticking with a bowtie, Lexus should switch from a stylized "L" to a mawashi .
Sadlier : Deal.
Magrath : And GM cars should be available only in black and white, or in Croatia.
Sadlier : ...with your choice of a complimentary Playboy playmate or French novel.
Magrath : I'm in.

Continue reading 2008 Pontiac G8 GT, et al.: Textcast -- How To Fix GM, Part I.

Categories: 2007 Cadillac SRX,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Chevrolet Tahoe,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Pontiac G8 GT

I was thinking the other day (always a dangerous proposition, I know) and wondering how all the current (or really, really recently departed) Edmunds/Inside Line long-term vehicles stack up against each other in fuel economy, at least the fuel economy we've been recording during their time with us. So I made a list. For you and for me. In case we were both wondering.

The only current vehicles missing from my list are the Audi R8 and the Dodge Grand Caravan, and that's because no one has entered any fuel data into the tracking spreadsheet for those vehicles yet. The very top and the very bottom of the list aren't going to surprise anybody (I don't think), but the middle is kinda interesting. Seeing the Rondo and the WRX so close to each other made me raise my eyebrows. Ditto the Ford GT's spot above the Veracruz. Ready to check it all out? Follow the jump with me.

Continue reading The Big List of Fuel Economy.

Categories: 2002 BMW M3,2004 Toyota Prius,2005 Ford GT,2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDI,2006 Lexus RX 400h,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Ford Edge SEL,2007 Honda Civic GX,2007 Honda Fit Sport,2007 Kia Rondo,2007 Saturn Aura XR,2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab,2008 BMW 135i,2008 BMW X5 4.8i,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe,2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6,2008 Hyundai Veracruz SE AWD,2008 Mazda CX-9,2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport,2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2008 Scion xB,2008 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe,2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Nissan GT-R

I left the office late last night heading down Wilshire when I noticed a whistling sound. The last time I drove the Silverado the transmission blew up on me. I was worried. After listening intently I noticed the back window was slightly ajar. I didn't even know this thing had a back window!

Relieved, I pulled over to close it. It was then I noticed it wasn't mechanical, but powered. Where was the switch? I searched and searched but I couldn't find it. RTFM? Yes, I reverted to the manual.

Continue reading 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT: Blowin' In The Wind(ow).

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

If you can remember, the transmission in our Silverado grenaded about a week ago. And while I'm sure I'm not the first person to drive it since its return, I still wondered if it was a good idea to take it home.

Twenty minutes later I coasted to a stop. In front of my house. Anti-climactic, I know but it seems the work done by Santa Monica Chevrolet did the trick and the Silverado can now return to schelpping us and our half-caf double mocha organic soy lattes around Southern California.


Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 31,505 miles

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

Last week's Silverado cliffhanger left off with our trusty Chevy being towed to Santa Monica Chevrolet after the transmission decided to take an early Fourth of July vacation. GM Roadside Assistance handled the tow as the truck is still under warranty. It was efficient and quick, I was pleased.

Today's thrilling conclusion begins later that same day:

I called Santa Monica Chevy a few hours after the tow truck left to see if they had a chance to look at the truck. Our service advisor had said earlier that they may get to it that day, but most likely it would be Tuesday morning. I took the chance and called anyways. To my surprise they had looked at it and he was frank with his diagnosis:

"We've had a rash of these lately. The input housing busting as the mileage gets up there. It should be ready by Wednesday." 

I left them alone and waited for a call on Wednesday. It came around 2:00PM and said that the truck was ready. The forward clutch sprag was replaced -- they did not, as some commenters had assumed, replaced the transmission with a refurbished unit -- and the transmission was, again, reconditioned. Two days to tear into a transmission and have it back in our hands? Not bad. But if they have, in fact, had "a rash" of these, it may have saved a lot of time in diagnosis and parts availability. There is also a TSB out on this issue, NHTSA ITEM NUMBER - 10021018.

The good news: Drive works and the transmission is again able to use all gears.

The bad news: The transmission doesn't shift any smoother than it did before the sprag failure.

Days out of service: 3
Cost to us: $0.00

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 31,485 miles.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

On the eve of Independence Day, I thought I'd peruse our garage for the most American metal. Amongst the many long-termers presently in the long-term fleet, we have quite the selection of cars built by domestic makers. Some are excellent representives of this great land, others ... not so much. And that's not counting the pretty cool American cars that reside in our editors' own garages: Trans Ams, Challengers, Corvettes and Schmidt's big ol' F-150.

Of course, what constitutes an American car these days is up for debate given the Focus is hecho en Mexico and our Hyundai Veracruz is hecho en Alabama. But I'll leave those determinations up to you. And the nominees for our Most American Car are...

Buick Enclave

Cadillac CTS

Chevy Silverado

Dodge Caravan (oh dear god, I hope not)

Ford Edge

Ford Focus

Ford GT

Pontiac G8 GT

Saturn Aura

James Riswick, Automotive Editor

Categories: 2005 Ford GT,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Ford Edge SEL,2007 Saturn Aura XR,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT,2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe,2008 Pontiac G8 GT

We have talked about the transmission in our Silverado before and the less than smooth shift from first to second. I can't tell you that it has gotten any better or any worse but there does seem to be a new noise related to the transmission. Now when shifting into drive from neutral there is a pause and then a clunk as the gear engages. I don't remember the shift from neutral to drive sounding so violent in the previous times I have driven our Silverado. I'm not sure if this is just a sign of aging or if something will need to be done about it, but I am sure we will keep you updated

Seth Compton, Broadband Production Coordinator @ 31,198 miles

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

Trucks are better than cars. How do I know? Our Silverado has more than 30,000 miles on the clock while many of our long term cars struggle to reach 20k in a year. True, we've had the Chevy a little longer than a year but there's a reason the Nissan Versa struggled to its 16,000 miles in one year and the Hyundai Azera to its 18,500 and the Toyota RAV4 its 19,400 - they weren't as useful and people didn't like driving them that much...

Continue reading 2007 Chevrolet Silverado: Tell Me Why I'm Wrong.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

While driving the Silverado into the office this morning, I noticed some wear and tear on the steering wheel's silverish plastic trim. The black plastic beneath the silverish paint is showing through on the left side (in closer detail below) from obvious wear caused by drivers' left hands. There's also a spec chipped off on the right. Our big Chevy now has 30,737 miles on it, so if this is typical, it could be important to note given this same steering wheel appears in most of GM's trucks and SUVs. Over more miles, this could start to look bad and be detrimental when it comes time to sell. It's certainly not consistent with the rest of the interior's wear and tear.

Our Enclave has the same wheel design, although it has a different type of painted plastic trim in that area (lower-level Acadias seem to share the Silverado's). Given that there's a good chance the Enclave will also hit 30K (we do love it so), I'll make note if it shows similar wear.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 30,737 miles

Continue reading 2007 Chevy Silverado: Wear and Tear at 30K.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

The 10-year-old boy in me lived a life-long dream this past weekend when I attended a taping of "American Gladiators." Now, Hulk Hogan is no Larry Czonka and there was a disappointing lack of teal and pink No Fear wife beaters decorating the crowd, but heck, it was sure fun. They were only doing one event (which still took 2 hours to film four contestants), but it was Hang Tough and we got to yell out such classic heckling as "Oh yeah, scissor her! Yeah scissor!" Plus, I got a high-five from Wolf. Not Tower, Turbo or Laser, but certainly the awesomest new Gladiator...

Continue reading 2007 Chevrolet Silverado: An American Gladiator.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

Our long term Silverado just returned from service at S&J Chevrolet  in Cerritos, Ca. Oil and filter change plus tire rotation rang up a bill of $67.96.

Before and after the dealership visit, I drove the Silverado extensively and really love the center storage area - In past week, I've stuffed tons of junk in it. Contents this trip - wallet, hard sunglasses case, two DVD cases, two Quaker granola bars, bottled water, Garmin nav system, two packets of seeds, three Sharpie pens and a notepad...

Continue reading 2007 Chevrolet Silverado: Oil Change.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

Like so much congealed cheese oozing from a burnt, three day old Hot Pocket, the foam from our Silverado's driver seat is starting to show through a tear in the upholstery.

It's not a big deal. I'm sure it could be stitched back together. But it's a truck, so does it really matter?


Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 26,616 miles

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT

Here's one clear way in which the Chevrolet Silverado gets it right, and the Toyota Tundra gets it wrong.

Continue reading 2007 Chevrolet Silverado: Tundra-topper...in at least one way.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab

My husband's Xtracycle needed some professional help this weekend, so I grabbed the keys to our long-term Chevrolet Silverado, and we made a trip to the bike shop.

I was so happy to have a reason to need a full-size truck and was all ready to write a post about the trip (it was an uneventful success), but then, as I was walking along the outside of the truck, the light of the setting sun hit the fuel filler door just right, and I noticed the unsightly chipped paint you see in the photos. The chips, near as I can tell, are due to normal fuel fill-ups. And so I post this question to you: Are our editors extremely uncoordinated, or is it unreasonable to expect a factory paint job to maintain its integrity in Southern California for 25,000 miles?

I also noticed that we haven’t given you an update on the truck’s fuel economy since June 2007...

Continue reading 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT: Fuel Goes In, Paint Comes Off?.

Categories: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT