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.
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.
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.
I'm currently in the middle of a move (fun!) so was semi-pleased when my choices for a car for the night were between our 2008 Buick Enclave, the Rondooo and the Smart. I wish we still had our trucks. Why O why did they have to go away at the same time? Anyway, the Enclave didn't let me down.Â
I was only going to fill up the SUV as much as I could since I was doing this by myself and I think the Buick, and I, did pretty well. Look at all those boxes in there. I even folded down the second-row seats and moved them out of the way so that I could put more boxes on the floor.
They were all very easy to unload, too. Not too high up.
Continue reading 2008 Buick Enclave: Helping Me Move.
In less than one week we'll be saying goodbye to our long-term Buick Enclave.
Surely I won't be the only one who'll miss the Enclave's inherent versatility, so eager to carry five kids and new Pottery Barn dining room chairs in the same weekend.
Despite a never-ending supply of test cars rolling through our garage, it's always hard to let a good one go.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 23,952 miles
You may recall my earlier post in which I ruminated over which long-term vehicle I would take to my high school reunion. Nissan GT-R? Audi R8? Cadillac CTS? Pontiac G8? Benz C300?
Would you believe, the 2008 Buick Enclave CX? I know, I know. I can hardly believe it myself. Ever since I graduated I've dreamed of rolling up to the valet at my high school reunion in a fine Buick SUV. Haven't we all? And now my wife and I have lived that dream.
Continue reading 2008 Buick Enclave: Reunion Stand-in.
I put about 600 highway miles on our Enclave over the Labor Day weekend. There were
no surprises -- the Buick was enjoyable for the entire trip. Given that the Enclave has almost 23,000 miles on it, I kept an ear out for squeaks and rattles. I heard only one intermittent rattle coming from the lower part of the center stack.
I had my wife and one-year-old daughter with me, and the Enclave easily handled a weekend's amount of stuff. In the photo are two suitcases, a folded Pack 'n Play playpen and two duffle bags. Buick officially lists cargo capacity behind the second-row seats at 67.5 cubic feet. That's pretty much what you'll get out of a typical small crossover with all the rear seats folded. For this trip, the Buick's interior roominess actually felt like overkill for a small family.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 22,978 miles
Ever take a break from a car and come back to it only to find that it's not quite how you remember it? That was me last week when I took the keys to our Buick Enclave. I had last driven it six months ago. When pulling out of the Edmunds parking garage, the Buick seemed like a big bowl of mush, with a squishy brake pedal, a wallowing ride and vague steering. I didn't remember it being this bad.
Then again, I had been driving our Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution around for two weeks prior to the Buick. My perspective had been skewed.
Now that I have acclimated to the Enclave (again), we're best friends.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 22,337 miles
Last night I pulled in my driveway after a pleasant drive home and watched the odometer on our long-term 2008 Buick Enclave click exactly 22,000 miles. Brought a tear to my eye. Not really, but I thought I'd give the haters out there something to comment on.
Anyway, the power steering problem, which as been the truck's only reliability hiccup, is fixed and everything on the vehicle seems to feel as new. Brakes, suspension, engine, transmission? It all feels good. Even the SUV's tires still look new.
And we're not finished yet. We've only had the Enclave since November first, which means there's still three full months left on this 12 month test. We'll keep you posted, meanwhile I'll continue my quest to acclimate to the Buick's fuzzy cloth seats. Who the hell ordered this thing without leather anyway?
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 22,008 miles
Thursday July 24th I brought our Long-Term Buick Enclave back to Santa Monica Auto group to address the continued problems we've been having with the power steering. Late afternoon on Wednesday June 30, our Enclave was fixed and back in our hands.
The wait was expected, Santa Monica Buick called us late Friday to let us know that the problem had been diagnosed and that new parts had to be ordered. Parts included a new power steering pump, a new steering rack, and new hoses. The parts, they said, would be in on Tuesday and the job should be finished Wednesday. A rental car was offered but declined.
In a past life Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds (no relation) developed steering systems for a major manufacturer and, upon road testing the vehicle, said that when the first pump failed it had probably contaminated the fluid with pump-parts that were now lodged in the rack. Turns out he was correct, that was the exact diagnosis that GM came up with and remedied.
After the fix we were contacted by GM to discuss the situation. They let us know that replacing the pump first is standard operating procedure as contamination is not a guarantee. The dealership, however, should have road-tested the vehicle further, found the flaw, and replaced the rack on the first visit. None of this should ever have hit the consumer. They also made it very clear that errant dust from our dirt road trip had nothing to do with the pump's failure, though the high-rpm churning required to not get stuck may have exacerbated the issue. Bear in mind that the same amount of wheelspin and engine use will be required by every driver to keep momentum up in the snow-belt.
All-in-all it was a fine visit with a good amount of communication and information from the dealer level. And the best part is, the Buick is back and it feels just as solid as it did before.
Days out of service: 6
Cost: 0.00
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 21,638 miles.
This morning I dropped the Buick Enclave back at Santa Monica Chevrolet Buick to fix the ailing power steering that's kept the big Buick sidelined for the past few days.
They said they'd have an idea of the problem by this afternoon. We'll keep you posted when we get any news.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 21,200 miles.
The power steering problems we've been having with our long term 2008 Buick Enclave have been well documented in this blog, but you still don't know the whole story. What we haven't told you is that the power steering trouble started soon after this little off road excurstion.
Now I'm not sure the two are definitely related, and we have no way of knowing if they are for sure, but it wasn't long (a week or two) after we drove the SUV through this silty dirt for several hours that the power steering got funky.
I'll also admit that the front-wheel drive Enclave isn't really geared up for such terrain. Although it never got stuck, it did struggle through some of the deeper sections. And it was clear and no surprise to its passengers that the Enclave wanted back on the highway as soon as possible.
Still, it is our job is to test a vehicle, and any SUV should be able to drive though some dirt without having major systems failure soon after. Again, I'm not saying this off road adventure (for sure) caused our power steering failure, but the timing is suspect.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
There's been some discussion of late as to my reasons for removing the engine cover from our long term Buick Enclave. One commenter said, "I think it's silly the stuff he complains about." While another backed me up "I think it could make a nice plant potter or recycle bin filler. It has no reason to be in the engine bay." But nobody hit the real reason the engine cover now lives in the trunk of the Buick: After only a few minutes of driving, the cover gets far too hot to touch.
Well that's not a problem, right? I mean, with the oil filler and dipstick available without removing the cover, what's the problem?
The problem is the power steering. It's still not right and we've been monitoring the fluid for the past few weeks. After a proper bleeding procedure there was still some air in the fluid that had to work itself out. Now that the fluid is running clear and the level is correct, there's still a problem. The assist is notchy and all the boost is all over the place. It goes from far too over-boosted to nearly power-free in the span of a 30-degree rotation. There are no set "good" spots, assist will fluctuate mid-corner without changing steering angle. I hate to say this, but it feels exactly how our Aura felt before it went to the shop. Though thankfully there is no clunk.
It will be going back to the shop shortly.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 21,120 miles.
Remember last week, when Magrath discovered the Enclave's oil cap is all that's keeping on the engine cover? Remember when he said, "If it were my Enclave the first piece to go in the trash would be that silly cover."
Well, he didn't put it in the trash. No no, he put it in the Enclave's trunk. Yeah buddy, much better. When I took my first turn in the big Buick last Friday, a great big plastic thwack eminated from behind the erected third row. "What the hell was that?" I pondered, not used to items being left in our fleet vehicles.
When I popped the hatch I came upon the sight above. Does this have any real effect on Buick Enclave ownership? Not really. I just felt like airing inter-office grievances on the World Wide Interweb. Tomorrow I'll be complaining that Josh Sadlier leaves the cap off the non-dairy creamer.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 21,030 miles
"I wouldn't take it down if I were you. That's a load-bearing poster." - Bart to Rod (or Todd)
Like the Krusty the Clown poster holding up the walls of the Flanderseses poorly rebuild home, the oil-filler cap has more responsibility in the Enclave's engine bay than a filler-tube cap should probably have.
See, in order to remove the engine cover (the thing that lets people pretend engines are neat, tidy, clean and sanitary; not smelly blocks of metal bursting with tangles of wires and, literally, full of devastating explosions) you have to unscrew the oil cap. The cover is sitting atop a few posts that are fairly secure, but the cap is the only thing that screws, latches, or clamps it in place. Not a big deal you say? It's a clever way to access the tube without removing the cover, you say? Well, yes, that's correct. Also though, with the cap located at the bottom of a shallow well, each time you open it small bits of sand and dust fall into the tube. I refuse to Hoover my engine before checking the oil. I don't know how much sand the Enclave can tolerate in its oil, but if it's more than none this is a pretty poor design element.
If it were my Enclave the first piece to go in the trash would be that silly cover. But then I'd have to look at this:
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 21,000 miles
November 6, 2009 9:44 AM
Big List of Fuel Economy: October 2009
November 2, 2009 4:00 PM
2009 Suzuki SX4: Getting Looks
November 2, 2009 11:54 AM
