GM's automatic headlights, again...

JohnH wrote:
> >> On my jeep I can manually override this if I choose by quickly
> >> switching the lights from AUTO to OFF and back to AUTO after I shut
> >> off the engine. Maybe it'll work for you too.
> >
> > no such position. Switch has "auto" "park" "on" positions, no "off."
> >
> > Which is another gripe that has already been discussed here... :/
>
> Wow. No wonder people hate GM so much. What crap.

Followup: DRLs were changed to low beam sometime between '02 and '05.
Has GM seen the light? (intended...) we can only hope. I did figure
out how to disable the "feature" that leaves your lights on after you
shut the car off. With low beam DRLs most of my objections to the
lighting have gone away, while I am still not ecstatic about the auto
headlights - I can live with them.

Actually the car is one of those love/hate things. It actually drives
better than I have come to expect. There's actually a decent about of
feedback through the steering wheel and brake pedal. It's still a
wallowy pig, but nowhere near as bad as GMs I've driven in the past.
(I called my '02 GTI a wallowy pig as well, so perhaps my taste in cars
leans towards the go-kartish.) It's inoffensively styled, much nicer
than just about every other GM design on the market, even if I wouldn't
nominate it for any design awards. I was, overall, pleasantly
surprised at it being decent. That said...

it's friggin' gutless. the 3400 is a joke in the Impala, it would be
acceptable in a Cavalier maybe. It actually doesn't appear as a
problem however until you actually try to accelerate quickly however -
I have next to no respect for that whole engine family but the
objectionable noises and vibes seem to have been mostly eradicated. It
just doesn't have enough beans to get the job done. The tranny
downshifts at a sneeze on the gas pedal, but it has to because of the
gutless engine and super-mega-overdrive top gear (not really a bad
thing, if you are doing a lot of driving on flat highways.) It's
fairly inoffensive; if GM hasn't forgotten how to build a durable auto
trans like Ford and Chrysler apparently have, I don't have anything bad
to say about the tranny. Also it is decontented to the point of pain;
IMHO the back seat would be inexcusable in a Hyundai and the fact that
it doesn't fold down is ludicrous (yeah, I know, a folding seat is
optional, but still... what is the point of buying a car that big if
you can't haul stuff and don't want to sit in the back?) there are no
gauges (yeah, I know, the 3800 gets a real dashboard but that wasn't
part of the fleet deal) and there's still a few ergonomic gaffes like
the parking brake, the shift lever that blocks the little thumbwheels
for the dash vent, stuff like that. And the stereo is all bassy and
unpleasant - I'm sure it appeals to the ghetto crowd but come on, would
a little sophistication really kill ya? Too bad they tied all these
stupid other functions to the stereo; I would really like to try an
aftermarket head unit.

So yet again GM manages to **** me off by offering (for a shockingly
high price - sticker was something in the neighborhood of $23K) a car
that still feels inferior to similarly priced offerings by VW and
others that I've traditionally been interested in. Verdict: I can
live with the car but I sure as hell would never have paid my own money
for it.

Now if they'd get rid of some of the useless crap like the auto-light
gimcrackery and offer a better engine, heated leather seats with a
folding rear seat, and fix the ergonomic mistakes instead, they might
have something... Maybe a police package would be more my taste, if I
could get the fleet lady to order me one next time around

nate

"N8N" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
>
> JohnH wrote:
>> >> On my jeep I can manually override this if I choose by quickly
>> >> switching the lights from AUTO to OFF and back to AUTO after I shut
>> >> off the engine. Maybe it'll work for you too.
>> >
>> > no such position. Switch has "auto" "park" "on" positions, no "off."
>> >
>> > Which is another gripe that has already been discussed here... :/
>>
>> Wow. No wonder people hate GM so much. What crap.
>
> Followup: DRLs were changed to low beam sometime between '02 and '05.
> Has GM seen the light? (intended...) we can only hope. I did figure
> out how to disable the "feature" that leaves your lights on after you
> shut the car off. With low beam DRLs most of my objections to the
> lighting have gone away, while I am still not ecstatic about the auto
> headlights - I can live with them.
>
> Actually the car is one of those love/hate things. It actually drives
> better than I have come to expect. There's actually a decent about of
> feedback through the steering wheel and brake pedal. It's still a
> wallowy pig, but nowhere near as bad as GMs I've driven in the past.
> (I called my '02 GTI a wallowy pig as well, so perhaps my taste in cars
> leans towards the go-kartish.) It's inoffensively styled, much nicer
> than just about every other GM design on the market, even if I wouldn't
> nominate it for any design awards. I was, overall, pleasantly
> surprised at it being decent. That said...
>
> it's friggin' gutless. the 3400 is a joke in the Impala, it would be
> acceptable in a Cavalier maybe. It actually doesn't appear as a
> problem however until you actually try to accelerate quickly however -
> I have next to no respect for that whole engine family but the
> objectionable noises and vibes seem to have been mostly eradicated. It
> just doesn't have enough beans to get the job done. The tranny
> downshifts at a sneeze on the gas pedal, but it has to because of the
> gutless engine and super-mega-overdrive top gear (not really a bad
> thing, if you are doing a lot of driving on flat highways.) It's
> fairly inoffensive; if GM hasn't forgotten how to build a durable auto
> trans like Ford and Chrysler apparently have, I don't have anything bad
> to say about the tranny. Also it is decontented to the point of pain;
> IMHO the back seat would be inexcusable in a Hyundai and the fact that
> it doesn't fold down is ludicrous (yeah, I know, a folding seat is
> optional, but still... what is the point of buying a car that big if
> you can't haul stuff and don't want to sit in the back?) there are no
> gauges (yeah, I know, the 3800 gets a real dashboard but that wasn't
> part of the fleet deal) and there's still a few ergonomic gaffes like
> the parking brake, the shift lever that blocks the little thumbwheels
> for the dash vent, stuff like that. And the stereo is all bassy and
> unpleasant - I'm sure it appeals to the ghetto crowd but come on, would
> a little sophistication really kill ya? Too bad they tied all these
> stupid other functions to the stereo; I would really like to try an
> aftermarket head unit.
>
> So yet again GM manages to **** me off by offering (for a shockingly
> high price - sticker was something in the neighborhood of $23K) a car
> that still feels inferior to similarly priced offerings by VW and
> others that I've traditionally been interested in. Verdict: I can
> live with the car but I sure as hell would never have paid my own money
> for it.
>
> Now if they'd get rid of some of the useless crap like the auto-light
> gimcrackery and offer a better engine, heated leather seats with a
> folding rear seat, and fix the ergonomic mistakes instead, they might
> have something... Maybe a police package would be more my taste, if I
> could get the fleet lady to order me one next time around
>
> nate

Yes, the ridiculous GM "gimcrackery" has to go. Hmmm...wonder where we've
heard that before!

In article .com>,
N8N > wrote:
>IMHO the back seat would be inexcusable in a Hyundai and the fact that
>it doesn't fold down is ludicrous (yeah, I know, a folding seat is
>optional, but still... what is the point of buying a car that big if
>you can't haul stuff and don't want to sit in the back?) there are no
>gauges (yeah, I know, the 3800 gets a real dashboard but that wasn't
>part of the fleet deal)

If you wanted to haul stuff, why didn't you pick a Malibu MAXX instead
of an Impala? It would still have the 3.5L from the same family as the
3.4L that you don't really like, but the 3.5L supposedly has more power
and better fuel economy than the older 3.4L.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Timothy J. Lee wrote:
> In article .com>,
> N8N > wrote:
> >IMHO the back seat would be inexcusable in a Hyundai and the fact that
> >it doesn't fold down is ludicrous (yeah, I know, a folding seat is
> >optional, but still... what is the point of buying a car that big if
> >you can't haul stuff and don't want to sit in the back?) there are no
> >gauges (yeah, I know, the 3800 gets a real dashboard but that wasn't
> >part of the fleet deal)
>
> If you wanted to haul stuff, why didn't you pick a Malibu MAXX instead
> of an Impala? It would still have the 3.5L from the same family as the
> 3.4L that you don't really like, but the 3.5L supposedly has more power
> and better fuel economy than the older 3.4L.

Didn't have a choice. Apparently there's this whole heirarchy of what
people get what cars and due to the fact that I have "manager" in my
job title, I automatically get the more "upmarket" car, i.e. the
Impala. Plus i think we're supposed to have big cars in case we need
to wine 'n' dine any customers.

I actually thought about seeing if I could "downgrade" to a Malibu
(non-Maxx version) to get a slightly sportier ride, but I don't like
the styling at all. Also only having worked for the company a couple
weeks I'm not really in a position to be making special requests yet.

nate

> Didn't have a choice. Apparently there's this whole heirarchy of what
> people get what cars and due to the fact that I have "manager" in my
> job title, I automatically get the more "upmarket" car, i.e. the
> Impala. Plus i think we're supposed to have big cars in case we need
> to wine 'n' dine any customers.
>
> I actually thought about seeing if I could "downgrade" to a Malibu
> (non-Maxx version) to get a slightly sportier ride, but I don't like
> the styling at all. Also only having worked for the company a couple
> weeks I'm not really in a position to be making special requests yet.
>
> nate
>

I know what you mean. Companies like to give the same vehicle to the same
type of worker, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. One company I
worked for was constantly complaining about how much gas I used in the
company vehicle that I was required to drive. Never mind that the vehicle
had a HUGE V6 engine which I didn't need, as I was always alone, and only
carried about 50 pounds of stuff with me. A base model corolla or civic
would have been a more appropriate vehicle for what I was using it for. And
I wouldn't have had to listen to the higher-ups complain about all the gas I
was using. (well, they still might have complained, but my fuel costs would
have been cut in HALF, so I doubt if they would have complained AS MUCH)
And honestly, I would have been happier driving the corolla or civic also,
as I prefer small cars. -Dave