GMTruckGuy74

We were able to take a VUE XR FWD out for a test-drive yesterday afternoon. My wife drove an Enclave CX FWD in the morning and last Saturday we took both a Volvo V50 2.4 (wagon) and S60 T5 (sedan) out for a spin. So far she likes the Enclave the best; however, the monthly payment is WAY beyond our range (it was a $36K model, with cloth, dvd entertainment pkg #2, polished 18" aluminum rims, and driver confidence pkg). Even at the low-end of the trim/option packages, we still can't get/afford the Enclave. But she did like it better than the Volvo, which I knew anyway. Suprisingly she liked the VUE very much. It's only two options were heated seats and chrome skid plates, but I'd want her to have the option pakage that includes the remote start. We went to the dealer I wouldn't buy from, since it was on our way to her college class last night. She also looked over the ASTRA XR 3-door in the showroom more, saying how if the interior was better designed, she'd consider it again. Next step will be to see what my preferred Saturn retailer has in-stock; no rush, as we have 5 remaining lease payments on the Envoy and I'm wondering if the Memorial Day (May) or July 4th sales would be a better time to get a great deal with no lease payments remaining on our GMC?

I wish my wife would be more excited about the VUE. Today we went and test drove the Volvo S40 sedan and V50 wagon; she loves them both. We were planning to test drive the VUE, but we left later than planned and spent way too much time at the Volvo dealership. Since we're not in a hurry to buy, I'm going to see about her driving one later next week.

Your wish is my command! (sorry some are blurry) 2008 Pontiac G8 Dealership Brochure (shown in order as you open the brochure) Close-up of artists' rendering: Shot of front & back covers: Enjoy!!!

Well, to save you some time, I'm going to answer my own questions: click here if you want to know why.

Was such a quick turn-around part of the plan??? What's the story with that, if you care to tell?

I got one today! I went to my local B-P-G dealer for regular service for the Envoy and as I waitied, I searched the brochure rack and found just one left. They're pretty cool and if you like the G8, I suggest you pick one up.

First, welcome to C&G! Second, you have great taste for selecting the GMC Sierra Denali. Third, I hate you because I can't afford the Sierra Denali and you can! (okay, I really don't hate you, but you get what I mean) The Sierra Denali comes in either 2WD (two wheel drive) or AWD (all wheel drive); if you opt for the AWD option, it is an automatic system and you have no input into its operation (compared to a part-time 4WD system). It has the 6.2 liter V8, which will not offer you the best in gas mileage - 2WD Sierra Denali's offer 12/19 MPG ratings, while AWD models have 12/18 MPG. They also come with a 26 gallon tank, so fill-ups will be expensive and often depending in your actual usage. Unlike the 5.3 liter V8, it does not offer the Active Fuel Management System. But to answer your question, the AFM system works like the AWD system - it opeartes automatically without driver input. If your driving condition does not require V8 power, then the system operates on 4 cylinders until you require more power (such as for passing or climbing ah hill). Since I don't own a truck with that engine, I can't speak firsthand on how it operates in actual driving. Transmission-wise, you're getting the heavy duty 6-speed automatic, which I understand to be one of the best transmissions out there in full-size pickups. As for monthly payments, I'd suggest you contact your bank or credit union (or whomever you'd get the loan from) and ask them for this information. Your credit score and credit history will determine what interest rate you'll receive and then you can base monthly payments on certain dollar amounts with them. This is something personal and it's not easily answered here. The GMC website's payment calculator will give you a much better estimate should you not want to go to your lender at this point. I think the GMC Sierra Denali is the ultimate in luxury pickup trucks. You could always look at the Lincoln Mark LT pickup, but I feel it's no where as nice as the GMC (and I prefer GM over Ford anyway). If a pure pickup isn't needed, you could always look at the Cadillac Escalade EXT (which is a sport utility truck). Me personally, I'd stick with the Sierra Denali. The Yukon Denali is a great luxury SUV, but it's not a pickup and if that's what you truly want, then a Yukon Denali will not make you completely satisfied. Hopefully I gave you some guidance. Ask more questions as you come up with them. I'm no expert either, so I'm sure more experienced guys will give you alternate perspectives and additional information (like WildmanJoe - he's a great "real" truck guy). By the way, here are some pictures of a 2008 GMC Sierra Denali AWD I took at the 2008 Philadelphia Auto Show recenty:

I think it's too early to know anything "official". Usually brief information starts to come out around April/May, with full information being released in July/August.

Well, that was enough to gain my attention, so I checked out the ordering guide. Seems as if it's only available on the SLE1 (3SA package) Extended & Crew Cab models and includes the following: Pro Grade Edition, includes (LY5) Vortec 5.3L V8 SFI engine, (LC9) Vortec 5.3L V8 SFI FlexFuel engine or (LMG) Vortec 5.3L V8 SFI FlexFuel engine, (G80) heavy-duty automatic locking rear differential, (Z82) heavy-duty trailering equipment, (AG1) 6-way power driver seat adjuster and (P60) 4 - 20" x 8.5" (50.8 cm x 21.6 cm) 6-spoke machined aluminum wheels 1 - Requires T*10753 or T*10543 models. Not available with (PCR) Sierra NFL Edition, (PDU) Power Pack Plus, (PDA) Texas Edition, (PEB) South Central Value Package or (PCL) California Package. When any (PCM) SLE1 Preferred Package is ordered (N88) wheels are replaced with (P60) wheels. Doesn't seem like anything special to me

God, I love that truck!

Do you have more of the GMC Denali XT? How about of any other GMCs? What, no love for GMC?!?! Boy, Pontiac is sure whoring out the bright red G5 GT coupe. Ocnblu saw the exact one you posted above at the Baltimore Auto Show, and the same one was on display at the Philly Auto Show. All with the high spoiler and dealer-installed chrome rims. I guess Pontiac wants to move more G5 GT coupes this year, huh?

Last week's Philly Auto Show only had the cut-away platform model of the Volt with TV monitors shoing the actual car. I didn't get a picture of it, but it drew a crowd around it (probably wondering what the heck it was!).

Ocn, it's probably good that you didn't do both the Baltimore AND Philly shows - most of the cars you described were on display at both shows, and many in the same colors (the G8 was a bright red in Philly though). As I read your "ramble", I recalled many of the same cars I saw at the Philly show. Good writeup!

The plain looking black V70 on display at the Philly Show stickered around $36K... the XC70 on display stickered a tad over $42K. Those are both off the list; however, I like the sporty look of the V50 more. The R-Design models, even though it's an awesome package, will more than likely be priced OVER $32-$34k, so we'll be sticking to the regular model if that's what she ends up getting. I do like them in white though, and it may be cliche' but I'd like the rims to be painted white too (you can thank the late '80s and '90s Pontiac for that). We're probably going to go & test drive a couple next Saturday, so I'll be sure to post after we do.

If you truly feel that way, get that printed on a t-shirt and wear it at any major classic car show and see the remarks you get. Legions of GTO/Cutlass/GS/Chevelle, Camaro/Firebird, Mustang, Impala, and so on and so on would greatly disagree with your opinion!

Because of the amount of miles needed in a lease to cover what she'll need, and her desire not to have a car payment for a year or two after paying the new car off, we are looking to purchase/finance whatever car she chooses. Because of my lack of Volvo knowledge & dealership experience, I would be more comfortable with her leasing the Volvo rather than buying it. However, the decision is ultimately hers to make. I will only put my foot down on a Toyota/Lexus product, as no way in is any money I make going to support that company That's also the main reason we're looking at spending no more than $30K for a new car (finances won't allow for much more). I did see the CTS lease offer that you posted BigPontiac when I was on the Caddy site yesterday. Again, she's not a leasing person (more of my doing) and would like to have one car that she really likes for a longer period of time (she really liked her '00 GP and '03 Rendezvous and was made that they had to be returned!). I will say that I like the look of the Volvo C30 and V50, especially the V50 since it's a station wagon. The S40 is nice too, but I like the bigger space that the wagon offers over the sedan. The C30 is just a cool looking car and it looks fun to drive. I'd prefer her to own a GM product, but the nice thing is that next year when I replace the AURA, she'll have little say in what I get to choose Now here are several Volvo pics from the Philly Show; they are all the uplevel and recently released R-Design trim: S40 R-Design Sedan: C30 R-Design Hatchback: And the one I like best... V50 R-Design Wagon:

No, it has nothing to do with it being all black (although that was her reason for us to get an AURA XE instead of the XR back in '06). She does not like the center stack design (too flat and not tiled/driver-oriented). I agree to an extent, as I find it very '90s-like (my '92 Cavalier was that way). Too bad GM couldn't have found a way to afford an improvement in that aspect of the ASTRA before bringing it over here (compare it to the other Saturn vehicle interiors and you have to agree that it's dated; I know that it will be a 2-year only deal, but it may be a deal breaker for some <like my wife>).

Thanks for the update. How does teh FWD handle in the snow? I have a friend that has an '03 4cyl FWD VUE and while she likes it a lot, she regrets not getting an AWD model. She claims it doesn't handle very well in the snow and doesn't look forward to driving it in those conditions. My mom has an '05 AWD and while she hates driving in the snow period, she claims the AWD handles the snow great.

Please don't kill the GMC Denali XT before it makes it to production! Best of luck to you in your career.

Thanks for the info. Please keep us updated on your mileage. After visiting the Philly Auto Show again yesterday, she looked the VUEs over and deemed that there really wasn't anything that turned her off (she just much rather have the Volvo C30/S40/V50 or a CTS instead). Since we don't have to make a decision until the summer, I'll be researching more about the VUE in the meantime. 18 MPG is better than what we get in the Envoy when she drives it on her daily 64-mile roundtrip commute (16 MPG), but seeing as how this will soley be her car, I want to see better MPG overall (currently, she takes the Envoy 2 days and uses the AURA the other 3 days of the week). Again, I will appreciate any feedback you provide in this thread (likes, dislikes, MPG averages, etc).

Thanks for the info so far. Well, the show was interesting to say the least. My wife has expensive tastes, which right now are not on the financial radar. What she wants but are not on the "list": any car priced over $30k, including the CTS and Enclave (the 2 GM's she really wants) What she deemed "unacceptable": ASTRA (due to the interior design), Cobalt, G5, HHR, Malibu (loves interior, hates exterior), Saab 9-3 What she deemed "well, if I could have sat in it I'd consider it": Pontiac G8 (though she wasn't that enthusiastic about it) What she said she wants to test-drive before seriously considering: Saturn VUE What made her heart beat faster: Volvo C30 (deemed not practical for family use), Volvo S40/V50, and likes the V70 (priced too high though) So depending on her test-drive of the Saturn VUE, plus whatever we learn about its true fuel economy mileage from owners here and elsewhere, this may be GM's one chance. The lease isn't due back untl August, so I told her that if she decides it will be "Volvo" that July would be the earliest we'd look at getting one. Of course I'm waiting for my local Pontiac dealer to get in a G8 (V6) so that she can sit in it and test drive it, but we'll have to see what games the dealers will play (hopefully no relapse of the GTO & Solstice "market price adjustments"). For the time being, if anyone can offer pro's and con's to the Saturn VUE AWD and Volvo C30/S40/V50, I'd be very appreciative!

I'm trying to explain to the wife that with her daily 64-mile roundtrip commute, a large and/or heavy vehicle should not be on her shopping list. I drive the Envoy the most during the week (at least 3 days), so that she gets better gas mileage using the AURA. So far she's interested in the Volvo S40/V50/C30 and the Saturn VUE AWD (she also wants a CTS, but they're priced beyond what we want to spend, and an Enclave, which would see 1.5 persons on a daily basis). She does not like the Cobalt, G5, and ASTRA, so those are out of the question. I'm wondering how just how efficient the VUE would be before she ends up with a Volvo?

BREAKING NEWS... she wants to check out the Saturn ASTRA again! She received her latest copy of US Weekly (woman's magazine ) and there's an ad for teh 3-door ASTRA XR. Now we went to the "ASTRA Ride & Drive" event back in the beginning of December and she walked away not too thrilled with the ASTRA (it was mostly due to the interior design). But of course a few months have passed and she sees a lot of ads for the car and I guess she's willing to give it another shot. Hopefully I'll have some good news later tonight after we get home from the Philly Show. We're not buying now because no good pull-ahead offer is being made by GM (right now we have 6 payments left; the current pull-ahead is only waiving 2 of those payments), but what she walks away wanting from this show is pretty much what we'll seriously look into when the time comes. Thanks for everyone's insights and suggestions. I'm leaving in an hour, so make more of them and I'll check back before I go.

Yeah, I know! Especially with her being a previous GP owner (2000), I'd thought she'd be excited about the new G8. She thinks it's too bland in styling (she's comparing it to the CTS btw), and she's the type that really needs to sit int he car before she'll consider one (which at this point no G8 is available to sit in). Thankfully the Envoy lease expires in August, so if we're not going the GM route for a replacement, she'll have to wait out the lease (and we'll be over mileage a bit, so she knows we'll owe GM some money too). I told her with staying in GM, we could take a pull-out program around the end of May and not owe anything on the mileage So far that plan hasn't had any effect. For comparison's sake: VS.

I already tried the Saab route, with no luck. When we go to the show again today, I will make it a point for us to sit in the 9-3 anyway. She likes the Volvo V50 wagon, but thinks the 9-3 SportCombi is ugly I'm going to also make her sit in the two VUEs again and tell me what she doesn't like about them (I was off in the Pontiac area when she sat in them). I have not given up the GM-cause yet! I want new because of the amount of miles she'll be driving each day to work (around 64 miles roundtrip). She has suggested looking at used, like a 1-2 year old car with very low miles, but I'm not sure I want a rental or off-lease car that may have been abused when driven and not well maintained. We already have the AURA XE (lease), and I'm not thrilled about buying a car I'm leasing (I'd be paying on it for way too long). Plus we're entitled to the GM Supplier Pricing through her work, so no matter where we decide to buy at, it really is a no hassle/no haggle experience. If all else fails, then yes, at least I will still buy GM.