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Post by 1013jess on Apr 5, 2015 6:18:20 GMT -6
Anyones garage include a 06-08 Impala SS..? Does Impala SS compare welll to the classic aurora ...? What other car models make for a comparable daily driver?
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98redaurora
Aurora Driver
This is not your fathers Oldsmobile.
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Post by 98redaurora on Apr 5, 2015 9:39:14 GMT -6
Well the Impala SS is faster.
Bonneville SSEi seems to be pretty comparable.
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Post by Toronado3800 on Apr 6, 2015 6:31:34 GMT -6
We have a similar era pick up at work with the 5.3L. I seem to remember the boss complaining about noisy lifters being a thing...can't say I have noticed. I don't recall any head gasket or other weird issues with them. Maybe this is a good choice for my next car when I move into the 2000's lol. Right now my 97 Aurora and 212,000 mile 98 MarkVIII split duties as my daily drivers.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Apr 6, 2015 6:36:49 GMT -6
'04-'05 Bonneville GXP, has a 4.6 Northstar, similar front and rear suspension to the Aurora, but all upgraded, bigger brakes and exhaust. I have not driven one, but I would guess the interior is not as nice as the Aurora, our seats will hold you for days comfortably.
Buick Lucerne is also similar, sometimes called the 3rd gen Aurora, you can get them with the 4.6 Northstar, bigger brakes, better suspension, all similar to Aurora. Lucerne sub-frames and all parts will bolt on to '98-'03 Auroras.
I would also include any newer V8 Cadillac in the mix, I don't care for the leg room on some.
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Post by Toronado3800 on Apr 7, 2015 6:39:57 GMT -6
'04-'05 Bonneville GXP, has a 4.6 Northstar, similar front and rear suspension to the Aurora, but all upgraded, bigger brakes and exhaust. I have not driven one, but I would guess the interior is not as nice as the Aurora, our seats will hold you for days comfortably. Buick Lucerne is also similar, sometimes called the 3rd gen Aurora, you can get them with the 4.6 Northstar, bigger brakes, better suspension, all similar to Aurora. Lucerne sub-frames and all parts will bolt on to '98-'03 Auroras. I would also include any newer V8 Cadillac in the mix, I don't care for the leg room on some. Interesting. There are some choices then. Out of the 5.3s and the newer Northstars above mentioned which are the least prone to issues? Any if them have easy to change alternators? My mini Northstar is pretty smooth. I have not driven a 5.3 car yet. In a P/U its an acceptable heir to the old small block |
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Post by rorafan on Apr 7, 2015 11:09:12 GMT -6
I'd say the 04-'05 Bonneville GXP w/ 4.6 or the Lucerne Super (yes, there is such a thing) are probably the closest. If you're leaning towards the Impala SS, there is also the LaCrosse Super with the 5.3. IMO, more Olds and Aurora-like than the Impala. They must not have sold well though, since I've only seen a handful in person. Sat in one at the dealer a few years back when they were new. VERY nice. One thing I remember is the leather seats had a sort of "basket weave" pattern going on. Unique but it worked. I wouldn't mind owning one of these.  I'd think by '04 or so all the kinks had been worked out of the Northstar powertrain so that should be solid. The 5.3 is too, but I have heard of issues with the transmissions on the 5.3 cars. Probably just depends on who owned it and how it was treated. They did have the 100K powertrain warranty when new. |
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RCA1186
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Rob
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Post by RCA1186 on Apr 7, 2015 11:28:59 GMT -6
The 5.3's burn a lot of oil.
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scottydl
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Post by scottydl on Apr 7, 2015 13:57:05 GMT -6
There are a lot of post-2000 GM sedans with the same basic chassis and powertrain... the Chevy Impala, Pontiac Grand Prix and Bonneville, and almost everything from Buick. The 3800-II V-6 engine is as solid as they come (only downside is leaking intake gaskets over time, which can be repaired) and I don't know as much about the 3800-III generation but I'm sure it's considered reliable as well. There is a reason you still see so many of those cars on the road, even approaching 15 years old now (like my '00 LeSabre still running strong at 168k miles). In the year 2000, did we still have as many high-mileage 1985 cars rolling around? Maybe so, but I don't seem to remember that being the case.
If you are looking for more acceleration performance with a supercharged model of any of the above, they are out there and you'll avoid intake gasket problems... but a old non-maintained supercharger could be an issue, so something to check out when looking at various models.
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Post by aj on Apr 7, 2015 14:51:52 GMT -6
I would say the Buick Lucerne cxs V8, or the Cadillac DTS, CTS, and STS would be similar to the Aurora. In the Cadillac CTS, and ATS has the building founddation of Olds and they are the closest of what we have to Oldsmobile, even the Buick Enclave platform if your wanting something with the Oldsmobile heritage! Nothing completely takes the place of the Aurora nor Oldsmobile but its what we have in ties with Lansing made products and Oldsmobile employees.
I drive my Cadillac XTS as my daily I do like it, but I still gotta get my Aurora fix every now and then and take it out for a spin. The new Cadillac and Buicks is where Olds was at 10 years ago.
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Post by human on Apr 14, 2015 19:58:40 GMT -6
The FWD Impala, excluding its 2014-present iteration, was a direct descendant of the Lumina, built on the "W" platform, same as the FWD Pontiac Gran Prix. As such, they also share some DNA with the last iteration of the Cutlass Supreme (1988-1997), as well as the intrigue and the first iteration of the Buick Lacrosse (2006-2011). The 2000-2005 Bonneville and LeSabre, and later the Lucerne, shared the "G" platform with the Aurora. I had always assumed the Impala was also a G-body, but instead it's a W-body with an extended 110.5in. wheelbase, compared with the standard version's 107 inches. The current Impala, Lacrosse and Cadillac XTS all share the extended Epsilon II platform. The current Malibu and Regal are built on a shorter wheelbase version of the same platform. Although my 2011 Impala LT isn't an SS, it can still be fun to drive. W-bodies do seem to have inherently tight handling. The 3500 V6 leaves a little to be desired in the performance department, but it's quite satisfactory, given its modest appetite for fuel. My main complaint about the car, aside from the abundance of molded plastic in the interior, is the seats. They're damned uncomfortable. They're too hard and they don't conform to the body's contours the way the Aurora's do, especially the driver's seat with its adjustable lumbar support that feels more like a lumber support. Quite frankly, the passenger seat is a good bit more comfortable without it. There are a lot of post-2000 GM sedans with the same basic chassis and powertrain... the Chevy Impala, Pontiac Grand Prix and Bonneville, and almost everything from Buick. The 3800-II V-6 engine is as solid as they come (only downside is leaking intake gaskets over time, which can be repaired) and I don't know as much about the 3800-III generation but I'm sure it's considered reliable as well. There is a reason you still see so many of those cars on the road, even approaching 15 years old now (like my '00 LeSabre still running strong at 168k miles). In the year 2000, did we still have as many high-mileage 1985 cars rolling around? Maybe so, but I don't seem to remember that being the case. If you are looking for more acceleration performance with a supercharged model of any of the above, they are out there and you'll avoid intake gasket problems... but a old non-maintained supercharger could be an issue, so something to check out when looking at various models. Daily Driver: 2011 Impala LT Weekend Toy: 1995 Aurora |
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scottydl
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Post by scottydl on Apr 15, 2015 12:39:58 GMT -6
^^ Thanks for the clarifications. I wasn't aware of the W-body versus B-body differences. All seem to make reliable 4-door cars though. I see more Impalas on the road these days than anything.
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Post by human on Apr 15, 2015 15:05:41 GMT -6
The ubiquity of the Impala is likely due to its wide use in rental, government, and law enforcement fleets as well as the fact that it's the last surviving W-body by several years. Oldsmobile dropped the intrigue in 2002, Pontiac dropped the Gran Prix in 2008, and Buick dropped the first generation Lacrosse in 2009. The current W-body Impala introduced in 2006, is still in production alongside its newer Epsilon II counterpart. Sold only to rental and law enforcement fleets as the Impala Limited, production is slated to run through 2016, closing out a 28-year run for the W platform.
In addition to being the last of the W-bodies, the 2006-2016 Impala was also the last car on the American market to offer a six-passenger, split bench seat and column shift configuration. To begin with, it was standard on the base LS trim level, optional on the LT and LTZ trim levels, and unavailable on the SS. By about 2011, it was a seldom-ordered $900 option on all trim levels but not available with leather. It was discontinued entirely after the 2012 model year, bringing the era of bench seat sedans to a close.
W-body models 1988-2016:
Buick: Regal (1988-1996), Century/Regal (1997-2005) Lacrosse (2006-2009)
Chevrolet: Lumina (2 generations 1988-1995, 1996-1999), Monte Carlo (2 generations 1996-1999, 2000-2007), Impala (2 generations 2000-2005, 2006-2016)
Oldsmobile: Cutlass Supreme (1988-1997), Intrigue (1998-2002)
Pontiac: Gran Prix (3 generations 1988-1996, 1997-2003, 2004-2008)
Daily Driver: 2011 Impala LT
Weekend Toy: 1995 Aurora
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Post by 1013jess on Apr 18, 2015 12:39:08 GMT -6
As I was considering the car options which would please me and compare to the classic Aurora I narrowed my choice down to either 06-08 Impala SS or a 07-08 Grand Prix GXP with a 5.3... It was hard to find either of these cars that were not tired and worn due to their spirited performance ability. I did find and purchased an 07 GPX Grand Prix with 74,000 miles. It came out of the federal governments fleet cars, and was issued to someone in the U.S. Treasury office. The interior and exterior is in pristine condition and it drives and performs as close to excellent as a used car with 74,000 miles can be... I have had it only a week. Initially I am very pleased with this models options and performance. As I know nothing of the GXP Grand Prix can anyone share information about this car? Frequently, trouble issues are shared amoung same models, makers, and trims.. Anyone know anything about the 07-08 GXP Grand Prix ?
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Post by human on Apr 20, 2015 13:36:15 GMT -6
The Gran Prix is a good car. Same platform as the Impala but optimized for sportier handling. What engine does it have? Being a government motor pool vehicle, I imagine it's a naturally aspirated 3800 (no supercharger), which is about as rock solid an engine as you're likely to find and 74,000 miles is pretty low for an eight-year-old car. Enjoy! P.S., There is a W-body forum similar to this one at www.gmwbody.com/forum/. There's not a whole lot activity, but there are some knowledgeable folks there. Daily Driver: 2011 Impala LT Weekend Toy: 1995 Aurora |
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Apr 20, 2015 16:22:33 GMT -6
...Anyone know anything about the 07-08 GXP Grand Prix ? You'll love the LS4, but you'll worry about the 4T65E. Congrats on your purchase! |
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scottydl
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Post by scottydl on Apr 21, 2015 11:59:28 GMT -6
Another forum I would suggest (for general GM auto conversations) is www.gmforum.com ... it was born of a Bonneville forum from the late 90's - early 2000's, and is where a few of us early ACNA members started. There are a lot of knowledgeable GM folks there, for various makes/models/platforms. |
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Post by 1013jess on Apr 23, 2015 5:32:53 GMT -6
Thanks, many thanks for mentioning those forums.. as I will look them both over to see what I might gather there. This car has a 5.3 with active fuel management ...
a 4t65-E-HD/MN7 transmission.. it has a simulated manual "tap to shift" feature. Is this going to be fun..or fun (not) with a problematic design.. ?? It is smooth 0-100....
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