I have a family friend who is also a client, and he lives next door to my Mother's house. He is retired from Lockheed Martin, where he had a good job, but he had a LONG daily commute to/from work every day. He would leave home in the A.M., drive about 7 minutes to I95 North, get on it and drive almost an hour, then get off and had a short drive from the exit to work.
So he had owned 2 new Buick Park Avenue Ultras. He bought the first in 1995, owned it til 2002 and traded it in on a new one. The first one had very high mileage(around 200,000), but it also didnt run good because he had regularly neglected to maintain it(long oil change intervals, refusing to do other maintenance, etc.). So when he bought the new one in '02, he took care of it more or less, except for the exterior.
This car is obviously a large, heavy, 4 door luxury oriented car, and not a sports car, and now it has 196,000 miles on it. So one day he asked me to drive his mentally challenged 38 year old daughter back to her Mom's house with him in the passenger seat, and he forgot to tell me where to turn, so at the last second, he said to get over into the left lane to turn, but there was traffic coming up, so I had to punch it. I was amazed when this car kicked into passing gear and screamed forward!
I asked him what engine it had and he said he didnt know, other than he thought it was a 6 cyl.(he's not a car guy and not at all mechanically inclined). So when we got back, I lifted the hood and discovered that it has the 3.8 liter V-6, with a fairly large overhead supercharger. It is probably the same 3.8 V-6 from the Gran National, but without the turbo lag. It has 270HP.
So I had to take it up to the service station to put some air in the tires the other day, and I asked him if I could see how fast it accelerated from a stop. He said to just be careful, so I stopped at a light, there was no traffic in front of me, so I punched it in drive, and accelerated to 60mph, timed it, then slowed to 55. It took me about 6 seconds to get to 60. Thats pretty good for a 4200-4400LB luxury car with 196,000 miles!
On the other end of the spectrum, the car I drove that was supposed to be quick but wasnt, was a 2005 Dodge Charger. I came back to the Dodge dealer where I'd bought my vehicle, because they'd given me a free detailing coupon. So the sales lady said I could wait up front for the hour it would take to get the detailing done, so I dropped it off around back, and came to the front and sat down. I then saw the same Hemi Charger sitting out front that was there 2 months earlier. I think it was a dealer demo car. So I asked my sales lady to test drive it, and she said OK, but dont be gone long, cause they arent supposed to allow people to drive them if the person isnt really likely to buy the car, and I had just bought another car anyway.
So I took it out, and noticed that it had already been past its break in mileage, and had about 1200 miles on it, so I could rev it a little. So I got onto the on ramp for the highway, and slowed once I got to the highway, then punched it. Then I got off the next exit and swung back around in a loop heading back to the dealership. I stopped at a few lights and there wasnt any traffic, so I punched it a few more times, even manually shifting, but it did not seem quick at all. Granted, that car is heavy, but I gotta tell you, the Buick Park Avenue mentioned above seemed quicker to me than this Hemi Charger, even though they probably weigh about the same, and the Charger IS meant to be a sports car, and the Buick isnt.....
I'm sure it is probably quicker than it seemed, but it sure didnt FEEL quick. It had the earlier 5.7L 345HP hemi.
What cars or trucks have you driven or ridden in that either impressed you or disappointed you?
So he had owned 2 new Buick Park Avenue Ultras. He bought the first in 1995, owned it til 2002 and traded it in on a new one. The first one had very high mileage(around 200,000), but it also didnt run good because he had regularly neglected to maintain it(long oil change intervals, refusing to do other maintenance, etc.). So when he bought the new one in '02, he took care of it more or less, except for the exterior.
This car is obviously a large, heavy, 4 door luxury oriented car, and not a sports car, and now it has 196,000 miles on it. So one day he asked me to drive his mentally challenged 38 year old daughter back to her Mom's house with him in the passenger seat, and he forgot to tell me where to turn, so at the last second, he said to get over into the left lane to turn, but there was traffic coming up, so I had to punch it. I was amazed when this car kicked into passing gear and screamed forward!
I asked him what engine it had and he said he didnt know, other than he thought it was a 6 cyl.(he's not a car guy and not at all mechanically inclined). So when we got back, I lifted the hood and discovered that it has the 3.8 liter V-6, with a fairly large overhead supercharger. It is probably the same 3.8 V-6 from the Gran National, but without the turbo lag. It has 270HP.
So I had to take it up to the service station to put some air in the tires the other day, and I asked him if I could see how fast it accelerated from a stop. He said to just be careful, so I stopped at a light, there was no traffic in front of me, so I punched it in drive, and accelerated to 60mph, timed it, then slowed to 55. It took me about 6 seconds to get to 60. Thats pretty good for a 4200-4400LB luxury car with 196,000 miles!
On the other end of the spectrum, the car I drove that was supposed to be quick but wasnt, was a 2005 Dodge Charger. I came back to the Dodge dealer where I'd bought my vehicle, because they'd given me a free detailing coupon. So the sales lady said I could wait up front for the hour it would take to get the detailing done, so I dropped it off around back, and came to the front and sat down. I then saw the same Hemi Charger sitting out front that was there 2 months earlier. I think it was a dealer demo car. So I asked my sales lady to test drive it, and she said OK, but dont be gone long, cause they arent supposed to allow people to drive them if the person isnt really likely to buy the car, and I had just bought another car anyway.
So I took it out, and noticed that it had already been past its break in mileage, and had about 1200 miles on it, so I could rev it a little. So I got onto the on ramp for the highway, and slowed once I got to the highway, then punched it. Then I got off the next exit and swung back around in a loop heading back to the dealership. I stopped at a few lights and there wasnt any traffic, so I punched it a few more times, even manually shifting, but it did not seem quick at all. Granted, that car is heavy, but I gotta tell you, the Buick Park Avenue mentioned above seemed quicker to me than this Hemi Charger, even though they probably weigh about the same, and the Charger IS meant to be a sports car, and the Buick isnt.....
I'm sure it is probably quicker than it seemed, but it sure didnt FEEL quick. It had the earlier 5.7L 345HP hemi.
What cars or trucks have you driven or ridden in that either impressed you or disappointed you?
