I assume you're talking about the SS. The base 3.5 is painfully slow. More than once when driving one I've pulled out in traffic expecting a little more response from the engine bay, only to have one of those "holy sh*t" moments when you wonder if the hamster's going to come alive in time for you to make the opening you were gunning for. In that regard, the 3800 in the previous generation was more gratifying, if a bit less refined. In truth, I think I even like the 3100s and 3400s from the previous W-cars in terms of spunk and willingness to rev.

As to the interior, well let's just say that GM still isn't causing any sleepness nights at the offshore manufacturers. Yes it's an improvement over the cobbled-together look of the previous Impy, but it's still relentlessly boring. There's no warmth or character to it at all. The plastics still look too coarse and hard, and the gaps are still lagging the Japanese competition. If you only ever looked at GM cars you'd surmise that the Impy's interior is pretty damned good; unfortunately the competition keeps raising the bar just out of Chevy's reach.

 

3700 lbs is a tank for a two-door sport coupe (yes, even if it says "GT500" on the side) . Thats right at 250 lbs more than my 99 T/A - which was hardly a lightweight.

Sad, and disappointing.

 

depends on how many Z/28 you want to sell.

 

Probably the same as the number of stripped Solstices you'll sell, which I'll go ahead and guess will be very few.

However, just as in the case of the Solstice, it might help you reach an attractive price point, and give it a purist appeal. Think of it as a marketing cost.

Just something to consider (you guys probably already have).

 

[QUOTE=R377]I assume you're talking about the SS. The base 3.5 is painfully slow. More than once when driving one I've pulled out in traffic expecting a little more response from the engine bay, only to have one of those "holy sh*t" moments when you wonder if the hamster's going to come alive in time for you to make the opening you were gunning for. quote]

Same can be said for those straight 6s, 307 & 2 barrel 327 V8s that were the same engine option level back in the old days.

We aren't talking about the same interior, are we?

 

Yeah, I really doubt I would be jumping up and down if GM engineers "got it down" to 3700lbs. That is way too freakin heavy. Looks like 03 Cobras/Supras/GTOs are going to start looking like featherweights soon.

 

Honestly, I have ridden and drove a bunch of Japanese cars. I never found them any more impressive than domestic counterparts. I thought the interior of the Toyota Avalon was bland and uncomfortable. Same for the Honda Civic.

 

I wonder how fast the fastest Impala of back in the day was, and, how it would stack up against a new Base model. Handling, accelerating, braking, fuel economy and what not...

 

True. I guess my expectations were higher since it's a mostly new motor, advertises the same peak HP as the 3800, and has VVT, yet it doesn't seem to perform as well as the old 3800.
That's what I was wondering . Honestly, there's nothing warm or inviting or attractive about it. It a dashboard as designed by Fisher-Price.

However in a related note I'm willing to recant most of my criticisms of the Cobalt's interior. I'm driving another one now and it actually looks pretty nice with the exception of the coarse grain of the plastic. I think the problem was the first one I had was an awful taupe colour that seemed to accentuate all the bad elements.

 

No, no, no, no no!

That's the Saturn Ion!

 

My (former) boss and I went to lunch in his new 2005 Saturn Ion 4-dr. He wrote a check for $13,400 after trading-in as I recall. He loves it so far.

I have to admit that I have a mixed review. The LOOKS of the interior are actually very nice to the eye (his is an almond/tan color in cloth). the textures and colors look appealing and pleasant. But it took me less than 1 minute to start touching EVERYTHING in the car... to see what was hard plastic and what was real rubber, cloth, or vinyl.
It's like a majic show! Door panels look GREAT, like flawless tan leather... then you touch it expecting to feel this soft, supple, smooth leather and instead you get cold hard plastic. But it looks d@mn good to the eye.

The cloth seats sit well, and the fabric is nice to the touch - good marks there.

Dash materials are like the door panels and console... looks like leather, feels like concrete. The eye is happy, but the fingers are confused.
(PS - I sure hope they have some good UV treatment to prevent fading/cracking on red and dark units!)

Lastly, the guages mounted high in the center of the dash just don't feel right. They look nice, and are easily seen and readable, but they are not in the right place. In the passenger's seat, I keep finding myself looking at the guages to see how fast we are going, the tach, and the two guages... like I have anything to do with it while riding. I also noticed John kept turning his head while driving... looking at the guages.
I guess it works, but what's up with that? Why put the guages in the center of the car when the driver is on the left side?

Only thing I thought looked out-of-place in the interior is the HUGE, and I mean HUGE, strips of rubber molding that surround all the door openings. It is black, and at least 1.5-2.0 inches of it is visible between the door and the interior trim. Inside the car, this rubber trim is on top of everything it touches, like the headliner, trim peices, sill plate, etc. For such an attractive interior - especially in an eggshell or almond white - I was surprised at how much black rubber was allowed to protrude into and onto the more attractive peices.

Overall, the car rode very nicely and was impressive (from the passenger seat). If it were my money, I think I'd look at a Cobalt or Focus though... of course I am more partial to the sporty styling of a Cobalt SS or a Focus Street package anyways. That's just me.

It was funny that you mentioned the Fisher-Price dashboard and Saturn Ion in that post though, because just yesterday I was in one thinking, "This is freaking bananas... it's the best-looking simulated leather finish I've ever seen molded in hard plastic!"

 

Why has the world gone mad "feeling up" interior panels? What is the point? Does it have nice fit and finish (obviously does from your comments)? Under what circumstances of normal day to day use does one feel his/her dash?? I just don't get it...

Proud- Not directed as an unload on you, but this trend has really bugged me for the last year or two.

 

Same here. I cannoth say I have ever had my hands on any peice of interior (besides the steering wheel, shifter, radio and HVAC controls, door pull and PW PL switches) long enough to be able to tell if it was hard or soft or what kind of texture it had. I just don't care. Make the frequently used touch points feel nice and the rest of it look good and I am quite happy. Used the saved money on stopping squeeks and rattles and better powertrain and suspension.

 

And let me tell you, a soft as a baby's butt interior (gasp...from a Japanese manufacturer even) squeaks just as bad as a hard dash after 40k miles in Michigan. GM doesn't have a "Michigan road" cycle at Milford for nothin'...

 

So when in January is NAIAS?

Early, mid or late Jan?