Ergonomics would be a deal breaker for me. If im not comfortable behind the wheel and things arent logically laid out, I would look else where.

 

I cant belive thats coming from a Supra owner, I hate the interios or those things.

 

Also agree about the lights. I never liked that whole automatic lights turning on and off. I think its just pure lazyness. You cant move your hand 3 inches to turn or flip a switch to turn on your lights, you dont deserve to be behind a wheel. As for DRL's, Id like the option to turn it off, but the idea behind the concept. I always know when a GM car is coming down the highway when you can see that dark amber driving lights from miles away!

 

DRL's were nothing more that a cost saving item on Camaro. Canada requires DRL's. It was cheaper to manufacture them all with DRL's....than it was to manufacter Canadian cars with and American cars without.

 

I've been against DRL's since the beginning...

I know they are supposed to make cars 'safer', but if this is the case, why is it pretty much only GM doing it?

The cost must be minimal, and you'd think Ford and Chrysler would be quick to copy if it were worthwile.

 

If the cost of making wiring for both DRLs for Canada & a non-DRL setup for the US is just 25 cents, with GM's volume of say 4 million vehicles per year that's 1 million dollars profit for absolutely nothing!

Add in the fact that Canada requires DRL yet is a relative small fraction of GM's total sales, GM gets to spread the cost of DRLs throughout the 4 million cars sold in the US instaead of only the 240 thousand it sells there.

So Daytime Running Lights here is not as much a safety item as it is GM is making money on Canada's requirement on DRLs by forcing the rest of us to pay for them as well.

If I knew my 97 Camaro had them (and those automatic lights) I would have bought a older used Z28.

 

A good rule of thumb for adding a single wire within an existing harness is $.25 per wire.

That's one wire, not inculding the connectors at the ends, or any controller architecture.

Now, I'm a fan of DRL's, I think they're a good, cheap safety enhancement. Even with them on, my car has been completely missed by someone pulling out (I posted the story here).

Note that motorcycle lights are ALWAYS on to aid visibility. I am half-tempted to leave my brights on 24/7 on my bikes.

They should, however, be defeatable for approaching guardhouses and the like. Unfortunately, on any car, this adds complexity and cost. Probably worth it though...


If memory serves, DRL's are mandated in Europe.

 

The cost savings certainly makes sense... but again, why haven't Ford and Chrysler jumped on this if it is so worthwhile?

 

Aren't DRLs easy to defeat? I don't understand why some people get so upset about something like this. I can understand if the lights being on causes a security issue but other than that, I don't see why it is such a big deal, at least not a "deal breaker". It is like someone not buying a Corvette or F-body because of the skip shift feature. Just buy a .75 resistor and plug it into the skip shift harness, problem solved.

 

I like auto headlights, but they should have an option to turn them off. The only bad experience I had with them is at the drive-ins. It sucks there is no way to turn them off once they come on.

GM is fixing this problem, the '04 Grand Prix lets you set the headlights to on/parking/off/auto

 

Ya, our 04 GTP lets you turn off the headlamps, and it displays a "HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED" message on the D.I.C. after you turn them off... as far as I know, though, you have to turn them off every time still, and there is no way to "permanently turn off" the auto headlamps, though I havent read through the whole owner's manual to see if that is an option, since the autoheadlamps are not a huge bother to me...

Still turns the DRL's back on though when you manually turn off the headlmaps and get the "HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED" message...

 

How do you like your 04 GTP? How much HP does it have?

 

Well, my wife drives it every day, not me, but we like it alot... only a few complaints, really... the plastic on the dash is kind of "hard" and somewhat "cheap" looking...

The headliner is a little 'loose' (not saggy) where the overhead storage is... like it needs a couple of retainer clips or something underneath it to better anchor it.

There is a known "headlamp wobble" issue... if you drive down a bumpy road, you can see the light 'wobble' slightly, though nothing seems to be loose... I guess this is a common problem on 04 GP's.

Other than that, we love it... 260 Horsepower... very quick for what it is!

Here are some pics... sorry for the sub-par lighting.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/466733

 

Sweet car! Yall dont have the z28 anymore?

 

No.

I miss it a lot too. I sold it 22 months ago to buy the Monte SS... the Z28 was needing some out-of-warranty things done (clutch, brakes, etc), and the rebates were fantastic on the Montes.

I tried to get a WS6 T/A, but none could be found with a stick.

I love the Monte a lot, actually... BY FAR the best built car I have ever owned. I am not exaggerating when I say I have not had a SINGLE ISSUE with it at all... but...it's just not the same, ya know?