My parents have a 3800 in their Trans Port that has over 220k miles on it and still going strong with no problems at all....Never once. They just picked up a Uplander and for having a motor a little smaller, but similar power numbers to the 3800 I'm, and my dad, are disappointed. The motor just doesn't have enough trq to pull the vehical. BTW, my parents got 40-50 mpg(not a missprint or calculation) on their Trans Port going from KC to PA with over 100k miles on the whole car. They did that not once, but atleast twice that I can remember.

 

People, there are some underpowered buzzy 4cyl motors that Honda has been making for the last couple of decades that are bullet proof as well. Does that mean I'd excuse their presence in a 32-35k dollar Acura TL or a 42k dollar Acura RL? Helllll no.

Just because a motor is old and proven reliable doesn't mean it belongs in a brand new premium priced car. I'm sure GM knows this and I can only imagine as fbodfather said they're just limited by production. Get the newer high content V6 and 6-speed auto and it'll be a whole new story.

Oh, and I'm sure it's not the 'exact same chassis', but could you tell me what's changed/improved?

 

I will miss the 3800...while the new VVT 3.9 and HF 3.6 are "better" engines, I really wish they had given the 3800 one more revision and ignored the 3.9. A 240hp N/A 3800 and a 280hp s/c 3800 would be great

We'll see how long mine runs for With my renewed love for third gens, like I've said before...I think I'll be driving the GP for a long, long time...

 

So Buick is going were Olds left off. I know I've said it probably 100 times, but GM should have left Olds.
I checked out a lot of the pics. of the Lucerne on the Buick site. From the pics I thought the front had kind of a Mercury look to it. And the dash components looks like it was transplanted out of the new Impala, which is not a bad thing, but not very original. Like I always do, I'll reserve my final judgement when I'll get to give the car a good looking over in person. Overall I liked the car, probably because its very unBuick, and the Northstar will make a nice option for this car.

So when is the Lucerne due out? I remember Lucerne pics. started popping up here last winter.

 

I have to chuckle sometimes when the discussion gets into powertrains.

I remember many an enthusiast and journalist slamming GM because of "old pushrod technology....." when we launched the LS1/Ls6.............


(need I say more)

Then there were the ones that howled when we announced the 5.3 in the Silverado...............

I don't think you can judge the Lucerne until you drive it.

 

They proved that pushrods can make great power without bad fuel economy. The 3.8 neither has impressive fuel economy nor power for its class. What's left? NVH? I don't have any quantifiable data on that but I can't imagine the 3.8 has better NVH levels than the new GM V6s?

 

Um, since when has Honda ever built a buzzy I4? Underpowered, maybe, but never anything less than smooth.

As far as the 3800 goes and its reputation, I have to agree that it's bulletproof. But then, I have to ask - isn't that pretty much par for the course for the vast majority of engines nowadays?

 

uhmmmmm.........go back and read it again.......

Here it is:

QUOTE:
I have to chuckle sometimes when the discussion gets into powertrains.

I remember many an enthusiast and journalist slamming GM because of "old pushrod technology....." when we launched the LS1/Ls6.............


(need I say more)

Then there were the ones that howled when we announced the 5.3 in the Silverado...............

I don't think you can judge the Lucerne until you drive it.

UNQUOTE.

It was a remark about powertrains.......

No, the 3800 is not a modern power plant. But it is bullet proof. Look at the posts on this thread.

Yes, it has more NVH than the newer V6s.......but the fuel economy is par for the industry.

We didn't design the V6 Lucerne for you.

Perhaps we hope you'll drive a Northstar Lucerne and be impressed.

We DO have to keep our faithful Buick customers......and they believe very strongly in the 3800. Now.......if there are constraints on the numbers of V6s we can build as we ramp up the new engines, WHERE WOULD YOU PUT THE 3800????????

In the G6?

 

Since I've driven a few Lucerne(s) myself, I can add to this that the Lucerne will be a excellent addition to the Buick lineup. The 3800 provides plenty of zip for the driver, not the racer. The Northstar has the sound and zip most people would want on this board. It's a bullseye for this market.

 

I think that's a great idea! Especially if it's supercharged and comes with a manual trans.

 

Most 4-cyls are buzzy, from any brand. Honda on average seems to make smoother ones, but still, compare the smoothest 4cyl to the V6 in the Acura RL now and the 4cyl would be making quite a bit morew NVH. My point is it wouldn't belong no matter how bullet-proof it is because it's rough around the edges and underpowered for a car at that price point.

 

Erm...

I'm kinda sorta looking at one for the spousal unit.

I'll take the 3800 too.

Understand though that I REALLY liked the old Roadmaster.
Heck of a car...
Big, comfy, floaty, drive it with your pinky...

My kinda All-American, "let's knock out 600 miles in one sitting (except for the wifey's walnut-sized bladder)" highway cruiser road machine...

The imitation of European road cars gets nowhere with me. In a highway car:
I don't like brick-hard seats.
I don't like center consoles.
Column-shifted automatics are just fine.
I don't like stiff suspensions.
I want it dead quiet with a plush ride and couldn't care less about handling prowess.

I also worked on the old "C" car Park Avenue, so there's a soft spot in my heart for Buicks...

 

I've driven Civic SIs that were very buzzy. So much so that I felt like I was hurting the engine to get it into the upper reaches where the VTEC would kick in. Not that they are any worse than any other manufacturer's 4 bangers, but they certainly could not be described as smooth.

 

As opposed to toyota taking a Camry, re-skinning it and making a new car line and charging 15K more for it?

 

The ES, optioned as similarly as possible to the Camry, only costs ~3500 bucks more and includes more additional features than I care to go over at the moment. Needless to say if you're considering a loaded Camry, the ES is certainly worth considering for the ~12% increase in price with similar equipment.

If you're referring to the RX or something, the chassis on the RX is derived from the ES, but is significantly moddified, stretched, reinforced, etc. If you want to talk about derived chassis design you could probably connect 90% of the car models made on the planet to date.