floor mats for '07-08 (not sure) Impala?

Do you plan to name the car Vlad? :)

It sounds like a good time to do a Goober search for the mats. I'm sure there's an aftermarket source for the type of mats you need. Also, be very picky about the steering wheel cover...I'm skeptical about the Wally World specials.

Other ideas...stock up on Armor All or similar cleaners for the dash among other locations that collect dust. Also might not hurt to invest in a windshield shade to keep the dash from getting too hot.

Stainless steel curb feelers, high quality dice for the RV mirror, and maybe a burled maple spinner for the steering wheel to reduce wear on the rim leather. That's just a start, of course. Let me think a while. Oh yeah. One of those wood bead seat covers like taxi drivers use. Give me a while longer while I think. You want engine stuff, like chrome?

--Vic

I'm partial to Wheelskins myself, but am open to suggestions.

I'm not a big fan of Armor All... my usual cleaning regimen is just warm water with a little Murphy's Oil Soap in it. Dash in the '05 still looks pristine. At least as pristine as a wide expanse of grey plastic can look.

nate

Sounds like your prior experience with the covers and cleaners will serve you well.

they might be too much of a pain for your usage, but window shades for the windshield and back window keep the interior from taking too much of a beating in the summer.

Armor All is death to plastics. Don't ever use it. I had two dashs crack to hell shortly after starting to use it. I switched to some stuff in a green bottle - 2000 something or other.

If it's going to see a lot of sun get a dash mat and throw a dark towel over the top of the rear seat to protect that area.

:-)

I bought one of the WW slip-on covers. It's not real pretty and a bit loose, but with power steering that doesn't really matter all that much. The plastic lace-on ones are better, but I can never put those on so the end tucks in properly and I end up fiddling with the loose end at stop lights :-(

I seem to remember reading that Armor-All is actually BAD for plastic, causing to . One thing I DO know: never use it on a motorcycle seat.

That's not a "spinner", it's a Brody knob! What are you, some kind of CHILD?

I'm partial to sheepskin seat covers.

That name doesn't apply when we're talking about a FWD car, does it? : (

nate

Definitely WeatherTech for mats

Goatskin? Wool?

Actually, I don't know. Most of my driving has been in RWD cars, wherein acceleration puts traction on the driving wheels. Does braking do the same on FWD? Since I've never done doughnuts either way, I have no feel at all for the difference.

I meant the "brodie knob" since a proper broadslide in a FWD car is somewhat difficult...

nate

WAY BLAND. Counted 7 sitings of said vehicle within 10 minutes. All gray Still wearing that tired GM bowtie from years past.

This time I'm a little more financially

assigned a new work vehicle soon...

Well, sure it's bland. It's a FWD full-size sedan. However having driven them back to back I stand by my statement that the current body style is a vast improvement over the '05. Way quieter (this is a big deal; the '05 has had a very loud exhaust sound since day one, almost as loud as my 944 but nowhere near as pleasant to listen to,) 3.5 feels much smoother and more powerful than 3.4, newer car has bucket seats with a console instead of miserable bench seats, interior appearance is much less Spartan and rental-car-like, back seat actually folds down, rear seat has real headrests instead of bumps in the foam, car handles better, rides better, etc.

Given that it's a company car, I don't expect it to knock my socks off, merely be acceptable. It's hard to complain about something that's "free" (I know it's not, really) unless it's really, really bad.

nate

F/U: ordered the weathertech "floor liners" and they arrived today... look like they'll work out fine. Not as heavy and grippy as the factory accessory mats from VW (why doesn't GM offer something like this?) but they look like they'll do fine, esp. since they fit the floor, doesn't look like they'll shift around. Have to trim the rear mat where it goes over the hump, it looks like, but I barely had time to vacuum the car and set them in before the shiny thing went down.

Got the steering wheel cover the other day, that was kind of a PITA to install and does look a little bit added on, but my hands are used to leather. The shiny plastic wheel of the '05 was a constant annoyance to me even before it wore out, so I think that getting a leather cover ASAP after getting new car was a good call.

Also had to order a fob and key for the car because I "inherited" it from another employee, who also didn't get it brand new (don't ask me how it worked out this way, it just rolled over 17K miles today) but anyway somewhere along the line one of the keys and fobs either got lost or appropriated by an overzealous fleet manager. Ordered a fob from eBay seller "midwestkeyless" and the key blank from

So far I'm actually somewhat impressed with the car... found that the "feature" that it has that my '05 didn't that I use the most is in fact the fuel economy feature of the trip computer, followed by the TPMS. Already identified a slow leak in one tire and had it repaired, simply by getting in the habit of checking my tire pressure every morning simply by flipping through the displays. Also I consider myself a fairly economical driver, but I find that I have to be even more careful in this car than in my personal car if I want to achieve anything resembling decent economy... conservation of momentum is key. It'll rack up some pretty impressive mileage figures on the highway - if the display is to be believed, I got close to 30 MPG on the way to work this AM, but I reset it at the gas station I filled up at, right before getting on the highway - but around down driving just destroys the economy. I guess it's probably because it weighs about 2x what my personal car does; accelerating all that mass takes some fuel. Last tank I averaged about 22 MPG overall, but that included a whole mess of around-town driving over the weekend (had to run out several times to get stuff for my kitchen; was rearranging after getting a new fridge etc.) But anyway I find that watching the "average fuel economy" (and to a lesser extent, instantaneous economy) helps one refine one's driving to maximize economy - assuming, of course, that it is accurate (it seems to be.)

I've been running the tires at 35 PSI same as I eventually settled on for my '05... found that the recommended 30 PSI just made the car ride too floaty, poor traction, and lots of squat/dive/etc. A bit jittery at

Well, anyway, that's it for now... other than the tire and needing an alignment no problems as of yet. Hope it stays that way...

nate

Forgot to mention, why would anyone buy a car that's going to visit lots of muddy, dirty job sites and order it with light tan carpets?

...and why, having done so, would they then equip the car with floor mats, ostensibly to protect the carpet from damage, MADE OUT OF LIGHT TAN CARPET?

I don't know why people insist on having carpet in their cars, or worse yet, pickup trucks. I personally am not particularly offended at all by a simple heavy rubber floor liner.

nate