I had to go to Dallas, Texas again and went to the usual rental car place. The only SUV-ish thing they had was a Chevy Uplander. I drove it home 25 miles and took it back to the rental place the next morning - traded it in on a Saturn VUE they just got back. I have absolutely nothing good to say about the Uplander.
"=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul =?x-user-defined?Q?=BB?=" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@houston.rr.com:
Yeah, all the Uplander is is an old Chevy Venture (10 year old German Opel design) with an ugly, ugly, ugly SUV-like front end. The Uplander is the most hideous vehicle Detroit has put out in a long while. I can't see why anyone would buy one. I'd rather buy a Caravan/Windstar/Sienna, etc. before an Uplander. The 1997-2005 Pontiac Montana/Chevy Ventures were one of the most stylish and beautiful minivans ever. GM can't leave perfect styling alone. They gotta muck it up, even if the result is a steaming pile of turds. If they wanted to change the front of the Montana/Venture, they should have made it similar to the front of the Equinox.
A lot of these new cars are hideous. A friend of ours just bought a brand new Buick Rendezvous (same platform/engine as the Montana/Venture/Equionx). I told him he should have bought a Chevy Equinox. It's the same vehicle but the Equinox looks much better and is a lot cheaper. To each his own.
"grappletech" wrote
Where do you come up with the assertion that the Chevy Venture is an Opel design? I'd appreciate it if you would provide some links to that effect....I need to learn something new.
Again.....can you provide some links or actual factual information that tells us that the Equinox and Rendezvous are the same vehicle (hint: they are NOT the same vehicle.)
Ian
"shiden_kai" wrote in news:tMsIg.484427$IK3.384899 @pd7tw1no:
Same platform. The Rendezvous and Equinox and the now defunct Pontiac Aztec all share the same basic platform which was derived from the 1997 to 2004 Venture/Montana/Silhouette/Opel Sintra platform. The Uplander and the Buick and Saturn equivalent share this basic platform as well. But I did check and the Equinox does use the old 3.4 V6 whereas the Rendezvous and Uplander have the newer 3.5 which is the new GM V6 standard bearer. But the original Chevy Venture/Pontiac Montana/Olds Silhouette minivans that came out in 1997 was the same van as an Opel Sintra. I'm not sure if GM or Opel designed it. Maybe a joint project. According to Wikipedia, GM produced the minivan here and it was sold in Europe as an Opel Sintra or a Vauxhall Sintra. Opel is a division of GM, so I guess you can say that the Venture/Montana is not based on an Opel design but rather the Opel Sintra is BASED on a GM design, or it could have been a joint design venture. The European version, the Sintra, didn't use the 3400 V6 but instead used the 2.2 Ecotec engine with a manual or auto tranny or an Opel designed 3.0 liter DOHC V6. Europeans like smaller, more fuel effiecient engines due to the pricey European gasoline.
"grappletech" wrote
Ah....typical person who talks out of their ass instead of out of their mouth. You are wrong!
The Equinox is neither the same vehicle...nor is it the same platform. I doubt you have access to the GM online manuals, but if you do...you can easily note that the platforms are different. Of course, I know this because I stand underneath these vehicles and work on them all day long.
Hey....look at that. You were wrong when you simply "asserted" that those vans were Opel designs. Wouldn't it be better to simply know what you are talking about....or just keep your mouth shut.
Sorry if this seems harsh....I just can't stand it when people make assertions about things that are not correct.
Ian
Yeah, the original were such a success that they changed the names with the 2005 refresh. GM's minivans are now so far behind the competitive curve as to be an embarrassment.
"shiden_kai" wrote in news:x0uIg.471963$Mn5.266104 @pd7tw3no:
Ok, I was wrong. I admit it. But my overarching point still stands. The Uplander is an ugly vehicle. I hope GM starts producing mostly attractive cars for a change. Well, a lot of cars have been ugly lately. all the new Toyotas are ugly.....ick...........I think Ford and Chrysler has GM beat in the styling dept. these days. About the best looking domestic cars produced now are the Windstar minivans, Chrysler minivans, Malibu, G6 Pontiac, Dodge Stratus/Sebring, in my humble opinion. Whatever happened to clean, nicely shaped cars? It seems that they're constantly trying to come up with the most radical possible design, even if it's ugly as sin.
Look underneath from the rear first. Very little ground clearance under the rear suspension. I wouldn't take it on some dirt roads I've taken a std. mid sized car on. SUV- TRASH!
I agree with you on ugly vehicles. I nominate the Chrysler 300 and Audi as near the top of the list. Who told Chrysler we didn't like windows large enough to see the view?
Toyotas aren't too bad, the recent new models are slightly better.
Paulie wrote : I got nothing good to say about the Uplander.
Not even the issue about the arm out the window thing?
harryface ( Who rode in a Vue last week. Hard, cloth seats )
Well... I WAS able to hang my arm out the window. But that's it for the good things.
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