Jerry O
CHAIRMAN OF THE BORED
Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Northern California
Posts: 4379 |
 AutoShow in Motion a ride and drive experience...
I am putting this thread here, even though it is technically not a Honda story. It definitely has to do with our road trip and driving or should I say DRIVING?
On Friday, Doug and I went to participate in the Generous Motors (in this case, it is really true) ride and drive in Maryland Heights, MO, a suburb of St. Louis. It is held on an enormous parking lot, with five or six auto-X type courses laid out on which to test drive most of GM's finest and a representation of their competition.
In all, we drove 34 cars (some more than once) and had an absolute ball. When we awoke on Friday morning, it was raining and I had to call and find out whether they would be open for the day and was told that the show would go on rain or shine. As it turned out, the rain was a blessing, since it cut way down on the attendance and offered us an opportunity to explore the wet handling capabilities of the various vehicles.
Our first stop was at the sedan venue, where we drove the Acura TL first and we were on our way. It was soon followed by the Altima 3.5, two Saturns, two Cadillacs, five Pontiacs, a Saab, a MBz c320, and a BMW 530i. Unfortunately, the sport compact segment was not represented, except for the Saturn Ion Red Line coupe. All the Honda's, Toyotas, Dodges and even the Cavaliers were absent. There were a few others represented in the sedan area, but we left them to the "sunday drivers". There was a cute old couple who were interested in the Cadillac DeVille and later I noticed one of the DeVilles coming off the course, with the lady at the wheel. The gentleman was not to be seen. In a moment, he came off the course in another DeVille. What a kick!
In the small SUVs, we drove a Pilot, an MDX, a BMW X5, a Ford Escape, a Buick Rainier, a Chevy Equinox, a Cadillac SRX and a Saturn Vue Red Line.
We sampled a few large, luxo SUVs, namely the Escalade, an Armada, a Sequoia and a V-8 Yukon.
In the trucks, we tried a Chevy 2500 HD diesel, a Ford 150 Crew Cab, a Toyota Tundra 4-door, a Nissan Titan 4-door, a Dodge 1500 4-door Hemi and a GMC extra cab with rear steer.
Doug drove the Hummer, which I ignored because I think it is such a cartoon of a device.
Of course, we drove the Chevy SSR and the C6 Corvette.
They talk about "having a few laughs" and that is exactly what we did, major laughs. I would have to say it was the best automotive day I have ever enjoyed.
Of course, the idea of the day is to let folks get the feel of the GM cars and compare them with the competition, but we got a bit more than that out of it. As we did last year, we let it all hang out on every run and flogged the vehicles harder than we have ever done with one of our personal rides. Especially in the rain, we explored the limits of all the vehicles, except the trucks, to the very edge of control. When I drove the Corvette, the co-driver (I did not know it, but he had a kill switch in his hand) warned me as I approached the first turn that the course was slippery and I should take it easy. Nuts to that! I kept the candles lit and ran the course as quickly as my skills would allow, with him warning me at each turn the it would be slick. When I got out of the car at the end of the run, he told me to slow down the next time, Hee! Hee! The other wildest thing I drove was the Saturn Vue Red Line, which is the one with the 250 hp Honda V-6 and five-speed automatic. It was an AWD with the performance handling package (18" wheels and tires and lowered suspension). That thing was the biggest hoot of the show! I drove it in the pouring rain the first time and then again when the track had dried a bit. The power surge of the thing is phenomenal and it literally sprang (lunged) from one turn to the next. I got it into a 4-wheel drift through on turn and found that all I had to do to get through was to lean on the throttle and it would go where I wanted it to go. When I got out of that one, I had the giggles.
The "course police" were, for the most part not real interested in how hard we flogged the cars and we certainly did not hold back. Doug got told that it was not a race course by one of them and someone else chided me for hard driving on one run where I induced a lot of sideways wheel hop/tire chirping, but other than that, we got through the 9 AM to 6 PM day unrestrained.
Our favorites? The 530i was our top pick and I understood why during my second run. It was the quick steering and the hair trigger throttle response. Second was the MBz, followed by the Caddie CTS. Honorable mention would go to the Acura TL, the Altima, Pontiac Grand Prix GTP and the GTO automatic (Doug drove the stick, too, but I did not).
In the SUVs, the MDX and BMW X5 were best, followed closely by the Pilot and Cadillac SRX. The Buick Rainier and Chevy Equinox were surprising, with the power surge of the Chevy engine (a seemingly mundane piece) a real eye opener. An then there were the Escape (very nice chassis which felt good all through the run) and the Vue, which I am still tickled about.
The big SUVs were o.k., but not anything I feel most folks need and quite a handful at anything above an everyday pace in the twisties.
The trucks were quite refined and it is not hard to see why the Ford is the best seller. It is a very refined vehicle, if you need such a thing. The Chevy diesel, although an engineering tour de force, is still too LOUD and thrashy. The handling star of the group is easily the rear steer GMC offering. It is a hoot to drive moderately hard, since it sorta makes one's head swim when taking a tight turn quickly. When that rear end swings around, she just heads off in the new direction, with little fuss.
The Corvette is the Corvette. Doug begged us a second run (you are only entitled to one), since there was no one waiting and the course had been wet when we made our first. The second time, I got a fella who couldn't have cared less what I did with the car and I really wrung it out, experiencing a bit of nearly terminal understeer in one of the tight bends when I got in a bit too hot. A bit of left foot brake, a stab of the throttle and some steering and off we went to the next bend and I touched no cone. In fact, I touched no cone all day and was very satisfied with what I was able to do. Not too bad for an old grandpa, Hee! Hee!
What I learned is that I really enjoy quick steering and sensitive throttles. A few of the cars had long-throw, soft responding throttles and they were difficult to drive. I also have learned that when one cannot steer quickly enough, it is often effective to release the steering wheel and let the centering geometry take over and reduce the steering lock quickly. I had to do it several times and it saved quite a bit of plastic.
We were given a free lunch and a t-shirt and a fine day of "driving" and I must say they really are "Generous Motors", in my book.
Sorry to have gone on so long, but I thought those of you who enjoy a good "drive" would like to hear about this show. You can look it up at www.autoshowinmotion.com. There are three more shows in Texas this year!
Best of all, when I got home and drove our Odyssey, it still felt as good as before and that is saying something after driving all the iron we drove!
Jerry O.
__________________
UFCW Retired
UNION, YES!!!
(The labor movement, the folks who brought you the weekend)
2006 Ocean Mist Metallic EX-M(Mouse fur) + WeatherTech cargo mat, Mr. Grille, Dashhugger dashcover, ScanGauge, Magellan GPS, Acura MDX wheels, 245/50-18 Yokohama ADVAN S.4 tires and AirLifts. Also, a few "faux" items, such as "dual" exhaust outlets, smoked plexiglass foglight hole fillers, and miscellaneous homegrown ground effects items, topped off by an "R" next to the "Odyssey" on the rear liftgate.
2001 GG LX-R(revised), still in the family. Now at 85K miles.
1994 Dodge Caravan SWB w/3.0, still in the family w/ over 150K miles
Dyson DC17 vacuum cleaner (to maintain the "dash rug")
John Deere 14PZ mower (push-it-yourself)
Last edited by Jerry O on 10-13-2004 at 06:25 PM
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OdyClub Forums > General Forums > Road Trips & Driving > AutoShow in Motion
10-12-2004 02:00 AM
