Bill Stoneberg Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 I just rented a new (600 + miles) Buick Lesabre custom for me and the family (wife, 2 boys 10 & 13) to drive 2,000 miles in, over the next week or so. So far I have put 200 miles getting the car from the airport and getting the kids home and am impressed. XM radio and very comfortable.Tomorrow is the big test, 4 suitcases a cooler and 700 miles in one day. I figure I will either love it or hate it by the end of that day.I will let you know my opinons of this when I get back. I have never driven a new Buick like this before. Kids say Buicks are old people but they aren't complaining about the comfort in the back seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUICK RACER Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 Biil, you will like it, and at the gas pump too! Put over 700 miles on one this week, and over 2500 in the last 3 or 4 weeks! Company car, no XM on this one, but that's ok! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 I'm curious, what is XM radio?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 XM Radio and Sirius Radio are subscription satellite radio services. In GM cars, the XM radios are usually part of the in-dash factory radio (although you can also buy them aftermarket and in boomboxes and some home units. Sirius got off to a slower start and, I believe, might be what Chrysler's going to use.Lots of diversity in their programming, much of which is commercial free. Must be activated and subscribed to as OnStar is, though. That's what the little black "blob" antenna (in factory installations) is for on the roofs of vehicles (light trucks on the front edge and near the rear edge on passenger cars.How many more entertainment choice do we need in our vehicles? Also, be careful what DVDs you play in those automotive devices where the screen can be seen by other motorists (kind of like a drive-in movie without the fence).Enjoy!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 Thanks NTX......I'm not up on these new gadgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Chapman Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 XM Satellite Radio operates two satellites... Rock (East Coast) and Roll (West Coast)... cute, eh?See: http://www.xmradio.com/index.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sintid58 Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I have XM in my truck and really enjoy Old Time Radio and Sonic Theatre. Old time radio is exactly what they say with Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Fibber Mcgee and Molly, Dragnet, The Shadow and so much more and Sonic Threater is new (or newer) radio shows from the Canadian Broadcast Company and other sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I see they get an activation fee of $9.99 on line & $14.99 by phone + $9.99 a month.......I guess communications is the place to be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I drove cross from Pittsburgh to Seattle in November straight thru and the car I was in had the XM. It was SO nice not having to adjust stations every time you turn around. The signal was clear as a bell even in the middle of no-where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sintid58 Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I guess for what I get I don't think $10 a month is a lot. I travel all over the US and every where I go I can listen to the same channels. A lot of western states have little or no radio in the desert areas. I don't however think I would have the XM if I didn't do as much traveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Obviously XM has some great benefits in programming content and is well worth its subscription charges. One of the things I kind of like to do is find local stations to see what's going on, to hear some different commercials, and other local interest items. I do believe that XM has rolled out some local stations that will carry traffic information, but I'm not sure about that. The other thing is local weather forecasts, but then you can always switch to the local radio from XM is the need arises. Local radio can be a definite change of pace.Listening to the Old Radio Shows would definitely be a plus and pleasant change from "modern" radio. Also a reality check when you realize how many of those actors are doing their shows somewhere else now. Sometimes, it does seem that we have more than enough choices, though.Just some thoughts,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Brink Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Bill,Looking forward to hearing what you think about the car after putting some miles on it. I talked a friend of mine into upgrading from a Regal to the LeSabre on a coast to coast vacation six weeks ago (he leases a 5 series BMW so could not afford the mileage) because he would get virtually the same mileage with additional room and he was very impressed. Not too bad on the handling end (which really surprised him) dispite standard suspension and 31 mpg overall on the trip with speeds averaging 70-75 on the open road (which is better than his BMW has ever gotten). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Last Friday, I stopped downtown to handle some banking, and saw a new LeSabre turning the street corner. This car was a stunning shade of silver-blue that I had not previously seen, and the car had the nice, extra cost factory wheels.This car looked really sharp. Yes, we all hear that Buick's current offerings are dated and boring, but -- in the context of all of the other late model cars on the street that day -- this LeSabre looked very distinctive and contemporary. I was wishing that it were mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sintid58 Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Sometimes I think $10 a month is worth it just to hear Jack Benny. They had the first ever time he claimed to be 39 on the air this week and I loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 Well, I am back from my trip and recovered enough to want to get on the computer again. All told we put 2300 + miles on the car and enjoyed most of it. Even after 15 hours one day, the car was comfortable and pleasant to drive.The kids never complained about lack of room and found it easy to sleep in. Its amazing how much 10 & 13 year olds can sleep.I averaged 25 mpg at 75 mph for the most part. I could go 500 miles on a tank of gas so from Houston to Orlando and back was under $ 100 worth of gas. In my normal driver (2000 Dodge Truck) I would have spent 2 - 3 times as much.The only thing that I found weird was the cruise control buttons were in a strange location. Maybe it had to do with the radio controls being on the wheel too which I really liked.I loved the XM radio, we were able to listen to NASCAR on Sunday and a variety of stations the rest of the time. No commercials was the best part of it.We got back and returned the car and were really sad to have to give it back. Especially when the boys had to sit in the back seat of my truck coming home from the car rental place.When the time comes to buy a new vehicle for my wife, this will be at the top of a short list. I was checking the paper out on Sunday and they look like they can be had brand new for under 25 K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Bill I am glad you and your family injoyed the trip....and very refreshing to hear positive comments about a new Buick!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBRMD Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Hey Bill,How's the '50 doing? Haven't seen any new pictures on your site for a while; I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of those "DYNA FLOW" lenses on the tailgate at some point!-Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 I have had to do other things this winter. I am now back putting pieces of the car back together.I just finished putting the tailgate piece together. I am planning a web page update and some pictures soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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