# So...I just rented my own car...



## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

Where in Florida?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Daytona/Orlando/Clearwater...one day in each. I was just about to send you a PM.


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## RoadRage (May 19, 2012)

For some reason all the rentals at least in the S. Florida area come from Tennessee. I see tons of Cruze's and Captiva Sports riding around with those plates. I can bet Florida has the highest concentration of Cruze's on the road because of the rental market.


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## beachbaby902 (Apr 28, 2013)

Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't there just a thread saying the Cruze wouldn't be a fleet or rental car?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

beachbaby902 said:


> Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't there just a thread saying the Cruze wouldn't be a fleet or rental car?


If there was a post like that it was in error. Cruze has been a rental car since 2011 when it came out.


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## beachbaby902 (Apr 28, 2013)

spacedout said:


> If there was a post like that it was in error. Cruze has been a rental car since 2011 when it came out.


Odd i swear i read on here about Chevy wouldn't put them in the rental / fleet business unless sales weren't what they expected.  I'll try and see if i can track down that thread now...lol


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The 2014 Impala won't be a fleet/rental car until the 2015's come out. Then GM will offer the remaining 2014 Impalas for sale to fleet & rental companies.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

beachbaby902 said:


> Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't there just a thread saying the Cruze wouldn't be a fleet or rental car?


Hmm, not sure where you got that from, because the Cruze even has a special trim package specifically for fleet ordering (1FL code- it's like a 1LT, but without Bluetooth and USB).


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

GM has always had a huge number of rental cars (Impala, Cobalt, Malibu come to mind). Also had countless Dodge Neons as rentals in the past.

As are many GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota models. 

Funny...I've never seen a Honda as a rental. 

I'm not sure if the rental car status is to blame for resale values that tank though. I think that may have to do with GM's history with small cars, and we may see Cruze resale values stabilize in a few years if they prove to be reliable cars. There are 2347892347892347892347892 Toyota Camrys/Corollas as rentals/on the road, and they have a great resale value no matter what the year.


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## beachbaby902 (Apr 28, 2013)

obermd said:


> The 2014 Impala won't be a fleet/rental car until the 2015's come out. Then GM will offer the remaining 2014 Impalas for sale to fleet & rental companies.


Thats probably what i read then! Thank you, thought i was getting closer to the deep end. lol My bf just bought a 2013 Impala LT and i was reading about it when he bought it. (the thing got 30mpg on the highway last week on a 150mile trip!) So i probably got mixed up.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> hopefully the automatic returns the kinda gas mileage on the highway that my manual 1LT does.


I don't think you will have any problems getting decent MPG with the automatic. My 1LT automatic gets 38-42mpg at 65mph. At 68mph I got 38.9MPG in 50degree weather on flat interstates in Southern Illinois/Missouri. I got 36MPG at 70MPH also in 50degree weather in Arkansas. However at 75mph I seem to be in the 31-34mpg range(tested over 1500miles in 80-15degree weather). At 80mph I still maintained 27MPG but it was 15degrees outside. 

All test were with premium and ramp to ramp fill ups(100% hwy). 

The month I went on my trip to Texas I put on 4072.2 miles & burned 118.74 gallons of gas. Average price for premium was $3.63 a gallon, for a total of $431.03 spent. That was at 34.46MPG round trip, averaged almost 37mpg on the way down but could not keep my speed below 75mph on the way home so managed close to 31mpg.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

spacedout said:


> I don't think you will have any problems getting decent MPG with the automatic. My 1LT automatic gets 38-42mpg at 65mph. At 68mph I got 38.9MPG in 50degree weather on flat interstates in Southern Illinois/Missouri. I got 36MPG at 70MPH also in 50degree weather in Arkansas. However at 75mph I seem to be in the 31-34mpg range(tested over 1500miles in 80-15degree weather). At 80mph I still maintained 27MPG but it was 15degrees outside.
> 
> All test were with premium and ramp to ramp fill ups(100% hwy).
> 
> The month I went on my trip to Texas I put on 4072.2 miles & burned 118.74 gallons of gas. Average price for premium was $3.63 a gallon, for a total of $431.03 spent. That was at 34.46MPG round trip, averaged almost 37mpg on the way down but could not keep my speed below 75mph on the way home so managed close to 31mpg.


I'm betting on 70-75 the whole way. Mine seems comfortable getting 38-42 @ 72, depending on the terrain. This car will have 4 people and a trunk full of luggage, and likely the AC going the whole way though. Over 30 and I'll be happy enough, but I'd like to see what it can do.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Do yourself a favor and check the plug gaps before you leave, it's not like the rental car place would ever know.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

beachbaby902 said:


> Thats probably what i read then! Thank you, thought i was getting closer to the deep end. lol My bf just bought a 2013 Impala LT and i was reading about it when he bought it. (the thing got 30mpg on the highway last week on a 150mile trip!) So i probably got mixed up.


That the 3.6 V6? I'm curious to see as how the 2.5 would be in a car the size of the Impala. I was impressed with the 2012 2.4L in the Terrain/Malibu, but I do not like the 2013 Malibu.

I had a rental 2011 Impala for a week. Great highway car...the 3.5 V6 (year before the 3.6 was introduced) was down on HP compared to what I was used to (only 210 HP and an antiqued 4-speed automatic with THE LOOOOOOOOOOOOONGEST gears I've ever seen), but it did return an impressive 31 MPG on the highway (better than the much smaller Volvo I was driving at the time), and it was a beast at climbing through 8" of snow even on all-seasons.


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## RoadRage (May 19, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> GM has always had a huge number of rental cars (Impala, Cobalt, Malibu come to mind). Also had countless Dodge Neons as rentals in the past.
> 
> 
> I'm not sure if the rental car status is to blame for resale values that tank though. I think that may have to do with GM's history with small cars, and we may see Cruze resale values stabilize in a few years if they prove to be reliable cars. There are 2347892347892347892347892 Toyota Camrys/Corollas as rentals/on the road, and they have a great resale value no matter what the year.


Im pretty sure it does..I have an app called "Carbuzz" which features "Depreciation Kings" subcategory and they attribute the Malibu and Ford Taurus depreciation to the rental market. Makes me wonder why my insurance premium for the Cruze is high because my agent said "its not old enough yet for parts availability like other models, so your premium will be higher for a year"...youd figure more rentals means more banged up Cruzes.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Wow Big J you drove to Florida and then to some place else called I don't like 2013 Bu what are yiu and the frog planning next that return trip from the moon or was that mars , Have a snickers and slow down . Take a lot of pics of that 75 degree rain. Frogs like rain...,,,...


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

In Florida weather, i am not sure how much MPG you can get. My LS AT a 65-70 gets 32-34 MPG, city driving is where i tank and the 1.4T is best at. The most i was able to squeeze out in Naples was 28 MPG city, i can only imagine what the 1.4T can do.

You won't be the only fleet Cruze btw, i see so many here i get sick of it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

iKermit said:


> You won't be the only fleet Cruze btw, i see so many here i get sick of it.


Hey, at least I won't be in a Corolla! I flat out refused to drive one of those as we were looking through cars to rent.

I'd probably die of boredom behind the wheel and crash.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> Hey, at least I won't be in a Corolla! I flat out refused to drive one of those as we were looking through cars to rent.


How funny. I just posted in another thread how much i hated Corollas. You a wizard brah?


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

brian v said:


> Wow Big J you drove to Florida and then to some place else called I don't like 2013 Bu what are yiu and the frog planning next that return trip from the moon or was that mars , Have a snickers and slow down . Take a lot of pics of that 75 degree rain. Frogs like rain...,,,...


Dang Brian, go get yourself a cup of coffee. I lost you after about the first word.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

iKermit said:


> How funny. I just posted in another thread how much i hated Corollas. You a wizard brah?


Yes.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

iKermit said:


> How funny. I just posted in another thread how much i hated Corollas. You a wizard brah?



Are they all green or red ?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

And here it is. I was surprised to actually find out it was a 2LT (the girls all said I was a nerd by recognizing the wheels). 

It's a 2013 with the Mylink system, which I LOVE. The automatic seems to be better sorted than the 2011 and 2012, but still hunts for gears a LOT in traffic and is very rev happy. Its willing to downshift easily when you press on the gas, which isnt a bad thing. Gear changes are kinda rough compared to something like a Malibu. RPMs are about 500 lower on the highway than my 2012 1LT. 

It definitely doesn't have the torque around 2-3000 RPM my car does, and this car spends more of its time in the 3-4000 range when asked to accelerate. 

We've got 4 smallish people in the car and the trunk stuffed to the gills with luggage. The car is HEAVY and has no passing power on the highway. 1st tank was spent in stop and go traffic for 100 miles (3 hours) and then on the highway at 70-80 mph. It came out as 31 mpg at the pump - not too bad for what it was put through. 

The brown/black interior is really ugly and the leather seats are REALLY uncomfortable and hard compared to the cloth. However, the Continental tires are definitely much smoother and quieter than mine. 

Overall, I think it's a good rental. Sure beats doing the drive in a Corolla or Hyundai. 


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> I'm betting on 70-75 the whole way. Mine seems comfortable getting 38-42 @ 72, depending on the terrain. This car will have 4 people and a trunk full of luggage, and likely the AC going the whole way though. Over 30 and I'll be happy enough, but I'd like to see what it can do.


With the automatic, AC use and passengers/luggage I suspect you will be in the 29-34mpg range at 70-75mph. 38-42mpg is more in the 65-68mph range with the automatic.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Sounds about right as to what it's doing so far. Luckily it's just open road right now so maybe it'll come up. 

Spacedout, what's your RPM at 65/75? At 75, this ones only turning 2600. 


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> Sounds about right as to what it's doing so far. Luckily it's just open road right now so maybe it'll come up.
> 
> Spacedout, what's your RPM at 65/75? At 75, this ones only turning 2600.
> Sent from AutoGuide.com App


I can tell you for sure 55mph is 1850RPM & 58mph is 2,000rpm. I will have to verify in the next few days on this but think 65mph is maybe 2,200rpm I think 72mph is 2500rpm or slightly less.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> (the girls all said I was a nerd by recognizing the wheels).


Well, that could be a compliment, or it could mean you're in deep.

Nvm, you already have a girlfriend, no worries.

Oh, and with four decent sized guys in the diesel, it has plenty of pickup and passing power without being much over 2k...


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Sunline Fan said:


> Oh, and with four decent sized guys in the diesel, it has plenty of pickup and passing power without being much over 2k...


Drool.... I want one in the worst way.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

31 mpg with a full car and luggage is about right. I am assuming your going quicker than speed limit lol. If you lower the speed you may achieve a better #


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

iKermit said:


> 31 mpg with a full car and luggage is about right. I am assuming your going quicker than speed limit lol. If you lower the speed you may achieve a better #


The drive took 15 hours. Screw that. 

Yeah, 32 mpg average. I wonder if it woulda been better on 93 octane but we used regular. 


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> The drive took 15 hours. Screw that.
> 
> Yeah, 32 mpg average. I wonder if it woulda been better on 93 octane but we used regular.
> 
> ...


Lmao. So I the only troll that goes speed limit. Its so much fun. Yeah probably better mpg on higher octane but I treat rentals like I stole em. Who doesn't.. lol


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Haha, well most of the speed limits are 65-70. 72-75 seemed reasonable.

Btw, Jacksonville looks awesome at night. But my god, the highways. 

But hurray! Palm trees!!!










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## Beaker (Mar 21, 2012)

Hit up Garibaldis in Altamonte if you want the best Mexican food in Orlando.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Finally back in DC.

The drive yesterday took from 3:30 AM - 6:30 PM til we dropped off the car. That poor car had no idea what it was in for. >2000 miles of driving in 5 days. Neither did I...couldn't wait to be home again.

[


















^The best tank was actually when I was pushing the hardest...75-80 MPH and 34 MPG until it hit stop-and-go traffic. Weird...most other tanks averaged 31-32 MPG.

Btw, this is the ugly interior I was talking about.










Overall, I was thinking we needed a bigger car for the trip. But when we turned in the rental car, we put all of that same stuff into the trunk/inside of a 2012 Camry...and it's exactly the same size, with a little more legroom in the back. 

It wasn't a bad car...a great rental car for the trip. I do _*NOT*_ like the automatic. Gears 1-3 are short and provide good acceleration (1 and 2 are practically the same gear), but it's GONE by 30 mph. Gears 4-6 are widely spaced out (much like the Eco - just different ratios), and a slight prod of the gas will make it drop to 4th and scream at 5500 RPM on the highway when all I wanted to do is speed up slightly and pass another car. I wasn't anywhere near flooring the thing - it would scream to 5000 at half throttle. I eventually left it locked in M6 and just bumped it down to 5 if I wanted to speed up. 

Driving my manual again last night, I just feel that it puts a lot more power to the ground at a much lower RPM, and is much quicker when you ask it to go. Flooring the automatic from a 2 mph roll was scary - nothing happened for a second or two and then it screamed through 1st and 2nd into traffic (it wasn't changing out of neutral). Downshifts were harsh and seemed confused most of the time; upshifts were fine for the most part, if a bit later than I thought it would shift at times.

If anything, it made me realize...if the automatic was still the only available transmission on LT models and the manual was only available on the ECO and LS, I would not be driving a Cruze.

The engine's a lot smoother under acceleration on the 2013 though - a lot less jerky, although it does seem to be much louder. Anyone else realize the starter was changed between the two years?

I miss the MyLink system...I want that


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

I don't think the brick/black leather interior is ugly, lol! At least the Cruze got you there and back safely though, lol!


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> I do *NOT* like the automatic. Gears 1-3 are short and provide good acceleration (1 and 2 are practically the same gear), but it's GONE by 30 mph. Gears 4-6 are widely spaced out (much like the Eco - just different ratios), and a slight prod of the gas will make it drop to 4th and scream at 5500 RPM on the highway when all I wanted to do is speed up slightly and pass another car. I wasn't anywhere near flooring the thing - it would scream to 5000 at half throttle. I eventually left it locked in M6 and just bumped it down to 5 if I wanted to speed up.
> 
> Flooring the automatic from a 2 mph roll was scary - nothing happened for a second or two and then it screamed through 1st and 2nd into traffic (it wasn't changing out of neutral). Downshifts were harsh and seemed confused most of the time; upshifts were fine for the most part, if a bit later than I thought it would shift at times.



At highway speeds in D if you want to pass and not downshift to 4th all one needs to to is ease into the pedal, you can give up to half throttle with no downshifts at all. Even better is use the cruise control to bump your speed up and down. Interestingly if you bump it up 10MPH all at once the trans will downshift to 5th or 4th(depending on your speed), but if you bump it up 5mph wait a second and bump it up 5mph more it will stay in 6th. 

The delay/lag you felt in town is from my experience 1000 times worse running 87octane & with the AC on in D, manual mode also seems quicker. If you super easy on it in the city your in 5th gear by 28mph. This is great if you have a long flat route at 35mph but if you really need to get up to speed you NEED to utilize 1-3gear to get you rolling. 3,500-4,000RPM in 1-3 you don't even shift into 4th gear until around 40mph+ and 5th at 50mph. 

I agree there is two major harsh downshift on all the automatic cruze I have driven, 5th to 4th gear at 27mph and 3rd to 2nd at like 10mph. For me the transmission is in the proper gear at all times... UNLESS you are rolling near a shift point, especially the above mentioned ones. The fix? try to drive above 30mph all the time.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> I agree there is two major harsh downshift on all the automatic cruze I have driven, 5th to 4th gear at 27mph and 3rd to 2nd at like 10mph. For me the transmission is in the proper gear at all times... UNLESS you are rolling near a shift point, especially the above mentioned ones. The fix? try to drive above 30mph all the time.


After being able to change gears myself, it seems like it holds on to some gears well past 2000-2200 RPM when it could easily shift up, even with a light foot on the pedal.

The automatic seems pretty happy accelerating around-town, but it's just not a good highway performer. It's nowhere near as torquey as the manual transmission cars for some reason...even locked in 5th or 6th and romped on. It really seems like after 2 years, they'd have refined the automatic transmission a little more - I'm sure it's a good 85% of Cruze sales. Granted, it's a heck of a lot better than the 2011 I first drove.



> The delay/lag you felt in town is from my experience 1000 times worse running 87octane & with the AC on in D


It actually had 91 at that point. I wanted to see if it made a difference. This car seemed perfectly happy to run on 87. Actually, since the ECU update I had done a few months back, so does my car, though I still like the <2000 RPM power with 89-93 better.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

On a side note, my girlfriend now has a little more appreciation for the Cruze and said she liked driving it.

Just gotta get her to practice with the manual a little bit...


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

iKermit said:


> Lmao. So I the only troll that goes speed limit. Its so much fun. Yeah probably better mpg on higher octane but I treat rentals like I stole em. Who doesn't.. lol
> 
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


I sit at or below the speed limit around town or short (read < 2 hours) trips where the time saved by going faster is measured in a few minutes. On longer trips I travel at or slightly above the posted limit. According to Google maps it's 31 road hours each way for me to drive from my home to my parent's house in New Hampshire. That extra 2-5 MPH adds up over that range. I'll depend on the aerodynamics and gearing of the ECO MT to keep my fuel costs down. I will run premium, preferably Shell, the entire way as I know this will improve my car's throttle response and keep the ECU from having to work as hard to avoid engine knock, both of which help fuel economy.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jblackburn's comments on the Cruze's Automatic mirror what I ran into while driving a 2013 1LT while my HVAC was being swapped for the non-glycol lubricated one. Manual mode was much better - full automatic didn't know what gear it wanted to be in for minor (even 1-2 MPH) accelerations. The automatic transmission also will not allow you to run the engine speed as low as the manual transmission.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

obermd said:


> I sit at or below the speed limit around town or short (read < 2 hours) trips where the time saved by going faster is measured in a few minutes. On longer trips I travel at or slightly above the posted limit. According to Google maps it's 31 road hours each way for me to drive from my home to my parent's house in New Hampshire. That extra 2-5 MPH adds up over that range. I'll depend on the aerodynamics and gearing of the ECO MT to keep my fuel costs down. I will run premium, preferably Shell, the entire way as I know this will improve my car's throttle response and keep the ECU from having to work as hard to avoid engine knock, both of which help fuel economy.


Yes sir.

I always run Premium from Shell.
Depending on the length of the trip i will go either 5 under or 5 over. Usually i pick 5 under, put my favorite songs on shuffle and just lay back and never look at my rear view mirror lol.

It takes me 6 hours according to google to visit my cousin in Pensacola, FL. 445 miles @ 65 mph (speed limit is usually 70 all the way almost) is almost 7 hours, in that case i will just do speed limit and get there on time and the only difference is literally 1 MPG +/-, and i will still save gas, since usually everyone will do 80-90 MPH. This is NOT factoring traffic jams, idiots that cut you off, and construction.

But if i see the speed limit is 55, like on i95 from Miami to West Palm Beach, i will do 50 and i will literally not waste two gallons of fuel, since i get almost 40 MPG that way. Same with City driving, i just put my music on, and go 5 below and show up 10 minutes late if i have to, but my fuel tank is still almost full. Love the Cruze.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

iKermit said:


> Yes sir.
> 
> I always run Premium from Shell.
> Depending on the length of the trip i will go either 5 under or 5 over. Usually i pick 5 under, put my favorite songs on shuffle and just lay back and never look at my rear view mirror lol.
> ...


If you're going 5 under in a 35 or 45 2-lane, I will have a problem with you.

I usually go 5 mph over, but not often over 75 if it's 70. 

Aside from Georgia (where EVERYONE speeds), I was reminded of how much more chill drivers are down South than they are up North. I don't think we were cut off but twice the whole trip. That happens at least 4x a day just driving 15 miles here.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> If you're going 5 under in a 35 or 45 2-lane, I will have a problem with you.
> 
> I usually go 5 mph over, but not often over 75 if it's 70.
> 
> Aside from Georgia (where EVERYONE speeds), I was reminded of how much more chill drivers are down South than they are up North. I don't think we were cut off but twice the whole trip. That happens at least 4x a day just driving 15 miles here.


Well logically i won't do 30 in a 35, in fact i may just do 40, but i will do 40 in a 45 or 50 in a 55.

Up north of FL, EVERYONE drives perfect. But man here in Miami you almost crash atleast 3 times a day. Which i found out that if i go 5 under speed limit (except in a 35 zone) everyone avoids me for obvious reasons, and i am safer lol... 

VA is that bad?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

It's the Maryland drivers in Virginia. For some reason, they ALL feel the need to drive like obnoxious morons on the highways.

Then there are a high number of fresh-off-the-boat immigrants here in Fairfax County who should NOT (or may not even have) have been given a license. They usually don't cut you off - they drive super erratically. I'm always on the lookout for battered minivans and 15-yr old Corollas that will slam on brakes from 40 to 5 mph and turn from the driving lane for no reason whatsoever.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> It's the Maryland drivers in Virginia. For some reason, they ALL feel the need to drive like obnoxious morons on the highways.
> 
> Then there are a high number of fresh-off-the-boat immigrants here in Fairfax County who should NOT (or may not even have) have been given a license. They usually don't cut you off - they drive super erratically. I'm always on the lookout for battered minivans and 15-yr old Corollas that will slam on brakes from 40 to 5 mph and turn from the driving lane for no reason whatsoever.


YUP we have the same problem here. I won't name a nationality but i figure everyone knows what is 90 miles from here. They drive like there is no stop signs, or signals. Make random U-Turns, from the middle of a road. And never signal so... They will brake from 55-1 and SLOWLY turn onto the street because god forbid they mess up their car turning so fast...


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

LOL, you guys crack me up.

When I lived in Delaware, I remember Philly / NJ drivers being HORRIBLE! Traffic would flow at 70-90 mph on 55 mph highways.. and it was a race to weave between people. There was no regard for law enforcement, and I could just count the number of 20 year old kids on the NJ turnpike doing 100 mph in daddies Porsches!

Back in Buffalo, people keep it to 65 mph in the 55 mph, because the cops don't fxck around here.. They pull over anyone and everyone who drives 65+, no excuses! I feel bad for the Ontario drivers, because a lot of them forget to watch their speed over here and they get pulled over way more than we do. Accross the border you can drive 75-80 mph and police won't bother you, despite their 62 mph speed limit.

Either way, going 5 mph faster on the highway will only affect your MPG by about 1-1.5 MPG, but you will get there 20-30 minutes faster for each increase you do. I just had the thread about it


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Lol...you speak the truth. NJ drivers are maniacs. I hated driving there the one time I went. You're right - at LEAST 80 in a 55; they change lanes about 2 inches in front of you, and you better floor the car to change lanes because the person behind you will dart right in without a signal.

Traffic here generally does 70-75 in 55 zones, and the cops are just fine with that. You go 55, you'll nearly get rear-ended and then cut off by an angry driver. The only time it's not speeding is when it's crawling along at 5 MPH in stop-and-go traffic, and drivers feel the need to cut you off because your lane is moving for 5 seconds faster than the other one, which then stops as well.

I liked driving before I lived around DC. Oh, and none of our highways (especially 95S) can handle the volume. Their solution? Build "express toll lanes" that cost hundreds of millions of dollars that NOBODY USES.


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> I liked driving before I lived around DC. Oh, and none of our highways (especially 95S) can handle the volume. Their solution? Build "express toll lanes" that cost hundreds of millions of dollars that NOBODY USES.


Express toll... pricing for the rich. Then they RAISE the prices during peak hours (what kind of f*cksh*t is that???!). You see, if it was reasonable, people would use them and PAY the money.. but that just makes too much sense.

Do they invest in the HOV lanes at all?

NY State troopers just litter our highways, especially I-290. I-290 is only 10 miles long, but I've counted 10 traffic cops along its length before. It is not uncommon to see 4-5 every trip. They are bold as heck too.. they sit there in the open where you can see them, set their radar to 65 mph and go get their prey. It works.. we don't have maniacs out there because we have rules and stuff.

I can't remember ever seeing cops on the Delaware Turnpike or NJ Turnpike. The only one I've ever seen was a cop that got on NJTP at exit 2, and drove 55 mph to exit 4 daring people to pass him. Best believe the NJ idiots slowed down.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> You see, if it was reasonable, people would use them and PAY the money.. but that just makes too much sense.


Exactly. 



> Do they invest in the HOV lanes at all?


Not anymore. There are 2 lanes on I-95 that alternate directions, and they are in horrible condition that makes my car cry. They're always clogged up just as bad as the regular lanes.

I-66 has an HOV lane in each direction, and 2-3 other travel lanes. They're stopped just as bad as the rest of traffic.

What pisses me off is that a Prius with a "clean fuel" plate is allowed to use the HOV lanes during rush hour with ONE PERSON IN THE CAR. Meanwhile, I'm riding the bus and Metro system to get home because I don't want to drive in the traffic, and they're clogging up the lanes with their stupid cars.

Cops are everywhere here, but do little good about overly-aggressive drivers. They mainly pull over people for HOV offenses. Meanwhile, I've almost been hit 3 times in the past year for drivers that ran red lights with a cop nowhere to be seen...


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

GM needs to put a Sport Mode on the Auto transmission. I drove the Golf and it was fairly gutless in regular Drive but when put in Sport Mode it was like a different car altogether.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

steve333 said:


> GM needs to put a Sport Mode on the Auto transmission. I drove the Gold and it was fairly gutless in regular Drive but when put in Sport Mode it was like a different car altogether.


It really depends how hard you push on the throttle in the Cruze...hit it quickly, and it drops as many gears or holds out gears for as long as possible and revs to the moon. Press on it slowly, like spacedout said, and it will usually drop one gear, but sometimes two. There's not much in-between, and it's just easily confused about WHICH gear to be in.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> It really depends how hard you push on the throttle in the Cruze...hit it quickly, and it drops as many gears or holds out gears for as long as possible and revs to the moon. Press on it slowly, like spacedout said, and it will usually drop one gear, but sometimes two. There's not much in-between, and it's just easily confused about WHICH gear to be in.


Shouldn't happen on a modern car. I test drove almost all the compacts and only the Cruze has this issue. GM needs to fix this stat (needed to fix it before it was produced but that's another story)


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

Get the tune


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ErikBEggs said:


> Get the tune


Pass...it was a rental car. I'll stick with a manual as long as I could get one. I'm not a huge fan of automatics.

Plus...I mean, isn't the transmission shifting something GM should perfect in the first place? The 2012 Malibu has a great transmission...IIRC, that was their first 6-speed.


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

They should, but they didn't. In this fuel economy obsessed market, I haven't run accross a single automatic transmission that shifted when I wanted it to until I started working with Trifecta.

When I rented a Mazda 6, I used to floor it, flog it, beat on it, and everything but abuse it and the doggon thing would refuse to downshift every time . Funny thing is, it would downshift from 6th to 5th on cruise control highway cruising going up the slightest hill because it had no choice and lacked the torque. They have gotten out of control!!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Our Camry's 6-speed is busy, but it knows what it's doing both around town and on the highway (except on cruise control)...the Sonata, Fusion, Civic, Elantra, and Malibu are all focused on fuel economy with 6-speeds and aren't at all bad either.

The Cruze's, if anything, seems to be programmed for the 1.8 where it needs to rev to get any power. I felt the automatic in the 1.4 doesn't take advantage at all of the turbo engine's incredible mid-range from 2500-4000 RPM and would rather rev like a Civic to accomplish anything.

Move out to pass..."Why are you killing the rental car?!" "I'm not! It just can't make up its mind!" "BE NICE TO IT!"

Then again, there's the Focus's god-awful dual-clutch thingamajig. THATS a complete disaster.

Welp, hopefully that'll be on the list for the 2015. I'm curious to see how well the Aisin automatic in the Diesel behaves - I have never driven a bad Aisin transmission. I think I'll go see if I can play with one tomorrow.


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## rustinn (Jun 7, 2012)

From my understanding, the Cruze has always been available for fleet purchases, but the key is, there is no fleet discount. What kills resale value is when GM decides to get rid of whatever's left on the lot at the end of the month to fleet sales at stunningly low prices. Honda on the other hand simply doesn't sell their vehicles to fleet companies. I may be mistaken, but I swore I read something along these lines somewhere on this forum.


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> It wasn't a bad car...a great rental car for the trip. I do _*NOT*_ like the automatic. Gears 1-3 are short and provide good acceleration (1 and 2 are practically the same gear), but it's GONE by 30 mph. Gears 4-6 are widely spaced out (much like the Eco - just different ratios), and a slight prod of the gas will make it drop to 4th and scream at 5500 RPM on the highway when all I wanted to do is speed up slightly and pass another car. I wasn't anywhere near flooring the thing - it would scream to 5000 at half throttle. I eventually left it locked in M6 and just bumped it down to 5 if I wanted to speed up.
> 
> Driving my manual again last night, I just feel that it puts a lot more power to the ground at a much lower RPM, and is much quicker when you ask it to go. Flooring the automatic from a 2 mph roll was scary - nothing happened for a second or two and then it screamed through 1st and 2nd into traffic (it wasn't changing out of neutral). Downshifts were harsh and seemed confused most of the time; upshifts were fine for the most part, if a bit later than I thought it would shift at times.
> 
> ...


For a minute there, I thought you were driving my old Cruze!  What you describe is what I dealt with for almost the whole time I had my Cruze. Glad you experienced what the GM engineer who drove mine couldn't! It was scary to step on the gas and go nowhere- right? Glad you're back to your Cruze now.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

fastdriver said:


> For a minute there, I thought you were driving my old Cruze!  What you describe is what I dealt with for almost the whole time I had my Cruze. Glad you experienced what the GM engineer who drove mine couldn't! It was scary to step on the gas and go nowhere- right? Glad you're back to your Cruze now.


That only really happened once...I really just think I expected too much of it with 3 people in the car and AC on. The engine responded instantly and it pulled off...just slowly until it hit 3000 RPM or so. Mine would have done the same unless I slipped the clutch a little bit and then gunned it.

But I do know what you're talking about...the brand new 2011 I drove back when looking at the Cruze didn't know what the heck it was doing from a stoplight. The 2013 was completely fine at accelerating up through the gears.


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