It's official
 

The G is moving on to a new owner, hopefully one that has taken care of it as much as i have over the past 100k miles.

I may post another thread in the near future of my overall impressions of the car, and hope to include some stats and data of my findings, owning the car the past 6 years.

I literally shed a few tears after leaving it at the dealership. Loved the car, but it was time to move on for a variety of reasons.

gShack.org will continue to stay online, i hope it continues to help every G owner. I'm also happy to post new how-to's and reviews for anyone who wants to contribute to it. The site will always be free and available to everyone.

Every single one of the members of this community has been nothing but wonderful. Thank you for all these years of camaraderie, i am not leaving this forum because of that. I've made some pretty good people these past few years whom i hope to meet in person someday. You know who you guys are. :)

Here's the first pic i took of the new ride. It was raining cats and dogs today, so the car is already dirty. :)

http://img.voicesofvision.com/photos...-FFmtDFz-L.jpg

p.s. If anyone in Houston is interested in buying the car from the dealership, please PM me and i'll tell you which dealership it went to. I traded it in with all the mods -- Akebono, Invidia Cat, Front/rear spoilers/aero, Akebono, RB 2pc rotors, Stoptech pads, Eibach front/rear sways, MRR U08 19"s staggered, etc...

So whats the new purchase? Im too behind on the new models to recognize what it is based off your teaser.

Admit it or not once you move to another make, your activity level certainly decreases by a lot on this 'old' forum so your constant helpful and occasional witty posts will be missed Mike :)

And stop being a tease and posts some HQ pics of your ..... umm new ride, im pretty sure i know what it is but will hold out to allow you to tease a few more minds

Mike, really happy that you've found something to replace your beloved G, sure hope it brings you the same amount of commitment. You've been a very valuable resource and a helpful friend, I know you won't be a stranger, but I also know your time is precious. Look forward to more pics and a full review & build thread when the time comes (and I think I know brand too :) )
Don't leave us hanging too long :)
BTW, whoever ends up w/ that great G is very lucky indeed (as long as they don't mess w/ the strut nuts) sry, couldn't help it bro!

somebody said volt on the other forum :P

Bound to happen to all of us, but sad to see nonetheless. Good luck Mikey with the new ride (you're a b!tch for the teaser pic) and we'll miss your constant helpful presence here. I know you'll swing by some but it's still not the same. Good thing I live in HTown now so I can stalk you in person........ :icon38:

thanks guys. I'll be around. :)

What witty posts? :p

I think i need to be an engineer before doing anything with the new ride, lol. There's hardly anything in the aftermarket for it except maybe rubber floormats. I like those. :icon17:

Well, you're no fun. :5091:

Tim, i'm sure we'll be seeing each other. Maybe at the SGS BBQ, if the tres marias will start planning on it. August is just a couple weeks away! :icon17:

But yes, i did get a Chevy Volt --- my first American car :) Actually had the charger installed quite some time ago, now it has something to do.

The beauty of it is, with all the driving i do each year... put it this way, with the paid-off G i spent about $240/mo on gas. After factoring in all the maintenance on the G (DIY labor even!), which the Volt doesn't need, for about $8 more/month, i'm in a new car with 4 miles. This is taking into account fuel and electricity costs. The more i'll drive the Volt, the better the energy savings, especially on weekends where my travels are within the electric range.

It's no G, not by a stretch. Its top speed is 100mph -- i won't use it on the streets, but it's still decent enough that i can still hit the local road course and have a little fun with it. Having batteries so low has a great effect on CG. It handles quite well, actually.

With almost 280lb/ft of torque at 0 rpm, it's also quite zippy and fun to drive. :)

http://img.voicesofvision.com/photos...-tXm4mRv-M.jpg

i heard about these cars catching fire or something a while back not sure if it was true and if so hope they fixed it. With that being said i actually like the styling of the car and 280ft/lb @ 0rpm sounds like quite a bit of fun! :)

This is one reason im thinking about getting the Q50 hybrid IF i can afford to change over by the end of the year, anyways mike post some nice pics now since your teaser has been exposed and keep us updated on how you like it for a while at least

Yep, i looked into those reports extensively. From what i've gathered, it was user-error (i.e. improperly wired garage outlets) in one case, and leaking battery coolant that seemed to have been ignited by a damaged battery pack days after a crash. At least the latter has been addressed by GM almost immediately.

GM seems to be very responsive to the Volt community. All Volt owners get immediate access to a Volt adviser to contact about practically anything. They also serve as liaison between owner and dealership for any updates, repairs and whatnot. Glorified concierge if i may.

It rained pretty hard yesterday so the car is already dirty :\ but pics will come soon enough. :D

I test drove this car a handful of times, watched a couple hundred videos about it and read as many owner reviews and posts as i possibly could. I also have a fairly extensive spreadsheet calculating TCO in comparison to keeping the G.

The car MSRP'd at $45k. As nobody is buying them, the incentives are great and dealerships are desperate to sell 'em. I got $9k off, plus another $7,500 fed tax credit (credit, not a deduction, which is even better!) Bottom line, i'm left with a car note in the $15k range, with trade.

I initially looked at a Jetta Sportwagen TDI, but even with its lower cost of purchase, it ended up costing just a little more than the Volt, with none of the amenities.

Many folks fail to realize how much can be saved by using electricity vs. gas, and the relative lack of maintenance items on an EREV (extended-range electric vehicle.) So, folks just look at the Volt's MSRP, go wide-eyed, then turn away.

Anyhow, my driving style goes with a lot of coasting, even with the G. It's quite an eye-opener that on the Volt, i'm literally charging the battery at that time. Makes me realize all the energy i've wasted over the years. :D

Also, i know the Volt is relatively slow. But, weeks of logging how i accelerate and drive around town/freeway on the G, i have never gone below 9 seconds 0-60 coming out of a stoplight, which the Volt can do without much ado (aided by near total silence.) 50-70 freeway passing is also nice and brisk. So, from a daily driving perspective, it's not far from where i was with the G.

Though i will admit, 3rd gear on the G.... :)

I, for one, am looking forward to your post to that effect. I wanted so badly to get the Q5h, but at the price they're asking for it, i could not swallow the idea of spending so much on a car. I even considered a Tesla as it's just a stones-throw away from a nicely loaded Q5h, but i can't get over the range anxiety of a fully-electric car, despite its performance numbers.

Maybe in a few years i'll join you on the Q as a weekend toy, but brand new, it just amazes me how much cars costs these days. :icon43:

Granted, the Q5h is a techno wonder.

Congrats on what seems to be a well thought out purchase, looks like it's going to meet most of your needs and help w/ your bottom line. Look forward to hearing more about it as you get some seat time.
Sounds like quite a bit of fun too.

Wow Mike, sad to see you "go," but thanks for all the help you've given the community and myself throughout the years.

Have fun with the new wheels!

Thanks guys. :)

Thought out is probably putting it lightly, i think i'm starting to get OCD as i get older. :icon17:

It has been fun so far, day 2 of ownership and first day on a long freeway drive. 31 miles to work with 16 left on the charge. That puts me on the "low-end" of what most folks are getting out of a full-charge. I should be getting 49-51 once that battery is properly conditioned. Cool fact, GM added 0.5kWh of capacity for 2013's, which nets about 3-4 miles. The suede inserts on the seats grip me much better than the G's sport seats, great for staying put, but trickier to slide into and out of.

There are nuances to the car coming out of the G that need some getting used to, but overall i am liking this glorified golf cart / go kart. :)

Yes, you would! :p The diesel 6 coming out later this year would give you a good idea of how the CX-5d will work. My mom has the redesigned CX-5 and it's a joy to drive. Imagine adding a bit more torque to it. ;)

Thanks to you and everyone else in this forum. I've always enjoyed the camaraderie around here, on and offline. So yeah, as kool put it lightly, i'll try not to stay away too much, or he might miss my witty (dumb) comments. :BOUNCE:

Here's just one of the many threads from Mike showing his stellar G and as always, provides useful info for the rest of us to devour :)
https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...pics-dyno.html
BTW Mike, I'll be painting my cans w/ that RustOLeum tomorrow, hope they look as good as yours :biggthumpup:

Congrats on the new ride and don't be a stranger. :biggthumpup: