Here's a comparo for thought

[IAMCANADIAN]

Being a Pontiac person, I never thought I would buy an Oldsmobile, but after driving a Grand Am and finding the Alero I now drive, I personally believe that if you're in the market for a Grand Am or any similar car for that matter, I believe that you should consider an Alero or any of the other Oldsmobiles that GM sold between the late '90s until 2004.

Exterior Styling:
The Grand Am is very flashy, in your face and is a bit harsh for a lot of people. The Alero on the other hand is sleek, refined and a bit more pleasing to the eyes while still being sporty.

Interior Styling:
Let's face it, what was GM thinking when they designed the Grand Am's interior. It's cheap looking, overstyled and to some, just downright ugly. Where the Alero looks clean, pleasing to the eye and the materials are right for the price. It's easily 1000x better than the Grand Am's.

Quietness:
The Grand Am was not designed for refinement, since Pontiac's are performance oriented cars, you hear the engine, which was tuned to sound deep and throaty. Where step in the alero, close all the windows, sunroof, turn off the radio and enjoy a tranquil drive, on the highway at 100 km/h, the engine at a low 1800 RPM in 4th gear and a slight hiss of wind.

So now that I've ruined the Grand Am's ego, and trust me, I'm not the first one, I'll let you know about some of the other pros of the Alero.

Performance:
My Alero GLS has been rated at 7.8 Seconds for 0-60 by Edmunds and by other testers as well, I think even GM claims it as well. Anyway, it's not too much power that a young driver like me can't handle, but it's not too slow that it struggles to even pass a Geo Metro on the highway. Handling is pretty good, the Grand Am, at least the GT, is slightly better handling.

Fuel Economy:
The Alero and Grand Am have a 53L (14 Gal.) gas tank. That's small by midsize standards, and for a 3.4L V6, you'd think that it would be horrid on gas. But Energuide claims it gets 26 MPIG city, 42 Highway. I'm not sure what that is in US MPG, but those numbers are pretty **************** good for a V6. In fact it usually only costs me 25 bucks to fill it from 1/4 tank, pretty good, in fact, i've put in premium a few times and it cost a few bucks more.

Overall the Alero and even the Intrigue, Aurora, Bravada and Silhouette are very nice vehicles. They were nicely styled, very refined and it's quite surprising that GM would get rid of them. But if you're in the market for a late 90's or 2000's Grand Am or even another Pontiac model, look at an Oldsmobile, you might be surprised on how nice they really are.

[griswold44]

No offense, but the Alero's interior (while slightly better than the GA's) is terrible, and is not even close to a Lexus interior (Toyota, Oldsmobile's main competitor has better interiors) You're one of my favorite members here IAMCANADIAN, but I have to disagree with you here. The Alero is a nice car in it's own right.

[IAMCANADIAN]

well it isn't a lexus one, I didn't say that lexus could've designed it, i forget who said that, i think it was nctd.com, no I agree it isn't, but it's right for the price where the GA is like utter crap lol

[griswold44]

Originally Posted by IAMCANADIAN

well it isn't a lexus one, I didn't say that lexus could've designed it, i forget who said that, i think it was nctd.com, no I agree it isn't, but it's right for the price where the GA is like utter crap lol

Agreed.

[IAMCANADIAN]

lol good stuff

[IAMCANADIAN]

i decided to remove the lexus part, i can't think about where I heard that, but since I didn't say it and I can't remember who said it, i'll remove it, but let's just say that the alero's interior is right for the price, it's not very american as well, it's very import like, but doesn't have the rich materials of a lexus, but then again it doesn't cost as much as one lol.

[giagastormer]

My aunt bought a brand new 2004 Alero, only cost $11k. She absolutely loved that car. Too bad she got in an accident with it (wasn't her fault). She now drives a 2005 Corolla.

[griswold44]

Originally Posted by giagastormer

My aunt bought a brand new 2004 Alero, only cost $11k. She absolutely loved that car. Too bad she got in an accident with it (wasn't her fault). She now drives a 2005 Corolla.

Was it one of the final 500's? 2400 posts.

[IAMCANADIAN]

Originally Posted by giagastormer

My aunt bought a brand new 2004 Alero, only cost $11k. She absolutely loved that car. Too bad she got in an accident with it (wasn't her fault). She now drives a 2005 Corolla.

Corolla isn't bad, but it's like a totally different car than the alero lol. I rode in a corolla taxi recently, it was okay, but it's a little tight in the backseat. My mom's like, i can't pick you up since i'm going to work but you can take the bus, well, i've only been on a bus once in my life and that was with my dad not long after my mom kicked him out and they got divorced, so I decided to use the money for a taxi, plus it's faster and I don't know the bus schedules.

[IAMCANADIAN]

now that the fun is over, i'm going to say the things I don't like about the alero, they're relatively minor but can be annoying. #1 is backseat access, I have the coupe and when entering the backseat, the seatbelt gets in the way and you have to push it up and away from you. Why can't they have the seatbelt intergrated into the seat like some GM's have and Chrysler uses in the Sebring Convertible, it really makes rear entry/exit much easier. #2 is the immobilizer, I was getting worried when it took almost 5 seconds to start, but apparently the Immobilizer in Oldsmobiles takes a few seconds to determine whether the key is the right one, the mechanic told me that if I turn it to the on position for a few seconds, then turn it to start, it will start instantly. Which, thankfully, he was right. In fact I kinda noticed it in some other cars including my mom's new Saab 9-5. Those are it lol, I know they don't seem like much.