2009 Aura - less quiet?

[Stoney]

I thought I read somewhere that someone who owned a 2007 Aura test drove a 2009 Aura and noticed it wasn't as quiet, and then was told that the laminated glass or some such thing was gone for the 2009 model year. This fellow then walked away. Surely such a travesty would never occur! Anyone have any information about this issue? I can't find the item on this forum, now so I don't have a clue where I saw this item.

[Chevy_Rules]

He ended up buying a 2008 Aura that was built before May( when they killed the laminated windshield)

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...er-walk-67739/

[Kooler King]

Originally Posted by Chevy_Rules

He ended up buying a 2008 Aura that was built before May( when they killed the laminated windshield)

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...er-walk-67739/

I was impressed by the little tube of ball bearings with different glass at each end at the dealership's Aura display, extolling the virtues of the sound-deadening glass. I test drove an early-build Aura on a bright, sunny June day, and it seemed fine. The "special" glass helped my decision process towards the Aura.

A few days later, my just-purchased late-build '08 Aura windshield sounded as if it was being pelted with BBs the first time I drove it in the rain ... I was confused, thinking "I'm sure glad I don't have the regular glass."

Now, I'm not sure what I have ... was the "good" glass deleted during the course of the 2008 model year or afterwards as a 2009 change?

[Chevy_Rules]

They got rid of it in May. If you bought a pre-May build then you still have the laminated glass.

[dishdude]

I wonder how much of a difference this really makes.

[BobbyP]

For those who experienced the earlier Auras, the difference is immediately noticeable. I suspect the new Auras are going to be just as noisy as the G6. Which isn't any better than a Cobalt or any other similar sized GM car.

Saturn's upper management can no longer say NO to GM, so everything they can do to save money will happen... They are now just another pawn in GM's portfolio.

The question is what's next?

[AuraDrvr89]

So this leads me to my next question. What happens if my windshield ever needs to be replaced?

Will I be able to get this triple laminated glass?

[amyers]

I'm a little comfused, as I did not hear of a change being made. My first concern was that I misled customers as a change went unnoticed by me.

Now, I checked 2008 Auras that we received within the last week and confirmed a build date in June and checked the first 2009 I had delivered which was built in July. These all had laminate glass.

[amyers]

To clarify...the laminate glass in both in the windshield as well as the front side windows. The rear side windows have never been laminated, rather a thicker than normal tempered glass.

The windows in our late 2008 models as well as our first 2009 look the same as the origional 2007 models.

[skydrive]

Remember that for GM pinching pennies is always more important that satisfying, keeping or impressing the customer. Buy a new GM model the first year it comes out because every year after that they typically hack away at all the nice features that made the car as good as it was in the first place.

[08auraj]

Yea I agree.. it honestly sucks that they did this.. and honestly would steer me away from wanting to get a new aura.. They make something good, and it works.. why do they need to change it?

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by HotIonDrvr89

So this leads me to my next question. What happens if my windshield ever needs to be replaced?

Will I be able to get this triple laminated glass?

Don't you think your insurance company will want to go the cheaper way?

I'd be concerned how a thinner windshield will fit in the gap that originally had a thicker one.

[Emanuel]

Was the triple laminate removed from the late 08 and 09 Malibu?

[Chevy_Rules]

Originally Posted by Emanuel

Was the triple laminate removed from the late 08 and 09 Malibu?

Yes, it was.

[MikeS]

Just when I was convinced that GM had finally "got it" and had started to take a customer-centric approach to producing solid vehicles, they put the bean counters in charge of the engineering team again.

This type of cheezy nickle and diming and "screw the customer" attitude is exactly what turned me off GM in the first place. Then along came the Aura which was so uncharacteristic of the old arrogant GM that I thought they were genuinely trying to re-invent (and save) the company.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

[Stoney]

Amyers said: "I'm a little comfused, as I did not hear of a change being made. My first concern was that I misled customers as a change went unnoticed by me.

Now, I checked 2008 Auras that we received within the last week and confirmed a build date in June and checked the first 2009 I had delivered which was built in July. These all had laminate glass."

Now I'm confused as well. Was the laminate glass eliminated or is it just rumour?

If indeed it is, I suppose we can't expect manufacturers to promote their 'de-contenting', if I can call it that. It would be naive to believe that GM is the only car company that saves money in this way.

I recall the comment that Car and Driver wrote when they first reviewed the Aura:

"Driving the Aura on the highway is like putting on a set of Bose noise-canceling headphones. Although our sound-level meter measured a very average 68 dBA of noise, it seemed to our ears to be the quietest car since a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Double-paned front glass, a healthy dose of sound deadening, and laminated steel (dubbed Quiet Steel) go a long way toward canceling unwanted racket. There is little that disturbs the Aura."

It certainly was a comment that made me consider staying a Saturn owner with my next car purchase.

Perhaps if those with influence are watching the forum this discussion could influence future decisions, and who knows, perhaps even reverse this one.

[prof]

Originally Posted by skydrive

Remember that for GM pinching pennies is always more important that satisfying, keeping or impressing the customer. Buy a new GM model the first year it comes out because every year after that they typically hack away at all the nice features that made the car as good as it was in the first place.

And is it any wonder that GM loses market share year in and year out?

[AuraDrvr89]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

Don't you think your insurance company will want to go the cheaper way?

I'd be concerned how a thinner windshield will fit in the gap that originally had a thicker one.

That makes me slightly frustrated, already. And nothing has even happened yet haha

[Emanuel]

Originally Posted by Stoney

Amyers said: "

Now, I checked 2008 Auras that we received within the last week and confirmed a build date in June and checked the first 2009 I had delivered which was built in July. These all had laminate glass."

Now I'm confused as well. Was the laminate glass eliminated or is it just rumour?

I think the following is true, but I can't swear by it. Please correct me if I'm wrong:

All windshield glass is double laminated (two sheets of glss separated by a sheet of plastic) for safety. The Aura had triple laminated glass for sound deadening as well as safety.

Side window glass does not need to be laminated (tempered glass is sufficient for safety) but the Aura used laminated glass for sound deadening in the front-side windows.

[skydrive]

There are other examples. The nice, quiet, expensive sounding turn signal chime is gone for 2009 Auras (and presumably Malibus and G6s) and has been replaced by the cheap sounding mechanical click from the old days. The 2009 Sky and Solstice lose their slide-out center cupholders, replaced by a tacky plastic blank - while the price of the car goes up mind you. The 2008 Solstice lost the cool grey/sand interior color scheme from the original concept and switched to cashmere inserts in the seats/doors so they only had to make black dashboards, door panels and other interior trim that could be shared with all Solstice models. My in-laws (GM loyalists) have had three GMC Envoys in a row (a first year 2002, a 2005 and a 2007) and with each new model they have noticed minor omissions from the one before. It is simply bad policy. Whatever GM thinks they gain in money savings, they lose far more in customer perception.