Background: The latest offspring joining Oldsmobile's family tree is its smallest bundle of joy; the front-wheel-drive Alero. Born last summer as a 1999 edition, Alero has high expectations from its General Motors' parents. Early Alero press conferences continuously predicted the diminutive offering would rise to become the volume-leading Oldsmobile vehicle with 150,000 unit sales annually; a mighty boastful claim since the relatively new mid-size Intrigue, introduced a year earlier, was doing quite well in the sales department. But February figures back up Alero's potential. Consumers purchased 11,181 Aleros last month, 3,000 more than Intrigue, Oldsmobile's next best-selling vehicle. General Motors' Oldsmoblie division, the first domestic automaker to reach 100 years of auto production, experienced its own growing pains and dysfunctional family times recently. At the beginning of the decade, upstart import luxury brands including Lexus, Infiniti and Acura were siphoning Oldsmobile's thunder. In addition, the line distinguishing Oldsmobile from Buick, GM's other big-car luxury brand, was growing ever thinner. Oldmobile experienced a full-blown identity crisis while sales tumbled. General Motors, the world's largest vehicle maker, took action and reinvented Oldsmobile, positioning the brand as America's answer to imports. Larger sedans, like the Ninty-eight, were retired while a parade of new vehicles were introduced. Alero did have one advantage; it replaced the underachieving, slow-selling Achieva in Oldsmobile's marketing mix. The compact Achieva never caught the fancy of the driving public since its introduction earlier this decade. Alero sales had nowhere to go but up when compared with Achieva. Unfortunately, last summer's strike at several General Motors assembly facilities hit the entry-level Alero especially hard. Just as the all-new Alero began rolling off the assembly line in Lansing Mich., work stopped and it was left hanging until the work stoppage ended later that summer. Alero, being a new model, had no built-up inventory to fall back on when interested buyers came calling. But once production got back on track, Alero rolled right along.
Trim levels: Alero, sold in both two-door coupe and four-door sedan versions; each boast three trim levels: entry-level GX, mid-range GL and top-of-the-line GLS. Alero shares automotive platform similarities of the Pontiac Grand Am, which received a major redesign for the 1999 year. The Alero coupe represents Oldsmobiles sole two-door offering.
Engine: Two powertrain choices are available: a four-cylinder, 2.4-liter, double overhead cam delivers an impressive 150 horsepower while the larger 3.4-liter V-6 includes 170 horsepower. Entry-level GX sedans and coupes come exclusively with four-cylinder powertrains. Mid-level GLs include four-cylinder powertrains standard while the V-6 remains optional. Top-level GLS promotes the 3.4-liter, V-6 exclusively.
Safety features: Dual, reduced-force air bags, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, traction control, safety cage construction, five-mile-per-hour bumpers and daytime running lights come standard in both coupe and sedan editions. Child safety locks come with sedan editions. Keyless remote entry, standard in GLS, comes as a $150 option in GX and GL.
Standard equipment: Even entry-level GX editions come well equipped. No need to negotiate back and forth for option packages. All Aleros include a light-weight, four-speed automatic transmission; air conditioning; rear-window defogger; intermittent windshield wipers; solar coated tinted glass; rack-and-pinion steering; power door locks and tilt steering wheel. Cruise control is optional everywhere except in GX coupes and sedans, where it's optional. Power windows and side-view mirrors, come standard everywhere except GX coupes and sedans, where it's not offered.
Options: Power sunroofs are optional across the board except in entry-level GX, where it's not offered. Compact disc players, optional in GX and GL, come standard in GLS.
Price: The lowest price Alero, a GX coupe and sedan, includes a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $16,325. Oldsmobile supplied the Daily Herald with a mid-level, four-cylinder GL coupe including a $18,655 starting price. After factoring in keyless remote entry, power seats and compact disc player, the bottom line totaled $19,835 including a $525 destination charge. Both GLS coupes and sedans start at $20,875.
Interior: Alero's instrument panel and dashboard bear strikingly similarities to the larger Intrigue; a good comparison because both are smartly designed with easy access to controls. A large speedometer and tachometer occupy center stage, flanked by a smaller fuel gauge on the right and temperature gauge on the left. Centrally located is a convenient, secondary horizontal, illuminated gearshift indicator. Gauges are analog with the exception of the digital odometer. The ignition cylinder, located on the dashboard, is right of the steering column. The stereo, with five large station pre set buttons, positions above the climate control system incorporating three circular knobs controlling temperature, fan speed and direction. A digital clock shares time with the radio frequency display. Overall excellent ergonomic, modern settings. A circular trunk release button is found on the driver's door, a much more convenient location than the floor, where many competitors locate trunk levers. Two cup holders are found in front; one permanently-mounted holder is just ahead of the floor-mounted transmission shifter. The second retracts out of the front of the flip-top storage bin. A hand-operated parking brake is also found between front bucket seats.
Seating comfort: Cloth seating is the norm in GX and GL sedans and coupes. Leather interior and six-way power seats, optional in GL, comes standard in uplevel GLS. Alero coupes include a nasty blind spot behind the driver's left shoulder. The back windshield, lipped upward at the bottom sometimes causes headlights from close-following cars to fade from rear-view mirror perception. Maneuvering into the back of two-door Aleros is made easier by a passenger-side front bucket seat that moves forward on track once the seat back folds forward. Once seated in back, riders have ample head and leg room. Dual cup holders fold down from the area between the front bucket seats. Even though Oldsmobile promotes Alero as a five seater, its compact size allows two adults to travel most comfortably in back. Back seats include a 70/30 split for easy trunk access.
Dimensions (coupe): Wheelbase: 107 inches Overall length: 186.7 inches Overall width: 70.1 inches Overall height: 54.5 inches Curb weight: 2,958 pounds
Exterior: Alero's styling offers a bit more pizzazz than many of its mainstream compact rivals. Door handles, of the flush-mounted variety, are body colored as are side-view mirrors; which fold in if brushed against large, immovable objects. The radio antenna, built into the rear window, provides a clean look. The non-locking, circular fuel door is positioned on the right rear fender. Up front, thin rectangular headlights wrap around to the sides. Oldsmobile's new circular logo situates between front headlights for a "grille-less" front look. Fifteen inch all-season radial tires come standard in GX and GL editions for optimal traction; many competitors in the compact segment offer 14-inch or smaller tires. Standard in GLS editions and optional in GL are 16-inch touring radials with alloy wheel covers. A innovative warning system, standard in GL and GLS, chimes and illuminates a dashboard light when any tire's pressure drops by 10 pounds-per-square-inch from recommended inflation. Dent-resistant steel body panels are also standard.
Fuel Economy: The four-cylinder powertrain offers better fuel economy then the six banger, but not by much. Our coupe included estimates of 21 miles per gallon city and 30 m.p.g. highway. The V-6 engine registers 20 m.p.g. city and 29 m.p.g. highway. The tank holds 15 gallons of unleaded fuel.
Target Audience: The typical Alero shopper is in his or her mid thirties to late forties, although coupe buyers tend to attract slightly younger shoppers, with a household income between $45,000 and $60,000. Half are women and half are college graduates. Sixty-five percent of sedan buyer are married while 45 percent of coupe buyers have tied the knot.
Trunk: As with many newer General Motors' offerings, trunk volume is taken very seriously. At 15.3 cubic feet of space, Alero boasts one of the largest trunks in its class and more room than a mid-size Honda Accord.
Final thoughts: For a compact classification, Alero offers tremendous interior room and trunk space. With coupe and sedan offerings along with four-and-six cylinder engine choices, Alero offers many variations for many customers. It warrants a serious look for shoppers in the market for a vehicle larger than a conventional compact in a price range between $16,000 and $21,000. |