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RoadKingMoe · 02-22-2005, 07:52 PM

Silvertwinkie · 02-22-2005, 08:30 PM

Good article. Though I didn't get a quadrasteer Suburban, I did consider it.

Over59 · 02-22-2005, 08:34 PM

Dealers didn't support it. Didn't order there spec trucks with it. Try to find one. Would have liked to get this with the DuraMax. The trucks that pull the really big trailers couldn't get it. Very poor job of moving this product. DOA

AgZep · 02-22-2005, 09:00 PM

Maybe Delphi can get some other makes to pick it up. Personally, I'd love to see a Quadrasteer Titan with a big ol' diesel. But given the Japanese companies' own failures with 4WS and active suspension on their high-end car lines, I won't be holding my breath.

Silvertwinkie · 02-22-2005, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgZep

Maybe Delphi can get some other makes to pick it up. Personally, I'd love to see a Quadrasteer Titan with a big ol' diesel. But given the Japanese companies' own failures with 4WS and active suspension on their high-end car lines, I won't be holding my breath.

Lots of talk about this one on other forums now that I look at it. From what I've seen, the quadrasteer rear end didn't have enough meat to it to be able to handle the higher torque from the the Duramax. I would suspect that if the diesel was small w/less power, perhaps it might, but then again, kind of defeats the whole thing about getting the kind of power you'd expect from a good diesel.

AgZep · 02-22-2005, 10:00 PM

No, we wouldn't want a hobbled engine. What made Quadrasteer special was the way it handled the steering aspects. I imagine the Quadrasteer patents apply to just the steering gear, and not the powertrain pieces, although I'm speculating for sure. I can't see any engineering reason why someone else couldn't beef up the appropriate components so that it could deal with more torque.

If you think about it, we don't really have ideal tow vehicles to begin with. Pickups, and to a lesser extent SUVs, are designed to carry heavy loads in the bed, and the ability to tug huge weights is sort of ancillary, and even compromised to some extent by the weight-handling design (come feel the ride over DC potholes in my 2500HD sometime). Imagine what we might get with a vehicle built primarily for towing from the ground up.

Sorry, it's getting late, and I'm dreaming at the keyboard again...

Silvertwinkie · 02-22-2005, 10:05 PM

I agree....but I suspect that if GM had it in limited vehicles at the current price point, a beefed up unit that could be installed into higher torque situations could initially cost big $$$ as an upcharge. Given the fact that most diesels already come at a fairly robust premium, you could be looking at 8-10k more (including engine upgrade) for a PowerStroke, Duramax or Cummings pickup so equipped.

It's all up to Delphi I suppose.

balrgn · 02-23-2005, 04:47 AM

That is bad news! I love my Quad steer!!! We have an '03 Searra 1500 with a 5.3 V8. Has all the power I need to tow my 25' Trade Wind.

vajeep · 02-23-2005, 11:56 AM

Too bad. I think that it was lack of training for the local dealers, Unless you drive something with Quadra-steer you can not really understand what an advantage it is. Parking, towing and lane changes... I guess that my Quadra-steer 2500 Burb has become a collector item...
I had heard a rumor that Nissan was looking at the Delphi system...

balrgn · 02-23-2005, 12:27 PM

I'm hoping an American Car maker will pick it up. I'd almost consider a Ford! Not lookig forward on re-learing how to back up a trailer.

Big Dee · 02-23-2005, 03:33 PM

Yes, we are a little sad and more than a little digusted at GM over at the Quadrasteer forums. Here is an interesting post from the administrator of the Quadrasteer forums I thought I share:

Quote:

It's a sad day in the towing world today. Quadrasteer introduced in the first year of the GMC Denali in 2002, has been canceled by GM. 4-wheel-steering is the best advance this reporter has ever seen in bumper tow trailer control, safety and handling as well as all that for the vehicle and parking was amazing. I had one of the original GMC Denali Quadrasteer on display at the gate of the All American Quarter Horse Congress last year. I've towed many trailers with the QS trucks and Suburban. We towed a horse trailer up Pikes Peak, towed two trailers at a time and barrel raced it.

Originally in 2002 when GM first introduced the Quadrasteer, they had it priced into the truck's standard features at $7000. Not that it wasn't worth that much, but it was a price that kept sales down. It's this price greed from GM that I blame on the down fall of Quadrasteer. In 2003 when Quadrasteer was added to more Chevy and GMC lines and the price was dropped to $4995, dealers did stock them but, the QS option was equal to a diesel option, again not inline with the market. So in 2004, after the cat is out of the bag, GM dropped the price to $1995, which is a bargain, but dealers who ordered in the 03's at the $4995 price where stung and didn't order many for 04. This lack of national inventory meant many folks had to order their Quadrasteer from the factory, many without even getting a chance to drive one first.

Four-Wheel-Steer was a project at Delphi for approximately 10 years. Handling, safety, towing, parking of the Quadrasteer where intensely tested. Steering with all 4 wheels was fully automatic, designed to automatically compensate for car washes, backing, hard cornering with a trailer and highway speed sideways lane changes. Quadrasteer can also be shut off, and a tow mode to keep you from turning into your trailer hitch.

I was so impressed with Quadrasteer that I built a website around it as www.QuadrasteerClub.com with great response. Delphi even sent their engineers to our forum to answer detailed questions. (this was bold move). But GM has sold less than 20,000 Quadrasteers from 2002 to 2005. You can still buy a new 2005 Quadrasteer but ordering them will soon be over. We've added a national directory of the new Quadasteers left in the country to our website.

Folks who own Quadrasteer love them, reporters call them a cult. But it's hard to describe the difference they make with a trailer. I considered them the greatest safety option for trailering since the "weight distributing hitch". But it's still possible to see Quadrasteer on another truck brand. Nissan has expressed interest in it as Car and Driver Magazine reported last spring (2004). So if you are in the market for a towing vehicle for a bumper pull horse trailer, I highly recommend Quadrasteer. The Denali that I drove last summer was rated to tow 10,300#'s.

I hope we do see Quadrasteer back in the future. We're waiting to see what Nissan is going to do.

Our staff debated how to break the news to our members. First you're sad, then angry, now we're looking to the future. Let GM know how disappointed we all are in their lack of marketing and understanding how happy Quadrasteer owners are driving these trucks and SUV's. We will be offering a free classified section on our home page for Quadrasteer trucks and SUV's for sale or wanted to buy. Buy your Quadrasteer now, they will be disappearing fast when the official announcement comes from GM.

Big Dee · 02-23-2005, 03:35 PM

It does look like Nissan will pick QS up. You know they will market it better.

wahoonc · 02-23-2005, 04:26 PM

We had just started looking at the Suburbans with the intent of purchasing one in the early summer and quadra steer was on the short list of must haves. Looks like we will be doing our shopping elsewhere...like the Ford Excursion? or perhaps a crew cab. I have been a Ford owner for years, but the newer Suburbans and the quadra steer had me taking a long hard look...but given GM's penchant for not supporting things after they discontinue them, we will have to re-think this situation.

Aaron

balrgn · 02-23-2005, 05:44 PM

The odd thing about this is, Delphi is an affiliate of GM?

Hopefully it is not yet official or they will return in a year or two!

Davydd · 02-23-2005, 06:32 PM

I think you are right balrgn. Unless they've been spun off I always thought of Delphi as just another GM owned subsidiary. So, why would GM give Quadrasteer to a competing truck line like Nissan?

markdoane · 02-23-2005, 06:35 PM

Although Delphi was a subsidiary of GM, I think they were spun off in 1999.

balrgn · 02-23-2005, 07:25 PM

Talked to m' brother tonight, They still are affiliated, however, they need to turn a profit. Man I'm torn. How long can I mak my '03 last?????????

markdoane · 02-23-2005, 08:06 PM

Affiliated how? As vendor/customer? 50% of Delphi's business is non-GM.

Davydd · 02-23-2005, 08:32 PM

Delphi evidently was spun off as an independent publicly traded company. Its stock symbol is DPH and currently is $6.90 with a 4.05% dividend. Here is the Quadrasteer page:

http://delphi.com/products/auto/perf...r/quadrasteer/

Anon · 02-24-2005, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

Delphi evidently was spun off as an independent publicly traded company. Its stock symbol is DPH and currently is $6.90 with a 4.05% dividend. Here is the Quadrasteer page:

http://delphi.com/products/auto/perf...r/quadrasteer/

Delphi has done a lot of work on the new Ford Mustang.
They are very much in competition with Visteon and MetalDyne for Tier One business and engineering.